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Rahkeem Cornwall makes it to West Indies Test squad
He is an all-rounder from the islands of Antigua and is perhaps the heaviest cricketer ever. He stands at a towering height of 6’6” and weighs around 140 kg.

Cornwall made his first-class debut in 2014 and has since become a regular for Leewards Islands, even captaining them earlier this year. He has 260 wickets from 55 first-class matches and finished as the leading bowler in the most recent regional four-day tournament.

Extraordinary batting performance from India today despite all the hardships they've had to endure with all their injuries. That was so gutsy and gritty. As good as a win for India and one step closer to retaining the B-G Trophy in Brisbane.

I'm sure KP_fan and msp83 will feel on top of the world today... congratulations to both of you.
You both must feel very proud of your team.

Well you can't say I didn't imagine this end...except that it wasn't as a realistic scenario...but as a miracle comparable to Stokes & Perreira games.

Indeed a miracle.....Mother of All draws, that I have seen for India overseas.
OR alternative Headline
Indian injuries save Aus from an Ignominious defeat defending 400+
The flip side being if Ind was going for runs...they may have given more chances too....and opened the door for Aus.

Pant my tiny big man was the pick in Tipping competition..loves to do it in Sydney....and Ashwin rose to the challenge with such resolute determination.....playing an inning more valuable then his 4 test hundreds.

Vihari, jadeja will be out and KL Rahul already indisposed....I think Ind will play Pant as a batsman and bring Saha back as a keeper....mayank being guaranteed of a spot.

though only other permutation possible is to play Kuldeep..though I think Ind will go with former.

Terrific effort by India today. Anyone having trouble getting on to cricinfo at the moment? Mine seems to have packed up.

Later. Have just spotted this on Twitter - "ESPNcricinfo @ESPNcricinfo
47m
For those having issues in accessing ESPNcricinfo, we apologise for the inconvenience. "

Smith got MoTM...fair enough I guess for weight of runs. But Pant for me as the romantic choice...

Pitch stayed generally pretty good , didn't it ? Neither side really made the scores they should in the first innings but I thought it was a decent surface for a Test Match...just enough for bowlers to be in with a chance throughout , but good for shots as well. A cracking match all round.

Brisbane is the real Fortress Australia ...but it is usually the first game. May possibly be a little less menacing to a touring team that has been playing on Australian pitches for a while?

Both teams might appreciate a rest after this game but they've only got three days. India of course are the walking wounded ; but the Australian pace men have just toiled away for 130 odd overs...Anyway whatever the result I hope we get another fine match to end this
series.

alfie wrote:Classic rearguard action. Hope Guildford was watching.

Hazlewood still pounding in but it's done ...time to shake hands on a draw , chaps.  Not sure why they're going through the motions of these last two overs.

Stunning effort from India  

If India can find eleven fit players for Brisbane we might see a good finish to an enthralling series.

Wonder if KP_fan and msp set the alarm today ?

I did alfie, I did indeed. Was on radio early in the morning, heard Rahane going. Continued for a while there, then when the partnership was flourishing, decided to follow only on cricinfo commentary, ball by ball just to avoid getting any hopes up. Then Pant went after playing a spectacular hand, Pujara, after making a firm statement to Pat Cummins and dealing with the new ball, got out to Hazelwood. Vihari was injured, Jadeja indisposed, and Ashwin seemed to have forgotten he could bat once upon a time.
But Vihari held on with an injured hamstring, Ashwin, after living dangerously for a while, rediscovered his inner batsman and arguably played out his best test innings, and together they denied the Australians, arguably producing one of the best draws in recent test history. For me, it would rank right up there with Old Trafford 2005 and Adelaide 2012 when Faf and AB did it for South Africa.

JDizzle wrote:It does have Oval 2018 vibes. Where the end could come in a hurry when this partnership goes. But brilliant from Pant so far - becomes all the more staggering six batsmen and Saha played ahead of him in the first Test.

Well, this didn’t happen! Really, really excellent from India. Would have been very easy for them to roll over after the 36 all out and would have been very easy to roll over again today (particularly when Pujara and Pant got out) given their injuries.

sirfredperry wrote:Terrific effort by India today. Anyone having trouble getting on to cricinfo at the moment? Mine seems to have packed up.

