Sydney here I come!

I most definitely am not talking about a girl named Sydney and going to her. I will actually be going to Sydney, the Aussie city tomorrow though it'll be the Boxing Day when I actually arrive there. Which means twenty or so hours of on-the-road which isn't exactly the correct term but you know what I mean. Though I love travelling flying is the most disliked part of it. Even though it's unavoidable. I really do wish we had Harry Potter style disapparate and apparate technology. However it's a small price to pay compared to the awesomeness of travelling, so no complaints really. Just bitching.

I've not made very many specific plans though. Except the Australia vs India Sydney Test on 3rd January. Someone I know rolled her eyes complete 360 degrees hearing that I'll be going to a cricket match and sit there for 8 hours on my vacation. But she's such a cricket tragic what else can you expect? Anyway, this is one golden opportunity for me to see the legends of the game like Ponting, Sachin, Dravid and VVS probably for the last time. Not gonna miss it. I do wish Ponting would score a 100 there. Would be an added bonus if Sachin gets out in the nineties again.

Other than that I'm planning on going whale watching though not yet sure when and where. Probably because I'm staying at my sister's place (not my own, but probably better than my own if I had one) so guess I'm trusting her and her hubby to take me around. The only other fixed item in the list is the fireworks on new year's eve at Sydney Harbor. In between I guess I'll go here and there seeing stuff; probably Opera House, Harbor, some Kangaroos (hopefully eat one too) and, er, I don't know, I'll tell you when I know. I don't think I would be doing a post-a-day travel diary this time like I did for the Beijing tour, but hopefully I would get to write something of my accounts there. I don't think it would be as much adventurous as Beijing but you never know. Fingers crossed!

Okay then, later peeps!

Last of the Giants

Watching Ricky Ponting yesterday was something special.

Here was a man who's leading a sorry bunch, the remnants of a once majestic dynasty if you will. It was not the usual fluent and murderous batting by Ponting; it was gritty, it was patient, it was hard work, it was stubborn and it was daring. When the wickets were falling around him he kept fighting, he kept edging his team forward, kept carrying them forward just that little bit, just that little bit needed to keep the Aussies in the game. It wasn't a very aesthetically pleasing knock, but hell it was one damn fine knock by a champion of a cricketer. A champion who rose to the occasion when all the odds were against him. It was typical of the great man to come to the party just when it mattered.

But sadly (yes, don't be surprised, I'm one of the few out there who truly admire the way Aussies play their cricket, or rather the way they used to play their cricket) it wasn't just enough. It was disheartening to see him try everything even in the field fighting a losing battle all the way. He looked a true warrior, a man who would fight to the death. He's the last of a line of Aussie giants, the last one who's left there to fight a losing battle pretty much all by himself. But even the most magnificent of heroes can't just do it alone sometimes, and he had no one to rely on yesterday. He looked a lone man out there; every single one of his team mates had let him down. Maybe it is time for him to go. For such a champion, the last thing I want Ricky to become is another Jayasuriya. He's got nothing more to achieve; 4 world cup finals and 3 titles in the bag, two as captain along with a shitload of other victories and gazillion runs, he's pretty much been there done that all.

Love him or loathe him, you can't deny the fact that the man has earned his rightful place among the true greats of the game. Goodbye Ricky, thanks for all the memories. We will miss you.