12 Books, 12 Weeks

Over the next twelve weeks I will be reading and reviewing twelve recently released speculative fiction/fantasy novels to find you something to read. As I have a lot of reading to do, lets get straight into it.

The Guardians of the Merri

For those who know their ancient mythology, the fact that there is an environmental park called CERES should be of no surprise. As to whether the park was named after the Roman goddess of agriculture or merely an acronym of it’s full title, the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, is a matter up for debate, but it does give the park a certain mystical air.

In 1974 however, CERES was nothing more than one point of an environmental Bermuda Triangle that was that short section of the Merri Creek. The bend of the creek on which CERES now sits was a four-hectare council tip; the opposite bank occupied by a large industrial estate with large stormwater drains pouring directly into the creek, and completing the triangle was an electrical terminal station not far to the south. The animals and native plants began to disappear, replaced with weeds and non-native pests able to withstand the harsher conditions. The brown colour of the creek’s water was as much a result of the creeks industrial history, as the clay-rich mud of the creek bed.

In 1981 a group of socially aware, like-minded individuals sought to change that. Securing the lease for the four-hectare site, they began moulding the neglected land into a place that the whole community could enjoy, and the following year CERES opened to the public for the first time.

The birth of the Sacred Kingfisher Festival, one of CERES most important festivals, is almost as mystical as the evolution of CERES itself; a single moment that instantly became of a part of the environmental park’s history and folklore. In 1994 a simple environmental education class was being run for children in one of CERES educational classrooms when an intruder burst in through the open door.  Not pausing to introduce itself, the intruder proceeded at the same pace until it smashed into the wall opposite and stunned, fell to the ground.

Far from an unwelcome guest, the intruder turned out to be none other than the rare sacred kingfisher, a bird that had been absent from its Merri Creek habitat for many years as a result of the damage human activities caused to the surrounding environment. For the volunteers at CERES, the return of this bird served as vindication for the hard work they had put in to rejuvenating the area, something that should be celebrated. The Return of the Sacred Kingfisher Festival was born.

My own somewhat rose-tinted memories tap into the mysticism of the Festival.  My primary school would arrange excursions to attend the festival, and with a sense of adventure we would walk along the Merri Creek (from which the school derived its name) to CERES. The entrance to the park from the creek side is obscured by large eucalypts, as if to protect it from prying eyes, and entrance can only be gained through two arches, one of wood and one constructed entirely of bicycle wheel rims, welded together, like something from Colin Thompson's The Paperbag Prince.  But once through the arches we emerged into another world and were confronted by a large figure, hooded, beaked and wearing large azure wings. The sacred kingfisher, in human form, and through music and dance would tell the kingfisher’s story.

For almost twenty years the Festival has been held at the same time and place, in a high-energy celebration of the kingfishers return.  Over the years the festival has evolved to incorporate music and arts and crafts to attract a larger crowd, but the importance of the environment, and environmental awareness has always been at the core of the festival. But after nearly two decades as a major event and attraction for CERES, this years Festival will be the last.

The decision to wind down the festival was not one the CERES took lightly. As Sieta Beckwith, CERES Communications and Venue Hire Manager, explains there were a range of contributing factors to the decision:

“There is a distinct lack of arts funding due to both changes in government and lack of capacity to apply for these grants amongst current CERES staff. As an organisation we are in a period of consolidation and currently only have capacity to run one festival a year, the Autumn Harvest festival fits best the skill set of our current staff. Due to the high energy, cathartic and memorable Kingfisher Festivals of previous years and our current inability to deliver the same level of festival where people can understand the story and celebrate together, we would rather finish on a high and remember the return of the kingfisher in different ways.”

Ms Beckwith also highlighted that the natural attrition of a volunteer organisation played a part in the Festival’s demise. None of the volunteers who participated in the original celebrations remain at CERES, so the festival had lost its direct link with its past. The timing of the event, in late October, also put it in direct competition with other local events, which meant that none of these events could attract crowds as large as they could wish.

But the demise of the Kingfisher Festival in no way means that the importance of its message is lost. Rather than mourning the loss of the festival, the volunteers at CERES intend to deliver its message by integrating it into the diverse education programs offered at CERES. Stressing the importance of environmental awareness is an underlying motive of the programs run for school students. These programs often involve practical tasks such as students collecting water samples from the nearby Merri Creek to examine the water quality and the creatures that live in the creek.

