FIRST TEST: THE GABBA

Pakistan have played thirty-two Tests in Australia, have won only four, two of which were during World Series Cricket, and won only one in the last thirty-five years. (They had good chances to win in Sydney in 1973 and Sydney in 2010 during the Summer of Kidding Ourselves, but blew both Tests.) Hardly a record that suggests they are comfortable playing in Australia. Nevertheless, if Pakistan get the rub of the conditions they could be hard to beat, especially if Barmy Amir gets the pink pill hooping at night. But my peer-reviewed gut-feeling is that Australia will win the series.

Comments

[Philsgone]

They just dont seem to fire here. If history is a guide, our confidence will continue to grow, until we arrive in India where it will be restored to where it should be.

[Big Ramifications]

Pakistan @the WACA was the first day of Test cricket I saw in my life. Bloke behind me got dragged out by the wallopers for being too drunk and rowdy. I thought it was very funny.

[Big Ramifications]

I like the cut of Yasir's jib. Busy. Reminds me of Brad Hogg, albeit not a CHINAMAN.

[Tony Tea]

Pakistan also had a good chance in Hobart in 99 until Gnome and Gilly got busy.

[Carrot]

Great. Pakistan playing ponderous, uninspired cricket, and have now lost an opening bowler on the first day. I had hopes for some good cricket from them in this series, this isn't going to help.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Pakis should never had three lefties. Amir out is a disaster. Pakis gawn now.
wondering how Dutton let in the team though

[Tony Tea]

Pity about Barmy. He's great to watch when he gets rolling.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Amir bowling now. goes he have work with the WWE?

[Carrot]

Nein using Pink Floyd's "Meddle" in their highlights packages. I approve.

[Tony Tea]

Yes. Meddle would be top movie music.

[m0nty]

Amir must have money on himself for some mo-balls.

[Tony Tea]

I don't know whether Barmy really hurt himself, but "loser's limp" is an expression for when a player makes a mistake and fakes an injury by way of an excuse. Barmy allowed a four then rolled around holding his knee - if he was not actually injured "loser's limp" would fit the bill.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

watching batsman score at will on a batting pitch is boring.

Watching batsmen get out very quickly on a green top is wonderful.

[Tony Tea]

#MoreMinefields

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

you never know if the Pakis have put money on the Opposition . It appears this way. It looked that way in Kiwiland

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

ABC and Nein have recruited poorly. Andrew Moore has done a good job given he calls thugby league. I like Nannes as well. Gerard just doesn't sound right.

[Philsgone]

Well done the Pakis, to a man they shook Hanscombs hand as he came off at tea/dinner/lunch/brekky.

2 out of 3 of the new batsmen will play in Melbourne. the 2 that will play kept the ball on the ground right through their innings, and strong concentartion. Will they go well in India? We shall see

[Philsgone]

Handscomb.

[Big Ramifications]

The Birdman smashes a 6 - almost what you'd call an oldskool hook shot. Smith and Warner loving it in the dressing room.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

no oldskool hook shot it hot you you go back and across and thus hit it down not up.

[Big Ramifications]

And again in English....

[Big Ramifications]

Plumb.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

sorry hook it down

[Big Ramifications]

"no oldskool hook shot it hot you you go back and across and thus hook it down not up."

Makes perfect sense now, cheers.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

not hot but not,

[Carrot]

Missed stumping. David Lyon, meet Matthew Wade. Last time Wade was in the side, Lyon was in and out of it. It took the selectors awhile to realise that the problem wasn't with Lyon, it was the guy at the other end.

[Big Ramifications]

"no oldskool hook shot it not you you go back and across and thus hook it down not up."

Perfect. That should be chiseled in stone.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Are all the nein commentary team witless.

do they not know why Lyon had a fan club now and they call him Garry. Fellahs watch youtube for a hours of Garys by Wade.

[Carrot]

Enforcing the follow-on was surely the way to go here. It's not like you have to worry about your bowlers tiring in the heat of the day. You've just been shot out for 142, no-one got any runs, you're short on confidence - what do you want, now and for the rest of the series? A bit of time to get your head together, and the opportunity for a long leisurely net the following day with the result largely out of the equation. We could knock them over for 100 tomorrow, but what this does is give the Pakistani batsmen time and space to play themselves into form. Never give a sucker an even break.

[Tony Tea]

Apropos to follow-on or not to follow-on, another one for you, Carrot: Decision not to enforce follow-on a lost opportunity driven by fear.

[Tony Tea]

By the way.

I don't know how long comments were disabled, but the reason was simple: I forgot to pay my bill. Or rather, I forgot to update my details.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

On only the only metric we have the Paki and Aussie left-armers are about as fast as each other. The Paki actually has faster back-up and Amir is as good any at swinging the ball.