Later. Have just spotted this on Twitter - "ESPNcricinfo  @ESPNcricinfo
47m
For those having issues in accessing ESPNcricinfo, we apologise for the inconvenience. "

Into the last hour I had problems with cricinfo, had Cricbuzz opened on laptop.
Cricinfo seems to be losing it in any case, the app and site are getting messier by the day!

Always great for the wonderful, Saint like Tim Paine to show his true colours when things go slightly against him. A leopard never changes his spots, and I thought the Aussie on field behaviour today, especially in light of what has happened off it this test, was extremely extremely poor.

He’s also crap at cricket and completely holding this Aussie side back, hopefully that’ll still be the case in a years time

Congrats to India - superb display today

And KPF, our man Pujara, couldn't let us down for a second time! Yes he got bowled for the umpteenth time, but wasn't he brilliant today! You see what I was saying the other day, he would not have done what he did to Cummins with the new ball even after Pant got out in his first innings mindset. Defended what needed to be, attacked and took every scoring opportunity that presented itself. He took his time, but that's absolutely OK so long as he stays positive, and always remind the bowler that he's in charge. There are so many moments from this game that one would remember, but for me it was that over, where Pujara smashed Cummins around for 3 boundaries back-to-back!

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Always great for the wonderful, Saint like Tim Paine to show his true colours when things go slightly against him. A leopard never changes his spots, and I thought the Aussie on field behaviour today, especially in light of what has happened off it this test, was extremely extremely poor.

He’s also crap at cricket and completely holding this Aussie side back, hopefully that’ll still be the case in a years time

Congrats to India - superb display today

Do you expect any different? It's part of the teams DNA and always has been.

What do we make of Steve Smith shadow practicing on the pitch when fielding and removing Rishabh Pant's guard during drinks break? Didn't make much of it at the time and really don't think Smith may have meant much. But on social media and even some newspapers, it is getting discussed.
Smith of all people, should be very very careful, after his tainted past. Sandpapergate is never going to go away from him, and even possible innocent acts can be read differently. And he does have a history beyond the sandpapergate, like dressing room signal for reviews and all that. No need to invite further mud

Once a cheat always a cheat, when you see the stump cam footage it's pretty blatant and most certainly deliberate.

Just noticed that Rishabh Pant has scored 3 half-centuries besides the 2 tons that he has so far, and interestingly, all those 3 knocks are knocks that ended in the 90s. Consecutive 90s against the West Indies, and today. The lad was getting more and more aggressive the closer he got to that hundred!

Didn't look good really. And completely unnecessary, regardless of whether he intended it or not.

Soul Requiem wrote:Once a cheat always a cheat, when you see the stump cam footage it's pretty blatant and most certainly deliberate.

msp83 wrote:Just noticed that Rishabh Pant has scored 3 half-centuries besides the 2 tons that he has so far, and interestingly, all those 3 knocks are knocks that ended in the 90s. Consecutive 90s against the West Indies, and today. The lad was getting more and more aggressive the closer he got to that hundred!

Not wishing to be too critical of someone who produced such a brilliant innings but like Pietersen he might benefit from a measured approach as he gets closer to a century. Once in sight he wants to get there as quickly as possible which is admirable but a bit more maturity should address such an issue.

And another interesting thing to notice. Poor Wriddhiman Saha dropped a couple of difficult chances in the first test and ended up with 0 dismissals. Here he stood in for Pant and took 4 catches in an innings that will never be listed against his name in the record books!

https://sports.ndtv.com/australia-vs-india-2020-21/aus-vs-ind-fans-furious-after-video-shows-steve-smith-scuffing-rishabh-pants-guard-marks-during-drinks-break-watch-2350629?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

when the going get's tough...the fairness in Aussie approach starts crumbling.  After what Smith attempted above..he certainly wasn't deserving of the MoM...while Pant himself scored 140 odd runs in 2 innings, inspite of the injury and given the tough match situation.

Paine going beyond customary chit-chat to consciously disturb Ashwin was also in bad taste.
Law of Karma caught up...and he ended up dropping a WK's sitter, that of Vihari soon-after.

