The Ball of the Century?

And of course yesterday's Poem of the Week, in addition to being a paean of praise to Evan Davis, was also a farewell to Shane Warne, whose first test ball, to Mike Gatting, is memorised in the verse.  This is what it looked like..

Poem of the Week

Jiggery Pokery
Neil Hanlon and Thomas Walsh (aka the Duckworth-Lewis Method)

Twas the first test of the Ashes series 1993
Australia had only managed 289 and we
felt all was going to plan
that first innings at Old Trafford.
Then Merv Hughes and his handlebar moustache
dismissed poor Athers.

I took the crease to great applause,
and focussed on me dinner.
I knew that I had little cause
to fear their young leg spinner.
He loosened up his shoulder
and with no run up at all,
he rolled his right arm over
and he let go of the ball.

It was jiggery pokery, trickery, jokery.
How did he open me up?
Robbery, muggery, Aussie Skullduggery.
Out for a buggering duck.
What a delivery,
I might as well have been,
holding a contra bassoon.
Jiggery pokery who was this nobody,
making me look a buffoon?
Like a blithering old buffoon.

At first the ball looked straight enough,
I had it in me sights,
but such was its rotation
that it swerved out to the right.
I thought "Well, that's a leg break,
that's easily defended."
So I stuck my left leg out
and jammed my bat against it.

But the ball it span obscenely
and out of the rough it jumped,
veered across my bat and pad,
clipping my off stump.
It took a while to hit me,
I momentarily lingered,
but then I saw old Dickie Bird
slowly raise his finger.

It was jiggery pokery, trickery, jokery.
How did he open me up?
Robbery, muggery, Aussie Skullduggery.
Out for a buggering duck.
What a delivery,
I might as well have been,
holding a child's balloon.
Jiggery pokery who was this nobody,
making me look a buffoon?
Like an accident prone baboon.

How such a ball could be bowled
I don't know, but if you asked me
if it had been a cheese roll,
it would never have got past me.

It was jiggery pokery, trickery, jokery.
How did he open me up?
Robbery, muggery, Aussie Skullduggery.
What in the buggery
was his delivery?
I might as well have been
holding a cob of corn.
Jiggery pokery, who was this nobody
making me look so forlorn?

I hate Shane Warne!!!!

Not Just a Hole in Evan Davis's Knowledge...

On the BBC Today programme this morning, in the middle of a discussion about methematics and sport, the uber economics journalist and mathematical whizz Evan Davis revealed that he had never heard of the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

Gasps.  He quickly corrected his ignorance during the programme and by the end of the show he had apologised with some chagrin for not knowing of it.  He even cited the band named after the formula.

But it got me wondering...

So I wen to Wolfram Alpha and tried an enquiry there.  They (/it?) have never heard of it either.

This is all very poor...