da aviator aposta： On the fightback at Lord’s and looking forward to the second Test
da bet vitoria： Paul Harris17-Jul-2008
Waking up with the house on fire: McKenzie and Smith did a splendid job of damage control at Lord’s © Getty Images
So it’s all square going to Headingley, but who would have thought that wouldbe the case on Saturday evening when we were following on? We showed ourfight and how badly we wanted to stay in the match by battling to the end.The morning of the Lord’s Test was a tense one for me personally as I wasnot told the night before if I was playing or not because of all the rainthat had fallen over the days leading up to the Test. The management wantedto have a look at the wicket before making a decision, but I was a reallyhappy man when Mickey gave me the thumbs up for my first Test at Lord’s.Much has been spoken of the toss. At the time we were all in agreement thatwe should bowl first, and with all the rain that was around Graeme (Smith) didn’thave much of a choice but to bowl. I think if our bowling unit was honest wewould have to say that we were not at our best on the first two days. I will say, though, that walking through the famous Long Room at Lord’s and having all the members stand and applaud was one of the best moments of my career. It was an incredible experience that I will never forget.Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen played really well for England, although they were helped at times by us bowlers! Morne (Morkel) was the pick and deserved his four wickets. I’m sure for the rest of the series people will see a much better bowling performance from our attack.On a positive note, we’re delighted with the fight we showed when our backs were against the wall. First, Ashwell (Prince) played a great innings under pressure that was crucial for us. Without that we may have struggled to come back.On Saturday night Graeme had a few choice words for us and basically saidthat if we didn’t wake up and start applying ourselves and fast, we weregoing to go 0-1 down in the series and would be under huge pressure goinginto the next Test. Everyone seemed to respond.Graeme, as usual, led from the front with a great hundred and Neil (McKenzie) played anunbelievable knock and showed his immense powers of concentration, whileHashim (Amla) also deserves credit – he faced a fair amount of short bowling, came through it, made a hundred, and got his name on the honours board inthe dressing room.England clearly remember Hashim having a few problems against the short ballwhen they bowled at him last in South Africa, but over the last couple ofyears since then he has improved his technique a great deal and England willnow know that he cannot be bullied into giving his wicket away as they mayhave thought would be the case. He’s having an unbelievable tour and I hopeit continues.I have never played at Headingley before and I can’t wait for the match tostart. When I played for Warwickshire we did play Yorkshire away, but thematch was at Scarborough.I hear it is a ground that favours the seamers but I hope I will be playingagain and that I can contribute. South Africa showed on the last tour therethat it can also be a flat wicket when the sun shines. I will be speaking toJacques Rudolph before the match and will ask him about the conditions as henow plays there. I know our wives and girlfriends have had a huge amount of fun on the trip, and I think Lord’s had to bring in fresh supplies of Pimm’s for some ofthe ladies The big talking point going into the Test is the return of Andrew Flintoff.We haven’t spoken too much about him yet but I’m sure we will speak abouthim in team meetings nearer the game.I played against Freddie once when he came out on a pre-season tour to CapeTown with Lancashire, probably about eight or nine years ago. It was anall-star team they brought out and the Western Province Academy team Iplayed for won, against the likes of Mike Atherton, Peter Martin, Freddie, NeilFairbrother and John Crawley.I realise Freddie is going to be a much different proposition than in thosedays, but I’m looking forward to the contest. These are the reasons why weplay Test cricket.On the social front, the boys have been quiet and the wives and girlfriendshave been with us for the past two weeks. It has been great for me tohave my wife with me. I know the girls have had a huge amount of fun on thetrip, and I think Lord’s had to bring in fresh supplies of Pimm’s for some ofthe ladies!