International Cricket Thread

[G-Man]

International Cricket Thread

Or they'll become the new West Indies, never able to recover from the glory days, just hanging around like Matthew McConnaughey's character in Dazed And Confused.

Time was when Australian cricketers made their debuts in their 30s because there were too many better players in their way. Now all kinds of duck merchants make the debuts in their 30s because everybody else ahead of them has flopped.

Great performance by South Africa. No matter how bad Australian teams are, you don't just go there and thoroughly thrash them in successive tests, less so with your best batsman and best bowler missing.

[SouthdownRebel]

International Cricket Thread

Withering assessments all round from the Australian cricketing commentariat. Seems there's a lack of real stand-out young players coming through. Ian Chappell, speaking his mind for once, thinks the state system is "broken" and the Argus review "a load of rubbish".

From an English perspective, this is all a terrible shame. However, I'm looking forward to seeing South Africa here next summer.

[SouthdownRebel]

International Cricket Thread

Take Warner, Khawaja and Smith out of the equation and EIGHT Australian batsmen contributed 55 runs for the loss of 15 wickets!!

[Janik]

International Cricket Thread

BT Sport have been showing this series. I keep missing what times their broadcasts start, so only caught up with a highlights programme from Day 3 early yesterday evening. Therefore I knew the overnight score. Then, channel flipping, I spotted that the Day 4's play was underway and was probably coming up to lunch. So I tuned in to see what was happening... fractions of a second after Philander had pocketed Lyon's catching practice.
The commentary announcing a South African victory confused the hell out of me for a minute or so. I thought I must have come across highlights from the 1st Test or something. But no.

[Janik]

International Cricket Thread

Adam Voges test career is surely over. In which case he will retire with a test batting average second only to Bradman. That will be a curio for cricket statisticians in future years.
Maybe the cut-off number of innings for players to be considered for that table will be increased from a 20 innings minimum to 32 innings. Call it Voges' law. Vinod Kambli would be the only other player excluded by that, and he is another for whom the test average gives a distorted picture.

[tee rex]

International Cricket Thread

Do the Australian cricketers still get together at the end to sing their bonding song?

[Kevin S]

International Cricket Thread

SouthdownRebel wrote: From an English perspective, this is all a terrible shame.

Yes. *chuckle* Isn't it just? *guffaw*

Haddock wrote: Chin up, Australia! It must be truly dreadful for your fans to witness such a series of losses. But I'm sure you'll be on the up again before too many years have passed. The whole cricket world needs an Australian team who can compete at Test level and we patiently await that day coming around once again, whenever it may be .

Yes, quite. With some hard work, long term thinking and grass roots reform, they may become a match for Zimbabwe. *snort*

[longeared]

International Cricket Thread

tee rex wrote: Do the Australian cricketers still get together at the end to sing their bonding song?

Only when they win. Gives them more time at present to work on their batting techniques I suppose.

[diggedy derek]

International Cricket Thread

Good god that was, and continues to be, hilarious. And well played South Africa - what a performance in the first Test in particular without Steyn.

The Voges thing is annoying. I hope they deem him to have enough 'credit in the bank' to dent that average further, but the writing seems to be on the wall for him.

[Etienne]

International Cricket Thread

There has to be a chance that Voges will play again, they are talking about getting Chris Rogers to play again. I've been watching his average drop quite obsessively, and would be content with one in the 50s. He should get some credit for the relentlessness of his early flat track bullying

[diggedy derek]

International Cricket Thread

Etienne, are they talking about getting Rogers in the team? I was under the impression they just wanted him to come in and give them some coaching and advice. To put him back on the pitch after all that concussion and dizziness and the guy actually retiring would be desperation indeed.

[ursus arctos]

International Cricket Thread

Quite a day for the Blackcaps

Grandhomme, indeed.

[San Bernardhinault]

International Cricket Thread

I was just looking at the scoreline, which suggests a stinking wicket. But then I looked through the dismissals and most of the top 6 were caught in the slips off dodgy shots

[ursus arctos]

International Cricket Thread

The test is on Watch ESPN on line here.

Some of the shots were ill advised, but the ball was moving in the air something fierce.

[San Bernardhinault]

International Cricket Thread

Oh! I should watch a bit while I finish up my work for the day

[tee rex]

International Cricket Thread

The first home test of the NZ summer often arrives unannounced, but this one even more so. Local news is dominated by the earthquake and general aftermath, and the cricket team hasn't exactly grabbed public attention with recent performances.

Confession: I needed OTF to remind me this match was happening. If the quake had hit a few miles further south, it probably wouldn't be.

"You Are The Umpire": If an aftershock happens during a delivery, is that 'dead ball'? Has anyone ever been dismissed by a tremor dislodging a bail?

[Etienne]

International Cricket Thread

diggedy, I only saw the headline, so I'm sure you're right.

Wonder if Grandhomme is bound for a Richard Ellison career. A debut at 30 doesn't suggest the sort of player who will regularly get sixfers in tests.

[Etienne]

International Cricket Thread

West Indies managed to pour weedkiller all over their shoots of recovery by failing to score four runs off the last over to beat Zimbabwe. Three runs, three wickets (included a non-striker being run out by a deflection on to the stumps) brought about a very Carribean tie.

[San Bernardhinault]

International Cricket Thread

Pakistan's batting wasn't much cop, but Trent Boult's delivery to get rid of Sarfraz was brilliant - the kind of thing that reminded me of Waqar at his best.

[G-Man]

International Cricket Thread

Australia drop Joe Burns, Adam Voges (through concussion), Callum Ferguson (after making his test debut), Peter Nevill, Joe Mennie and somebody else.

In come Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers and Matthew Wade as wicketkeeper. That's four debutants, plus Wade and Bird, who have 17 tests between them.

England-born Renshaw is young, at 20, with a first-class average of 44.39 off his 23 innings. He looks promising, though throwing him in at this moment, as an opener, might not help his career much (or it might make him, if he kicks off with a big score).

Peter Handscomb is 25 with an average of 40.56. Nic Maddinson is 24 with an average of 37.65.

For SA, spinner Tabraiz Shamsi might replace fellow spinner Keshav Maharaj, depending on conditions. And there are slight hopes that Morkel might be fit, though I'd be surprised if SA risked bringing him in at the expense of Hobart match-winner Kyle Abbot.

[diggedy derek]

International Cricket Thread

SA declare on 259/9 to give Australia 45 minutes under the lights. Now that's a fascinating declaration.

[Etienne]

International Cricket Thread

The Guardian OBO speculates as to why:

DRAMA! South Africa declared so David Warner couldn't open!

Oh this is brilliant skullduggery! David Warner was off the ground receiving treatment and the Proteas knew it, so they declared knowing the umpires wouldn’t let Warner open the innings. This is chaotic for Australia. Who will partner the debutant Renshaw? Another first-gamer in Maddinson or Handscomb? Surely not. Faf, you evil genius.

[diggedy derek]

International Cricket Thread

Yeah, that's brilliant.

[longeared]

International Cricket Thread

Absolutely mint by Faf.

[Ray de Galles]

International Cricket Thread

Is that "The Spirit of Cricket" then?