Rest of the World

First topic message reminder :

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:So India is getting back on the field tonight, kicking off their WTC campaign. Rohit has already confirmed Jaiswal will open, and Gill drop down to 3. When all the talk of Yashasvi taking over from Pujara at 3 was going on, I felt he should open, particularly since the team views Gill as the eventual successor to Virat Kohli at 4. Going forward, I see a top 4 of Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran/Devdutt Padikkal/Rohan Kunnummal, Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Eswaran has been hard done by......Jaiswal was jumped over him
Mayank Agarwal should not be ruled out...he has batted very well in FC and has a decent test match showing also.

And don't forget the favorite boy of seniors and BCCI in KL Rahul...as soon as he is fit he will walk back into the 11

Its been tough on Easwaran. Think Mayank and KL might find it difficult to now fight their way back in. Particularly if Yashasvi has a good start to his career. KL might still make a comeback when Rohit leaves, but I hope Easwaran, Rohan and even Padikkal will make better cases for themselves.
As for Yashasvi jumping over Abhimanyu, though its tough on the latter, think is the right call. Jaiswal scored hundreds on his Ranji, Duleep and Irani trophy debuts. He's versatile and has shown adaptability as indicated by his IPL success. And, its not much noted these days, but he's a handy parttimer with the ball, he very much was for the U-19s, hope he'll get a few chances right away to work on that secondary skill of his...

RIP Bishen Singh Bedi....purest , craftiest SLA the game ever produced , Poetry in Motion is what they said of him seeing the fluidity of his action
Did not need anything in the pitch to purchase wickets
And arguably India's greatest spinner where he sits in the pantheon of greats from old timers like
Chandra, Gupte, Venkat, Prasanna, and modern greats like Kumble, Bhajji, Ashwin and Jadeja.

Wore heart on his sleeve and didn't ever hesitate raising his voice against the establishment ie evil BCCI
( eternally evil)
Was a mentor to many Ranji level bowlers , an excellent reader of nuances and technicalities of the game.
His most famous statement amongst the many  controversy generating one's that registered with me as having a high degree of validity was
"Muralitharan's action in side view is like that of a Javellin Thrower"

Now the World Cup is over, international cricket goes back to its usual swing. Here's what's upcoming for the next month and a bit:

23rd November-3rd December: India home to Australia for five T20s
28th November-10th December: Bangladesh home to NZ for two tests, kicking off both their WTC campaigns
3rd December-21st December: West Indies home to England for three ODIs and five T20s
7th December-17th December: Zimbabwe home to Ireland for three T20s and three ODIs (Zimbabwe recently lost a T20 series to Namibia)
10th December-7th January: South Africa home to India for three T20s, three ODIs and two tests
14th December-7th January: Australia home to Pakistan for three tests
17th December-31st December: NZ home to Bangladesh for three ODIs and three T20s

I love that NZ are touring Bangladesh, and then just one week after it finishes the two teams are playing a limited overs series in NZ. There's a total of 23 tests between now and April but, frustratingly, all but two of the series will be one or two test events.

Hoping there will be decent highlights of that Bangladesh/NZ test series - think it could be quite a good one to watch.

Yeah, should be an interesting series. Bangladesh are trying out a few new names, including the well-regarded Hasan Murad, a 22-year-old left-arm spinner with a FC record of of just under 20 for his 130 wickets.

NZ are still struggling with injury. The likes of Henry and Bracewell are still missing, while Boult would rather play in some T10 Abu Dhabi league. However, Santner and Jamieson are returning, while Wagner is also in the squad (38 in March).

I also see the ICC are trying something new. A stop clock will be used for limited-overs games between December and April. Be ready to bowl the next over within a minute. If a team infringes on this rule three times then they will be penalised five runs. Chance to see it in operation for the WI/Eng series.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/67470011

Surya Kumar smacks.the daylight out of a fearsome Aussie attack to chase down a target at 10.5RPO
(in a meaningless masala bilateral yesterday)

Rinku Singh is the real deal though ....nerves of steel
One day world will know him as the best finisher in T20is

The definition of performing when it doesn't matter. He also went missing in the World T20 semi final vs England

Zimbabwe are struggling to make next year's T20 World Cup.