Paine as a captain failed to use Green as  the fifth bowler...what good is a 140kph pacer , if you give him only 7 out of 131 overs and bowl your top four bowlers into the ground with 120 overs

The pitch, except for that session on 3rd day when India collapsed to the second new ball....was OK...got slower on D4 & D5.
The unevenness was manageable  when the ball had lots its shine.

Indian team has surprised it's fans with the grit & "Bouncability"  they have shown in Melbourne & Sydney

He's only 23, hopefully he'll learn quickly. But yes, while not playing a game that he doesn't know, he can be a touch more measured and needn't push himself to get there, he already scores at a high clip.

Soul Requiem wrote:

msp83 wrote:Just noticed that Rishabh Pant has scored 3 half-centuries besides the 2 tons that he has so far, and interestingly, all those 3 knocks are knocks that ended in the 90s. Consecutive 90s against the West Indies, and today. The lad was getting more and more aggressive the closer he got to that hundred!

Not wishing to be too critical of someone who produced such a brilliant innings but like Pietersen he might benefit from a measured approach as he gets closer to a century. Once in sight he wants to get there as quickly as possible which is admirable but a bit more maturity should address such an issue.

Paine's been a bit of a crybaby throughout the series. He's been pretty poor behind the stumps and his reviews have been a serious letdown for his team. Despite the eventually match-turning 73 in the first test, he is having a rough series as keeper and captain.

KP_fan wrote:https://sports.ndtv.com/australia-vs-india-2020-21/aus-vs-ind-fans-furious-after-video-shows-steve-smith-scuffing-rishabh-pants-guard-marks-during-drinks-break-watch-2350629?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

when the going get's tough...the fairness in Aussie approach starts crumbling.  After what Smith attempted above..he certainly wasn't deserving of the MoM...while Pant himself scored 140 odd runs in 2 innings, inspite of the injury and given the tough match situation.

Paine going beyond customary chit-chat to consciously disturb Ashwin was also in bad taste.
Law of Karma caught up...and he ended up dropping a WK's sitter, that of Vihari soon-after.

Paine as a captain failed to use Green as  the fifth bowler...what good is a 140kph pacer who if you given him only 7 out of 131 overs and bowl your top four bowlers into the ground with 120 overs

The pitch, except for that session on 3rd day when India collapsed to the second new ball....was OK...got slower on D4 & D5.
The unevenness was manageable  when the ball had lots its shine.

Indian team has surprised it's fans with the grit & "Bouncability"  they have shown in Melbourne & Sydney

Fantastic grit and determination shown by India these last two days...but the injury situation is going to make this 4th test seriously difficult. No Jadeja (it looks like at least), already onto your 5th and 6th choice seamers...it's tough to see how they get 20 wickets personally. Do you go in with just the three seamers and Ashwin, and a few overs of Vihari, if Jadeja can't play?

Were Smith & Warner banned for life from taking leadership roles?
Else Smith should be back as captain

If Smith is banned & Paine loses this series.....then Cummins gets the captaincy in my view

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Always great for the wonderful, Saint like Tim Paine to show his true colours when things go slightly against him. A leopard never changes his spots, and I thought the Aussie on field behaviour today, especially in light of what has happened off it this test, was extremely extremely poor.

He’s also crap at cricket and completely holding this Aussie side back, hopefully that’ll still be the case in a years time

Congrats to India - superb display today

Don't hold back , Olly ... tell us what you think

OK I have to say I was something of a Tim Paine supporter through his years in the wilderness. And to be fair I reckon he did a good job bringing the battered Australian outfit back after the (self inflicted) troubles of sandpapergate. But he's rather got up my nose lately a few times : far too much whinging about umpiring/drs - at which he is his own worst enemy ; and lately it seems to me he has been consciously trying to re-establish the "tough" Aussie image with some media comments and a bit too much on field chat. Rather see him just get on with it and let his cricket do the talking.

Wouldn't say he's rubbish though : his batting is hardly Gilchrist but whose is ? He has played some gutsy knocks - as in Adelaide. Average is decent for a keeper. As for his keeping I would describe it as adequate rather than good - and I do have a feeling it is in decline...this match was a shocker.

