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Cricket XXII - A Cook's Tour


Stubby

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Seems to me that India has found a live one in Shami. 140kph+, moves it both ways, pitches it up, takes wickets. What's not to like?

There's been a few false dawns for India in the last decade with guys like Sreesanth, RP Singh, Balaji and of course, Ishant Sharma, who've all started well and declined rapidly. Shami has a long, long way to go. But I agree with you, so far he looks great.

This test looks like it's headed for a fantastic tight finish, probably by the third session tomorrow. I love bowler's pitches and the low scoring tests they produce.

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That was an awesome first session- 5 wickets for about 65 runs. I didn't think this was possible, but Steyn was the least effective fast bowler on display in that session. Now with Morkel injured, South Africa are screwed if India cash in on Kallis and Steyn doesn't improve his lines. I don't think Tahir and Duminy will be given the ball this innings.


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That was an awesome first session- 5 wickets for about 65 runs. I didn't think this was possible, but Steyn was the least effective fast bowler on display in that session. Now with Morkel injured, South Africa are screwed if India cash in on Kallis and Steyn doesn't improve his lines. I don't think Tahir and Duminy will be given the ball this innings.

Whats the score and the ground there playing on?

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With Morkel's injury, this has decisively swung in India's favour...that being said, they still have some bowling options thanks to Kallis. Duminy can bowl some spin too as a fifth bowler, although it seems the pacemen will be the most dangeorus on this patch (as would suit a wicket at the Wanderers).


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Tahir has just released much of the pressure that Kallis and Philander built up. India are slowly edging ahead due to some very patient batting. I think it's quite funny that some of the South African commentators are getting really worked up about cricket not allowing substitutes like rugby and soccer. They got really flustered when Dravid suggested that there's plenty of logistic issues to consider and that it's not something the MCC cricket committee has ever discussed.


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Tahir has just released much of the pressure that Kallis and Philander built up. India are slowly edging ahead due to some very patient batting. I think it's quite funny that some of the South African commentators are getting really worked up about cricket not allowing substitutes like rugby and soccer. They got really flustered when Dravid suggested that there's plenty of logistic issues to consider and that it's not something the MCC cricket committee has ever discussed.

That was surprising to me. Marcus North was substituted in a recent Sheffield Shield match after the death of his brother in a traffic accident. For that to happen it must be permissible in at least one first class competition. I'm surprised it didn't come up in their discussions.

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Yeah, Tahir is just going to be a passenger. Selection mistake for this pitch, especially given the Wanderer's reputation.

No subs for mine, just because I think the rules would be horribly abused. A bowler not in form could fake an injury to get someone better in. Or even right now if Morkel wasn't injured, given this pitch Tahir could go out with a mystery injury so they could bring in another paceman.

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Tahir has just released much of the pressure that Kallis and Philander built up. India are slowly edging ahead due to some very patient batting. I think it's quite funny that some of the South African commentators are getting really worked up about cricket not allowing substitutes like rugby and soccer. They got really flustered when Dravid suggested that there's plenty of logistic issues to consider and that it's not something the MCC cricket committee has ever discussed.

It was allowed in ODIs for a while, so I don't think it's impossible to make it work, although I don't think many people were all that keen on the experiment.

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Yeah, they did it in ODIs. You were allowed to select twelve players and then make a substitution at the change of innings, I believe (or at least that's what happened in one of the Australian triangular series). The problem was you didn't know what you were going to be doing until the toss, so you usually had to select an all-rounder as twelfth man so that he would be useful in the changeover no matter what happened (no use selecting a 12th man batsman if you end up batting first).



It kind of cheapens the advantage of having a genuine all-rounder in a team, so I'm not particularly for it. Teams that have all-rounders should be able to have that sort of advantage in flexibility; it's what makes them so special. If we allowed subs, the all-rounder would gradually die out, I think.



Great stuff by Pujara and Kohli. Both of them are amassing some pretty impressive careers so far. I know Pujara was hailed as the "next Dravid" and it all seemed a bit much, but if he keeps on going as he is (Test average of 70 now after 15 matches!) he very well could be, and he's only 25. Similarly Kohli is only 25 and has a great record. I think India's Test 3 and 4 are going to be locked up for a while yet.


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Breaking News: Graeme Swann has retired, effective immediately.




England spinner Graeme Swann has announced his retirement from cricket, only four days out from the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the MCG.


No doubt this throws a huge spanner in the England works just before the Boxing Day test, but I said upthread that he looked deflated and disinterested. I hope he is well - my first thought in this situation is illness - but I guess we'll see the explanation shortly.


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Wow, I just saw that too.



Everyone could see that something wasn't quite right with Swann. He wasn't bowling nearly as well as he normally does, I think perhaps fatigue over the years has gotten the better of him. There's no doubt that (despite this series) he was probably the best spinner in international cricket for a couple of years, potentially only rivalled by Ajmal and Ashwin who were less consistent.



Good news for Monty, I suspect, especially with Sydney still to come one thinks he would be an automatic selection now.


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