Australia v Sri Lanka; 2nd Test @ Manuka Oval Feb 1-5.

[Kid A]

After being useless the entire summer, Khawaja hits a meaningless century.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Khawaja's time in the middle, and the ton it resulted in, has released a lot of personal demons, make no mistake about that.

I certainly hope so, and cricket (especially batting) can be such a mental game that it may well be the case. Hopefully he puts together some runs in the Shield, odds are he won't be on the India limited overs tour so he will have that chance.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Faaaaark I’ve just cooked up the most perfect crunchy potatoes..... this is great

Roasted in duck fat?

 

[swanssince2002]

Regardless of England's terrible play as of late, I would still be nervous for the Ashes. Who knows about Warner and Smith's game shape. Lots of questions will be answered in 6 months time.

 

[Gough]

We were the idiots until one of you plebs dropped a soda....

I had a great pair of hands, last full season I played I took more catches than made runs.

 

[Damon_3388]

Agreed, you can make the case for people like Head and Bancroft who were thrown into state level cricket early and had to get through a couple of tough seasons but the guys approaching 30 don't have that excuse. People talk up Burns' shield runs but a best case scenario would be averaging around 37 in Tests long term you would think. At that point I'd rather back one of Bancroft or Renshaw if they can find form in the Shield season.

To be fair to Burns, he got thrown in fairly young (age 21) to what was at the time a pretty poor Queensland set-up himself, and has one of the better records currently going around in Shield cricket - 67 matches, 110 innings, 43.06 average (12 hundreds, 28 fifties, 9 ducks).

Being forced to turn himself into an opener out of necessity for both state and country probably stalled Burns' development somewhat, but credit to him, when he first got dropped from the Test side, he went back to the Shield and made runs (725 runs @ 55.76 last season, 472 @ 47.20 this season, both at strike rates over 60) to stake his claim again.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Getting the new ball was great. The best. Run in hard, hit the deck hard and send it through. You’ve got to look after that ball all innings though.

As a bowler there was nothing more annoying than opening with another bowler who didn't know how to look after it.

 

[Charlie_s123]

Roasted in duck fat?

This is some serious gourmet shit.

 

[Damon_3388]

Regardless of England's terrible play as of late, I would still be nervous for the Ashes. Who knows about Warner and Smith's game shape. Lots of questions will be answered in 6 months time.

Honestly, if they end up fielding similar sides to those they've put out against the Windies in the last couple of Tests, we should be going in as favourites. Their batting is atrocious, and their bowling is that good that it will make up for it.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Regardless of England's terrible play as of late, I would still be nervous for the Ashes. Who knows about Warner and Smith's game shape. Lots of questions will be answered in 6 months time.

Didn't England struggle, though not this badly, in the West Indies before the last Ashes in England?
edit: 1-1 draw which is what I thought, but England perhaps marginally the better side in the 2015 series. My recollection slightly out (no surprise) I was thinking 1-1 with the Windies unlucky.

 

[Charlie_s123]

Didn't England struggle, though not this badly, in the West Indies before the last Ashes in England?

They’ll step for Ashes. No doubt.

 

[swanssince2002]

Nevertheless I still get PTSD from looking at the Australian side post McGrath/Warne era. Look great at home and cover the cracks only to be thrashed or have a close defeat away from home. There are exceptions like South Africa when Johnson was at the peak of it's powers but more likely it results in a loss.

 

[bh90210fan]

We’ll take this Starc to England thanks

 

[The Convert]

Getting the new ball was great. The best. Run in hard, hit the deck hard and send it through. You’ve got to look after that ball all innings though.

Or opening as a medium pacer with the quick at the other end. Bit of banana bend and over goes the middle and off

 

[Badesumofu]

Head made 541 runs @ 60 this Summer. Our best batter by far. Good to see him take the opportunity.

I feel like Starc has really found something today.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I had a great pair of hands, last full season I played I took more catches than made runs.

The last full season I played I probably dropped more catches than I took, took more catches than I scored runs, and scored more runs than I took wickets.
But, I probably still got pretty close to the most out of my lack of natural ability.

 

[Damon_3388]

As a bowler there was nothing more annoying than opening with another bowler who didn't know how to look after it.

I remember when I (briefly) played school cricket, we'd open the bowling with these pacey "bang it in" types who didn't know a thing about ball conditioning and didn't need it at that level (where you can get by and get wickets on extra pace alone), and we'd play on these rough turf pitches, or the "artificial turf mat over concrete" type thing, with boundaries that were probably 40-50m from the bat at best.

I'd come on first or second change, and I was very much medium pace, so needed a bit of help from the ball to do anything, but you'd get this scuffed up thing to bowl with on a road with short boundaries. You'd have to try your best to just contain rather than take wickets, but then you'd either get taken off for not taking wickets, or you'd bowl one ball that's slightly off and gets hit for four, and get changed out for giving up too many runs.

Then when I batted, I'd get put in the top order (sometimes even opening), despite being a relative bunny (could have been decent, but really had no patience to watch the ball, and no shots beyond swinging the bat in the direction the ball came from, hence everything ended up as a straight drive or a nick), and invariably get out for a low score (often got bowled, often for a duck), making it a shitty experience all round.

 

[Tugga27]

With Warner, Smith, and Bancroft, set to return and the blooding of some kids this summer things don't look to thin for bats.
Bancroft for Harris and Smith for Lausacombe and the starting 11 is competitive

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Bancroft is a long way off from being pencilled back in IMO.

A lot will depend on the run home in the Shield.

 

[Charlie_s123]

The last full season I played I probably dropped more catches than I took, took more catches than I scored runs, and scored more runs than I took wickets.
But, I probably still got pretty close to the most out of my lack of natural ability.

This sounds like a speech by Bilbo Baggins.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

This sounds like a speech by Bilbo Baggins.

Fair to say I never scored eleventy-one in my life.

 

[Damon_3388]

It's similar to Michael Clarke's numbers at his test debut, although Pup had a better century conversion rate:

"His first-class record read 48 matches for 3065 runs at an average of 37.84, with 11 fifties and 11 centuries"

https://www.theroar.com.au/2012/05/08/clarke-made-test-debut-with-sub-40-average-whos-next/

Oddly, Clarke's final Shield record - 42 matches, 76 innings 44.31 average (11 centuries, 11 fifties, 9 ducks).

 

[Tugga27]

The last full season I played I probably dropped more catches than I took, took more catches than I scored runs, and scored more runs than I took wickets.
But, I probably still got pretty close to the most out of my lack of natural ability.

Speaking of a lack of natural ability.

I remember the panel on The Offsiders congratulating Gideon Haigh on playing his 300th game for his local cricket club.

He said it was a case of availability over ability

 

[Joffaboy]

Bancroft is a long way off from being pencilled back in IMO.

A lot will depend on the run home in the Shield.

Probably correct. I'm not a Warner hater but @ 33 I reckon we need to look to the future
Bancroft
Burns
Kwahja
Smith
Head
Patterson
Paine
Bowlers

Looks about as strong as we can field I reckon



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[Charlie_s123]

Fair to say I never scored eleventy-one in my life.

An Australian captain never declares early, nor does he declare late, he declares precisely when he means to.

 

[Gough]

Speaking of a lack of natural ability.

I remember the panel on The Offsiders congratulating Gideon Haigh on playing his 300th game for his local cricket club.

He said it was a case of availability over ability

If you've not read The Vincibles, his diary of a club season I'd highly recommend it.