The Cricket Thread

[Night_Walker]

"lol Pakistan"

Also Night_Walker damn you write fucking long posts.

Heh, I try to give well deliberated on feedback.

 

[treespyro]

I predicted Australia would win but I thought I was going to be wrong. Thank you Pakistan

 

[Barbarooza]

....and here comes the match-fixing claims. Can't say I'm too surprised by it though.

 

[treespyro]

I haven't heard much of it in the news but K.Akmal got the AXE

 

[Night_Walker]

I predicted Australia would win but I thought I was going to be wrong. Thank you Pakistan

Er don't you mean thanks Hautriz, Hussey, Siddle & Watson?
I don't mean to keep harping on it, and I'll try to make this the last time I say it, but looking at the game and saying that Pakistan lost it is uncharitable to the Australian team.

....and here comes the match-fixing claims. Can't say I'm too surprised by it though.

*Sighs* Well that's just sad.
Seems like Pakistan can't lose any match they seemed likely to win at one stage without someone somewhere getting up and claiming they threw it...

 

[treespyro]

Er don't you mean thanks Hautriz, Hussey, Siddle & Watson?
I don't mean to keep harping on it, and I'll try to make this the last time I say it, but looking at the game and saying that Pakistan lost it is uncharitable to the Australian team.

However Pakistan did employ a defensive field which was pretty stupid and the batting was a bit off. I think Mohammad Yousef was correct in saying that if Pakistan did play less Twenty20s and ODIs then they wouldn't be in that situation.

But of course credit is Australia's due to the partnership of Hussey and Siddle. See the Victorians always win the games, you know with Merv, Warne and Siddle. Although I am a New South Welshman at heart living their most of my life.

 

[ElectiCrow]

Well done Australia and Graham Onions and Graham Swann for ensuring England's draw against South Africa on Thursday

 

[Barbarooza]

Er don't you mean thanks Hautriz, Hussey, Siddle & Watson?

Hauritz, Hussey, Siddle and Watson (combined with Yousef's captaining) dug Australia out of a whole, as opposed to winning it for Australia. Truth is, 170-odd should've been a walkover, but poor batting let Pakistan down.

 

[Night_Walker]

However Pakistan did employ a defensive field which was pretty stupid and the batting was a bit off. I think Mohammad Yousef was correct in saying that if Pakistan did play less Twenty20s and ODIs then they wouldn't be in that situation.

Yes the Pakistani tactics at the start of Day 4 were a little puzzling but the fact remains that Australia took the chance with the bat and then backed it up in the field. The Pakistani fielding wouldn't have mattered if Hussey or Siddle had played poorly.

I thought the Pakistani batting was okay, if not quite as deliberate as it could have been. While I traditionally disagree, vehemently, with this whole "too much non-test cricket" argument this time around I have to say there may be something to it;
Pakistan have only played the test series against New Zealand and this one against Australia in the last year or so, so they are indeed out of practise in the test arena, although arguably the bigger problem for them is how long it's been since they won a test - like Mark Taylor said when you're not used to winning you have a lot more trouble recapturing the ability to win.

That said 120-170 has traditionally been a band of target that teams have a lot more trouble getting then you think they should regardless of era. And Sydney is one of the toughest places to bat last.

But of course credit is Australia's due to the partnership of Hussey and Siddle. See the Victorians always win the games, you know with Merv, Warne and Siddle. Although I am a New South Welshman at heart living their most of my life.

Indeed it was the partnership that helped turn the match, who knows maybe the Pakistanis thought they'd get Siddle out easily on day 3 and when they didn't they just lost their way. Then the boys stepped up with the ball and took the match right away from the Pakistanis.

LOL well you could certainly argue that I suppose. Siddle certainly has a lot of heart and grit, which we've seen with the ball all summer. He has to be the unluckiest man in the attack right now; bowls his heart and soul out as well as his body and yet he just can't quite seem to get those wickets you think he should - then at the other end Johnson just comes on and manages to get people out... although I'll admit Johnson's been bowling better these last two matches.

