FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
And just as I say that, Hayden takes a blinder and Bracken has a much deserved wicket.
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***Official*** West Indies in Australia
- Thread starter James
- Start date
Mike Hussey
U19 12th Man
Yeah, very unlucky today, on days like these when he plays for NSW, he would of had 5 or 6 wickets.
Mike Hussey
U19 12th Man
Take a look and Chanderpauls batting stance, its worse than ever before.
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
It's unorthodox, but it works for him.
Anyway, both Lee and Bracken have been excellent today. Lee in particular has really impressed me. I've never seen him bowl so consistently accurately in a test match. 15 runs from 8 overs, with a wicket and plenty of plays and misses as well.
Anyway, both Lee and Bracken have been excellent today. Lee in particular has really impressed me. I've never seen him bowl so consistently accurately in a test match. 15 runs from 8 overs, with a wicket and plenty of plays and misses as well.
vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
It's pretty easy to bowl when you've got 500 to defend.FaaipDeOiad said:
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Actually, I think if you're Brett Lee it's probably harder to bowl with the discipline he has today when you're defending 500. The temptation would be to blaze away and try anything for a wicket, but he's stuck to line and length and relegated his variations to just that, variations. The pitch could be flatter and the batting could be better, but that doesn't alter the fact that he's been very good in both spells.vic_orthdox said:
Yeah he's bowled well. But i think Lee struggles a bit when he goes for too much pace. I think his early spell today was his best, when he was consistently bowling around the 137 mark and getting a bit of movement thru the air. He loses that when he tries to bowl to quick. And I don't think it was just a case of the ball being new, cos Brackens bowling about the same pace and still getting good movement.
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Wow, two huge wickets there, pretty much put the game to bed. 2 each for Bracken and Lee now.
Slow Love™
International Captain
Well, my bloody hard-drive got fried, and I haven't been around for a couple of days. A few observations:
a) Ponting sometimes captains like he has a team of losers. He operates like he has no faith in his bowlers to knock over a a team cheaply that they just dismissed 200 runs behind, and like he has no faith in his batsmen to chase a target, no matter how small. I guess people's evaluation of his captaincy in this regard will depend on whether they think he's right to have such low confidence in his players. Obviously Australia has had some bad experiences chasing small totals over the last decade or so, but they've also knocked some off with consumate ease. I don't expect him to cop stick over the declaration or follow-on though, because it seems like this will only happen when the team loses (in which case, he's a fine captain... and then suddenly, he's bad).
b) Chanderpaul should have batted first. Not that it would have necessarily changed the result, but IMO, you bat first unless you have a really, really good reason to send the opposition in. Given Australia's obvious desire to bat first, he should have ensured they didn't get what they most enjoy - the opportunity to post a good total and then pressurise and dominate the opposition for the rest of the match.
c) This is just my opinion, but given that Ponting didn't enforce the follow-on, and was willing to pad out to a lead of 500 or so, wouldn't it have been better maybe to demote himself down the order and give the middle order a bit of a hit under a minimum amount of pressure in order to hopefully get them some much-needed confidence? Dunno. He'd already made a century in the match already, and Katich, Clarke and Watson could maybe have done with the extra time at the crease.
d) I reckon Bracken's played all right this game. This team has been in dire need of someone very economical to tie things up in support of the strike bowlers. Wouldn't mind seeing him given a bit of a go for a while, spinning tracks aside.
e) How serious is Watson's injury? I had the sound down, and he left the field clutching his arm as if it was dislocated.
a) Ponting sometimes captains like he has a team of losers. He operates like he has no faith in his bowlers to knock over a a team cheaply that they just dismissed 200 runs behind, and like he has no faith in his batsmen to chase a target, no matter how small. I guess people's evaluation of his captaincy in this regard will depend on whether they think he's right to have such low confidence in his players. Obviously Australia has had some bad experiences chasing small totals over the last decade or so, but they've also knocked some off with consumate ease. I don't expect him to cop stick over the declaration or follow-on though, because it seems like this will only happen when the team loses (in which case, he's a fine captain... and then suddenly, he's bad).
b) Chanderpaul should have batted first. Not that it would have necessarily changed the result, but IMO, you bat first unless you have a really, really good reason to send the opposition in. Given Australia's obvious desire to bat first, he should have ensured they didn't get what they most enjoy - the opportunity to post a good total and then pressurise and dominate the opposition for the rest of the match.
c) This is just my opinion, but given that Ponting didn't enforce the follow-on, and was willing to pad out to a lead of 500 or so, wouldn't it have been better maybe to demote himself down the order and give the middle order a bit of a hit under a minimum amount of pressure in order to hopefully get them some much-needed confidence? Dunno. He'd already made a century in the match already, and Katich, Clarke and Watson could maybe have done with the extra time at the crease.
d) I reckon Bracken's played all right this game. This team has been in dire need of someone very economical to tie things up in support of the strike bowlers. Wouldn't mind seeing him given a bit of a go for a while, spinning tracks aside.
e) How serious is Watson's injury? I had the sound down, and he left the field clutching his arm as if it was dislocated.
Slow Love™
International Captain
Looking very plausible at the mo...Pratyush said:
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Again, Lee gets a wicket. Fast, accurate bouncers, followed by a length delivery that moves away off the pitch and gets the edge. Brilliant bowling.
Slow Love™
International Captain
LOL, that's actually along the lines of what I was thinking. You always tend to look a little more friendly and less arrogant when you're being beaten. This is not a direct criticism of the Aussies in particular, just a general statement.Top_Cat said: