Rocking and rolling now.
Rocking and rolling now.
14-3.
Nearly 14-4. Fucking hell dickheads, just survive to the close.
Why on earth is anyone getting run out chasing 57 with more than a day left?
Other than Johnny Bairstow's feverish imaginings of him standing triumphant on a pile of media commentators' skulls, of course. Let's hope the debutant leads him through it.
We've got a real dearth of lefties in the side at the moment it seems. I'd have been minded to send Broad out to open, and would still be minded to send him in to have a hoick at the leg spinner if another wicket falls. Hit with the spin and all.
It was just classic England in the subcontinent earlier. Brains scrambled, opposition tails up, syllables coming at them like there's no tomorrow.
Bairstow executing the captain was funny. Point to prove etc.
Lawrence must be the real deal if he's managed to see out the innings without getting run out by Bairstow.
That is a very good win, but if our spinners bowl like that in India we will get absolutely rogered up the backside.
Batting is a bit of a conundrum when Stokes and Pope come back - suspect Pope might miss out now that Lawrence has impressed and Bairstow has made the doubters eat a slice of humble pie.
Is the assumption that Burns will come back in when fit and Crawley up to either 3 or 4?
Burns will come back but not convinced whether they will do the above - big game for Sibley in the next one I would think. They might decide that Bairstow at 3 (in Indian conditions) is a better bet than having Burns, Sibley and Crawley just waiting to be 10/2.
The only complicating factor in India, who normally make their pitches into ragging snakepits for us, is that they now have a significantly better seam attack than at any time in their history, so I'm not sure that just setting the games up for Ashwin will actually play that much to their advantage, particularly as Ashwin tends to be weirdly bad against England.
Don't they have some middling journeyman spinner to pick up Ashwin's slack and run through us for 8-17 if need be?
They have Jadeja, yes.
If you use output metrics rather than your eyes, I suspect Jadeja ranks as India's greatest all rounder - certainly better than Kapil Dev. I suppose Ashwin must vie with him for it.
I was having a conversation about vegetables earlier and so naturally the thought of James Vince came to my mind. In googling him I learned he can be hired as an after dinner speaker. I tried to find out how much he cost and found this:
https://champions-speakers.co.uk/spe...nt/james-vince
"Hamshire."
Paine gone.
Warner gone.
Stark gone.
Wade gone.
Oh god, what a thing to wake up to.
'Can't wait to get you to the Gabba'
That Indian depth is fair dinkum.
I believe the term is 'scenes'.
Hell of a series win for India, even without all the injuries and absentees.
Not enough crying emoji on earth for Tim Paine though, what a twat. Only downside is I can picture his redemption maiden test hundred against us after we’ve got them 90/5 on the first day of the Ashes.
What's the deal with this? Covid? How could the ground not be as full as possible for this?with the shadows lengthening and a near-empty Gabba filled with the sound of a smattering of raucous India supporters.
Gabba always has terrible crowds doesn't it? The picture in my head is of all the empty seats.
Yeah people are back to work no chance Monday and Tuesday would ever sell out.
I'm struggling to fully drink in the hilarity of Australia bottling it simply because I really dislike the Indian team too. I suppose a comeback series victory for them is the lesser of two evils, especially as it involved that lovely touch for Lyon, the prick.
I have found the current team a lot more likeable since Mahendra fucked off and took his brown envelopes with him. Indian cricket as a whole, not so much.
Ravi Shastri turning into one of the most successful coaches ever is something we all just have to deal with really.
I was looking at Google Maps for Doha to see if I could find where our house there was and spotted a few "cricket grounds" on the map.
https://goo.gl/maps/wMUr6y82jRTxiXvW8
With this being the first test defeat at the Gabba since records began, I was wondering if any other Gabba tests have not been the opening test in a series (as it always seems to be the traditional first venue) and also to what extent that fact has created such a record (all teams arriving in Australia being extremely ill-prepared in almost all cases).
https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...m;view=results
As far as I can tell from that (although haven't clicked on every one to check, only the 'later' dates, I assume all the November games were 1st Tests), it has always been the first Test in a series until now, even the Sri Lanka one two years ago. In the 80s they managed to lose 4 in 5 there against us, West Indies and even the comedy stylings of Jeremy Coney's New Zealand - this coming in days when there were proper tours with a whole host of games before the first Test - so you might be onto something.
In our 1986-7 tour, we played three full four-day first class matches against the full lineups of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia (with mixed results) before getting to the Gabba and winning handily. We then went onto play the rest of the states and a Prime Minister's XI in between the other Tests, and between the 4th and 5th Tests even managed to get in an ODI tourney against Aus, WI and Pakistan.
Won the Ashes 2-1 and played a total of 30 games on the tour.
Those were the days.
That shirt would be worth a fortune Id be cheering!
Normal people in Brisbane arent as fucked in the head as Australian Cricket.
It is quite sobering to ponder how shit we will be without Anderson and Broad.
Yeah there are other bowlers who on their day can do a lot of damage but nobody who can really be relied upon to do so.
You also need to acknowledge that this wicket is a batter's wet dream. Not many bowlers will have much fun out there currently.
And yet there Jimmy is, 3/15 off 15.
Chandimal has properly Bairstow'd that review.
Elsewhere in the world, with the T20 World Cup coming up Australia should offer Alex Hales citizenship for maximum lols, fast track it on the basis of being a covid/political refugee or something.
Anderson is immortal
Our spinners are total balls, like watching SL's average seamers when they come to us. They don't get enough overs in England.
On Australian Facebook there appears to be a 50/50 split about bringing Carey in on Big Bash form alone for Paine... i reckon we will lose a generation to BBL at this Stage.
I only learnt today how smart the Indians are eg 4 day cricket is played when the Test team is playing a home series and nothing else.
If Cricket Australia could make money off a 5 over game they would.
Last edited by Queenslander; 23-01-2021 at 08:50 AM.
India have the advantage of cricket being hegemonic there. England and Australia cricket are always pooing themselves about their place in the world and kids going off and doing other sports or other activities, which leads them to getting stupid marketing men in from the commercial world, who look to apply what they've learned selling trainers and don't understand what cricket is and why it appeals to many (but not all) people.
Big Bash is a good product but it should be a 3/4 week jamboree at a time when there are no Test matches on and then the Shield should be on in a more logical pattern, the Shield is where your good Australian team comes from. England it's even more of a mess with the Hundred albeit if they actually get the broadcast and marketing right for that it could be quite decent (they won't).
Another cracking start.
I think the possiblity exists that our openers maybe struggle against Lasith Embuldeniya (who, by the way, is a lovely bowler).
6 for Anderson and no wickets for spin?
Jesus.
What's happened to Rashid? Is he back to no longer playing red ball, is he injured or being rested? Bess and Leach, bless him and his hankerchief, are absolute toilet.
Rashid is there but injured I think (and also bowls a 4 ball an over).
Moeen will probably come back in, has a good record vs India and hypothetically lengthens the batting. They clearly want Bess to be our holding bowler batting 8 in Australia, but I dunno.
Our man Jimmy to take Kumble soon.
I've got Jimmy as the 8th best Test bowler of all time. Haven't re-ranked them since last year but he might well nip past Dale for 7th after this game. Soz cricket twitter / Australian crying twitter.