Rest of the World

First topic message reminder :

Blimey...just flicked back to see Australia making a meal of chasing 34 to win. Warner another fail (is that a strong hint that his time is all but done ?)

But also Smith Khawaja and Head gone...29/4 and extras has made 14 of them !

Only need five more so no problem...but SA might wonder what might have been if they'd been able to produce a bit more resistance in that awful second innings.

Supports kingraf's pitch assessment , I guess

Rabada and Ngidi both sending down a load of rubbish.. Trying too hard , perhaps ? Warner into double figures , not really threatened yet.

Get Nortje on early , surely ? Rabada much more on target in this third over : but it's not been the start SA wanted. And Warner is growing in confidence ball by ball...17 runs to him in five overs.

But there's one ! Rabada angles one across Khawaja and he obligingly nibbles it to the keeper...

21/1. And with 25 minutes to go , Guildford will be pleased to note Labuschagne is coming out to bat :no poxy nightwatchman here

Ngidi off ...Jansen on. Good idea I think. SA really need one of these at least out tonight.

Warner is really charged up this evening...several boundaries , aggressive running : raced to 33 already.

Another glove change delay now will probably ensure this is the last over : so 12 , on top of 68.4 in the SA innings.

Just 80.4 , even with the extra half hour . Crowd probably won't mind - plenty of action. But that's a bit poor , I think. Lot of time wasting these last few overs.

Australia close on 45/1 and in a very strong position to take command tomorrow. A good day for the home team

Probably looking at a three day test in Melbourne one way or another, SA batting lineup is just not good.

Pakistan after a wobble to start vs New Zealand are recovering - 239-4 with Babar making a hundred ably supported by Sarfaraz so far, after being 110-4 and in a spot of bother having won the toss and batted

Very sad to see SA heading for another hammering.

Excellent to see Babar in top form as he led Pakistan's recovery and has put them in a position of great strength. Looks a result pitch, too, with some turn and some low bounce already apparent. Very uphill battle in store for NZ.

Just ran some potential results through the calculator for the WTC. If the following happens:

Australia 3-0 South Africa; India 1-2 Australia (in India; four tests); South Africa 2-0 West Indies (two tests); NZ 0-1 Sri Lanka (two tests)

If that happens then Sri Lanka will be in the WTC final, which would be quite something! Difficult to think of SL as one of the best two test sides in the world, but that scenario is far from impossible. Admittedly, India haven't lost a series at home since being defeated by England in 2012, but it looks as though India are currently in a bit of a low point.

Cracking effort by Babar. He presides over a 0-3 hammering by England and then P slip to 110-4 before a terrific 100 puts his team in ascendancy.

Wonder if we could soon be considering the P captain as one of the Big Four (to replace Kohli?!) along with Williamson, Smith and Root.

Babar will probably need some more big 100s before coming into the reckoning. At only just 28 time is on his side.

Babar is young enough, but Pakistan are only going to be playing around 6/7 tests a year on average up until 2027, which is sad to see, and it'll be difficult for him to establish status as a true great of the game.

Going to be a big January for T20 cricket, with two new franchise leagues - the one in the UAE which is almost open season for foreign players; and the one in South Africa which the South African board have potentially thrown away WC qualification via the ODI Super League for - wrestling for supremacy and looking to establish themselves as the best T20 franchise league outside the IPL.

Looking through the list, notable players in the UAE league are - Narine, Russell, Bairstow (if fit?), Hasaranga, Hales, Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Lamichhane (possible legal issue?), Duckett, Cottrell, Mujeeb, Raza, Jordan, Hetmyer (if he gets on the plane), Banton, Rehan Ahmed, Pollard, Bravo, Boult, Smeed, Moeen, D Malan, Nabi, Woakes, and...Ravi Bopara. It's a tremendous list.

Mind you, the South African league isn't bad - De Kock, Holder, Topley, Maharaj, Brook, Joseph, Rashid Khan, S Curran, Livingstone, Rabada, Jofra, Miller, Buttler, Ngidi, Shamsi, Roy, Morgan, Nortje, Salt, Adil Rashid, Jacks, Neesham, Markram, Stubbs, and Jansen. Another impressive roster.

Didn't actually watch much of the Pakistan Test. But certainly Babar - and the "new" keeper - have carried out a fine recovery after more underwhelming stuff from the top order. Mitchell owes his team a few after dropping him on just 12 !

Not getting carried away yet though. Tail just a wicket away , and if this pitch behaves anything like the recent ones England saw then NZ might not mind batting on it.

