*Official* Second Test at Lord's

[Spikey]

Australia Cricket News: Usman Khawaja a new man - Darren Lehmann | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Ruckus]

Khawaja's two best innings so far imo were his 65 against SA and his debut innings. And in both cases he did what Lehmann has encouraged above - he came out with intent, and didn't let himself get pinned down by the bowlers. Yesterday was just another example of him failing to do that. At the same time though, he just looked awful against Swann. Looked like a number 11.

 

[Spikey]

it's easy to play with intent when you have rubbish bowled to you. the test comes when proper test match bowling, the bowling you should expect to see, comes along

 

[Ruckus]

the bowling to him yesterday wasn't amazing at all though, and the conditions for batting were excellent. He came in when the ball basically wasn't doing anything anymore. It is a bit difficult to bat with intent though when you are just being dominated by a bowler, like he was to Swann. Not sure if that was because he lacked confidence, or if he is just rubbish against spin.

 

[Top_Cat]

Watson clearly asked Rogers whether he thought it hit him out side off

Begs the question as to why he was trying to hit the ****ing thing through square leg

Yeah, the bigger question for mine. If Watson's regularly thinking a decision is slipping down leg because it's angling in but being proven wrong on replay, you gotta wonder about why he hasn't fixed the issue of knowing just where the **** his off-stump is, especially after the best part of a decade as a Test cricketer. So much of this sort of batting going on last night, you felt the LBW shout was just a matter of time.

(never a missed opportunity)

At every level of cricket, there's always some bloke who reckons the umps are getting it wrong but they eventually get the picture when people point out that maybe they're playing across it a bit. Why hasn't Watson? Just makes me wonder about who's talking to him in the nets and what they're saying. Lehmann's obviously hitched his wagon to Watson for now but you wonder how long the goodwill may last. That said, Lehmann loves guys like Watson.

 

[Top_Cat]

So does everyone still blame Watson for wasting a start + review when he top scored out of the batsmen?

Reckon it's less relevant than you think. Giving him some freebie boundaries to set him up for the ball coming in has risk/benefit written all over it. Even letting him get to 50 doesn't hurt you that much.

EDIT: If anything, I would argue giving Watson some free 4's is a necessary part of getting him out. Making him have to dig deep might actually help him.

 

[zaremba]

The strangest day at Lord's yesterday. Given the conditions, when Bresnan got out first ball of the day I didn't expect him also to be facing the last.

Pathetic, risible stuff from Australia with the bat. I can't remember ever seeing an Australia side capitulate so lamely. And their ineptitude with the DRS knows no bounds.

I felt sorry for the Aussie fans.

Not sure what to make of the 3 late wickets. Probably not much; realistically England should have enough already, although they'll want another 200. That said, there is a bit of a concern now about the form of those three. England can't expect to keep winning matches without contributions from them.

 

[greg]

The strangest day at Lord's yesterday. Given the conditions, when Bresnan got out first ball of the day I didn't expect him also to be facing the last.

Pathetic, risible stuff from Australia with the bat. I can't remember ever seeing an Australia side capitulate so lamely. And their ineptitude with the DRS knows no bounds.

I felt sorry for the Aussie fans.

Not sure what to make of the 3 late wickets. Probably not much; realistically England should have enough already, although they'll want another 200. That said, there is a bit of a concern now about the form of those three. England can't expect to keep winning matches without contributions from them.

To be fair Trott is hardly in bad form. Yesterday was arguably his first failure (if one accepts the doubts about the decision in the second innings at Trent Bridge). He's just not capitalising fully on good starts.

 

[Goughy]

Not sure this is the best place to put this but it will do. I am confused by this game -- 14th Match: Western Australia Under-23s v South Australia Under-23s at Perth, Mar 4-7, 2013 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

An U23 game with almost as many players over 23 than under. Anyone know what was going on? Hardly a development game with the likes of North, Beer, Cooper, Christian and George playing. And for a developemnt game it is strange that none of the 'of age' players were given large responsibilities as the opening bowlers and captains for both teams were over age.

 

[vic_orthdox]

A few years ago the state 2nd XI competition became more youth focused, and there was (I think) only three players over the age of 23 allowed. They've since relaxed it to half the team being over 23, and kept the same "branding", but it's still a massive bastardisation which has had a large effect on the development of players, IMO. Should be a pure 2nd XI competition.

 

[greg]

Bloody hell, Haddin. Ball watching ****. Poor Agar.

EDIT: Far too many "no balls" getting checked these days. Do umpires not even bother checking the line these days? Bloody hell - two they sent for review (one off Harris, one of Anderson) were well behind the line.

Does anyone know exactly what the protocol is for the noball reviews on dismissals? I'm wondering if they are actually being initiated by the third umpire rather than the onfield umpire (which explains why, for example, Bairstow was able to get 3/4 of the way to the boundary before being recalled). There was a brief experiment with third umpires actually calling all noballs in real time, and i wouldn't be surprised if this has been amended to allow them to instantly relay requests for a closer look in the case of dismissals. This would also fit in with some of the 'strange' reviews - it could just be that the 3rd umpire missed the delivery and so just requests a look anyway.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Someone on twitter talked about how Dharmesena continually refers a heap of dismissals regarding no-balls, yet he actually hasn't called one himself. Leads you to believe that he just uses it as a comfort blanket; he's not really watching them closely and that the fast bowler doesn't know that he's over or getting very close.

