Yeah, was it about 550 to 650 and they might have both scored triples?
Anyway, another day, another Test. Australia wins the toss and bowls, surely nothing to do with how fragile our batting lineup is. NZ 3/71 at lunch, Ravindra out last ball.
Thought I’d look at our bowling stats. This Summer:
31 wickets - Hazlewood, Lyon
25 - Cummins
22 - Starc
And from the start of 2023:
69 - Lyon @ 22.60
54 - Cummins @ 27.75
52 - Hazlewood @ 19.48
51 - Starc @ 29.90
Hazlewood gets another right after lunch, he’s having a great Summer. He used to be the bowler that had to be rested because he couldn’t play 2-3 consecutive matches.
Williamson still in, can he make a decent score?
EDIT: the answer is no, Hazlewood just got him. NZ 5/88. Too early to predict that Labuschagne will be dismissed before stumps? Or maybe Lyon will be promoted to #3.
Smith continuing to prove that you don’t suddenly become a Test opener after having played 100+ Tests and as you’re approaching 35 years of age. So he carried his bat in one innings against the West Indies in Brisbane, and that is supposed to convince us that he’s better off away from the middle order?
For the 1st Test against India in November, bring in a proper opener, move Smith to 3 or 4, drop Labuschagne. Let Marnus earn his way back in.
No player should be gifted 2 years or 10-15 Tests to recover form. Warner deserved to have been dropped over the past 3 years, but because there is little competition in Test cricket, good teams can play bad, continue to win and thus ignore medium to long term form slumps.
One highlight: with his very first ball since the Ashes, Stokes bowls his opposing captain Rohit Sharma for 110.
But honestly, what a bad day for England. Given what they have shown this series, there is little chance of this match going into a 4th day. And it could very well be over by tea because England don’t have the heart to bat 90 overs. With the England spinners grabbing 6 wickets, I don’t like England’s chances of lasting too long against Ashwin, Yadav and Jadeja.
They will talk up the positives, whatever they are, but it’s been an embarrassing tour. I hope Jimmy remains stuck on 699.
It was an embarrassing display by England’s batsmen. But for the one miracle innings it would have been 5-0
It’s mental weakness IMO to go down slogging the entire time. No doubt everyone will be getting under their nuts again when they smash the powder puff opposition at home later this year but slog and hope isn’t good enough to beat the best teams…particularly away from home
Just looking at the world test championship more I think the Kiwis and England are done - all we have left is a test series against Sri Lanka away and a home series against India. So even if we tie against both countries we are in.
Just looking at the world test championship more I think the Kiwis and England are done - all we have left is a test series against Sri Lanka away and a home series against India. So even if we tie against both countries we are in.
In Sri Lanka is no cake walk. But seems Australia is only team that can actually win there except India who never goes there anymore. India series will will be fun and coin flip.