1st Test Sri Lanka v Australia Jan 29-Feb 2 1500hrs @ Galle International Stadium

Who will win?


  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .

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Just frisbee a weight into the middle of the screen, you’ll be doing every e at the gym a favour.

Also, good for you Phat, long may it continue.

Thanks mate. Starting to see a noticeable results after exactly a month; the man boobs have been replaced by actual muscle so from the chest up I actually look, well, not ripped, but normal. If you took a photo and looked at it you’d say I just look like a normal 41 year old who isn’t overweight or unhealthy. Between my waist and my chest…. Well, um, that’s where the problem still exists and that’s gonna take a few more months at least. But it’s getting there.
 

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I went to a gym once, I sat on a exercise bike for ten minutes doing the Guardian crossword and decided it wasn't for me.
Yep. Should have gone with The Times...
 
Well no, you flat out said pitches were flatter as a way to discount that era which means you must discount the careers of Lara or Tendulkar. Either that or your flat pitches argument is flawed and used incorrectly
Pitches were flatter. It's really not debatable. I'm not discounting anyone. Tendulkar and Lara are all time greats.

They played in a different era with different attitudes, different tactics, different range of shots and deliveries employed, different technology and against different players. All they can be judged by is how good they were in their era - same with modern players and those pre-Lara/Tendulkar

We can't really be sure how well Smith would have gone in that era or Lara would have gone in this one, but I think they all would have been greats if they grew up and played in the era of the other.

Personally, I think most sports have progressed with greater professionalism, heaps more training and knowledge and skills having been developed and past down over time. Bradman is the greatest ever as he was twice as good as a his peers, but I think if you could teleport Tendulkar or Smith, etc.. into the 20s and 30s they'd outperform the Don.
 
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Helps there is not much on bar MAFS. I wouldn't even have a clue what else is on the other channels. Cricket is at all all time high fresh off a great series win too, Smith going for 10k too

Dont discount how few people watch FTA TV these days.
Those are some really good numbers despite the lack of competition.
 
Not sure why Healy decided to bowl. Did she forget it was a test match not a t20.
Drop in pitches don't break up - thus they are often the best for bowling on day 1 when they have more moisture. And short form cricket has resulted in teams not freezing up when chasing for a win. Recent stats have actually advantaged batting second.
 
I f**king hate every second I’m there but got to a point where if I didn’t, I knew I would never ever be able to be a non-fat c**t again
I'm with you. Occasionally I enjoy it but mostly it's a drag.

But given the physical state of my 95yo MIL who basically gave up walking 5 years ago (but is a sharp as a tack) I keep at it. More power to you
 

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Pitches were flatter. It's really not debatable. I'm not discounting anyone. Tendulkar and Lara are all time greats.

They played in a different era with different attitudes, different tactics, different range of shots and deliveries employed, different technology and against different players. All they can be judged by is how good they were in their era - same with modern players and those pre-Lara/Tendulkar

We can't really be sure how well Smith would have gone in that era or Lara would have gone in this one, but I think they all would have been greats if they grew up and played in the era of the other.

Personally, I think most sports have progressed with greater professionalism, heaps more training and knowledge and skills having been developed and past down over time. Bradman is the greatest ever as he was twice as good as a his peers, but I think if you could teleport Tendulkar or Smith, etc.. into the 20s and 30s they'd outperform the Don.


There were lots of flat pitches back then. There were also a multitude of stinkers as well:

Think back to the Perth pitches of that era: the one Lara himself got 136 on in 1996-97 was the one where Ambrose got his bat stuck in a crack and was run out. Greg Blewett was bowled by a ball that landed halfway down the pitch as Ambrose for the second WACA test in a row had a field day. Sabina Park and some of the other West Indies pitches were minefields as well through the 90s. One test against England was shitcanned as it was so dangerous. SA has probably been pretty steadily difficult all the way through but it had some absolute flyers as well during that time. The Indian decks that Kumble firstly, then he and Harbhajan together used to operate in, were spiteful. Sri Lanka’s from the Murali era right through to Herath were always pretty susceptible to turn.

I would say pink ball tests and some of the changes in ball technology have made movement a bigger factor recently, that’s one thing that has changed noticeably
 
I'm with you. Occasionally I enjoy it but mostly it's a drag.

But given the physical state of my 95yo MIL who basically gave up walking 5 years ago (but is a sharp as a tack) I keep at it. More power to you

Good man. I spend a lot of it looking at other people there with that ‘I just don’t belong here’ feeling but maybe one day I’ll shake that.
 
There were lots of flat pitches back then. There were also a multitude of stinkers as well:

Think back to the Perth pitches of that era: the one Lara himself got 136 on in 1996-97 was the one where Ambrose got his bat stuck in a crack and was run out. Greg Blewett was bowled by a ball that landed halfway down the pitch as Ambrose for the second WACA test in a row had a field day. Sabina Park and some of the other West Indies pitches were minefields as well through the 90s. One test against England was shitcanned as it was so dangerous. SA has probably been pretty steadily difficult all the way through but it had some absolute flyers as well during that time. The Indian decks that Kumble firstly, then he and Harbhajan together used to operate in, were spiteful. Sri Lanka’s from the Murali era right through to Herath were always pretty susceptible to turn.

I would say pink ball tests and some of the changes in ball technology have made movement a bigger factor recently, that’s one thing that has changed noticeably

Good points. There were some shockers, but there is a lot more consistent sideways movement these days than ever before. Back then "good pitch" meant road. Some of those "good pitches" would have been given an ICC report in the current climate.

The Indian pitches weren't generally spiteful until day 4/5 - they were really good for batting early on in tests - particularly when India was batting on them. Partially pitch and partially SENA arrogance, where they didn't respect the conditions and bother working out how to bowl there.
 

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1st Test Sri Lanka v Australia Jan 29-Feb 2 1500hrs @ Galle International Stadium


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