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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...

Just realised that with the Australia/West Indies second test being a day-nighter that it'll start at 04:00 on Thursday 25th (if you're in the UK). Also on Thursday 25th, at the exact same time, is the start of the first test between India/England.

Has it ever happened before in test history that two tests have started at the exact same time and date?

Feel sorry for the West Indies also getting a day-nighter, which the Australians have a perfect record of 11-0 in. 1/25 on an Australian win!

It also opens up a potential sweepstake for which Test will finish earlier. Day 2 or day 3? Who are we backing? Starc with a pink ball against the Windies 3s? Or arguably the most rounded spin attack ever, on a s**t tip, against an England team of one legged men, blokes who might as well play spin blindfolded and Joseph Edward Root after he's bowled unchanged from the less desirable end before he even has a bat? I feel like I'm choosing from a dessert menu of mustard ice cream and ketchup sorbet.

Teams for the second and final test.

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

Australia have had some disruption from Covid. Green tested positive. These days that doesn't mean he misses the test, instead he has to use a different changing room.

West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 3 Kirk McKenzie, 4 Alick Athanaze, 5 Kavem Hodge, 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Kevin Sinclair, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shamar Joseph.

West Indies are putting Sinclair in for a debut at the expense of Motie.

Australia chasing the perfect 5-0 for their summer, and to continue their stupendous 100% record in day-night tests. Starc needs two wickets to bring up 350 test wickets. Some forecast rain might prolong the 'contest'.

And West Indies win the toss and will bat. At least they get to start in daylight...

31/1 from 13 at drinks. From highlights, Brathwaite had a horrible time in not making many. McKenzie taking Lyon on again early. West Indies will need him to score a few ...and hopefully Chanderpaul to play an innings.

I stayed in India so haven't seen the collapse but I see West Indies suffered a bit of a clatter late in that session.Starc's turn to be the wrecker ,eh ? Afraid I'm not really expecting this one to be very competitive. 64/5 suggests might be a short game...

I see that Hodge and Da Silva have staged something of a recovery in Brisbane : twenty odd each and up to 109/5 at drinks. Suggests the pitch isn't too difficult ? Going to need a lot more than that if they're going to test the hosts...but I'm glad to see they are offering some resistance.

Wonder what S Joseph will do when he gets in ? Must be due for a move up the order ...

Wow. Hundred and fifty stand between Da Silva and Hodge ...Da Silva gone now ; but quite a comeback by the tourists.

Good fightback from West Indies, Da Silva and Hodge 70 odd each and then the tail has wagged with Alzarri Joseph falling to the last ball of the day for 32...

266/8.

from 64-5 WI have recovered to 266-8
Hope they can cross 300 and make a match of it

All happening here in Brisbane...

West Indies totalled a respectable 311...but then :

Smith lbw on review to Roach 6/1
Marnus edges Joseph to slip 11/2
Green chips Roach to mid off 24/3
Head caught behind first ball 24/4

Might call that West Indies session.

Roach will resume after lunch on a hat trick. Australia will be hoping Marsh can settle in with Khawaja ...and maybe wondering if the Smith opener Green four plan is quite as good an idea as it was first thought...

Early yet though.

Just to report Marsh indeed saved the hat trick and has quickly caught up to Khawaja on 13. Australia 44/4.

Have to do some channel flicking here as both games have interest at present.

With the real Mitch Marsh turning up today this is starting to look very good for the Windies!

Back in Brisbane , Marsh didn't last long. Clothed it to mid on from A Joseph and gone for a brisk 21 to leave Australia in a similar spot to West Indies yesterday , 54/5

Since moved to 71/5 with Carey in support of the patient Khawaja holding the innings together with 17 from 33 balls.

But is this an edge ? No....would you believe it : Carey beaten by S Joseph, hits the off bail hard enough to spin it in its groove ...but it stays on !

Carey's lucky day.

What's been going on here then ? Carey racing along at better than run a ball ? 41 from 34 ? Wow...that miraculous escape must have set him off.

120/5 and the Aussies are recovering much as West Indies did yesterday. Funny old game : I see spinner Sinclair is getting taken to the cleaners...six more for Carey

Would be one of the greatest individual upsets in test history if the West Indies pull this off.

Shamar Joseph has just removed Carey. Can the WI get a lead of 100-120?

from 39-4...they got to 150 odd for 5 Aus....but now 6 down
WI significantly ahead inspite of Carey blistering 50.....BUT a lot of cricket left.....hope WI don't crumble in a heap in their 2nd inning.
First they need to get a handy lead of 100+

Starc out last ball before tea. Australia down by 150 with three wickets left.

Hmm. Seven down and still miles behind... Khawaja with a lot to do to get anywhere near the West Indies total. Upset looming ? We will see...

