Merry Christmas to all

[Sweder]

A most astute observation MLCMan. Very much a case of '8 down, this one's a doddle' I'm afraid. Still, it's good to get a kick up the pants when you're 1-0 up in a 5 test series - plenty of time to sniff the Dow Egberts and knuckle down.

I was going to say we played on a variable pace wicket with uneven bounce and the occasional one that keeps low . . . and then Jaqcues Kallis comes in and knocks 160 odd with the Springboks scoring 330-ish against our 139 all out, so I'll keep quiet.

Freddie Flintoff is a true Gem and the Aussies will love watching him play.
Big heart, bowls all day, bats like he's having a party and is rarely caught without a big cheesy grin on his face. It's becoming cliche here, but 'Bothamesque' is spot on.

Watch out for Steve Harmison. Until last month he was number one bowler in world cricket. He's having a lazy tour just now, but he's the real deal.