The health of the Merri Creek is a concern not only for CERES but other environmental groups as well. Unlike CERES, which focuses on the improvements made in the health of the creek, the Friends of the Merri Creek are vocal in how much work still needs to be done. “The Merri Creek is still one of the dirtiest waterways in Melbourne,” says the volunteer organisation’s secretary Robert Redford, before simply adding that the creek’s water quality is “very bad.” The work that the Friends of the Merri Creek have done in clean-ups and re-vegetation (often in conjunction with CERES) is according to Mr Redfern a drop in the ocean compared to what needs to be done.

The health of the creek has become somewhat of personal crusade for Mr Redford. Separate from his commitments at Friends of the Merri Creek, he has built a photographic journal of evidence against the industrial estate opposite CERES. Over the years he has taken pictures of rubbish dumping, chemical spillages and soil erosion on the industrial estate, all of which he claims ends up in the nearby creek.  He has even sent this log of evidence to the Darebin City Council in an attempt to prompt the council into some sort of action against the owners of the estate, “if you want to keep it, you have to look after it,” he says.

Whether it was the soft diplomacy employed by CERES to spread the environmental message or the more direct action of Robert Redford, changes for the benefit of the area are occurring, albeit slowly. In April this year Darebin council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to re-zone the industrial estates opposite CERES which, pending the State government’s approval, would open the land up for residential development. But while at first glance this looks like a business decision, local Greens councillor Trent McCarthy said that the plan would also have a positive effect on the environment.

The Sacred Kingfisher
(Source: http://www.mdahlem.net)

The proposal also includes plans for a ten metre-wide strip of land on the estate that borders the Merri Creek to pass into the council’s hands for the preservation and protection of the creek, or as Cr McCarthy put to ‘reclaim the Merri Creek corridor for the community.” Not that they are incapable of doing it for themselves, evidenced by a long-running grassroots campaign against the redevelopment of the aforementioned terminal station, which may have implications not only for the local residents but also for the environment.

Much of this concern must be attributed to the work of CERES and the Kingfisher Festival in the promotion of environmental awareness through community engagement.  For without it would be hard to motivate people to see the environment as worthy of protection not only for their own benefit, but also as being worthy of protection in its own right.

While this year’s festival may have been the last and was a distinctly low-key affair, the legacy it leaves is cannot be understated. Many of the signs and buildings at CERES are adorned with the kingfisher, like an unofficial logo for the park. But more importantly the return of the kingfisher serves as a symbol; that with hard work and dedication to a cause, things that are miraculous, and almost magical, can happen.

Look out CWA...

Is your pastry not up to scratch? Do your sponges come tantalisingly close to perfection only to end up flat as a pancake? Have you never made either? In that case you've come to the right place. I've recently come across these two great recipes that can become a valuable addition to your baking arsenal and can be the backbone of many favourite desserts. In no time you will be rivalling the Country Women's Association for baking prizes at country shows!

Recipe 1: Pastry

225g chilled butter, chopped

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

6-8 tablespoons of iced water

Method:

Quite simply place all the dry ingredients in a food processor add the butter and mix until the butter has just combined and the mix has the textbook 'breadcrumb' consistency. Then add enough water for the mixture to begin to clump together. At this point remove the mixture from the processor and onto a bench. Form the mixture into a ball and give it a quick knead. Cover the dough and refrigerate until ready to use.

This recipe made enough pastry for the pie pictured above (around 10-inch dish) with a bit left over.

Tips and notes:

1. It's important that the dough does not heat up too much. To keep the butter cool I chopped it up and then refrigerated it again, getting it out at the last moment. Similarly I processed and kneaded the mixture as quickly as possible to stop the butter from melting.
2. When it's time to use your dough take it out of the fridge and give it a few minutes to soften a little otherwise you wont be able to roll it out!
3. The pastry can take a little bit of punishment. I gave it a solid blind bake before filling it and putting a lid on it and it was fine.
4. It's a lot of butter but you only live once!

Recipe 2: Idiot-proof sponge

4 eggs, separated 

1/2 cup cornflour

1/2 cup custard powder

2/3 cup Caster sugar

1 teaspoon Bicarb soda

1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar

Method:

Preheat oven at around 190°C (fan forced).