Will he last to next year ? Not totally sure. Brisbane might be a factor...Cummins as VC : will they wish to burden a bowler with the job ? Is Smith an option again ? Watch this space...

I didn’t realise Tim Paine was 36! Had him pegged as 32/33. It’s kind of at the point of what are you trying to achieve with him at that age.

Surely there is someone in Domestic cricket who could average what he does and keep as well as him but might develop into something more. Rather than having a 36yo blocker holding the spot.

The captaincy is the issue. I wouldn’t give it to Smith and I don’t like bowler captains. So no idea where they go really!

See (a couple of) mentions of Green above from KP-fan.

He was sparsely used by Paine today. But to be honest he didn't look likely to do anything. Very early in his career ; but he's now bowled 33 Test overs and is yet to get a wicket. It is far too early to judge him completely I think - even his batting . But on what I've seen so far he looks like a batsman who bowls a bit - albeit quite rapidly.

More Mitch Marsh than Keith Miller.

Looks a gun fielder though and I think he is a fine prospect for the future but perhaps should not be expected to win games himself just yet.

First test in 2 years in Aus to go to a fifth day (two in that series were down to major loss of overs to rain)

First draw in Aus without major loss of overs since 2015

First time 3 or fewer wickets have fallen in a full 5th days play in Aus since 2005

Longest innings of the series

Second longest innings of Viharis career

Ashwins longest test innings since 2015

Pujara's longest two innings and most runs in a test since he last played a test on this ground, and his highest test score since 2019

Indias highest ever 4th innings score in Aus

Indias longest 4th innings since 1979

Starcs most overs bowled without a wicket since 2013

Stracs first test with only one wicket since the last India test here, a first where he bowled in two innings since 2018

Most overs Cummins ever bowled in a 4th innings and his second worse strike rate in one


I think we can be forgiven for not calling this one in the tipping competition!



Also first time a visiting side have gone two games in a row without losing in Aus since India were last here (that included a rain forced draw), prior to that it was SA in 2016.

India are going to have a hell of a time picking a side for the fifth test, such a shame. Look back at those run outs now and India although man sausage a hoop they saw this out, and proud of it, should also be squirming a bit inside. Same with that disaster collapse in the first test, they could've done Australia in this series. Not sure why they have such a good record here in modern times, but its going to be the injuries that rob them of a serious chance of pull off another shock.

Vihari as noted may have shown the character and quality to give his place a lifeline, the injury will likely have robbed him of that.

JDizzle wrote:I didn’t realise Tim Paine was 36! Had him pegged as 32/33. It’s kind of at the point of what are you trying to achieve with him at that age.

Surely there is someone in Domestic cricket who could average what he does and keep as well as him but might develop into something more. Rather than having a 36yo blocker holding the spot.

The captaincy is the issue. I wouldn’t give it to Smith and I don’t like bowler captains. So no idea where they go really!

Ive noted his age on a few occasions. He's always been a problem for Australia, but the turnaround in their results from an absolute nadir was down to his captaincy. Theres absolutely better batting keepers outs there, even Wade. Glovemen its arguable and he has defied the odds on age, but hes far from flawless as shown in this test., It was a subject that was talked a about a lot in the last Ashes, but they arent going to drop the captain any time soon. He may choose to retire at some point, but hasnt been any indications that coming. I guess if Anderson can keep bowling he can keep keeping?

Certainly adds to their problems with the lower middle order. But they also need to find a fifth proper batsman and an all rounder first. Greens doing enough with the bat to be persisted with, and his bowling is better than his score returns. Id say finding someone for Wades spot who has a chance of ever being able to sustain an average of 40 in tests should be their first target for change.



... Edit having caught up on the Smith controversy if anything comes from that it could lead to a reason for Paine to retire, but equally he was supposed to be at the forefront of rebuilding that character and image. Who would get it if he did go? and thats always been the problem ..the two obvious candidates are the two worst characters. One of the bowlers? Or Labuschagne who's been their best batsman since he got a place and isnt tainted by the older controversies?

