Cricket Thread

I like how Modi has all his security guys in India tops to make him look like he is sitting with the normies

Plus I love how the conditions and pitch are getting the better of India after they spent the whole tournament micromanaging pitches.

 

Australia totally deserve this, in a place where India have home advantage, with the conditions and the wicket that they want. Hurts me to say that lol.

 

Australia win the World Cup!

Travis Head will deserve the headlines, hitting 137 and was out just a couple of runs short of reaching the total.

The bowlers did their part in restricting India to 240 all out, with the hosts playing in conditions that suited and had been undefeated all the way through the entire WC to this point. Australia were up against it after losing 3 early wickets in the chase, with Head (137) supported by Labuschagne (58*) combining for a match-winning partnership of 192.

 

Ahahahahaha

 

Anyone see the South Africa test? Part of me loves it when stupid pitches get rolled out, but it's still a joke. I think the last time India toured here the pitches where terrible too. 23 wickets on day one of a test. South Africa with their lowest total since the '30s (lowest at home since 1899). India reply with a collapse of W 0 W 0 W 0 0 W 0 W W.

South Africa's 55 all out, the lowest total against India in Tests. ESPN's stats page is good today. It was also the first men's test in 70 years to have three innings in one day.

 

Two incredible finishes to two tests today.

WI beat Australia in Brisbane by 7 runs. The first time WI have won a test in Australia since 1997 and the first against Australia at all in like 20 years. Shamar Joseph taking 7-68 in just his 2nd test (he has been hugely impressive in both tests so far - also took a 5/ for in the 1st and has scored some entertaining runs), while Steve Smith carried his bat could only watch the destruction happening at the other end.

But what about England? A 1st Inn deficit of 190 (India had not lost a test on Indian soil previously when they'd lead by 100+ runs on 1st Inning), Ollie Pope then puts on a masterclass of 196 as the backbone of England scoring 420, setting India 230 to win, which gave the bowlers something to work with. The pitch offered nothing in pace or bounce for Wood, but kept it tight in the few overs he did bowl. Leach had a bad knee and could only bowl a handful of overs and took just the 1 wicket, so effectively 2 bowlers down... which lead a very inexperienced Tom Hartley, on debut (and just his 7th 1st class game overall in his career) to take a stunning 7-62 to win the test! Incredible.

Both tests will be remembered for a long time to come.

 

Shamar Joseph looks a serious talent. Watched him in the first test and he’s got talent with the bat as well. 7-for against Australia is insane.

 

I thought Ashwin & Bharat were going to do it as they plodded along. That 20 over period where Hartley was taken out seemed to build a bit of stability for India. He comes back, get Bharat with a great turner and Ashwin loses the plot.

Quite the turn around from the first innings where the highlights showed him bowling long hops after long hops.

 

HGe took a 5/for in the 1st test also, including a wkt with his first ball in test cricket, and very entertaining with thge bat, especially for a number 11! Then more of the same in this test as well. He's been a revelation this tour, could be up for a big, big future in the game.

 

Anyone watched any of the New Zealand test?

Moreki got a wicket with his first ever ball, then everything ended up going as expected. Williamson is obviously a class above this South Africa. The NZ bowlers, all world class anyway came out with immense economy rates, and plenty of maidens.

I don't know if NZ not enforcing the follow on was the 'decent' thing to do. It's like rubbing salt into the wounds of a dying man for Williamson to go out and score another century when already 349 ahead.

This SA team is bad for cricket, as their entire first team is playing in some * version of the IPL*. Their captain, Neil Brand is only the second person to captain his country on his debut (when their country isn't also playing their first game) in the last 50 years. Six others are making their debuts. Brand showed he wasn't really up to anything. Failing to give Moreki the new ball, sitting way too deep in the slips and then scoring 4 etc.

I think we need windows for the IPL where all players can go to make their money. A window for one single 50 over world cup every 4 years and then tests in a better structured WTC calendar. Get ride of the T20 world Cup and champions trophy etc.

* Like all short forms of the game outside the odd World Cup, completely forgettable.

Also this from the Afghanistan game... lol. The highlights showed Afghanistan dominating large parts of that game so hopefully they can play more tests rather than one-offs and get their full strength squads together rather than having them go off to play in their pyjamas.

 

This idea of not enforcing the follow on has grown more and more over the past 20-odd years, especially given how hectic playing schedules and recovery times are often reduced. So, even in games when it might not seem immediately apparent the need for more runs, it's often more about batting for time in those situations to give the bowlers time to put their feet up or whatever.

After all, bowling a side out once can be done, but to turn around and do it again straight away with bowlers that are not so fresh it's not always an easy thing to do, to immediately turn artound go back out and start again. Let alone those occasions when it has backfired spectacularly.