Beat the separated egg whites until soft peaks form (or alternatively you can hold it upside down and nothing falls out). Next beat in the yolks one at a time, beating until each one is just combined. Then slowly add the sugar and beat again until just combined. Add to the sifted dry ingredients and gently fold with a metal spoon. Pour mixture into two 8-inch cake tins and bake for around 20 minutes.

Tips and notes:

1. I add a little caster sugar to the egg whites before beating them as it improves the stability of the egg whites.
2. It's easier to separate eggs when they are cold as opposed to at room temperature.
3. You can also bake the sponge in a lamington tray (or a larger cake tin, although the cooking times will vary)
4. If you begin combining the dry and wet ingredients by adding a little of the wet ingredients first and incorporating that before adding the rest you get a better result.
5. Use a wheat-based cornflour instead of a maize-based one. Don't know how that makes it cornflour but the recipe wont work without it.

So get out there and beat those grannies!

What Tony did next...

Hasn’t Tony been a busy man.

In between kissing strangers, squeezing out nuggets of wisdom and pimping out Liberal candidates, he has found the time to release a statement that might actually have an effect on the electorate (other than a frenzied creation of enema-related memes).

Today Mr Abbott announced the Coalition would be not preference the Australian Greens (i.e. placing them last on how to vote cards) in a somewhat predictable move to hamper the minor parties’ prospects at the September 7 poll.

Of course this is not an entirely new process, as we all know. Deals to swap preferences were probably being struck moments after the move to preferential voting was made in Australia in 1918. It wouldn’t surprise me if the allure of swapping preferences was the reason behind preferential voting’s introduction in the first place.

The Coalition are no doubt taking this action in the wake of the last federal election where Liberal Party preferencing enabled Adam Bandt to become the first member of the Greens to hold a lower-house seat in federal parliament. Not only was that unpalatable it also helped create, as some would have you believe, the unmitigated disaster that was the 43^rd Australian Parliament. The ALP on the other hand, seemingly feeling the electoral hurt are grasping at any opportunity available to them, drowning sailor-floating driftwood style.

Is it just me, or do these dealings seem to be a little undemocratic and if I may be so bold as to borrow a term from The Thick of It, morally bankrupt. This may be a bit harsh on a perfectly legitimate and heavily utilised electoral exercise, but wouldn’t it be better if people could vote however they wanted?

The answer to that is of course you can, that is the whole point of preferential voting. You rank from highest to lowest you favoured candidates. The problem is though most of us don’t. As I alluded to in previous posts and electoral doyens Colin Hughes and Brian Costar have stated most emphatically in their work Limiting Democracy (I highly recommend this), voters tend to vote for who the major parties vote for both the House of Representatives and even more so in the Senate.

In a perfect world no doubt the parties would come to us selling their vision for the future of this country. But when it is much easier and even more effective to simply dish out numbered how to vote cards on Election Day, you can see why they don’t bother.

So my challenge for voters on September 7 is simple. On your way to the polling booth don’t stop when the volunteers of political parties attempt to foist their preferences upon you. As Johnnie Walker would say just keep walking as this is the one day where the electorate gets to say what they think, not what the parties want them to think. And for credit go below the line in the Senate, as this not only ensures you have complete control over your vote it also annoys the pants of those working at the polling booth!

AFL Round 14 preview

As promised here is the first of the round-by-round previews, starting with tonight's game between West Coast and Essendon. Usually these will go up all at once, but because for some reason round 14 is starting on a Thursday the rest will go up later.

WEST COAST VS ESSENDON

Last Time: The last match-up between these two teams has to be close to the definition of irrelevant. It was round seven 2012 that the teams last met, and unless you're a Bombers supporter the video wont be  of much interest. The Bomber steamrolled the previously unbeaten Eagles by 61 points to continue their flying start to the season, which coincidentally is exactly the same after fourteen rounds as it is this year (9 wins, 3 losses).

Form: West Coast have, at best, been scratchy this season and their win/loss tally reflects that (6-6). Over the past few weeks they've had a fortuitous win over St Kilda and a much improved performance in a loss against Hawthorn with a bye week squashed in between. Essendon are coming off a bye which seems to have come at a welcome time for the Dons who have been playing in fits and bursts of late, evidenced by their comeback win over Carlton and their third quarter burst that put the Suns to the sword. 

