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

[Jim Prideaux]

I was never quick witted to be a good sledger, I'd think of a great response when I was taking off my shoes and lighting a *** at the end of the day.

“The Jerk factory called, and they’re out of you!”

 

[Soggy2112]

Then, there's the other issue. Khawaja went out to a ball that was absolutely short enough to pull caught behind because the ball came off slower than it should have. Any number of balls leaped off a length over the course of the day, and when they did they went quickly. I'm not one for abandoning a game of cricket (I've always found it the utmost of ironies that the worse the batter is the more likely they are to play on a shit-tip of a turf wicket but the better the batter is the more likely the pitches are to be good for batting; plonk them on some of the old, torn up dustbowls in and around Melbourne and let's see how those excellent talents go against test match attacks on the wickets at park level!) but they're a bit lucky the game didn't go a little longer.

If someone was bowling 130+ on those decks I’m sure games would get abandoned pretty quick smart.

 

[sr36]

utmost of ironies that the worse the batter is the more likely they are to play on a shit-tip of a turf wicket but the better the batter is the more likely the pitches are to be good for batting; plonk them on some of the old, torn up dustbowls in and around Melbourne and let's see how those excellent talents go against test match attacks.

Outfields too. I remember watching Mark Waugh flicking fours racing away through midwicket with shots that wouldn't have got through the infield on our surface. You couldn't bat like Mark Waugh, even if you were Mark Waugh. Admittedly against our bowlers he would have just bludgeoned 4s.

 

[PhatBoy]

Regarding the Sydney pitch.

Referencing the possibility of it becoming ‘dangerous’ on days four and five if it went that long.

Yes yes I know it’s straight from the ‘back in my day’ playbook but can we just reflect on the fact that despite the Hughes tragedy, batsmen are better protected than they have ever been, and even a ‘dangerous’ pitch on day four or five in Sydney if it began to be less predictable would still be not as dangerous as pitches of yore, when protection was less and bowling less restricted.

It would be nice at some point if there was SOME emphasis put back onto batsmen being able to manage a strategy on those challenging surfaces even if it IS to just go berserk

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Regarding the Sydney pitch.

Referencing the possibility of it becoming ‘dangerous’ on days four and five if it went that long.

Yes yes I know it’s straight from the ‘back in my day’ playbook but can we just reflect on the fact that despite the Hughes tragedy, batsmen are better protected than they have ever been, and even a ‘dangerous’ pitch on day four or five in Sydney if it began to be less predictable would still be not as dangerous as pitches of yore, when protection was less and bowling less restricted.

It would be nice at some point if there was SOME emphasis put back onto batsmen being able to manage a strategy on those challenging surfaces even if it IS to just go berserk

Every time a pitch isn't a road batsmen whinge like no tomorrow these days. Honestly how do bowlers feel when it's as flat as the Hume Highway?

was it that hard when Webster made 50 plus and 40 not out showing application? How about Pant who got 40 in both innings? Sure people will say he batted ultra agressive- he does that a lot anyway! Even Usman who complained got 40 odd and looked the best he's looked all summer in the second innings! Lets not pretend the pitch was some cracked WACA pitch where Curtley Ambrose was making the ball roll on day 5, you could get runs if you showed application, problem is worldwide there's a lack of application. These are two of the worst batting sides at the moment too, we all said it before the series- both sides batting sucks, both sides have elite quicks, it was always the side who got more out of a poor batting lineup that was winning.

 

[sr36]

Every time a pitch isn't a road batsmen whinge like no tomorrow these days. Honestly how do bowlers feel when it's as flat as the Hume Highway?

was it that hard when Webster made 50 plus and 40 not out showing application? How about Pant who got 40 in both innings? Sure people will say he batted ultra agressive- he does that a lot anyway! Even Usman who complained got 40 odd and looked the best he's looked all summer in the second innings! Lets not pretend the pitch was some cracked WACA pitch where Curtley Ambrose was making the ball roll on day 5, you could get runs if you showed application, problem is worldwide there's a lack of application. These are two of the worst batting sides at the moment too, we all said it before the series- both sides batting sucks, both sides have elite quicks, it was always the side who got more out of a poor batting lineup that was winning.

I love spicy pitches, but I think current batsmen are getting unfairly criticised. They'd kill it on 1980s pitches against 1980s attacks, with 80s benefit of the doubt. The standard of cricket is outstanding at the moment.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I love spicy pitches, but I think current batsmen are getting unfairly criticised. They'd kill it on 1980s pitches against 1980s attacks, with 80s benefit of the doubt. The standard of cricket is outstanding at the moment.

Look at all the dismissals how many of them actually get their foot to the ball? You know like Batting 101? How many of them have an ability to leave on length? It's terrible techniques. Then watch someone like Kane Williamson who does exactly that. The era of t20 and ODI has made batsmen lazy and have to feel the bat on the ball all the time rather than knuckling down and getting through a tough period. At least half if not more of the dismissals were flat out poor batting this series, and worse in Sydney.

