Pakistan v Australia Second ODI Report Card
Featuring comedic bits, shortening one's name and Morpheus off the long run
Comedic Bits
Grade: B+
The second ODI began with Alex Carey bowled first ball, playing on. Hilarious stuff from the mild-mannered gloveman. You might even say, hiCareyous stuff (assuming you had a bizarre speech impediment).
Still, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - there’s never been an Australian wicketkeeper who has succeeded opening the batting in ODIs. Why the team perseveres with this kind of selection remains a mystery to me.
Perhaps it’s all part of Australia’s ongoing newest bit, in which they lose pretty much every bilateral series between World Cups before going on to then win the tournament. And, if so, fair enough. It was funny leading into 2023. It’s funny now. Much better, comedically speaking, than boring old Ricky Ponting’s ‘let’s win everything inside and outside of World Cups’.
Shortening One’s Name
Grade: D-
Pakistan were willing to help with the gag, shifting swiftly to spin, with immediate success in both drying up the run rate and taking wickets. Is it fair how opposition teams can just bring on spinners and effortlessly dismantle the Australian batters? Self-evidently not. In a way, spin bowling is a form of lying.