Back here in Melbourne , Warner is closing on a fifty ...and with the Mercury threatening to hit high thirties today the SA bowlers could be in for a rough day...

But wait !

Even as I type ...Disaster ! Labuschagne has run himself out in a dreadful piece of misjudgement from both batsmen. Basically sacrificed himself in the end , after massively over-running the first , before starting back , checking - and then going again as he realised Warner was overcommitted and had no hope of getting back...

Warner duly gets to fifty now . Needs to go big now to repay Marnus. 77/2.

In any case : it changes nothing really unless they can grab another couple quickly. The pitch seems sure to be at its best for batting today (no Devils apparent this morning) and with Warner Smith and Head all capable of batting big I can see the home team taking an unshakeable grip as the day goes on.

SA desperately need wickets . Nortje is putting everything into his spell but six overs in he must be due a rest . And the batsmen haven't really looked troubled . Sound in defence and taking advantage of anything slightly loose.

Think Maharaj will have to do a bit of work later today. But I don't see him wrecking the innings...

Re Duty's earlier comments about the WTC Final...

It would surely be a bit of a joke were Sri Lanka to end up as a finalist - more or less by default. And given their recent form I fear SA would be unlikely to present much more of a showing if they were to somehow still make it.

Duty's results aren't impossible , of course. But despite India's current issues around the batting I am not convinced Australia are very likely to defeat them at home. After all , recent Australian results in Pakistan and Sri Lanka haven't exactly screamed "great Asian tourists ". I think they remain unproven in "alien" conditions at the moment...but we will see in due course.

TBH , I reckon an Australia/India final in the neutral English conditions is the only result likely to invest the event with any real credibility as a climax to this edition. The whole WTC thing , while interesting in itself , is a pretty (and probably inevitably) flawed concept in any case ; but I'd still like to see a decent contest to finish it off.

Jansen doing his best to engineer a break...nearly had Smith then. Not a great ball to be honest : but Smith tried to hook , gloved it - and a diving Verreynne got it in his gauntlets but failed to hold on...

That would have been a prize. Smith only 9 off 38 , not yet really in gear. Warner on 76 delighting in his recovered form ; and Australia at 113/2 .

Twenty five minutes to lunch. Round about the time SA began to implode yesterday . Not really expecting anything similar today , somehow.

This is a good spell from Jansen. Has troubled Smith - who still doesn't look truly settled - and just beat him a few times in the last couple of overs.
They went up for - and reviewed - an lbw that the commentary team liked ...but I didn't . And indeed it was shown to be impact well outside off.

Nearly lunch so Warner (85) will have to wait for his century.

And off we go. 136/2. So 91 added in twenty four overs. Warner has batted really well and his 86 from 118 balls stands out from his partners.

Going to be a tough day in the field for SA...

Scattergun best describes South Africa's approach in that session. Some good, mostly bad. Shame to see Rabada so off it. Fitting for Warner that he's brought up 8,000 runs in his 100th test and looks set to score a ton as well.

Back after the break and SA have Maharaj one end , while at the other , Nortje is launching a series of missiles consistently over 150 kph...has actually had Warner - even with 90 on the board - hopping. He won't be able to keep this going for long in this heat but it's exciting to watch right now !

153/2

Duty281 wrote:Scattergun best describes South Africa's approach in that session. Some good, mostly bad. Shame to see Rabada so off it. Fitting for Warner that he's brought up 8,000 runs in his 100th test and looks set to score a ton as well.

Yes I've been disappointed with Rabada in these games. Ended up with a number of wickets in Brisbane but I felt he didn't really stand up when his team needed him in the critical periods . Can always produce the odd great ball but he's largely failed to create the sustained pressure you need to get through this strong (certainly in home conditions at least ) Australian top and middle order. Opening spell last night was exactly what wasn't wanted to Warner - who was surely at least a little anxious starting out. Released the pressure immediately ...

Warner , if he survives this Nortje spell , will celebrate this hundred ! Hanging in ; but has copped a nasty blow on the fingers so hope he's OK.

Latest Nortje over was all over 150... A couple at 155. Serious heat !

Warner gets his hundred

Filthy leg side first ball from Rabada as he replaced Nortje gave him an easy flick for four to fine leg...but he'd worked hard enough to be entitled to that gift.

Means a lot to Warner . Whether it means he will stay on after this home season remains to be seen. But he's earned the right to time his own departure now

Australia now in the lead and racing away with this game...after an absorbing period post-lunch. Once Nortje's fierce spell was over , the pressure disappeared.

