Australia vs. Sri Lanka - 1st Test - Jan 2019

[Pykie]

1989/90. So what? India had never beaten Australia in Australia until they did. The longer time goes on, the more likely it is. This is the best NZ team ever, and definitely not the best Australian team ever. The fact that you are unwilling to even consider the possibility suggests that you are more interested in being parochial than anything else.

I’ve no doubt they would beat us in NZ.

However it’s debatable if India even beat Australia with Smith and Warner.

 

[Swanny69]

Bit of spot fixing going on here with all these no balls...

Hmmm that big one from Lakmal did have an Amir look to it... surely not..

 

[grimlock]

 

[corbies]

I wish Khawaja would put away the ridiculous cut shot he keeps trying to play and would stick to the shot he knows works for him. That being the reverse sweep.

 

[peternorth]

Honours to the home team, but hard to really judge until both teams have had a bat

 

[SSwans2011]

A grand sample of 5 Tests across how many years? And they were all played within the same 3 month period. I don't think it's fair to cling to those results when New Zealand have arguably improved since then while we've gotten worse.

The team definitely isn't in great shape. But add Smith and Warner and have we really gotten that much worse? Check out the team we selected for that series.

 

[Park cricketer]

Accept he’s not.

They are both boundary machines.

Warner would get a hold of him at least twice in a 4 game series.

On a flat track probably.

Boult though will have Warner in knots on a green seamer with the new ball. Among the top 3 best swingers of the new ball along with Anderson and Kumar.

I would have Boult pencilled in on the team sheet as one of the first names for the Ashes if he could play for Australia.

 

[The Convert]

Gilles that may be very expensive

 

[Wedge McManus]

Shane warne commentary itinerary

Say hello to everyone.
Talk loudly over fellow commentators
Talk about pineapple on pizza
Talk about baked beans
Get reminded to stay on task-refocus take a breath and talk about Rodney Hogg getting wife to erase tape of himself backing away. Throw in some cullinan anecdotes. Laugh loudly at own jokes. Stay silent at other's

Things are going well. Time to step it up

Marcus Stoinis
Marcus Stoinis
Marcus Stoinis
Marcus Stoinis
Greek adonis, Hulk, tight fitting shirt. Brings alot to the table. Unique cricketer...
Repeat self to the point of lunacy
Try and find three ways of plugging myself, my bowling my deeds etc
Hone in on team. Make sweeping generalisations
Offer simpleton five year old suggestions to my generalisations
Marcus Stoinis.....

 

[corbies]

On a flat track probably.

Boult though will have Warner in knots on a green seamer with the new ball. Among the top 3 best swingers of the new ball along with Anderson and Kumar.

I would have Boult pencilled in on the team sheet as one of the first names for the Ashes if he could play for Australia.

Warner did play one of the great knocks of his career on a green seamer against New Zealand.

 

[Park cricketer]

Warner did play one of the great knocks of his career on a green seamer against New Zealand.

Did he? Was it in Australia?

I followed Australia's last tour to NZ and he wasn't successful over there.

 

[SSwans2011]

Burns...what was the point in playing him over Pukovski again?

Yeah. Honestly, who could even consider including Joe Burns in the team?

At least if he does nothing (as usual) we might finally move past it.

That said jeez Handscomb looks like a walking wicket. Joe Burns should be in the side.

I’ve seen worse gambles.

I would have picked Burns but can understand their thinking.

Don’t care what he did in the Big Bash. I care what Burns does in the Shield and he’s in form, same with Wade who has Shield form. We have to be realistic we are scraping the barrel but going back to Marsh who has the worst number 6 average I don’t feel is the answer. Someone like Patterson I’d be comfortable taking a gamble on too.

I’d prefer Burns or someone a little more likely to value his wicket. Maxwell worries me that he’ll try and reverse sweep something

Then pick Burns...either one is more than fine.

Neithe rootion is great though. They should have picked Burns in the squad

Right now?

Joe Burns would probably make the most sense. In form and personally would give us the option of putting Finch in the middle order. Wade the secondary option.

I take your point. As I said I think Burns has been unlucky. He'd actually be in my side, we just disagree where he'd bat. I'd bat him at 4, you's open him. Could even open with Khawja and Burns at 3, that would be a nice compromise.

