Dr. Pain wrote:Hobart have a few speed demons in their bowling attack now. Tymal Mills is one bowler who can throw them down fast but he has a spinal issue at agitates his spinal cord. So his 4 day career ended a couple of years ago and he became a T-20 bowler and made a lazy $2.3 mill in the IPL this year.
I was really impressed with Jofra Archer too, who bowls as fast or faster than Mills but makes it look effortless.
It's just insane the amount of money spent in the IPL.
Warner skies one to mid on, out for 99 and is angry, the poms roar... but wait no ball! MCG explodes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Got to be one of the loudest cheers I've heard, right up with Warnes 700th wicket and Starc's yorker to McCullem.
I have no problem with this pitch as it's different today to yesterday. But I think a number of issues dictate what type of pitch we get. Cricket Australia want bums on seats and groundsmen seem to lack courage to make a pitch of old. If we got a green top and England get us cheap in the first innings, the groundsmen would be shit canned for it. The longer teams can bat the more bums on seats to fill these football grounds.
Well done Cook, he's really put England on top in this test match - except it's supposed to rain for big chunks of today and parts of tomorrow - this test is going to be a draw.
- When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
- If youre paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many pancakes fit in a doghouse? None! Icecream doesn't have bones!!!
Not sure that would have helped them Pix. They don't have a decent spinner who can create bounce to make those positions possible. On a pitch like that you want someone who can over spin top spinners. Get the batters adjusting up and it messes them up.
I wonder if the groundsman is being told to make these roads to get bums on seats for as many days as possible? The pitches they use in the shield games are better but still not great.
It might not of helped but at least it would of shown intent. Yes ultimately the pitch was to blame but the field he was setting was defensive.. What's the point of that?
Get your seamers bowling at or just outside off stump and have three slips and a gully!
Dr. Pain wrote:I wonder if the groundsman is being told to make these roads to get bums on seats for as many days as possible? The pitches they use in the shield games are better but still not great.
I expected the entire season to be like that and it has mostly been true - the TV deal is coming up next year right? Need as good numbers as possible leading into that. Could be a big moment for the future of the game in Australia.
I was thinking yesterday that 'soon' the Boxing Day test may be the last of the summer to give the BBL the maximum exposure and get the big names involved - they are going to want to expand it and that seems like the most obvious way. A near month long BBL from New Years Eve through to Australia Day?
The rights are up for next year and it seems channel 9 doesn't want to pay the asking price. I think the Boxing Day and New Year test will stay. It does leave most of January open for 1 day and T-20. T-20 is where the money is and we get exposure as it's one of the best, if not the best league. The crowds will be low for the 5 1 day games I feel. T-20 is $20 a ticket and $45 for a family of 4. People are going to it as it's 4 hours or so and in the evening.
I think the format we have will last a while. It covers all three formats well.
But who actually gives a crap about the ODIs? They have a purpose but they are no way memorable - saying that, they should/will stay.
The stuff that should get cut is the international T20s - T20 works best in the club/city format so hopefully that grows and the internationals go away save for the 3 yearish World Cup.
Without considering money or politics, domestic 50 over cricket should go and leave only 4 day and T20. Those 2 should be used for selecting international 5 day test and 50 over teams with no international T20. You should be good enough to adapt to the longer international version yet still play in a similar manner.
The marquee match of Australia’s home summer schedule – the annual day Boxing Day Test in Melbourne – could be stripped from the MCG if there are repeats of this year’s sub-standard pitch that has been formally rated as ‘poor’ by the International Cricket Council.
Good, it might wake them up a bit. It's a test and I thought the pitch was ok, nothing great, for the first two days but it didn't change after that. At least make day 4 show signs of going to all hell, then day 5 it's full of snakes, tigers and land mines.