2nd Test Australia v NZ @ the WACA 10:30am WST

[to1994]

Surely those goals should be one and the same?

Not at all. Forget diehard cricket fans, the average fan simply wants to see Davey Warner smash the ball around the park and unfortunately that's what leads to pitches like we've had this and last summer.

Smith could play along with this also by making overly risky declarations but he's 1 up in the series, why risk being on the back foot in Adelaide for the sake of trying to be popular?

As for Clarke's captaincy, he was a very good captain but he's overly aggressive nature was exposed in places like India and the UAE where you need to adapt and change your strategies. Obviously Smith hasn't really been tested as a captain but I feel like some people just don't like him and miss Clarke.

 

[Gough]

I liked Clarke's captaincy, especially given what he had to work with.

Ponting on the other hand... well we'd probably still be batting.

Good captain, bad leader was the best summation I heard of the Clarke years. Prolly Haigh, or Lalor.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

Cricket Australia need to sort out the bullshit Road Pitches and until they do I hope games continue to end in draws.

 

[Scotland]

Good captain, bad leader was the best summation I heard of the Clarke years. Prolly Haigh, or Lalor.

Great batsman, good captain, shit bloke I heard someone describe him as.

Seemed pretty apt to me. He rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but he did good things with the team and you can't fault his record as a batsman.

 

[Lebbo73]

Lol, if you dont know what your talking about I prefer you dont comment!

How is that so? You wanted Smith to give NZ an easy run chase on a pitch that resembled the Nullabor!

 

[Scotland]

Does anyone really think we could've bowled out NZ in 60 or 70 overs?

Yeah if we set them 250-300 in 60 overs or so they might have been interested in chasing the win but they scored at 4 an over in the first innings and it took us 154 overs to get all 10 wickets. We were never going to get 10 wickets in 2 sessions.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Does anyone really think we could've bowled out NZ in 60 or 70 overs?

Yeah if we set them 250-300 in 60 overs or so they might have been interested in chasing the win but they scored at 4 an over in the first innings and it took us 154 overs to get all 10 wickets. We were never going to get 10 wickets in 2 sessions.

If we set them 250, we would be at 1-1....they were 2-100 basically without even trying to score!

 

[GROTTO]

Nothing wrong in draws, some draws are mouth watering compared to wins. However this match was like a punch me in the face kind of draw. A real boring shit match.

 

[STFU Donnie]

Good captain, bad leader was the best summation I heard of the Clarke years. Prolly Haigh, or Lalor.

Prolly? Say it ain't so.

I agree with that summation, though. Quite astute.

 

[GROTTO]

If this was the final test and we were leading 1-0, should Smith have even have declared? Just bat till 6pm on Day 5?

Surely the priority is and always will be to win the series. It is up to the administrators to ensure that games are not dead draws. Captains goal is to win the series.

 

[Scotland]

Nothing wrong in draws, some draws are mouth watering compared to wins. However this match was like a punch me in the face kind of draw. A real boring shit match.

Clearly you don't work for Channel 9.

It was a fascinating 5 days play. Gripping to the last over of the last session on the last day.

 

[carnthemlions]

I was at work and couldn't get to check the score until 2:15 (Adelaide time). I discovered that Australia had scored 24 runs in 17 overs.

Could. Not. Believe. It.

Sensible batting when NZ were getting the old ball to reverse and actually bowling well for once- disgraceful! They should've just had a swing like they did in England. A nice collapse would've really livened the game up.

 

[STFU Donnie]

Not at all. Forget diehard cricket fans, the average fan simply wants to see Davey Warner smash the ball around the park and unfortunately that's what leads to pitches like we've had this and last summer.

Smith could play along with this also by making overly risky declarations but he's 1 up in the series, why risk being on the back foot in Adelaide for the sake of trying to be popular?

As for Clarke's captaincy, he was a very good captain but he's overly aggressive nature was exposed in places like India and the UAE where you need to adapt and change your strategies. Obviously Smith hasn't really been tested as a captain but I feel like some people just don't like him and miss Clarke.

Smith's philosophy was put front and centre when they came out and crawled to 24 in the first 17 overs today. Totally piss-weak. Only 2 wickets down at the start of play! A more aggressive (it wouldn't have taken much, let's be honest) start and who knows what might have eventuated?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

If this was the final test and we were leading 1-0, should Smith have even have declared? Just bat till 6pm on Day 5?

Surely the priority is and always will be to win the series. It is up to the administrators to ensure that games are not dead draws. Captains goal is to win the series.

Ask yourself this...what would Cook have done? He sure on earth wouldn't have declared.

 

[kozi]

Good captain, bad leader was the best summation I heard of the Clarke years. Prolly Haigh, or Lalor.

Give me a good captain and a shit bloke over a good bloke but shit captain any day of the week.

 

[Tiger Toffee]

Cricket Australia need to sort out the bullshit Road Pitches and until they do I hope games continue to end in draws.

I reckon you have to go back to that Aust/nz game in Hobart in 2011 where the preparation of pitches in Australia changed from variable wickets at each ground to highways, a classic game that could've gone either way right up to the last wicket was also if my memory serves me correct, where Clarke had a massive whinge that there was nothing in it for batsman, nek minnet he is making double century's the very next summer on highways.

 

[Keys]

Lol at thinking Smith should have declared earlier or given away cheap wickets early in the day chasing quick runs

We weren't going to bowl NZ out inside 50 overs on that pitch

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Smith's philosophy was put front and centre when they came out and crawled to 24 in the first 17 overs today. Totally piss-weak. Only 2 wickets down at the start of play! A more aggressive (it wouldn't have taken much, let's be honest) start and who knows what might have eventuated?

The ball was reversing and they played the ball on its merits, you go hard and we are rolled only 240 ahead....we lose from there.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

All people whinging at no early declaration just stick to watching 20/20 cricket.

 

[lewigie]

New Zealand bowled incredibly well this morning. They bowled nothing leg side at all, all outside off.

It was very disciplined and explains why we didn't make too many runs during the opening session. We were losing wickets instead due to the pressure.

 

[wolmeister]

Smith's philosophy was put front and centre when they came out and crawled to 24 in the first 17 overs today. Totally piss-weak. Only 2 wickets down at the start of play! A more aggressive (it wouldn't have taken much, let's be honest) start and who knows what might have eventuated?

There was only 1 team that could win at the start of the day - NZ. There was no way we were going to bowl them out given the pitch conditions. IMHO it would have been pissweak to gift NZ the test by setting a too easy target when we were never a chance to win ourselves.

 

[DaRick]

Ask yourself this...what would Cook have done? He sure on earth wouldn't have declared.

True, but Cook is hardly a role model when it comes to captaincy.

Agree that declaring early (actually in general) was pointless.

I have had other problems with Smith's captaincy this match (fielders in wrong positions, fielders too far back, some poor usage of bowlers), but not so much this.

 

[The_Reaper]

Outside of Hansie Cronje and a few of the Pakistani guys who would have declared before Smith did?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

True, but Cook is hardly a role model when it comes to captaincy.

Agree that declaring early (actually in general) was pointless.

I have had other problems with Smith's captaincy this match (fielders in wrong positions, fielders too far back, some poor usage of bowlers), but not so much this.

Mabe so, but he knows how to win test series' away and that is the true test as a captain. It is what I want us to do over the next few years!

 

[to1994]

I find it ridiculous also that they've gone to the effort of making next years Saffas series 4 tests. What's the point if the bowlers are taken out of the game? It doesnt matter if the opposition are high class, if there's no balance between bat and ball it will always mean boring cricket.