At selection: The Eagles always seem to have an injury list as long as your arm, and this week is no exception, with five changes being made with key players Shannon Hurn and Scott Selwood out. The one positive for neutral viewers from this is there will only being half as many players 'doing a Selwood' on the ground. Essendon have brought in no.1 ruckman Tom Bellchambers and runner Courtenay Dempsey, who are both good 'ins' for playing the Eagles at Subiaco.

Result: The much cliched 'it's been a big week for' again applies to Essendon. Although they have seemed untroubled by it so far could the latest incident in the saga change that? But in a purely football sense a few years ago you wouldn't have given them much chance in Perth but not so now. They won last time over and against an arguably better opponent in Fremantle. The Eagles on the other hand just have to win if they are to make a serious tilt at the top eight, and with the bye seemingly being more of a hindrance than a help to teams coming off it, i'm tentatively leaning towards them.

Gold Coast vs Adelaide
This is an intriguing clash between the AFL's incarnation of  boy-band BoyzIIMen (Gold Coast) against the stuttering Crows. Both teams are a 5-7 and incredibly the Suns seem a better chance of snatching a finals spot, with a favourable draw. At the start of the season that sentence alone would cause sniggers, but not so now. The Crows start favourites, which is surprising given that they are away from home and a fry-cry from the team that pasted the Suns in their last meeting. Suns in a close one.
Port Adelaide vs Collingwood
Port breathed new life into their spluttering season with a win over defending premiers Sydney last week, shoring up their spot in the top eight. Their opponents, Collingwood, are coming off a bye following three wins, each less impressive than the last. Like the previous game the visitors are heavily backed having won the previous five encounters between the two, but away from home and with key players Ben Reid and Darren Jolly out Port are in with more than a chance.
Geelong vs Fremantle
One of the leagues best offensive teams come up against the competitions premier defence. Fremantle have been on fire of late, if that's an appropriate term to use for a team that wins by strangling the life out of opposing teams, while Geelong are smarting after losing to Brisbane in the eighth largest comeback in the game's history. These clashes have been spiteful of late and Geelong fired up and at their Cattery fortress will be hard to stop.
Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
At the risk of belittling these two sides, what will occur before the bounce could be more exciting. The curtain raiser to this game will be the first AFL-sanctioned women's football match, featuring the top 50 female players from around the country. As to the main event, both sides would fancy their chances are stealing a rare victory, with both teams putting in more competitive efforts of late.
Hawthorn vs Brisbane
Despite knocking off the Cats in a major upset, Brisbane don't stand much of a chance against the Hawks in their adopted home Tasmania. The hawks have made a habit of of beating up on the Lions of late, and I don't see anything different happening here.
North Melbourne vs GWS
The Giants pushed North in their last encounter, but at Etihad Stadium doing the same again would be the best the Giants can hope for. They have alternated between plucky and uncompetitive, much like the Roos' who just simply have to win and win big to retain the slightest chance of a top eight finish.
Richmond vs St Kilda
There's plenty of noise and hope emanating out of Tigerland at the moment, and they'll eye this match as a good chance to boost their percentage. The Saints recorded just their third win of the season against lowly Melbourne in their last game, but if their match at the start of the season is any guide, the Tigers will be too good, but only after a real challenge from the Saints.

We're back!

Apologies for the break in transmission, but we are back and better than ever for the second half of 2013. As you may have noticed, while we were out of service the tiny hamsters of the interweb have been busy upgrading the blog. It may not be six months worth of improvements, but it's something.
There's plenty to look forward to on The Irrelephant Man, including AFL previews, all the goss on the Ashes, the soap opera that is Australian politics, music, as well as the blogger's staple: lists.
We'll also occasionally dip into some more serious topics such as the ideas presented in these two posts;  one on the separation of powers, the other on Australia's idiosyncratic electoral system. If they're not for you, hang around because some slightly less dry posts are coming your way soon (and no pissy biscuits!).

