SECOND TEST: PERTH STADIUM

After the tight First Test, talk has moved onto the stock topic for a Perth Test, the pitch - currently, according to reports, green, bouncy, send them in, auto-publish - and how India may play four fast bowlers and take the edge into the Second Test. Of course, this is not the WACA, so the pitch is an unknown for a Test. Doubtless India's quicks bowled better that Australia's quicks in Adelaide, but the not insignificant factor is that Ravi Ashwin bowled more than 86 overs out of 218, continually keeping it tight and continually proving a threat, especially to the left handers. Without Ashwin controlling one end, it's a stretch to imagine India's fast bowlers providing as much of a threat without the axle around which its bowlers rotate. There is even, if you can believe it, talk that Australia has doctored the pitch, that CA instructed the Perth Stadium curator to prepare a lively deck. When has CA ever demanded a lively deck? CA's only ever pitch-related demand is that a Test lasts five days; especially in Perth where CA still have nightmares about craters, ravines, crevasses and Tawny's lost keys. Nevertheless, when the curator say “They want to see this place fly. That’s like an early Christmas present for me. To get that fear in the eyes of the opposition turning up and seeing it fly ... beautiful” you wonder whether CA is starting to feel the heat after a string of poor results. Has the Value Broadcast Partner demanded a win? Whatever has happened behind the scenes, the First Test has set up an enticing series.

Comments

[Tony Tea]

I left a comment here:

My theory is that - and I'm talking about Australian batsmen - from the mid Nineties to the mid Noughties Australia was in drought, and thus rarely, if ever played in seaming conditions at home, while away from home international bowling was pretty weak. The glut of runs scored by Australian batsman going hard at average bowlers on flat decks, coupled with Warne and McGrath winning Tests for Australia for fun, lured everyone into a false sense of superiority. CA in particular misread our standing, and got ahead of itself. Who was it who said "Take cricket for a mug and it will make you a mug"? Brian Close? That's where we are at currently. It remains to be seen whether Australian cricket can recapture its strength in light of CA's consistent fiddling with the game.

[Philsgone]

Ashwin was worth an extra 40 runs to their score in Adelaide, so we now have the chance to score these runs in Perth. Also if we are playing an opening batsman in the middle order as expected, why not pick a middle order batman to lay there?

[Philsgone]

or play there

[I am Not Trampis]

Well Tonee you left a comment with Fake News. If it wasn't GH writing then it was a waste of time.
My Kumarent is https://nottrampis.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-second-tert.html

shortish. Aussies flatter to decieve. If they cannot bat in OZ where can they bat.
very impressed with Indian quicks that gave us curry.
Who will India go with?
My guess is the Batsman who can also bowl a bit. Cook in his last innings and rot. And also Kumar who can swing it around and bat a bit. That would be a conservative selection Yadav would be an aggressive selection.

They are not all rounders I hasten to add.
mitchell Marsh is one. As Warney would say He can't bat, can't bowl and can't field!

[I am Not Trampis]

They used these 4 bowlers in south Africa and won.

I like the attitude of selecting a tram they think will win the test rather than not losing it after they won the 1st test.

If Pant underperforms would he be an underpant?

[I am Not Trampis]

A criticism of the bowling strategies of the Indian bowlers.
They automatically bowl around the wicket to the lefthanders. This only makes sense if you are swinging, cutting or spinning the ball too much.

If you are capable of swinging the ball into the lefthander like shami can do you are not only curtailing that swing it does not go as late.
Moreover you are cresting damage on the pitch for an off-spinner to exploit against right hand batsmen.

Not same 4 bowlers either. whoopsy

[Philsgone]

Can anyone remember when our openers made it through the first session of a test? Well done those two. Mind you the stop start nature of the scoring is concerning. It builds pressure.
Keep those quick singles happening.

[I am Not Trampis]

Kholi is not much of a skipper.
Yadav bowling first after lunch. If he was bowling around 150k like he used maybe but probably not. Attempting at best 140k
inaccurate outswingers is madness.

[Philsgone]

As long as we dont lose a wicket things are fine. We no longer appear to have a capacity to have a middle order partnership of meaningful value

[Carrot]

No pictures here, my dodgy website is down - is the pitch as lively as they said it was going to be?

[Carrot]

SOS is 677 runs behind his Dad’s tally as I type. Will he pass him? He’s already ahead of him on hundreds scored and batting average. You’d back him to do that, but at 35 with a very dodgy away record he’s probably in his last run in the side, i.e. if they drop him at any point they probably won’t pick him again.

The Marshes have produced a pretty decent legacy, you’d have to say. A father and two sons in the national cricket team, and a daughter in the national netball side. I don’t know much about the daughter, but they’ve got plenty to be proud of as a family. Funny that they’ve done well without ...... really doing THAT well though.

