SECOND TEST: THE SACA

A pink ball, a night session, and two English bowlers who are lethal in English conditions: is there no end to the hospitality of Cricket Australia and the valued broadcaster? Fingers crossed Australia is clever enough to organise when they bat.

Comments

[Philsgone]

Oh well another hoodoo to be debunked - bat first and win this time around. 2 tosses to Joe. Lets save them up till we need one.

[Carrot]

Morning, er - evening all. 15 degrees in Adelaide at the moment. Properly cold for Australian conditions. Has it ever been so cold under lights in a day/night match? SURELY it’ll move around under lights later on.

[Carrot]

Where’s Bill Lawry? Has he retired?

[Carrot]

This is shit from Channel 9. Overton, who has been expensive but was making things happen, was bowling badly. Khawaja, who was missing lfull bungers and playing “get out” shots all through that last over, has “really improved against spin”. Against a glorified part-timer with an injury, what’s more. I don’t mind them cheer-leading to a point, but I do mind them making shit up. Is the average cricket viewer really that stupid?

[The Mongrel]

There is more than a hint of desperation in the boosting of Khawaja's batting against spin.

Uzzie's "shot" to the full toss, where he pointed the bat at it and very nearly spooned it straight to slip, is one of the worst I've ever seen from a first class player.

[Carrot]

Right on. It reminded me of that shocking dismissal of Chris Rogers from Graeme Swann a few years back in England. Waist-high full toss that he somehow managed to miss, and was out elbee, except replays showed would have missed leg stump comfortably.

The other thing that has to be mentioned is that Ali stretches the definition of “spinner” to breaking point on occasion. That over was just shocking cricket all round - Khawaja obviously nervous, could have got himself out more than once, and Ali just served up a bucket of slop for the second half. A decent club spinner could have done better. I know he’s not 100% fit, but he does this all the time - you’re never far away from a half-tracker or rancid full toss with Maureen. Twenty years ago we watered down the definition of wicket keeper. Now it’s “spinner”.

[Carrot]

Anderson has already pushed the “pissy little bitch” button. Great bowler, fantastic record, particularly in the second half of his career, but I’ve never liked this about him. When things don’t go his way he’s just a mess.

[Philsgone]

They are so focused on Smivvy that Ussie will get a ton without breaking into a sweat. If he keeps his head down, its a no brainer.

[Carrot]

2 out of 21 runs in front of square from Handscome. He doesn't inspire much confidence.

[Tony Tea]

Kept a weather eye on proceedings today. Slow but interesting. Have no idea how this one will play out. 200 for 4 is reasonable after being sent in in swingy conditions, and the fact SOS and Cab held on through the lights to stumps is good. New rock first thing tomorrow - here's hoping we can chalk up some more solid runs.

[Carrot]

I think it was either naive or defensive from Root to send us in. Naive if he thought he could run through us under lights. Defensive if he wanted to "get in" to the match before he exposed his top order to the pink ball. Either way, if you send a side in and they're still batting by the end of Day 1 (give or take the rain), I think you've made a mistake, whether it's a day/night match or not. England "took" 3 wickets today. Not what you want when you've won the toss. We could fold quickly tomorrow, but I think we're comfortably ahead of the game at the moment.

PS - SOS looks solid, doesn't he? Never seen him look so confident. Handscomb, not so much. They're both still there though, which is what counts.

[The Mongrel]

“High & Wide” Handscomb looked like an old spinster trying to defend her honour at the crease today. I lost count of the number of runs nicked through the slips.

Still,as Napoleon said, send me lucky Generals.

[Tony Tea]

Call that man a "Cab".

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

well tony there are two things in life you cannot avoid. death and taxis!!

A great man said ( me of course) the poms will not get us out twice in a test match. They simply do not have the bowlers in Auatralia.

you win the toss and bowl in bowler friendly conditions and bowl short???

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

even Awstraya

[The Mongrel]

If memory serves, Australia has lost a wicket without adding to the score after each break so far this Test.

Bancroft, Khawaja and Hanscomb.