The Separation of Powers in Australia

The doctrine of the separation of powers is the model that underpins a parliamentary democracy. The idea that there should be separate bodies to create, implement and adjudicate on laws is crucial to the maintenance of political liberty and even a check against tyranny (Summers, Woodward & Parkin 1990, p. 10). But to have the legislative, executive and judicial arms of governance separate is not the same as to have them equal. The Australian political system, with its hybrid mixture of British institutions and American federalised system has created a system where the Executive arm of government is the prevailing force in the Australian political sphere. This essay will explore how Australia’s political model caused this shift in power, how the executive influences and limits the other branches of government and highlight the power of the executive when it is unrestricted by the legislature.

The Australian electoral system: Preferential voting vs Proportional voting

You were warned...

Australia has long been regarded as a nation at the forefront of the innovation and design of electoral systems. So much so that it has a reputation as a country more willing than any other to experiment with electoral systems in pursuit of improving parliamentary democracy (Farrell & McAllister 2006 p. 1). It can come as no surprise then that the voting systems for electing members according to population (House of Representatives) and equally among states (the Senate) are different (Uhr 1997, p.68-9). This article will look at how and why these systems are different, how well they reflect the people who vote under them and how these systems could potentially be improved to better reflect the will of the people and confirm Australia’s reputation as an electoral trailblazer.

First Test: Australia vs Sri Lanka - Afternoon session

Ricky Ponting receives a warm send-off, while his replacement Phil Hughes gets amongst the runs.

But its the new guard we should be talking about. Or perhaps more accurately, the newish guard. Phil Hughes is unbeaten on 82 at tea on his return to the Test team, while for new no. 4 Shane Watson it was the same story. Another start, and another early dismissal to have Australia 3/193. Not an uncomfortable position, but one that isn't entirely convincing. So an interesting final session then...

58th over: Australia 3/197 (Hughes 86, Clarke 8) Straight away Hughes is back scoring behind point as is his wont. So far Herath hasn't present much of a challenge to the batsmen.

59th over: Australia 4/197 WICKET! (Hughes 86 b Welegedara) So it was all a trick! All those rubbish first balls of a spell were for this. A hooping (reverse?) in-swinger gets between bat and pad of Hughes who probably wasn't playing as straight as he could have. A big break through for Sri Lanka.

60th over: Australia 4/202 (Clarke 10, Hussey 2) So, as so often been the case it comes down to this pair, although it must be said in a somewhat better position than usual. Hussey, busy as usual is off the mark immediately, while Herath seems motivated by having two new batsmen at the crease.

61st over: Australia 4/207 (Clarke 14, Hussey 3) Welegedara, if he could eliminate his obligatory bad ball an over would be quite handy. At the moment however he is buying his wickets he has already gone for 80 off 16 overs.

62nd over: Australia 4/209 (Clarke 15, Hussey 4) I just realised that "Hussey, busy as usual" could have quite a different meaning. Oops.

63rd over: Australia 4/211 (Clarke 17, Hussey 4) Welegedara goes around the wicket without any appreciable result, although the Sri Lankan's are again drying up the scoring.

64th over: Australia 4/212 (Clarke 17, Hussey 5) The contest between the highest run scorer Clarke and the highest wicket taker Herath continues, and so far it has been a stand-off both nullifying each other. You sense Clarke may go for a big shot soon.

65th over: Australia 4/212 (Clarke 17, Hussey 5) Kulasekara back into the attack, while the commentators are comparing the catches of Glenn McGrath and Nathan Lyon. I'll let you be the judge.

69th over: Australia 4/225 (Clarke 24, Hussey 11) Ian Chappell's back on his pet hate: Deep point. In the meantime Clarke and Hussey are forging on, knocking singles around and generally getting set for a long innings.

70th over: Australia 4/227 (Clarke 25, Hussey 12) Mathews is back into the attack. He's a proven batsman at this level, but so far he's only taken nine wickets at 70. Not quite all-rounder standard. A fairly harmless over yields a couple of runs.

71st over: Australia 4/228 (Clarke 26, Hussey 12) There's a couple of handy Sri Lankan cricketers floating around just across Bass Strait playing in the pyjama league, they'd be quite handy now. It seems we've reached another flat spot in the lead up to the new ball.

72nd over: Australia 4/234 (Clarke 32, Hussey 12) Mathews strays onto leg for the first time and Clarke whips him fine for a boundary, the first in a long while. He takes two to square leg of the next ball and the pressure the has been building has been released.