I can actually see Australia now getting close to the Windies score and forcing the win as the Windies second innings folds up cheaply. Still, whatever happens this has been quite a scare for Australia and their batting order as mentioned by Alfie does look completely off. Surely Smith is a middle order player and Green is a 6 or 7

Another problem for the West Indies is they either bowl Australia out tonight and have to contend with facing the deadly trio under lights, or they don't bowl Australia out tonight and lose their lead.

Really interesting match.

I was thinking during moments of the Adelaide Test and again yesterday and today... but I didn't feel game enough to post my thoughts.  

This WI team is a decent gang of cricketers and they're definitely on the rise, imo. They aren't here for a fleeting antipodean summer sojourn to tick matches off the ICC schedule - it looks as if they really mean business and have done their homework and have executed their plans very well.

They possess some skill with the bat and ball... and by no means are they mugs in the field either. There have been a couple of dropped chances but also some superb catches in the field. They seem to be a pretty athletic and capable bunch of players overall.

However, it's that higher level of self-belief in their own abilities (compared to more recent WI tours) together with a dash of Caribbean swagger and some well-directed aggro which had me fearful of an early stage West Indian 're-emergence' happening (right before my very own eyes) with a few momentary glimpses of play which appeared similar to the very high quality performances of the great West Indian teams in their heyday.

Obviously it's still very early days for this group and one can't make such a comparison but I think this WI team has a certain positive air about itself. We'll need to see how they develop over time of course but there seems to be the vital ingredients that constitute a fairly decent test cricket team. Scary for an Australian (at this present stage of the match) but it's great for those guys, WI cricket in general and the strengthening of the game (probably at all levels) beyond the Big Three.

Interesting, PJ... Not sure I'm quite so positive about West Indies as you - think their batting still looks pretty fragile , although their tail has wagged rather impressively in these games. But certainly they've competed far better than expected and credit for that. Plenty of spirit shown and at least one promising new bowler , so yes , good signs. Hope they can keep them off full time franchise contracts !

Still got a lot to do here as Cummins and Khawaja steadily bring Australia closer...

Starc's batting has declined considerably
Cummins has turned into a proper fast bowling all-rounder

alfie wrote:Interesting, PJ... Not sure I'm quite so positive about West Indies as you

I'm thinking in glass half full mode of course.

I must still have some mental scars from the distant past - so I can be very sensitive to small incremental improvements in WI team performances.

Ha... anyone more than forty or so probably has mental scars from watching their team face West Indies . Pat Cummins saving Australia with the bat here...that deficit shrinking fast. He is good at playing a proper innings when his team is in trouble

alfie wrote:Ha... anyone more than forty or so probably has mental scars from watching their team face West Indies . Pat Cummins saving Australia with the bat here...that deficit shrinking fast. He is good at playing a proper innings when his team is in trouble

Many parallels between both 1st innings. At 54/5 I thought they were really on the ropes (like the Windies were at 64/5) but they both made similar recoveries and Australia were scoring at close to 8 rpo for a short time.

So looks like it will come down to a 2nd innings shoot out. It's shaping up for an exciting finish over the next two days... as I see the weather might play a part if it gets to day 5.

Ah... so Pat declares at 289/9 and a 22 run deficit. About half an hour to have a crack at the top of the order.

Should be both firey and sweaty in the Brisbane Heat.

Like that declaration . Wicket or two tonight would be very handy...and twenty odd deficit is neither here nor there. Brathwaite is already under pressure for runs and probably not relishing a short sharp session...

And a reward for Cummins and his declaration as Hazlewood nabs the wicket of Chanderpaul with what is the last ball of the day...

After all the West Indies efforts , I think the home team is edging ahead in the game anyway

Very harsh wicket, I think. Not sure there was enough to overturn it.

But this is a genuine test and I'm amazed how brilliantly the West Indies have fought in this series, despite looking hopelessly outmatched on paper. However, the West Indies will be somewhat frustrated, as they had a great chance to secure a three digit first innings advantage.

Lead of 35, one wicket down. Let's see if one of their batsmen can stand up, get the lead over 250, and set up a brilliant conclusion. Some rain might be around for the final three days.

Duty281 wrote:
...
Australia have had some disruption from Covid. Green tested positive. These days that doesn't mean he misses the test, instead he has to use a different changing room.

...

And there was me and Alfie thinking separate changing rooms had gone with the ending of the distinction between Professionals and Amateurs in the English game more than sixty years ago!

McKenzie batting very nicely (34 from 40) and took West Indies to 63 : but Brathwaite fell rather tamely on the brink of the drink break chipping Green to Marnus at mid off. Ends a wretched tour for him : 24 runs in four innings

West Indies lead by 88

Bit of chat here about that weird business yesterday when Carey survived being "bowled" because the Zing Bail spun in its groove but didn't fall.... Photos showing one stump actually lower than the other two , something you don't often see at this level.