I am wondering why the short stuff seems to upset the Paki batsmen. I would love a bouncer from power station. Bird swings it but a test batsman should be able to cope. After all it is not as though Lille and Thommo are out of the attack.

I also wonder but shouldn't why the Nein cricket commontators keeping harping about the Aussie speedsters but rarely say that about the Pakis!

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

The Gabba is not showing Wade as a good keeper to spin!

[Carrot]

That's because Wade ISN'T a good keeper to spin!

This is an absolute piss-take. Missed chances aside, this match should have been over on Day 3. Instead we're heading to day 5 with the 'Stornis still an outside chance. Has Smith got Channel 9 shares or something?

[Carrot]

If we lose this - and we could - do they sack Smith, and/or Lehmann?

[Carrot]

Wahab gawn. The mozz, the mozz....

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Carrot,

I was implying just that. Perhaps he was selected so he would Lyons a hero !

The other thing about Wade being in the side is it means there are two people who anyone would find it hard to like

[Tony Tea]

Pukistawn still a big chance. Smith won't get the sack. Lehmann might.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

No test team should ever be able to get 400 runs in the last innings of a test match. It means a dud wicket.

Also IMHO only one hundred should ever be scored alah Kim Hughes at the MCG.

roads should be banned

[Tony Tea]

A dud wicket, and bowlers who don't know how to prise out a pole. Come back, Warnie. Where are ya, Pidge?

[Tony Tea]

Pakistan strolling to the win. Australia bumbling to one of the great chokes. 5 for 173 chasing 490. Jaysus.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

The ABC getting the Lady from the BBC to do the commentary is a great asset.

Match has made the series to be honest

[Tony Tea]

What the hell was that Pakistani batsman doing at the end to get run out? Wake up, mate.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

No different to Younis's shot.

It is hard sometimes not to think bookmakers are involved except for the fact the batting is so bad.

[Philsgone]

So of course we now need an allrounder now. Bullshit. Captain and vice captain can bowl 10 overs. In fact against the tail might have been a good idea.Pitch was flat, they played well. We won. Mind you if we lose the toss on Boxing Day and bowl, might not be pretty.
BTW, less runs scored by 6 & 7 since Nev got the flick.

[Big Ramifications]

Came here to say what Tony Tea said. That was strange. He was looking straight at Smith.

[Carrot]

It wasn't a road. There were footmarks for Lyon to aim at from day 3 (which he managed to avoid very successfully for the rest of the match), and a dismissal like Starc's to get rid of Shafiq at the end would never be possible on a "dud" wicket. This game playing out as it did can be put down to three things: poor strategy from Australia that inexplicably let Pakistan back into the match, good second innings batting from Pakistan, and poor catching from Australia. The conditions were completely blameless.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

you can get footmarks on roads. on the other hand footmarks on a decent wicket would both spin and bounce quite a bit on the last day making a total of 200 look optimistic let alone 450!

[Patterson for Maddinson]

Tones, what was that theme you had going for people remembering famous cricket moments but had the facts all wrong? Rudd had one and I'm pretty sure you did a series.

It's like the Mandela Effect and I want to post on it using your references.

[Carrot]

Pitches haven't been like that for decades, Trampis. And not with any regularity even then. 18 wickets fell here on the first two days, too: not a road.

[Tony Tea]

Here you go, Maddo Patto: GABBA GABBA HEY WHAT?!?

Rudd is a cricket fraud.

[Tony Tea]

Here's another cricket fraud.

[Carrot]

This is absolute gold:

https://youtu.be/fwh5uy7Q69Q

Yet again the Big Bash is showing Nine how to cover the cricket. Fun, informal, but genuinely well-informed with just enough techspertise to keep the purists interested (i.e. a LOT more than Nine) and actually entertaining. I hung on to the bitter end of the Scorchers vs the Strikers, something I would never do for the equivalent ODI or Twenty20 on Nein if the match was a foregone conclusion, just because the commentary wasn't gob-smackingly awful and embarrassing. And seriously - taking the piss out of Mark Waugh on air for his bookmaking indiscretions? Absolutely outstanding. Nein would NEVER allow something like that.

[Tony Tea]

That. Was. Sensational. Well done, Ricky.

[Big Ramifications]

Check out Ricky staring at Mark when he said he couldn't remember.

[Tony Tea]

I'm not sure Ricky was giving Waugh a "yeah, sure" look. It's a bit hard to work out what precisely Rick was thinking.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

watching big bash!! why? It ain't cricket

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

tone, when is the boxing day test post coming up?

[Tony Tea]

Sorry, Homer. Coming right up.

[Big Ramifications]

> "I'm not sure Ricky was giving Waugh a "yeah, sure" look. It's a bit hard to work out what precisely Rick was thinking."

I had considered that too. So now you mention it, I'm on board.

It was a thousand yard stare while he was trying to recall the lyrics, you could almost hear the cogs turning. I think he subconsciously turned towards Mark coz he had the chair.