***Official*** Australia in India 2017

[TheJediBrah]

Smith's probably lucky the ball didn't break his ankle tbh. There's shooters and there's shooters. That one nearly went underground.

This whole controversy is serving as a handy distraction from the state of the pitch and the effect it had on this game, and this tour so far, which is a far bigger issue for mine

 

[GotSpin]

Smith's probably lucky the ball didn't break his ankle tbh. There's shooters and there's shooters. That one nearly went underground.

Seriously unlucky to get such a shooter at such a vital moment.

 

[silentstriker]

Might be right, but it flies in the face of not doing it on Marsh's lbw.

Does it? Smith clearly said he wanted it reviewed but was an idiot and said "go" when he meant "go review it".

 

[TheJediBrah]

Also after having said what I did about Smith, i'll add that he's clearly a far more successful human being than most, probably any, on this forum will ever be. In the sense of excelling at his chosen profession. You don't get much better than him.

Same for Kohli, but it's still fun to have a go at their personalities sometimes.

Also would it kill them to at least do some curls once a week or something?

 

[Burgey]

Well, if they're looking to the sheds for confirmation as a practice, you'd expect them to look up on that occasion, given they spent quite a while talking about it.

The on field umpires actually didn't have their best games this test match. A few more over rules than normal. I guess it shows the conditions aren't just hard for the players when it's so up and down and ripping as much as it did.

 

[SteveNZ]

I can't figure out Steve Smith. How can he be such a good cricketer and yet be so completely clueless about every other aspect of life. And he still looks like a special 12 year old.

His mrs must be a genuine gold digger IMO

Kohli at least can understand social cues and has some common sense, even if his behaviour is often inappropriate and entitled

I'm encouraged to see an Australian poster with the ability to see this in their captain.

I, in turn, am able to see the brilliant batsman in Steve Smith, one that has done incredibly well ability-wise to get from being another in the failed chain of Warne clones to becoming one of the best Test batsmen in the world.

But he is an utter ****. The way he conducts himself on the field is reprehensible (and no, I don't care what Kohli did, this is solely about Smith). Always keen to umpire from second slip, bitch and moan when things don't go his way, and certainly if it had've been an opposition captain looking upstairs for DRS he would've carried on like a 3 year old without his lolly.

I dunno about the possible fabrication from Kohli saying it'd been going on all game but good on him for calling Smith out.

 

[silentstriker]

Well, if they're looking to the sheds for confirmation as a practice, you'd expect them to look up on that occasion, given they spent quite a while talking about it.

The on field umpires actually didn't have their best games this test match. A few more over rules than normal. I guess it shows the conditions aren't just hard for the players when it's so up and down and ripping as much as it did.

Yeah for sure.

This is a stupid controversy anyway - I think you ought to be able to look up and get guidance from the dressing room anyway. What's the big deal?

 

[TheJediBrah]

Well, if they're looking to the sheds for confirmation as a practice, you'd expect them to look up on that occasion, given they spent quite a while talking about it.

The on field umpires actually didn't have their best games this test match. A few more over rules than normal. I guess it shows the conditions aren't just hard for the players when it's so up and down and ripping as much as it did.

It's quite clear that it's not common practice, and any suggestion otherwise is just stupid. All you have to do is go back and look at the replays and they clearly don't communicate with the dressing room, at any stage. Not sure why Kohli said otherwise, maybe just a press conference brain fade

 

[TheJediBrah]

I'm encouraged to see an Australian poster with the ability to see this in their captain.

I, in turn, am able to see the brilliant batsman in Steve Smith, one that has done incredibly well ability-wise to get from being another in the failed chain of Warne clones to becoming one of the best Test batsmen in the world.

But he is an utter ****. The way he conducts himself on the field is reprehensible (and no, I don't care what Kohli did, this is solely about Smith). Always keen to umpire from second slip, bitch and moan when things don't go his way, and certainly if it had've been an opposition captain looking upstairs for DRS he would've carried on like a 3 year old without his lolly.

I dunno about the possible fabrication from Kohli saying it'd been going on all game but good on him for calling Smith out.

That's the other thing about Australians though, we don't really care as much about how our sportsmen behave as long as they win



semi srs

 

[social]

Makes sense if you think about it. Could be obsessed with his art and probably has no friends outside of his team-mates to even have a social life.

Not that there's anything wrong with it. At least he's good at something. There are some people who have no social life even without excelling in any art or anything. *Looks at the mirror disappointingly*

Hah

I went to uni with an Olympic swimmer and met several high profile ones through him

Almost without exception, they had the maturity levels of a 14 yo because they effectively lived in a bubble and had little social interaction outside the pool deck

I can imagine some cricketers being the same as most of them have been in pathway programs (God, I hate that term) from a very young age

 

[Burgey]

Yeah for sure.

