5th Test Border Gavaskar Trophy January 3-7 1000hrs @ the SCG

[the_interloper]

Can't remember who, but someone here, who professed to have watched him at Shield level, suggested he'd been told to go hard at the Indians by management as his full on aggression was NOT typical of how he's been playing at Shield level.

Don't know if that's true or not, but it may explain his aggression.

Before he played I’d heard from more than one in the media that he’s a genuine 4 day opener, not to take notice of his Big Bash batting, that’s why his approach certainly surprised me

 

[TigerCraig]

What are we going to do now? No bloody cricket except the 'Go the Bash". Bring on the footy!
I hope someone does have a good talk to Konstas, 113 runs at 28 was hardly setting the world on fire, he has talent, now they have to nurture it? Perhaps the Sri Lanka tour could accelerate his progress? One thing is for sure, the Poms will verbal him big time next year...it's going to be an interesting year!

Womens Ashes then Sri Lanks

 

[Bucking Beads]

I don't think Warner and Konstas are comparable at all TBH. Warner never really batted the way Konstas has so far in his test career.

 

[CarnTheScray]

Because he's already showing signs of being a self entitled flog that got his COMEUPPANCE. If he was any good he would have belted a century .

I guarantee you do not hold this same view towards a certain player in your football team.

 

[Big Bryza]

Why not? Bumrah had his arm open asking the question so Kontas answered him with "he is not ready". Did he say anything aggressive??? Had Bumrah stood there tossing the ball in the air, you think Kontas would have said anything given there was no question asked.

The carry on over SK having a word to Bumrush is completely laughable. How soft has everyone become.

 

[Topkent]

The carry on over SK having a word to Bumrush is completely laughable. How soft has everyone become.

The irony of being called soft by Indians is hilarious too. Probably the softest campaigners going

 

[AJ_2000]

No wonder he has back problems

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

The irony of being called soft by Indians is hilarious too. Probably the softest campaigners going

As always, they play the victim.

Softest campaigners going around.

 

[Gough]

Has to be one of the worst summers of cricket I can remember.

Obviously Australia winning is a big positive. However the fact that 3/5 games were essentially done and dusted by day 3, 1 was a washout and we were left with just 1 quality game that went the length.

The pitches in Australia need some serious work. This summer was far to much in the bowlers favour and very few batsman could get on top.

Can’t have pitches that favour the bowling conditions to that degree. If this was in India and we had the same results on spinning pitches we’d be up in arms.

Found it a very disappointing series in the end and not up to the hype which was a shame.

It's all about quality not quantity and this summer was top drawer cricket.

 

[Xtreme]

I guarantee you do not hold this same view towards a certain player in your football team.

You leave Luke Bruest alone, he'd never hurt a fly!

 

[PhatBoy]

Usually a middle order batsman should be averaging mid to high 40s (or more). Easier to bat when the ball isn't new.

What is ‘should’ mate?

In Australia’s history 10 batsmen batting between positions 4-6 have scored 2000+ runs in test cricket averaging over 45.

Where does ‘should’ come from?

5 of them are Chappell, Smith, Waugh, Border and Harvey who are unequivocal legends of the game.

Setting an expectation that a middle order batsman simply should just rock into the team and be averaging something around 45 as an arbitrary pass mark is ridiculous

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

View attachment 2198161

This was 10 years ago when Smudge got the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Sunny was told that he would do the honours if India kept the BGT and AB would present the trophy if Australia won the series to win the silverware back. I don't see why they can't have both men hand the trophy over.

If they're both in attendance it seems ridiculous for them not to both present the trophy that carries their name, regardless of the result.

Worse in this instance, I reckon that because of Gavaskar's somewhat partisan/salty commentary at times, I think people may have speculated in the moment that his non-appearance was due to him throwing the toys out of the cot, which wasn't the case.

 

[Achy Blakey Heart]

Stop your right wing politics on this board.

I haven't mentioned anything political. I definitely haven't implied violence towards a 19yr old debutant. You could just admit you shouldnt have said it...but i doubt your ego will allow you to.

 

[PhatBoy]

Sore back? Or just looking to protect his average.

Yeah I know that my tactic to do that if I had 31 wickets at 12 in a series would be to bail on arguably the most bowler friendly wicket in the series just as the top order had been removed in the first innings.

 

[BGman]

Konstas has potential but his constant need to play like it's T20 is not going to suit test cricket in the long run.

This was a plan/tactic for India, whether orchestrated by the brains trust or Kid Kon himself. Can assure you normally he has a correct technique but does use his gears. Was surprised how cleverly he did that in his dual shield 100s.

 

[Achy Blakey Heart]

Has to be one of the worst summers of cricket I can remember.

Obviously Australia winning is a big positive. However the fact that 3/5 games were essentially done and dusted by day 3, 1 was a washout and we were left with just 1 quality game that went the length.

