It's still the best format by a country mile. Always will be.
Cricket
- Thread starter EdWeatherall
- Start date
you haven’t seen “the one” which is my take on the hundred. a world 11 takes on an england 11, as that’s the only way we can get a game. one delivery is bowled. highest score wins.
However effective, Smith and Labuschagne are the most annoying batsman in world cricket to watch, yelling and screaming 'no run', constantly ordering people in the stands to move. They wear the bowlers down before Head comes in and takes advantage of the bowling attack's tiredness. At least it's enjoyable watching Head.
Could be one very long summer for England if there's no clear plan on how to remove those two.
Could be one very long summer for England if there's no clear plan on how to remove those two.
Yeah that poor spectator in the red shirt earlier was given the right runaround by smith
I've said it before and I'll say it again "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Test cricket is all about attrition, frustration, mental toughness. That's why it's five days. If I want to see batsmen smacking it all over the place, I'll watch T20. Test cricket is a test of mind, heart, body and soul and nobody does it better than Steven Smith.
I'm actually surprised when he's out.
Damn! That ball from Jadeja turned. Where is Ashwin when you need him?
Management thought to strengthen the bench as well.
Game on!
Exactly my thoughts. Imagine Jadeja and Ashwin would have run riot here, not to mention a much better contribution from Ashwin with the bat than Yadav as well.
That was a shite inning from Green. Zero intent. Are they aware it's day 4 and they have to leave enough time to take 10 wickets?
Cracking catch.
It was a great grab but that umpire seemed awfully confident from an image quality that’s usually seen in images of big foot.
I wouldn’t have given it out.
Yeah you can argue it either way. He had his fingers wrapped under the ball. Looked to me like the ball touched the floor after the catch was completed but didn’t aid him in holding it. Maybe if it was England batting I’d feel different, impossible to know
It is surprising that you can’t get a better frame rate these days.
That's clearly hit the floor to my eyes!?
When is a catch considered to be completed?
If he dived, caught the ball, fell and hit his and on the ground and the ball popped out/rolled away, would that be given out?
If that's out because the catch is ruled to be completed before the hand hits the ground, then this is out too..
If not, then this shouldve been not out.
If he dived, caught the ball, fell and hit his and on the ground and the ball popped out/rolled away, would that be given out?
If that's out because the catch is ruled to be completed before the hand hits the ground, then this is out too..
If not, then this shouldve been not out.
It would be not out. The umpire didn’t seem bothered by this at all strangely. cnut
It’s about whether the ball touching the floor aided the catch. To me it looked like the ball was completely lodged in the hand and he’d wrapped his fingers under the ball.
Pujara 
What is the point of even having him.Pujara
Australia still well on top but Kohli looks in good nick.
I actually thought given his county stint, he would have played better than what he has.Pujara
India will be kicking themselves over those quick Sharma/Pujara dismissals, there was definite window of opportunity there but those dismissals mean they’re not quite in it yet and they’ll need these two to kick on and score hundreds to have a chance. The pitch generally plays a little bit more difficult first thing but settles down.
India still clinging on but could’ve been so much better, the Gill one was 50/50 and the Sharma and Pujara dismissals were unforgivable. Needs a massive partnership from Kohli/Rahane and them some from the rest. Expect Australia to chip away to a win due to sheer amount of runs.
He played very well. It was an unusual shot choice that let him down, and on another day the shot might’ve worked.
Only just seen more of the Gill dismissal. Can't believe it was given out.
Yeah so daft Sharma decided to slog sweep and what on earth was Pujara thinking too
Cricket is a ridiculously slow sport, they must change the game. An over should have 12-20 balls bowled by 2 bowlers at either end to two batsmen.
Also, running should not be a thing, single or double should be added based on the placement of the shot in the field.
Also, running should not be a thing, single or double should be added based on the placement of the shot in the field.
Adding to that, a maximum of 90 overs per side in a test match with an introduction of 3rd innings of 40 overs each on the final day. In case of a draw, the higher run rate wins the match for the team.
