Where the party's at
The SCG had the feel of an after-semester do. No one much minded that one side didn't really show up

Steven Smith rocks the house with a smoking catch • Getty Images
Having watched the rest of the cricket this Australian summer on the telly, I felt that a Twenty20 game probably offered the neutral fan the best bang for their buck. There was a certain buzz that had built up. It was the last match of the summer and people were expecting the Aussies to finish things up on a high. It was also to be the first game I was watching outside Sri Lanka and I could barely contain myself, knowing it would be at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground.
I had decided to stop calling the team Australia played against by its real name. Instead, I call it "The team Chris Gayle plays in", out of respect for their once-world-champion status. I knew I would be in the minority and that it could well be a long night (well, a long four hours). But yes, it was them I supported.
Shaun Tait and David Warner.
I was really hoping for a decent performance from the team Chris Gayle plays in, and for that the man himself needed to fire. He did, briefly, including a six to the members stand, but it was all too little. Another thing I wanted to see was Dirk Nannes and Tait bowl together.
Gayle v Tait. It wasn't the most classic encounter, though. Gayle wafted at a few and generally looked a bit uncomfortable facing up to Tait. The Wild Thing on the other hand looked like an assassin hellbent on some headshots. I can't remember too many deliveries being pitched up.
Steve Smith's catch to get rid of Travis Dowlin. Nobody really expected him to take it because he was a fair way in from the line and the crowd was mute for a second when he leapt in the air. Pandemonium followed when he somehow came up with the ball in his hands. Nothing got a bigger cheer on the night.
Tait, Watson, Hussey and Warner fielded near where I was sitting. They all got thunderous applause whenever they got to field the ball. Tait was actually dismissed to the boundary after bowling two overs at the start. And from where I was sitting he didn't seem too impressed with the decision. Someone yelled out, "If you were only as quick on your feet, son" when Tait failed to get to a catch.
Any one of David Warner's sixes would do, really. The one that stood out and set the tone was off the first ball he faced and it really amped up the crowd. There was no having-a-look, getting-your-eye-in stuff there. Short. Bye bye.
The crowd built up slowly and by the first over there was a huge buzz around the ground. There were many announcements before the game about it being the last of the summer, so it appeared Sydneysiders were really out to have a bit of a party.
It seemed like half the stand I was in had a KFC bucket on their head. There weren't too many outlandish outfits but there were a lot of people with the yellow and gold on their faces. There was also a large helping of the giant inflated hands that the kids seemed to love.
Fireworks were set off every time a wicket was taken or a six was hit. And there was plenty of music in between. Fittingly, they played Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" when Darren Sammy came out to face Shaun Tait.
My trusty point-and-shoot camera, a muffin, and the quintessentially Australian beef pie.
It was a one-sided game from start to finish. As it has been all summer. The Australians were in complete control and were quite brilliant in the field. You felt for the West Indians, though. It has been a long, unrewarding tour for them.
An easy 9. It would have been 10 if Chris Gayle's team had decided to show up.
Damith Samarakoon is a Sri Lankan cricket fanatic living in Sydney. He blogs regularly at www.theflyslip.net. Having narrowly escaped losing his day job due to "family emergencies" when the cricket's on, Damith can now be found pretending to be an allrounder for his local grade team - The Thunderdogs. His goal in life is to convince his wife to go to a cricket game