[Carrot]

India leaking runs badly, here. This is beginning to look like and Indian tour of old, where they just couldn’t maintain any sort control with the ball. They have absolutely missed Ashwin. We’re barely into this match of course, but it shows you how if you take out a key player or two and ANY side is pretty ordinary - we witnessed that in the glory years whenever Warne and McGrath weren’t available. Was it 2003/4 when Warne was still banned and McGrath wasn’t around for whatever reason and India racked up 700 against us at the SCG? Eurgh, it was HORRIBLE.

[Carrot]

Aw jeez, the Mozz, the Mozz..... guess I should have checked the score before I pressed post on that one.....

[Carrot]

“Cummins has got to be the best number 8 in world cricket, hasn’t he???” ..... With an average of 20 and one fifty to his name. It’s clear that Channel 7 are not immune to over-excitable bullshit either.

[I am Not Trampis]

Mitchell Marsh has to be the greatest all rounder of all time surely!

If you put on a 100 opening partnership the test us yours but this Aussie team shows further ways to not win a test easily.
Why oh why did Kholi pick Yadav?

for those interested My match is off because of rain and I suspect most will be awf.
I don't think My game on Sunday will go ahead either.
That will make a total of 5 days play I have missed. Funny old weather here.

[Tony Tea]

Currently basking in the glow of rightness of my prematch prediction vis a vis Ashwin.

[I am Not trampis]

This is not a good cricket pitch.

Cracks on the very first day,
pleeeez

[I am Not Trampis]

the Indians get to the tail and start bowling short.

why? Poor captaincy and coaching

[Tony Tea]

Kohli is a shit skipper. Tactician, anyway.

[I am Not Trampis]

Tonee two nouns together??

There are very few decent captains. I have seen only two decent ones for OZ

[Carrot]

We’re in trouble here. Looking very toothless indeed.

[I am Not Trampis ( Supercoach??)]

For anyone interested this is the reason for Starc's woes.
Starc needs to come in and have his right foot pointed at first slip. This means running in at an angle so the ball starts outside of the stumps and swings in. It also means he must be side on.
He did this only twice yesterday

Please notice when he is 'off colour'
He comes in straight and his foot is pointed at the WK.
If it is easy to overs come this in Junior cricket why is it so hard at terst level?

[Tony Tea]

Here at the AGB Terst has a capital T. (And no r.)

[I am Not Trampis]

Mate I had to rush off and umpire which was unbelievable given Sydanee's weather at present

[Carrot]

We’ve had a really good series so far, and a good balance between bat and ball - how often have we been able to say that lately? By comparison with recent series’ slugfests, this has been much more absorbing cricket. I was genuinely depressed about the sate of Test cricket in Australia with regards to the conditions at the end of last season but I like what I see so far here. It shouldn’t be easy to trot up 400+ scores in Test cricket. So much for “bad” pitches.....

If we can nick a win here and maybe a win for the series, we will have done exceptionally well. This batting line-up without Warner and Smith is the very definition of make-shift. I can’t see the Shrees giving us much trouble, and if these guys come out of the series with something, we will have a group of players with some decent experience of Test cricket that wouldn’t have otherwise got it this early, and possibly something to build on in the future.

[Carrot]

Something funny happened with my cricinfo app earlier on, btw - I logged on and it showed 4/180 when we were actually 3/110. Not sure whether it was something from yesterday flashing up, but either way I think if we make it to 180 tomorrow without losing another wicket, we’ll be well on the way to having won the match.

[I am Not Trampis]

The app was not apt!!
The decision on Kholi was strange.
An umpire can only give a batsman out if he is certain he is out. Now I am going on the CA highlights but the Sri Lankan umpire who should be gardening could not have possibly known if it were a catch or not. The Third umpire could not see what everyone else could and it hit the ground in the end it did not matter if he was uncertain Kholi should have been given not out.

By the way the pitch I umpired was dry as a bone and had cracks in which given the rain we have had is simply mindblowing. The council is simply not even giving the pitch are any water at all.

[Tony Tea]

I don't call him "Hat rack" Dharmasena for nothing.

[I am Not Trampis]

I concur completely. Get him of the Umpires panel.

By the way have a look at the Umpire at the Bowling end when btrhe ball is hit. Look at how many times he actually looks back and sees whether the bat has crossed the popping crease.

The very last test some ten years ago I saw two short runs and then looked at the umpire who only watched the ball.

He had dark skin

[Philsgone]

The more tech, the less on field umpiring. There is a direct correclation.

[Tony Tea]

It's like council planning departments - they just refer everything to VCAT.

[Philsgone]

I cant tell who is the tortoise and who is the hare in this innings, though our run rate indicates strong tortoise like behaviour. On that basis, its a winning strategy, at least according to Aesop. Mind you, the Greeks didnt have their two best batsmen out of the side.

[Carrot]

Why has the pitch suddenly turned into a minefield after lunch?

[I am not trampis]

You shouldn't bowl all the short stuff at tailenders.
Shami looks as though he was bowling at 170k when taking his wickets!

[Carrot]

I think Starc and Hazlewood could well have just won us the match with that partnership. The difference between 250 and pushing 300 on this deck could make a lot of difference.