I still can vividly remember about 20-odd years ago, Australia on the back of 16-17 consecutive test victories going to India. The Aussies won the first test, and in the second, bowled India out pretty cheaply for about 150 trailing on 1st Inning by about 250 behind Australia's first inning... only for Rahul Dravfid and VVS Laxman to put on a monster partnership of nearly 500 against an attack that included the lilkes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie, all of whom were world class bowlers, and two of which are amonght the true all-time greats, but think Steve Waugh's arrogance on the back of winning so much coupled with having such a big lead and having those bowlers up his sleeve combined to tempt fate, and after what happened, I don't think Australia has ever again enforced a follow on in all the years since.

 

And tend to agree @Ľubomír1 re a lot of short form cricket being pretty forgettable, but it pays the bills, for the palyers, the sponsors and the TV. The 50-over games especially, outside of the WC just seem to lack the drawing power and that is the format that is probably in most danger - at least in the men's game, with the T-20's continuing to be bigger draws while test cricket continues to provide so much more for some countries than others, but it will continue without doubt, especially things like the Ashes or the current series against india. and then throw in some shock results, like SA beating India or WI recently shocking Australia, is great for the game.

The International T-20's are kind of meh, but with the popularity of franchise cricket, the IPL, the Big Bash, the Hundred, PSL, SA and Caribbean comps etc even pushing ito the US market with MLC ahead of the next World Cup, it is this that is where the money is to be made for a lot of players and cricket boards etc.

 

Speaking as someone who is very much a cricket casual, short form cricket is far more entertaining, watchable and accessible. A T20 game is over in 3.5 hours. There’s twists and turns all over the place. Test cricket is just far too long. I’ve been interested in a couple of test games before and did enjoy it but for new viewers it’s hard to make a case for committing to a match that can last 5 days and might end up in a draw because of a bit of rain.

 

I have no problem with that whatsoever. And for all the reasons you point out, and agree. Indeed, because of the nature of the game, the fewer overs, the more explosive th hitting etc, and far more often these games go down to the last over and last few balls, so for many people it is on demand entertainment. And that is perfectly legit, as it is what is growing the game exponentially, far more than any other format. It's where the tv money is, it's what attracts big crowds even in countries where they don't have the same levels of financial backing etc as is available at the game's super powers, but there is also a danger of over saturation here. Comps like the Big Bash were extended a couple of seasons ago and it felt like the Group stage dragged on forever and it didn't feel like there were real stakes on the line at each game.

That is a criticism I've had of the past 2 50-over World Cups also, where the Group Stage drags - a game a day, sometimes two in a day, and still it drags on for over 6 weeks, just to whittle down to 4 and then 2... so all that precursor to just 3 actual knockout games suggests there is a serious problem with the balance and the stakes. England lost 3 group stage games at the 2019 WC, and still ended up winning the tournament. Australia lost their first 2 games and yet recovered to go on to win last year. Indeed, NZ lost 4 group stage games yet still made it to the SF's, not to denegrate NZ or any other nation, but it doesn't say much when a team can lose so much and still qualify, it again really says something about the lack of stakes throughout the Group stage.

As someone who grew up with test cricket, and still because of my circumstances I have the time and patience to invest in this format that so many more casual fans don't, but tests do mean more to me personally, because over the course of a day's play, the 5 days of a test, the course of a test series of 3-5 games etc, it is so much to invest in, and because spend that time they stay far more in the memory than the wham-bam of T-20 cricket, when often while have listened to those games, by the next day even if I've enjoyed the game and can remember x player did really well or whatever, more often than not, I could not even tell you what teams were playing the previous day.

These are the formats that I think matter most. The tests, ebcause that is the history - that is the benchmark by which the greats of any and every era will be judged and compared etc, but the T-20's are the lifeblood of the game, in bringng new attentions, the investments, bringing more girls/women to get involved, bringing new eyeballs from around the world, new pathways for emerging talents in these franchises that might otherwise be fenced off through the formats of the older more traditional pathways. What I mean by that, is someone coming from the Netherlands or Kenya or wherver is not limited by what the domestic scene is in that country or the status of that country's NT etc, if that one player is good enough to go further alone through a franchise then it is possible and there are examples of that which have been happening a little more frequently over the past 5-6 years than probably had been ever before.

 

Pretty much agree with all of that. The drawn out group stages only serve to ensure the best teams make the latter stages. Small teams need to pull off upset after upset after upset to have even a half chance of making the latter stages.

 

With my dad taking me from a young age to watch Gloucestershire, I was lucky to see some really good players. Two always stick with me, the genius Courtney Walsh and Mike Procter, being a wonderful bowler, bowling off the wrong foot but him being a stubborn springbok and not letting his wicket go cheap when batting was just as important. Read the comments, he really could have been box office.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/68292770

 

Ireland win their first ever test match.

They'd gone ok a few times in the past, only to have one disasterous session undo it all but managed to put it all together to get their first every test win in 8 attempts. Skipper Ander Balbirnie guided the team home with an unbeaten 58* to secure the 6 wkt win over Afghanistan, in Abu Dhabi.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/68446580

 

Although Canada thrashed Scotland by 7 wickets in the ODI in Dubai.

The Canucks chasing down the Scot's 218 with more than 9 overs to spare.

 

Was bob willis the Chris Sutton of his day..lol