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

Oh to have Watson in this side now. I mean M Marsh is a poor mans Watson.

Board at my post. Suffice it to say Watson was good in limited overs, but limited in the test arena. He did ok at times, and benefitted from good players around him.

Fat lady is singing in Abu Dhabi

Abbas gets his five fer!

And it's all over.

Australia's fourth biggest defeat by runs ever, and biggest ever v an Asian side. Two of those four biggest defeats have been in 2018 (and in some ways the biggest ever shouldn't count, as it was a timeless test, so two of their top three worst defeats by runs have been this year).

They will be stronger at home, with their first choice bowlers but surely India won't have a better chance for a long time to beat them in Australia. Still, we said that about India in England...

59 wickets in ten Tests for Abbas at 15.6. George Lohmann got to 100 in 16. Among a number of players to get there in 17 is Yasir Shah (fastest since WWII).

Wouldn't be surprised to see a few bans lifted before India arrive

I would

mikesiva wrote:Abbas gets his five fer!

is he playing Durham?

sussexpob wrote:Wouldn't be surprised to see a few bans lifted before India arrive

Really?

yuppie wrote:

sussexpob wrote:Wouldn't be surprised to see a few bans lifted before India arrive

Really?

Expect, no. Be surprised if it happened? No. In many ways I think it makes sense, and I have no doubt that the selectors would fire 2 or even all 3 of them back in a heartbeat, its just working out a way to excuse the early ban as being justified.

Id guess there are two exclusive camps of thought on the matter. The first is, he cheated and is forever tarnished, and that nothing he can do will ever take that away. To a large extent, these people wont be happy even if he plays for Australia in two years time, so you dont legislate on them. The second group, which I guess would form a vast majority of people, would have witnessed Smith being nuked to smithereens, will take his long (and unprecedented) ban, his total humiliation in front of the world, and his damage to his reputation and pocket as being a high toll already paid, and most people will now be ready to revel in the story of redemption.

Redemption sells a lot of tickets. Redemption against an old foe in the form of Kolhi? Do Cricket Australia want to miss out on this box office attempt to get a high profile series smack back in the public interest? If Smith strolls out against India, my guess is ticket sales would jump through the roof, ratings on TV would be similar, and cricket would be slap bang on the headlines again. Its definitely possible. I Australia get beaten in the first test, then it becomes even more possible.

I always had a personal suspicion that the cricket players association would force the issue of the lengthy bans with the National Board. They promised an investigation into the bans, saying that they had no justification. I just wonder maybe if that narrative could suddenly reappear in the next few weeks, that the bans were unjust, and suddenly, magically lifted.

sussexpob wrote:

yuppie wrote:

sussexpob wrote:Wouldn't be surprised to see a few bans lifted before India arrive

Really?

Expect, no. Be surprised if it happened? No. In many ways I think it makes sense, and I have no doubt that the selectors would fire 2 or even all 3 of them back in a heartbeat, its just working out a way to excuse the early ban as being justified.

Id guess there are two exclusive camps of thought on the matter. The first is, he cheated and is forever tarnished, and that nothing he can do will ever take that away. To a large extent, these people wont be happy even if he plays for Australia in two years time, so you dont legislate on them. The second group, which I guess would form a vast majority of people, would have witnessed Smith being nuked to smithereens, will take his long (and unprecedented) ban, his total humiliation in front of the world, and his damage to his reputation and pocket as being a high toll already paid, and most people will now be ready to revel in the story of redemption.

Redemption sells a lot of tickets. Redemption against an old foe in the form of Kolhi? Do Cricket Australia want to miss out on this box office attempt to get a high profile series smack back in the public interest? If Smith strolls out against India, my guess is ticket sales would jump through the roof, ratings on TV would be similar, and cricket would be slap bang on the headlines again. Its definitely possible. I Australia get beaten in the first test, then it becomes even more possible.

I always had a personal suspicion that the cricket players association would force the issue of the lengthy bans with the National Board. They promised an investigation into the bans, saying that they had no justification. I just wonder maybe if that narrative could suddenly reappear in the next few weeks, that the bans were unjust, and suddenly, magically lifted.

I like many Australian supporters have little faith in Cricket Australia. This one thing most of us would expect them to get right, so we should not be seeing any of the banned player playing against India. Indeed loosing to India at home seems to be part of the punishment.

You don't think they've paid enough of a price?

sussexpob wrote:You don't think they've paid enough of a price?

For me the 1 year ban seems acceptable. The time frame covers multiple series and formats. I know other countries would not have done the same, but ball tampering for me and many other Aussie supporters is one of the worse things that can be done in cricket. Its a stain that will stay with this team for many years.

yuppie wrote:

sussexpob wrote:Wouldn't be surprised to see a few bans lifted before India arrive

Really?

No chance of that happening. One can argue about the severity of the bans - though I think most Australians have come to accept them as about right - but for the authorities to now go back on their moral stance by cutting them short just because the team is getting smashed would lose them any credibility and tarnish the national reputation further...just not going to happen.
Nor should it.

100% agree, Alfie.


Sussex, you are looking at it from the angles you see, you know, what has happened before. That is, Politics, Commercialism, Ego/Competitiveness. Fair enough.

But what you don't get (and can't get, really) is how much this incident really hurt the Australian people. It wounded us, and that will scar (as it hasn't healed yet). I don't think CA will be stupid enough to think that the top 3 factors can be justified in over ruling/turning the bans.


After all, for his crime against cricket, the ICC fined and suspended Smith for a match (or two), didn't they? The one year ban CA gave him was for his crime against Australia/Australians.