Cricket 2013

[Troy]

Last night was a bit of a farce, too dangerous to play according to the umpires yet the batsmen were scoring at 5 and over and the fielders had no issues catching. Missed out on only 30 minutes in the end but that might be enough in the end.

Australia declared overnight and Harris managed to get Cook for a duck this morning. Just had a shout for Trott LBW then, not out but reviewed and it was umpire's call. Close but not close enough, good review even though it wasn't out. 13/1 chasing 332 but England will be aiming to draw not chase down those runs.

 

[Troy]

Harris managed to get Trott as well down the legside, great opening spell from him. Siddle just got an edge from Root but Clarke dropped it at first slip unfortunately Lyon getting plenty of spin especially wide of off stump but Pieterson is still looking to attack him.

EDIT: Pieterson given out caught behind, Haddin convinced yet Siddle didn't even appeal. Reviewed it, no Hotspot but a small noise and they didn't over turn it.

Can we not use DRS for the last two tests, hasn't been conclusive at all this series.

 

[Dale]

Can we not use DRS for the last two tests, hasn't been conclusive at all this series.

It's not really the DRS that's at fault though really, it's the 3rd umpire using it that's the massive problem.

They seriously need to get a real time Snicko up and running so they can use that throughout the process, would help solve a bunch of issue and piss poor decisions.

 

[Troy]

It's not really the DRS that's at fault though really, it's the 3rd umpire using it that's the massive problem.

They seriously need to get a real time Snicko up and running so they can use that throughout the process, would help solve a bunch of issue and piss poor decisions.

That is true they need some people in the box that actually understand DRS and can interpret the pictures and data properly. It is weird that they can't use Snicko along with everything else to try to clear things up, nothing is 100% but by adding all the info together they can get a better picture.

Shame that the last day was rained out as I thought Australia had a great chance to win, pity that the Ashes have already been decided by the third test but hopefully we can win the last two to level the series and get something out of it.

For changes for the fourth test I wish that Watson would be dropped for Hughes. He failed two more times to hit a score and as a senior batsman should be held accountable, he has also had the luxury of batting in the same spot for 5/6 of his innings unlike Hughes. Whatever happens he won't be opening, Warner will open and Watson will probably bat six. I want to see Bird get a run in English conditions, if Harris isn't fit he can replace him.

 

[AZUCAR!]

Apparently England & Australia are meeting with the ICC, to discuss the use of the DRS system for the last 2 tests.

 

[Troy]

There was some drama about silicone tape being used on bat edges to hide edges on HotSpot, the inventor of HotSpot brought it up as an issue to the ICC but didn't make any specific claims of cheating. More pointing out that it was possible. Batsmen would have to only place it on the outside edge of their bats and leave the inside edge bare otherwise it wouldn't show an edge for an LBW shout.

One change this test for Australia, Bird in and Starc out. Bit unfortunate for Starc that he keeps going in and out of the team but I can see why Bird was played here. His bowling style, based on seam movement, should do well on this dry pitch. Surprised that England didn't bring in Onions for Broad or Bresnan here.

England won the toss and are 51-1 after 25 overs. Watson picked up Root for 16.

 

[Dale]

Quick question on something that just happened before tea.

Bird bowled to Bairstow and he thought he hit it onto his boot and was claiming the catch and asked the question to the umpire which is fair enough, but why did the umpire refer it upstairs and not stick with his original decision of not out and force Australia to use a review?

 

[Troy]

Quick question on something that just happened before tea.

Bird bowled to Bairstow and he thought he hit it onto his boot and was claiming the catch and asked the question to the umpire which is fair enough, but why did the umpire refer it upstairs and not stick with his original decision of not out and force Australia to use a review?

Umpires are allowed to check for bump balls or for low catches, teams don't need to use their reviews on that just like they don't need to use it for runouts/stumpings.

Very happy for Rogers to get his maiden ton, second oldest Australian to score a maiden century at 35 years old. Pity we fell away this morning and only sneaked out a 32 run lead. Very even game, good contest. Trust Watson to get a half century when his spot was under pressure, he will now probably keep his spot and not perform for another few tests.

 

[Troy]

Another missed opportunity with that last test, started well with Rogers and Warner but another huge collapse cost us. Three out of the four tests so far we have been in positions to win it but can't win the big moments, England have much more composure when the pressure is on. Watson should have played his last test but the selectors will probably keep picking him even though he has 2 centuries from 45 tests. Khawaja will probably be playing for his career next test as well. Hughes will hopefully play the last test but you never know with these selectors. I have a feeling that if Watson is dropped/injured they might give Faulkner a debut since we are fascinated with allrounders ever since Flintoff had that great series in 05.

