Test The Ashes Fourth Test December 26-30 1000hrs @ The MCG

[threenewpadlocks]

It's hard not to look at this game as a reality of the T20 chickens coming home to roost.

T20 cricket has been around since 2003/5 but it's not a thing that was the dominant way players could earn money or focused their cricket development on.

It took a long time for Premier Cricket to play lots of T20 games (and treat it seriously), for IPL money to increase, for other ways for cricketers to focus on T20 (ie if you have citizenship of another country you can run off and played T20 internationals and be part of that system, Tim David is maybe a first-class cricketer in an environment where he wasn't playing T20s for Singapore, Spencer Johnson looking to play for Italy before he was good enough to play for Aus etc.)

You then have the time effect of all of this - a kid growing up today has played all their cricket from the 2010s onward in this T20 environment, coached by coaches who know about T20 tactics. Modern batters are far better at power generation through a baseball-style cocking and rotating of the hips, but that comes at the cost of developing a technique of defending and leaving in challenging conditions to the advantage of waiting for a flatter day 3 deck and/or an older, 60-80 over old ball not reverse swinging, which Australia couldn't manage here.

I honestly don't think its reversable thing - the interest and money behind T20 cricket outside of CA's control. But what they can do is not sell off the BBL to Indian interests, because that will accelerate the movement even more significantly.

 

[Cold Sober]

10-day forecast is showing rain.

I only need 5. I'm not greedy.

 

[checkraiseulite]

Only decent thing about Brisbane winning was old Fitzroy fans getting their kicks.

geelong not winning also.

 

[The hands of stone]

Who will be proved correct with their prediction...

View attachment 2502236

Had O'keefe had one of his nights out when he gave his prediction ?!

 

[010203]

England did well to win after being 4 for stuff all yesterday and trailing by 46 after their 1st innings. Their desire to avoid a whitewash was greater than Australia's to give themselves a shot at 5-0 in Sydney.

 

[cats_09]

Had O'keefe had one of his nights out when he gave his prediction ?!

English in-laws by any chance?

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

Had O'keefe had one of his nights out when he gave his prediction ?!

Bumble clearly did

 

[GreekLunatic]

They better keep bumbles I love his stories

 

[largebus]

It's hard not to look at this game as a reality of the T20 chickens coming home to roost.

T20 cricker has been around since 2003/5 but itvs not a thing that was the dominant way players could earn money or focused their cricket development on.

It took a long time for Premier Cricket to play lots of T20 games (and treat it seriously), for IPL money to increase, for other ways for cricketers to focus on T20 (ie if you have citizenship of another country you can run off and played T20 internationals and be part of that system, Tim David is maybe a first-class cricketer in an environment where he wasn't playing T20s for Singapore, Spencer Johnson looking to play for Italy before he was good enough to play for Aus etc.)

You then have the time effect of all of this - a kid growing up today has played all their cricket from the 2010s onward in this T20 environment, coached by coaches who know about T20 tactics. Modern batters are far better at power generation through a baseball-style cocking and rotating of the hips, but that comes at the cost of developing a technique of defending and leaving in challenging conditions to the advantage of waiting for a flatter day 3 deck and/or an older, 60-80 over old ball not reverse swinging, which Australia couldn't manage here.

I honestly don't think its reversable thing - the interest and money behind T20 cricket outside of CA's control. But what they can do is not sell off the BBL to Indian interests, because that will accelerate the movement even more significantly.

They are already looking to sell off the BBL to Indian Interests like ECB did for the Hundred. Get ready for the Melbourne Super Kings and Royal Challengers Adelaide.
Someone has to line the CA executive pockets

 

[kenneje]

It's tricky.

Marnus was the best batsmen in the shield when playing earlier this year with like 4 centuries in 6 games.

Green was decent as well and one of our better batsmen against the Windies in the three tests we played over there.

I do believe both are in the best 6-7 bats in the country and in the best XI, but they both looked rocked after having a somewhat decent start to the series.

My gut feel is Marnus plays in Sydney, but they drop Green for Webster.

The team needs to evolve from here, and I feel strongly that we shouldn't weaken the batting lineup to include an all-rounder. They just don't get enough time with the ball these days with games progressing so quickly.

I'd love to find a way to fit Renshaw and McSweeney into the lineup.
Richardson needs to play as many tests as his body allows.
Murphy to please get a game at the SCG.

