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

[thistimeforsure]

We’ve been carried to series wins by our stars plenty of times in the past but I’m struggling to remember a winning series where you would have massive question marks over at least half the team

Poms look way better placed for young batsmen than us even if they struggled a bit this time round

Writing’s been on the wall for a while now and we’ve managed to “Aussie “ our way through it somehow for the most part but jeez it sure feels like we are paying off our mortgage with our credit cards at the moment

 

[WeightOfTheWorld]

We’ve been carried to series wins by our stars plenty of times in the past but I’m struggling to remember a winning series where you would have massive question marks over at least half the team

Poms look way better placed for young batsmen than us even if they struggled a bit this time round

Writing’s been on the wall for a while now and we’ve managed to “Aussie “ our way through it somehow for the most part but jeez it sure feels like we are paying off our mortgage with our credit cards at the moment

Most series go like that do they not?

One or two batsmen average 50+ per a side and the rest hover around the 30-35 mark.

 

[peternorth]

What are we gonna do today???

 

[Lunchtime]

Posted this on the domestic board, baby Boof playing for SA as an overseas player.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/jake-lehmann-shelves-australia-dream-after-signing-two-year-deal-for-hampshire-1516834

Averages 34.65 in First-Class cricket, overall with that average - probably won't make the Australian Test team.

Recent form though - 30 First-Class innings, 1176 runs @ 43.55 with six 100s which is very good, but his window to play for Australia is probably gone now.

 

[Wallaby]

What are we gonna do today???

Not go into town for sure - it'll be full of Barmy Armies getting pissed and singing mindlessly chanting on street corners.

 

[Bucking Beads]

It'll be funny if Jake gets picked for England next year

 

[revo333]

We’ve been carried to series wins by our stars plenty of times in the past but I’m struggling to remember a winning series where you would have massive question marks over at least half the team

I'm trying to remember an Australian test team that's been this uninspiring and frustrating.

I've seen worse test teams but at least they played like they knew what they were doing.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I know we will play Khawaja at the SCG but there's no way we should. Farewell tests are a complete joke. Blood some talent and let us rejuvenate our team ffs.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Maybe the really young kids love it but even most people I know in their 20s can’t stand tests being done this quick.

I don’t think you can really blame McCullum. The reality is that the introduction of T20 cricket fundamentally has changed cricket similar to when World Series cricket came along. There’s plenty of talented cricketers growing up now with minimal cricket smarts for the test level because T20 is where the money is and they develop their game for that. Test batting is a secondary thought.

Yep and its getting worse. Curators prepare pitches for a five day game based on weather forecasts - batsmen play as if it a one day game.

Very early on in the series someone connected with the English team said their attitude was that they should allow players to play on "instinct".

My response was how about playing for the team occasionally.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Yep and its getting worse. Curators prepare pitches for a five day game based on weather forecasts - batsmen play as if it a one day game.

Very early on in the series someone connected with the English team said their attitude was that they should allow players to play on "instinct".

My response was how about playing for the team occasionally.

Or playing the conditions

 

[smasha]

Should there be a rule if a test only goes two days,an exhibition match will be played on day three?
Would save the fans and money.

Lock it in.

 

[sr36]

I'm trying to remember an Australian test team that's been this uninspiring and frustrating.

I've seen worse test teams but at least they played like they knew what they were doing.

They're just batting on much more difficult pitches than they used to. Aussie pitches seam - they didn't used to. The accumulators are struggling. Smith has to play much straighter than he used to. Even Root is struggling. It's too hard for Marnus. Boland and Neser are really dangerous - yet are the type of bowler that England used to bring here and they'd be completely useless, because there wasn't sideways movement off the pitch.

 

[smasha]

Not go into town for sure - it'll be full of Barmy Armies getting pissed and singing mindlessly chanting on street corners.

Yes.
Give the poms an inch and they think they're a mile.

 

[Blackhawk42]

It's just hit me now that it's the morning of day 3 and there is no more cricket to enjoy.

It's okay today because I have AEW World's End on PPV, which will go around 5 hours like they always do, but tomorrow and Tuesday will be tough slogs at work without the test on in the background.

 

[A Pom]

It'll be funny if Jake gets picked for England next year

He won't qualify for England until 2029 at the very earliest.

 

[AJ_2000]

**** the curator. Ruining my day of test cricket.

 

[unitedhawk2]

Test Match Cricket is the only form of cricket I watch.

After this farce of an Ashes series, I'm seriously considering dropping that too.

Whatever hapeened to the once beautiful game?

 

[Bucking Beads]

Be surprised if the Curator isn't given the arse tbh. Surely someone at CA was saying we want roads for maximum revenue now the series is done.

 

[AJ_2000]

Test Match Cricket is the only form of cricket I watch.

After this farce of an Ashes series, I'm seriously considering dropping that too.

Whatever hapeened to the once beautiful game?

I thought I'd seen it all 4 years ago when Boland ran through them thinking we'd never have a test shorter than that here in Australia again... Yet we've had 2 X 2 day tests in a month. It's horrendous.

I was pissed with the spicy deck for the WTC final .. that at least went 4 days. 2 days is an absolute shitshow

 

[Saint12]

Be surprised if the Curator isn't given the arse tbh. Surely someone at CA was saying we want roads for maximum revenue now the series is done.

There will be a scapegoat or two and he will be the first

 

[smasha]

Absolutely perfect day for Cricket in Melbourne.
Not a cloud in the sky.
What a waste.

 

[Gough]

This is the cricket equivalent of waking up the morning after a two day bender.

 

[western royboy]

I wonder if the challenge as a junior scout is that they are going to be absolute tonkers, because they're so far ahead of the rest of the kids.

That was fine 15 years ago, you could just take the tonkers and teach them proper defense. Now those kids are in the t20 generation, where you can make a shitton of dirty money (i dont blame them) being grade cricketer level and you don't have to learn how to be a good batter. Why would you bother?

I'm younger than quite a few of the Aussie test squad, and my junior cricket coaches would be sickened by the shit that happened this test.

CA needs to up the Test contract pay, play more test cricket (like England) and create better test pathways instead of just general pathways to lose players to franchise slop. I guarantee they won't use a single dollar from the fake coffer crisis, where they sell the BBL, to put into Test cricket pathways. And in 10 years CA will be shocked that our test team is dogshit while MI Melbourne are in the finals of the BBL.

Look, I hear you, I’m very much an old school Cricketer and cricket coach and what you have posted is music to my ears, but sadly it isn’t going to happen.

So many things have moved against what we would like to happen thar unfortunately we are never going to get back to that place.

 

[Pistol Night]

Be surprised if the Curator isn't given the arse tbh. Surely someone at CA was saying we want roads for maximum revenue now the series is done.

The irony now will probably be Sydney being a belter of a deck but it'll piss down and we wont get to use it

 

[Pistol Night]

This is the cricket equivalent of waking up the morning after a two day bender.

When we all know a full 5 day bender is where its at.