Warner at 116 and hungry for more ; Smith 43 and working his way into his usual game. SA thought they had him minutes ago , as he appeared to glove a short ball from Rabada behind...but the call of "no ball" quickly killed that . Had reviewed anyway and replays suggested it may have been arm rather than glove so either way no joy for the tourists.

All players needing these drinks. Very hot out there. 194/2 ...and still technically another 51 overs to be bowled today...

Good luck with that.

All a bit quiet lately , after the excitement of that first hour.of the session. Just ten runs in five overs and no drama.

Maharaj doing a decent holding job one end , but no discernible threat offered. Pacers rotating other end - Jansen's turn now. Warner had to be treated for cramp just then which won't have helped the over rate for the day...

Fifty for Smith now helps himself to a long hop from Jansen. Not his best knock but he's still there and who knows for how many later ?

Warner looks like he's ready to go after Maharaj now. Last two overs have seen the scoring kick off again. 216/2.

150 stand up in the shadows of tea...has been a wonderful stand by these two. SA players starting to wear resigned looks. Still 18 overs to a new ball...and in 37 degree heat they'll likely be too knackered to do much with it anyway.

Of course batting in this is hard work too...but pales beside bowling - especially at pace. Pitch is looking pretty dead now. Slow ; the life that was there early yesterday long vanished. Sort of conditions in which both these batsmen will always fancy their chances : and generally take them to the tune of Big Runs.

I guess the lead is currently only 40 runs. But hard to see Australia not cashing in on this platform after tea.

And this is tea. 231/2. 135 and 60 , these two. Thirty nine overs due on resumption.

It might rain a bit tomorrow , I believe. Still expecting a fairly complete day , and I suspect we are probably looking at an innings win for Australia some time on Thursday.

As long as they can survive that sort of jinx

Runs coming freely since tea. Ngidi off after an expensive couple of overs , and Rabada once again starting his spell with a loose short "hit me" delivery ...Warner says "thanks."...

43 runs in six overs. Warner up to 160 now - his highest score here.. And the 200 partnership arrives.

Instant strike for Tim Southee against Pakistan on resumption ! Gets his opposite number caught behind without addition to his overnight 161.

NZ needed that.

Might watch that for a while as the MCG game is taking on a rather too predictable path...

...back just in time for a wicket ! Bit of a tame end for Smith ...guiding a short ball from Nortje to gully , gone for 85. But Nortje deserves some luck for his earlier efforts...

314/3. Might be worth watching Nortje versus Head and Warner now !

WTF is Elgar doing ? Nortje has the wicket ; the dangerous Head has just come in ...and he takes Nortje off and brings Ngidi back !

OK , new ball only a few overs away , and maybe saving his fastest man for it. But surely you have to take the new man on , NOW - not in fifteen minutes ?

Really disagree with this. Don't think Elgar has handled his bowlers well , to be honest...though to be fair , it's a tough gig today anyway

200 for Warner

Oh dear...bowlers couldn't get him : but cramp has done for Warner. Helped off by two teammates ; retired hurt for exactly 200.

329/3. Green in : interesting patch coming with the new ball two overs away and neither man yet set.

Last chance for SA to keep the deficit under 300 , you'd think. Not that it will matter much as they aren't coming back from this...lead already 150 and Ngidi bowling rubbish to Head.

New ball taken immediately. Nortje to take it...rather obviously as he's been far and away the best of the SA bowlers. Will be interesting to see how Head plays him : he's shown little respect for the others so far , with a run-a-ball 23.

Green has only faced four balls. Slips reinforced...

And this I do like : Jansen at the other end. He's been sparingly used today - and he's been better than either Rabada or Ngidi today.

Head doesn't care : over mid wicket for six

351/3. Talk about dominant...

Hmm. Wickets haven't fallen : but injuries are giving Australia some problems. Starc already damaged and a question mark on him ; Warner retired (though you'd think he will recover overnight) - and now Cam Green also retired with what appears to be a nasty injury after Nortje raps his finger . Index finger bleeding and swollen...doesn't look good.

Unusual to see number seven coming in with only three wickets down...

Australia comfortably placed anyway at 366/3

Day gradually winding down . I am not too surprised to have very little company on here today - well , actually none .

Given the time of year , etc ., understandable. UK residents slept in , no doubt ...and PJ is probably on a yacht heading for Hobart And you haven't missed a real contest (although we've had some moments). Big day for Warner though.

No idea whether anyone will bother to read all this waffle either . Anyway won't be any real time match reports tomorrow as unfortunately I have a funeral to attend instead. But I'd predict Australia to push on in the morning in search of a 300 lead before putting the blowtorch to the SA batting again - in rather cooler bowling conditions. Has turned out to be a good toss to win - and a good choice to bowl first.

