Cricket Thread 303*

[cobl04]

0/80 now - this is higher than all but one of our opening partnerships on the 2013 tour

 

[Axver]

Wow, so Australia lost two at once - Warner dismissed, and Renshaw left with him retired ill.

Still can't fathom how Marsh keeps getting selected.

 

[cobl04]

Renshaw got the runs hahaha

at your Marsh comment however. I think Khawaja deserved to start over him but coming into this Test Marsh had an average of 40 and he is a proven performed on the subcontinent. He was by miles our best player when we shit the bed in Sri Lanka. There was a time when SMarsh deserved all the flak he copped but I don't think it's fair anymore.

Unless you were talking about Mitch Marsh, in which case I very much agree.

 

[Axver]

I'm not saying Smarsh is a bad player, just that whenever he's picked there's somebody better left out of the team. His spot isn't justified. And wasn't he one of the players who got a crazy average boost out of that awful Windies series? You can't take seriously the average of anybody who's played a low amount of Tests who played in that series - Voges the lead example.

Australia seem to love picking somebody mediocre and waiting and waiting until the amount of opportunities inevitably makes them improve to a good standard, while overlooking players who are more talented from the get-go. That paid off with Smith, but it was an infuriating waste with the likes of Watto and I see it the same way with Smarsh. Why on earth he keeps getting opportunities while Khawaja - clearly one of the best players in Australia - has to fight for his spot is beyond me. Khawaja should be as much a fixture as Warner or Smith.

 

[cobl04]

Unbelievable.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

No comment.

 

[Axver]

Actually thought something was wrong with my phone when I checked the score.

 

[cobl04]

I'm so happy [emoji24][emoji24][emoji24]

 

[Vlad n U 2]

On first glance I would guess India got way too complacent and it's bitten them badly.

 

[cobl04]

Okay Bolshy

 

[Axver]

I won't be happy until Australia lose 30 Tests on the trot to every single Test nation, including Afghanistan, Kenya, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, and most especially its former colony, Papua New Guinea.

#cricketfantasies

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Okay Bolshy

In the same way Australia got complacent after the first day against South Africa in Perth - after that streak of seemingly never losing a Test on home soil, no?

 

[Axver]

Never in my life did I think I would see Australian spinners take all ten wickets in an innings.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Guptill 180 off 138 in chasing South Africa's of 279. Not bad. 11 sixes.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Also, this is a wild ride.

https://www.facebook.com/brendan.taylor.5895/posts/10212718412262059

 

[Axver]

Guptill 180 off 138 in chasing South Africa's of 279. Not bad. 11 sixes.

Goddamn Guppy can be such a bloody good ODI batsman. That's nuts.

 

[cobl04]

what was it.

 

[cobl04]

Yesterday was the best day of my life.

 

[cobl04]

An absolutely fantastic day of Test cricket. Ashwin got Warner with a ripping delivery early on but the only other wicket for the session was Smith, out for 8 (52). Renshaw batted amazingly well, was so patient, but started to take up the run rate and then was out stumped when Jadeja followed him when he came down the track. Out for 60 (196) of the best. Shaun Marsh also batted extremely well for his 66 (197) before he got out with a pretty soft shot. Mitch Marsh got a duck but to be fair to him the ball that got him out would have gotten out Bradman in his prime, it was a grubber and there's nothing you can do about them. But fuck me if we don't replace him with Khawaja in the third Test I'm going to be fuming. Wade and Starc at the crease. Only disappointment was Handscomb not making runs.

Australia only scored at 2.18 for the day. What I really adored about today's day was that both sides were really at their best. I think today was India's best for the series so far. They bowled incredibly well, especially the quicks. Ishant Sharma sent down 23 overs for 1/39 and challenged the Aussies for the entire day. Umesh Yadav wasn't quite as good but was still excellent. Ashwin didn't seem as affectual and Jadeja was weirdly underbowled, but yeah. Just an utterly absorbing day of Test cricket. I reckon the last four Aussie wickets are worth about 50 runs, which would give the Aussies a 100-run lead, which will require a hell of a fightback from India with the bat.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Here's a great article on the PSL final and Darren Sammy.

Danyal Rasool: Lahore's love at first sight with Sammy | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Vlad n U 2]

NZ/South Africa Test in Dunedin turning out to be a cracker. Hundreds for Elgar and Williamson, Taylor injured and NZ finish with a lead of about 40. Boult gets Cook fourth ball.

 

[coolian2]

And of course we'll probably lose the rest of the day to a fire alarm.

 

[cobl04]

Starc injured Stoinis in to replace MMarsh, no idea why they'd do that when Henriques is in far better form in the Shield, I guess his big NZ ODI ton got him over the line. Cummins in for Starc. Hoping we go with

Warner
Renshaw
Khawaja
Smith
Marsh
Handscomb
Wade
O'Keefe
Lyon
Cummins
Hazlewood

 

[cobl04]

Two big retirements today. Firstly, the second greatest batsman of all time in Adam Voges and secondly Xavier Doherty, thank fuck.

 

[Axver]

Two big retirements today. Firstly, the second greatest batsman of all time in Adam Voges and secondly Xavier Doherty, thank fuck.

What a legacy Voges leaves. How will Australia demolish the Windies and other shits-and-giggles countries without him!

 

[cobl04]

Maxwell is on the verge of a century. He's played extremely well and I am deriving a great sense of satisfaction from his innings, given how many haters he has. I haven't doubted for years that he would make a good Test cricketer.

The only pain for me was seeing Handscomb, my favourite cricketer since Katich, get another start but not going on with it.

4/316 at the moment, which is good, but I feel we need at least 500, preferably in excess of 600, to make a game of it.

 

[Axver]

Geez Australia didn't make the big total I expected. Not sure why you rate Maxwell for Test cricket though. I'd rather see him picked than either Marsh, and it's weird how Australian cricket has overlooked him at times, but he's far more a T20 or ODI batsman than a Test one. I wouldn't be surprised if he never scored another Test century - though whether that'd be through failure to perform or failure to be selected, that's another question entirely.

 

[cobl04]

I find that a very weird statement - did you not see his innings? It was a proper Test innings. He's very capable.

Cannot wait for today's play. Yesterday was so good. Wickets that were borne of genuine skill and India holding on strongly. Gee it's lovely to see Cummins back.

 

[Axver]

Of course I didn't see the innings, I'm holidaying in North America! I still expect it's a fluke. Mark my words, he will not be a regular Test centurion.

 

[cobl04]

Oh yeah, haha. Not a fluke. Will play many more Tests.