Just a question. If the test final ends in a draw - is it a draw, or does one of the teams (aka Australia) then win the trophy on run rate or something?
I know it's unlikely given the six day format and where we're at, I'm just curious if a joint award is possible.
I know it's unlikely given the six day format and where we're at, I'm just curious if a joint award is possible.
Trophy is shared.
yep, always thought it was a waste of time having two batsmen but only one on strike at any time. balls should be bowled simultaneously from both ends, you’d get the match finished in half the time.
Great idea, I was thinking two bowlers either side of the wicket against one batsman with a slightly larger bat having to take a choice of what ball to hit and protect his stumps at the same time maybe get a 12 if he can connect.
Thanks. All a bit academic but I was curious about it...
India's ICC event record the past decade is shocking with the talent they've had. No excuses for them in the home World Cup later this year.
What do you mean no excuses? We are on the way down. Kohli and Rohit are past their prime and the next gen hasn't stepped up yet.
We lost the game in the first innings. Gavaskar on TV blaming the batting, and I got into a discussion with a friend who thinks the batting was at fault
When you concede 469 in the first innings, it changes the complexion of every innings to come.
We have a decent, but not great batting lineup and they played poor shots this match but I statsguru'ed it and 20% of matches in test history had >450 in innings 1, and only 3% were lost by the time batting first.
https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/e...=450;runsval1=runs;template=results;type=team
When you concede 469 in the first innings, it changes the complexion of every innings to come.
We have a decent, but not great batting lineup and they played poor shots this match but I statsguru'ed it and 20% of matches in test history had >450 in innings 1, and only 3% were lost by the time batting first.
https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/e...=450;runsval1=runs;template=results;type=team
What a disappointing end to the game. Woke up a bit late but still expecting India to be in the middle of a run chase. Turned on the TV and the game is over. I really didn't care that much who won, just wanted to see some good cricket. Losing your last 7 wickets for 55 on that pitch is ridiculous.
Bowling in the first innings was completely bereft of strategy. Should have also played Ashwin and batted first after winning the toss.
I think we shouldn't absolve the batting though, considering it needed (yet another) rearguard action to get to a fairly decent first innings score, after (yet another) top order failure.
Australia won this without even having to fight too hard
Do the Indian selectors have something against Ashwin? He often seems to get left out of the team when on the surface you would think he would be an almost automatic choice. Yadav is a bang average bowler, yet he was picked ahead of him. I've also seen it happen numerous times before. Nathan Lyon is one of the first names on the team sheet for Australia but IMLTHO Ashwin is a better bowler and a significantly better batsman yet he struggles to get in the team. The guy has 450+ test wickets. Talk about getting no respect.Bowling in the first innings was completely bereft of strategy. Should have also played Ashwin and batted first after winning the toss.
I think we shouldn't absolve the batting though, considering it needed (yet another) rearguard action to get to a fairly decent first innings score, after (yet another) top order failure.
Australia won this without even having to fight too hard
Yeah the Head/Smith partnership was the difference, from that point on India would threaten to get an angle back into the game only for Australia to eke out a useful partnership or India to lose a soft wicket. It’s a very tall order coming back from that because you basically need to be perfect and the other team needs to have a very bad day.
I kind of get where Gavaskar is coming from, the top 6 got starts in both innings and didn’t kick on, if they had one partnership like the Head/Smith one then it’s pretty tight game. I think he’s also getting at a wider pattern too where the batting hasn’t really put in the big scores that they need, the averages over this cycle were pretty poor and I think India need to start blooding 1-2 more of the next generation. Gill really needs to be in the prime middle order slot too.
The Ashwin exclusion was flat out weird, he’s played at the Oval for Surrey too so I don’t really understand what India were thinking, especially with how hot and dry it is in England at the minute. It was obvious the pitch would turn towards the end and with all their left handers he was a great match up.