India tour of Australia, Nov 21 - Jan 18

[sussexpob]

India take the initiative. Australia really need to collapse this innings pronto in the morning, another 1 or 2 full sessions in the field might take this series completely away from them. The bowlers have picked a very problematic time to start failing, with the batting so weakened at the moment.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Averages 76. Next best is Kohli on 40 (Ignoring Agarwal who has only played three innings on the flatter surfaces).

[yuppie]

Another totally dominant display from India.

I see the M Marsh experiment lasted only one test this time. And not sure why Head was not given a few overs.

Paine, you have to learn to win the toss, its that simple if this poor team is to stand any chance.

Pujara cements his place as player of the series. Has been the difference considering that the Aussie bats can not score over 70.

[sussexpob]

I see the M Marsh experiment lasted only one test this time

Aussie selectors mirroring the late Whitaker's England tactics.I dont personally understand why when problems come to teams, selectors tend to dispense with all forms of sense and just start gambling. If after 28 tests and a sub 25 average, the selectors 4 weeks ago thought Marsh was a future test bat, then why drop him in the first place? If they (absolutely 100% correctly, albeit 25 tests too late) decide he is not that anymore, then why bring him back? 31 tests for performance you'd expect from a tailender, and an average boosted by scores on a Melbourne road, and a dead rubber pancake? Has he ever scored anything remotely useful in a live series, or on a pitch which doenst have 700 all out as a par score?

They should be sticking to developing guys like Renshaw. He isnt the finished article maybe, but why discard players who have shown superior skills at lower levels, on the notion they arent great test players and maybe have some limitations, but instead pick worse players?

You end up getting the England opening situation. You pick Compton and Robson who average above 30. You then discard and pick inferior players. They all average between 15-25, and you have wasted 50 test matches on 5 different no hope options, when in reality you could now have a player still in his 20s with vast experience having improved from a relatively higher base.

[yuppie]

The Australian selections are indeed baffling. Renshaw was going to play the first test in UAE until he got knocked out in the nets. Since then he has not got close to selection. What changed?

In this test they drop M Marsh after he returned for one test and dropped Finch after they asked him to open when he does not open for Victoria in shield cricket. They then don't replace him with an opener and bring in a middle order all rounder who to be fair has not looked close to test class the few times i have seen him play. Finch batting in the middle order would have been much better for Australia through out this test series.

The picking of Head for me meant he would be expected to roll his arm over but he does not bowl. I am just confused by it all.

And all this is happening at a time when Aus cricket is loosing games to pay per view and is struggling to find the next generation of players. We could be seeing a terminal decline in Australian cricket.

Smith and Warner had carried Australia batting for the last few years. With out them the cupboard is empty.

[sussexpob]

I dont say this poking the bear for a reaction, or to be controversial, but do you see any parallel between all of these issues and the ball tampering affair? In previous years, Aussie bats feasted on flat pitches, and someone like Smith when the ball doesnt move books in for bed and breakfast and bats for two days with a depressing (as a non Aussie) regularity. The pitches seemed to be prepared for this in mind, and the Aussie bowlers always got more out of the deader conditions with swing, reverse and pace. Batting problems were covered up, bowling advantages won games.

The two key paceman both averaged comfortably over 30 in 2018, and have noticeably been off the boil despite the pitches being more helpful in this series then last year. The pitches havent been tempered to suit that tactic on the dual threat of India having more batting power, and Aussie bowlers being too toothless recently.

Is it coincidence? Probably. But its a very timely one if so.

[sussexpob]

The Australian selections are indeed baffling. Renshaw was going to play the first test in UAE until he got knocked out in the nets. Since then he has not got close to selection. What changed? In this test they drop M Marsh after he returned for one test and dropped Finch after they asked him to open when he does not open for Victoria in shield cricket. They then don't replace him with an opener and bring in a middle order all rounder who to be fair has not looked close to test class the few times i have seen him play. Finch batting in the middle order would have been much better for Australia through out this test series.

Like I said, its Whitaker effect. When plans are built on the sand, they are subject to whimsical fluctuations based on flimsy thought processes. When confronted with the option of maybe a player you know a lot about, and the conclusion is he would be a standard test player who will have negatives and maybe fail a bit, selectors seem to love picking a person with a little more mystery, purely out of hope inside that mystery cloud there is a bit of quality to be uncovered.

