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November 14 It has stopped raining. Really. This must have been what it was like when there were rest days. It seems an unnaturally long gap, long enough to lose the rhythm of the match but not enough to put either Temba Bavuma or Quinton de Kock off. De Kock has been fun at the press conferences. Asked about Dean Elgars comical ducking when he should have been catching, de Kock says, I didnt know whether to laugh or whether to what. What?November 15 In 90 minutes Australia lose 8 for 32, four each to Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada, and the series is over. Just like that. South Africa are even more jubilant than they were in 2012, and why not? From the doldrums ten months ago to this is phenomenal. Steve Smith cuts a lonely figure and I think I see a tear when he confirms he is embarrassed to be at the post-match press conference.November 16 Many among the media and players use the early finish to go to MONA - the Museum of Old and New Art. We take the ferry from Hobart and enjoy watching the sailboats on the best weather day we have had in our week here. A new exhibition has just opened. There are several multimedia works, including a fountain that displays the most searched words on the internet; a happy room, as pictured by a Japanese artist who battled depression; a layered flower-and-bird carousel that rotates under strobe lighting and depicts how pollination takes place; and a four-bottled machine that is fed with scraps from the cafeteria, digests them, and at 2pm every day makes a poo.November 17 I have never been on a South Africa tour where they have won with a game to spare, so this is new (and exciting territory) for me.As we head to Melbourne for South Africas day-night tour match, the ICC confirms it is reviewing footage of Faf du Plessis shining the ball with saliva while having a mint in his mouth. The visuals appeared on Fox Sports and were not aired during the Hobart Test. A frantic late-afternoon work session ensues, some of it in the airport, the rest in the Melbourne City Library café, Journal.November 18 The MCG. The last time I was here was March 2015, for the World Cup final, when I experienced the venue in all its glory. Today it is empty and perhaps even more glorious.The entire squad comes out with Hashim Amla to defend du Plessis against the ball-tampering allegations. Amla speaks with an aggression Ive not known from him before. He insists du Plessis had done absolutely nothing wrong, and that he does not know that the images are being investigated by the ICC, or that using sugar to shine the ball is a common tactic. It seems bizarre that Amla would be this ignorant, and even more strange that South Africa have mounted such a strong defence against something that has not even been confirmed.November 19 Today will be my first experience of day-night Test cricket, during South Africas warm-up, and my initial impression is that its no bad thing to have the morning off. I use it to catch up with colleague Brydon Coverdale, and meet his 17-month old daughter, Heidi, for the first time. Afterwards we take a walk through the streets of Richmond, a now-gentrified part of town that used to be an industrial hub.November 20 I have some work to mop up, after which I take the opportunity to walk around the Melbourne CBD. Its one of my favourite things to do if I have a few hours to spare, and though Im familiar with the laneways, theres always something new to admire. Theres street art, a gin festival on the Yarra river bank, and ample pit stops along the way. Tough job but someones got to do it.November 21 An afternoon flight to Adelaide means I miss the airport argy-bargy, but I see the footage and am a little surprised the alleged ball-tampering has become so big. A Channel Nine journalist tried to get a word out of Faf du Plessis, shoved team manager Mohammad Moosajee in the back, and was shoulder-charged by South Africas security officer Zunaid Wadee. It all seems a bit AFL.November 22 Wake up to the news that du Plessis hearing will take place at 3.30pm. If he is found guilty, he could miss the final Test. A long day at Adelaide Oval awaits. I didnt get to Adelaide at the World Cup, so I havent yet seen the footbridge that links the CBD with the stadium precinct. With glass panels on the side, it reflects the light that bounces off the river and makes everything seem otherworldly. It makes for one of the best approaches to a ground anywhere Ive been, and takes the edge off how long we spend in there.By the time the hearing starts, weve already had two press conferences. South Africa start training without du Plessis and end it without him. He remains holed up in the SACA committee room for three hours. When he leaves 6.30, he is stony-faced and the atmosphere around the team is anxious. Juxtaposed against the gaiety from the SACA dinner on level two, it feels like being a strange movie. Eventually we are told du Plessis has been fined 100% of his Hobart match fee but is free to play in Adelaide. Minutes later CSA confirms he will appeal. Talk about a busy build-up.November 23 Du Plessis speaks for the first time since the tampering story broke, at his pre-match press conference. He is accompanied by the CSA CEO, who reads out a statement, explaining that CSA wants to see a clearer definition of the laws - to do with artificial substances in particular. Du Plessis conducts himself well and insists he felt he did nothing wrong. The everybody-does-it defence seems to have taken over the South Africans minds, but later Steve Smith confirms that all teams shine the ball the same way. November 24 The morning feels particularly long as we wait for the 2pm start, but then things progress fairly normally until the dinner break. As du Plessis says, usually at that time a Test day is over. Now we still have another session to go. The lights come on and there is a spectacular sunset in the final session. Wickets tumble. Du Plessis comes in. The crowd boos. He scores a defiant hundred. Some of them still boo. Then he declares, with 12 overs remaining and everything seems to have happened in fast-forward. As much as it seems like a novelty, I like the added dimension the pink ball and the changing light conditions bring to Test cricket. This could be fun. Less so when we only finish work close to midnight, but hey, it only day one.November 25 We dont have the luxury of much of a sleep-in, because ICC CEO David Richardson addresses the media on the ball-tampering issue in the morning. He disagrees with CSA on