The Australian cricket non-official thread!

Brendan_B · Dec 18, 2014

Good fight back from the Aussies, game is very tight.

We really need a 1st innings lead, the pitch is already cracking up, Ashwin might be tough to face on day five.

Bloody Watto and Marsh giving away their wickets with nothing shots after both getting good starts, frustrating!

Matty76 · Dec 19, 2014

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/810679.html

A magnificent, from-the-heart column from the great Martin Crowe (sadly very ill) on the 2014 year in cricket.

Brendan_B · Dec 19, 2014

Great read, thanks for posting

mounteverest · Dec 19, 2014

International cricket never seen the best of Martin Crowe with his bad knees,but if you have a look at his record it is right up there with the best!!!

Brendan_B · Dec 20, 2014

Great day at the Gabba today

15 wickets, nearly 300 runs and another great Aussie victory after a tough day one!

Just an observation, India are very much the aggressors in this series both verbally and with the short pitched bowling. I don't know if this is a flow on from the passing of Phil Hughes or a direction from higher up but the Aussie's seem very flat in the field. There is minimal chat and they aren't in the face of the batsmen like last year.

mounteverest · Dec 20, 2014

Hey a good win,but gee we hate chasing those small totals and hats of to Chris Rodgers for that 2nd innings 55
As for the verbal I sometimes think they go overboard when it's better to let your actions do the talking,I'm sure there is plenty of chat but not that in your face stuff

Jesse Dart · Dec 20, 2014

Is Rogers safe? I feel yes, but would like to see Watson replaced

GoTheFat · Dec 21, 2014

I've asked Santa to drop Watson......
Seriously, how bad is Aussie cricket if there's no-one ready to take his no. 3 spot??
Guy's a total waste of 'talent' and recalls Philippoussis in tennis: promised much; delivered little.
Can't field anywhere other than 1st slip, and you're just waiting for the twang in the legs when he's on bowling.
Rogers is far grittier, puts a high price on his wicket, and doesn't bother with the hair rinse!!!

Got no problems with the Indians giving a bit of chirp; Aussies have been doing it for years - and Warner's still at it in any case.

Silliest thing the Indians did was awaken Mean Mitch with all that half-track stuff they bowled at him; that's what lost them the Test match.

Aussies were tested by a bit of pace and venom in the 2nd innings, where'd Ishant Sharma get that spell from, why not in the 1st innings??
Bring on Boxing Day...

Brendan_B · Dec 21, 2014

Watson is safe for now

Marsh has done his hammy and they need that 4th seamer. If Marsh was fit it would be bye bye Watto. He did bowl really well in both innings though, unlucky not to get a few.

If Warner is out maybe Cowan? He has 4 domestic tons this season.

Harris in for Starc is a given but Starc batted well and bowled much better in the 2nd innings.

Johnson is still off the pace a bit for mine. Last season when he wasn't takibg wickets they couldn't score runs off him, this series he has been expensive, I wonder how bad that finger injury is.

I have no troubles with the indians being chirpy but there 'chirpiness' seems to have a more venomous edge. Sharma's send offs in the first innings, particularly for Smith were ridiculous, he had just smashed 133 with barely a false stroke. It seems that the umpires regularly have to intervene with the Indians and their time wasting is a joke.

I was disappointed we lost 6 in the second innings, made the game look closer than it was. All of our six wickets were from really poor shots, Sharma looked dangerous though.

The Mad Hatter · Dec 21, 2014

Great win.

Had to laugh. India open their mouths, Australia wins. Enough said methinks.

As for 3rd test, here's the squad:

Australia's squad for the third Test: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle.

I for one would replace M Marsh with Johnson, and slot Harris back in. I'd also drop M Marsh for Burns.

Warner
Rogers
Watson
Smith c
Burns
Johnson
Haddin wk
Siddle/Starc
Harris
Lyon
Hazelwood

I have to laugh though. If you're a batsman, get a 1000 chances, dropped only through injury usually. Bowlers go through the wringer.