This is why I hate (and rant) so much about all this data analytical nonsense that the ECB and other cricket boards rave about all the time. They all talk up the game, but you read from any type of sport, through vast amounts of the science, and it works in the complete opposite to how cricket teams consistently apply it. The only conclusion is, these selectors do not know what they are doing.

They consistently pick the least efficient models available, when analytics should be about picking the pieces of the puzzle that give the most certain, efficient outcome.

[bigfluffylemon]

I dont say this poking the bear for a reaction, or to be controversial, but do you see any parallel between all of these issues and the ball tampering affair? In previous years, Aussie bats feasted on flat pitches, and someone like Smith when the ball doesnt move books in for bed and breakfast and bats for two days with a depressing (as a non Aussie) regularity. The pitches seemed to be prepared for this in mind, and the Aussie bowlers always got more out of the deader conditions with swing, reverse and pace. Batting problems were covered up, bowling advantages won games.

The two key paceman both averaged comfortably over 30 in 2018, and have noticeably been off the boil despite the pitches being more helpful in this series then last year. The pitches havent been tempered to suit that tactic on the dual threat of India having more batting power, and Aussie bowlers being too toothless recently.

Is it coincidence? Probably. But its a very timely one if so.

I made the same point earlier in the thread. I am not so sure it is coincidence, frankly. But I guess we have to give the benefit of the doubt in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Bloody awful time for your key pacers to start failing. It will be interesting to see how they perform in England...

[andy]

Well Labuchange provided less control than Marsh did in previous test, can't see why Renshaw dosen't get back in, and Finch discared altogether far too soon...baffling selections from the OZ selectors

[yuppie]

Its like the mid 80's all over again

Problem is i can not see the next Allan Border......

[meninblue]

Everything looks like a well written script for us. Win toss, put up a good first innings score. Play two spinners so that they get to bowl on day 4 and Day 5.

303/4 is a formidable score. 90 overs have been bowled , so i guess few overs of new ball has been seen off by our batsmen. 350 looks very likely even if there is a collapse. If Australian bowlers do not pick up wickets with the new ball, we will end up with a very good first innings total.

Mayank has managed to convert his domestic form and LIST A form to test cricket. It is very impressive if an Indian batsman contributes good knocks in his debut on away tours in unfamiliar conditions. Not only has he managed to blunt the new ball and make it easier for next batsmen in line, he has also managed to convert the start into decent scores. On home tours we can expect him to convert these starts into 100's. Solved one half of the opening issue in no time.

[mikesiva]

Vihari looks so much better at six.

[sussexpob]

Its like the mid 80's all over again

Problem is i can not see the next Allan Border......

If its just runs you are talking, then I doubt Smith will have forgotten how to bat. He will no doubt in my mind, put runs on the board. Its just going to be a question of how much toxicity he brings to the performance of the others.

[yuppie]

I think people are being a bit harsh on the Australian bowlers. Before Melbourne Indias highest score in 4 innings was 307 and so far they have the 2 lowest scores in the series. Admittedly declared with 108 on the board but they were pretty much skittled out when the pitch became difficult.

Melbourne was absolutely dead on the first morning in 40 degree heat and even then on the first day chances were dropped and Starc looked good with the second new ball. Once the pitch opened up India were being skittled.

The 10 minute highlight reel today suggested another tough pitch to bowl on first with little assistance against good batsman who can play straight. People are saying the Australian quicks are struggling but so far they have had the harder conditions to bowl in and Starc has the worse average at 30.8. Bowling to Kholi and Pujara is also probably slightly harder than bowling to S March and Khawaja, who i guess are Australias 2 best bats.......How depressing is that.

i think people are seeing what they want to see, but for me the problem is not with Australia's bowling.

[yuppie]

Its like the mid 80's all over again

Problem is i can not see the next Allan Border......

If its just runs you are talking, then I doubt Smith will have forgotten how to bat. He will no doubt in my mind, put runs on the board. Its just going to be a question of how much toxicity he brings to the performance of the others.

Smith will have a point to prove and im sure he will make some runs. Warner i think is the bigger problem, im not sure CA want him back in the team. As for Bancroft, well hes better than what is there now, and that's really a sad thing for Australian cricket.