India VS Australia 2018-19

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The only time India lifted the Border-Gavaskar trophy was in 2003-04 when the series was drawn 1-1. Many considers this is the best chance for India to lift the trophy with a win, as this Aussies side is the weakest one to have played against India. Let's see how the summer shower it's heat in Australia. The schedule are as follows

T-20 series:
Match 1 - 21 November - Brisbane
Match 2 - 23 November - Melbourne
Match 3 - 25 November - Sydney


Test Matches

1. Adelaide : 6-12-18 to 10-12-18
2. Perth : 14-12-2018 to 18-12-18
3. Melbourne : 26-12-18 to 30-12-18
4. Sydney : 03-01-19 to 07-01-19

ODI Series:

Match 1 - 12 Jan - Sydney
Match 2 - 15 Jan - Adelaide
Match 3 - 18 Jan - Melbourne

To be honest I am not happy with the scheduling. Indian team management thinks that T-20 or the ODIs are the best way to get acclimatised to the home conditions and they were proved wrong in the last two tours. Still they have only one practise game for preparations. Also if the nepotism wonder R. Sharma gets into the XI, I will support Australia to repeat 2011.

The hour after lunch has not been kind to Australia : first Harris plays on to Jadeja for a well made 79 , then S Marsh surprised no one by edging the same bowler to Rahane - and now a terrific low catch by Rahane at short mid wicket off Shami removes Labuschagne after a promising 38 to leave the hosts wobbling at 152/4.
No big scores ...they don't have a Pujara.

Indian bowlers have been getting reverse swing, shami in particular and with control and on demand almost
and India's spin bowling has far more variations....pitch will get more and more roughed up
Mountain to climb for Aus and they are floundering

188/4 now with Head and Handscomb playing soundly...pitch remains blameless (the dismissals all down to batsman error against good but hardly lethal bowling)
Couple of wickets can - and probably will - lead to disaster after tea. But if these two can bat deep today (as the rain clouds start to gather ) there remains a chance of ....oh gawd I've done it again !

Head pops one straight back to Kuldeep . Timing

192/5

198/5 at tea...Head getting out so close to the break was a blow.

Aim must be to bat out tonight no worse than six down and force India to bowl at least a couple more hours tomorrow . Still probably lose but would at least give Kohli a declaration decision...and , particularly if some time is lost to rain , leave some chance of last day survival to draw...

But as KP_fan says , the pitch should rough up enough that India's spinners would have the last laugh anyway. Imagine even Warne has given up on trying to win

Paine bowled (beautiful piece of bowling from Kuldeep !) through the gate first over after tea...

This is going south fast now. Doubt Australia will pass 250. Still won't be a follow on , I suppose ; but the eventual result looking clearer by the hour.

Been impressed by Marcus Harris whenever I've seen him bat, but he always seems to surrender his wicket cheaply before he can make a big score!

India gradually chipped away on day three. I suppose they'll swing the bat tomorrow and put the Australians in shortly after tea?

Duty281 wrote:Been impressed by Marcus Harris whenever I've seen him bat, but he always seems to surrender his wicket cheaply before he can make a big score!

India gradually chipped away on day three. I suppose they'll swing the bat tomorrow and put the Australians in shortly after tea?

I think Aus will get Max 300 and might last a session tomm.
Leaving Ind with a lead of 325ish & India will enforce follow-on...having 5 sessions in hand

and they will be prepared too chip away, slowly, one by one the 10 second inning wickets and prepared to use up until the 5th session
Even if aus bat 4 full sessions...they are likely to get ~300ish...so there is not enuf time in the game for India to lose this test now.

Since Ind has 2 spinners + Vihari who can bowl a lot of overs between them and that this is the last test of the season.......tiring the seamers won't be a big factor

This is what happens when there's such a poor lineup, batsman struggling to 30 or so then getting out. Every run a battle as there's not the ability to dominate the bowling. Still, I expect Mr Warne is talking about at what point Australia will declare

KP_fan wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Been impressed by Marcus Harris whenever I've seen him bat, but he always seems to surrender his wicket cheaply before he can make a big score!

