Khan Can: International Cricket 2019-20

[Satchmo Distel]

The World Test final looks likely to be India v Aus/NZ/South Africa, with England as outsiders given they have already lost two home Tests.* Absurdly NZ do not play South Africa or England at all in the Championship despite those three being 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the current Test rankings and clearly contending for that final slot. Infact NZ do not get a home series against Australia, England or South Africa. Most series are also ridiculously short and thus prey to pitch conditions, the toss and the weather.

*You're fucked if you lose or draw a home series.

[Satchmo Distel]

Labuschagne has overtaken Smith for most Test runs this calendar year:

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/eng...2019;type=year

[Satchmo Distel]

NZ only lasted 55.2 overs in the 1st innings, enabling Aus to get over the loss of Hazelwood. OTOH Aus still need to take 10 second wicket innings a bowler short.

[Satchmo Distel]

Australia ruthless at home.

[tee rex]

How often do matches get cancelled (in advance) because of extreme heat? NZ had a warm-up game scheduled before the Boxing Day test, but it's not going ahead. The temperatures are off the charts in Australia (parts of).

Three sweaters at Headingley in May is starting to look positively refreshing.

[Kevin S]

Pakistan into their second innings in the second Test at home to Sri Lanka. They've got a sizable deficit to make up too after an immensely helpful 48 from Perera.

The only TV coverage as far as I can see is via PTV and Willow, so you will have to find your own way to see it...

[E10 Rifle]

Pakistan very much still in it - a couple of reasonably big top-order scores and they'd be favourites

[Kevin S]

Well, they've certainly done that.

[Kevin S]

And PK wrap up the win in convincing fashion. Home Tests are well and truly back.

[Kevin S]

... in which Naseem Shah became the youngest bowler to take a Test match fifer.

https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1209321839287128064?s=19

[tee rex]

80,000 at the MCG. No exaggeration to say there are probably more NZ supporters turning up for this one day of Test cricket than for an entire season of home series.

Smith doing his thing, alas.

[Ray de Galles]

Is there a South Africa v England series thread?

If not, can I go on record here with the following ;

Talksport? For fuck's sake!

[diggedy derek]

That was a big shock on Boxing Day to tune into Sports Extra and find merely the sodden party of the Cricket Social. I don't mind TalkSport all that much, but it wasn't what I was after.

Good game this, with the spectre of illness hanging over England, and quite the innings from QdK.

[Satchmo Distel]

Australia are starting to look ominously strong. Arguably the two best batsmen in the world this year* and the best fast bowler, backed by any two from three quality seamers and a good spinner. They just need a bit more batting for when Labuschange and/or Smith fail, especially away from home, as per The Ashes.

*A combined 2043 Test runs at 72.96.

[Kevin S]

Labuschagne has overtaken Smith for most Test runs this calendar year:

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/eng...2019;type=year

Oof, and he's carrying on in 2020 where he left off.

[Kevin S]

Quite the thrashing again for NZ at Australia's hands. Agree with Satch - there's a decent case to be made that they are the best Test side in the world right now.

[San Bernardhinault]

If only England hadn't concussed Smith in the Ashes, Labuschagne probably still wouldn't be playing and Australia would be substantially worse than they actually are.

[Ray de Galles]

Given how wretched the rest of Australia's batting was last summer and how well Labuschagne was doing at Glamorgan, he was always going to get the chance at some point.

[Greenlander]

5live Sports Extra have run Australian commentary throughout the night which they just stream as they don't cut away for news reports so it's a full eight hours of Australiana. Anyway from lunch on the first day against Pakistan they dominated every session of every day. All tests won inside four days, which does nothing to thwart the ICCs four-day test plan, with massive margins of victory. They only lost 66 wickets in the five matches, won two by an innings and the others by 247 runs or more.

Both Pakistan and New Zealand were made to sound pretty ordinary, maybe if NZ had batted first at Melbourne it might have been more of a contest but they are just a class apart in home conditions.

[Kevin S]

A Cricinfo article rightly checks the wave of Australian optimism by pointing out that imperious home summers have been false dawns in the past but even so there's no doubt this is a much better team than the one India beat a year ago.

Meanwhile Ireland are in the West Indies enjoying some Caribbean weather. The first of three ODIs is on Sky Sports Mix now.

[Kevin S]

Ireland 180 all out.

[Kevin S]

Not the foregone conclusion I expected, 132-4. If Lewis stays in then West Indies will have no trouble. If Ireland get him out soon it could be tricky.

[Kevin S]

Now it's just a formality, only 20 more runs needed.

[Satchmo Distel]

Wrong thread

[Gangster Octopus]

Thanks Guy.