1st Test Border Gavaskar Trophy November 22-26 1350hrs @ Perth Stadium

[zumahawk]

This is the probably the most unlikeable Aussie team. Soft, entitled, snobby having achieved nothing and woke. Give me the aggressive, barking, in your face, sandpapering team under Boof and Clarke every day.

Nothing soft about them, just not good enough in the opening test (and don't add the word 'woke' as a put down like you know what the word means).

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Full credit to the Kiwis for what they did in India - they fully deserved the results they got. But I can't help thinking that the Indians had one eye on the tour of Australia: they're a completely different unit suddenly.

How we fight back from this, I have no idea. If Bumrah gets to bowl with the pink ball under lights in Adelaide, anything is possible.

That, and the conditions played right into NZ's hands and, let's be frank, NZ have a better test side than Australia do bur, for whatever reason, shit the bed whenever they play them.

 

[zumahawk]

We've all missed the point that other nations have caught up with their professionalism and administration now matching Cricket Australia. Our team is not entitled to keep winning- it needs to lift and develop test style batsmen. This could be loss the team needs.

 

[Marstermind]

There’s just not enough younger players bashing the door down. Realistically in terms of batting who are out next in line. Bancroft and Renshaw aren’t making runs.

I like Matt Short I think he has the tools to be a good test bat at 6 again though hasn’t smashed the down door though.

Is it Inglis with the bat , Webster in the AR spot and outside of Boland would it be Bartlett and Murphy as seam/ spin?

With the Ashes ahead and our aging team it would be extremely disappointing but highly predictable if this current side play all 5 tests.

For the sake of the future surely we can blood another batsman but also get a game or two into some of the other bowlers on the fringe.

The biggest problem with Cummins as captain is you’re locked into one of three pace bowling options every game.

It's no longer about smashing the door down at the moment. A polite knock and discrete enquiry about not being able to do worse is suffice.

 

[Big Bryza]

You don't drop mcsweeney yet. It's his first test lol. Marnus has to be dropped. It might be the wakeup call he requires. Uzzie if he fails should be on the chopping block too.

Agreed. The elephant in the room. Been putrid for ages. Plus he's about 58 years old.

 

[Big Bryza]

This is my second test team

Khawaja
Head
McSweeny
Smith
Inglis
Marsh
Carey
Starc
Cummins
lyon
Hazelwood

Why do these 3 keep getting a free ride?

 

[Iceman!]

Bancroft was in ripping form last summer. If they'd have got him in then, he might have done okay, and then at least we'd have a Set-And-Forget for a few years.....

Yeah sorry but I don’t buy it, Bumrah would make Bancroft look like a child playing against his dad…

 

[Big Bryza]

Having made 61 and 62 in my last 2 innings opening for my club’s turf 2nd XI, I feel like I have a decent level of knowledge and experience (mild sarcasm) to add my thoughts on how bad McSweeny and Marnus’ dismissals were.

You know Bumrah has the ability to bowl vicious inswinger. Bat outside of your crease, open up your stance, drop the back lift, and grind it out.

Those 2 morons took guard like they were facing an under 12’s side and did not know what an inswinger was. Ridiculous.

It's amazing what being under the spotlight does to decision making. Completely out the window.

We all knew what Bumrah was going to do. 3-4 away and then a massive in swinger/off cutter. It's easy watching on the couch.

Unfortunately we had a debutant who was a deer in headlights and another bloke who has forgotten how to bat.

 

[kickazz]

It took some time, but we've finally reached the moment where the consequences of going all in on T20 and destroying our grass roots / FC systems has entered what feels like a point of no return.

Yep. The Big Bash tree that was played a little over a decade ago is now bearing fruit

 

[philreich]

I'm more disappointed in the state of Australian Cricket then I am in the players honestly.

This team has had a good run but there have been signs the peak of our Test team has been over for a while now and I'm struggling to see how things don't descend pretty sharply from here.

This is all about the batting. We no longer have a single batsmen in or out of the team who is currently great and we haven't been in this situation in a long long time.

While our batting weakened in the late 2000s, we had Ricky Ponting. When he declined, we had Clarke, when his back gave out Smith emerged... now? No one.

Our entire top 4 is people who're very likely past their best (We can give Khawaja the benefit of the doubt but he's at an age where it could be over at any moment). The scary thing is, I'm not sure if anyone outside the team can actually do any better.

It took some time, but we've finally reached the moment where the consequences of going all in on T20 and destroying our grass roots / FC systems has entered what feels like a point of no return.

In the past, we've overcome this by focusing all our attention on a handful of supremely gifted players and using that as a substitute for genuine systems and pathways but that bit us on the backside in the most direct way possible. Pucovski was seen as that next star and problems outside anyone's control have meant he's gone and the next best is multiple tiers below in quality.

Our aging stars will likely continue playing and we might see some token deck chair shuffling, but once they're gone we'll have to opt into the same strategy as the weaker Test nations. This means basically picking on potential and having these people learn on the job, hoping they'll come good after a couple of dozen Tests and develop into solid enough players.