India gradually chipped away on day three. I suppose they'll swing the bat tomorrow and put the Australians in shortly after tea?

I think Aus will get Max 300 and might last a session tomm.
Leaving  Ind with a lead of 325ish & India will enforce follow-on...having 5 sessions in hand

and they will be prepared too chip away, slowly, one by one the 10 second inning wickets and prepared to use up until the 5th session
Even if aus bat 4 full sessions...they are likely to get ~300ish...so there is not enuf time in the game for India to lose this test now.

Since Ind has 2 spinners + Vihari who can bowl a lot of overs between them and that this is the last test of the season.......tiring the seamers won't be a big factor

Hope they do enforce the follow-on, should the chance arise, it's almost a novelty these days!

India's bowling, on a dead track, was disciplined and patient after a not so great start. They worked with the advantage and security of a massive first innings score. The Australian batting lacked the experience, temperament and overall quality to deal with it. They find themselves fighting to save the game from a difficult situation that is becoming more and more difficult.
But they still can save this game. Pat Cummins, looking less asured than he has usually done in the series is still there to carry the fight forward. On a lifeless track for seamers, Peter Handscomb has survived as he has a decent game against spin particularly when the track has not so much for the spinner either. Starc is a bowler who can bat, Lyon wouldn't give up easily, and even Hazlewood shouldn't be much troubled by the track. If they really apply themselves, batting out a session and half isn't beyond them really. If they do that and reduce that lead to under 250, Kohli would be in a bit of a bind as to whether he should enforce the follow-on or not. If India bat 30 overs or so and set 370 380 target, Australia might have to survive 3 sessions. If it rains a bit more as expected, they might just be able to get away with it.
As for India, they would hope to restrict Australia to under 330 in about a session tomorrow. The best course would be to enforce the follow-on and try and bowl them out a second time in 4 sessions. Hopefully, by then, the track would have enough sleep! And Jadeja and Kuldip might be able to gain just that little bit out of it to finish the job. India will have to continue to stay patient, on this road, it won't be possible to blast out the lower order... Don't give them easy runs, maintain aggression with the ball and fielding positions, but don't overdo it.

msp83 wrote:
But they still can save this game. Pat Cummins, looking less asured than he has usually done in the series is still there to carry the fight forward. On a  lifeless track for seamers, Peter Handscomb has survived as he has a decent game against spin particularly when the track has not so much for the spinner either. Starc is a bowler who can bat, Lyon wouldn't give up easily, and even Hazlewood shouldn't be much troubled by the track. If they really apply themselves, batting out a session and half isn't beyond them really. If they do that and reduce that lead to under 250, Kohli would be in a bit of a bind as to whether he should enforce the follow-on or not. If India bat 30 overs or so and set 370 380 target, Australia might have to survive 3 sessions. If it rains a bit more as expected, they might just be able to get away with it.

Kind words msp but when they do get back on the field it could all be over fairly quickly.
India thoroughly deserve a comprehensive 3-1 result. They have dominated all facets of play and Australia has struggled with bat and ball.
This is perhaps the deepest low-point for Australian cricket I can remember since the early 80s.

It occurred to me again watching the bbl after yesterday's play... some players there had stints as bowlers for a single test, some batsmen too.
We really have churned through players in the last decade or so. It's doing (or has done) a lot of damage to the confidence of many players.

India on the other hand have unearthed some brilliant prospects. It must be like having newer, more modern manifestations of a Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly along with perhaps the best Indian bowling combinations of all time who have shown the Aussies how to bowl on their own turf.
As I heard O'Keeffe comment yesterday: "They have out-Australia-d Australia in their own backyard."

So congratulations to you, KPF, Kumar, IMBL and any other Indian fans on here. Enjoy being over the moon!