 

[troybe]

 

[sr36]

Look at all the dismissals how many of them actually get their foot to the ball? You know like Batting 101? How many of them have an ability to leave on length? It's terrible techniques. Then watch someone like Kane Williamson who does exactly that. The era of t20 and ODI has made batsmen lazy and have to feel the bat on the ball all the time rather than knuckling down and getting through a tough period. At least half if not more of the dismissals were flat out poor batting this series, and worse in Sydney.

Here's Curtley on a fast bouncy pitch - faster and bouncier than current pitches, but more consistent height and not as much seam as in this series. By today's standards, most pitches were roads and the bowling dropped off significantly after the new ball.

 

[PhatBoy]

Every time a pitch isn't a road batsmen whinge like no tomorrow these days. Honestly how do bowlers feel when it's as flat as the Hume Highway?

was it that hard when Webster made 50 plus and 40 not out showing application? How about Pant who got 40 in both innings? Sure people will say he batted ultra agressive- he does that a lot anyway! Even Usman who complained got 40 odd and looked the best he's looked all summer in the second innings! Lets not pretend the pitch was some cracked WACA pitch where Curtley Ambrose was making the ball roll on day 5, you could get runs if you showed application, problem is worldwide there's a lack of application. These are two of the worst batting sides at the moment too, we all said it before the series- both sides batting sucks, both sides have elite quicks, it was always the side who got more out of a poor batting lineup that was winning.

It’s a case of batsmen not having willingness to search beyond 1-2 tactics.

Everyone laughed at Matthew Wade’s tactic a few years ago against Neil Wagner but hey: Wagner didn’t get him. Wade thought beyond trying to either hit out, fend the ball, or duck and weave where he might get hit in the head. He got bashed up sure but he survived. He actually thought his way through something.

It’s so often a case nowadays of ‘if my normal approach doesn’t work in these conditions, I just have to start trying to flog everything.’

On the rare occasions someone deviates from that - Labuschagne in Perth for example - they get lambasted: ‘you just dug a hole for yourself that you were never getting out of.’

If the batsman doesn’t have the skillset I can certainly understand the ‘bash everything’ approach but if he has any level of judgement and flexibility he shouldn’t be beaten down by the idea of a ‘dangerous’ pitch just because the odd one bounces a bit more

 

[LukeParkerno1]

It’s a case of batsmen not having willingness to search beyond 1-2 tactics.

Everyone laughed at Matthew Wade’s tactic a few years ago against Neil Wagner but hey: Wagner didn’t get him. Wade thought beyond trying to either hit out, fend the ball, or duck and weave where he might get hit in the head. He got bashed up sure but he survived. He actually thought his way through something.

It’s so often a case nowadays of ‘if my normal approach doesn’t work in these conditions, I just have to start trying to flog everything.’

On the rare occasions someone deviates from that - Labuschagne in Perth for example - they get lambasted: ‘you just dug a hole for yourself that you were never getting out of.’

If the batsman doesn’t have the skillset I can certainly understand the ‘bash everything’ approach but if he has any level of judgement and flexibility he shouldn’t be beaten down by the idea of a ‘dangerous’ pitch just because the odd one bounces a bit more

Yeah I agree, it's why Khawja's comments were dumb, honestly it was the best he's looked all summer in the second innings. Everyone will say Melbourne but in Sydney we saw the Khawaja of old you know why...and wait for it here, he played good solid cricket shots and waited for the bad ball. Half of Khawaja's dismissals this series were prodding at balls a foot away from the stumps

 

[HirdsTheWord]

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dont like that usman got the pick

does not deserve it.

 

[the_interloper]

It’s a case of batsmen not having willingness to search beyond 1-2 tactics.

Everyone laughed at Matthew Wade’s tactic a few years ago against Neil Wagner but hey: Wagner didn’t get him. Wade thought beyond trying to either hit out, fend the ball, or duck and weave where he might get hit in the head. He got bashed up sure but he survived. He actually thought his way through something.

It’s so often a case nowadays of ‘if my normal approach doesn’t work in these conditions, I just have to start trying to flog everything.’

On the rare occasions someone deviates from that - Labuschagne in Perth for example - they get lambasted: ‘you just dug a hole for yourself that you were never getting out of.’

If the batsman doesn’t have the skillset I can certainly understand the ‘bash everything’ approach but if he has any level of judgement and flexibility he shouldn’t be beaten down by the idea of a ‘dangerous’ pitch just because the odd one bounces a bit more

I believe this describes Konstas well as an opener, it seems like him defending good inswing bowling will get him bowled eventually, it's actually way safer for him to try a ramp or charging down the wicket I think. If he could tighten up on the moving ball outside off (kind of important for a test opener ha ha) he could really be a weapon for us.

 

[ABAB]

dont like that usman got the pick

does not deserve it.

The only way he doesn't is when he retire....

 

[cats_09]

Because I know we had a bit of discussion about this during the test match & how would Boland's 6fa stack up against a century etc

 

[Black Diamond]

I believe this describes Konstas well as an opener, it seems like him defending good inswing bowling will get him bowled eventually, it's actually way safer for him to try a ramp or charging down the wicket I think. If he could tighten up on the moving ball outside off (kind of important for a test opener ha ha) he could really be a weapon for us.

If the ramp or charging is safer then that is terrible.