Return of the King - Parts 2,3 and 4

Lot of comebacks by batsmen in cricket in recent times.

Matty Hayden seems to be back in form. Three hundreds in as many tests indicate that. The last of them, at home against Windies, reminded of the old Hayden. It had some of the powerful shots that had been missing of late. Hope he keeps chugging like this till the next Ashes at least.

Ponting seems to have found his touch, as the hundred in each innings shows. The one in the first innings was more important, as it bailed the team out of trouble. Some magnificent pull shots and cover drives in that knock. Could not watch the second hundred on tv. Now, scoring runs seems to have boosted his confidence as well. All the nonsense of “proper behaviour” and “restraint”, visible during the ashes tour, seem to have been chucked out. Good for him and for the team. And incident in the WI second innings shows this.
Brett Lee, having taken a wicket, was charging up to the batsman (Fidel Edwards I think. Do not remember who it was). The batsman seemed not to notice the bowler, and stood there with the bat in his hand. Lee had to pull out, and he went back to the start of his run up. The captain walked in the direction of the batsman, and seemed to ask politely “Where the f*(& are you looking when the bowler runs in ?”. :).

Finally, to a batsman who looked like he had never been away. Scoring 93 off 96 balls to setup a good team total is a damn good way to go on your return to the team, and this is just what S R Tendulkar did. Pretty aggressive knock, with shades of the old Tendulkar (one who gives fast bowlers the charge ) were on display. Might not have done well in the third and fourth one-dayers, but Lanka must be wary of him the tests.

And, to finish off, the sporting moment of the week :
One over to go.
Nine runs for a Series win.
Shane Bond, one of the fastest bowlers, running in.

What do you do ?

If you are Justin Kemp , you blast the ball out of the park for a six !