Last few days here have been so hot. 38 deg at 10am yesterday. The rain I got mid afternoon was from a different front from the one which affected the SCG an hour or so later. A few shorts burst of intense 'hot' rain then the temperature dropped about 15 degrees last night. A very pleasant 23 now but there's a continuous blanket of low cloud over Sydney which is barely moving... drizzle here and there. I haven't seen the sun since about 3pm yesterday. It could be totally different out in the field when they resume. Much cooler, skiddy and slippery under heavier overhead conditions. The light here is pretty poor.

Hasn't been much resistance this afternoon - except from the Sydney weather
Once they got on the field after lunch wickets have tumbled quickly and now only the two opening bowlers are left to battle it out (Starc nearly went as I type but Vihari spilled the high catch). 265/9

Will Kohli enforce the follow on ? He should , as more time may be lost to the weather. May have some tired bowlers by Monday but who cares...they can rest then.

Surprisingly Starc and Hazlewood are still hanging in at drinks...

Frustrating for India. Vihari now having a bowl : they might need a few overs from the fifth bowler if the locals can offer a fight in the second innings... This one has now gone past the hundred overs. And the pitch remains largely devoid of demons.

Seeing these tailenders bat fairly comfortably on this you wonder how all the bats could get a start , but none but Harris go past forty ? Suppose it is partly the old "scoreboard pressure" ; partly a want of concentration - and I guess partly they just aren't very good. Second innings probably will decide whether a couple of these bats get the opportunity to face Sri Lanka or have their files closed (Marsh , Handscomb : I'm looking at you) Head could use a score too.

300 up

OK , calm down ...last wicket stand of 42 is handy (sets an example for second knock ?)
But it's over now as Kuldeep traps Josh lbw for his Michelle...all out 300.

Indian bowlers were looking a bit weary but I'm sure they'll lift for a last effort as Australia bat again in ten minutes...

Simple task left for Australia : bat (pretty much all of ) remaining 133 overs - assuming no more rain - to secure a draw ; which would be something of a consolation prize and worth praise if they could do it. Not impossible against an understandably tired attack. But you wouldn't be betting on it...

Might be a chance for some players to show real character though.

Bad light. No one out yet.

Guess this will be decided tomorrow .

Exciting conclusion then. 98 overs for India to grab the final ten wickets. Fingers crossed for dry weather.

alfie wrote:Seeing these tailenders bat fairly comfortably on this you wonder how all the bats could get a start ,  but none but Harris go past forty ? Suppose it is partly the old "scoreboard pressure" ; partly a want of concentration - and I guess partly they just aren't very good.  Second innings probably will decide whether a couple of these bats get the opportunity to face Sri Lanka or have their files closed (Marsh , Handscomb : I'm looking at you) Head could use a score too.

Its very England like isnt it?

Interesting conclusion to the game then, a case of batting out overs rather than scoring runs for Australia. But do they have the patience and ability to play that defensively?

India have handled Bumrah and Shami well with neither bowling a vast number of overs on day 4, but they will surely start to tire at the end of a second day in the field at the end of a long tour. Its likely to be down to the spinners to do the job, and the first innings suggests they are capable.

--Pitch is not yet deteriorated a lot but Kuldeep is already getting big turn...because he tosses it at really slow pace & gets a lot of purchase
That he spins it both ways doesn't make it easy for the batsman.
His only folly is his landing....he doesn't get it right with the same consistency at the good length spot... as Jadeja / Ashwin do
Often times over-pitching...and hence goes for about 0.75 RPO more than those restrictive spinners

But he gets wickets & his ~3.1 RPO is quite acceptable & a blessing in disguise actually that he played ahead of Ashwin...for i don't think even a fully fit Ashwin would have picked a 5-fer here

--Ind gave about 30-40 runs too many...Vihar's dropped sitter too expensive...but dismissing Aus for 300ish in a sessions play was reasonable as i had conceded yesterday.

