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Plays of the Day

Seeing red and a lapse of reason

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

April 20, 2007

I probably shouldn't have done that: Michael Clarke offers no shot to James Franklin © Getty Images

Dangerous straight drive of the day
In the eighth over of the match, bowled by James Franklin, Hayden drilled one straight back, resulting in a painful blow to the umpire Asad Rauf's wrist. Rauf tried to get out of the way but there was no hiding. Rauf and Aleem Dar decided to wear bright red shirts to avoid confusion between Australia's green and gold and New Zealand's black. Hayden went for red and Rauf, after he had recovered from the blow, wagged his finger at the batsman, in mock remonstration.

Record of the day
Matthew Hayden set the tone with a brutal century, registering the 100th hundred in World Cups. If Denis Amiss' name will forever be associated with the first World Cup hundred, against India at Lord's in the 1975 tournament, it will be Hayden who will be remembered for No. 100. For the record, Mark Waugh's 110 against New Zealand at Chennai was the 50th.

Leave of the day
Michael Clarke shouldering arms to see the ball rattle his stumps isn't something new, but today's dismissal was quite novel. He backed away to a slow straight ball from Franklin, raised his bat and then, as if stuck in a time warp, froze. He just let his bat hang high and watched in horror as the ball went straight on and disturbed the furniture. Momentary lapse of reason? You bet.

Best leading edge of the day
In the 48th over, with the batsmen going after the bowling, Shane Watson managed a superbly-timed leading edge. Mark Gillespie went around the stumps, bowled one fullish, on leg and middle, and Watson, trying to loft it over wide midwicket, managed a thick edge that flew over the ropes at long-on.

Emphatic end of the day
Brad Hogg finished it off with a googly to get rid of Peter Fulton. It was flighted outside leg and Fulton, trying to paddle it, could only watch it thud into the leg stump. Shane Warne, we miss you.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is assistant editor of Cricinfo

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