Wouldn't be surprised if there are more changes to the bowling lineup than the batting lineup even though the batting is the issue.

 

[Dale]

Troy, what do you make to the Darren Lehmann outburst on Australian Radio the other day? Bit unprofessional for the coach of all people to be doing something like that.

 

[Troy]

Troy, what do you make to the Darren Lehmann outburst on Australian Radio the other day? Bit unprofessional for the coach of all people to be doing something like that.

Not good at all and I don't agree with him. Broad isn't a cheat and I said that when the incident happened, he did the right thing not walking. He isn't an umpire and the issue should be with Dar not Broad. I don't mind him saying that the Australian crowds will get into him because that was always going to happen but to label him a cheat is wrong. Lehmann has a bit of a history of saying too much, in the latest Big Bash Tournament he basically called Marlon Samuels a chucker when he was bowling fast bouncers as an off spinner. He should focus on trying to get us a win this tour. He is calm for the most part but then can go over the top like he did here.

Good day yesterday at the start of the last test. Lots of debuts with Faulkner in for Australia and Woakes and Kerrigan in for England. Faulkner is a bowling allrounder with a bit of agro, very good bowler and his batting continues to improve each season. I have seen Woakes before in ODI's down in Australia, not sure if he has enough pace at test level but we will see. Kerrigan I know bowled against the Australians in a tour match and plays Div 2 county cricket but other than that I know nothing about him. Not the best debut for him but he would have been nervous and there is still plenty of time left this test for him.

Watson has done nothing in test cricket for two years, his last decent test series was against England in the 2010 Ashes, and now will have saved his spot for another couple of years. Scored 176 and it was a good innings but it was a nothing test, where were the runs when the series was up for grabs or when we could have drawn the series? He has been gifted tests for so long and I wish we allowed our younger batsmen the same leeway he has been given. Glad that Smith picked up another half century, developed so much as a batsman over the past couple of years.

How good was that bouncer Broad bowled to Watson. Clocked him right behind the ear, perfect placement.

Raining at the moment so day two has been delayed.

 

[Troy]

Bit of a slow test so far with more rain delays. Australia did well to get close to 500 at nearly four an over and I was very happy that Smith managed to get his maiden test century. Haven't been able to make enough breakthroughs though on day three and England are content to block away to draw the test. 247/4 at barely over 2 an over which made for such a slow day yesterday. Unless something drastic happens this will be a draw.

 

[AZUCAR!]

Shitty way for the Ashes series to end earlier, with the umpires stopping play for bad light, with us needing 21 runs to win from 4 overs. It was a fun Day 5 though, and one that IMO would've been even better for us had we won the series 4-0 overall, instead of 3-0.

3 months now until the next Ashes Test in Australia, I can't wait. Hopefully we'll end up victorious for the 4th series in a row. Also the series win moves us from 3rd to 2nd in the ICC Test Rankings, whilst Australia drop from 4th to 5th below Pakistan

 

[Troy]

Was a fun final day, nice to see Clarke mix things up to try to force a result. If England had actually batted at a decent rate in their first innings rather than playing for a draw there probably would have been a result. Bad light is a shitty way to end the test but the umpires needed to stay consistent and go off for the same light reading that they went off earlier in the series, including on day two. World record for most amount of runs scored on a final day of a test, close to 500, would have been great for those at the ground. Hopefully Dar gets banned for pushing a player just like a player would for pushing an umpire.

What are your thoughts on the English players urinating on the pitch after the test? No respect for their own grounds which is pretty sad.

Overall 3-0 is a terrible result but we were competitive in four of the tests, the second we were never in it, and so it wasn't a completely thrashing. Very confident for the return series, still need to sort out a spot or two in the batting order but other than that everything is looking good.

My stab at a team for the first test

Rogers
Warner
Watson
Clarke
Hughes
Smith
Haddin
Siddle
Pattinson
Harris
Lyon

Not sure if Pattinson will be fit by then, if not Starc in.

 

[Troy]

Nice to walk away with a Trophy after that terrible tour even if it is just for an ODI series. Some weird selections were made that series, no idea why Ahmed got a game and our top order just doesn't look right.

Was fun watching Zimbabwe beat Pakistan in a test match the other week. Only their fifth win over a test team, excluding Bangladesh. They were good in the first test as well but couldn't remain focussed for all five days but this time they were. Imagine if they actually had a proper training system and coaching system in place. I remember back in the late 90's where Zimbabwe had a good number of excellent players but unfortunately thanks to the government so many were run out of the country.