Problem now is weather and umpire's interpretation of bad light
if we get 95 overs I am sure Kuldeep and jadeja will prise out bulk of the wickets with fast bowlers chipping in with a few with 2 new balls.
Pressure all on Aus with nothing to play for...and NIL on India as series, trophy, history credits all in the bag...and they can go flat out like Sergei Bubka chasing to better their own record with the final jump after bagging the gold

--a word on Aus
their world class team starts from No. 7 (  including Paine & downwards).....world class bowlers all of whom can bat....warne's criticism of them is too harsh give their top-6 aren't putting runs on board.....even on good pitches like Melbourne and Sydney....barely getting 20s and 30s on their good days i.e when they do get a start.
That their deemed "best" batsman Khwaja in this 11 averages only 27 in test matches

But they should not be disheartened as they ran into a very solid Indian team and lost 3 out of 4 tosses...which is not being talked about.....

With Warner & Smith back and around them Harris, Head, Hadscombe , Bancroft, Renshaw can get them to fighting totals
They have to have a batting allrounder in the 11, playing at 6......and it could be Labuschange for spinning pitches and anyone who can bowl seam ( but not Mitch Marsh) for seaming tracks

Think weather would have the last laugh as far as this test is concerned. India would have loved to make it 3-1 and they deserved it. But wouldn't mind too much if it is 2-1.
The track remained pretty flat for day 4, this is downright horrendous! People used to call Indian tracks as flat in the past, wonder what happened to all of them? Australia for the last 5 years at least, have produced some of the flattest test wickets in the world, only next to the UAE tracks that would at least burst into life all of a sudden on day 5. Australian batting, even with Smith and Warner, have been struggling against swing and spin for a long time and their responses have been flat tracks where their average lineup can put up some decent totals, and then leave it to their bowling lineup to make a difference. After Michael Clarke retired, the Australian batting has been far too dependent on Smith and Warner, otherwise, not many have been turning in consistent performances. Interestingly, since Capetown 2018, the ball hasn't been reversing for the Australian quicks that much, and as their old ball output got negated, the bowlers are not able to make that difference. In any case with the lack of batting quality, that 20 percent difference that they could have made would not be anywhere near good enough.

Good performance yet again from the Indian bowlers. Kuldip turning in a much better performance than he did in his last overseas test. But a bit of loss of intensity proving to be rather costly for India. They dropped a couple of catches, and though that didn't cost them too many runs, it has taken away valuable time. Khawaja batted nearly 18 overs after he was put down, and Starc too made it count runwise and timewise after Vihari put him down. They say the weather is not likely to improve much tomorrow. Kohli and co can go through the formalities tomorrow, celebrate, and then get on with the job in the ODIs. A disappointing end, but a mighty fine job from the Indians. Even after Kohli botched team selection twice, Pujara and toss saved him here, so not paying a huge price in the end.

Only 2 real contenders for the Man of the Series, Cheteshwar Pujara and Jasprit Bumrah. Unless the weather behaves tomorrow and Bumrah has one last magic, match-winning spell left in him for the series, it has to be Pujara clearly, though Bumrah's performance was absolutely brilliant.
Australia's best players of the series were Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. Their hope from the series is Marcus Harris.
They should give a final farewell to shaun Marsh regardless of what he does tomorrow. At 35, there is not much better that he can offer to the side. Mitch Marsh can remain in the scheme of things, but not to be involved with the test side any time soon till he makes add some consistency to his game at domestic level. He should now only be picked on performance rather than potential.

For India, the cycle of overseas tours is over for the time being. Time for Shaw and Agarwal to get a long run at the top. Hanuma Vihari should also be persisted with. At home they need to by and large play with 5 batsmen. Kuldip should get more sustained opportunities with the 2 leading spinners so that he can learn on the job and in the company of those who have been there and done it. Seamers should be rotated, with Bhuvi Kumar getting more opportunities. Even Umesh I believe is a better bowler for Indian conditions.
Hopefully, the likes of Shivam Dube and Shubman Gill will force their way into the side sooner rather than later so that the likes of Rohit can be forgotten and moved on from.

