The Cricket Thread

[-PJ-]

NZ 2/4

Starkers gets Latham LBW.

And here I was thinking NZ were going to show us a 5th day..

[Matt]

Lighting can Starc twice.

Mitch got the radar working on his home deck

[julian87]

Alison Mitchell asks McGrath a question and then talks over him twice when he’s trying to answer. Ugh.

[-PJ-]

We should roll down an underarm just for laughs..

[Matt]

We should roll down an underarm just for laughs..

[Matt]

Ive just seen the 'highlight'. Umm... not sure what Dar saw there. That would happen a 100+ times a match.

[yeh raiders]

2 referred caught-behinds in a row... both obviously out.

Blokes looking for career lifelines happy to sacrifice reviews.

[greeneyed]

4 for 27? I was watching another show and missed it!

[Northern Raider]

2 referred caught-behinds in a row... both obviously out.

Blokes looking for career lifelines happy to sacrifice reviews.

The 2nd one was no doubt. The 1st one was questionable. Nothing clear on hot spot. Snicko showed a tiny noise but on the video (if synchronised) you could see a small gap between bat and ball. May have been an edge but to say it's obvious is a stretch.

[Azza]

NZ are an absolute abomination.

[Azza]

Alison Mitchell asks McGrath a question and then talks over him twice when he’s trying to answer. Ugh.

Yeah i'm not a huge fan of her commentary

[-PJ-]

Last drinks break of the day.

NZ 5/77

[-PJ-]

Colin de Grandhomme reaches 50 and gets out next ball.

NZ 6/107

[Northern Raider]

NZ are an absolute abomination.

Ranked no2 in the world.

[Makaveli]

Hard to hate on NZ given they are the most likable nation besides from Australia of course and you can see the teams genuinely get along with one another

That said they have been putrid and failed to fire a single shot and have no right to be classified as the world's no. 2 test nation

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[RedRaider]

Australia win inside 4 days AGAIN. The GOAT gets a 10 for in the match. What was Warne saying about dropping him prior to the game? Shane Who?

[Makaveli]

Hard to believe Lyon is the third highest Australian test wicket taker of all time

[-TW-]

Warner just gave his helmet away...

Cricinfo is saying that NZ will start on 5 due to one of the batsmen running on the pitch. Is that true?

No.
5 runs were added to NZs 1st dig of 251, now 256.

Meaning the Kiwis need 416 to win not 421.

Those 5 dont seem to be on the scorecards anywhere. Surely they should be noted in extras, on 1 scorecard or the other.

Penalty runs are added to the previous innings



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[Azza]

Lyon deserves a massive rap - remember for the first half of his career the selectors kept dropping him, from memory even the likes of Michael Beer may have got a guernsey ahead of him.

As for NZ, I've seen some teams suck before but man they sucked. They were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.

[-PJ-]

They arrived in Australia with little time leading into the Perth test. No warm up game.

prior preparation and planning prevents pearce poor performance.

They've been outclassed by AUS, who have come a long way in the past 12 months.

[Matt]

Warner just gave his helmet away...

Cricinfo is saying that NZ will start on 5 due to one of the batsmen running on the pitch. Is that true?

No.
5 runs were added to NZs 1st dig of 251, now 256.

Meaning the Kiwis need 416 to win not 421.

Those 5 dont seem to be on the scorecards anywhere. Surely they should be noted in extras, on 1 scorecard or the other.

Penalty runs are added to the previous innings



Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk

I was looking, but they hadn't been added at the time. Cheers

[-PJ-]

I'm not sure how the ICC do their rankings and I won't even have a guess.

But here's the team rankings(Mens) last updated 23/12/19...about 2 weeks ago.
Test ranking-
1. IND 120pts
2. NZ 112pts
3. SA 102pts
4. ENG 102pts
5. AUS 102pts
6. SRI 92pts
7. PAK 85pts
8. WI 81pts
9. BNG 60pts
10. AFG 49pts
11. ZIM 16pts
12. IRE 0pts

We've just swept PAK and NZ so when this is updated again we could be in 2nd.

ENG is currently in SA playing a series.

[Matt]

They arrived in Australia with little time leading into the Perth test. No warm up game.

prior preparation and planning prevents pearce poor performance.

They've been outclassed by AUS, who have come a long way in the past 12 months.

They lost 2 of 3 tosses. In Australia that is esp bad. Bad, because you bat, and if you bat big, the heat takes its toll on the opposition, which was the difference in all 3 Tests.
The toss they won, they lost when they said they would bowl.

[Azza]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

[Matt]

I'm not sure how the ICC do their rankings and I won't even have a guess.

But here's the team rankings(Mens) last updated 23/12/19...about 2 weeks ago.
Test ranking-
1. IND 120pts
2. NZ 112pts
3. SA 102pts
4. ENG 102pts
5. AUS 102pts
6. SRI 92pts
7. PAK 85pts
8. WI 81pts
9. BNG 60pts
10. AFG 49pts
11. ZIM 16pts
12. IRE 0pts

We've just swept PAK and NZ so when this is updated again we could be in 2nd.

ENG is currently in SA playing a series.

It's pts per series.

From memory it's 60pts a series. Which means a 3 Test series, each game is worth 20pts, but 5 games means it's worth 12pts. Which is also dumb. Each game should be worth equal pts.