[I am Not Trampis]

Nah Yadav has cost India this test match. his selection given his inaccuracy and his lack of pace was inexplicable.

Why have the bowlers bowled quicker at Adelaide where it was slow than in perth where it is relatively fast?

[Carrot]

Eurgh, I’ve got cricket jetlag. Woke up around 5am just ‘cos, couldn’t sleep, watched most of the middle session. Went back to sleep, woke up at 11:30, feel like death.

It’s an interesting point about the drought in Australia, Tones. It’s funny how peripheral things like that can have huge implications for all manner of things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. Could you cite similar differences in how AFL is played since that period, for instance? Is the turf drier, harder, faster? I remember they went to drop-in pitches in grounds like the SCG and MCG more for the AFL as for anything else because they were concerned about players getting injured. Was that as a result of squares getting harder because of the climate, for instance?

There’s no doubting that some vaguely dodgy conditions do make for really entertaining cricket. The random factor of variable bounce really narrows the playing field, and tends to favour the least talented side, which in this case is us as far as I can tell. I think with these playing elevens in even conditions, even in Australia, India should win most of the time. But it’s super-fun watching the likes of Kohli having to struggle for their runs on dodgy wickets like these.

[Carrot]

Waaaaaaaahahahahahaha!!!!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/a6xzke/hilarious_sledge_by_tim_paine_about_kohli/?st=JPS9ZZST&sh=34111a32

[I am Not Trampis]

nothing there carrot. I heard Kholi told Paine he was the best batsman in the would ( correct) and he was merely a stand in captain.

Can I just say Mel McLauglin is a lot of things but a person knowledgeable about cricket she is not. punt her.

India need two more openers. They have the teenage sensation and could try Rohit Sharma there. If he comes off they get quick runs if not it is the same as present. I'm told a batsman is coming out who is a useful bowler.
I tip two roads in Melbourne and Sydanee.

[Philsgone]

A good win. Leaving Ashwin out was the key error, made time and again by touring sides ie spinner no use. Lyon is our no.1 bowler, though Starc keeps getting talked about in those terms. Stac is dangerous, Lyon is the best, there is a difference.
If the MCG is like last year, likely no result. Who in our team can bat like Cook. No-one. Who in their team can - Kholi, Pujara. That might be the difference.
Also our fielding has been great. Well done Brad Haddin. Could still be the divverence in a close series.

[Tony Tea]

Ashwin was injured. They would not have left him out as he's their second most important player.

Carrot, you've been burning the candle at both ends with your rock star ways. The weather had no real effect on the footy, and even though the game really changed in the last 20 years, that was not down to the weather.

India's young star-in-the-making opener may be fit by Boxing Day, but it's a stretch to imagine he'll stamp his authority on the contest.

India is weak for openers and diabolical after Pants Man. Six out, all out.

[Tony Tea]

We won by 142 runs, which is exactly the same number of runs made by our tail.

[Carrot]

The link got taken down because of a copyright infringement. It was Paine talking to Murali Vijay behind the stumps and saying “yeah I know he’s your captain, Murali - but you can’t honestly rate him as a bloke”. It was beautifully delivered, too.

Paine’s done well with Kohli in this Test. We’ll see what happens if we end up on the wrong side of a result in Melbourne or Sydney, but simply laughing at him seems to be a good approach. He should get laughed at - he’s a colossal wanker, and like so many post-Monkeygate Indian players he behaves very badly whilst getting riled up and acting the injured party at every turn.

[Carrot]

If Shaw and Ashwin are fit for Melbourne we could be toast. Our depleted side did well against their depleted side, but I can’t see us doing well in benign conditions against a fully-operation Death Star. Shaw could lose his mind and try to hit everything on the up and over the top à la our friend Risabh Pant, but he could just as easily turn out to be another Virender Sehwag.

Don’t know why India didn’t go with Ravi Jadeja in this Test - picking Vihari was a blunder, I think.

[Carrot]

It’s eight long days until the next match - Happy Christmas, everyone. Hope it’s a good ‘un.

[Carrot]

Ooh, ooh! One more before I go because I love a good stat: Nathan Lyon has taken 48 wickets at 31.60 this year, which matches his career average EXACTLY. You can’t fault his consistency!

[Philsgone]

No proof of course, but the Ashwin "injury" I reckon was a smokescreen. They called him injured after he was left out of the side.
Lyon is the only off spinner who can bowl well in Australia. Most of the good ones never do well here. Credit to him. Plus I reckon a 50 from him before the end of the summer. Player of the series for sure.

[Tony Tea]

I would love to see Lyon get his average under 30. A 30+ career average doesn't do him justice.

[Philsgone]

OK who is our next world class spinner? Like coming after warne, our next spinner has huge boots to fill once the GOAT has retired. At least we have a few years to preview some options. If only first class cricket was important to CA.

[Tony Tea]

Pope shows promise.

[Carrot]

He’s the ranga, isn’t he? Hope he does well!

[Tony Tea]

*makes crucifix sign - hold up garlic*

[Carrot]

Hahahaha..... Touché, Tones!