373/3 in the 90th over as Ngidi limps off injured... Supposed to be another 13 overs but with just seven minutes left that ain't happening . Carey just wants to get to stumps , though Head is still looking for runs....44 off 46 so far...

And that is it for the day...386/3 from 91 overs, Head on 48. Lead of 197 ...a lot of very weary South Africans trudging off.

Some fine batting , especially from Warner. Just a bit too one sided for my taste but Test Matches are always good to watch

Pakistan 377/8 in the other match. Game not moving quite as quickly there. Let us see how NZ bat...

I read it when I get up, Alfie. Your waffle is my prime source of day by day info.

Second that, very useful to summarise the feeling of what was happening at the time. Also the best place to find out what actually happened for those retired hurt incidents

A shame its another crushingly boring one-sided match

Warner has saved himself from a possible axe. His century drought was not as long as Kohli's, mind you.

Good effort by P to get to 438 v NZ, although as I write the Kiwi openers have made a good start.

I saw up to Warner's century. Nortje had him worried with a spell of serious heat after lunch, including a wonderful yorker that Warner just dug out, but that was all really in the South African column. Smith will be very disappointed at missing out on a ton.

If Warner comes back out he's 100 runs away from getting his second test triple ton, which would draw him level with Bradman, Gayle, Sehwag and Lara - so far the only men to score two test triple tons. No one has ever done it thrice.

Looks like an innings win, so another miserable one-sided test. Looking forward to the Ashes next year. It will be England's first test of Bazball against quality opponents...arguably, Australia are the only quality opponents out there. You know test cricket is in a terrible state when SL might squeeze into the WTC final.

Aussies set to win by an innings and 200-odd, Carey getting his first ton today. What a terrible mismatch. The visits to India and England should be sterner tests and more intriguing for the viewer.

NZ, meanwhile, have just crossed 400/4, the top three all contributing and blunting Pakistan's prospects of victory.

Beginning to come to the conclusion that test cricket in Australia is actually maybe actually the dullest going - bar a once in a generation type series, it's just relentlessly one sided and follows a pretty typical formula too

Well the formula continues to proceed...SA lost three wickets in the first session today and at one stage (65/4) didn't look likely to last much past lunch . Erwee got a good ball and a sharp slip catch took out de Bruyne ; but a silly run out did for Zondo so they've still been throwing some away ...as if Australia need any help

Good stand of 63 held things up then...but Boland has just trapped Verreynne lbw so I imagine we will still be seeing a fairly early finish today.

In less good news for Australia , Nathan Lyon has just left the field with what could be a nasty arm/shoulder injury after diving attempting a catch. Sick bay getting a bit crowded ; although Starc has bowled some 13 overs despite his finger injury - and taken a wicket - so continued to contribute to the cause...

If Lyon were seriously injured it would present issues for the Sydney Test though. Hopefully not going to be too bad...and he has just come back out so that is a good sign. Really don't need any more casualties !

131/5

Erwee 21 , de Bruyne 28 , Verreynne 33...sort of in line with the kind of batting averages of the SA top order - and sums up the problems they have . Unlike the Australian innings , no one has "gone on". Throw in a duck and a one , and it's just not going to amount to much.

Bavuma still battling away , 42 now. But apart from Jansen who has recently come in , he's not likely to have much more support. So despite Australia's bowling resources being a little depleted today , they probably aren't going to be over extended in closing this out.

Cummins has been really good. Only one wicket - but fifteen overs for just 17 runs just allows no release for the batsmen

Relieved to see Lyon back bowling. Fortunately it was his "other" arm that was affected...and although he was looking a bit careful in the field , it doesn't seem to be impacting his bowling action.

And he has broken through now . Jansen pinned lbw , despite Reiffel originally turning down the appeal. Not surprised they reviewed, successfully - it looked very good live.

Bavuma still there - just passed fifty ; but at 148/6 you wouldn't bet on this going past tea...

In perhaps the first sign of bowler workload conservation , the lesser-spotted-Steve Smith- leg spin bowler has just been trotted out...actually landed a couple in promising areas and had a big appeal for caught behind turned down.

Wonder how Marnus feels about being relegated to second choice wrist spinner ? And having the bat-pad job into the bargain ...which can get a bit hazardous when the inevitable half-tracker arrives

But at the other end we see Starc coming back so the light relief might be short lived...

