You need to remember, I remarked to Jimbo and the attendant Triple B (Black-Blonde Betty) on the return leg along Starboard Drive two mornings back, that somewhere around the corner Fate is probably slipping the lead into the boxing glove.

At the time I was looking at the outcome of the Sydney Test, but around four yesterday morning my suspicions were confirmed when I discovered that we'd allegedly almost used our entire monthly bandwidth allocation from the friendly ISP on Day One of the billing period.

It was a matter that needed to be investigated before the morning walk, and I reckoned it was probably too early to get a live human in Tech Support, so the walk proceeded as scheduled and I was able to expand on the Fate/corner/lead/boxing glove bit.

We were discussing the merits of the Clarke triple century and the impact on public perceptions and were around the same point where I'd made the previous prognostication when I outlined the following scenario.

Tendulkar and Laxman bat most of today, so they get to stumps around level pegging or slightly ahead. Bat on into tomorrow, Dhoni slams a ton and we end up with a nasty little run chase, which we lose. So, two days after everyone was singing his praises they'll be calling for his head on a platter…

For declaring too early, Jimbo agreed.

Triple B, being of the canine persuasion, said nothing, but eyed a passing pooch that wouldn't have made much more than a mouthful…

The phone call to Tech Support consumed the best part of an hour as the bloke on the other end of the line tried to figure out what had gone wrong, and while we didn't get the lost bandwidth back we did get, gratis, a complimentary data block to keep us going for the time being, advice to download software to monitor internet traffic and a suggestion that I set about changing passwords and that sort of thing.

All that, a morning shower and breakfast took me up to the resumption, and I set about the computer tasks with one eye on the cricket, but wasn't able to agonise over the scenario I'd outlined on the morning walk.

At this point I should also point out that it was only a matter of eight good balls and sticky (rather than butter) fingers.

I'd sort of sorted out most of those issues through the morning session, noted in passing the departure of Gambhir, and done the lap through town to the Post Office and the bank in the lunch break, polished off a spot of lunch and was about to settle back into watching the unfolding drama when Madam announced there was a network problem associated with printers and changed passwords.

That, predictably, was around the time Clarke brought himself on to bowl to Tendulkar, wasn't it?

Equally predictably, resolving that issue took most of the hour that saw the Indian middle order removed, didn't it?


All of which explains why we're rather light on for opinions about much of what went on yesterday, but there are a couple of things that have come out of it.

For a start, regardless of public perceptions, The Pup has a fair streak of old-fashioned hard-nosed mongrel in him, and a willingness to trust his doggy instincts rather than play things safe. Good.

I'd opined on the morning walk that the only major argument for batting on after a lead over 450 was to wear down the bowling attack, and the fact that Sehwag and Ashwin had bowled a hefty chunk of overs between them probably suggested Dhoni wasn't going to fall into that little trap.

In the end we're left with a fairly tidy performance and the predictable fast bowler fitness issues as we learn that young Mr Pattinson has potential stress factors in his foot and Mitchell Starc has been called into the squad for Perth. Kind of predictable, wasn't it?

We have, however, seemingly found the depth in the fast bowling stocks to cover for pattinson in the short term. You'd be inclined to suspect we'll be going into Perth with Harris in for Patto and Starc in for Lyon, which seems a fairly predictable horses for courses move, and adds a backup if Harris breaks down during proceedings.

In that event, with one Test to go and, hopefully, a three-zip series lead, Lyon back in for Adelaide and the other three quicks unchanged could work, and you'd be inclined to think that a fit Cummins or the sidelined Copeland would be cover if changes to the pace side of things needed to be made.

Those issues, however, lie well into the future, so we'll be putting our feet up on the Sports Desk for the next couple of days, returning to the Blogosphere some time around Thursday when the outlook for the WACA is a little clearer…