A.R.S.E.

Well that frees up the afternoon!

They folded faster than a tissue at a snot party. The injuries are a real worry for them especially Sangakkara.

Liked the look of Jackson Bird and Mitchell Johnson can really be dangerous, 6 wickets, 92* (and honestly looked the best of the batsmen, the others that got runs did so with numerous chances each) and 2 players knocked out with busted fingers. A very useful weapon to have in the sheds when required.
Now the question is wo will replace Watson for Sydney? He has exploded, sorry strained, another calf muscle.

I'm calling Watson "Alfa Romeo" from now on. He breaks down that much!

I'm supposed to be going to day 3 in Sydney.. I'm not expecting it to be a close contest at this rate :-(

Maxwell for Watson - on form it might have been a changed that should of happened anyway, especially for Sydney - shame Maxwell is another off spinner though. A big chance for him though with a tour to India coming up.

And of course it should be noted that the Purple Prince fired for the Hurricanes. 2 MoM awards from the last 2 games

Mike Hussey to retire at the next test match at the SCG.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/c ... 98950.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was a bit shocked when I heard this yesterday but when you hear him speak about it, it's easy to understand why he made the decision.

That leaves a big hole I reckon and the squad is now really inexperienced with tours of India and England on the horizon.

I think we'll have to be very lucky to have any shot at the ashes now. Can't fault him at all though despite also being a little shocked when I first heard the announcement. The guy is all class and only confirmed further by bowing out at the perfect time

Had a week in Melbourne for Chrissy and went along on boxing day, apart from a slow finish was a good day. Clear and warm, 13 wickets and a quick fire innings from Warner, couldn't ask for much more

From cricinfo.com:
Pitch and conditions

The SCG is not the spin haven it once was, as evidenced by Australia's decision to choose one four fats men and one spinner instead of two slow-bowling options. In his column on the day before the Test Clarke wrote that there was "a surprising amount of grass on the SCG pitch". The weather for most of the Test is expected to be good, although there could be occasional showers on days four and five.

So Merv Hughes and Carl Rackeman are making a comeback?

Seriously though, the standard of editing in magazines and high profile websites such as this (run by ESPN remember) is terrible nowadays.

Got him! Yeeeesss!
[youtube] [/youtube]
Merv Merv Merv!!!

Ponting back to bat 6

Hazelb wrote:Ponting back to bat 6

Lucky im on Tapatalk or I'd ban you for that. ;-)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

South Africa 2 for 119 at Tea on Day 1. No they are not going super slow - they have already knocked over New Zealand this morning! All out for 45.
Kallis has nearly 3000 more runs than the NZ team combined!
Vettori is not playing so presumably hurt, probably the luckiest Kiwi on the planet right now! Yikes.

Jiminee wrote:South Africa 2 for 119 at Tea on Day 1. No they are not going super slow - they have already knocked over New Zealand this morning! All out for 45.
Kallis has nearly 3000 more runs than the NZ team combined!
Vettori is not playing so presumably hurt, probably the luckiest Kiwi on the planet right now! Yikes.

Let me guess, Newlands?

We need to play NZ stat!

Vilante wrote:We need to play NZ stat!

Remember last year?

I'm avoiding watching nine for cricket this morning. I tend to move between the TV and radio coverage but nine will have a big Tony Greig love in happening and that's not my thing. Nine shits me now days anyway or more Michael Slater does.

The woman singing the Sri Lankan anthem sounds like she inhaled 20 litres of helium before singing and out of tune at that.

I think test cricket is very interesting at the moment. It's a real mixed bag of results. The predictable routes are less with teams going through change although our current test series is going to plan. In saying that there is a gulf now between the top four test teams and the rest. But as we saw last year they can surprise like NZ did.

norbs wrote:

Jiminee wrote:South Africa 2 for 119 at Tea on Day 1. No they are not going super slow - they have already knocked over New Zealand this morning! All out for 45.
Kallis has nearly 3000 more runs than the NZ team combined!
Vettori is not playing so presumably hurt, probably the luckiest Kiwi on the planet right now! Yikes.

Let me guess, Newlands?

Correct.

Wade batting at 6? No fucking worries

Wade keeping the rest of the game - no (well a few less) fucking catches! Nathan Lyon must be ready to throttle him by now.

So Warne goes berserk and then has this to say on Twitter....

I'm disappointed at some of my actions last night as captain & as a player,but I'm also very disappointed at the severe penalty I received !

This after receiving a one-match ban and $4500 fine. Fuck off Warne, you were a hell of a bowler, but you are a fuck up of a person.