Why couldn't we get them out for 300?

Good morning all and it's a beautiful wet and windy day , just the way I like it (Ok, so I'm a freak, sue me) and Pakistani cricket is on a roll.

Yesterday, we finished the day 259/6 and today should have been an easy day, picking off the tail-enders hopefully before 300. Didn't happen though as Boucher and Harris made exactly 100 runs between them and finished the 1st innings with 357 runs. A total that might be difficult for Pakistan if our openers don't get their act together.

Wow, I don't know how to write about this. I'm a firm believer in jinxing it and I'm so scared someone will go out because I said how well the openers are doing. Ah, screw it, what's supposed to happen will happen, my extreme paranoia aside. At the moment, Pakistan are 79/0...trailing by 278 runs and I guess things are looking good.

Even if we couldn't restrict the South African side, at least we're not letting ourselves be restricted and Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal have a decent partnership going on there. Hopefully, they should survive to 150 or so, before letting Inzimam ul Haq come in to beat Javed Miandad's record.

Nel is bowling well, keeping his overs quiet and not too expensive. It's usually the other bowler that gets hit around a bit. Bleah, see, I spoke to soon. It looks like Harris is going to bowl a maiden. Oh well, never mind...guys, stay calm, don't play any stupid shots and you'll get us through the day...now let's see if I can make them hear me through my heightened ESP...Crap...85/0...Pakistan always get dodgy when you don't let them score. 87...phew, crisis averted. Bugger...90/1...Salman goes out with an edge to Smith, bowled by Harris. Oh well, we can still win this!

Go Pakistan!