3rd Test Border Gavaskar Trophy December 14-18 1050hrs @ The Gabba

[Iceman!]

Surely if Khwaja and Labuschange dont score runs in the last 2 tests they don’t go to SL?

Hopefully Konstas goes ok and gets selected there as well and Jead moves up to open for that series allowing them to pick another middle order player who’s good against spin.

SL top order

Konstas
Head
Smith

Then the rest

Head is one of the best performing test batsmen in the world at the moment, i don't want to move him at all.

 

[JimmyBC]

Head is one of the best performing test batsmen in the world at the moment, i don't want to move him at all.

Yea I agree don't screw with the only batter that's excelling at present.

 

[hugecannon]

Yea I agree don't screw with the only batter that's excelling at present.

Head is one of the best performing test batsmen in the world at the moment, i don't want to move him at all.

Only for series in the subcontinent like SL/India where getting him early against the newer ball before the spinners come on.

Outside of those series then I completely agree about leaving him at 5.

 

[Stax on the mill]

Did you actually watch the footage of this or did you just read the bullshit manufactured drama the media tried to spin it in to? He didn't berate anyone, it was a polite exchange asking them to not film his children

I watched the filmed and recorded news report, and it definitely wasn’t a polite exchange, on Kohli’s behalf at least. Kohli accused the media of filming his children, which was totally incorrect as it turned out. This was pointed out to him, however that didn’t prevent him from berating the diminutive female reporter at length.

A caller to 3AW who witnessed the incident as it occurred said that what was shown on TV was a very truncated segment, and that Kohli continued to carry on behaving in a similar, bullying manner for some minutes.

And it’s not as if dear old Virat hasn’t got prior form for intemperate and obnoxious behaviour.

 

[ABU 2500C]

Konstas is an interesting inclusion and I do support it. I want to see how a young kid who is very much a cross bat slogger with a very good eye goes at the highest level. Bumrah awaits him so it will be interesting. The rest he can cart if he gets going. Does he have a defence ?

 

[western royboy]

Konstas is an interesting inclusion and I do support it. I want to see how a young kid who is very much a cross bat slogger with a very good eye goes at the highest level. Bumrah awaits him so it will be interesting. The rest he can cart if he gets going. Does he have a defence ?

If he is as you perceive him to be…then he has no hope in hell

 

[ABU 2500C]

If he is as you perceive him to be…then he has no hope in hell

Have you watched him bat ? There is a guy for England who has a similar technique and is doing well. Hookes was the same and in a lesser way Hughes and both did OK. Exeptional eye / hand co-ordination for a young upstart can mask many technical issues. I will watch with interest - if he's able to "do his thing" it will be very entertaining.

 

[western royboy]

Have you watched him bat ? There is a guy for England who has a similar technique and is doing well. Hookes was the same and in a lesser way Hughes and both did OK. Exeptional eye / hand co-ordination for a young upstart can mask many technical issues. I will watch with interest - if he's able to "do his thing" it will be very entertaining.

Yes i have, I don’t classify him as a cross bat slogger. Which English player are you referring to specifically, i have watched a fair bit of them. Phillip Hughes was not a cross bat slogger either, he had a pretty big technical issue because instead of going back and across his back leg went to the leg side allowing him to open up the offside as he did early in his career until he got picked apart. David Hookes was my idol as a kid and i loved the way he batted but a Test batting of 34 and only one ton from 20 or so Tests over a seven or eight year period tells you that he wasn’t up to the level required and sadly if you asked him he would tell you that himself.

Being aggressive doesn’t make you a cross bat slogger. Konstas has all the tricks and i hope like hell he has the skills necessary to survive early against India.

 

[ABU 2500C]

Which English player are you referring to specifically, i have watched a fair bit of them.

Harry Brook.

I'm talking about batsman who regularly play across the line - pull / sweep / on drive balls pitched on middle / off / outside off to or over the boundary - not normal shots from the test handbook. Some can live by the sword if they're good enough. Rare though and usually don't last long. We shall see.

 

[western royboy]

Harry Brook.

Bloke can seriously play, very aggressive, fantastic eye but technically not too many issues. Just brought up in a different generation/system. He is the prototype of the modern batsman, capable of scoring monster scores and equally capable of being knocked over cheaply because he doesn’t take the time that an old school educated player would to play themselves in and get used to the conditions.

 

[toml]

Harry Brook.

Brook is not a cross bat slugger lol, and neither is Konstas

 

[ABU 2500C]

Brook is not a cross bat slugger lol, and neither is Konstas

Agree to disagree. I didn't say it's a bad thing btw.

 

[toml]

Agree to disagree. I didn't say it's a bad thing btw.

Every boundary: Konstas makes his mark in Shield

Here's every boundary from Sam Konstas in his five matches for NSW so far in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season

www.cricket.com.au

You didn't say it was a bad thing, but you're also just flat out wrong. What exactly about this suggest he is a "cross bat slugger"?

 

[ABU 2500C]

Every boundary: Konstas makes his mark in Shield

Here's every boundary from Sam Konstas in his five matches for NSW so far in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season

www.cricket.com.au

You didn't say it was a bad thing, but you're also just flat out wrong. What exactly about this suggest he is a "cross bat slugger"?

Yeah, plenty of of evidence there and thanks for reminding me his off / cover drives can be too far away from his body - head not over the ball - first 3 x 4's show this clearly. Good eye as I say. Look - I am not saying he can't bat and don't want him to succeed. I really would love to watch him go nuts on Boxing Day.

 

[Black Diamond]

A player who hits the ball hard and far does so because of a good technique. Not despite.

Warner and Gilchrist are exhibits A and B.

Brook is pretty correct. So is Head.

Konstas seems able to adjust his game for limited overs cricket. Also keeps his head very still.

All of these contrast with actual sloggers like JFM.

 

[PhatBoy]

Harry Brook.

I'm talking about batsman who regularly play across the line - pull / sweep / on drive balls pitched on middle / off / outside off to or over the boundary - not normal shots from the test handbook. Some can live by the sword if they're good enough. Rare though and usually don't last long. We shall see.

Brook plays a LOT through the off-side. If you think he’s a cross-bat slogger that fetches balls from the off to hit through the on, you haven’t been watching him that closely.

When he REALLY tries to up the ante he sometimes gets into that mode but predominantly he just hits the ball where it’s supposed to go, he just does it very aggressively.

 

[Lunchtime]

A player who hits the ball hard and far does so because of a good technique. Not despite.

Warner and Gilchrist are exhibits A and B.

Brook is pretty correct. So is Head.

Konstas seems able to adjust his game for limited overs cricket. Also keeps his head very still.

All of these contrast with actual sloggers like JFM.

I wouldn't say Warner had the best technique tbh. Averaged only 32.5 outside Australia which isnt the best for a Test opening batsman. He also struggled in India and England. Warner was best suited on roads in Australia. Outside Australia he was tested and didn't so well as his record showed.

Apart from South Africa and Bangladesh (Bangladesh aren't strong) where he got 5 hundreds combined there....he only got 1 other Test hundred outside Australia - UAE.

It's what makes him in my opinion be a good Test batsman only. He simply needed to be better outside the comforts of Australia.