Have a premium vantage point for this one - in the Members.

Except that rain is forecast for the first 2 days!

The weather forecast has improved.


Now we are likely to get the first  session in on Saturday before the Test is  rained off for the rest of Saturday and Sunday!

At the moment it is sunny here.

It rained heavily overnight. 

Mennie, Burns and Ferguson all in, Marsh, Marsh and Siddle out.

Looks good.

Horrible batting by Warner. 

Good bowling by Abbott. 

Ferguson debuts facing a hat trick ball. Has it ever happened before?

Even without the best bowler in the world South Africa easily have best bowling attack in the world and Morkel is sitting on the sidelines! Scary stuff. 

This game shows we still can't play when the ball is swinging. But the bowling has been top notch from South Africa.

Philander is an absolute nightmare when it's swinging and seaming.

Smith injures Philander in a collision and then Ferguson run out.

Ferguson run out by the sub field, hows that for some irony. 

Now Rabada gets in on the act. 

Just think Philander wouldn't be picked for an Australian side as he doesn't bowl fast enough! :w00t:

We just don't have the ticker to grind out tough runs in overcast conditions. Smith aside. IT's incredible. 

Some of that bowling was absolutely outstanding though. That over where Philander nearly got two wickets in a row was an absolute beauty. Their bowling is in a different class to ours. 

Even though it was a bad day for Australia, all of us at the cricket were expecting the game to end from torrential rain at any moment. It held off! Only 13 minutes was lost to rain.

8 000 went to watch a game in cool overcast weather.

Hasham Amla is very easy on the eye. 


It has rained all night an doesn't look like stopping. Hobart is the second driest capital in Australia after Adelaide. Hobart Airport is even drier.

Today's going to be washed out I think. Bit of a shame for Hobart, you guys finally got a good test match to watch against some quality opposition and the weather wrecks it. 

We are all feeling it.

However, we were thrilled to get all  yesterday's play in. It should dry off tomorrow and we should still see a result. 

In Shield games one hour a day can be made up due to loss of play through bad weather. In Tests only  30 mins can be made up daily. We have long daylight  hours down here, so  the 60 mins extra per day would have been good.

well I thought the two teams were pretty even today

best day of test cricket we've had this summer

yeah we really didn't give them many scoring opportunities did we?

Grazor and Lastbroadcast.

LOL!


From a parochial perspective, probably true though!

It is still raining - just.

Play should start at 10 am if the rain stops. The sun shone through the clouds of a few minutes.

I've just been on the beach in front of Bellerive Oval. It is freezing! This is the dampest, coldest weather  pattern we get - a southerly! It has been a shocking, windy, cool, wet spring. I'm assuming Melbourne have had similar spring weather to date.

The TCA Members Section has a great viewing vantage  point outside. It is elevated right up to the boundary.  Except it can be cold with a southerly blowing. Inside the TCA Members it is warm and comfortable, but one cannot hear the sound of the game, the spectators, appeals or bat hitting ball.

Bavuma and de Kock are doing a good job. The difference in their mental attitude is noticeable.

south africa rarely loose wickets in clumps and they are less likely to get out due to a lapse in concentration. Its a big difference so far between the two teams.

Meanwhile there is nothing wrong with our pitches. Its just the quality of the team. Passable (but not great) quality is there but I really don't think the selectors are picking our best squads

De Kock and Bavuma have scored 100 so far this morning, By doing nothing more than staying patient, batting carefully and smacking the bad ball.

...and just as I say that, De Kock gets bowled.

look I'm enjoying the fact that the ball is zinging around again after the rain after a session and a half of looking much easier batting....but I'm conscious of the fact that Australia could have to bat while conditions are still very difficult!

If they can survive an early onslaught conditions should improve

maybe we should time waste before taking that last wicket...what is that decentric always says about rhthym changes in football?

Burns gets squeezed down leg, then it rains. Sums up the summer 

I have to say we have had sustained bad luck for a long time
This is a 6 out of 10 team but bad luck can turn a 6 out of 10 performance into a 4 out of 10performance
then again 12 months ago I felt 6 out of 10 performances were looking like 8 out of 10 performances...

"Make South Aftica bat again" - Ian Healy channeling Donald Trump

Kyle Abbott is bowling a beautiful spell here. South Africa are putting constant pressure on us. This is really good stuff.