Got in to an argument over S Marsh last night at a party. LOL. I said he dropped three catches, scored 49 runs in 2 innings. Meanwhile, Starc scores 52 crucial runs in 1 innings and takes 2 wickets, so pretty much offers more than S Marsh, but it'll be Starc not playing on Boxing Day.

The Mad Hatter · Dec 22, 2014

After 3 seasons and 3 spoons (and only 2 wins in that time), it was nice to go to a game and see the Thunder win. Actually, it wasn't a win, it was a whirl-win…an annihilation. Still. I'll take it.

The Mad Hatter · Dec 29, 2014

Shane Warne hat-trick was 20 years ago today.

My oh my, it doesn't feel like that.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDiLQ0M_AE

Matty76 · Dec 29, 2014

On the bright side Chris, that does mean that twenty years have passed since I was last at school!

You have got me reminiscing now - in 1994 Brian Lara scored his record-breaking 375 and Allan Border played his last international match.

Seems a lifetime ago doesn't it?

The Mad Hatter · Dec 29, 2014

Dean Jones finished his international career in South Africa too.

Remember the Bradman tribute match when Zoe Goss was the glamour gal of Aussie women's cricket? I think if I recall correctly, she bowled Brian Lara. They wore some baseball style jersey too, which was weird.

Ah, yep. Staying up all night watching overseas tours on Ch 9, if and when they decided to cover them - I mean, in 1994, there were still only the 5 channels (maybe early days of satellite?).

Gosh, that means it's a tick over 20 years ago since Fleming debuted and got his hat-trick in Pakistan.

Sheesh…time has flown.

Matty76 · Dec 29, 2014

Mark Taylor STARTED his Test captaincy in that Pakistan series! To think that we've only had three permanant Test captains since him is pretty amazing.

The Mad Hatter · Dec 29, 2014

Matty76 said:
Mark Taylor STARTED his Test captaincy in that Pakistan series! To think that we've only had three permanant Test captains since him is pretty amazing.

Ten test captains ago was Greg Chappell. How many have England had? Lol. Cook, Strauss, Pietersen, Flintoff, Trescothick, Vaughan, Butcher, Hussein, Stewart, Atherton...that's just the last 15 years or so.

Matty76 · Dec 30, 2014

It won't be long before Virat Kohli wraps his bat around someone's head, then just watch the ICC duck and dive and absolve themselves of responsibility. The on-field baiting, regardless of who starts it or engages in it - and this includes you, Mr Haddin, Mr Warner and Mr Watson - needs to be knocked on the head by the match referee. I think that the line between competitive banter and personal niggle has been crossed.

Ian Chappell has been writing for years that one day there will be a very nasty incident and you could easily see a hot-head like Kohli going WHACK!

The Mad Hatter · Dec 30, 2014

If I was Haddin yesterday, I would have jammed my bat in Kohli's mouth and then asked him to sledge me again with a mouthful of broken teeth.

The other thing is, they Aussies don't seem to be baiting anyone else. Maybe a chirp, but they seem to really dislike Kohli.

I hate him and I love him. He polarises fans - home and away. It's good for the game.

But this is where the umps come in and say 'enough'…which they have done, but sterner. Same with all the breaks for drinks and rubs.

Matty76 · Dec 30, 2014

Ashton Agar has been drafted into the Test squad for the SCG Test. That might make for an interesting bowling line-up as you would assume he's been picked specifically to partner Nathan Lyon, otherwise you'd just pick an extra pace bowler (eg Starc or Siddle) for 12th Man duties.

I assume that we will see and hear from the "experts after the event" journalists who think that Steven Smith should have declared earlier. From what I have seen, scoring 500+ in three successive first innings and taking 56 of a possible 60 opposition wickets is indicative of a team that IS positive. The declaration allowed Australia to attack from start to finish and you could imagine the "tut tutting" had India chased the overnight deficit of 327 with ease.

In breaking news, M S Dhoni has retired from Test cricket, effective immediately. Virat Kohli will captain at the SCG!

The Mad Hatter · Dec 30, 2014

I have no problem with declaration. Nearly got 'EM too. Glad for once to go safety first and win series.

Had Kohli captained throughout maybe a different story.

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