With the crowd issues form earlier in this test and Paines chirpiness behind the stumps theres a danger this will boil over into a full on spat. It might even suit India to find an excuse not to play the final test (take a drawn series, not worry about the quarantine, not have to pick a side without 4 batsmen and 4 bowlers) and storm off home in a huff, hope it doesn't come to that.

msp83 wrote:Just noticed that Rishabh Pant has scored 3 half-centuries besides the 2 tons that he has so far, and interestingly, all those 3 knocks are knocks that ended in the 90s. Consecutive 90s against the West Indies, and today. The lad was getting more and more aggressive the closer he got to that hundred!

Just dont get Joe Root in as a batting consultant

Guess we should let the dust settle from this one but just three days break to Brisbane and both sides might have issues...

India look to need replacements for Jadeja and probably Vihari. And not a lot of options. Saha to take the gloves and leave Pant at five seems reasonable : but can they go with just four bowlers ? (Wouldn't Rahane kill to have Pandya available right now !) If they bring in a second spinner that tail is even longer...

As for Australia : Warner was making noises before the game about doubts as to whether he could play two games in succession. And Pucovski is awaiting scan results after his tumble. Will Wade end up back opening again ? Poor chap must be getting dizzy...

I'm hearing all the bowlers are fine. But they must be a bit weary after today , surely? A terrific trio ; but there must be a case for at least considering fresh blood for the last match if any of them are starting to run low on fuel reserves. After all : we keep hearing about an enviable depth of fast bowling stocks ... and what is the point of that if you are not prepared to embrace a bit of rotation ? Think if Pattinson was fit he might be brought in ; but Abbott and Neser are less highly regarded.

Physios might have a busy day or two.

Is Indian team spirit better under Rahane than Kohli? Virat can be quite a dominant character, with forthright views. I wonder if the players are happier under Rahane.
There have been plenty of instances of India's top players giving up the captaincy and then carrying on under someone else's leadership.
Doubt it will happen in this case, though - at least not for the time being.

alfie wrote:See (a couple of) mentions of Green above from KP-fan.

He was sparsely used by Paine today. But to be honest he didn't look likely to do anything. Very early in his career ; but he's now bowled 33 Test overs and is yet to get a wicket.  It is far too early to judge him completely I think - even his batting .  But on what I've seen so far he looks like a batsman who bowls a bit - albeit quite rapidly.  

More Mitch Marsh than Keith Miller.

Looks a gun fielder though and I think he is a fine prospect for the future but perhaps should not be expected to win games himself just yet.

He's not a Mitch Marsh or Moises....he's more Shane Watson......who was a pretty handy 5th bowler.....when fully fit.
Watson't problem was his body broke down as a bowler too often...and his batting alone wasn't able to pull his weight in the side.

Problem to me seems like captain & team management has no specific game plan on how / when to use Green...what lines / length and whihc batsmen he should target.
such planning is done for all those who you consider regular bowler....and they are given regular / long spells.

Then there are random change bowlers like Paine ,might use Labuschange or Kohli does with Vihari at their discretion on their feet on the field.
And that's how Paine seemingly is using Green.

Tremendous grit from Vihari and Ashwin, some awful drops from Paine and his teammates.

In most respects this was a tremendous test match. It took Australia around 192 overs to wrestle control of the game, then India briefly threatened victory with Pant's counter-attack, before having to grind out the most unlikely of draws in difficult circumstances.

In other ways it wasn't a good test. Australia embarrassed themselves with antics on the pitch, while a few idiots embarrassed themselves off it.

India have shown more fight than I thought possible in this series, but Australia have got more strength in depth going into the final test so they'd still have to be favourites.

With regards to the World Test Championship, the standings are now decided by PCT% - which is the percentage of points contested.

Some quick calculations seem to indicate that for England to make the final they need to beat Sri Lanka 2-0 and beat India 3-0 or 4-0. If they do that, haha, they'll leapfrog New Zealand and India and make the final.

India need to win at least four of their remaining five tests (one v Aus, four v England) to stay above New Zealand and get to the final. If they fail to do this, they might still make the final, but only if Australia get beaten quite badly by South Africa.

