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Topic: God help me - the Test Cricket thread (Read 121445 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1335 –
Day of surprises in world test cricket and good for the game.....England beat India at home after the home side led by 100 plus runs after the first innings, India have never lost in India after leading by 100 plus . The English  bazballed the second innings to lead by around 200 and then debutant spinner Tom Hartley did a Shamar Joseph and took 7 for 62 and won them the game, this is after Hartley got hit for six off his first ball in the first innings and had the worst economy rate of a debutant bowler ever.

Australia were disappointing and while Smith played well and carried his bat and Green got a 40 I still dont like the batting order changes and think we need specialist openers and Smith back at No4 and only one of Marsh or Green in the team.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1336 –
You can’t always blame the result on the players that are selected by abilities. Their attitudes are wrong at critical moments. Stark trying the belt the leather off every ball was not a great choice. Smith playing timid at the other end like he was protecting his batting average doesn’t show real leadership. If this was Steve Waugh as the other Steve in this chase, and maybe a late bowling batsman with more composure it was an easy win for us. The bowling was exceptional. It was very good. From a guy with a busted up toe and in hospital the night before. We can’t expect to win purely on past reputation. We lack proper leadership with the bat. When bowlers are on the run with momentum you need a level head to steady the ship. Steve Smith didn’t do this. He didn’t take control of the game the way Stokes, Waugh, Ponting, Border, Kholi and others would have. Don’t even dare state he wasn’t in the same caliber as the guys I have mentioned. His reputation is above what he could really deliver in my opinion. One of the best with the bat as an average in the world needs to show more leadership. The bowling was great. The batting response was one of expecting to win on reputation. Don’t underestimate your opponent. You last win isn’t a measure of your ability. Your last loss is now a measure of your future weakness. Fix it and do it now. Not always by a change in cattle. Maybe by a change in attitude and leadership. Don’t forget what junior group beat you. Not Viv Richards. Not Joel Garner. Not Walsh, Patterson, Lara, Holding, Anderson, Hames, Golmes, Lloyd but a junior list that is on the rise. It might not be a bad way to reconstruct the Australian squad. Look at a few that haven’t had the opportunity to be in the squad as young fellas. Otherwise rebuild the mental leadership. This was not an oops. This was what I would see as a wake up call. Our reputation is higher than our actual ability. The squad needs to learn how to switch momentum. How to be composed. I won’t question our captain but I am not sure he is what is best for this squad. Only my opinion.
This digital world is too much for us insects to understand.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1337 –
On the upside, cricket is better with the Windies up and about.
Only our ruthless best, from Board to bootstudders will get us no. 17

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1338 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 on
Day of surprises in world test cricket and good for the game.....England beat India at home after the home side led by 100 plus runs after the first innings, India have never lost in India after leading by 100 plus . The English  bazballed the second innings to lead by around 200 and then debutant spinner Tom Hartley did a Shamar Joseph and took 7 for 62 and won them the game, this is after Hartley got hit for six off his first ball in the first innings and had the worst economy rate of a debutant bowler ever.

Australia were disappointing and while Smith played well and carried his bat and Green got a 40 I still dont like the batting order changes and think we need specialist openers and Smith back at No4 and only one of Marsh or Green in the team.

That would be the sensible thing to do EB but our selectors are rarely wrong.  They’ll say that Smith and Green made runs and it wasn’t the team composition that cost us the game.  No change!

The Windies will be inspired by a win that no-one saw coming.  They could be a more difficult opposition in the last Test.

An amazing result in India.  Hartley was stiff not to get man of the match over Pope.  Both were outstanding … but can they back up?
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1339 –
Quote from: DJC on
That would be the sensible thing to do EB but our selectors are rarely wrong.  They’ll say that Smith and Green made runs and it wasn’t the team composition that cost us the game.  No change!

The Windies will be inspired by a win that no-one saw coming.  They could be a more difficult opposition in the last Test.

An amazing result in India.  Hartley was stiff not to get man of the match over Pope.  Both were outstanding … but can they back up?
DJ , this was the last test and we retain the Sir Frank Worrell trophy..weird fixturing imo playing only two tests.South Africa and India only played in a two test series that was also tied one all. Agree on Hartley being man of the match.
Windies doing well is great for the game even though we lost and hopefully inspires some more kids like Joseph to take up the game and make the Windies a force again.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1340 –
Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 on
DJ , this was the last test and we retain the Sir Frank Worrell trophy..weird fixturing imo playing only two tests.South Africa and India only played in a two test series that was also tied one all. Agree on Hartley being man of the match.
Windies doing well is great for the game even though we lost and hopefully inspires some more kids like Joseph to take up the game and make the Windies a force again.

