Untukmu Para Pengunjung

Day 3

Day 3 of the Ashes and I thought i'd try the "let's get drunk and listen live all night" trick.

Wrong. (There are various ways of staying awake - see my guide at the bottom).

I should have drunk coffee!

I started so well, two small bottles of beer, my homemade spicy crab linguine (recipe to follow another day unless you request it!) and a glass or two of white wine. Nothing too heavy, felt good and ready to listen to the cricket or track it down on the web. I felt good until my friend Pierre knocked on the door.

Pierre is from Northern France but spent one year in Brisbane, Australia. He speaks good English with an Australian accent. Bizarre but actually quite cool! Anyhow, he knew of my plight to watch cricket and believed he knew of a bar in La Rochelle that would be showing it.

Great I thought..

Five bars later and after sinking eight pints of 'wife beater' (Stella Artois), I found myself sitting in an Irish bar talking to a drunk landlord (owner of the bar) called George. By this time, I didn't even know what I was doing let alone remember to watch the cricket. After showing him my tricks including levitation and finding the card, I was paraletic..

Arrived home at half past two in the morning...Looked up Radio Five live on the web - only available to UK residents..Dug out my old radio and tuned it in on LW...Finally, I was going to do it. I was going to actually listen to some live Cricket..I heard Geoffrey Boycott, great, finally...

Passed out.

Missed the lot again.

Anyhow, back to cricket..

Can we win the ashes now after last nights show?

Yes.

We can win it but we need this early defeat to open our eyes. Maybe England believed that they deserved to win because of last years heroics, maybe they were too big for their boots, maybe Australia are just more determined to win it than England.

One thing is for sure, until Flintoff starts to 'out-captain' Ponting, we won't win. It is now resting on one mans shoulders, he is big enough to do this, come on Freddie, let's have it.

I think this should be the kick up the backside they need. .



Staying awake to watch the cricket (from Sky Sports site):-

1. Sleep - Get as much sleep as possible the night before.

2. Drink coffee intermittently - Have a cup at 2—3 am and a short 15 min nap. Use an alarm to wake-up to avoid ‘deep sleep’ kicking in. Walk around for a few minutes. Wash your face with cold water. Repeat at around 4-5 am.

3. Drink coffee continuously - Alternatively, have as much of this coffee as you are used to! But by not having naps you will be less able to stay awake the next day.

4. Avoid sugar - Unlike caffeine, sugar is not very effective in combating sleepiness.

5. Drink low sugar energy drinks - These are an effective substitute for those that don’t drink coffee.

6. Avoid heavy meals -There are no diets or foods that are particularly good at promoting alertness, but avoid ‘heavy’ and fatty meals in the small hours — they can cause bad indigestion.

7. Steer clear of alcohol - Alcohol worsens sleepiness: it is impossible to stay awake throughout the night and drink more than small amounts of alcohol.

8. Keep the lights on - The darker the room, the more likelihood you’ll nod off.

9. Stay warm - Your body naturally becomes cooler in the middle of the night.

Alternatively, watch tomorrow's blog for my next efforts.

Day 2.

I decided to stay up and watch the highlights show, then listen online to BBC Five Live's coverage. I fell asleep at 12.00am French time..Couldn't even make the first ball in the highlights show.

I woke up this morning at 5am French time (4am UK)and was determined to listen to the match unfold, live, on the radio. I went straight back to sleep and woke with the alarm at 7am. So yes, I have officially seen nothing and heard the final twenty minutes of the first two matches.

I am still searching for some live streaming online, it is totally boring listening to cricket on the radio. If you have never tried, don't. It is worse than listening to a party political broadcast. Terrible.

I am hoping that somebody reading this, and there are loads at the moment, can offer me some salvation. I need to watch the cricket live!

Tonight, I am going to try to see if my local Irish bar (always an Irish bar!!) has sky. I want to know if anyone has watched it live in the pub, you know, 24/7 drinking must make this possible? If so, I am considering flying back to watch some.

So, todays cricket..

Australia 602-9....WHAT?? The third highest total ever at the Gabba.

How did that happen? Who is to blame?

Apparently not Freddie, even though he is still recovering from the ankle surgery, he was our man of the match.

Harmison? 1-123..123 runs..God help us. Chin up Stevie..


I heard that Ponting 'out-captained' Freddie. That the Aussies had prepared for the match, mentally, physically and tactically, and that us 'Poms' didn't/haven't.

Now, it's not all doom and gloom. We only have to get 403 to save the follow-on.

That's right..only 403!! England are now 14/1 to win the ashes 2006. Now before we carry on, look at the odds in 2005 and how they changed..