Due to connectivity problems, Justin had been unable to send the postcards from Calcutta over the weekend. We carry all three despatches today.

Monday March 12, 2001

There will be no complacency until the last 12 Indian wickets have fallen

Do you believe in fate?

If so, you would be forgiven for seeing Steve Waugh's century at Eden Gardens as just that. William Shakespeare couldn't have written a better script fully embodying the power and respect that our captain commands here in the fascinating city of Calcutta. His work with the Udayan children's charity and his pure batting mastery, has him set high on a God-like pedestal in Calcutta. A Test century in front of 80-90,000 adoring fans was almost like a reward for the joy he brings to millions of people in this country, and more specifically, in this city.

When he and Jason Gillespie walked out to face the first ball of the second day's play, we were hoping for maybe another 30 to 50 extra runs. As it turned out, they batted for three hours, taking our score from a respectable 300 plus, to a daunting 445 in the first innings. Their partnership was another example of the astounding team performances that we have been able to produce over the last eighteen months. Having been quizzed so many times about the reasons for our winning streak of sixteen Test victories, I guess one of the main factors is the fact that in times of trouble someone, or some partnership, has produced something magnificent. Whether with the bat or ball, a player/s have taken the momentum away from the opposition and turned the game back to our favour. It has been simply phenomenal how these outstanding individual performances have led to the mind-blowing run of team consistency.

"Some of the wildest imaginations have become a part of the consistent success of this team over the last eighteen months"

Once again, Steve Waugh showed why he is the World's number one batsman. Starting the day at 26, he finished with one of the great Test innings and 110 runs under his belt. His reaction of elation showed how much it meant to him to score a century in front of one of the most exciting crowds of supporters in International cricket. If yesterday was noisy and packed, today was certainly the biggest crowd, I have ever played in front of. Out in the middle it was like being lost in a sea of colours, faces, noises and smells. The experience of cricket at Eden Gardens is hard to describe, although I will say it is a thrill and a prize for playing cricket at the highest level.

So exciting were the afternoon's proceedings that despite the massive crowd and thunderous noise, the Australian cricket team were playing in our own little world out in the centre. With the ball reverse swinging from early on in the Indian innings, we always felt that we could apply strangling pressure to our opponents. Batting at this level is about playing under intense pressure, as India would have felt today. The luxury of two great bowler's, an aspiring superstar, and a workhorse with a heart as big as Australia, means any opponent will always find batting nothing less than hard work, even on the flattest of surfaces. Having India eight wickets down still 320 runs behind was beyond our wildest imaginations when we took the field before tea. But then again, some of the wildest imaginations have become a part of the consistent success of this team over the last eighteen months.

From experience, we will not be getting to carried away with today's performance and we will be expecting a tough fight back from India tomorrow. We know we have a glorious opportunity to secure this series and achieve an ambition strongly embedded within this squad. Having said that, there will be no complacency until the last 12 Indian wickets have fallen and we have scored any necessary runs for a victory.

From Calcutta,

JL

Sunday March 11, 2001

Fluctuating Fortunes at Eden Gardens

Fortunes fluctuated at one of the world's great cricket grounds as both teams dominated specific sessions. At lunch, we were in the perfect position after winning the toss and deciding to bat. By tea, our confidence was riding high as we took the second break at one for one hundred and ninety. With Matty Hayden hitting the ball as crisply as Tiger Woods strikes the golf ball and your correspondent feeling ready for a big score, the Aussies looked set for a huge first innings total. Unfortunately, the momentum changed to India's favour after the break with our giant opener falling just three runs short of his second consecutive Test century. In the first over after tea, the loss of our in-form left-hander kicked off one of our worst batting collapses for a long time. After dominating the Indian attack for four hours, he tried one too many blows over the infield just to see the ball fall into the hands of the out-fieldsman. If any player deserved another hundred it was 'Haydos', as he is in rare from with the bat. As I have said before, I could not be more delighted to see my good mate form Queensland making such a strong impression in the test match arena. His work ethic is outstanding and his influence within the team is a crucial factor in our success. He is a phenomenal character who deserves every inch of success coming his way.

