21 August 2011
The laptop was even more hopeless today. Not only Dragon but Word was also playing up.. Being a Sunday there was absolutely nothing I could do about it so reconciled myself to watching the cricket ( I didn’t need much persuading).
It was a day of mixed fortunes for England they only got to wickets in the morning session but fared better in the afternoon. The only Indian batsmen to make any real impression was Dravid who eventually ran out of partners having scored 146 not out. At that stage India was 291 behind England so predictably Strauss made them follow on. (Bat on-again) Between tea and close of play England took three wickets for 129 runs including the most valuable of all Dravid’s. That leaves India trailing by 162 runs (although this is rather academic. From India’s point of view it’s a question of hanging on and forcing a draw) and England to get the remaining seven wickets, which the way they have been bowling should not be too difficult.. Once Tendulkar, who is currently 44 not out, ~is removed there is not a lot of batting strength left in the tail. How ironic it would be if 10 daughter scored his 100th.100 and yet I still lost the match.
In the evening we watched a fascinating documentary about Mallory’s attempt to climb Everest in 1924 wearing, what today, we will consider totally inadequate clothing and footwear. The team actually found Mallory’s body, on their way up, and it was obvious to them that at the time Mallory was on the way down. This then casts doubt as to whether Mallory made the top and was returning. We will never know if this brave man achieved something 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary who made the historic ascent arriving on the coronation day of our present Queen.
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