73rd over: Australia 4/236 (Clarke 32, Hussey 14) Shaminda Eranga comes back and second ball goes up in one of the most ambitious lbw appeals bowling around the wicket. Eagle eye suggests it was close but to the naked eye it looked to be missing leg by a fair way. Eranga then pitches up, giving Hussey the opportunity to bring out his cover drive.

75th over: Australia 4/242 (Clarke 34, Hussey 18) Hussey eases one off his pads to collect his first boundary of the innings. For a man only on 18 he looks remarkably set, as does Clarke who is sweating on anything even hinting at angling toward the pads.

76th over: Australia 4/246 (Clarke 36, Hussey 20) Dilshan's back hoping to re-create the chaos the caused the run-out of David Warner, but all that results is four easy singles. Spose you can't count on two run-outs in an innings.

77th over: Australia 4/249 (Clarke 37, Hussey 22) A few of the locals have been in their cups and are getting quite vocal. As you can imagine, they are being quite witty. They certainly think so. Unperturbed, Clarke and Hussey continue to knock the ball into the gaps as Australia plough on towards 250.

78th over: Australia 4/253 (Clarke 38, Hussey 25) Jayawardene almost takes another blinder. Hussey flashes a late cut and he dives low to his left. Fortunately for Hussey it's past him before he can react and Hussey scampers through for three.

80th over: Australia 4/261 (Clarke 41, Hussey 30) The availability of the new ball could perk up the Sri Lankans, who need to do something to stop the game drifting away from them. Dilshan, who's on at the moment is certainy doing nothing to stop that.

81st over: Australia 4/261 (Clarke 41, Hussey 30) The new ball is immediately taken and straight away it brings a false shot from Clarke, who then inside edges the ball straight into the unprotected part of his knee. He hobbles away while the Sri Lankans stifle a shout for lbw.

82nd over: Australia 4/268 (Clarke 46, Hussey 32) The Sri Lankans have been quite sprightly with their over rate today, which is good as A Current Affair has been promo-ing a pensioner scooter scandal which sounds unmissable. Hussey has been as unmerciful as the Sri Lankans, forcing Clarke to scamper through for a quick single. Another quick single is referred upstairs for a potential run-out, but Hussey is easily home. Clarke rounds-out the over with a one-handed straight drive.

83rd over: Australia 4/270 (Clarke 47, Hussey 33) Hussey is probably Clarke least favourite person at the moment as he forces another quick single. Clarke is less interested in running, preferring to stand and deliver to flay a ball out to point.

84th over: Australia 4/271 (Clarke 48, Hussey 33) Kulasekara is back for one last blast before stumps and immediately strikes Clarke on the thigh. He's a bit all over the shop at the moment Clarke, the knee is really hampering his stroke play at the moment. Hussey's back on strike and watches a ball on a good length go scurrying past his ankles, followed by one that rears from the almost identical position. Good fun.

85th over: Australia 4/272 (Clarke 49, Hussey 33) Welegedara back now, but no fireworks from his first delivery in terms of runs or wicket taking. I think everyone's playing for stumps now, not much urgency from either team.

86th over: Australia 4/277 (Clarke 54, Hussey 33) Clarke brings up fifty with yet another work to leg. It hasn't been his most fluent innings, especially in the last few overs. Interesting stat, Clarke's conversion rate since becoming captain is two fifties and seven hundreds. 135 more runs and he'll break Ricky Ponting's record for most runs in a calendar year by an Australian.

87th over: Australia 4/289 (Clarke 64, Hussey 34) Stumps can't come quickly enough for Clarke who is batting on one leg. It doesn't stop him flailing one past point for four and another down the ground. Beware the wounded batsman who is averaging more than 100 this year.

88th over: Australia 4/290 (Clarke 64, Hussey 34) It's that time of the day, commentators starting to make even more inane comments than usual. "It's been a big day for the bowlers," opines Michael Slater. Well actually Slats, it's going to be a normal length day. 90 overs. Hussey pats out a maiden.

89th over: Australia 4/296 (Clarke 69, Hussey 35) Mathews is in to bowl the penultimate over of the day. After getting one that keeps low and one that rears up, Clarke dispatches the last ball to thesquare leg boundary.

