2022-2023 Summer of Cricket

India far too short at $1.77, and they left their run far too late. Pandya had a lash but had little help.
 
Definitely best to bat second on these worn pitches … know what you’re chasing is a benefit when the pitch is like that. Weird that they couldn’t get together fresh new flat and fast pitches for the semis - was someone trying to ensure it was an India-Pakistan final?
 
The forecast for Melbourne tonight is not good, my weather app is saying there is a 90% chance of rain and thunder is also forecast.

I’m hoping we can squeeze a game in tonight.
 
Speaking of NZ in another thread, I'm disgusted that Ian Smith has turned his back on his country and is now part of the Australian commentary team! (On Fox) :fist:

How do people find his commentary over in Aus out of interest?

Been watching a bit of this test, and it is definitely being played on a bit of a road ... Australia bowlers causing the West Indies batsmen plenty of problems, but they're doing well to hang in there. Get the feeling they will break eventually though ...
 
I really like Smithy and look forward to his commentary.

The Australian batting was very impressive, Smith is back to his best and Labuschagne seems destined to become one of Australia’s best batsmen ever.

The Windies batsmen are been ground down by the Aussie bowlers. When your 5th bowler comes on takes out a batsman with a bouncer, you have an impressive attack.
 
Lefty said:
I really like Smithy and look forward to his commentary.

The Australian batting was very impressive, Smith is back to his best and Labuschagne seems destined to become one of Australia’s best batsmen ever.

The Windies batsmen are been ground down by the Aussie bowlers. When your 5th bowler comes on takes out a batsman with a bouncer, you have an impressive attack.
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I thought Smithy might annoy people for some reason 😂
 
Warner’s manager has said today that the Australian players were told they could tamper with the ball to get it to reverse swing after Australia’s loss to South Africa in Hobart.

All Cricket Australia had to do was conduct a private hearing into Warner’s fitness to captain Australian sides and then could could captain The Thunder. Warner justifiably refused to submit to a public hearing.

The way this has ended up is extremely embarrassing for Cricket Australia.
 
Lefty said:
Warner’s manager has said today that the Australian players were told they could tamper with the ball to get it to reverse swing after Australia’s loss to South Africa in Hobart.

All Cricket Australia had to do was conduct a private hearing into Warner’s fitness to captain Australian sides and then could could captain The Thunder. Warner justifiably refused to submit to a public hearing.

The way this has ended up is extremely embarrassing for Cricket Australia.
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I think we all knew it ... and knew it was happening earlier that season at least, with Warner's dodgy hand strapping.

Silly thing is they were still a really good side without it, just not winning almost every single test like they used to.
 
You’d have to be very naive to think it hadn’t been a sanctioned part of our cricket strategy for decades, as it is for every test playing nation, and that’s why the absurd bans he, Smith & Bancroft got were always a farce & a disgrace.
 
If Marnus scores another 50 runs he'll be the 4th player ever to have an average of over 60 and 3000 test runs - behind Don Bradman, Herbert Sutcliffe and Steve Smith - currently on 2950 runs at average 61.45
 
Wow! It is incredible to have to batsmen in the same team averaging over 60.

Labuschagne is still improving, we have to wait and see where his average finishes.
 
He’s been great but also really, really lucky, on a level I’ve never seen before. It feels like about half the times he could have been dismissed, he’s been given a life (whether a dropped catch or a bowled/lbw off a no-ball). In fact I read an article indicating that if he only had about the standard % of instances of that happening (around 20% I think), his test batting average would be a little below 50. Part of why the average is so good is how he’s cashed in when given a life and good on him, but personally I don’t think he’s actually hugely better than Usman. I feel like for most of Khawaja’s career he never got even a little bit of luck, right down to being dismissed off the back of comically & obviously incorrect DRS decisions - it only seems to have finally turned now during this late career renaissance he’s having.

Anyway, some regression to the mean is to be expected, hope the selectors don’t punt him when he finally does have a lean trot, because whichever way you slice it he’s our next best bat after Smudge.
 
I just tried to find his stats but I can only find final career data…

I did find some details on his early to mid career performances that made me think he should have been in that list too…

After two years in the Test side his average rose to 86.18; it had already taken 29 ODIs for his mean to drop below 100. In just 166 days he become the fastest player to 1000 Test runs,

His final career stats are 6235 runs at an average of 51.5 but I’d be very surprised if he was not close to that 60 plus average mark as well when he got to his 3000 run milestone
 
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