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Post by hhsussex on Nov 6, 2015 10:03:30 GMT
Creating a thread to share thoughts on some of the non-English series that are being played. Australia are dealing quite majestically with the New Zealanders, who are fielding a very similar team to the one that toured England this summer. Australia have a couple of new or revived batsmen in Burns and Khawaja, who contributed to a big total at 4+ per over , but pretty much the same bowling attack that sputtered fitfully in England.
Meanwhile in India, two years on from the last series on Indian soil - and you'd have to go back to 1928 (war years excepted) to say the same thing about England - the spinners have been enjoying themselves. Surprisingly the hero for South Africa in the first innings bowling was neither Imran Tahir nor one-time Sussex twelfth man Simon Harmer, but the late Sir Edward Elgar, opening batsman and seldom used slow left armer who took 4-22, including a couple of India's bright batting hopes. In reply Ashwin opened the bowling, took 5 wickets and with Jadeja and Mishra secured an unlikely but slender first inning lead of 17. Currently India are consolidating and looking ominous.
On edit: Having just watched him bowl towards the end of today's play, Sir Edward has few variations and did not seem at all enigmatic to the Indian batsmen.
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Post by flashblade on Nov 6, 2015 13:23:16 GMT
Creating a thread to share thoughts on some of the non-English series that are being played. Australia are dealing quite majestically with the New Zealanders, who are fielding a very similar team to the one that toured England this summer. Australia have a couple of new or revived batsmen in Burns and Khawaja, who contributed to a big total at 4+ per over , but pretty much the same bowling attack that sputtered fitfully in England. Meanwhile in India, two years on from the last series on Indian soil - and you'd have to go back to 1928 (war years excepted) to say the same thing about England - the spinners have been enjoying themselves. Surprisingly the hero for South Africa in the first innings bowling was neither Imran Tahir nor one-time Sussex twelfth man Simon Harmer, but the late Sir Edward Elgar, opening batsman and seldom used slow left armer who took 4-22, including a couple of India's bright batting hopes. In reply Ashwin opened the bowling, took 5 wickets and with Jadeja and Mishra secured an unlikely but slender first inning lead of 17. Currently India are consolidating and looking ominous. On edit: Having just watched him bowl towards the end of today's play, Sir Edward has few variations and did not seem at all enigmatic to the Indian batsmen.I see what you did there.  |
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 7, 2015 8:11:30 GMT
Contrasting Tweets as South Africa reach 39-4 chasing 218 to beat India on the 3rd day:
Freddie Wilde @fwildecricket 47s48 seconds ago
If England played South Africa on this Mohali pitch I think both teams would lose! #IndvSA
Freddie Wilde @fwildecricket 6m6 minutes ago
SA can blame the pitch as much as they like but not one of the four wickets to fall in this innings has done so to a huge turner. #IndvSA
Freddie Wilde @fwildecricket 5m5 minutes ago
Sure, the conditions have likely caused doubts and uncertainties but SA have played the pitch not the balls & they've been punished. #IndvSA
Ian Bennett @iandbennett 40m40 minutes ago
Disgraceful pitch in India test match. These pitches are worse for the game than flat decks #spinbore
Anyone else watching it - what do you think?
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Post by leedsgull on Nov 7, 2015 8:42:15 GMT
It would be interesting to see SA play Pakistan at the venues England have just used. It might put a different perspective on things. Several commentators have said that England competed much better than Australia when they played Pakistan.
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Post by coverpoint on Nov 7, 2015 10:40:01 GMT
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Post by fraudster on Nov 7, 2015 10:51:43 GMT
SA do have a proper spinner at least. These tracks aren't worse than flat decks - at least it's competitive and there will be a result. It's home advantage and it's always been the same, no different to a green-top in England or a bouncy quick track in SA. That's the challenge a team who wants to be the best faces, be the best everywhere. Two teams one pitch, after all.
Having said that, if a panel of international pitch producers was trialed in an attempt to make all tracks about the same, I would be interested to see how it went. Is it even possible though? The amount of times I've heard our groundsman use conditions as an excuse for a bad track suggests to me extremely different international conditions would be even more challenging.
Realistically, in England it will swing and seam, in the sub continent it will spin and in SA and Australia it will bounce and whistle past your nose - hopefully. Deal with it.