The pitches in Australia need some serious work. This summer was far to much in the bowlers favour and very few batsman could get on top.

Can’t have pitches that favour the bowling conditions to that degree. If this was in India and we had the same results on spinning pitches we’d be up in arms.

Found it a very disappointing series in the end and not up to the hype which was a shame.

Test cricket comes in many forms, and implied in its name, it is the ultimate test of players and teams in all conditions.

I think the average punter is incredibly ignorant at how difficult pitch preparation is at this level. Ideally, we want to see a deck that seams day 1, flattens out day 2-4, and then spins day 5. But this is impossible to achieve most of the time. There are so many variables that go into pitch prep, and ultimately despite all the hard work of the curators and intangibles such as weather, soil and atmospheric conditions, they are still probing in the dark a little until the pitch is bowled on in anger.

We have seen a trend away from the roads of a decade ago, i remember the cricket public all whining when decks were too flat because they wanted more for the bowlers.

I do think the pitches have been a little bowler friendly this series, but not to the extent that many are sulking about. Ultimately, playing on tough pitches will reap dividends for our bats down the track when we tour places like England, and NZ.

 

[Achy Blakey Heart]

It's all about quality not quantity and this summer was top drawer cricket.

Cannot agree more. Compelling viewing and great for the game here down under!

 

[JimmyBC]

What is ‘should’ mate?

In Australia’s history 10 batsmen batting between positions 4-6 have scored 2000+ runs in test cricket averaging over 45.

Where does ‘should’ come from?

5 of them are Chappell, Smith, Waugh, Border and Harvey who are unequivocal legends of the game.

Setting an expectation that a middle order batsman simply should just rock into the team and be averaging something around 45 as an arbitrary pass mark is ridiculous

Yea it's a weird passmark will be pretty happy if Travis hangs for his career at his current 43 average.

 

[JackFlash]

Womens Ashes then Sri Lanks

Is Konstas playing for the women?

 

[BGman]

Australia has produced imo the most exciting cricketer since Ricky Ponting and yet there are some on here that just love lopping the tall poppy. Is specially annoying when he is still a cricket baby on training wheels. So cut him some slack.

 

[PhatBoy]

Yea it's a weird passmark will be pretty happy if Travis hangs for his career at his current 43 average.

Blokes through the generations I have grown up and continued to watch;

Richardson
Azharuddin
Vengsarkar
Jones
Martyn
Aravinda
Boon
Cullinan
Robin Smith
Ganguly
Laxman
Sarwan
Bell
Mark Waugh
Malik

Etc etc etc

Good, world class players who made dozens and dozens of centuries, match winning knocks across all countries in all circumstances. None of them averaged more than 45 (Laxman with 45.7 is the highest).

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Has to be one of the worst summers of cricket I can remember.

Obviously Australia winning is a big positive. However the fact that 3/5 games were essentially done and dusted by day 3, 1 was a washout and we were left with just 1 quality game that went the length.

The pitches in Australia need some serious work. This summer was far to much in the bowlers favour and very few batsman could get on top.

Can’t have pitches that favour the bowling conditions to that degree. If this was in India and we had the same results on spinning pitches we’d be up in arms.

Found it a very disappointing series in the end and not up to the hype which was a shame.

I dont think the matches were bad per say some were short, but still eventful, but i think Perth should be stripped of test matches until the fans over there sort their stuff out. Embarrassing to have a near empty stadium every year over there to kick us off for the series.

IMO Ashes 2025 Should be;

Test 1- Brisbane
Test 2 - Adelaide
Test 3 - Tasmania
Test 4 - Melbourne
Test 5 - Sydney

 

[Bucking Beads]

Australia has produced imo the most exciting cricketer since Ricky Ponting and yet there are some on here that just love using the tall poppy syndrome. Jeez the kid has just turned 19, he is a baby in cricket terms. So cut him some slack.

When you consider that this team is crying out for someone with a bit of fire in the belly. We've always had someone to stand up for our team but before Konstas we didn't have that once Warner retired.

 

[BGman]

Sam Konstas pathway 3: St George Cricket Club president Kevin Greene said at the time that Sam was always viewed as "a prodigious talent" as he worked his way through the Saints junior grades from the age of eight.

"He lived just down the road from Hurstville Oval and he and his twin brother Johnny, who was also a very good player, were often at the ground watching first grade, or in the nets at the adjoining Timothy Reserve.

"They were always first to training and putting in an exceptional amount of effort.
"When the Norm O'Neill Centre opened in Penshurst Park, Sam and Johnny were also regulars there, developing their skills"

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Australia has produced imo the most exciting cricketer since Ricky Ponting and yet there are some on here that just love using the tall poppy syndrome. Jeez the kid has just turned 19, he is a baby in cricket terms. So cut him some slack.

Hard to disagree with you.

let the kid be a kid for now. In time he will learn to value his wicket more, just needs more experience.