CB SERIES: SRI LANKA

Game on. I mean, there is a game on.

Comments

[m0nty]

Ten in a row. How many more until people start getting sacked?

[RT]

I think Spanky's alternate 11 posted by m0nty highlights how Hiccup Hilditch and co must be wandering the beaches kicking stones. No one jumps out out at you for immediate selection. Batting is pretty sound. Curwadger and Ferguson will play sooner or later, in ODI's anyway. Paine highlights what a pain Haddin is. But the bowling looks second rate. No young gun screaming "pick me". They're even talking up Lee and Hodge for the ODers. FFS.

They still should burn Hilditch at the stake. Tie Nielsen on there too to save wood.

Ponting needs to keep away from Hiccup at all costs. His compulsive hooking and pulling is resembling the great master.

Clarke reminds me of that group Savage Garden for some reason. You hate him on your TV screen and just want to bash his face in when you do.

[Lou]

Ha, ha, left out Doherty who looks just about the most accurate bowler I've seen for Aus since Clark got a woodenhandshake.

Ha, ha. What a bunch of morons. Only problem is that Clarke wasn't the captain, I love how he said he found the losses 'irritating'. His money is in the bank, he doesn't have to give a toss.

[Hangover Black]

Can someone please send the 9 commentary team a copy of Hussey's innings in Barbados in the T20 semi. It's as if they all missed it. I'm getting sick and tired of them calling him "great runner between the wickets", and "great foil for Cameron White". It's as if they're talking about Michael Clarke.

The only reason he's needed to play the "great runner between the wickets" dig is that the top order has collapsed (again) and he'd prefer not to throw his wicket away.

And if I missed the comment from someone else, then I apologise, but I think we have a new Paper Cut. Come on down Shaun Marsh. If it's not your hammy, it's your back. At least Watto had the excuse that he also bowls. Toughen up, SOS.

[Tony]

X for Ritz, Shtarker for Sizz. (Virutally unintelligible to non-cricket fans.)

[Tony]

HB, I no longer think the Nine commentators dumb down the coverage on purpose.

[Sri]

Great start: wide, dropped catch.

[Russ]

Fun stat for the day:

State	Crowd	SL Ancestry by 2006 census
VIC	19309	34533	56%
NSW	11495	22691	51%
QLD	??	5096	

It isn't raining or mid-week, so you'd expect a few locals to roll up, but still, if only 50% of the Sri Lankan community show up and they make up 80% of the crowd again, that's a crowd of 3000.

And Studs is done over for the lbw first up. May as well take him off now, he won't bowl another ball on the pegs.

[m0nty]

Now that is why we still have faith in Studsy. First ball of his spell is an unplayable wicket ball. Should have been rewarded.

[m0nty]

Alternative nickname for Shaun Marsh: Wetlands.

[m0nty]

Geez that Tugga ad lays it on with a trowel.

[m0nty]

Christ, there are apparently at least four different Tugga ads that will be foisted upon us this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnnieWalkerAus

Meanwhile, Starc gets lucky with two SGW specials, a legside pie and a short and wide wafter.

[Tony]

Shaping up as a typical dead rubber.

[Tony]

The radio commentator has so far refused to ask Craig McDermott about home movies.

[Tony]

The radio commentator has so far refused to ask Craig McDermott about real estate speculation.

[Nick]

Lets see them pop that protractor overlay on murali

[Tony]

Monty, those two wickets went to Crazy Clint, not Shtarker.

[m0nty]

Merrily is being rested this game. They're resting their stars for the third of a three-game series. In Australia. It's a disgrace.

[m0nty]

Ah right, McKay. Do we have a regular nickname for him yet? At this rate he's going to be SGW McKay, as he takes another wicket with an ordinary length ball.

[Tony]

Speaking of rested. Why do CA wonder why fans don't go to practice games?

[m0nty]

Apparently "fastracked" is now a word.

[Tony]

Thanks for the memories:

[Russ]

Turn your back for one second and you miss an entire Marcus North innings. Run out for one.

[Tony]

"Johnson runs away from us with his rich, dark hair." No wonder he is running away.

[m0nty]

Should have been a bye against Klutzy there.

[Tony]

Blockbuster crowd, when you count the coloured seats. There's an idea for the MCG and SCG.

[Tony]

WA collapsing like Australia.

[Russ]

Reasonable start from Starc. Nice if he was 5-10 km/h faster though.

[Tony]

Precisely, Russ. All the bowlers coming through the shield - Hazlewood, Starc, George, etc - are seemingly well schooled, tall and a threat at first class level, but lack the killer pace edge for international cricket. Fingers crossed one of them can find a few klicks.

[m0nty]

Perhaps they are schooled that way to avoid breaking down with injury. Though that doesn't seem to stop them breaking down with injury.