This is a stupid controversy anyway - I think you ought to be able to look up and get guidance from the dressing room anyway. What's the big deal?

That's another question though. It's the rule atm and you have to abide by it. It's like all the subcontinental posters who say ball tampering should be allowed because it's basically been the only way they've been able to be competitive since the day dot - sure the laws should possibly be changed, but they haven't been so you have to abide by them.

 

[cnerd123]

It's still a bit soon and the euphoria hasn't quite settled, but since the Blitz is gonna start today and I'll be quite distracted I'll bring this up now

We shouldn't let this win paper over some very evident cracks:

> For as disciplined India's bowlers were in this Test, and in this season in general, it should not be forgotten that they clearly had no specific plans to any of the Aussie batsmen. None whatsoever. Australia have come prepared for whatever we can throw at them, and expecting to just run through them by shear brute force of spin, bounce, reverse swing and pressure isn't going to work. We got away with it here because they threw away their last few wickets in the first innings and the pitch was basically an unplayable minefield by the time they came out to chase. For the large part they have shown to be adept at getting their pad out of the line, using their feet, and in general being very comfortable to occupy the crease and let the runs come to them. On a flatter surface they could easily score in excess of 400 and then we will be struggling

> Ashwin was poor. I got so caught up in the flurry of wickets in the second innings that I wasn't able to study his mechanics, as I said earlier, but if he's going to keep bowling without the revs and energy on the ball then he will continue to be milked for runs. We could get away with it on a pitch like this if Ashwin can just hold his line and length, but on flatter decks his lack of potency will be a problem. Especially in a 4 man attack.

> Kohli's struggling. Not scoring runs, dropping catches, and some odd decisions here and there. He's too good a player for this to continue (atleast in terms of batting and fielding), and hopefully trying to spark some.controvesy gets him fired up. But this is a definite issue

> India are god awful at using DRS.

> This is a long series. With 3 more tests to come and no fifth bowler, I'm concerned how these guys will hold up. Ashwin is already injured apparently, and we've seen how poor Jaddu, Yadav and Ishant can all look when they aren't fit and firing. Maybe it's time to bring Jayant back into the XI.

Having gotten this out of the way, Lokesh is awesome. Pujara and Jaddu were awesome. Rahane finally scored runs again. Vijay will hopefully be back. Saha is so good behind the stumps. Umesh has genuinely been good so far (not as good as Haze tho IMO and peak Starc this series has been next level). Ishant is going alright.

I'd probably bring Jayant and Vijay in for Nair and Mukund for the next test.

 

[burr]

I'm encouraged to see an Australian poster with the ability to see this in their captain.

I, in turn, am able to see the brilliant batsman in Steve Smith, one that has done incredibly well ability-wise to get from being another in the failed chain of Warne clones to becoming one of the best Test batsmen in the world.

But he is an utter ****. The way he conducts himself on the field is reprehensible (and no, I don't care what Kohli did, this is solely about Smith). Always keen to umpire from second slip, bitch and moan when things don't go his way, and certainly if it had've been an opposition captain looking upstairs for DRS he would've carried on like a 3 year old without his lolly.

I dunno about the possible fabrication from Kohli saying it'd been going on all game but good on him for calling Smith out.

Shane Warne is an utter ****.

Steve Smith is not.

I feel Handscombe could be due next test match.

 

[Burgey]

That's the other thing about Australians though, we don't really care as much about how our sportsmen behave as long as they win



semi srs

Yeah there's a large element of truth in this, though we are a bit selective about it. SK Warne the most obvious example of a great sportsperson getting a free pass to act like a total dick because he's so good at what he does. Same thing ha[[ens with footy players to an extent. Clubs/ administrators make examples of younger, less established blokes for their indiscretions while the true stars get a slap on the wrist and a tribute montage on pay tv at the end of their next game.

 

[Burgey]

It's still a bit soon and the euphoria hasn't quite settled, but since the Blitz is gonna start today and I'll be quite distracted I'll bring this up now

We shouldn't let this win paper over some very evident that cracks:

> For as disciplined India's bowlers were in this Test, and I'm this season in general, it should not be forgotten that they clearly had no specific plans to any of the Aussie batsmen. None whatsoever. Australia have come prepared for whatever we can throw at them, and expecting to just run through them by shear brute force of spin, bounce, reverse swing and pressure isn't going to work. We got away with it here because they threw away their last few wickets in the first innings and the pitch was basically an unplayable minefield by the time they came out to chase. For the large part they have shown to be adept at getting their pad out of the line, using their feet, and in general being very comfortable to occupy the crease and let the runs come to them. On a flatter surface they could easily score in excess of 400 and then we will be struggling

> Ashwin was poor. I got so caught up in the flurry of wickets in the second innings that I wasn't able to study his mechanics, as I said earlier, but if he's going to keep bowling without the revs and energy on the ball then he will continue to be milked for runs. We could get away with it on a pitch like this and if Ashwin can just hold his line and length, but on flatter decks his lack of potency will be a problem. Especially in a 4 man attack.