Hauritz, Hussey, Siddle and Watson (combined with Yousef's captaining) dug Australia out of a whole, as opposed to winning it for Australia. Truth is, 170-odd should've been a walkover, but poor batting let Pakistan down.

...Why do we always disagree Barbooza?

I think Yousef's captaincy was a bit too conservative, and not at all in line with their position in the game, at the start of day 4. But the fact remains Hussey and Siddle fought hard and batted well against a very decent, if tired, Pakistani bowling attack.
He, and the rest of his side, opened the door just a bit for the Australians but it was the Australians who threw the door wide open and walked through it to give themselves a fighting chance.

Again I don't think Pakistan batted badly at all - only 4 of them gave their wicket away (and only two of them were recognised batsmen). The rest fell to sharp chance taking and good bowling.
And as I said above there is a "to win" range between about 120 and 170 that so often proves surprisingly tough to get - Slater thinks that it's because it's just between something you can get fairly quickly and scores you know you have to spend more time at the crease to achieve.

Let's not forget strong Australian batting line-ups have been known for quite some time now to have trouble getting small totals.

 

[delpawell]

That's true Australia does have one of the strongest batting line-ups in the cricketing world. I love to see Australia in action. This is one team that has its name in the top three in all the formats of the game. Among all the games I love to watch the 20-20 format and especially if the game is with India or South Africa it would be even more interesting. To learn playing cricket test matches are the best. Observing keenly would help you learn a lot of things.

 

[Raddaya]

Look at the Ranji Trophy final, folks. Man that's test cricket the way I like it.

 

[Night_Walker]

Stumps, Day 1 at Bellerive Oval.
Australia 3/302
Ricky Ponting finally back in form with a Captain's knock of 137 not out, ably supported by his Vice Captain Michael Clarke (111 not out).

Excellent rescue job by the Captain and Vice Captain after the first 3 went cheaply, still have my doubts about the Katich dismissal though (I would have thought given the angle it was bowled from it would have had to swing back more then Hawkeye suggests it did to hit the stumps).
I was disappointing to see, especially after the good performance in Sydney, that once the Ponting-Clarke partnership really got going that the Pakistanis started trying to get the umpire to change the ball... and then started bowling well wide of off stump.

 

[dragon-dark-master]

Fucking awesome catch from Amla.

 

[Barbarooza]

still have my doubts about the Katich dismissal though (I would have thought given the angle it was bowled from it would have had to swing back more then Hawkeye suggests it did to hit the stumps).

I myself thought it was going down legside but whatever.

 

[Night_Walker]

Fucking awesome catch from Amla.

He did do well to hold it but it was hit straight at him, a metre either side and he'd have had little chance.
Sad to see Pakistan's fielding was otherwise very ordinary.

And it's sad to see a team like Pakistan with all that potential resorting to negative tactics like those they were employing once Ponting and Clarke were established (ie about 4-5 balls an over a second set of stumps outside off)...

I myself thought it was going down legside but whatever.

Yeah that's what I meant, for the ball to straighten like it did I'd thought it would had to swing more then what Hawkeye said it did and thus would have slipped down legside.

 

[Bobblefighter]

Still can't believe Ponting could have gone for a duck, but went on to make a double century. A bit early, but we comfortably win this one.

 

[Night_Walker]

Still can't believe Ponting could have gone for a duck, but went on to make a double century. A bit early, but we comfortably win this one.

It sure turned out to be a big miss for the Pakistanis no doubt. Still it's Ponting who made them pay, if he'd batted poorly then it wouldn't have mattered much.

Well we're in charge right now, but cricket's a funny old game. The boys will have to come back tomorrow and back up what they've done over the last two days.

Boy oh boy I wouldn't want to be Salmon Butt right now... Bad enough to run out your skipper like that, and man Yousuf looked furious, but to then go and do it to your next partner...

 

[Barbarooza]

Run Outs in any form of cricket isn't on.

 

[dragon-dark-master]

He did do well to hold it but it was hit straight at him, a metre either side and he'd have had little chance.

It was a metre to his right. Are you blind?

 

[Barbarooza]

Anyone have any videos yet? I haven't seen teh catch yet.