Currently, the final African qualifier is being played. Seven teams in one league, all play each other once, top two at the end go through. The league is comprised of Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Zimbabwe and Namibia were the favourites to advance, but while Namibia have racked up three wins from three so far, Zimbabwe have only managed one win from three. Zimbabwe were hammered by Namibia, and today they suffered a shocking upset to Uganda, which has left them on the brink.

A perfect run from here may still get them through, but if they can't manage it then Kenya will qualify for their first global tournament since 2011.

Duty281 wrote:Zimbabwe are struggling to make next year's T20 World Cup.

Currently, the final African qualifier is being played. Seven teams in one league, all play each other once, top two at the end go through. The league is comprised of Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Zimbabwe and Namibia were the favourites to advance, but while Namibia have racked up three wins from three so far, Zimbabwe have only managed one win from three. Zimbabwe were hammered by Namibia, and today they suffered a shocking upset to Uganda, which has left them on the brink.

A perfect run from here may still get them through, but if they can't manage it then Kenya will qualify for their first global tournament since 2011.

Maurice Odumbe, Steve Tikolo, Thomas Odoyo, Colin Obuya were all world class players from Kenya on whose back Kenyans had gotten full ODI status and made it to the semis of 2003 world cup
Their entire cricketing system was brought down by greed & corruption.
I have been to Kenya and  cricket is quite a popular sport there & I won't be surprised if they make it back

Ind beat Aus again....and a easier win.
Jaiswal & Rinku are next level players....if they don't get out within the first couple of balls they face....these guys will deliver 25 in 9 balls
or 55 in 25 balls.

They don't need Kohli, KL , Pandya type 3 off 10 ball to get set and then aim to deliver 60 off 45 balls after acceleration.

Riku, Jaiswal and Shivam Dube operate in the 200% to 300% SR & that's where the next level top.order of T20Is is heading to.
If India hang on to get set types for their legacy star value....they will be ruthlessly out of next world cup too.

Bishnoi is a solid mystery spinner.......combination of Rashid Khan and Mujib's styles.
With more polish & control he will be a hard nut to handle by international sides

You are breaking your own rules of reading too much into Masala bilateral series

I think the answer is there needs to be some experience in there, when things get tough in a WC semi final or final, it's going to be needed.

VTR wrote:You are breaking your own rules of reading too much into Masala bilateral series

I think the answer is there needs to be some experience in there, when things get tough in a WC semi final or final, it's going to be needed.

Temperament is not tested  nor do these games  have highest intensity
But cricketing  skills or lack of it is visible .

Meanwhile a good test match in BD where NZ will be batting 4th
They haven't found room for Rachin and Santner in the 11 on what should be a spinning pitch.
Ejaz and Sodhi ate their Frontline spinners.
Though part timer Phillips has has taken his 1st and 2nd test match wickets to poise the game evenly.at tea on D1

Solid, but unspectacular, from Bangladesh. They ended up 310/9, which is decent, but they were 180/2 at one point. Every batsman got a start, however only Joy pushed over 50 with a knock of 86. Phillips got 4/53, the pick of the bowlers.

Something for Bangladesh to bowl at.

Duty281 wrote:A perfect run from here may still get Zimbabwe through, but if they can't manage it then Kenya will qualify for their first global tournament since 2011.

Cancel that, it's going to be Uganda. Uganda toppled Kenya today, meaning that if the Ugandans beat hapless Rwanda in the final fixture then Uganda will reach their first major global tournament, as an individual nation, in their history. Quite an achievement.

Would mean the twenty teams making the T20 World Cup next year are: USA, West Indies, Australia, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, PNG, Canada, Nepal, Oman, Namibia, and Uganda.

Bangladesh also on top in the test, despite Williamson's 29th test century.

Good to see cricket spread in America and Africa
There will remain two forms of cricket
Tests for conossiuers and T20is for the masses
ODIs will die and Kohli's 50 centuries will become moot an format that became Dodo.
T20is are an Asian games sport, will be an Olympic sport......has the potential to be a much wider sport in next 20 years.

BD is ahead in the game but have not shut NZ out....needed 400 in first innings.
NZ has.the ability to chase down 300ish

I didn't even follow live on CI and only found last night Aus chased down 47 in last 2 overs with Maxwell cracking a 200% SR century

Tilak' 31 ball 39* not letting Rinku come in killed India inspite of 225
What a inspid slogathon and meaningless this series is

Some impressive slogging in these games : but from the highlights I have managed to watch also an awful lot of tripe bowled to somewhat assist it.

People go to watch , TV pays and makes money ... as long as it doesn't result in too many injuries to players I suppose it doesn't do any harm...

Uganda's place confirmed.

And Bangladesh in a superb position - Shanto's unbeaten century lifting them from 26/2 to 212/3 in the third innings. Means Bangladesh are in front by 205 runs at stumps on day three, but never rule out a collapse from them. Troublesome light also means the draw can't be ruled out.

BD win easily
Rinku Singh continues his amazing run
India declares 3 teams for 3 formats for the tour of SA
Rahane inspite of his 89 and 46 scores in his last test the WTC final is out


SKY loses his place in tests and ODI squads the ODI being most experimental as the next world cup is far.

Kl rahul won't be in the T20 world cup considerations
Ind's second line of seam attack looks woeful

Superb win for Bangladesh. NZ never got close.

The series vs Pak has been named farewell series for Warner
Looked up his number averages 45 in over 100 tests , also 45 in 170 Odis and same.in FC
A good record for an opner especially in tests.

Not a very likeable character but served his country well

The last 2 T20is...Pitch gripped a bit & from the read of scorecard Axar seems to have found form

SA replaced Bavuma with Makrem as captain for limited over formats
India has an assortment of captains and teams for SA with the message being

1- Serious, best team for tests...looking beyond Rahane and Pujara
2- ODIs......we don't care now....test & trial squad
3- T20s half serious.
full serious squad will be established viewing the IPL performances from end Mar to end May

SA have named David Bedingham, who was trying to qualify for England at one point, in their Test squad for the India series. So puts that one to bed - he looks like a player too.

Unusual dismissal for Bangladesh (who are struggling at 149/8 after choosing to bat) when Mushfiqur knocked the ball away with his glove and was given out Obstructing the Field...

Apparently a good pitch for spinners (Patel , Santner and Phillips have all the wickets) so all not lost for the home team ; but NZ will be enjoying the tea break at the moment.

Look of the score card suggests they made a square turner
NZ did well to get BD for 170.......and are themsleves 30-3
BUT this is the inning that NZ need to bat out of their skins .....and muster a lead of 70 odd
if they can somehow get to 240-260.......game is theirs

williamson falls 46-4

and 5 down.
BCCI will send their curators to check this pitch out in preparation for Eng's visit

alfie wrote:Unusual dismissal for Bangladesh (who are struggling at 149/8 after choosing to bat) when Mushfiqur knocked the ball away with his glove and was given out Obstructing the Field...

Apparently a good pitch for spinners (Patel , Santner and Phillips have all the wickets) so all not lost for the home team ; but NZ will be enjoying the tea break at the moment.

Just saw the highlights - bizarre from Mushfiqur, as the ball wasn't really going anywhere near the stumps!

Bizarre indeed. First dismissal in test cricket for obstruction of the field since Len Hutton in 1951, since the old 'handled the ball' has been replaced by 'obstructing the field'.

The second weird event in recent times for Bangladesh, having timed out Mathews in the World Cup.

Still looks like they're good for 2-0, though. Then we might start considering Bangladesh as contenders to make the WTC final.

Duty281 wrote:Bizarre indeed. First dismissal in test cricket for obstruction of the field since Len Hutton in 1951, since the old 'handled the ball' has been replaced by 'obstructing the field'.

The second weird event in recent times for Bangladesh, having timed out Mathews in the World Cup.

Still looks like they're good for 2-0, though. Then we might start considering Bangladesh as contenders to make the WTC final.

I have  memories off one bizarre incident of  Mohinder Amarnath having defended Greg matthews in the 1986 triangular in Aus
There were so many revs and spin  on that Matthews delivery that it spun towards the wicket and Amarnath grabbed it with his hand.
Without waiting for the umpire he sheepishly walked away.....he could have used bat to stop it I thought.

Matthews looked like a very  fine allrounder whenever he played  India

That Bangladesh score started to look pretty good as NZ collapsed late on day one...a real spin bowlers dream , this , I think. Lot of rain so far today though , and no play yet. Should still be plenty of time for a result even if today is a total washout.

Glen Philipp's fiery inning has turned this into a single inning shoot-out
Not to forget he's also been top wicket take for NZ in both tests so far.

The two first inning lasted 100 overs......and I reckon NZ has as much chance as BD of winning this.
These  krumbler / bunsen pitches are a double edged sword for home side with the potential of turning the game into a lottery....they enhance the mediocre spinners of the opposition on one hand
And on the other in a low scoring game one 87 off 72 type blitz and a few odd cameos turn the game

Twists and turns in this one indeed...narrowly advantage NZ perhaps ,with Bangladesh two down early ?

But the rain is threatening again and light meters are in charge now : Shanto will be annoyed at himself for getting out two balls before they went off...perhaps for the day.

Meanwhile in a high scoring PM's XI match with Pakistan (Aussies 367/4 chasing 391) , Renshaw has rather upstaged his rivals in the post-Warner Opening Bat Queue with 136no... to the 53 and 49 of Bancroft and Harris...

That is a very special innings from Phillips. 87 scored, no one else got higher than 20 in the innings.

He's done it again, as New Zealand win by 4 wickets when it looked like they were collapsing to defeat

Always dangerous to write off those Kiwis... Certainly came back from the dead a couple of times in that match.


Phillips had a great game

From 69-6 to double the score and win js a remarkable effort
Glen Philippe has been a Superman

Yep, Phillips won that game for NZ, with support from Santner. Don't forget Phillips' three-for in the first innings as well.

Incredible individual performance.

Next test cricket is Thursday for Australia against Pakistan.

Would like to think Pakistan might give Australia a decent contest. But past experience suggests otherwise...

Yes, I was looking up the history between these two. Of the last 14 tests played between Pakistan and Australia in Australia, all 14 have been Australian victories, a record that dates back to November 1999. And there have been some real hammerings in that run. Unsurprisingly, Pakistan have never won a series in Australia, a few series draws being the best they've managed (the last of those in 1979).

So Pakistan getting just one win in this three game series would be a real achievement!

It is a bit of a new dawn for Pakistan. Babar Azam has stood down from the captaincy, meaning Shan Masood is the new captain, and Mohammad Hafeez is the new team director/head coach. The talents of Shaheen and Babar are in the squad for this series, but they're missing Naseem Shah (injury) and Haris Rauf (unavailable). Debuts might be given to opening batsman Saim Ayub (FC average 46) and seam bowler Khurram Shahzad (136 FC Wickets @ 29).

Australia just look as strong as ever. Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood all in the squad, also a chance for Morris to make his debut or for Boland to rebound from his disappointment in England, and Lyon is set to play after recovering from the calf injury which derailed Australia's hopes of winning a first series in England since 2001. And all the main names in the batting are there, with this being Warner's last series.

Difficult to see beyond 3-0 Australia, but I hope Shaheen/Babar/someone produces some magic to make it an entertaining series.

Aus losing at home is so rare & so India's series win and drawn series in last two test tours rank very high.
Pak's problem had been  their team cohesion  & listless captaincy.

Shaan Masood as captain can't do worse than Babar........but with a batting average of 28 over 30 tests, he doesn't appear to be holding his place with certainty  and hence confirms he is a compromise choice acceptable to various factions in team and in PCB...which again points to the issue of team cohesion.

Losing their mystery spinner Abrar is a blow, but I doubt he would have had a  role to play in T1 at Perth, may be some at Melbourne in T2......traditionally it's Sydney the venue of T2 where spinners come into picture.

I see they are lacking genuine pace but have plenty of seam bowling and batting cum spin allrounders

their bowling composition should be
3 seamer + 1 seam bowling allrounder + one or two batter who can bowl spin.

