And so my Ashes' streak ends.....!!!

[True Bluebagger]

Pardon my self indulgence, but unfortunately for me, it is with some lament and great regret that I not there at the MCG for this year's Boxing Day Test, as it will be the first Melbourne Ashes Test I have missed since I started going to Test cricket way in the summer of 1970/71, as a 13 year old.

I had hoped travel back to Melb. to make it 40 years on the trot to keep my streak of consecutive MCG Ashes tests alive with the chance to keep it going for at least another 12 years, to get over 50 years. However I have too many things going on here where I live in Japan to contemplate a trip back home to Oz for this summer's game.

Has anyone had or have streak going of similar lengths of time or longer for a sporting event ?

 

[The_Reaper]

You picked a good test to miss then.

 

[True Bluebagger]

You picked a good test to miss then.

hahaha ..... you got that one right !!!

Apart from disrupting my 'streak', I am thanking my lucky stars I didn't the waste the price of an international air ticket from Japan, to watch such a piss poor performance, by the Australians.

I can only think of a worst Boxing Day effort when the Aussies got slaughtered by an innings in 3 days against Gatting's team in 1986/87.
Mind you this test isn't finished, so they may 'out perform' that test yet !!!

 

[Minka Beaver]

I can only think of a worst Boxing Day effort when the Aussies got slaughtered by an innings in 3 days against Gatting's team in 1986/87.
Mind you this test isn't finished, so they may 'out perform' that test yet !!!

This has been far worse.

No Border-led side ever got ripped out for under 100, let alone at the MCG on Boxing Day. The man surrounded himself with fighters.

 

[True Bluebagger]

This has been far worse.

No Border-led side ever got ripped out for under 100, let alone at the MCG on Boxing Day. The man surrounded himself with fighters.

That may have been true when Simpson took over as coach but the teams that Border captained in his early days as skipper had plenty of soft and/or non performing players at test level, that he carried on his own shoulders.

His early teams included Fat Cat Ritchie, Philips, Hilditch, Wellham, Kerr, Hookes, Zoehrer, Dyer, Valetta to name a few.

 

[Minka Beaver]

That may have been true when Simpson took over as coach but the teams that Border captained in his early days as skipper had plenty of soft and/or non performing players at test level, that he carried on his own shoulders.

His early teams included Fat Cat Ritchie, Philips, Hilditch, Wellham, Kerr, Hookes, Zoehrer, Dyer, Valetta to name a few.

Well he didn't have much choice for a while there!

Too many of the best (or merely experienced) first-class players were banned from Test cricket because of the Rebel tours to South Africa. That necessitated backing some fighting youngsters with little experience, many of whom were shrewd selection decisions (Reid, S. Waugh, Healy etc). Naturally, some didn't work (C.Matthews, Zesers in ODIs). I know Laurie Sawle and Simpson were responsible for a lot of that, but it had Border's stamp all over it. By and large, they focused on the basics of the game and fought like tigers.

I didn't bother going for day three today. The last two days were garbage enough for me.

 

[True Bluebagger]

Well he didn't have much choice for a while there!

Too many of the best (or merely experienced) first-class players were banned from Test cricket because of the Rebel tours to South Africa. That necessitated backing some fighting youngsters with little experience, many of whom were shrewd selection decisions (Reid, S. Waugh, Healy etc). Naturally, some didn't work (C.Matthews, Zesers in ODIs). I know Laurie Sawle and Simpson were responsible for a lot of that, but it had Border's stamp all over it. By and large, they focused on the basics of the game and fought like tigers.

I didn't bother going for day three today. The last two days were garbage enough for me.

Fair point about the influence of rebel tour of S. Africa as it took a lot of experience and depth out of the team and the Sheffield Shield comp. in general. We lost players of the ilk of Hughes, Alderman, Rackerman, Hogg, Hohns and promising youngsters like Haysman.

Plus Aust. cricket were still coming to terms with the retirement of Greg Chappell, Lillee and Marsh.

A question : Are we better placed now or worse off than Border's team in 1986/7 to rebound to being a power again ?