I think there is a little bit of weighting for opposition and home vs away, and then there are bonus pts for doing something. Not entirely sure, but it's dumb.

Eng are losing. So SAF move forward and Eng back.

[-PJ-]

They arrived in Australia with little time leading into the Perth test. No warm up game.

prior preparation and planning prevents pearce poor performance.

They've been outclassed by AUS, who have come a long way in the past 12 months.

They lost 2 of 3 tosses. In Australia that is esp bad. Bad, because you bat, and if you bat big, the heat takes its toll on the opposition, which was the difference in all 3 Tests.
The toss they won, they lost when they said they would bowl.

They mightn't be the smartest race, but their very nice people..

[Matt]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

MCG is a road. Has been for some time. Thought they did give it a little life this time, but not enough. Certainly needs to be better. You really must have fast and tall quicks to win here.

I felt this Sydney pitch was more like the older pitches. Great to bat on early, but deteriorates over time, meaning it turns and gets variable bounce.

[-PJ-]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

The pitches these days are mainly drop in. Correct me please if I'm wrong but I think only Sydney is the real deal.

And remember, all our major cricket fields in this country get plenty of traffic during winter as well with Ping Pong and Rugby League.

[Matt]

Just read it... yeah, its complicated.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Test_Championship

[-PJ-]

I'm not sure how the ICC do their rankings and I won't even have a guess.

But here's the team rankings(Mens) last updated 23/12/19...about 2 weeks ago.
Test ranking-
1. IND 120pts
2. NZ 112pts
3. SA 102pts
4. ENG 102pts
5. AUS 102pts
6. SRI 92pts
7. PAK 85pts
8. WI 81pts
9. BNG 60pts
10. AFG 49pts
11. ZIM 16pts
12. IRE 0pts

We've just swept PAK and NZ so when this is updated again we could be in 2nd.

ENG is currently in SA playing a series.

It's pts per series.

From memory it's 60pts a series. Which means a 3 Test series, each game is worth 20pts, but 5 games means it's worth 12pts. Which is also dumb. Each game should be worth equal pts.

I think there is a little bit of weighting for opposition and home vs away, and then there are bonus pts for doing something. Not entirely sure, but it's dumb.

Eng are losing. So SAF move forward and Eng back.

Yeah they probably award points for away team 1st innings totals, winning by an innings etc !!

I bet the system is totally screwed up...like DRS !!!

[Azza]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

The pitches these days are mainly drop in. Correct me please if I'm wrong but I think only Sydney is the real deal.

And remember, all our major cricket fields in this country get plenty of traffic during winter as well with Ping Pong and Rugby League.

Gabba is still an excellent pitch. It's a drop in. Not sure there's a correlation.

[Matt]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

The pitches these days are mainly drop in. Correct me please if I'm wrong but I think only Sydney is the real deal.

And remember, all our major cricket fields in this country get plenty of traffic during winter as well with Ping Pong and Rugby League.

Gabba is still an excellent pitch. It's a drop in. Not sure there's a correlation.

I thought Perth was good. It's not the 70s-80s version of the fire and brimstone WACA, but I thought is was good and it's drop in.

[-PJ-]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

The pitches these days are mainly drop in. Correct me please if I'm wrong but I think only Sydney is the real deal.

And remember, all our major cricket fields in this country get plenty of traffic during winter as well with Ping Pong and Rugby League.

Gabba is still an excellent pitch. It's a drop in. Not sure there's a correlation.

I suppose the preparation of a drop in pitch v a real pitch for 5 days of cricket MAY be different is what I'm saying..I don't know Azza..I'm clutching at straws here.

During the footy season at the Gabba boofheads run all over the surface, then when the cricket season starts they drop in a square and I don't know..water it..mow it..water it..mow it..until it's got enough water and been mowed enough.

But Sydney probably needs a different level of love leading up to the summer..

I'm dribbling..it's a guess !!

[-TW-]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

The pitches these days are mainly drop in. Correct me please if I'm wrong but I think only Sydney is the real deal.

And remember, all our major cricket fields in this country get plenty of traffic during winter as well with Ping Pong and Rugby League.

Gabba is still an excellent pitch. It's a drop in. Not sure there's a correlation.

Gabbas not a drop in

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[RedRaider]

Thoughts on the pitches? I'm still concerned that Australian pitches - particularly Sydney and Melbourne - are far from what they used to be and are becoming rather flat, lifeless decks... even if there was some improvement this year.

I thought about the importance of batting first in these locations, Australia has made 400+ in their first innings and then been able to bowl out the Kiwi's twice within 4 days each time. Australia did not bat quickly on the first day of each test either. The Kiwi's have had injury and illness to reduce an average side on paper to an ordinary side on the field.

Without being demeaning, I think the rating of the Kiwi's as the No.2 side in the world at Test cricket was flattering them. Their bowling depth just could not apply enough pressure to keep the Aussies under 400 in their first dig. The Australians had specific plans for the Kiwi batsmen and generally executed the plans well. Cummins applied pressure spell after spell as the bowling unit went about their task and generally they were well backed up in the field.

If the Sydney and Melbourne tracks were better for bowling then the Tests may have been over in less than 4 days.