I think they will prefer Sarfaraz over Rizwan as WK...though Rizwan is captaincy material but there are factions pushing for Sarfaraz and even Sarfaraz was more astute as a captain than Babar

Teams for the first test starting in 11 hours time.

Australia XI: 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Consistency from Australia. Lyon replacing Murphy is the only change from the fifth Ashes test, all those months ago. Cameron Green, after a poor effort in England, has failed to win back his place.

Pakistan XI: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Aamer Jamal, 11 Khurram Shahzad.

An interesting selection from Pakistan. On a potentially green surface, they've gone for four frontline quicks and the part-time option of Salman Ali as their only spin choice. The four frontline quicks in question do not include Hasan Ali, but they do include the two debutants of Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad, so not a lot of experience in the Pakistani bowling (43 tests combined for their four frontline bowlers, compared to 322 for Australia's!).

Australia are understandably big favourites, but let's see if Pakistan can rock the boat.

Pakistan have lost their last 14 Tests in Australia. No draws in that time. Many by massive margins too. A crazy stat really, even worse than England's last 3 tours where they've at least won 2 and lost 13 in 3 consecutive embarrassments. It would realistically be a colossal achievement if Pakistan take a Test of them in this series.

Duty281 wrote:  Cameron Green, after a poor effort in England, has failed to win back his place.

.

He got a run.....24 tests is a lot of tests.....in which he could prove himself to be neither a reliable top-6 batter nor a potent seamer
Ohh look he is so talented, so tall hits 90mph, bats straight bat etc....from commentators and critics got him an exceptionally long run.

Now I hear name of Aaron Hardie the new allrounder on the block....who is queuing up for international slots

They still very much rate Green. Lot of suggestions someone will be moved up the order to open when Warner leaves , rather than picking a new "normal" opener , in order to fit Green and Marsh in the same XI.

I'm not so sure that is a good idea. But will not be surprised if it (probably Marsh to open , Green at six) is tried against West Indies.

Australia batting first and looks like a long day in store for Pakistan, with not much happening in the initial overs.

Shaheen has been quite erratic. Debutant Shahzad has looked mostly accurate, but non-threatening, with his 80-82mph deliveries, which is reminiscent of what England usually turn up in Australia with.

34/0 after 7.

Yes Aussie openers well on top. Just dropped Khawaja too when he top edged a pull but the fielder appeared to lose the ball in the sunlight...might be a costly miss.

I am expecting a large first innings here - and Warner will fancy a score to put his critics back in their box (51 now at better than run a ball)

83/0 from 17.

Warner not imminently likable .... has character & full of fight
unbeaten 100
Determined to go out with a bang.

Haven't seen......but other than Afridi...must be very medium pace attack of Pak to let Aus to 210-2 on D1 of Perth

Haven't been able to watch a lot of this since lunch...but I note that the drop of Khawaja didn't actually cost much.

Unfortunately for Pakistan , Warner seems determined to bury them - or perhaps bury Mitchell Johnson Has gone on to 150 now and at 293/3 Australia are looking good for 450 or so , despite the relative failure of Marnus and Smith.

Not expecting the visitors to improve their record in this country just yet...

alfie wrote:Haven't been able to watch a lot of this since lunch...but I note that the drop of Khawaja didn't actually cost much.

Unfortunately for Pakistan , Warner seems determined to bury them - or perhaps bury Mitchell Johnson   Has gone on to 150 now and at 293/3 Australia are looking good for 450 or so , despite the relative failure of Marnus and Smith.

Not expecting the visitors to improve their record in this country just yet...

Head & Khawaja have blossomed on Aus's tours to Pak, Ind and Eng to take the pressure off Manus and Smith
Making them a more rounded batting side...and if Marsh can continue to deliver one or two blitzkrieg inning per series, their batting looks imposing

Jamal went for a few runs early on ; but he's come back with a good spell here - getting Head and Warner to bring Pakistan just about back in the contest. 323/5 and a new ball in four.

Warner has answered his critics with that 164. You don't have to love him ; but you have to respect his ability to carve up any attack - at least in Australian conditions. Think he has settled any argument about his desired Sydney Farewell Test !