Cricket IX

[williamjm]

Off-topic: just saw the fixtures for the upcoming Australian tour of India. Only two test matches scheduled between the first and third ranked test teams :thumbsdown: . At least it's an improvement over the 7 ODIs (!) that were originally scheduled.

I'm not keen on the 2 Test match "series" that seem to be popular recently. For example, if Pakistan do manage to keep their composure and manage to beat Australia in the current Test match then the series will be a 1-1 draw. It would be more interesting if there was a third deciding Test, but there isn't one. Admittedly, in this case it might be a bit more excusable due to the unusual circumstances of Pakistan playing a home series in England and there only being a relatively short gap to fit the games in before the England series.

On another subject, I noticed that Bangladesh seem to have taken one step forward and two steps back, which is a bit disappointing as they follow up their one-day victory over England with first a big loss against England (which is maybe excusable) and then two losses in a week to Ireland and the Netherlands. They really should be beating the minor nations most of the time.

[IheartTesla]

88 all out, eh? Clever Australians, getting past the 87 barrier.

[sh_wulff]

That was rather interesting, no?

[Paxter]

Murali on 799 test wickets...

[Jeor]

Murali on 799 test wickets...

A middle order collapse but stubborn resistance by the Indian tail and Laxman. Mithun's 25 off 69 and Sharma's 24 off 62 have staved off defeat but a sudden runout of Laxman breaks it open. India lead by 71 runs, but with only 1 wicket remaining and over a session to go, Sri Lanka should get there and Murali will have the perfect sendoff - I don't think anyone can deny that he would have earnt it, to go out with a Test victory over a very familiar foe. Still, stranger things have happened so I better not call the victory yet...

[ithanos]

Wow, this is awesome. Following Cricinfo I really thought this was it 'til I read Laxman run out. Woe to be Sharma or Ohja at this time with the title of wicket #800 hanging over their heads.

[Paxter]

Congrats to Murali - reaching 800 wickets and helping SL defeat a strong Indian team inside four days was a dream swansong. No doubt Murali will steal all of the headlines (and rightfully so), but that was also probably one of the best team performances I have seen from SL for a while at the test level. The good form of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Herath, Dilshan and especially Malinga should hold them in good stead for the next match.

As for the Australia match: Ponting and Clarke are digging in here. The lead is only 42...if Australia can get another 250 runs from this point I would say they are favourites to win. Watson has bowled Australia back into contention :ohwell:.

@Williamjm: Yeah, unfortunately Bangladesh's ODI form has been stagnant for years now. They pull off the occasional decent performance and were competitive in the last World Cup (the win against SA comes to mind), but they are still probably a marginally worse ODI team than Zim and maybe even Ireland as well. Where they are showing some marked improvement is in test matches, because they're actually starting to produce players who have the temperament to perform consistently in the longer form. The evidence is in the stats: there are 5 Bangladeshis in the top 20 run-getters in test cricket for 2010 (including the top run-getter, Tamim) and 2 in the top 20 wicket-takers (including Shakib who is ranked fourth in wicket-taking and is also the third-best test all-rounder according to the Rankings). These kind of numbers would have been unheard of when Bashar, Ashraful, Mahmud and Mashud were the better Bangaldeshi players in the early 2000s. So there is steady progress in test matches (albeit at the individual rather than the team level), and stagnation in ODIs. Whether that justifies their continued participation is up for debate, but I think that they are worth persevering with simply because test cricket desperately needs more participants and Bangladesh are starting to show some promise in that form of the game.

[Hereward]

I think 250 runs will be more than enough. I'd back Australia if they make another 130-150.

[Stubby]

.... Watson has bowled Australia back into contention :ohwell:. ....

That gurgling sound would be Jeor & I choking on our own words from last summer.

[Paxter]

I think 250 runs will be more than enough. I'd back Australia if they make another 130-150.

Yeah, you're probably right. Barring another strong opening partnership, there is little chance of Pakistan chasing 150-200 down - their middle order looks completely out of its depth ATM. Umar Akmal has been particularly disappointing, but then he isn't exactly a percentage player.

ETA: Well, early breakthroughs for Pakistan have made this really interesting. If they can somehow get these last 6 wickets for around 100 runs than they are in with a great chance.

[ljkeane]

Australia have lost 3 quick wickets now to make it very interesting. Amir really is a quality test bowler already.

[sckma]

hmm, australia fought back well though, I must say. Amir had got his 3 wickets in 3 consecutive overs i think? well done to him! another wicket after lunch, and the tail should be taken quickly.

unless hilfenhaus gets another 50...

[adamsputnik]

Who the fuck is Steven Smith? Geez, I have been overseas for too long.

[ljkeane]

Australia's tail have batted them into what could be a match winning position again, Hilfenhaus look like a very capable batsmen for a number 10. As Hereward said I don't think Pakistan have got a chase of much more than 150 in them. It's a shame as they've played really well at stages in this match and their bowlers especially probably deserve a bit more.

[adamsputnik]

Well, I didn't know who the hell he was, but I am glad to know Steven Smith now. What a great innings.

[Paxter]

Yeah, excellent innings from Smith. He's quite an unorthodox player, but, as with Philip Hughes, it has worked very well for him in domestic and now international cricket. TBH, I can't see him playing as an all-rounder for very long. His spin-bowling was probably a big factor in his selection for this series, but I think that long-term he will be picked as a middle-order batsman (much like Cameron White in ODI cricket).

As for the match itself: Australia definitely favourites now, but 180 is still gettable. I just have this sick feeling though that it will be the SCG test all over again . A lot is going to depend on Butt and Farhat at the top of the innings - I hope Watson's dropped catch comes back to haunt him...

[Paxter]

Damn. Butt gone for just 13. I reckon that one of Farhat or Akmal needs to score at least 50 for Pakistan to win. Plus they need to keep Watson quiet :worried: .

[adamsputnik]

Paxter, can I ask why you are barracking against Australia?

[IheartTesla]

Only Pakistan could come back from a first Test drubbing with what I am going to assume is an emphatic victory. Its as if they took the loss of their captain in stride with batting an eyelid.

[Paxter]

Pakistan's top-order have performed well here and it really should be enough to get them home. The surprising aspect of the run-chase so far has been the run-rate - I was expecting the game to really tighten up, but instead Pakistan have scored freely. Those two wickets at the end were a bit worrying though...should be a fairly interesting morning's play tomorrow.

Paxter, can I ask why you are barracking against Australia?

Because I should be opening the batting instead of Katich - left-handers should be banned from the game :P.

Nah, in all seriousness, the simple truth is that I love the underdog way too much to support our national cricket team. As a general rule, I can't bring myself to like teams that dominate sports for long periods of time - they tend to make for bad viewing (take, for example, this series) and they can also engender a sense of arrogance and entitlement among fans. I started watching test cricket when the Aussies were at the peak of their powers (during Steve Waugh's winning streak), so it was kind of natural for me to look elsewhere for a team to support. If I had started watching the game during, say, Kim Hughes' stint as test captain, I would probably be as true blue as Stubs or Jeor ;).