Australia need to win at least two of their three tests v South Africa in South Africa next month, and get at least a draw in one of the other tests against SA/India this week. Doing that would keep them above NZ and guarantee themselves a place in the final.

NZ don't have any further games scheduled. Even if they did, their only remaining series is against Bangladesh and would only boost their standing further.

So the most likely scenario is an Australia/New Zealand final at Lord's.

Vihari is likely to be ruled out of the next test. Even more concerningly, Ravichandran Ashwin has a back issue. He had the issue even before he batted, but the long innings may not have helped matters much. KL Rahul is already unavailable. There is Shaw and Agarwal on the reserve bench in the batting department, and then there is Wriddhiman Saha. But Kuldeep for Ashwin, would make that batting lineup ridiculously short. And there is also the question of where Shaw or Agarwal bat in case they are picked. I hope they don't disturb Gill and Sharma at the top. And between Agarwal and Shaw, I would like the former to come in and bat 4 with Rahane dropping down a place as an insurance for the lineup. And if Pant is fully fit, he takes the gloves as well, and Shaw to come in at 6 with Pant dropping down to 7. Else if Pant is fit enough to bat and not keep, Shaw or Pant to bat 6 and Saha to bat 7. And if Ashwin's not available, then Shardul Thakur to come in for Saini and bat 8 with Kuldeep slotting in as the spinner and bat 9. It is another matter that Saini's style might be more suited to the Gabba. But his tendency to spray it around, and with only 4 bowlers, he may have to give way for Shardul.
Things not looking up with all those injuries. I just wish Jadeja somehow recover well ahead of schedule...

Duty281 wrote:With regards to the World Test Championship, the standings are now decided by PCT% - which is the percentage of points contested.

.

Is this a new calculation methodology....or is this how it has always existed

msp83 wrote:Vihari is likely to be ruled out of the next test. Even more concerningly, Ravichandran Ashwin has a back issue. He had the issue even before he batted, but the long innings may not have helped matters much. KL Rahul is already unavailable. There is Shaw and Agarwal on the reserve bench in the batting department, and then there is Wriddhiman Saha. But Kuldeep for Ashwin, would make that batting lineup ridiculously short. And there is also the question of where Shaw or Agarwal bat in case they are picked. I hope they don't disturb Gill and Sharma at the top. And between Agarwal and Shaw, I would like the former to come in and bat 4 with Rahane dropping down a place as an insurance for the lineup. And if Pant is fully fit, he takes the gloves as well, and Shaw to come in at 6 with Pant dropping down to 7. Else if Pant is fit enough to bat and not keep, Shaw or Pant to bat 6 and Saha to bat 7. And if Ashwin's not available, then Shardul Thakur to come in for Saini and bat 8 with Kuldeep slotting in as the spinner and bat 9. It is another matter that Saini's style might be more suited to the Gabba. But his tendency to spray it around, and with only 4 bowlers, he may have to give way for Shardul.
Things not looking up with all those injuries. I just wish Jadeja somehow recover well ahead of schedule...

This back issue of Ashwin's is a tweak in the back.....like a cramp....with massage, back stretches and hot water bags it becomes OK. he will play.
assuming Vihari & jadeja are out........and mayank already in...there are 3 scenarios

1-Saha comes in.....as a WK and Pant plays as a batsman. This would mean we have only 4 bowlers.......but that's what we have had effectively in Melbourne & Sydney when Yadav & Jadeja broke down

2- Kuldeep comes in.....we have 5 bowlers and Ashwin is batting at No. 7, mayank 6 , Pant 5..& Top-4 remaining as they are.
Leaves a woefully long tail..
I too wish we had jadeja fit or Pandya still in Aus.

In a variant of scenario 2...India could play Shardul instead of Saini in the 5 bowler makeup......as Shardul while not a  bowling allrounder...can hold the  bat  and get you a 20 odd.

3- Given that Gabba is hard and bouncy India could play all 4 fit seamers incl Shardul PLUS ashwin

Shahrdul should be in contention IMO

KP_fan wrote:

Duty281 wrote:With regards to the World Test Championship, the standings are now decided by PCT% - which is the percentage of points contested.