90th over: Australia 4/299 (Clarke 70, Hussey 37) Kulasekara to bowl the last over of the day, from the river end. Clarke's going to have a bad back to go with a gammy knee as he bends low to defend another non-bouncing delivery. Clarke brings up the pairs century partnership off the penultimate ball as Australia fall just short of 300 in a day.

That's stumps. In the end Australia got on top thanks to it's two most reliable and experienced batsmen. At 4/200 Sri Lanka were in with a sniff, but Clarke and Hussey controlled the final session of play. If they can get away tomorrow morning I'd almost pencil centuries for the pair.

First Test: Australia vs Sri Lanka - Middle session

Shaminda Eranga dismisses Ed Cowan for 4.

There will definitely be one person not enjoying his repast. Dave Warner, adding to the unconventional ways he has been dismissed by running himself out on the last ball before lunch. How will this affect the game? Play will get underway in a few minutes time with new no. 4 Shane Watson joining new no.3 Phil Hughes at the crease.

27th over: Australia: 2/98 (Hughes 27, Watson 0) Some picturesque views of Bellerive Oval (I refuse to call it by its other name) greet us for the start of the second session, although if you have ever toured around that part of Hobart you would now that appearances can be deceiving. A bye through the legs of the keeper Jayawardene is the sum total of the scoring.

28th over: Australia 2/98 (Hughes 27, Watson 0) More tight stuff from Kulasekara gets things started from the other end, although Hughes is looking comfortable in defence. Is it just me or does Shane Watson's pads seem abnormally large? Every ball looks in danger of hitting them.

29th over: Australia 2/104 (Hughes 27, Watson 6) Uncharacteristically tight start from Welegadera, although he ruins the effect by over-pitching twice, allowing Watson to caress the ball through the covers to get off the mark. It's flat out there.

30th over: Australia 2/105 (Hughes 28, Watson 6) Ian Healy has flown in to join the commentary team, could almost have done without him for mine. Hughes gets one that keeps low before pushing one to point to get off strike. Cue talk about deep point as a fielding position in the modern game.

31st over: Australia 2/107 (Hughes 29, Watson 6) Sri Lanka are attempting to get Hughes out by feeding him balls in his hitting area. It's not working so far. Watson meanwhile plays and misses at a short, side one from Eranga. No sign of Herath, the leading wicket taker in tests this year yet.

32nd over: Australia 2/112 (Hughes 30, Watson 10) Both batsmen playing as if the ball is keeping a bit low. Apart from one or two though the pitch has been pretty consistent. They seem to be bowling much better to Hughes than anyone else.

33rd over: Australia 2/113 (Hughes 31, Watson 10) Ian Chappell on his high horse about the need for a proper no.3 in the Australian batting line-up, which is a bit hard on Hughes who has been bating first-drop for South Australia and is certainly doing a better job than some of his predecessors.

34th over: Australia 2/118 (Hughes 32, Watson 13) Kulasekara changes things up directing a few at the helmet of Hughes who just manages to keep them controlled. Watson's trying to get after the bowling but has been unsuccessful so far.

35th over: Australia 2/120 (Hughes 33, Watson 14) Both batsmen struggling to play the ball square of the wicket, more as a result of the pitch rather than the bowling. One thing you have to say though, the Australian bowlers could take a leaf out of the Sri Lankan's book, their discipline has been exemplary.

36th over: Australia 2/121 (Hughes 34, Watson 14) Herath is finally into the attack. He's taken 55 wickets this year at a tick under 21, not too shabby. He might find playing in Australia a different challenge though, he's not getting much assistance from the wicket.

37th over: Australia 2/126 (Hughes 39, Watson 14) As Hughes gets tied down, a few bad habits start creeping in. He feels for one outside off this time and it runs along the ground through the slip cordon to the fence. He's really slowed down after a bright start.

39th over: Australia 2/131 (Hughes 44, Watson 14) Hughes breaks the shackles with a pull shot in front of square. There's two men out for a top edge, but at this pace Hughes is untroubled. Hughes then almost gets bowled around his legs, as the Sri Lankan's have also noticed how far across he gets while batting.

40th over: Australia 2/136 (Hughes 48, Watson 15) Herath finally bowls a bad one and is immediately cut to the fence by Hughes. There is absolutely no margin for error on this pitch. Herath would love to get more balls at Watson who is looking a lot less certain against the offie. 