Looks like Clarke Time has moved to after the break😀

[Tony Tea]

Clarke Time started out as getting out in the last over of a session, but expanded to 10 minutes either side of a major break, with mini Clarke Time the over either side of a drinks break or rain delay.

[Philsgone]

Ahh the peaceful feeling of a middle order that can add 100 odd runs. Smarsh slow and steady, just like we have asked for the last couple of years. I think the poms are not going to know what hit them tonight, and Lippy will roar on this day 5 wicket, if it lasts that long.

[Tony Tea]

Day 5 in Addle Aide is often the best of the summer Tests.

[Tony Tea]

And now effing Starc is out first over after lunch. This is bizarre.

[The Mongrel]

Runs scored, but still a wicket falls the first over after Tea.

[Tony Tea]

Is the Luncheon Adjournment the Teaeon Adjournment? And if so, does that make the nighttime break the Dinnereon Adjournment?

[Tony Tea]

Bancroft 3rd ball after rain
Warner 7th ball after lunch
Khawaja 4th ball after tea
Handscomb 3rd ball of day
Starc 6th ball after lunch

5 Clarke Time dismissals out of 7

[Tony Tea]

Michael "Memo" Slater.

[Carrot]

Nein is really talking up Australia's chances here, and sure, you'd rather have this score on the board than not. I can't help but think that we haven't been proactive enough, though. We can't say that we're really in a dominant position her until we've got at least 500 on the board, and even then - 2006/7, anyone??

[Tony Tea]

The equation shifts with night sessions.

[Carrot]

Well played, SOS.

[Philsgone]

May I say 2 things to the Aussie selectors
1. Complete bullshit for Paine and SOS to be picked.
2. Bloody good job, though. All is forgiven, at least until the next fiasco, which as we know will not be far away.

[Philsgone]

Does anyone else think Smivvy "gifted" his wicket to Overton so he could tell his grandkids Steve Smith was his first test wicket? That was a seird shot he played.

[Philsgone]

weird

[Carrot]

Who declares in the first dig at 442? That's a "good" total, nothing more. They needed 500, or at least another half hour. Surely you shouldn't declare for less than a total that's going to need you to bat again, otherwise there's no point - particularly when there's 25 overs left in the day!

[Big Ramifications]

I'm not a hater.... But for those who want him to just go away, Smarsh must be like the turd that just won't flush. I feel your pain, Carrot. :)

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

you know you are a poor bowler when Marsh scores a ton albeit with dubious DRS decisions. i am curious why the ICC uses a technology the user says doesn't do what they think it does.

This will be a short test and the Ashes are ours.

When will Warne says Woakes can't bat ,can't bowl and can't field?

[Philsgone]

Pom bowler rating 2.5 stars. Our bowlers 4 stars. Probably generous to the poms.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Does two stars mean they are a pompom?

[Pajax]

Smith is our Ajax refusing the help of the gods by not enforcing the follow on.

Now comes our collective punishment.

[Carrot]

Welcome to England, boys and girls. This is why we can’t win there, and they can’t win here. They’ve got half a session to make the best of this, and then they’re done.

[Carrot]

Interesting to note that it’s noticeablely hooping around under lights for the first time since the inaugural day-nighter here against the Kiwis. I thought that was a measure of the fact that the conditions had been normalised somehow, and that they’d tinkered with the ball or something since that match. Now I’m thinking that we just haven’t seen an attack since then that uses swing as its primary weapon so much (as opposed to pace, bounce or seam), and that other attacks, including ours, just aren’t built in a way that are going to get the most out of it.

[Philsgone]

Chapelli mentioned its the warmest of the 3 nights, and that helps swing? Probably a few physicists out there who could argue the point

[Carrot]

Yeah, I wondered about that, too. Is there a temperature window for swing? Everyone’s always talked about cloud cover and humidity, but I’ve never heard a conversation about temperature.

