THAT was a humdinger of a Test down in Adelaide. I was able to watch a bit of the England innings and it was thought-provoking stuff. Half the Aussie side seemed to be carrying injuries and it was astonishing to see the England batsmen running four off shots that didn't reach the boundary, some Aussie fielder hobbling after the ball with a tendon injury or something of the sort.
I've never seen anything quite like it. It's difficult to summon up sympathy for Van Diemenslanders but this was painful to watch. It seemed to somehow capture the decline in Australian cricket since the Waughs and the others departed.
Now there's a clamour for Shane Warne to come back; to swap his seat in the commentary box for a place on the field, preferably as skipper. The Aussie newspapers are full of it. The bookies are offering cautious odds. Warnie himself plays it close to his chest, saying he is "flattered" (though having observed Kevin Pietersen flay the leather about the place for that double ton, I wonder how keen he really would be).
This is desperate stuff, a rerun of the Barbarossa legend – the Germanic warrior-king who lies sleeping in a cave, waiting for the moment when he will emerge to rescue the nation in its hour of need. I hadn't thought the Aussies were big on this kind of Germanic folklore thing, but there you are.
It will be fascinating to see what happens next week. Australian cricket is suddenly at a low ebb. Morale has gone. Can they recover in these few days? Can they do it without Barbarossa? It's a sobering thought that if England can pull it off again next week they've retained the Ashes with two matches still to play. Who could have believed it?
Following the cricket Down Under has its complications, of course. Coming on-screen at 1.30 am, you either have to set the alarm or stay up all night at some place like the Thunder Bar, chatting to the Ukrainian dancers.
This tends to blur the focus on the game, but on the other hand these Ukrainian ladies are learning fast and showing a real appreciation. The way they snap their suspender belts to applaud a boundary adds a new dimension to cricket. So do the depth charges and jagermeisters.
Why go to these lengths to watch a Test between England and Australia? Well, in a certain sense it's South Africa B versus Australia – Strauss, Pietersen, Trott, Prior. There could be others I've missed. It's almost our own away fixture.
What a come-back for Pietersen - the double ton and a breakthrough wicket. He must have used his recent sojourn in KwaZulu-Natal to visit the nets at Maritzburg College, his old school and get new inspiration.
No, I don't want to talk about last week's Baa-Baas rugby. The season's over. But I see De Snor says there's nothing to worry about, the Boks are still on course. That's exactly what worries me.
It's enough to drive you to the Thunder Bar with your English/Ukrainian phrasebook. Slivovitz all round!
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