41th over: Australia 2/136 (Hughes 48, Watson 15) I wish Tony Greig was back, if only to stop the other commentators doing impressions of him

43rd over: Australia 2/140 (Hughes 48, Watson 19) Watson strong-arms a ball from Mathews to the mid-wicket boundary, the ball wasn't quite there to hit but Watson seems to be a getting a little toey.

44th over: Australia 2/145 (Hughes 52, Watson 20) Fifty on return for Hughes, making room outside off to glide one to the point boundary. He may be a reformed man, but his best shots are still between point and cover. Both batsmen have come out with more intent after the drinks break.

45th over: Australia 2/153 (Hughes 59, Watson 21) Hughes pulls out a new shot, the straight drive knocking Mathews down the ground and then through mid-off. Less convincing than his square of the wicket shots, but no less effective.

46th over: Australia 2/163 (Hughes 68, Watson 22) Hughes plays one of the uglier shots you'll see, swatting Herath down the ground for six and is promptly shelled in the crowd at long on. After a tough period, Hughes has got his groove on adding twenty runs in next to no time.

47th over: Australia 2/171 (Hughes 75, Watson 23) Welegedara back into the attack with the usual opening delivery, short, wide and punished. Hughes is looking ominous now working balls not that far outside off down toward third man with ease. Watson on the other hand is looking a bit scratchy, scooping one to deep point.

49th over: Australia 2/178 (Hughes 77, Watson 27) After keeping it tight for most of the innings so far, things have come unstuck a bit for Sri Lanka. This pair are scoring quite easily as Jayawardene pushes the field back to try to contain the boundaries.
WICKET! NO! No Ball! Short and wide, Hughes flashes and edges it to the keeper. But Hughes is reprieved after Welegedara bowls an enormous no ball. His foot was a good few inches over the mark. I do recall saying something about no balls earlier in the innings. I'm a psychic, me.

50th over: Australia 2/181 (Hughes 78, Watson 30) After a couple of attempts, Watson gets a late cut past the man and backward point. He's not been at his best so far, but on the plus side, he's not out.

51st over: Australia 3/183 WICKET!(Watson 30 c Jayawardene b Welegedara) An absolute belter from Jayawardene. Watson went for the booming drive and the edge flew toward where third slip would be. Jayawardene flew full length to his right and plucked the ball out of the air with his right hand while in mid-air. A proper classic catch (not like the previous ones they have been dishing up). 

52nd over: Australia 3/185 (Hughes 78, Clarke 2) So it's another unconverted start for Watson and it brings Clarke to the crease, who is the kingpin of this line-up. In the tests Australia has one under his captaincy Clarke has averaged more than 100 while in its losses just 38. He's also averaged more than 100 in the first innings this year. It will be an interest test of statistics if Sri Lanka can get him early.

53rd over: Australia 3/185 (Hughes 78, Clarke 2) Welegedara beats Clarke first up and then follows with a decent over. This is a good period for Sri Lanka, almost getting Hughes, the wicket of Watson and drying up the scoring.

54th over: Australia 3/187 (Hughes 80, Clarke 2) Herath's keeping it tight but not really threatening Hughes, who works him to the onside for a couple. Hughes has really knuckled down after getting his chance.

55th over: Australia 3/188 (Hughes 81, Clarke 3) Just every so often there is a ball that does something. Not in terms of swing or seam but some are bouncing more and some a little less. Enough to keep the bowlers interested.

56th over: Australia 3/188 (Hughes 81, Clarke 3) Herath v Clarke is looming as a key contest already. Clarke looking to come down the pitch to Herath at every opportunity. Herath beats him in flight and almost bowls him.

57th over: Australia 3/193 (Hughes 82, Clarke 7) Welegedara has found his rhythm in this spell and Clarke is playing very watchfully. He pushes one through the covers for two and then down the ground for two more.

That's tea. Another session in which Australia were probably ahead, yet Sri Lanka did enough to stay in the hunt. Hughes has been untroubled largely, except for his no-ball dismissal, while Clarke has been positive but watchful in his short stint. As the players head off for a cup of tea, a biscuit and maybe a cucumber sandwich, I think I will too.