I was looking forward to a third test against the Windies with their tails up  :(

The selectors will just quietly sweep this loss under the table and Smith will open against the Kiwis  ::) 
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1341 –
We played half-ar5ed cricket, they are a B-Grade batting line up and we bowled C-Grade on a pitch offering significant assistance to a beginner who wasn't taken seriously by our batsmen so they mostly failed. The relative truth is exposed in the wash up, not after one innings.

Smith failed to demonstrate his batting credentials, compare his failure to farm the strike to that of say an Alan Border innings and you can see how far off Smith is, he was batting for survival.

All in all we deserved to lose, but the wokeism surrounding our test cricket at the moment means nobody was to blame!

If we had played our "Second string" bowlers, like Boland, Richardson, Neser, Ellis, I suspect we would have cleaned up the WI under 200.

But in the bigger picture, the WI win should be good for test cricket long term, but it would have been even better if it was less disingenuous.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1342 –
Just expected to win, mucked around and got the according result.  The team is comfortable and no one is willling to change it to make it fresher by bringing in new players - even the touted openers have all had a crack at it and been found wanting.  Test cricket shouldn't be a retirement fund.

S Joseph, however, was amazing. It was really easy to barrack for him and the Windies. A few others did their bit really well.

Smith - If you need a challenge by moving to opener time you retired. Bowlers have worked you out.
Labuschange - concentrate on batting and not the rubbish that you do.
Green - ??? No confidence.  He gets pumped up, but don't see it.
Marsh - back to his old ways. If Pakistan could catch we would be asking why he is in the team
Head - take the good with the bad - gets a lot of Goldens.

Bowlers - don't bounce the tail enders - hit the top of off.  Don't complain about the pink ball and surface just because it is a little harder to get a wicket - concentrate on bowling properly and getting them out.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1343 –
Quote from: dodge on
Just expected to win, mucked around and got the according result.  The team is comfortable and no one is willling to change it to make it fresher by bringing in new players - even the touted openers have all had a crack at it and been found wanting.  Test cricket shouldn't be a retirement fund.

S Joseph, however, was amazing. It was really easy to barrack for him and the Windies. A few others did their bit really well.

Smith - If you need a challenge by moving to opener time you retired. Bowlers have worked you out.
Labuschange - concentrate on batting and not the rubbish that you do.
Green - ??? No confidence.  He gets pumped up, but don't see it.
Marsh - back to his old ways. If Pakistan could catch we would be asking why he is in the team
Head - take the good with the bad - gets a lot of Goldens.

Bowlers - don't bounce the tail enders - hit the top of off.  Don't complain about the pink ball and surface just because it is a little harder to get a wicket - concentrate on bowling properly and getting them out.
Last comment about the bowlers is so true, late order partnerships have hurt us and then you look at the bowling maps and you find  one ball only in a session from our quicks would have hit the stumps.
We have got carried away with this short stuff at the tail tactic after initial success with it vs England and rather than using it as a shock tactic its become the norm and hindering our ability to remove the tailenders..

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1344 –
Interesting video about Shamar Joseph's origins. Quite interesting.

https://youtu.be/Yn4aagq5j1I?si=Aw9_VGI9ZvtKjR1v

Just think, before the Gabba test, people were questioning if the West Indies could handle the pink ball etc, when you know that S.Joseph grew up bowling lemons and limes, I think you can safely say he had the pink ball covered - as evidenced.

Boy, they have one there.

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1345 –
Another, (amateur) video, of Shamar Joseph arriving back in Guyana to a hero's welcome. When you watch it, you really get a sense how much this means to the region. I hope he doesn't get overawed by it all and just keeps doing what he does.

https://youtu.be/DyDmZ1s06GY?si=TaLzI6vXUpmBud-y

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1346 –
While Smith did OK getting a start, before we crumbled, I remain convinced that Smith as opener does more for Smith's own career than it does for Australian cricket.

He is basically extending his own career at the expense of developing the next pair of openers. We've let these blokes go on too long, they won't go because they earn too much money, they have to be pushed!
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1347 –
Not Test cricket but concerning a potential Test cricketer:

Victorian skipper, Will Sutherland, was dismissed early in the Prahran first XI innings last weekend.  He heard that the second XI only had ten players and volunteered as their sub fielder against Geelong.
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1348 –
Quote from: DJC on
Not Test cricket but concerning a potential Test cricketer:

Victorian skipper, Will Sutherland, was dismissed early in the Prahran first XI innings last weekend.  He heard that the second XI only had ten players and volunteered as their sub fielder against Geelong.
A bunch of people around national cricket have stated that Sutherland should be our next long term test captain, but alas he was born and plays for the wrong state.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"

Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread

Reply #1349 –
This could be the innings that kicks off Cam Green's career.  Seeming deck, team in trouble.  If he could push on to a 100, and get the team up to 275-odd, it would be a great knock