The Australian cricket non-official thread!

Scotty_WCE · Mar 22, 2017

Keatoboy said:
Anyone seen these before? Spotted them in my local Reject Shop...

'Bbl surprise ball'

Includes candy? I hope you bought enough for all of us

Wookiedragon · Mar 22, 2017

Matty76 said:
Yes, a waste of bloody money if ever I've seen one mate! The "figure" inside is plastic rubbish and nothing like what is depicted on the front. Additionally, there are about 500 of the bastards to collect! The only "surprise" was that I was silly enough to buy a couple

LOL

Wookiedragon · Mar 22, 2017

Matty76 said:
Chris Gaffaney's faux pas during the third Test....

http://www.cricket.com.au/video#videoId=5364780666001&seriesId=0d3a37a6-0588-42d4-98ce-c486f1560a60&seriesName=Qantas Tour of India 2017

Reminded me of this!!

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UkJehlr1tEw

LOL x 2

Gotta love Grandpa Simpson AKA Chris Gaffaney

Keatoboy · Mar 22, 2017

Scotty_WCE said:
Includes candy? I hope you bought enough for all of us

No I didn't buy any!! Sounds like perhaps it was a failed marketing idea that they made prototypes of and just palmed them on to cheap shops??

Matty76 · Mar 25, 2017

Well, it's the decider. The Rumble in the Jungle! The Drama in Dharamsala!

A month ago, I feared that this Australian team would by now have become a laughing stock, perhaps looking down the barrel of a 4-0 series defeat. Happily, I have been proven very wrong!

Doubts remain over Virat Kohli's fitness ("Polly, don't mention the shoulder. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it alright! ). The pitch will apparently feature something very unusual in India - BOUNCE! Egads, what will they think of next?! Australia are expected to name an unchanged XI, which will again bring Steve Smith's captaincy into question regarding the use of his No. 6 all-rounder as a bowling option.

This extremely tense, tough, exciting Test series has been "must-watch" from start to finish.

Brendan_B · Mar 25, 2017

Well said. Win, lose or draw (which is a series win anyway) this team can hold theirs high.

So many young players, Renshaw & Handscombe have set their name in stone as automatic selections for the ashes. Our pace attack, if fit, will tear England to shreds.

If it wasn't for the skippers brain fade in the second test then the moral highground is ours also.

The lads have played mostly tough and gritty cricket. Taken the tough singles, fielded like their lives depended on it and most importantly have played the line of the ball not for the spin which is what hurt us in Sri Lanka!!

aussie26 · Mar 25, 2017

I'm surprised by how well Australia has done in India , I must admit I thought we would lose 4-0 or 3-1 at best . The injection of younger blood seems to have helped, if only our pace attack weren't made of glass and didn't get injured so often. Imagine Starc, Cummins, Pattinson & Hazelwood on a fast wicket together and fit. I don't think we've made enough in the first innings , mind you it's hard to judge till both teams have batted .

Brendan_B · Mar 25, 2017

I feel we are 100 or so short. Looks to be a good batting track that will be ideal on days 2 & 3.

We were a bit impatient, another top knock by Smith though.

No Starc footmarks for Lyon to bowl into either

Keatoboy · Mar 25, 2017

So I thought this might be something cool to do... I've gone back through the scorecards from our 2016/17 International Summer of Cricket and I present to you:

The Australian Centurions

(All autographs were obtained this season)

Usman Khawaja - 145 off 308 @ Adelaide Oval

Steve Smith - 164 off 157 @ The SCG, 130 off 222 @ The Gabba, 165 off 246 @ The MCG, 108 off 104 @ The WACA

David Warner - 119 off 115 @ Manuka Oval, 156 off 128 @ The MCG, 144 off 143 @ The MCG, 113 off 95 @ The SCG, 130 off 119 @ The SCG, 179 off 128 @ Adelaide Oval

Peter Handscomb - 105 off 240 @ The Gabba, 110 off 205 @ The SCG

Matt Renshaw - 184 off 293 @ The SCG

Matthew Wade - 100 off 100 @ The Gabba

Travis Head - 128 off 137 @ Adelaide Oval

Cheers for looking!

