Ashes to ashes

I just watched the highlights of Day 3 from the WACA. Who'd be an England bowler? Harmison, Hoggard and Panesar bowled really well and got hammered. It must have felt like being repeatedly struck by lightning. The sheer bad luck of catches not quite going to hand, inside edges cannoning past the leg stump and the like reinforced by some rather indifferent umpiring and poor wicket keeping and, after all that, Gilchrist, apparently with an electric cattle prod up his bum. I feel particularly sorry for Panesar. He definitely got the worst of the rotten decisions and the rotten keeping. I guess I'm not surprised about Jones' poor performance with the gloves though. It usually happens that when one has doubts about a keeper they will be confirmed when he has to keep to a real good spinner.

There's been enough in England's performance in this match to suggest that with proper preparation and marginally less cretinous selection this could have been a very good series. As it is, it's stone dead but I don't suppose that will stop 90,000 turning up in Melbourne. On selection, I posted a few days ago about the wrongheadedness of picking a fifth bowler. May I point out that Saj Mahmood bowled only 17 rather ineffective overs in this match? It should be obvious even to Fathead Freddy and Dumbass Duncan that they have got it wrong yet again but I don't expect there will be much change.

Just wondering

The other day I was looking through lists of mathematics jokes because boegle needed maths puns for a play. This was one of the jokes:

Q. Why can't mathematicians tell the difference between Halloween and Christmas?

A. Because Oct 31 = Dec 25

Now:
[Poll #890543]

Let's try this again

So, much as before.

Q: What's purple and commutes?

A: An Abelian grape

[Poll #890558]