Test Benaud Qadir Trophy 3rd Test Pakistan v Australia @ Lahore March 21-25

[Happy Mastenator]

Not sure how anyone can claim Cummins has passed McGrath. Cummins has a third of the wickets McGrath had. There is no doubt Cummins has the potential to pass McGrath but he’s got to keep performing at this level for another 8+ years. That’s where McGrath excelled.

 

[DaRick]

An apt comparison, but McGrath was a genius against the tail.
... he's Glenn McGrath. Dunno what you want me to say. Even in his final few years and 5-10km slower, he was still Glenn McGrath.

Realistically, at Trent Copeland's pace he would have been no more than a holding bowler on most AUS pitches.

In these two late-era spells, most of his deliveries were around 130 km/h.

 

[MinerBoy]

Not sure how anyone can claim Cummins has passed McGrath. Cummins has a third of the wickets McGrath had. There is no doubt Cummins has the potential to pass McGrath but he’s got to keep performing at this level for another 8+ years. That’s where McGrath excelled.

He hasn’t passed McGrath. I don’t even think it’s a matter of personal opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[JackOutback]

Great to get the series win, that’s what bold declarations can do. Lyon answered some (deserved) criticism.

As for talk about Cummins over McGrath already? LOLNO. Not now and it would take a fair effort in coming years to achieve it.

 

[cinerary]

Great to get the series win, that’s what bold declarations can do. Lyon answered some (deserved) criticism.

As for talk about Cummins over McGrath already? LOLNO. Not now and it would take a fair effort in coming years to achieve it.

But it is an opinion, which means all logic can be thrown out the door. The provenance of these ideas makes me question whether I am engaging with 16 year olds.

My opinion is Trump is more of a ******* than Putin, even though they are both quality dipshits.

Lol, the plural is OK. Ha

 

[Around the Wicket]

The Cummins hype is abit over the top before this 5er to win the game he was averaging like 47 for the series lol.

 

[PhatBoy]

Everyone knows I love giving it to the Aussies But can’t fault them here they needed to win a decent away series and they’ve done it. I don’t think I’ve really learned a lot that wasn’t already obvious - they have batsmen who can take advantage of friendly conditions, and fast bowlers who can take wickets when it’s not doing a lot. Like everyone I’m disappointed in the pitches as they didn’t offer a huge challenge but both teams played on them so can’t argue with the result

 

[DaRick]

The Cummins hype is abit over the top before this 5er to win the game he was averaging like 47 for the series lol.

Yeah, if you take out a bowler's best performances their average does tend to blow out a bit.

 

[revo333]

Usman now averaging 47. 10 years down the track it’ll be a mystery to us why he never played more in an era where we only really ever had 2-3 good test level batsmen at any one time.

I don't think that will be the case.

Before this chance he had already played 30+ tests but now he is in great form and cashing in.

 

[Around the Wicket]

Usman now averaging 47. 10 years down the track it’ll be a mystery to us why he never played more in an era where we only really ever had 2-3 good test level batsmen at any one time.

Half his own fault, Warner hasn't really had a decent opening partner since Chris Rogers and the selectors have hinted to Khawaja to move to the top for QLD and he has always resisted.

 

[revo333]

Funny place

Came in to read about the win, instead I read Cummins has passed McGrath as an all time great.

Hmm ok..

 

[Gethelred]

Think there's also a point to be made here.

If Babar had even tried to win the second test - and I don't understate the outside possibilitiy of them making 503, I get that it was unlikely - it would have left them less vulnerable to a fifth day wicket in the third test. Making runs when runs are easy and the pitch is taking the sting out of the bowling (in short, when circumstances suit you as a batting side) is thoroughly better than relying on the unknown of a third test.

Batting at a run rate of under 2.4 on batting decks is completely reliant on your bowling being so much better than your opponent that you do not need to worry about time in the test. Only one team actively sought victory over this series, and I genuinely do not understand (even given the geopolitics of cricket returning to Pakistan) why.

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

Khawaja has been amazing this summer. World class.

 

[DaRick]

Think there's also a point to be made here.

If Babar had even tried to win the second test - and I don't understate the outside possibilitiy of them making 503, I get that it was unlikely - it would have left them less vulnerable to a fifth day wicket in the third test. Making runs when runs are easy and the pitch is taking the sting out of the bowling (in short, when circumstances suit you as a batting side) is thoroughly better than relying on the unknown of a third test.

Batting at a run rate of under 2.4 on batting decks is completely reliant on your bowling being so much better than your opponent that you do not need to worry about time in the test. Only one team actively sought victory over this series, and I genuinely do not understand (even given the geopolitics of cricket returning to Pakistan) why.

I think that PAK pursued a strategy of nullification, in that they sought to nullify Australia's strengths first and foremost rather than cater to their own. They assumed that they could run our pace bowling attack down over the course of the series by preparing roads, and that we would capitulate at least once to their spinners, which in fairness has happened before.

The problem with that strategy is: 1) it depends a lot on winning the toss, because it's easier to run through a side with spin on a final day wicket, 2) it also nullified their very promising pace bowling duo (Afridi/Naseem) and 3) their dual spin attack couldn't run through our batting lineup when conditions didn't suit.

Plus, Babar was tactically too defensive, too often hoping to bore us out rather than proactively searching for wickets. That strategy would have worked well enough against a Clarke/Lehmann side, but for all of his managerial faults, Langer did infuse some grit into our batting lineup. Nowadays, at our worst we tend to erode over hours rather than collapse in minutes.

Also, I don't think they accounted for Carey, Green and Khawaja in particular negotiating their spinners as well as they did. Khawaja's struggles against spin are well known, especially overseas, but his approach to spin is very different nowadays. He's more patient, plays with much softer hands and plays late, whereas before he used to just prod forward.

I think they also figured that by preparing roads, they could nullify some of Cummins' main weapons (bounce, awkwardness). Unfortunately for them, he could also generate substantial reverse if necessary, and he was as accurate and persistent as ever.

In retrospect, I do wonder why Cummins hasn't used reverse more often previously. To some degree, it's because he's been developing the skill with an eye on the PAK tour, which is why he only really unfurled it at the SCG, when they were searching for a win. Otherwise, he kept it under wraps, leading PAK to believe that he didn't use reverse swing much without considering why that may be so.

Going forward, Khawaja may not be as dominant in SL and he certainly won't be in India. SL pitches traditionally turn more than PAK pitches, and India have a wide array of weapons to use against him. While Ashwin/Jadeja are getting on in years, they're still very dangeorus on their own conditions, and Ashwin has become a more rounded spinner over time.