Looks like weather will have the final say.

Rather disappointing end then, but perhaps one Australia will have been glad to have seen.
Incredible series for India after the disappointment they suffered in England. Theres clearly still issues with their side, and this is an indication of just how rank awful Australias batting is without Smith and Warner, but as with Englands win in Sri Lanka this does buck a real trend of sides folding after being competitive in the first test of an away series. India have managed their seamers well, and coped with the injuries players have sustained.
No question that Pujara has been man of the series, hes the only batsman from either side to have really dominated. Coming in early against one of the top new ball attacks in world cricket makes it even more impressive.

Where now for Australia? I don't think Paine is justifying a place in the side, as a player or captain. But how replaceable is he? Its not like Wade in anyway justifies a place, and who would captain? I doubt they will drop him, but i dont see him as a player whos going to help get Australia back to being a top 3 side.
Ditching Sean Marsh seems sensible, hes one of those who had supposedly played his last test after the 2015 ashes. Despite having had a brilliant series in the last ashes hes had a couple of rank awful tours for Australia and doesnt appear to be offering the sort of leadership and grit you'd expect from a senior player. Highest score of 60 in the last 3 series combined, they just cant keep persisting with him even as a stop gap surely.
Harris is a little more encouraging, as a new cap in particular. Hes quietly got on with making more runs than any other Australian in the series, although thats not saying much. I dont see that much to get excited about with him as a real test force though, its more relative to the dross around him and disappointment of the much more highly vaunted Finch that hes getting praise. The young Indian opener did more than him, and that was coming into the side cold and in alien conditions.

More worrying still for Aus is the suggestion from Lyon that theres been a falling out between the bowlers and coaches. Thats the one part of the side that Austrlaia have some strength in both short and long term, and includes some important leadership figures. For the next series most of the teams experience is likely to come from those bowlers. If their morale is affected by internal tensions and the continued failings of the batsmen then that could make the situation even worse.

They have a series against the pathetic Sri Lanka next, a side with even bigger problems than them. Its unlikely that this will give them the opportunity to radically overhaul the squad before the ashes, especially as many fringe players wont play any more first class cricket this season due to the ODI's. Its a given that Smith and Warner will come back for that, which settles a top 4. The 4 bowlers pick themselves if fit, noones likely to challenge that from left field. Wade could push Paine out as keeper, but theres not much indication that will happen. The only all rounder who could challenge MMarsh and Labuschange is Stoinis who is being talked up by the Aussie pundits ...hes barely played any first class cricket this year though, and has a pretty mediocre record. Really theres just one batting spot wide open for someone like Burns to take for the Ashes team.

India dont have another away series for some time now, and get to relax at home being accused of massaging their averages on flat pitches. Its hard to see teams going there and challenging them. They do have questions to answer about the openers, but with two young players standing up the future looks bright. Its hard to see how anyones going to challenge their number one status in the next couple of years. They maybe got a bit lucky hitting Australia at an all time low, but it took the weather to save it from being a crushing victory of the type we rarely see on overseas tours.

There is zero chance that Wade has any opportunity to wicket keep for Australia again, Paine's glove work is brilliant and Wade is terrible just ask Lyon. Paine's arguably got the toughest job in world cricket atm. Once Smith and Warner return the pressure will reduce on Paine. Paine's been handicapped by the terrible efforts by his 'senior players', Starc, S Marsh and Khawaja did nothing to help their captain

Didn't realise that it was India's first ever series win in Australia. Massive congratulations to them and their fans who must be delighted. If they can bring Agarwal and Pant through to he established players and keep Bumrah fit, I can't see them giving up that number one ranking any time soon

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:There is zero chance that Wade has any opportunity to wicket keep for Australia again, Paine's glove work is brilliant and Wade is terrible just ask Lyon. Paine's arguably got the toughest job in world cricket atm. Once Smith and Warner return the pressure will reduce on Paine. Paine's been handicapped by the terrible efforts by his 'senior players', Starc, S Marsh and Khawaja did nothing to help their captain

I second that....Paine is a safe WK and not a  bad batsman.....is punching above his weight with the bat since made a captain.

