Paxter Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Important hour or so now before the end of play. Aus will be keen to hang on to all their wickets while India will be desperate for an early breakthrough. Unless Aus get two centuries out of the top 5, they will definitely lose this test match. Onus on the Australians to show that they're still world-beaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted October 30, 2008 Author Share Posted October 30, 2008 Well, the Australian attack is well and truly toothless. On other pitches, the lack of Warne and McGrath may not be so noticeable, but it's on these really tough pitches where you separate the great bowlers from the merely good ones, and Australia's been found wanting. Great batting by the Indians though; Laxman's unique batting style is so easy on the eye. And I was glad that Kumble declared before the day was finished; at least he got that bit right. With the haze and bad light possibly shaving time off the last three days, it would have been criminal to keep on batting. They've already made the match impossible to lose; it will take Australia at least all of day 3 and 4 to even match the Indian score. The only way they can win it is by scoring 750 and bowling India out for under 100 on the last day in a session. That's about as likely as Phil Tufnell coming out of retirement to play for England and smashing a triple-century at Lords before lunch on the first day. All Australia can hope for is a draw, and then to square the series in the last Test, but I don't think they have the weapons to do either. The bowling is ineffective at best, and without bowling you can't win matches. The batting is scarcely performing much better. Without Harbhajan's variety they might make a better fist of it, but a loss is already looming large after just two days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Is everyone ignoring the Stanford matches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 [quote name='Hereward' post='1572113' date='Oct 30 2008, 09.48']I'd laugh, but we're playing India next. :wideeyed:[/quote] At least England have a spinner. That said, I'd say India are still the favourites for the series. On the other hand, it looks like next year's Ashes should be a bit more competitive than the last one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 [quote name='Maltaran' post='1572586' date='Oct 31 2008, 03.52']Is everyone ignoring the Stanford matches?[/quote] Nah, I'm taking note of the scores and highlights but I must say it's not the greatest cricket I've ever seen. England had a good win the other day - Pietersen's dream start continues. But it pretty much pales in comparison to the test series that's currently being played... As for the Ashes - well the way that England played against SA didn't really say much about their ability to be competitive this time around. But the Aussies poor tour of India so far coupled with Pietersen's rejuvenation of the team certainly raises my hopes of a good series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 [quote name='Paxter' post='1572914' date='Oct 31 2008, 01.24']Nah, I'm taking note of the scores and highlights but I must say it's not the greatest cricket I've ever seen. England had a good win the other day - Pietersen's dream start continues. But it pretty much pales in comparison to the test series that's currently being played...[/quote] I thought the idea was that noone said anything in affirmation of his question? :P Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonKing Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I think the South Africans might be more of a hurdle for the Aussies than the Ashes at this stage, although based on their current performance they will also struggle in England next year. It would not surprise me if the Aussie team goes down 3-0 in the current series - the bowling is awful (although the pitches haven't helped). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh_wulff Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 [quote name='DemonKing' post='1572928' date='Oct 31 2008, 13.02']It would not surprise me if the Aussie team goes down 3-0 in the current series - the bowling is awful (although the pitches haven't helped).[/quote] don't tempt the cricket godess..... :tantrum: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 I think we might still be ok for the Ashes. Lee, Clarke and Johnson will find much more assistance on the English pitches, so I'm sure the bowling attack will be much more effective than they are currently in India. That being said, it does look like the Ashes is going to be a cracker of a contest again. Still a lot of cricket to be played in the next half a year or so before it happens, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Sorry to have to bang on about this, but Kumble's captaincy has been terrible this morning. Field placements have been very strange to the fast bowlers (lead of 550 and hardly any fielders in attacking positions) and, more importantly, he decided to bowl himself first up, despite the fact that he is by far the worst bowler on show for India in this series! Talk about taking the foot off the gas after the second test. If Dhoni were captaining, Khan and Sharma would be on with attacking fields. That is the way things should have gone this morning. Instead, it has just been too easy for the Aussies as they comfortably score 4 per over against Kumble. Edit: and it just keeps getting worst. Here's a quote straight of Cricinfo's text commentary: [quote]Poor captaincy from Kumble, standing at at short extra, arms folded. Ishant is trying hard, he's got two edges, twice they have gone through where gully and second slip would be.