Personally I think it’s mostly the ball, and that everything else contributes, but not as much as you’d think. They’re not all identical, they’re made of leather, they change shape, they pick up moisture, I’m sure the secret to a swinging ball is mostly just picking the right one out of the box.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

more the humidity associated with the warmness.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

you wouldn't know the pommies have the most experienced opening bowling pair in the world. bowled short when the ball was swinging in the first innings. When the Aussies are petrified of swing as it is now they still bowl the wrong line!

[Pajax]

Only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself or some form of perverse and reverse White privilege can explain the ongoing selection of our Uzzie.

[Carrot]

Handscomb. The man who scored quite possibly the worst-ever 30-odd in the history of the game in the first dig. This does not bode well.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

a ball which is an inswinger and which is going to hit the stumps cannot pitch outside the legstunp. It aint possible. DRS is crap

[Carrot]

You know what this shows? That we DIDN'T SCORE ENOUGH IN THE FIRST DIG. Fuck's sake.

[Tony Tea]

What was that I wrote about "Fingers crossed Australia is clever enough to organise when they bat"?

[Tony Tea]

And yes, the first innings declaration was classic NGASAEB.

[Pajax]

Two stupid Captain calls apiece.

Who will be declared king of the dunces?

[Philsgone]

We will be bowling last. Lippy will sort things out. Relax. It will be gun barrel straight today. Goes to show that pace isnt everything, moving the ball is.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Can someone tells the nein commentary reams cricket does not have batters. It has batsman and batswomen. ( yes I am a new age kind of guy!!)

[2BarRiff]

Our cricketing ego is taking a battering though.

[Carrot]

If we get out of jail here, I think I’ll almost be annoyed. We deserve to have our dopes roped here, and nothing more.

[Carrot]

I will say this: even though we’ve created this situation artificially by stupidity and poor execution, it is good to see some meaningful cricket being played. This has been good, cat and mouse stuff since I tuned in this morning.

[Carrot]

And literally as I pressed “post” Vince gone. We can’t say that hasn’t been coming,

[The Mongrel]

Smiffy’s jerkiness at the crease yesterday made me think the Robotic Richard Simmons had been released.
https://youtu.be/HtDvs4J0Z0A

[Carrot]

Lyon carries a Warne-seque air about him these days. He doesn’t hope, he knows. He really is a completely different bowler from a few seasons ago.

[Carrot]

Jesus, Warne-ESQUE. Stupid mobile! Corrected an auto-correct, but not enough. It wanted to say "Warne-sequel". Which, all things considered, isn't too far from what I was trying to say anyway.

[Philsgone]

The more I watch the fewer wickets we take. Time for bed and I will leave them to it. Mr Root has his chance here, lets see if he can take it.

[Carrot]

Wow, bring Malan on from both ends!

[Carrot]

Pat Cummins!! Get ‘im up here, I wanna boof ‘im!!

[Rex Munday]

Smith's brainless decision to not enforce the follow on will go down as a bigger mistake than Ponting's idiotic decision to bowl at Edgebaston in 2005.

Since Steve Waugh, Australia has had a series of captains with a belief in themselves that transcends reality. The lack of wisdom is astonishing.

Root put Australia in so his bowlers could have two digs at them because Australia are prone to catastrophic collapses. It's that simple. He knows that if he plays an orthodox series, trying to win one session at a time, he'll eventually just lose slowly. A bit like doing a grand on poker machine a dollar at a time versus putting the thousand bucks on black at the roulette table.

Smith is an A-grade clown at captaincy. Why woudl Australia try to win with its batting and not its bowling? Who in their right mind would attmept to land the knock out blow with their weakness, isntead of their strength? Seriously.

The three quicks had bowled about 18 overs each, had Lyon trundling in from one end, had just had two rests at dinner and the innings break, it was twilight and they would've had a new ball. Instead, Smith let England's seamers bowl in perfect bowling conditions, jsut so that they could bat the next day in perfect batting conditions. Un-farking-believable.

[Carrot]

I wasn't suprised at all that he didn't enforce the follow-on. We've been follow-on shy since 2001 and to be fair, it seems to have worked for us. It should have, mind you - because if you're in the position to do it you're already in a dominant position anyway.