Aged 34....he will live out max 2 years and walk into retirement
Tim Paine is not the problem. Their problems marked with * and bigger problem with **

1) Harris
2) Warner
3) Khawaja * ( average 27 in tests)
4) Smith
5) Head* ( needs to show consistency)
6) ** Need a batting allrounder or two for this slot
7) Paine
8) Cummins
9) Starc
10) Lyon
11) Hazelwood

so you can see their problems are not too many once Smith and Warner are back...and I do expect a very competitive Ashes
for the No. 6 spot...aus should consider Glen Maxwell who averages a healthy 42 in FC cricket for flatter piches where a 2nd spinnr might help,,,,and Marcus Stoinis who averaged 42 in ODis for seaming pitches

VTR wrote:Didn't realise that it was India's first ever series win in Australia. Massive congratulations to them and their fans who must be delighted. If they can bring Agarwal and Pant through to he established players and keep Bumrah fit, I can't see them giving up that number one ranking any time soon

This is the first series win of Any Asian Side Ever in Australia as I can recall

Duty281 wrote:2-1 India. Might be worth a poke at 6/4 on them winning the series.

Ah, that was nice then.

Australia have serious problems in the batting department.

KP_fan wrote:
3) Khawaja * ( average 27 in tests)

kpf - What time period is that 27? His career average is a pretty solid 42

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/215155.html

A very fine series win by India. If they were ever going to triumph Down Under it was going to be in this series, due to the weakness of the Aussie batting.
But India fully deserve this victory as they were good enough and patient enough to grind out big totals in the third and fourth Tests against a good bowling line-up.
To think that Pujara was left out of the first Test in England last summer! Doubt if he'll ever be dropped again.

Wow, correct (re KP Fan earlier), first Asian side to win in Australia. That would include all the times when Pakistan had a very competitive side and never managed it. Not sure if they ever got close, or India did before. I'm ruling out SL and Bangla as expect they have been trounced and not even sure Bangla have toured Australia?

VTR wrote:Wow, correct (re KP Fan earlier), first Asian side to win in Australia. That would include all the times when Pakistan had a very competitive side and never managed it. Not sure if they ever got close, or India did before. I'm ruling out SL and Bangla as expect they have been trounced and not even sure Bangla have toured Australia?

Pakistan have had a couple of series draws in Australia, and they lost one series 2-1. India and Sri Lanka have often been trounced over there. Bangladesh toured Australia in 2003, and lost both tests by an innings, as you would expect!

(Thank you Cricinfo!)

Good work digging out the stats, cheers

Finally India win a series in Australia. That was clear by the 2nd day of this rain ruined test match. India deserved to win this one, but as I wrote yesterday, they would be happy with the historic series win. The bowlers deserve a lot of credit for the win. Bumrah, Ishant and Shami were brilliant, and Jadeja, Ashwin and Kuldip chipped in with important contributions. Cheteshwar Pujara was exceptional. Mayank Agarwal has had a fine start to his test career, and Rishabh Pant scored a few cosnsistently throughout, before he made that big, typical Pant hundred. Skipper Kohli made useful runs throughout the series though by his standards he had a rather quiet series. Rahane too chipped in, though he again had an underwhelming series. Before Mayank, the opening combination was a disaster.
So there are problems particularly in the batting department and Kohli had his usual share of selection disasters. , but Pujara and the bowlers helped the team overcome those limitations to create history.
Hope they would go on and build on this success.

VTR wrote:Wow, correct (re KP Fan earlier), first Asian side to win in Australia. That would include all the times when Pakistan had a very competitive side and never managed it. Not sure if they ever got close, or India did before. I'm ruling out SL and Bangla as expect they have been trounced and not even sure Bangla have toured Australia?

