Or so the song goes.
A review of the second day’s play would always be incomplete with a nod towards shining star James Anderson.
By dismissing Kiwi opener Peter Fulton (his second wicket of the innings) Jimmy became only the fourth member of England’s prestigious 300 club. Ian Botham, Bob Willis and Fiery Fred Trueman are the only other current custodians.
Over the years the tall Lancastrian has developed from an at times unpredictable quickie to the undisputed King of the Swingers.
These days, when conditions suit, there is no one better than Jimmy and he leads the England unit from the front and with some aplomb.
Add in some brilliant fielding displays and a dogged determination with the willow and you have one of the team’s top performers – so time to raise a glass to Jimmy – now on 301 wickets and only 83 behind bettering Sir Ian’s all time record. I for one am not betting against it.
And onto the play…
As an England fan it was disappointing to see not one home batsman getting past 41. Plenty of starts but no finishes. If no one registers at least a half century it’s always going to be hard to register 300+
That said it wasn’t easy going for New Zealand either but they definitely had the better of the day’s play. There were some decent periods of bowling from England but not enough consistency when it mattered.
And Matt Prior. What a roller-coaster of a week: Chosen as England player of the year for 2012–2013 only a few days ago and then a first ball duck and a dropped catch today. But Prior is made of strong stuff – a couple of minor setbacks like this won’t knock him back. I predict a decent score in the second innings for the Sussex man.
“The pink ball appears grey/blue in red/green deficient vision, depending on its severity. I did a simulation with colour blindness…”