West Indies lost McKenzie for a good 41 ...but battling on to lunch. Just three down , leading by 128. Had a lucky break just then when Smith , who is having a rough game , dived in front of Khawaja at slip and dropped what was probably his mate's chance...

Wonder what sort of lead they need to really test Australia ?

Nasty toe crusher for S Joseph off a Starc no ball - which the umpire had originally given out lbw.
He has to retire hurt and looks in some difficulty having to be assisted from the field.

So 216 runs for Australia to chase for the win... 215 for the tie.

West Indies innings rather wrapped up quickly there at the end then ? Contrast to previous knocks where their tail has wagged after the top order got not very many...

Shouldn't think Australia will have too much trouble chasing that ? But I guess if they lost a couple early it might be interesting...

Ah, seems a crying shame for the West Indies, who have battled superbly. That business with Carey's bail seemed the harshest of tricks, and today the Windies collapsed from 123/3 to 193ao (helped by a superb run out from Head at short leg). A potential lead of 300, even 350, reduced to just over 200.

Australia 60/2 at stumps, need another 156. Should get it, but not entirely dissimilar to the final chase of the Ashes, when Australia needed 120 more with 7 wickets left, but faltered with the series win in sight.

The zing bails need replacing, these situations seem to happen far too often nowadays, not acceptable.

Or made lighter. Which must be possible. The sensor and LEDs surely don't need to made of adamantium.

It's happening way too often though. The original purpose of the bails was to show that the stumps had been hit. This situation happening so regularly is plain dumb. Sooner or later it will happen in a high profile moment of a tight game with more watching.

Similar to the issue with batters not getting runs from overturned reviews. Seamer bowls a ball shaping into the pads, batter edges it onto his pad, runs down to fine leg for 4. Umpire gives it out LBW. Overturned on review because the batter smashes. That isn't a 4 and the ball gets bowled again. Sooner or later it will happen in a CWC final or other big game.

Shamar's toes have recovered very well indeed overnight.
2 wickets in 2 deliveries... and a king pair for Head. What a ripper of a delivery! Inswinging yorker smashes into the base of Head's off stump.

Australia 113/4... 103 runs still needed. Shamal on a hat-trick... will have to wait until his next over. (Alas, it wasn't to be.)

Starc living dangerously... smacking some lusty shots to the boundary but eventually skies one and is caught for a quick fire 21 runs.

171/7... and still 45 runs or 3 wickets required. S Joseph with 5/51 off 7 overs.

WinViz obviously in deep thinking mode... processing away. I'd go WI 58% Aus 42%.

Tea break looming...

Annoying these two games are on identical times...

This one looks fascinating...what this young Joseph is doing is remarkable !

Smith and the skipper probably the ideal pair to bring this home ...a good time for Smith to find opening form...

Oh ! Cummins edges behind ! Top catch by Da Silva

Six wickets for Joseph ! And with eight down we play on...

What do you reckon , PJ ? Two wickets or 41 runs ?

Shamar with his 6th! Cummins going(s) for 2.

15 minutes extra time or 4 overs extended session.


alfie, I reckon 2 wickets. Would be their first test win here since the WACA in 1997. Well deserved if they can achieve such a result.

Told you there was 'something special about' this Wi team. They're certainly not playing like an 8th-ranked team.

Well will certainly be deserved if they can do it. Joseph into his ninth over though...he might need some help to finish this . Lyon is a gutsy if not stylish batsman so I'm not ruling him out...though he might have nearly been caught then ! In fact I think the fielder rather failed there : didn't move in quickly enough.

33 to get...

So what do you reckon, alfie?
29 runs or 2 wickets?

Think Shamar has to keep going. I saw him wince with pain a few times but that probably feeds his adrenaline. His toe can have a good chance to recover and heal once the job is done.

A century for Smith or 8 for by Joseph ?

Quite a finish looming...not a clue really !

Well now, 9 down with 25 to get...

Wow ! All happening...Alzarri Joseph drops a return catch ...but follows by having Lyon caught behind next ball !

Still need 25. Smith and Hazlewood v the Josephs...and there's four of them from Smith !

Smith wants to farm the strike...

Test for Brathwaite's captaincy skills. But that was nearly all over as that was totally out of Smith's control but no one close enough to catch it.

Two balls at Hazlewood...

Down to 12 to win...

Smith is going to do this , isn't he ? Hazlewood just has to keep surviving two per over - and they're not bowling too well to him.

Got him!

West Indies win by 8 runs. Their first win in Australia for 27 years. So well deserved.

Shamar 7/68... that was a remarkable bowling performance!