Paxter Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Yeah a momentous occasion for Pakistan as a country as well as in pure cricketing terms. Nice to see Ali back amongst the runs as well - I was getting worried that we had seen the best of him. I admire him a lot. The Aussie bowlers toiled hard in that first innings without reward. Lyon definitely needed a spin twin to help shoulder the load. Very intrigued to see how Australia’s top order goes tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 A state funeral is a bit much for a cricketer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said: A state funeral is a bit much for a cricketer? Not in ‘Stralia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 20 hours ago, Paxter said: Yeah a momentous occasion for Pakistan as a country as well as in pure cricketing terms. Nice to see Ali back amongst the runs as well - I was getting worried that we had seen the best of him. I admire him a lot. The Aussie bowlers toiled hard in that first innings without reward. Lyon definitely needed a spin twin to help shoulder the load. Very intrigued to see how Australia’s top order goes tomorrow. It looks like the Australian top order has made a strong start. There's still a lot of work left to do, quick wickets tomorrow could leave them in trouble but a draw is probably looking like the most likely outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 19 minutes ago, williamjm said: It looks like the Australian top order has made a strong start. There's still a lot of work left to do, quick wickets tomorrow could leave them in trouble but a draw is probably looking like the most likely outcome. Yeah looks like they’re going to do enough to at least draw, which is a good effort from a side with minimal recent long-form cricket in Asian conditions. Khawaja supreme again, building on the great form he showed against England. His dropping and subsequent non-selection is more baffling than ever. Marcus Harris has one of the worst test records of any Aussie top order batter; Khawaja averages over 40. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Big shock with the sudden death of Shane Warne. That man could conjure magic up on many occasions (Adelaide Test, Ashes 2005 etc). I was also reminded in a replay match the other night of his crucial role in the 1999 World Cup win in the classic semifinal tied result versus South Africa. It wasn't just the Herschelle Gibbs ball, he took out Gary Kirsten and Hansie Cronje in quick succession afterwards and had them three wickets down after they started at 0/48 chasing down a small target. Wicketless type of pitch but good to see cricket in Pakistan again. Australia not selecting a second spinner was a very big error. That being said, the Pakistanis played Lyon very well. They're not a side historically known for their batting but it does seem they have some good performers in there - Azhar Ali and Babar have been top notch for a few years now, but to have others coming through like Rizwan shows some solidity that they haven't always had. Still issues with the openers (Pakistan always has struggled to find openers since Saeed Anwar) but Imam-ul-haq has silenced that, at least momentarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 So we didn't really get close to a result in Rawalpindi. Hopefully the next pitch offers a little more for the bowlers. In terms of the England Windies test I can see the logic behind trying to experiment with some of the other options instead of Anderson and Broad but I'm not sure I see the point of dropping them to go with an attack of Woakes, Overton, Wood and Leach. At least give one of Mahmood or Parkinson a try. ETA: Alex Lees didn't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartIheartTesla Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 In a world gone mad, its good to see some things never change....in this case an England (and Wales) batting collapse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Yeah pretty disappointing first pitch in Pakistan. A lot of test pitches have swung a little too much in the favour of bowlers recently, but that match showed why a bowler-friendly contest is probably preferable. England’s batting struggling again. There are a couple of things about the selection that don’t make sense to me: 1) if you really thought Lawrence was a good long term prospect, why not try him in the Ashes; 2) as LJ said, why drop Broad and Anderson only to pick the same old attack that lost in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 5 hours ago, IheartIheartTesla said: In a world gone mad, its good to see some things never change....in this case an England (and Wales) batting collapse. It is yet another hapless performance by the top order, although a combative century by Bairstow has made the score a bit more respectable. Since the Windies batting line-up isn't exactly formidable either it could be quite a low scoring series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Back to back centuries for Jonny. Fair play to him. I have been a big critic of him over the years but it seems as if he's found his niche playing as a pure batter at number 6. That position allows him to bat with Stokes and/or the lower order, both of which he does very well. ETA: Woakes' strike rate in away test matches is currently 102 balls. Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 9 hours ago, Paxter said: ETA: Woakes' strike rate in away test matches is currently 102 balls. Wow. Woakes is a very "English" bowler - line and length, a bit of seam movement, not massive pace. Very good in English conditions but I can see why he wouldn't do so well elsewhere. Though that profile didn't really hurt Glenn McGrath... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 3 hours ago, Jeor said: Woakes is a very "English" bowler - line and length, a bit of seam movement, not massive pace. Very good in English conditions but I can see why he wouldn't do so well elsewhere. Though that profile didn't really hurt Glenn McGrath... Yeah agreed. I’m a little tired of Woakes getting selected to “balance the side”. As for McGrath, I think Woakes bowls more half-vollies in one day’s play than Pidge did in his career! Anyway England are still in this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Pretty nice work so far from the Windies batting. Bonner looks like a great find - old school test batter who knows how to graft. Already averaging well over 40 in a 10-test career. Stokes has been much more effective with the ball in this match, which is a good sign for England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 There isn't much in the pitch in Antigua for the bowlers either. Given there's a bit of rain around too I think it'll probably take a bit of a spectacular collapse for either side to get a win (not that unlikely to be fair). Crawley still seems like he's only a dot ball or two away from playing a loose shot but the big advantage he brings over Burns and, in particular, Sibley is that at least if he does spend any sort of time at the crease he'll score some runs. That takes a bit of the pressure off Root to score quickly at all times too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Yeah I like Crawley as an opener. England haven't really had a positive-minded opening bat since Trescothick (and, sort of, Strauss). But personally I would partner him with Rory Burns. Burns had a pretty decent summer in '21 and was, I think, harshly treated in the Ashes. Also nice to see Root score some runs at 3 straight away. If this move up the order works, it could really pay dividends. It means the likes of Lawrence and Stokes would be shielded from bowlers' opening bursts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 7 minutes ago, Paxter said: Yeah I like Crawley as an opener. England haven't really had a positive-minded opening bat since Trescothick (and, sort of, Strauss). But personally I would partner him with Rory Burns. Burns had a pretty decent summer in '21 and was, I think, harshly treated in the Ashes. Yeah, I don't have strong feelings about it but I'd probably agree. Burns' ceiling is probably slightly below average test opener but as England test batsmen go that's not bad. He's probably been England's second best batsman after Root over the last couple of years. I think his problem is that his technique is so awkward looking that when it goes wrong he just looks terrible. Still, England might as well give Lees a chance this series and see how it goes. Admittedly getting out the same way a couple of times for not many runs isn't the best start. 11 minutes ago, Paxter said: Also nice to see Root score some runs at 3 straight away. If this move up the order works, it could really pay dividends. It means the likes of Lawrence and Stokes would be shielded from bowlers' opening bursts. There's been a fair bit of talk about moving Root from 4 to 3 but honestly I don't think it really makes much of a difference to him. Okay if England had a functioning batting lineup he'd like to bat 4 and you'd probably let him do what he wants but it's not like he's been getting much protection from the new ball batting at 4 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted March 12, 2022 Share Posted March 12, 2022 I thought the Windies were going to provide the horrific collapse we needed for this test to end in a win but Bonner and Holder have steadied the ship. Bonner looks pretty useful. The India Sri Lanka test looks like we might just get a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Maybe Pakistan should stick to the UAE! A long time since Australia dominated a test in Asia like this. And great to see the Aussies select a wrist spinner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartIheartTesla Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 I see Kohli wasnt among the runs in the first 2 Tests with Sl. Since he is no longer captain, I'd suggest his place in the side is in some peril. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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