South Africa duly completed the emphatic victory that put them 1-0 up in the three match battle of the test match titans. At one point, when Ian Bell and Matt Prior were going well it looked as though the greatest of escapes might just be on, but once Prior was out, attempting to sweep the leg spin of Tahir the end came swiftly. However, it should be remembered that this is the first innings defeat England have suffered in two and a half years, and the first time in a long time that both bowling and batting have malfunctioned for them in the same game. I would not recommend sweeping changes (I still have horrible memories of the effects of “in, out, shake it all about” selections in the 1990s, as well as less horrible memories of the 2010-11 Aussies adopting this approach), and would also point out that immediately following a thrashing in Perth, England bowled out Australia on the first morning in Melbourne – these guys know how to bounce back and have done so before.
The Sunday at Marxism 2012 featured a couple of frustrations when I twice indicated a desire to speak but missed out (these things happen), but I was nevertheless impressed that there were two meetings relating to disability. On the Monday, the highlight of the morning was Gigi Ibrahim talking about Egypt complete with some quite horrific photos (this was one of many interactive meetings). I thoroughly enjoyed the bit of the final rally that I was there for. Faced with a choice between being there for the whole thing and then almost certainly having to stand all the way to Cambridge or leaving early and probably having a seat I chose the latter.
If the accounts and photos I have provided in this blog have impressed you, book early for next year’s event (I booked in February for this year’s event) and you won’t regret it.
Enjoy some photos…
aspiblog 