[m0nty]

Funny to see Lankan supporters at the Gabba with signs talking up the Lions.

[Tony]

If the Shrees think they are star player short of winning the World Cup, they can always recruit Virus Fevola. I'm sure the Brisbane Lions would be keen to trade. Out: Fevola. In: Fernando.

[Russ]

Mind you, as McGrath showed, height + accuracy + a little movement can be sufficient. Any left hander who can shape it in and hit the spot will get a load of wickets.

[Tony]

You know me - not given to snap judgements, no knee jerking, cautious to a fault. Out: Dud Stud. In: Shtarker.

[Tony]

8 down. Danger time.

[Tony]

When was the last time both Kumar at No.3 and Jaya made blobs in the same innings?

[Tony]

All out 115. Sri Lanka are rubbish. Oh, that's right.

[Tony]

No need to worry about the captaincy, the batting, the bowling, the fielding, the Ashes or the future of Aussie cricket. Australia are back in town.

[Tony]

Mo ball! Wide! Mo ball! Fernando is spot fixing.

[Tony]

Hypothetical. Do the rules allow the chasing side an extra half hour to bat into the dinner break if the umpires feel the side batting second is set to win the match? What do you say about that, Tony Grieg? Surely you agree it is in the best interests of cricket to get the match over and done with, rather than drag proceedings out the other side of the dinner break.

And while you are at it, Tony. Why do Queensland matches start at 1:20, not 2:20? Can't be because of daylight savings. The Gabba has lights, so the match should start at 2:20 like in Sydney and Melbourne. What's that, you say? Nine want the match to go to air at the usual time in Victoria and New South Wales where the most viewers live? Gotcha. Good of that game, and all that.

[Tony]

The Challenge! Say Narangoda Liyanaarachchilage Thisara Chirantha Perera through a mouthful of Saladas.

[m0nty]

I don't wish to alarm anyone, but New Zealand has India two wickets down for one run after only trailing by 28 runs on the first innings.

[Tony]

Make that three wickets down.

[m0nty]

And now the Wall nicks one, three for two!

[m0nty]

At this stage, Chris Martin has scored more with the bat today than the first five Indian batsmen.

[m0nty]

TLM plays on, 4/15! Wowee!

[m0nty]

It was TLM-out-all-out in the first innings (3/383 became 10/459) so I wonder how they will cope with him getting skittled at 4/15.

[Russ]

Gone, The Little MasterFlat Track Bully. India need Laxman to save their arses again.

[m0nty]

Holy crap, 5/15! Martin is on FIYAH!

[Tony]

I hope we don't face NZ any time soon, otherwise we would be looking at falling even further down the rankings.

[m0nty]

Kebabs gets a ripsnorter from Martin and does well to parry it into the ground in front of slips, then almost gets done lbw to an inswinger that beat him for movement but was going over. Martin is a beast!

[TKYCraig]

Need to mark this piece of commentary down for the record, I think. A perfect piece of commentators curse...

"Avi Singh: "There surely can't be a better time for SRT (TLM) to silence the doubters and reach Test century number 50, the context would make this another special one to remember"
8.1 Martin to Tendulkar, no run, 134.6 kph, short, outside off, left alone
8.2 Martin to Tendulkar, no run, 130.0 kph, fuller, shaping in, Tendulkar forces it to cover
8.3 Martin to Tendulkar, OUT, 134.3 kph, Martin is on absolute fire! Inswinger from outside off, Tendulkar doesn't quite cover the swing and pushes at it away from the body, gets a tick edge, onto the leg stump. Chris Martin is bowling the spell of his life. He is loving it

[Tony]

I guess if the Himalayas are in your backyard, you may as well have a relief map instead of a pitch map; even if it is outrageously gaudy and completely overcooks the idea of showing where the balls are landing on the pitch.

[Russ]

The irony of showing the rankings is that if New Zealand was to beat India they'd get less points for it than Australia would have for winning in Mohali...

Kebab playing by the numbers, dodgy attempt at a block, followed by an ugly slog.

[m0nty]

Martin strikes again, Kebabs plays on! India 6/65 with a lead of 93.

[m0nty]

I had a kebab today from Lambs on Lygon St. Bloody hell it was good.

[Russ]

Martin gets Kebab just before stumps. 65/6. 93 ahead.

Martin, 5/16 off 10.5 overs.

Some batting to come, but not much.

[Russ]

Lambs is good. That was a dead-set useless shot from Kebab though. Martin put everything into it, it barely got up to his chest, outside off stump, and he played it like he was facing Ambrose in Perth.

[Russ]

Christ almighty, what's the world coming to? Touching bats AND gloves after a four. What next, helmets?

[David Barry]

"it barely got up to his chest"

The players there have had almost four solid days of conditioning their muscle memory to balls that haven't reached the waist....