Unbelievable stonewalling by the Saffers though. That was close to being one of the greatest draws of all time. They had to block out over five sessions, and to think that had that been just one session less they would've done it - incredible. Look at Amla's stats, 25 off 244, SR 10.24! He makes AB look positively hasty with 43 off 297 at 14.47.
Also, can I just say it is absolutely extraordinary that a batsman known for pyrotechnics like AB is also capable of playing in such a way. Much as I love BMac, he may be able to equal AB's explosions but he could never replicate such stonewalling.
Reckon there's a solid chance it will be the smallest Boxing Day crowd ever, too. I struggle to think of a harsh enough adjective for the West Indies' performance against the CAXI.
Frankly, I want this series to be an absolute rout. If the Windies manage to drag each Test into the fourth day, nothing will change. We'll complain about boring lopsided Tests, wring our hands over the state of West Indian cricket, and move on. But if they don't make it past day two, if they get thumped by an innings and a few hundred runs each time, that may -
may - force some action. Especially to stop the farce that is some of the best West Indian players choosing T20 over representing their countries. Sports like rugby have this sorted out, where domestic leagues and international tournaments do not clash, but that's pretty much impossible with cricket. There needs to be some mechanism to ensure that it is more attractive to represent your country than take the cash to play for some random franchise.
Essentially, a Test that ends late on the fourth day at Aus 4/500d, Windies 200, Aus 3/250d, Windies 150 won't change anything, but a couple of Tests of Aus 3/400d, Windies 70 & 95 might.