"Facing my first ball was like being in another world, as my concentration on the ball was tested by a roar reserved for a Rolling Stones rock concert or an AFL Grand Final. "

While his dismissal should have been a minor setback to the team, it proved a little more dramatic. A loose shot outside the off stump sent me on my way. An excellent opportunity was lost for yours truly- the second innings will be a chance to make amends. While I was sitting in the changing room ruing my shot selection, India's young off-spinner Harbajan Singh helped himself to a hattrick that sent a few flutters through the atmosphere in our viewing area.

Suddenly our stranglehold of day one looked less impressive and our hopes of a daunting first innings score were fading. With our decorated skipper still at the crease with Jason Gillespie, every run in the morning will be a bonus. From a subjective viewpoint, while we are disappointed with the final session of play, we are still well and truly in the game. With just under three hundred runs on the board the game is evenly poised at this stage. We would have preferred to be less wickets down at stumps, but then, the Indians would have hoped we were less runs on the scoreboard.

Besides the Boxing Day Test match at the mighty MCG, I have never known atmosphere like we experienced at the infamous Eden Gardens today. What an incredible experience it was standing in the middle of this fantastic stadium with 80,000 obsessed Indian supporters screaming like excited kids on a rollercoaster ride. Facing my first ball was like being in another world, as my concentration on the ball was tested by a roar reserved for a Rolling Stones rock concert or an AFL Grand Final. It is difficult to put into words the emotion of such an occasion, but I will admit it is as exhilarating and spine-tingling an experience as I am likely to experience. With a picture perfect outfield and flat pitch, Eden Gardens must rate up with Lord's and the SCG as the best cricket grounds in the world.

From Calcutta,

JL

Saturday March 10, 2001

An Opportunity of a Lifetime!

Australian poet and friend of the Australian cricket team, Rupert McCall, wrote the following poem about the first Test in Mumbai.

The Ballad of Mumbai

Tugga won the toss and took a gamble with his quickies
The challenge was enormous but our bowlers got the bickies
Eating sandwiches at 4 fa' and our master plan was hatchin'
They tasted even better when the Pigeon swooped on Sachin
With the tail exposed to Hollywood, the guru cast his spell
And I'm sure the skipper air-punched when the final wicket fell.

Now the turn was ours to trundle on that dusty Mumbai mine
Buck dined out on fingernails at 5 for 99
Any need to panic? - Turn it up mate! Don't be silly!
Not with mighty, mighty Mattador and Cyclone bloody Gilly!
For the emu and the kangaroo, they took their aim together
Then with missile after missile, they exterminated leather

When the massacre had ended and the prisoners were freed
The baggy green assassins had a pretty handy lead
So they re-defined their strategies and focused on their mission
Dizzy's vicious throat ball gave the fire some ignition
Still, the tiger was Tendulkar and with deadly fang, he sprang
At this stage of the story, let me welcome Clubber Lang

Clubber Lang was just a fieldsman - but a gutsy at one at that!
He fielded with this crazy grin a metre from the bat
They had battered, bashed and bruised him to the stadium's applause
But pain was not an issue and he saved a stack of fours
Now they say that fortune finds the brave - well Sachin found his shoulder
With a fully blooded pull shot - on his skin it left a smolder

But when the ball bounced high and hung there, it attracted one man's wanting
His first name was 'Ricardo' and his second name was 'Ponting'
Like a dingo for a scrap of meat, he dove full length to catch it
From there the vultures circled and the home team couldn't match it
Agarkar laid his seventh egg; the end came in a hurry
The Indians destructed in a dodgy puff of curry

For with Slats, a man on angry pills, and Mattador again
The last rites were administered by Tugga's gallant men
Cyclone Gilly manned the match for his destructive gale
At one nil up, the Aussie boys had proudly set their sail
And yet the moral of the story carries this distinct vendetta -
"Sixteen straight is pretty good but seventeen sounds better"

Last week's victory in this series has given us an advantage and an opportunity to win our first Test series here in India in thirty-one years. It is an opportunity promoting incredible enthusiasm within the team. Training has been electric over the last two days and we are pumped up for this Test match at Eden Gardens here in Calcutta. Rupert McCall summed it up for us in the last line of his poem where he reminded us not to take our foot of the accelerator of success. Without getting ahead of myself, I have a very strong feeling about this test and with the predictions of massive crowds, it could turn out to be one of the best five days of my Test career.

Time will tell.

From Calcutta,

JL

You can also go to the: The archives