Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

budgetmeansbudget wrote:But don't you think after the ball tampering incident it might have been an idea if the Aussies scored a few positive points by letting it go. A real opportunity to gain some good press in a situation where the wicket wasn't going to effect the outcome.

I didn't see the incident, and am just going off what I have read here.

For years the Aus mantra was "play hard but fair" (while maybe not always being fair). This is something that falls squarely in that area.

Australian players (at any level of cricket) would be severely castigated by management and team-mates alike if they HADN'T effected the dismissal. Why give the opposition a break, when their problem was caused entirely by their own stupidity? Would we expect Pakistan to not appeal for the runout of Labuschagne? It was his stupidity/laziness that caused his dismissal as well.

The fact that the wicket would not have any effect on the outcome of the game is immaterial. This points to a main reason why Aus (over the years) have won games from difficult situations - we are taught to never give up, to keep the fight up to the last ball, last minute, etc. As jingoistic as that sounds, it is true, and it has resulted in some unexpected wins over the years.

andy wrote:47-1 at the close then. Anyone know why Khawaja didn't open?

Khawaja might well not bat at all by the sound of it. He was off the field most of the second innings with that injury.

I have very little sympathy for Ali. If you don't watch the ball, and there's no signal from the umpire, it's your own fault. From the video, Starc clearly is playing as though he regards the ball as live - he sprints in, and turns and throws it hard back quickly. A player regarding the ball as dead in that heat would almost certainly take their time to jog up and throw back more casually. Others on the Australian team clearly made the same mistake as the Pakistan batsmen and thought the ball had gone for four, and hence were not paying attention, but the two players in the best position to know, Starc and Paine, clearly regarded it as live.

There's a video of it on the ABC website if you want to watch, GJ.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-18/ ... s/10393502

Thanks Fluffy. I have just come from watching a replay of it on Foxsports.


Having watched it, all I can add is that Paine would have been doing Ali a disservice by NOT running him out. He deserved it - both batsmen did, it's times like this, the baseball double play should be enacted....

bigfluffylemon wrote:

andy wrote:47-1 at the close then. Anyone know why Khawaja didn't open?

Khawaja might well not bat at all by the sound of it. He was off the field most of the second innings with that injury.

I have very little sympathy for Ali. If you don't watch the ball, and there's no signal from the umpire, it's your own fault. From the video, Starc clearly is playing as though he regards the ball as live - he sprints in, and turns and throws it hard back quickly. A player regarding the ball as dead in that heat would almost certainly take their time to jog up and throw back more casually. Others on the Australian team clearly made the same mistake as the Pakistan batsmen and thought the ball had gone for four, and hence were not paying attention, but the two players in the best position to know, Starc and Paine, clearly regarded it as live.

Yes and that’s the main difference with the Bell incident in 2011 when the fielder clearly thought it had gone for 4. It was also the last ball before tea and Morgan and Bell were halfway to the dressing room along with some of the Indian team when Dhoni appealed. However on both occasions both sets of batsmen plus most of the fielding side were guilty of ‘switching off’. Dhoni won the Spirit of Cricket award that year, so perhaps Paine missed a trick for Australia. However both Bell and Ali were clearly out.

Khawaja has a meniscus tear in his left knee.

He needs surgery. He is unlikely to bat.

Abbas doing the damage again. Head gone for 36 and Marsh the Younger out for five. Finch out for 31. Paine bowled for a duck!

3 wickets in 3 overs for Abbas. He's been a revelation this year.

Geez the Marshes are useless.

Khawaja can't bat before 7. I guess they won't bother to send him out if they're subsiding.

Paine goes leaving one and is bowled. Third ball! Abbas is on fire, and Australia are in effect six down with no Khawaja.

This is heading for an utter rout.

yeah, no record happening today... this could be over quickly.

sussexpob wrote:yeah, no record happening today... this could be over quickly.

Im sure there will be some records broken here. Just not the ones the players want to hold

Labauschange will at least get a few overs to put up a score, and take something away for the future if he can manage it. At the moment, its more than a lot can claim. Get the feeling Head and Finch have so far done enough for another series, but if I were Australia, I'd definitely be making the change on the Marsh brothers. There is little mystery left with these two, they simply arent test match quality, unless you put Shaun on a road.

I was very critical of the selection of Marnus Labuschagne but it seems this wont be his last test though he might not be in the team for a while. Then again he, Finch and Head might be playing for the same position.

This is the type of performance many supporters were expecting. M Marsh batting at 4 was always going to be a problem. S Marsh will always have question marks over him and in reality should only ever tour when Australia go to SL.

First series after the ball tampering shame. Short on batsman, one of the openers you have picked goes down injured. Debuts to 3 players, a few caps for a few more.

Arguably the weakest batting line up i can remember for an Australian team. This was more expected than what happened in the first test.

Yasir strikes! Starc out for 28. Six down.

I can't see Khawaja batting at this rate.

Starc and Labuschagne (sp?) have saved Australia from total humiliation, but it's only a matter of time now.

As far as I can tell, no-one in Australia who isn't a selector thinks that the Marsh brothers should be anywhere near the Australian side. None of my Australian friends rate them at all, and never have. We're all baffled by their continued inclusion (see also: Shane Watson in the test team).

It may be that they truly are the best of a very poor current pool of batting talent. Given the current batting line-up, that does seem possible. It's not as though there's tons of talent knocking the door down. Nonetheless, it's clear they aren't test quality, so they really ought to try someone else.

Finch might just have a future in the test arena though. Maybe.

I think when Watson had a defined role in the side, and stepped up to the plate as opener at a time when they had nothing else in the hutch, he did pretty well. I believe he averaged over 40 opening the batting, over a pretty indicative length. OK, he didnt convert enough starts into 100s, but he consistently made scores and seen off the new ball. In the latter years, they moved him around the order a lot, and at that point he really started to look average. Shame his body never was quite up to it either, because as a bowler he had some serious talent in my eyes. Could have been a specialist bowler without the batting, had his body in his youth not given way badly.