India lost 3-2 in 1977,
drew 0-0 in 1985-86 coming close to winning Melbourne test needing 60 runs on last day with all 10 wickets in hand and the entire day washed out....and was 4 wickets away from winning in Sydney after enforcing follow-on in a rain affected game
drew 1-1 in 2003...came close to winning in sydney after scoring 700 runs....Aus hung on to a draw In steve waugh's last test.....as WK Parthiv dropped crucial catches

James100 wrote:

KP_fan wrote:
3) Khawaja * ( average 27 in tests)

kpf - What time period is that 27? His career average is a pretty solid 42

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/215155.html

I thought I saw it in stats on TV during live play...
But sorry, maybe I confused with someone else

KP_fan wrote:

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:India building towards a really top side. Top order probably set with Agarwal, Shaw, Pujara and Kohli. Five and six are probably up for grabs as Rahane has been poor for a long time and Vihari hasn't taken his opportunity. Rohit isn't a test batsman either. Secondly Kohli needs to make Jadeja the lead spinner. Ashwin isn't capable of performing outside Asia. Then the decision is whether they bed in Shubman Gill at 5 and Hardik Pandya at 6

--and while talking about the second line Indians....we must take note of excellent pace reserves...
1) Shardul Thakur....has the  making of another Shami
2)3) and 4) Mohd Siraj, Rajnish Gurbani and Navdeep Saini all pretty brisk 135-145kph doing very well in A circuit and Ranji....and some of them should play test cricket....Siraj will get a breakthrough sooner than later I suspect in place of Umesh

Siraaj replaces Bumrah in the ODI squad

Cheers KP Fan. Seems India got close before then unlucky (weather) or bad play (dropping catches) meant they didn't get over the line. No such issues this time, it was Australia praying for rain to save them from further humiliation in the end

Australia declared their squad for SL tests......Marshes and ¨Handscombe out......Burns and Renshaw In......those who saw Renshaw in India would generally appreciate his inning building skills
calling 20 year old Pucovski who had juts been out due to metal illness sounds of desperation although the kid has a 249 score in FC this season and averages 49...but this is his first Sheffield season



Test Squad Tim Paine, Josh Hazlewood, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Will Pucovski, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

Burns was the most obvious candidate. Renshaws still young and despite having a bad Shield season was good in the CC and again there were question marks over his omission from the series just gone.
The demise of Handscombe and the Marshes isnt exactly controversial but does hint at the same kind of flip flop decision making we've seen form the England selectors over recent years, perhaps a different voice getting their way now.
The lack of a seam all rounder stands out in the squad, there had been a lot of calls for Stoinis but it seems his test potential isnt so highly thought of by the selectors. Maybe also a desire not to distract and damage his limited overs game ahead of the world cup.
Sticking with and flogging just the 4 established first choice bowlers suggests that they still lack a lot of faith in the batsmen (hardly surprising) and feel the team needs to do everything to maximise their chances of victory, even against a poor demoralised side like Sri Lanka.
These are must win tests for Aus, even coming close to losing them would be hugely embarrassing. But equally as important is how these new bats get on.

I think they have settled for Labuschagne as their batting allrounder & when Smith is back he can bowl some equally handy legspin

KP_fan wrote:I think they have settled for Labuschagne as their batting  allrounder & when Smith is back he can bowl some equally handy legspin

Which is fine but with an eye to an Ashes series and some home pitches, and the three seniors long term careers, you'd want the option of a 4th seamer too.
The handiness (or lack of) of Lambuschnges bowling was exposed in the last test, hes only an occasional bowler rather than a proper all rounder. With batting returns every bit as bad at Mitchel Marshes, and no first class record to suggest hes capable of much more in either discipline, they will be short a bowling option for the forseeable future.
Smiths taken one test wicket in the last 3 and half years, and hardly bowls at all anymore. Hes not the solution either.

Its a problem, and Stoinis is the nearest thing to a solution available. But a bit like Finch before him hes probably only being pushed so hard because he hasnt had the opportunity to fail and show why he wasnt picked previously yet.