Kelleway, Connolly and Peake aren't far away with the bat. Beardman and Vidler with the ball.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

They are already looking to sell off the BBL to Indian Interests like ECB did for the Hundred. Get ready for the Melbourne Super Kings and Royal Challengers Adelaide.
Someone has to line the CA executive pockets

But that's exactly the point. As soon as the Kellaways, Connollys and Renshaws of the current BBL are starting to hit their runs for an ownership group that also owns other T20 teams around the world (and therefore can recruit them to play for the Hundred, SA20, UAE League, CPL etc), the money incentive is to put your cricketing focus and development down that path, and you're suddenly not a red-ball focused batter anymore.

Those players are motivated to work their way back into the Australia team because not only is there pride, it's also more money than continuing to job around as an Aussie domestic player. But one good BBL season for the Sydney Knight Riders is far more likely to get you paid via the Trinbago Knight Riders, Los Angeles Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders or some combination, than the unlikelihood of you cementing yourself in the Test team and getting paid that way.

We already see it in the micro in some cases e.g. Matt Short averages 35 with the bat in FC cricket (not great, but not woeful), but a lot of that average came from when he was just introducing himself in the team. But instead of progressively improving his red ball cricket in his 20's until his 30 years of age now, he just figured "whats the point", he's never a Test Cricketer. But since his FC debut for Victoria he's played across 5 different major T20 leagues and has become a reasonably paid professional. While unlikely Short ever would have played Test Cricketer, it's an alternate universe we'd never have found out, and there's an alternate universe where he's a middle order all-rounder selection option to replace Green in this Test had he not had the money incentive to spend the last 5 years focusing on T20 cricket. It's not about Short specifically but how there's lots of players of his type and there will be far more in the future.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Mate, we won jack shit.

I know

 

[HitTheNailOnTheHead]

WeightOfTheWorld got any betting tips for Sydney?

 

[FreoRicci]

England did well to win after being 4 for stuff all yesterday and trailing by 46 after their 1st innings. Their desire to avoid a whitewash was greater than Australia's to give themselves a shot at 5-0 in Sydney.

The fact Australia went from 3-9 to losing is nuts.

250 would’ve been a par target. Batting today was trash. Needed the collective to stand up.

 

[Gethelred]

Blah blah blah Troll, how many accounts you need to make?

At least two.

 

[kanga kanga kanga]

 

[Daka]

Bazball is back! lmao it's funny that the Poms will probably stick with it and think it's good. on a wicket that did a lot.

 

[kozi]

I feel like Morally we won this test.

Elite honesty

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Looks like Starc won't play the Sydney test either. So possibly Green and Starc out for Webster and possibly Doggett or maybe Abbott. Doesn't sound like a spinner will play in Sydney....

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Iceland Cricket in mourning

 

[cats_09]

 

[Scorpus]

Looks like Starc won't play the Sydney test either. So possibly Green and Starc out for Webster and possibly Doggett or maybe Abbott. Doesn't sound like a spinner will play in Sydney....

It would be an absolute disgrace if Sean Abbott ever plays a Test match

 

[kozi]

England did well to win after being 4 for stuff all yesterday and trailing by 46 after their 1st innings. Their desire to avoid a whitewash was greater than Australia's to give themselves a shot at 5-0 in Sydney.

Not a 5-0 foot on throat mentality team of years gone by. We’re very respectful now

 

[cats_09]

 

[threenewpadlocks]

That innings isn't really a vindication of Bazball. Duckett and Crawley were extremely lucky (Bethell less so, he batted well for his 40) and both of them played and missed enough that they easily could have feathered one in the same way that Stokes did. Throw in Starc dropping that tough caught-and-bowled and an incorrect umpires call LBW and England with their approach easily could have been 3/10 just like they were in the first innings. There was that stat floating around of a 51% control rate after 10 overs or whatever - it's really only dumb luck that England didn't collapse early.

It was clear in the final session with a day of sun beating down it it that he flattened out a bit, and probably would have been good to bat on, and Australia could have been batting in the final session today with an old ball. None of Australia's top order had to be a hero, or score lots of runs, but just find a way to bat a bit of time and overs into the game to make use of the changing conditions - much in the same way that Starc and Boland did in the Brisbane test to flip who benefitted from the conditions.

All any of Labuschagne, Weatherland, Khawaja as top order bats today had to do was execute a hard fought 30 off 85 balls, and all of a sudden our tailenders are coming into an old ball with tired bowlers on a flat deck - who they themselves could have put on 50 or so together for the last few wickets. It really is painful to watch - our batters were so woeful but so were England that our bats only had to tough it out a little bit, not even play a good innings, just a fighting one, to give us the win.