the clarity of the law. Thats not all that doesnt go South Africas way. Australia have their best day since the opening one of the series, in Perth.November 26 One of our bunch jokes that day-night Test cricket is like five ODIs in a row, and that by the third day well start feeling it. Hes not wrong. Its a struggle to wake up after two late finishes, and I can see that covering this format has its own challenges in terms of timing. Still, the cricket is engaging and I can see real potential for this format. The Adelaide crowd love it. Its among their social events of the year. They fill the ground and the vibe is awesome - better still because Australia are finally coming good.November 27 Ultimately it is the perfect ending. Australia win something, South Africa win something. Everybody wins something. Even the most under-pressure batsman in the South African line-up, Stephen Cook, gets a hundred.Cook and I were at university at around the same time and when I first started in cricket, as a scorer, he was playing for the provincial side. We have known each other a long time, from before we had careers in cricket. That night, the media unwind in a pub and some of the South African players are there. Dane Vilas, who was also part of our old uni crew, is among them, and we get chatting. How many times have you seen Cookie score a hundred like that? he asks me. I think back to the days of club cricket, when Cook scored hundreds for the University of Johannesburg; to the days of provincial cricket, when he did it for Gauteng, and I realise just how far he, Vilas and I have come.The team are back home on Tuesday. Me, to McLaren Vale for a bit of downtime and then into my time machine: Adelaide to Dubai, Dubai to Cape Town, 14 hours up, ten hours down and I will arrive only about 18 hours after I leave. Say what?Wholesale China Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. China NFL Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. http://www.cheapauthenticnfljerseys.net/ . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Cheap China Jerseys . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers still dont have a sack, at least a sack of consequence, through two games.They also dont have a loss, a trade-off they can live with while their defensive front four searches for consistency. While Cincinnatis Andy Dalton threw for 366 yards and a touchdown without an interception in Pittsburghs 24-16 victory on Sunday, the overwhelming majority of Daltons 31 completions were dump offs to running backs and tight ends. Superstar wide receiver A.J. Green was kept under wraps.Green finished with just two receptions for 38 yards while getting shadowed by Pittsburghs Ross Cockrell.I felt like it was a pretty dominant performance, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said. I felt like it was a pretty dominant performance by the group ... We were able to take (Green) out of the game.Pittsburgh disguised a lot of its coverages, but the primary responsibility for covering Green at the line of scrimmage fell to Cockrell, who spent most of last season as a backup after getting cut by Buffalo at the end of training camp. And yet there he was, marking one of the best players in the league and more than holding his own.We threw the bus at them, Cockrell said. We played zone, man, blitz. We threw it all at them to try to limit (Greens) touches because the more he touches the ball, the more chances he has to change the game. Thats all we wanted to do.Pittsburghs only sack came when Dalton was touched down by linebacker Arthur Moats while scrambling for no gain in the third quarter. The Steelers forced Dalton to make quick decisions, and he chose to play it safe rather than force something to Green.Were not getting the sacks we want, but Andy Dalton wasnt comfortable back there, Cockrell said.GETTING IT RIGHT? The Bengals (1-1) never led but twice appeared to be on the wrong side of a potentially game-changing call. Tight end C.J. Uzomah was ruled out of bounds after making a leaping grab in the back of the end zone in the third quarter; replays suggested Uzomah may have gotten his knee down. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis didnt challenge, saying he was told Uzomah was out.Cincinnati was driving with a chance to tie with less than two minutes to play when the ball squirted loose from rookie wide receiver Tyler Boyd after Boyd was hit by linebacker James Harrison.dddddddddddd The call stood upon review even though it seemed Boyds right knee was down before he lost control.I was told it was down even by officials on our sideline, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. They didnt see it that way overall, so thats all that matters.NOWHERE TO RUN: The Bengals ran for just 46 yards on 18 carries and didnt have a run over 10 yards. Through two games Cincinnati is averaging 2.78 yards per carry. The inability to get anything going on the ground forced the Bengals into a ton of third-and-longs Sunday, a main reason Cincinnati went 4 of 16 (25 percent) on third down. The Bengals failed to reach the end zone on two trips inside Pittsburghs 20.It made a difference in the football game, Lewis said. We didnt have enough positives on first down, and we didnt convert the third downs.HOLDING TIGHT: So much for concerns about a drop off at tight end for the Steelers with Heath Miller retired and Ladarius Green nursing a knee injury. Second-year players Jesse James and Xavier Grimble both caught touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, and veteran David Johnson helped open holes for running back DeAngelo Williams.These are the guys who play for us now, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. Theyre capable and we have a great deal of confidence in them, and they delivered today.HEADING HOME: Cincinnati missed a chance to open with two road victories and will try to regroup next week against Super Bowl champion Denver. The Bengals fell 20-17 in overtime at Denver last December with backup quarterback AJ McCarron filling in for Dalton. Cincinnati moved the ball pretty well against the NFLs best defense even with Dalton out, controlling the clock for more than 37 minutes.PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM: The Steelers travel to Philadelphia next Sunday. The teams played in a preseason game last month, though most of Pittsburghs regulars sat out. The Steelers havent started a season 3-0 since 2010, when they won the AFC title on the way to a Super Bowl loss to Green Bay.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '