Cricket Discussion - Part 2

[EskimoPAFC]

Play has resumed - NZ need something like 252 off 52 overs. Apparently they're going to play one long unbroken session (if it doesn't rain again). NZ not exactly setting off like hares though.

Yeah one of those weird situations - do you try to keep all your wickets and then see if you can make a play later on, or do you go hard for the total then get ultra defensive and play for the draw if it you lose a couple?

Seems like the Kiwis are taking the former approach... or perhaps they've just decided on going for the draw, period.

 

[Grave Danger]

Yeah one of those weird situations - do you try to keep all your wickets and then see if you can make a play later on, or do you go hard for the total then get ultra defensive and play for the draw if it you lose a couple?

Seems like the Kiwis are taking the former approach... or perhaps they've just decided on going for the draw, period.

Maybe their attitude is that it's up to Sri Lanka to make the running - they're the ones vying for the Test Championship spot. Have SL set attacking fields, or tried to lure NZ into chasing the target?

 

[philreich]

Maybe their attitude is that it's up to Sri Lanka to make the running - they're the ones vying for the Test Championship spot. Have SL set attacking fields, or tried to lure NZ into chasing the target?

Looks like a grandstand finish coming up - 71 needed off the last 10 overs.

 

[raptalia]

Good fight so far lead by our boy Trav.

A bit more turn than was evident on the first 4 days. Australia need to knock off the remaining 18 runs asap then get some credit on the board.

 

[philreich]

18 needed off 15 balls.

 

[glitch01]

That's an awesome catch by the Sri Lankan under pressure.

Still think the Kiwis might get over the line though

 

[philreich]

Wow - NZ wins off the last ball.......

 

[glitch01]

Wow - NZ wins off the last ball.......

Feel a bit sorry for the Sri Lankans, didn't do a lot wrong in the last few overs.
Just another example of why Test Cricket is so much better than the manufactured drama of T20

 

[Grave Danger]

Wow - NZ wins off the last ball.......

I don't reckon the SL players would be saying "It's a privilege just to be part of it"...

 

[philreich]

Feel a bit sorry for the Sri Lankans, didn't do a lot wrong in the last few overs.
Just another example of why Test Cricket is so much better than the manufactured drama of T20

This so soon after the 1 run thriller against England - several Kiwi fans may have had a heart attack recently!!!

 

[sobrave]

Maybe this head guy who can't bat against spin should have got a gig in the first game instead of Davey dickhead warner

 

[philreich]

Maybe this head guy who can't bat against spin should have got a gig in the first game instead of Davey dickhead warner

Trouble is, you can bet your life that Warner is in the frame for going to England. Brad Haddin shared his preferred Ashes squad on the weekend. He insisted that Warner is an essential part of the selectors' plans, because he's too good to be overlooked. I couldn't believe it!!!

 

[glitch01]

It has always been the way with the Aussie Test Team, difficult to get into the line-up but once there and shown that you can perform at the level very difficult to get removed.
There may be 1 or 2 fringe players that go in and out but the selectors are always reluctant to move an "established" player.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

NZ not exactly setting off like hares though.

Probably the best result for India. New Zealand are more chance of being dismissed if they go out chasing 5 an over.

EDIT: yeah check the actual post times before bothering to reply.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

There may be 1 or 2 fringe players that go in and out but the selectors are always reluctant to move an "established" player.

An "established NSW" player.

If you're not from NSW, then its a different matter.

Dave Warner, who has had 1 innings of note in approx the last two years is too good to drop, but the current number 4 ranked batsman in the world yeah he's expendable...

 

[western royboy]

Trouble is, you can bet your life that Warner is in the frame for going to England. Brad Haddin shared his preferred Ashes squad on the weekend. He insisted that Warner is an essential part of the selectors' plans, because he's too good to be overlooked. I couldn't believe it!!!

Not sure Haddin is totally impartial just yet - having said that is their a logical successor?

 

[Sleezy]

What's worse? A pitch where the game only lasts 3 days, or a pitch where only 22 wickets fall across the full 5?

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Maybe this head guy who can't bat against spin should have got a gig in the first game instead of Davey dickhead warner

I'm a bigger Warner fan than most on here, but I honestly think that Head exclusion will be something we look back on even in 20, 30 years times as one of the worst selection decisions of all time. Unbelievably dumb and I'm glad he has shown them that beyond doubt.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Trouble is, you can bet your life that Warner is in the frame for going to England. Brad Haddin shared his preferred Ashes squad on the weekend. He insisted that Warner is an essential part of the selectors' plans, because he's too good to be overlooked. I couldn't believe it!!!

Honestly I would still be taking Warner in the squad. Wouldn't have him open as first choice, but he's still one of our better openers outside of Asia, possibly even the third best (hard to say as we haven't seen Renshaw open at test level in so long).

 

[philreich]

Honestly I would still be taking Warner in the squad. Wouldn't have him open as first choice, but he's still one of our better openers outside of Asia, possibly even the third best (hard to say as we haven't seen Renshaw open at test level in so long).

OK perhaps in the squad, but it'd be a brave call to play him in the First Test. The Khawaja/Head was one of the successes of the tour I reckon, and should be persisted with.

 

[1954]

OK perhaps in the squad, but it'd be a brave call to play him in the First Test. The Khawaja/Head was one of the successes of the tour I reckon, and should be persisted with.

Khawaja/Head has to be the test opening combo moving forward, as you suggest it was one the successes of the tour and there weren't too many of them in the batting department.

If Warner has anything left in the locker (and that is the big IF) he could open with Head in the 1 day comp because if they both clicked on the same day 100 plus would be very possible off the first 10-12 overs.

Scores in excess of 350 are becoming fairly regular in 1 day internationals, and it's a living certainty that with India's strong batting line up the curators will be `instructed' to produce roads for that comp and I suspect we will see some huge totals.

 

[western royboy]

I will be surprised if they open with Head in England - I would think he’d bat 5

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Been keeping these stats since the early 90's.

Confirms that Oz are near impossible to beat in Oz - SAF, England and now India have basically been the only teams that have done it the last 20 years, and Oz struggles to win O's, especially post the retirement of all those greats of the 1990's and 2000's.

I have split Border's time into pre and post 1989 tour of England. In those 39 tests before that 1989 tour there is 1 tie in 1986-87 that isn't accounted for.

Era is whilst main guy was captain and includes fill in results. Individual capatains results are in the 2nd table.



Series results including 1 off tests.

Border 2 Home.. 6W 1L 1D lose to WI
Taylor Home...... 7W 0L 0D
Waugh Home..... 7W 0L 2D
Ponting Home.. 12W 2L 0D lose to SAF, Eng
Clarke Home..... 3W 1L 1D lose to SAF
Smith Home...... 5W 1L 1D lose to SAF
Paine Home....... 3W 2L 0D lose to India x 2
Cummins Home.. 3W 0L 0D

Border 2 Away.. 2W 2L 2D
Taylor Away...... 4W 3L 0D
Waugh Away..... 6W 2L 1D
Ponting Away... 8W 4L 1D
Clarke Away...... 4W 4L 1D
Smith Away...... 1W 3L 1D
Paine Away....... 0W 1L 1D
Cummins Away. 1W 2L 0D

 

[raptalia]

What's worse? A pitch where the game only lasts 3 days, or a pitch where only 22 wickets fall across the full 5?

Neither should be acceptable, particularly as they follow one after the other. If Australian curators produced wickets like the last two the ICC would be all over us but the Indians get way with it.

The crowds were also pretty pathetic for a cricket mad country like India. Producing wickets like the one in Indore will do little to get crowds back to Test cricket.

 

[raptalia]

Australia came away with a 2-1 series defeat which is probably a whole lot better than it looked after the Delhi debacle. I was envisaging a 4-0 whitewash. The problem is that CA will look at that result and think, 1-2 is not too bad. They will ignore the planning and selection fiascos that took place. These included-

• No match practice between the 3rd Test against South Africa on Jan 8th and the 1st Test in India on Feb 9th.
• Selecting Starc, Green and Hazlewood all of who were injured when the tour started.
• Not selecting Travis Head in Nagpur
• Selecting only one fast bowler in Delhi.

Given the circumstances it is hard to post this but there was a definite improvement when Pat Cummins was forced to leave the tour. There has been a lot of focus on Australia's batting but the fact is Cummins, Starc and Boland took 5/285 between them while for India Mahommed Shami took 9/254. Shami showed that it was still possible for a pace bowler to cause problems on the spin friendly decks.