.

Is this a new calculation methodology....or is this how it has always existed

New - just because of series that were missed due to Covid.

Duty281 wrote:So the most likely scenario is an Australia/New Zealand final at Lord's.

There are many things wrong with the WTC - points system is convulsed and perhaps not particularly fair - but Test cricket at neutral venues is something worth getting excited about! Shame it is only one game.

JDizzle wrote:

Duty281 wrote:So the most likely scenario is an Australia/New Zealand final at Lord's.

There are many things wrong with the WTC - points system is convulsed and perhaps not particularly fair - but Test cricket at neutral venues is something worth getting excited about! Shame it is only one game.

what's wrong in my view is no weightage given for

1- overseas wins
2- wins against higher rated teams

anyway this is the start of a good concept....and while flawed, system is representative enuf and hope the weightage will be fixed in next edition
Ind , NZ and Aus fighting for top two spots as I see it

JDizzle wrote:

Duty281 wrote:So the most likely scenario is an Australia/New Zealand final at Lord's.

There are many things wrong with the WTC - points system is convulsed and perhaps not particularly fair - but Test cricket at neutral venues is something worth getting excited about! Shame it is only one game.

Yeah, I can't personally say that I am a fan of the WTC. The points system doesn't work properly, fixtures are of unequal value and weighting, and boiling an entire test championship down to one solitary fixture to decide the winner doesn't seem right to me.

That said, I think that Australia and New Zealand are the two best test teams in the world right now and, if that is the final, it would be the right fixture. A shame, as you say, that it's only one game and not, at least, a three-game series.

KP_fan wrote:
In a variant of scenario 2...India could play Shardul instead of Saini in the 5 bowler makeup......as Shardul while not a  bowling allrounder...can hold the  bat  and get you a 20 odd.

3- Given that Gabba is hard and bouncy India could play all 4 fit seamers  incl Shardul PLUS ashwin

Shahrdul should be in contention IMO

First class average of 19 ...I guess that passes for "can hold a bat" by Indias standards for bowlers!

He's described as a medium pacer on cricinfo so I assume not someone who's really going to get much threat from that bounce? If he does play it will really raise the question why wasnt Hardik in the squad, not that Im a massive fan but he would be quite handy in these circumstances to offer some balance.

Honestly think India would be better placed playing 4 bowlers, or putting in Kuldeep Yadav who at least averages in the 20's first class. Theres always an element of threat from such an unusual spinner when a teams had not opportunity to look at him and wont have been focused on thinking about how to play him.

If Ashwin does miss out then it really is panic time regardless for India. One test too many.

Gooseberry wrote:

KP_fan wrote:
In a variant of scenario 2...India could play Shardul instead of Saini in the 5 bowler makeup......as Shardul while not a  bowling allrounder...can hold the  bat  and get you a 20 odd.

3- Given that Gabba is hard and bouncy India could play all 4 fit seamers  incl Shardul PLUS ashwin

Shahrdul should be in contention IMO

First class average of 19 ...I guess that passes for "can hold a bat" by Indias standards for bowlers!

He's described as a medium pacer on cricinfo so I assume not someone who's really going to get much threat from that bounce? If he does play it will really raise the question why wasnt Hardik in the squad, not that Im a massive fan but he would be quite handy in these circumstances to offer some balance.

Honestly think India would be better placed playing 4 bowlers, or putting in Kuldeep Yadav who at least averages in the 20's first class. Theres always an element of threat from such an unusual spinner when a teams had not opportunity to look at him and wont have been focused on thinking about how to play him.

If Ashwin does miss out then it really is panic time regardless for India. One test too many.

shardul bowls in the 135-140kph range.....much like Siraj..that's fast medium.

and given the lack of ability of siraj, saini or bumrah to get into even double figures......Shardul's ability to score 20 odd and Kuldeep's 15 odd gives 35 runs between them.
I know we are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for an additional 15 to 20 runs somehow....and that's a reflection of really how desperate our selection situation has become.

Ii do agree with you Kuldeep brings a mystery element...and so 5 bolwers including Kuldeep seems like the best among the mediocre choices availbale

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