Yesterday was a strange day. The [cliché alert]glorious uncertainties[/cliché alert] of cricket were on display in their Sunday best!

After ending Saturday with a sort of victory lap on their way into the pavilion, England were given a scare by the fighting Australians on Sunday. In the end, the victory came their way, but the Englishmen had to earn it every inch of the way. Two runs is too close for comfort, given the phenomenal run rates that the teams achieved in the match. With Flintoff bowling fast short ones down the leg, all it needed was a fumble from the not-so-reliable Geraint Jones, and the Pommies would have wished the Edgbaston pitch to part down the middle and consume them there and then!

And as if one exciting finish wasn’t enough for the day, the Indian team playing the West Indians far away from Birmingham, on the island of Serendip, felt they needed to prove they could do better. After having scored 262 (the highest score in the tournament, by far), one would’ve thought the Chanderpaul-less Windies batting line-up would crumble. But that’s not the way the cookie crumbled! In the end, if it wasn’t for the underrated Nehra, the West Indians would’ve calypsoed the the night away while the Indian team would’ve had to face the wrath of their ‘birthday-boy’ coach and indeed that of the entire nation when they would’ve landed in India with their tails between their legs and De Bono’s multi-coloured hats covering their red, embarassed faces!

Lessons from these two amazing games?

Australia needs to realize that their days at the top of the table are numbered… unless their ageing warhorses give way to at least equally effective youngsters. Until then, injured pigeons are injurious to Australian cricketing fortunes!

The Indian team needs to learn the lesson that has been staring them in their faces in almost all league matches of the Indian Oil Cup tournament. Five specialist bowlers are an absolute necessity. Dravid has been made to struggle with his fifth bowling options. Pressure cookers are effective only because the pressure is maintained at all times. It’s time the Indian team realizes this!