I don't even want to get into the bowling. Our main 4 are still great and very little about this loss will be there fault, but they are also all reaching the end and replacing them won't be pretty.

Ignoring all this, I think we need to bring Cameron Green back as a pure batsmen when he returns. His bowling isn't worth losing our most promising young bat & fielder to injury as sad as it is to say. You cannot drop or move McSweeney, you need to commit to at least the series and consider moving him to the middle order for a spell if the opener experiment fails.

Labuschagne is the most droppable, but no one else in the Shield will come close to matching his early career record. If someone has to go it'll be him but I could see him back as early as next series given we're going to lose both Smith & Khawaja soon. Travis Head will never be more than a 40 average feast or famine bat, he's fine where he is, talk of making him opener is laughable unless we commit to pure flat decks at home like England have now done.

The key point there is the T20 domination - our batsmen don't know how to build a long innings. And after the next round of Shield games, there's no more red ball cricket until February, so how do Shield batsmen impress the national selectors ahead of the Sri Lankan tour?

 

[Big Bryza]

The Poms will try their Bazball stunt and get smashed 4-zip again.

This Aussie test side is cooked. Look at all the blokes 34+ years old.

If the poms are half fair dinkum they'll come out here and win next summer.

 

[Big Bryza]

Why isn't Green in the team? And is this McSweeney guy actually any good?

Living under a rock?

 

[PhatBoy]

Why do these 3 keep getting a free ride?

I’d say Hazlewood’s match figures or 5-50-odd off 34 overs would give him one for now hey mate

 

[Bucking Beads]

Firstly we are mostly just bad at cricket at the moment but one thing is for certain. We are being too nice. This is not how we play our best cricket. Blowing kisses and giggling with the Indian players is not it. Fire the **** up and show some ticker. The IPL has our players kissing Indian Dicks instead of showing some intent.

 

[sabso]

If the poms are half fair dinkum they'll come out here and win next summer.

Don't think we'll even be a quarter fair dinkum, but there'll be a handful of good honest triers

 

[PhatBoy]

Firstly we are mostly just bad at cricket at the moment but one thing is for certain. We are being too nice. This is not how we play our best cricket. Blowing kisses and giggling with the Indian players is not it. Fire the **** up and show some ticker. The IPL has our players kissing Indian Dicks instead of showing some intent.

Just to reiterate, it doesn’t work if you’re PRETENDING to be tough.
Do you think Virat Kohli is going to be scared of the quiet-his-whole-career Josh Hazlewood? The guy has played for 15 years against Steyn, Morkel (who was quiet himself but f**king intimidating with how he bowled), Johnson, Nortje, Anderson, Wood etc - the fastest bowlers or best bowlers and in some cases biggest sledgers. As if that’s going to ruffle him.

Jaiswal isn’t going to give a shit. He’s reverse ramping Mitchell Starc to fine leg for 6 to bring up his hundred in Australia in his first test here. As if some words are going to upset him.

How about, like the smiling guy from India who hardly says an intimidating word, they just focus on taking wickets

 

[Bucking Beads]

Just to reiterate, it doesn’t work if you’re PRETENDING to be tough.

Show some intent!

 

[Gough]

Firstly we are mostly just bad at cricket at the moment but one thing is for certain. We are being too nice. This is not how we play our best cricket. Blowing kisses and giggling with the Indian players is not it. Fire the **** up and show some ticker. The IPL has our players kissing Indian Dicks instead of showing some intent.

Wouldn't have made a single iota of difference yesterday.

 

[Iceman!]

Agreed. The elephant in the room. Been putrid for ages. Plus he's about 58 years old.

Been our best batsmen over the past 3 years? He’d be almost our most safe batsmen for this series. After that more dicey.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Wouldn't have made a single iota of difference yesterday.

most likely correct. We are so far off the pace but our mindset is beyond weak. So timid and out of our depth.

 

[Iceman!]

Firstly we are mostly just bad at cricket at the moment but one thing is for certain. We are being too nice. This is not how we play our best cricket. Blowing kisses and giggling with the Indian players is not it. Fire the **** up and show some ticker. The IPL has our players kissing Indian Dicks instead of showing some intent.

Yeah but being ‘tougher’ would make up for technical flaws and aging players. We are in the same position either way.

 

[the_interloper]

Howie in love with Cummins for making himself nightwatchman.

Absolute Fluffer.

I thought it was a great move by Cummins, not much else he could do, I liked it.

That said why is "Howie" a thing, I agree with you, he just seems to suck up to everyone.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Yeah because being ‘tougher’ would make up for technical flaws and aging players….

not about being tough but for whatever reason that is the way you are choosing to take it.

 

[Big Bryza]

If you play watch carefully Cummins was abit annoyed when he seen Labs walking out, he wanted another night watchmen.

It was a joke that Cummo went out in the first place. The batsmen need to grow a set and go and do their job.

 

[Iceman!]

not about being tough but for whatever reason that is the way you are choosing to take it.

Okay, being friendly is not impacting the outcome of this game… like of all the issues this team is having I wouldn’t have that in the top 100.