Keatoboy · Mar 27, 2017

Catchya later Border - Gavaskar trophy, was nice knowing you.

Brendan_B · Mar 27, 2017

Come on Maxy!!

We have played some tough and disciplined cricket this series. By comparison we have been really poor this test

Scotty_WCE · Mar 27, 2017

I'm not giving up just yet... there's been so many twists and turns in this series, there may still be a couple to come!

Keatoboy · Mar 27, 2017

Scotty_WCE said:
I'm not giving up just yet... there's been so many twists and turns in this series, there may still be a couple to come!

Get us in there as the umpires and we'll definitely win... you can be on field and I'll be 3rd. That way we can cover all wickets. LBW? Not out. Bowled? No ball.

BLOWN8 · Mar 27, 2017

If Shaun Marsh keeps his spot I'll be very surprised. No more chances, he's gotta go. We'll be defending about 120 my guess, near impossible.

Matty76 · Mar 27, 2017

BLOWN8 said:
If Shaun Marsh keeps his spot I'll be very surprised. No more chances, he's gotta go. We'll be defending about 120 my guess, near impossible.

This is why I feel that the selectors have only taken a "half-pregnant" approach to Australia's top-order Test batting since the great Hobart upheaval. Renshaw: youth. Maddinson: youth. Handscomb: youth. Mitchell Marsh: repeatedly tried and repeatedly unproven. Shaun Marsh: repeatedly tried, repeatedly injured, repeatedly tried again, repeatedly inconsistent. You either go the whole way with "generation next", or you don't. However if you don't, why the hell wouldn't Michael Klinger deserve a cap?

Scotty_WCE · Mar 27, 2017

I think it's safe to say we need at least two wickets in these 6 overs before stumps. I'd bowl Cummins and Lyon and just all out attack - we've got nothing to lose!

Scotty_WCE · Mar 28, 2017

All over - so close to a Test series win in India yet so far

Well, I guess it's time to revisit the pre-series predictions (page 67 if you want to go back and read them). These were mine:

1. Series result: India 3 Australia 0
Actual: India 2 Australia 1
Better than expected, but could have been so much better.

2. Most runs - India: Virat Kohli
Actual: Cheteshwar Pujara
I don't think anyone expected Virat to be as poor as he was. In the end he was India's 9th-highest run-scorer.

3. Most runs - Australia: David Warner
Actual: Steve Smith
Another shocking pick. Made just the one fifty and couldn't even crack 200 runs for the series.

4. Most wickets - India: Ravi Ashwin
Actual: Ravindra Jadeja
Ashwin was second to Jadeja but Jadeja was clearly the better bowler throughout the series.

5. Most wickets - Australia: Steve O'Keefe
Actual: Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon tie
Well, got this one half-right. Both of our spinners had their moments - though neither consistently took wickets throughout the series.

6. Total runs for Virat Kohli: 525
Actual: 46
I wonder what odds you would've got on Kohli scoring less than 50 runs for the series before it started...

7. Total runs for Steven Smith: 330
Actual: 499
Superb series from Smith - the highest run-scorer from either team and cemented his spot as the best Test batsman currently.

My score is 0.5/7. I hope we're using the golf scoring system here!

Matty76 · Mar 28, 2017

Well done Scotty, it takes a big man to admit to his failings....which is why I'm not doing likewise and instead blaming the bastards I picked!!

I managed to pick Cheteshwar Pujara as India's leading run scorer. Other than that, it makes grim reading. As Marge once said to Homer: "You couldn't predict six o'clock at five thirty!"

aussie26 · Mar 28, 2017

I didnt make any predictions on this thread but to be honest i thought India would win 4-0, I mean Ricky Ponting thought Australia had no chance before the series started so im in good company lol

Keatoboy · Mar 28, 2017

The only thing I got right was the 2-1 series result!!

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The Australian cricket non-official thread!

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