Unbelievable . Maharaj run out after he and Bavuma found themselves both nearly at the same end - on a third run for heaven's sake !

Honestly that would be thought poor at under fourteen level. Absolutely appalling : Bavuma had about three changes of direction , mixed with not looking or calling...Aussie fielding was sharp but still...

That's three run outs in this match. Bavuma the common factor in all three ...and always his partner the victim.

He's thrown his wicket away now too ...big swipe at Lyon , caught for 66 : 176/8 and they aren't going to make 200 - again.

Rather afraid SA might be mentally on the plane home even before the Sydney Test...

Rabada just swings at Lyon and holes out skying it to mid on. 177/9 and going down without a whimper.

Tea can be delayed now - but probably won't need to be , as five minutes left. To be honest , I didn't expect much resistance today ; but on a pitch playing very easily this has still been disappointing .

Lyon has three and might fancy another one as Ngidi is aiming for the stands...and in fact a very impressive six there . He liked that...

Starc seems a bit angry at Ngidi because he's aiming more at his head than his stumps...maybe they had words yesterday ? Or maybe he's just feeling a bit cranky all round because he's tried to bounce Nortje as well - twice.

Guess he isn't playing in Sydney so he won't cop anything back

But he's conceded a very accidental boundary from Nortje's attempt to cover face with bat...and now Ngidi has lashed Lyon for four to bring up The South African 200

So off with Starc - and Smith back to try and cut off this entertaining last wicket stand...

203/9

And just like that...after Nortje is dropped by Warner at slip (to Smith's horror ) , the former captain has done the trick ...Ngidi bowled off his pad and Smith wears a wide smile

Innings and 182. Decent margin...

Well done Australia. Hope for a better contest in Sydney but I can't see it. SA just don't have the players , I fear...and they have been beaten down so heavily over the last few days it is hard to imagine they can recover quickly.

As for Karachi : not actually watching at the moment ; but I note Williamson and Sodhi are scoring at snail pace this morning. Just 32 runs added in 19 overs...presume they want to bat big and bat once : but after the England approach this seems a bit timid - and unlikely to produce a result.

Maybe will step it up when the new ball is taken ?

SA not giving Australia much of a series, are they. There was a time when whoever SA picked they performed well above themselves. Those days seem to have gone.

Yes, NZ have been slow and there are inevitable contrasts with the way England have been going about things. But there are all sorts of ways to win a match and the Kiwi approach may work (don't think it will as I can't see them bowling P out in time).

alfie wrote:Re Duty's earlier comments about the WTC Final...

It would surely be a bit of a joke were Sri Lanka to end up as a finalist - more or less by default. And given their recent form I fear SA would be unlikely to present much more of a showing if they were to somehow still make it.

Duty's results aren't impossible , of course. But despite India's current issues around the batting I am not convinced Australia are very likely to defeat them at home. After all , recent Australian results in Pakistan and Sri Lanka haven't exactly screamed "great Asian tourists ". I think they remain unproven in "alien" conditions at the moment...but we will see in due course.

TBH , I reckon an Australia/India final in the neutral English conditions is the only result likely to invest the event with any real credibility as a climax to this edition. The whole WTC thing , while interesting in itself , is a pretty (and probably inevitably) flawed concept in any case ; but I'd still like to see a decent contest to finish it off.

With the blood smell of the WTC final , BCCI could well roll-out 2 day pitches like Eng faced last time when they traveled .
Ind losing at Home is too far to imagine.....can Aus win one test or eek out a draw is what Aussie success should be measured on.

meanwhile a stale win for Aus against SA....which highlights the enormity of how Ind came from 1-0 down to win their last series 1-2 in Aus

And in Pak......Pak have manged to put themselves in the position of "Only team that can lose" on D4, after having won the toss, batted first and "amassed" nearly 450 in first inning.
Pak are lacking planning, team spirit,  cohesion and leadership.

Dreadful series in Australia, not their fault they are served up weak opposition, but there really is no point to this type of cricket. I think we are seeing the start of Test cricket mostly dying out, with some countries hardly playing any.

T20 in particular levels the playing field between potentially mismatched opponents and takes place on guaranteed days, fitting in better around work and family commitments. Can't see how it's not more of that and fewer Tests from now on

200 for Kane Williamson and Southee declares with a lead of 174. Took their time getting that 612/9 but the Pakistan bats might be a bit weary as they have to start batting...if NZ can grab some early wickets this evening tomorrow might be tense...

Dunno why NZ declared with more than 20 overs still in the day.
They needed to bat on as long as they could
Every run scored now, they would not have to chase tomorrow