 

[Spikey]

A few years ago the state 2nd XI competition became more youth focused, and there was (I think) only three players over the age of 23 allowed. They've since relaxed it to half the team being over 23, and kept the same "branding", but it's still a massive bastardisation which has had a large effect on the development of players, IMO. Should be a pure 2nd XI competition.

plus 3 day v 4 day, right?

 

[Top_Cat]

Someone on twitter talked about how Dharmesena continually refers a heap of dismissals regarding no-balls, yet he actually hasn't called one himself. Leads you to believe that he just uses it as a comfort blanket; he's not really watching them closely and that the fast bowler doesn't know that he's over or getting very close.

Not surprised Dharmasena wouldn't know a no-ball when he saw one considering it should have happened to him as a player but didn't.

 

[BeeGee]

Lehmann to promote himself player coach for the next game and bat at four? Couldn't do any worse.

 

[vic_orthdox]

plus 3 day v 4 day, right?

Yeah, but went back to 4 day this year, I think.

 

[Top_Cat]

tbh, not that impressed with Lehmann as a coach at the minute. For a bloke brought in apparently to solve the mental issues of the team, the same cracks still seem to be there. QLD had almost immediate gains under him. A reckoning should be coming and fast if he has anything about him as a man-manager.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I'm not saying that is the case, all I know is that all of us in here last night were convinced Twatto was going to go for it when he walked up to Rogers before they'd even spoke. We were of the belief last night that it was his call and it sounds like Kimber isn't buying Lehmans explanation either.

If it's true it is **** for Rogers, but one of Lehmans biggest challenges is to bring this team together......having Twatto even further on the outer isn't going to help anything, unless they cut him loose totally.

I knew this would be the line when Lehmann came out and said Rogers was responsible, which is what everyone should have realised was a huge possibility at the time.

I get that people think Watson is a douche etc and it's obvious why. He's not a likeable character and he doesn't fit the role of tough, non-complaining sportsman etc. But seriously. The guy was LBW, he went down the wicket and asked his partner if he should review it like every other batsman on both teams would have done and Rogers said to review it so he did. This thread immediately exploded with like three pages of "****ing selfish Twatto" etc and then every wicket for the rest of the day was his fault for setting the tone etc, and when the coach comes out and says "yeah Rogers kinda bungled that one, was definitely hitting", it's a conspiricy to protect Watson from criticism.

I feel like he's just a cartoon villain for people on this forum. This is obviously how it went down:
Watson: What do you think? Review? Maybe slipping down leg?
Rogers: Nah mate, you're absolutely 100% plumb.
Watson: I think I'm a pretty amazing sort of dude and I play a nice cover drive. Are you sure I could possibly be dismissed by these mere humans on the other team?
Rogers: I'm just a humble deserving sportsman who earned my place in the team on the back of quietly accumulating first class runs so I can't say for sure, but I think it's possible.
Watson: Yeah? Well **** you, I'm reviewing it anyway just because I can. Grab me a latte while they make the decision.

And then 15 minutes later:
Watson: So I kinda wasted a review out there and I'm worried the media will be mean to me. Think you could cover for me?
Lehmann: Sure thing buddy. Let's throw Rogers under the bus in his third test match for absolutely no reason. I'm a great communicator.

 

[NUFAN]

I've been slightly busy the past few days, but a couple of things:

- Khawaja's shot was a shocker. I like the guy but its hard to continue justifying his selection if he continues to get out so softly as he has so far in his Test career to date.
- How on earth could Rogers miss that ball? if I was a professional cricketer I would be slightly disappointed if I only scored a 4 of that ball, weirdest dismissal from an opener in a while.
- 159, 160, 161 Test wickets for SIDDLE! Moves past Danny Morrison and Bill Johnson and level with Ian Bishop in equal 85th, WAG.

 

[Days of Grace]

I knew this would be the line when Lehmann came out and said Rogers was responsible, which is what everyone should have realised was a huge possibility at the time.

I get that people think Watson is a douche etc and it's obvious why. He's not a likeable character and he doesn't fit the role of tough, non-complaining sportsman etc. But seriously. The guy was LBW, he went down the wicket and asked his partner if he should review it like every other batsman on both teams would have done and Rogers said to review it so he did. This thread immediately exploded with like three pages of "****ing selfish Twatto" etc and then every wicket for the rest of the day was his fault for setting the tone etc, and when the coach comes out and says "yeah Rogers kinda bungled that one, was definitely hitting", it's a conspiricy to protect Watson from criticism.

I feel like he's just a cartoon villain for people on this forum. This is obviously how it went down:
Watson: What do you think? Review? Maybe slipping down leg?
Rogers: Nah mate, you're absolutely 100% plumb.
Watson: I think I'm a pretty amazing sort of dude and I play a nice cover drive. Are you sure I could possibly be dismissed by these mere humans on the other team?
Rogers: I'm just a humble deserving sportsman who earned my place in the team on the back of quietly accumulating first class runs so I can't say for sure, but I think it's possible.
Watson: Yeah? Well **** you, I'm reviewing it anyway just because I can. Grab me a latte while they make the decision.

And then 15 minutes later:
Watson: So I kinda wasted a review out there and I'm worried the media will be mean to me. Think you could cover for me?
Lehmann: Sure thing buddy. Let's throw Rogers under the bus in his third test match for absolutely no reason. I'm a great communicator.

That's exactly how it went down, IMO.