[/quote] These missed opportunities are starting to stack up. This is could be very costly. Edit: And my prayers are answered! With Kumble injured, Dhoni will now get his chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Dhoni wasn't quite as attacking as I'd hoped, although he was an improvement over Kumble. The Indians have been fairly cautious this whole innings, despite having 600+ runs to play with. The absence of a second slip was strange, especially when they were sometimes bowling at new batsmen. And given that Harbhajan wasn't around, Sharma was the next best person to bowl as soon as Ponting came on - instead, the first time the two faced each other, Ponting was already around the half-century mark. Either way, there's still been some great batting by Australia, and I think (barring an unforeseen collapse and an Indian blitz before the end of today, or an Australian frenzy where they grab a substantial lead and miraculously blast India out with the popgun attack) a draw has rocketed up the charts as the most probable outcome. Good to see Kumble break his drought of 85 consecutive overs without a wicket, although he hasn't looked particularly threatening here, and Mishra hasn't gone so well either. Sehwag has been outperforming both spinners - you wonder what Harbhajan could have done on a surface like this, especially given that there are a few left-handers in the Australian lineup (Katich, Hayden, Hussey). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 [quote name='Jeor' post='1574052' date='Nov 1 2008, 16.59']a draw has rocketed up the charts as the most probable outcome.[/quote] Yep, very likely to be a draw this one. All the dropped chances from India haven't helped their chances, as well as poor captaincy and pretty ordinary spin-bowling from Kumble and Mishra. Frankly, I feel that the most effective spinners on this pitch have been Sehwag and Katich! Anyway, chance missed for India in this match. They really should have made better use of the 600 runs on the board and put more pressure on the Aussies. Should be a good fourth test match if Aus need a win to level the series. The Oval '05 all over again. Well, sort of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Good stuff by Clarke, playing against his natural style as well, though he's had his fair share of luck, three dropped catches. And White finally makes a contribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sckma Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Is anybody else laughing at England's demise? They seemed so sure (as did the media constantly asking what they will spend their money on) they would win.... It's Hilarious! Also, Chris Gayle has got to be the coolest player in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I also was struck by the fact that all the pundits (english) was bemoaning the fact that the money was going to corrupt the players and all that, well... they dont have to worry about that anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Apparently Kumble has announced his retirement, effective at the end of this test match. Excellent decision by Kumble - he has recognised that Dhoni and Mishra/Chawla are coming through the ranks and his services are no longer required. It was also appropriate given that his personal performances as captain and bowler have been quite poor in 2008. Reflecting back on his career, I would rate him as easily the third best spin bowler of the modern era - behind only Murali and Warne. He was also the best batsman of those three players, not to mention the only one with some captaincy success. What I have always liked about Kumble is his uniqueness - he is not your typical side-spinning leggie. Instead, his main attributes were his ability to extract bounce, bowl accurately for long periods and change his pace. He also possesses a great googly - and the number of lbws he has to his credit reflects that fact. Overall, a champion cricketer. And, best of all (in the context of this series), he has picked the right time to retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh_wulff Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 looking forward yo see waht Dhoni does in test 4.... and yep;umble picked a good time to retire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sckma Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 so, laxman makes 100 tests, ganguly retires after this, kumble has already retired, and dravid might be forced to retire. harbhajhan is on 299 wickets, and now is the main spinner for india. (am i missing any other milestone?) interesting to see how the indians play this. also abit of a wtf on krejza for clark... i mean clark has been on the most economical bowlers, and helped build pressure. im sure he couldve come in for white... its not like either of them will really influence the game that much. and krejza can bat a bit, so having protection at no. 8 with white isn't that necessary.... gambhir is out for being an ass, and they bring in m vijay, some random who is doing well in the domestic comp. he seems to be playing well at the moment, but that could be because of the pitch and the current attack. (interesting note.. first time in a while that no-one in the bowling attack averages below 30 for australia...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 This is a bit of ridiculous selection policy by Australia (yet again). By my count, the side now has five specialist batsmen, a wicketkeeper, two 'all-rounders', one frontline spinner and two frontline pace bowlers. Somehow they've contrived to make a team that has the weakest bowling lineup yet. My favoured side would have been to throw out the two all-rounders for specialists. So Krejza in for White, and Marsh (or someone else) in for Watson. 6 specialist batsmen, 1 wicketkeeper, 4 frontline bowlers. The bowling attack would have three pacemen, one frontline spinner, and two part-time spinners as well (Clarke and Katich). But I guess it would have been hard to justify dropping Watson since he seems to have done just enough each match to avoid being dropped. I'm not objecting to Krejza playing, although his stats are terrible and he's been tonked around the park in the tour matches. I am objecting to Krejza and White playing in the same team though; they don't need to. As it is, the bowling attack for this Test looks like this: two frontline pace bowlers (Lee and Johnson), one frontline spinner (Krejza). That's it. And the spinner's making his Test debut too. After those three people are bits and pieces bowlers. Shane Watson is not a first-change bowler, even if he did happen to get a wicket this time, and he should not be the fourth bowler overall in a Test attack. Clarke, Katich and White can bowl a bit, but no one would call them a frontline spinner (we're already stretching the definition to include Krejza). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh_wulff Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Well Krzja HAS taken 2 wickets but the other selections don't make sense to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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