The week's best fun was watching Pat Cummins and with our wonderful slow bowler Nathan Lyon winning the first of the cricket series against the British team. The Brits won the toss and set up a great first set of scores. Australia's top batters followed quickly but lost their wickets, with Usman Kwahaja however working slowly to create a wonderful 161. The English players were generally happy, with some unnice comments about Kwahaja's batting speed. The Brits have created a new fast batting style, and they are unimpressed with batters who take their time.
Australia won, more slowly, almost creating the same number of runs and the Brits generated a smaller second set of runs, but clearly they expected to win. Kwahaja batted well to score 65 runs in the second round and the English bowlers smiled a lot. Rain set in on day five and the Australian team looked likely to lose when the rain stopped and most batters were quickly being done for.
Then a miracle was created. Captain Pat batted brilliantly, and in one tremendous few strokes hit two sixes. The English were still certain to win, as our wonderful slow bowler was batting very slowly and had a reputation for bowling brilliantly but not so good at batting. But Pat and Nathan kept going and gradually the Brits began to see they might, gulp, lose. And lose they did, and I think only one Brit shook the hand of our two stars.The back page of the Australian newspaper featured 'Quest to join ranks of the greats', and we will soon see the next game.
In the world of major countries the world's best saw China's Xi and US Blinken's having a good yarn. General view it seems still a long way to settle the Chinese thinking with that of the USA and their western pals. Still, talking is better than rudeness and mad threats.
The relatively new RBA deputy, Michele Bullock, has chosen something that has entered the discussion by saying 'Unemployment is too low'. She has certainly put a stick in the sand and might just lose her possibility of replacing Dr Philip Lowe, who now seems almost certain to have a chance to try fun in the real world. In any case, her time as a deputy is very short and there are several outside candidates, one being the Secretary of things economic except bank rate. If that comes off he will more than double his income, and he would be silly to accept such an offer. But there are several highly competent lady candidates, one or two who might like an income above one million dollars for adjusting bank rates.
Like the wonderful cricket, I must praise Paul Kelly for his commentory on Wednesday. I cannot help picking one or two excellent paragraphs.
'Labor's strategy has been to limit detail and deny any far-reaching consequences. In reality. however, there are multiple grounds for unease and concern about the voice. Burney is right in saying Indigenous people are poorer, sicker and more incarcerated and that a new approach is needed. But that does not justify the voice.
'For the Australian people there is a core question if they vote on the principle and ignore the voice - which would mean a Yes vote? Or would they confront the real issue at this referendum and pass judgment on the voice - if so , it is hard to imagine any thing but a No result.'
Four great economists.
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