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 9, 2015 9:16:19 GMT
It seems years ago that New Zealand were in England, living up to and often exceeding their reputation as a fast-scoring, aggressive combination, skilled in all formats, capable of switching from T20 mode to Tests style with no discernible change in tactics. Their challenge inspired England to respond and the result was a halved Test series, played at breakneck pace and with incisive bowling, a nearly-halved 50 over series, save for a D/L result and a T20 win for England. Boult and Southee posed new threats to English batsmen, as they had to most other countries in the preceding World Cup and Tests series in the previous few months, and when Australia followed them and started their Test series with a limp display and uncertainty in batting and bowling it seemed that the balance of power had shifted.
Now Australia have regrouped, found a contrasting successor to Rogers, reignited the career of Khawaja and the New Zealand bowlers captured 8 wickets for 820 runs in 172 overs in the course of a 208 run defeat at Brisbane. Boult went for 188 in 37 overs, Southee was injured and the reseve bowling was farcically inadequate. Despite the familiar figure of Johnson spraying from line to line New Zealand's batting, Williamson and in the second innings McCullum apart, was unable to reach the standards they had set themselves and their run rate eventually declined to a comparatively tortoise-like 3.33 per over.
The Gabba pitch was lively and bouncy, there was rain around that interrupted the later stages of the game, controversy over umpiring - both sides could have been back in England. It looks as if Australia have found some cohesion at last, and perhaps McCullum's captaincy isn't the perfect thing it seemed a few months ago.
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Post by leedsgull on Nov 9, 2015 9:52:48 GMT
I would be wary in reading too much into the Brisbane Test. Australia haven't lost there since Noah was a boy. I remain to be convinced about Burns. He has had two poor seasons over here and if Khawaja was English I do not think he would be in the reckoning for a spot.
The SA top order seems over dependent on De Villiers & Amla. They have not replaced Smith or Boucher. All the teams seem strong at home and weak away at present.
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Post by coverpoint on Nov 9, 2015 20:28:49 GMT
I would be wary in reading too much into the Brisbane Test. Australia haven't lost there since Noah was a boy. I remain to be convinced about Burns. He has had two poor seasons over here and if Khawaja was English I do not think he would be in the reckoning for a spot. The SA top order seems over dependent on De Villiers & Amla. They have not replaced Smith or Boucher. All the teams seem strong at home and weak away at present. Burns and Khawaja average over 40 in first class cricket and so deserve their selection. |
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 13, 2015 8:14:58 GMT
Australia continuing in the same vein at Perth, albeit on a flat wicket. Khawaja being helped on his way towards another hundred by some generous bowling. A sparse crowd but I like the way that on one side there is a grassy bank for families to sprawl out on.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 9:13:22 GMT
Agree Burns and Khawaja are both quality players. But Warner is a class above them - 15 centuries (and 19 half-centuries) now in 45 Tests.
He's only got 21 f/c centuries in total - and all but six of them came in Test cricket, which is a phenomenal stat.
He's already up there with Hayden/Taylor/Boon as one of the finest Aussie opening batsmen of modern times. And as he's still only 28/29, he could well end up with more centuries than any other Aussie batsman, bar Ponting whose 41 looks pretty unassailable.
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Post by coverpoint on Nov 13, 2015 12:05:43 GMT
Agree Burns and Khawaja are both quality players. But Warner is a class above them - 15 centuries (and 19 half-centuries) now in 45 Tests. He's only got 21 f/c centuries in total - and all but six of them came in Test cricket, which is a phenomenal stat. He's already up there with Hayden/Taylor/Boon as one of the finest Aussie opening batsmen of modern times. And as he's still only 28/29, he could well end up with more centuries than any other Aussie batsman, bar Ponting whose 41 looks pretty unassailable. Agree about Warner. To play the way he does and score the runs he has shows he must have natural ability which is not easily replicated. |
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Post by coverpoint on Nov 15, 2015 13:11:25 GMT
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 15, 2015 13:31:37 GMT
I'm never quite convinced by these speed readings but Starc has bowled very well in this Test and he looks to be the most impressive of the current Australian attack. A really good fightback by Williamson (again) and Ross Taylor today after the steamrollering at Brisbane, but I don't think the NZ bowlers have it in them to bowl Australia out cheaply so it will probably end as a draw. |
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Post by coverpoint on Nov 17, 2015 6:00:28 GMT
Why aren't the Aussies declaring? When Nevill was out they had a lead of 301 with 50 overs left after the deduction of two plus the current over for change of innings.
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