> Kohli's struggling. Not scoring runs, dropping catches, and some odd decisions here and there. He's too good a player for this to continue (atleast in terms of batting and fielding), and hopefully trying to spark some.controvesy gets him fired up. But this is a definite issue

> India are god awful at using DRS.

> This is a long series. With 3 more tests to come and no fifth bowler, I'm concerned how these guys will hold up. Ashwin is already injured apparently, and we've seen how poor Jaddu, Yadav and Ishant can all look when they aren't fit and firing. Maybe it's time to bring Jayant back into the XI.

Having gotten this out of the way, Lokesh is awesome
Pujara and Jaddu were awesome. Rahane finally scored runs again. Vijay will hopefully be back. Saga is so good behind the stumps. Umesh has genuinely been good so far (not as good as Haze tho IMO and peak Starc this series b's been next level). Ishant is going alright.

I'd probably bring Jayant and Vijay in for Nair and Mukund for the next test.

Is Ranchi a noted bunsen? I mean they'll probably make it one anyway, but based on what he;'s shown so far, I don't think Jayant is much chop tbh.

 

[SteveNZ]

Shane Warne is an utter ****.

Steve Smith is not.

I feel Handscombe could be due next test match.

Cool, that's your opinion. I feel like I'd have plenty in my corner on the fact Smith is (including your countrymen).

One day an Australian captain will be appointed who realises you don't have to be a **** head to be competitive, and it'll create a sea change in not only the way his side plays but how the culture of cricket is formed in that country. And yes, I feel very well qualified to say so as someone who lived, played and coached there.

 

[stephen]

Kohli is possibly the worst human being alive for marring one of the best tests in history with unfounded accusations of cheating. And it makes it twice as bad given his side won. Terrible sportsmanship from a terrible human being.

My other complaint is the terrible pitch. If you want to use the term "cheating" to describe anything, the doctored pitches in this series is about as close as you can get to an entire side cheating. It backfired in the first test but worked in this one. The ball that got Steve Smith out in the second innings should not happen. It removes all skill from the game when wickets like that occur.

Having said that, India played the better cricket and deserved the win. I feel that there were 4 key moments in the game. Ignoring the toss that is (which is massively important on poor pitches like this).

Renshaw's dismissal in the first innings was unnecessary and wasteful. Ditto with S Marsh's wicket. One of those two needed to go on and make a hundred to push India out of the game.

Our bowling in the third innings was the worst in the game. We dropped catches but even more importantly we leaked runs. In a game where every run was vital, we leaked too many.

The final thing which cost us the match was the Warner DRS dismissal. Such a razor fine DRS call dropped us to one review, which probably affected Marsh's decision to walk as well. Warner was very unlucky but Marsh was sawn off. Warner's dismissal was worse than Kohli's IMO in the context of the game.

Four things which combined gave India enough to win. Very disappointing end to a quality test.

Can we get a reasonable pitch for the next test though. I'm a bit over these crap shot bowler dominant pitches.

 

[social]

Australia are so much better at DRS because the bowlers do not buy into their own act.. So so many times when Smith asked the bowler and they immediately explained why they should or shouldn't review.. Something to learn from.

Tbf, Australia were terrible at it for years and have only recently come to any sort of terms with it

India need to learn that "Umpire's Call" skews the whole process in favor of the on field decision

Take Warner's dismissal yesterday

Literally every piece of evidence bar the "Umpire's Call" indicated that it wasn't out but he still had to go

 

[silentstriker]

It's not doctored if both sides have to bat on the same pitch. Australia played better in the first Test in those conditions, so they won. Simple as that.

Secondly, as for Kohli complaining, you say it makes it worse to complain when you've won? Isn't it the other way around cause if India has lost and he said this, he'd have been labeled a sore loser.

 

[silentstriker]

That's another question though. It's the rule atm and you have to abide by it. It's like all the subcontinental posters who say ball tampering should be allowed because it's basically been the only way they've been able to be competitive since the day dot - sure the laws should possibly be changed, but they haven't been so you have to abide by them.

Well I realize that. But in the grand scheme of rules breaking, this is somewhere between a slightly slower over rate and excessive appealing. E.g. I don't give a **** where you looked before you reviewed or not.