There are both young options and more experienced guys like Burns who are better chances to succeed. The letter has test hundreds to his name. Either go that way or back the youth in.

Then pick Burns or Wade. Marsh’s bowling has been rubbish for sometime anyway. He rarely even bowls.

 

[Wedge McManus]

Did he? Was it in Australia?

I followed Australia's last tour to NZ and he wasn't successful over there.

In Hobart when they won by seven runs. He almost won the game and ended up with the motm for his 120*

 

[Wedge McManus]

Yeah. Honestly, who could even consider including Joe Burns in the team?

Wow that guy's worse than me!!!

 

[Pykie]

On a flat track probably.

Boult though will have Warner in knots on a green seamer with the new ball. Among the top 3 best swingers of the new ball along with Anderson and Kumar.

I would have Boult pencilled in on the team sheet as one of the first names for the Ashes if he could play for Australia.

Based on his enormous sample size there?

He’s played 2 games there and 1 of them was on a green top at Headingly when he ran through the tail.

His record in South Africa and Australia is pretty average.

 

[SSwans2011]

Lol @ people writing Burns off after one failure. Under lights. He wasn't great in some meaningless fixture in Hobart, so what? Doran hit a century. Does that make him Test standard?

In reality, check out Burns' series performances before that disappointing away series in Sri Lanka where everyone failed:

Pretty bloody impressive. Cricket Australia did a damn good job of brainwashing everyone to believe he, Ferguson and Voges were the reason we got rolled by South Africa in Hobart in 2016. This Summer we've seen that the Hobart shambles was emblematic of a much bigger problem in Australian cricket. You take away that one horror away series in Sri Lanka and Burns is indisputably in the Test side.

 

[Moonwatcher]

 

[Scorpus]

We need to have Khawaja open and pray he can score enough before the spinners come on. Only viable way for him to remain in the team while he can't play spin

 

[Park cricketer]

Based on his enormous sample size there?

He’s played 2 games there and 1 of them was on a green top at Headingly when he ran through the tail.

His record in South Africa and Australia is pretty average.

Based on his record in New Zealand which is probably the closest conditions to England.

Not sure how you can make a case for Starc being a better bowler than Boult tbh.

Boult averages 23 with the ball in the last two years. Has been successful in all the series he has played in that period bar the one in the UAE.

Starc averages 30 with the ball in the same period and has failed in all the series he has played in that period bar the Ashes at home.

Boult has much better new ball skills and is very consistent with his lines and lengths. Starc on the other hand, has raw pace and a mean bouncer and yorker but is found wanting with his lengths which can be random at times.

Boult, like Anderson and Kumar, would be a handful whenever there's movement in the air. But like those two, he isn't an express bowler and can become a bit pedestrian when the surfaces are flat. Starc, on the other hand, can make things happen on the flattest of surfaces because of his express pace, but he's not the bowler you want when you want to make use of the new ball to full effect. I would have Boult whenever there's something in the wicket for the pacers to get lateral movement, but Starc when the wicket is docile or when there's good pace in the wicket. Starc may have been better in the past but he seem to have regressed in the recent times unlike Boult.

 

[Admiral Byng]

Slater?

Fleming

 

[carnthemlions]

In current form our best batsman is Harris (looking good but no certainty to make it yet) followed by Head (yikes). It really doesn't get any worse.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

In some alternative universe, spin bowling was outlawed as being witchcraft with those who practice the dark art being hunted and removed from society.

Khawaja carries an average of 80 and is the greatest batsmen since the Don

 

[Redline]

In current form our best batsman is Harris (looking good but no certainty to make it yet) followed by Head (yikes). It really doesn't get any worse.

The three batsman who have looked out of their depth this summer at test level have been Finch, S Marsh and I'd say Khawaja. I don't see any upside with any of them.

All three were meant to be there for experience but none have delivered. Two have already gone and I'd drop Khawaja once Smith comes back.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

They really wouldn't.

Got creamed by India in the first ODI yesterday. They always will be a poor mans Australia.

They're ranked higher in the test rankings and have recently beaten Pakistan in the UAE, something we've failed to do since 2002. If NZ are ever going to win another series against Australia, they currently have a huge opportunity to do so with their golden generation.

 

[PhatBoy]

F*** me Lawrence Mooney’s Malcolm Turnbull impersonation is about as funny as a f***ing gas chamber. F*** off c***