My biggest gripe was the early declaration, that's the key mistake for me, and I think that's why we're looking at potential defeat here, not because of the follow-on. We needed 50 more and could have got them quickly and easily the way things were going. We get those fifty, England are chasing closer to 400 regardless of whether we collapse in the second innings or not.

Still, for either or both these tactical blunders, we can probably be grateful that it's given us something decent to watch, if not for the rest of the series then at least a day or two. Did we REALLY want to see a victory lap around the country and entirely one-sided cricket?

[Rex Munday]

The 2001 incident was completely different. It was India. The bowlers were tired out by the heat. This wasn't going to happen in the evening in Adelaide.

I want to see 5-0. Trying to be magnaminous is a losers game. The Poms aren't fools, not are they children. Treating them like kids who need a helping hand will end up in disaster. And this will.

The scoreboard in Brisbane did not reflect the reality of how close these two teams were.

Smith is an arrogant twit and the Poms are about to make him pay.

[Philsgone]

Tied test anyone?
Joe can get his hundred, then valiantly fall pre tea. Clearly their bowlers can move the pink ball more than ours can. Good thing this test is the last we shall see of it.

[Pajax]

100% concur, Rex.

Smith is an impetuous captain at times and here we will all pay the price.

[Tony Tea]

Smith certainly looks like a boofhead. And I've noticed nothing to suggest he's the second coming of Lord Brearley.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Fantastic captaincy on display in this test.
Great decision to bowl first and say nothing to the bowlers who were bowling way too short. wonderful decisions to declare too early and then wait just when the ball would swing to get out which was bound to happen when no enforcement of the follow on.

The Poms are very reliant on Root. Can I just add I love the barmy army.

[2BarRiff]

Buried beneath the rage, there is a small amount of comfort in expecting a very Australian batting collapse and then watching it happen.

[2BarRiff]

If we end up winning, however doubtful it seems, it will be because we run through England quickly. History will record a win of +/- 100 runs and Smith will look like a genuis.

[2BarRiff]

England's second innings is still better than Australia's second innings.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

Smith is now an absolute genius.

Poms won't win a test. Wrong Overton is here. They simply have no-one who is fast. They cannot bowl out Australia twice. Their batting is limp. Stoneman can't play Lyons, Vince simply hasn't the class for test cricket. Malan is stubborn but can't get big runs. too much hangs on Root.

[Philsgone]

Englands first innings was 215 less than ours. That was the game. Our quicks did a great job today, just too good. Piutch was an absolute beauty, a classic bottleable example and should be the model for all dropins in every ground. Per th will be flat, so if the poms can muster the run=s, they may survice. Taking 20 wickets is going to be very difficult for them as Moeen is handicapped and the others dont seem to have the capacity to knock us over in clumps

[Philsgone]

Perth, runs, survive. May improve previous comment

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

yep a great cricket wicket. good for bowlers and batsman.
Flat wickets which is what has occurred at Perth this season are bad for cricket.

[Carrot]

So, two tactical blunders (or sort of one and a half for mine, I've already made my feelings clear on that point) that let England back in the game, and we still belted them. The whitewash is on.

[Rex Munday]

Ah well, maybe the Poms are children. Still a dreadful decision.

[Tony Tea]

No matter which way you spin it, apart from two sessions out of 13, we pumbled them.

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

as we always were going to do under our conditions.

If the WACA is a flat wicket i might it it a miss until we best the poms at the MCG and then again in sydanee

[Ronchomick]

I've lost count. Which SOKO are we up to?

[I am and will always be Not Trampis]

On a completely separate matter am I the only person who loves Boycs as a commentator. Like Bill Lawry he is totally opposite to the boring dour batsman who played cricket.

Irony. Botham was fantastic to watch and Boycs not so yet they almost have a personality changeover as commentators. Same for Banaud and Lawry.

[Tony Tea]

It's like the coaching thing - the great players are less likely to make great coaches than the average players.