Quite the opposite of England who have too many, they just don't have all rounders worth picking.

Funny old game .  A year ago it was noted that all the England wickets had been taken by just the four regular bowlers ; and this was  generally applauded as a notable achievement ...

This year against India , the same four bowlers were again the only ones to take a wicket...only this time this is looked at as a problem.

Selection boss has just said they would really like an all rounder but have essentially given up on one for now.  It isn't an insurmountable problem - especially while Lyon is able to do a consistent job of economy and pressure - but obviously isn't ideal. Particularly when none of the potential part timers (Smith , Head  ?) would threaten Boycott's granny wielding a stick of rhubarb .  No wonder they are hoping Labuschagne makes it as a batsman...


Think they may have to live with this weakness for now.

Alfie ..thats very much what I was driving at, sometimes you have a choice between picking players who are simply not good enough, or picking players to balance a team.
England had this same issues for years whilst they searched for the new Botham before Flintoff managed to stay fit/soberish for a few years before embarking on a hunt for the new Flintoff and finding Stokes/Woakes/Moeen and now Curran in the course of a very short period.

Aus are giving Lamuschange a fair crack, even though hes produced very little with the bat to date and really his bowling figures flatter him. Thats not unreasonable, but i dont see him as a player whos likely to add much in the short term.
But yeah Steve Smith was a rubbish leg spin all rounder when he started so who knows.

It is a problem Aus have to live with if they don't believe that Stoinis is the answer, contrary to what the professional loud mouths on TV are saying (the same ones that convinced us all that Finch was the answer)

Stonis should at least be given a crack...he's a bloody good cricketer, and deserves at least a chance to prove himself at number 6

A first class average of 33 says otherwise, his good season was 2014-15. Pretty mediocre bowler too.

Meanwhile Pandya and Rahul seem to have landed themselves in hot water and revealed just what a bunch of spoilt playboys they are on TV.

cricinfo wrote:Having mentioned that he felt West Indian in spirit earlier on the programme, Pandya answered a question about he approached women in night clubs in this way: "I like to watch and observe how they move. I'm little from the black side so I need to see how they move."

There was another anecdote as well. "The other day there was a party," Pandya said, "My parents are sitting there and (referring to the female guests) they're like "Which one is yours?" and I sat with them and said "This, this this, everyone's got something with me."

The BCCI are looking at sanctioning both players for these and other distasteful comments.

--Other than Eng and WI not other team has quality allrounders
WI surprisingly has Holder & Roston chase as quality bowling and batting all-rounders
BD to some extent has Shakibul Hasan

--India tried their aggressive "5 bowler" composition using Pandya & then dumped it for 6 batsman......with a weak Vihari as their 5th bowler

--Aussies are same....4 quality bowler.....and Labuschange's FC record notwithstanding, how he bowled in UAE shows he is a decent 10 over a day bowler especially when bowling in 2nd /3rd / 4th innings
Smith has declined as a bowler because of his focus on batting and captaincy .....from being almost a bowling allrounder when he started his career
and he is not the only one.....Steve Waugh, Ganguly, tendulkar all declined as bowlers when they became captains
Now that he will never captain again....Smith can focus on practicing his leg spin seriously

Pak same 4 pure bowlers

--NZ & SA aspire to have a 5th bowler but their Grandhomme and De Bruyn are sub-test standard batsman & not quite potent seamer either...more in the bits & pieces category

--Eng also have only one genuine allrounder in Stokes.....
Woakes & Rashid are bowlers who can bat.....Woakes a little short of allrounder class with the bat...but could get there
Moeen less than a full batsman & full bowler who gets useful runs of wickets all the time somehow justifying his place

Curran is most precariously placed........he's not good enough to hold his place as a bowler in all conditions.... but gets a lot of super-useful-lower order runs....but is not good enough to hold a place as a batsman
I like the kid & he went for a Million dollars in IPL....but I think he will become redundant to test team over a period of time