Cricket Summer 2020-2021

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Why can't we have patient batsmen like Pujara?

Probably because bogans will cry about it being boring while placing an online bet on UFC or NRL.

I think there are plenty of cricket fans in OZ who understand that test batting requires patience and concentration.

 

[Derpus]

Awesome test series, especially if you're a neutral, but disastrous for Australia. Our batting has been exposed and it meant that if our bowlers weren't firing at 100% all series we were going to have a rough time of things. Can't deny how good India were though. What a performance from their second and third string bowlers and the fortitude shown by their batsmen to firstly hold us out in Sydney and then edge towards a win in Brisbane. All credit to them and back to the drawing board for us.

It wasn't that disastrous, I think. I think part of the cultural problem is the exceedingly high pressure they are under to win everything. We had very clear deficiencies heading into this series immediately exacerbated by injuries to our two openers.

Paine was the only disappointment for me.

Does it get any worse than slagging off Ashwin, saying 'i can't wait to get you to the Gabba' and then both dropping him cold five balls later and then leading his team to a first loss at the Gabba in 30 odd years?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I would say losing a home series and especially a test at a traditional fortress like Brisbane is a disaster. The Australian team are the cricket version of the All Blacks. We're the most successful (by far) test nation in history and the sport is our national game realistically. Our expectation should be to go into a series that we're going to win it. I'm concerned that our domestic system is cracking and that 140+ year period of success is under threat. There needs to be a serious review of why our first class production line of quality players isn't what it once was. The BBL taking up nearly the whole domestic summer isn't helping.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Exceptional work by the Indians. I'd give each of the bowlers the MOTM award for the way they rose to the occasion, consisting mainly of debutants and the most experienced with only two (or thereabouts) test matches to his name. Fantastic efforts.

From Australia's point of view, there are some structural, management and player issues that need to be addressed.

The holiday for the Sheffield Shield during the test series is the first and perhaps main issue. Just no way of getting out of form players back to their best, or for gauging the form of potential replacements. To illustrate, Joe Burns was seriously out of form from the beginning, but he had no opportunity to go back to SS to rectify his problems. His replacement was Marcus Harris who had been in good to very good form early in the Shield, but had not played for some weeks before being required to take over the opening duties from Burns. His lack of recent game time I believe was on show.. Similarly, Warner would have benefited from a couple of first class games before being recalled. The other player completely out of form was Mitch Starc. But he also had no opportunity to get fit, overcome injury or whatever the problem was while no other bowler had the opportunity to show form at Shield level to come into consideration.

Poor management, team tactics and a failure to maximise opportunity also came into play. We have at least a couple of batsmen (Harris and Head) who have displayed the same failings at test level over a number of years and there is no discernable evidence that they are getting any help to overcome their deficiencies. Management also fell down in the area of selections. After the win in Adelaide, Justin Langer was quite outspoken about not changing a winning team even in the face of a few very poor efforts by players in that match. That win, and the massacre in the Indian second innings seemed to form a belief in the team management that we had the Indians on toast for the remainder of the test season. Very poor judgement to base decisions on an Aussie win with the pink ball under lights where we are practically unbeatable in those conditions. Further, the decision to bat first in Brisbane was a mistake which handed the Indians the opportunity to dictate how the game would pan out. Australia needed to win that test to win the series. India only needed not to lose to retain the Border/Gavaskar trophy. They held all the cards when it came to options to bat out for a draw or go for a win in the second innings. The way they managed their run chase is also a salutary lesson for the Australians. Note how Smith and Labuschagne started chasing fast runs from the moment they came to the crease in the second innings and the early downfall of Marnus as a result. These were precisely the players who should have got in before taking to the bowling. Field placings by Tim Paine, probably with input from Langer, were defensive and poor in comparison with the Indians; as a result both Indian spinners, including one having I think his first test match were more dangerous and successful than our GOAT, Lyon. Although, Lyon really needs to add much more variety to his repetoire to be regarded as a high quality test spinner, especially against sides like India who thrive on spin.

Many other issues, but that will do for the moment. My first action if in a position to do so, would be a change in the coaching setup and adoption of a more attacking mindset in game tactics and fielding positions.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

Trouble is that Shield hasn't brought in crowds since the 94/95 final. BBL brings in the punters. It's a tough balancing act, especially when competing against a country with a billion people living in it and where every spare patch of dirt or grass has at least one cricket game running on it at any given moment.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

England's 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka moves them to 0.5% of Australia in WTC standings.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/world-test-championship/standings

Bottom line is Australia can't afford to drop a game v SA & need to win at least two of the three. An England win in India would really throw the whole thing wide open.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Wade dropped:

Australia Test squad for Qantas Tour of South Africa: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/aus...-carey-mark-steketee-five-uncapped/2021-01-27

 

[Froggy]

I don't envy the selectors here. You've got people like Head and Harris getting a bit of a Bradbury run here, but because there's no shield cricket being played, no-one else is scoring runs to provide an alternative.
Another problem is that quite possibly Abbott, Carey, Henriques, Neser, Steketee and Swepson will get no cricket at all, but with COVID and not being able to fly a replacement out, you have a to have a squad that big. Most of those would have been a good shot at the 20/20 side, and are probably envying Matt Wade being dropped from the test side and getting to play for his country, while they spend the rest of the summer taking changes of gloves out to Steve Smith.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Finally caught up with Chappelli's idea of removing the pitching in line & hitting in line requirements from the LBW Law & interested to know how people feel about it. I don't think I'd ever want to see it happen in real cricket but if applied to the white ball forms it might make the bat v ball contest a little more even. Nice vid about it here:

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I'm with Chappelli on this. I think at a minimum getting rid of the "pitching outside leg" clause should go and possibly anything other than answering the question: "will the ball go on to his the stumps?".

 

[Brumby Runner]

Unintended consequences. Batsmen will become more staid and will be looking to protect their wickets rather than scoring runs. Say goodbye immediately to the sweep shot to an off spinner played outside the off stump, or to a leg spinner played outside the leg stump.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^ that's the main reason I wouldn't apply it to real cricket, just the white ball hit & giggle formats. Speaking of which I see 10-over cricket is a thing now. What's next? Five overs? One?

 

[Brumby Runner]

In my mind, the Super Over is essentially already a one over game.

 

[Braveheart81]

I'm with Chappelli on this. I think at a minimum getting rid of the "pitching outside leg" clause should go and possibly anything other than answering the question: "will the ball go on to his the stumps?".

If you were changing the other LBW requirements, pitching in line is the only one I'd keep.

If you can be given out with the ball pitching outside leg it really encourages negative bowling, particularly from spinners. Being able to pad up to those deliveries is the main tactic the batter has that isn't overly risky.

This is very much in the realm of only allowing 2 fielders behind square leg and limits on bouncers to avoid 'bodyline' style tactics.

I don't mind the suggestion of getting rid of the hitting in line requirement.

I don't think I really share the view that the battle between bat and ball has shifted substantially in favour of batters overall. This is just a short form cricket phenomenon. Test cricket isn't seeing that same change. Scoring rates have increased in test cricket but overall scores and averages aren't really increasing.

Short form cricket is more of an evolution as batters have worked out how to play the game better as it has been around longer. I don't think it is unfair to bowlers, it's just a case of adjusting expectations of how many runs should be scored off an over.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Fair comments BH, but I do think that at least one of those requirements for LBW needs to go.

 

[Braveheart81]

Fair comments BH, but I do think that at least one of those requirements for LBW needs to go.

Yeah, I think getting hit outside the line of off stump would be alright to remove (currently only able to get out if you don't offer a shot) at least at international level where we have DRS.

I think a reasonable amount of the LBW law makes it such that it needs to be pretty obvious to be given out LBW which I don't think you want changed too much.

The ball can be pretty obviously going on to hit the stumps if it hits you a fraction outside of off stump which is why I think that change would be reasonable.

I'm definitely in favour of keeping umpire's call on DRS (despite Shane Warne's constant complaining about a delivery being both out and not out depending on the umpire's original decision). LBW is after all a prediction on DRS and not a review of fact.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I have no issue at all with the DRS being a prediction rather than fact, so long as it applies equally and consistently in all situations and to all teams. That isn't the case presently, unfortunately, with the Umpire's Call aspect. The same delivery and result as far as the fate of the ball is concerned can and does result in different, opposite, decisions based on what the umpire at the crease thinks. Some will be more inclined to give benefit of the doubt to the batsman while others (as we've seen constantly over the years), will be more inclined to rule a wicket.

This can be easily solved, by mandating that a certain proportion of the ball must be predicted to have hit the wicket for the decision to be "out" regardless of the field umpire's ruling. I don't care if that is half the ball, a quarter of the ball, or a sliver of the ball (which I actually prefer), so long as the decision is made by the review umpire based on the mandated standard. Fair to all teams, fair to the umpires, in time would be accepted as fair by the fans.

 

[Froggy]

To throw in another aspect, given the vast majority of bowlers are right handed, is it fair to say the 'must not pitch outside leg' rule is a real advantage to left-handed batsmen? Let's face it, a right-handed bowler going over the wicket will really battle to get a ball to pitch in line for a lefty and hit his off stump.

 

[cyclopath]

SA tour officially off. Sensible really.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yeah if they are still having major COVID dramas it's not surprising.