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Would take a World Cup win ala Sri Lanka '96 to change pre-exisitng perceptions enough for that to happen. Can't see D/N tests taking off in India, dew level would make for a very unattractive game skills wise.

As cringey and pariochal that the Channel 9 box had become, it will be weird and a little sad nostalgia wise to see the change to 7. Don't have the greatest confidence in 7 to treat the sport with the respect it deserves (ie. not retrofitting current network stars like Hamish / Baz / BT and...

That's being pretty disingenuous with the facts. The state based BBL on Fox was popular and well attended, obviosuly the move to Channel 10 did it wonders and it reached critical mass. But was by no means unpopular and had a pretty high profile in the summer sporting landscape. The BBL is being...

Respect the Poms for fighting it out but hard to see them breaking through a thus far resolute NZ tail - although having said that if Southee and Boult are required to bat regardless of situation they will go down swinging, almost Haddin-like is their disregard for the situation and love of...

Disagree with that there is a stark difference between the green pitches of England and New Zealand (& even Hobart) with the quintessential WACA or Gabba decks (obviously not so much anymore!). Interesting that CA still holding onto Peever, I thought he might have just been their man to solely...

Ha that's great - could've sworn on first glance that bloke in the green jacket was Freddie Flintoff.

Producing pitches to suit the home side is not cheating. And believe it or not, producing green wickets would actually suit India more playing into the strengths of Kumar, Bumrah and Pandya. What Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc will prefer and Indian batsmen dread are the quick bouncy wickets...

Thought aside from Cummins it was pretty rancid with the ball, but then would have to come up with a new word for that batting effort. Credit to the Proteas, have thoroughly outplayed Australia since the first test. Bowling wise they've been streets ahead (how good is Maharaj?!) and in every...

Missed the end of the day when a couple of wickets fell, but pretty mediocre feeling to the bowling attack minus Starc and Lyon persisting with a defensive strategy. Having said that Markram is a hugely promising talent already delivering at such a young age.

I reckon most of what he has said is fair and to be honest felt he did the right thing over the so called "homeworkgate". The Australian sides behaviour was lionised through that home Ashes whitewash in 2013/14 and reinforced with the adulation they got for the home World Cup success a year...

Yeah can't drop Khawaja for this final test now given what has happened, but our next series won't be until this October (?) and who really knows what can develop in the interim. Renshaw, Cartwright and Maxwell were all in the lineup for our win in the second test in Bangladesh in Sept 2017...

He's provided us with quality, stable starts to the innings in his time in the baggy green. Again, he's been probably our most effective batsman in this South African series. I am not saying he walks straight back in. But completely writing off a 24 year old test batsman who has increasingly...

Frankly I find your steadfast opinion on this absurd. Bancroft's proven himself capable of providing one half of a strong test opening partnership and has made considerable runs in the shield competition to have put himself at the head of the queue previously. There's a dearth of opening batsmen...

They're very arbitrary figures you are plucking... Were you following cricket when Shane Watson got dropped for disciplinary reasons, left the tour and came back to captain the side the very next test! Even look at the stratospheric rise of Tim Paine from October 2017 to March 2018. Start of...

Disagree strongly with your opinion re Bancroft, he's probably been our best batsman in South Africa and has done a solid job in his first eight tests. Will go back to Shield level and pile on the runs again. Completely agree about Sutherland though, in no industry is a 17 year reign at the...

Frankly that is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.

Head?? Jesus, scraping the bottom of the barrel there! Plenty of better options around even in the unlikely event of Smith being permanently removed from the position. Utterly moronic to even imagine they would get away with it though in this day and age and particularly in the context of this...

If Abbott has to give up bowling bouncers then frankly I don't think there's much point him continuing to play cricket. For a fast-medium bowler it's basically an indispensable weapon in your armoury without at least the threat of it. The devastating loss of Phil Hughes was a tragic incident...

Sorry but haven't heard something more utterly ridiculous. You cannot take the bouncer out of a bowlers armoury (but even more ridiculous is expecting one bowler and one bowler only to stop doing so). I bet you were cheering like a fanboy like the whole cricketing world (bar the batsmen) when...

He'll have the big shoes to fill of Jihye Richardson as the first reserve bowler in the squad at the moment should there be an injury as Richardson should get first crack at it.

Would hate to be a bowler at Eden Park with those straight boundaries. Odd one but I thought Agar was almost as influential as Short in the win. Good control forcing the Kiwis to go square of the wicket somewhat mitigating the damage. In a game like that three overs from your spinner at 8 in...

Rookie error, don't go to cricinfo for up to the minute shield coverage - use the Cricket Australia site for that. Cricinfo is by far the all round superior site, but the ball by ball coverage is actually taken from the CA feed.

Cape Town was definitely heavily weighted in favour of seam bowling and the third (Joburg) was ridiculously so, but would be a mistake to forget that the second test at Centurion was far more suited to the cutters of the Indian medium pacers and spinners - so much so that Faf du Plessis came out...

That's a point that has been forgotten by many. England's batting lineup is up there with the most potent I've seen for an ODI side and their bowlers are more than capable of doing the job. Not to mention there is quality waiting outside the lineup too with the likes of Willey, Vince and Malan...

True he hadn't been around long but was averaging 45 in his six innings in the year he was picked. Don't forget that they had taken him over to Zimbabwe where they played a few FC games against them and SA (from memory can't access itinerary) where he averaged well over 100 and made a double ton...

As far as the answer goes, for me it will come from patience with one / both of Bancroft and Renshaw.

Carn. His first class record for the opportunities that have been thrust on him is bordering on abysmal. Tried repeatedly as a both an opener and in the middle order for both Victoria and Yorkshire and has never looked close to making the grade. Terrific short format batsman, but quite...

Have heard the Afghani under 19's are a seriously good side and a genuine chance to upstage the older nations. Quite remarkable how quickly they've developed a pipeline to harness their junior talent which we've already seen funneling into their senior side. Last time it was held in New Zealand...

Ingram showing his value again, looked a class above again last night! Have been very impressed with how well Siddle has bowled this summer for someone never considered a T20 or even an overly smart bowler. I actually was only able to catch up until Buttler's dismissal but after the start he...

Interesting that the two selections that seemed the most obvious in Bancroft and Bird were the ones who have struggled the most. Both though I think have a role to play in the test side in the future.