Australia vs New Zealand Day 1,2,3 and a little bit of 4

Now that makes a nice change. How interesting is it to watch Test cricket when wickets are falling?

Australia were on toast against the Kiwi's on Day 1. To be honest once Australia got passed about 180, I thought the Kiwi'sbatting was always going to struggle to score enough runs to win the match. This is a side that was dismissed for 170 odd against Bangladesh.  Anyway, that was exactly how it turned out of course, but I still think there were some worrying signs for the Aussies - yet again. Too many batsman still batting like millionaires.  This was old fashion Test Cricket. The only players that were prepared to change their natural game and bat according to the conditions were Clarke and Kattich, and they were pretty much the difference between the two sides. 

Why is it that Hayden, Ponting, Symonds and these blokes think they can just blaze away under any circumstances and smash bowling attacks into oblivian. They can't. What about some old fashioned patience and grafting. Some decent footwork to the moving ball and soft hands to the high bounce?

There is so much Test cricket played I guess, the they'll just get another chance to make up for again next week I suppose, and most likely and a pitch far more suited to thumping some happless fast bowler to all part of a lightning fast outfield and batting soundly for a day and half to save a match is a bit much like hard work.

Well one bloke who just may not get too many more "next weeks" would be Matthew Hayden.  Surely, his days are now numbered. I for one doubt, he'll be opening the innings in the 2009 Ashes tour.

NZ's Southee looks exiting though doesn't he?  Young, built, quick and can hit a ball too! What will the Kiwi's do to ruin this one?

India vs Australia - Fourth Test - Day 1,2,3,4 & 5

It is through sheer disorganisation and not sour grapes that I have neglected to post since the end of the Third Test - a time frame in which the Border-Gavaskar trophy returned to India and Australia suffered their worst series loss in goodness knows how long (I'm sure I could find out pretty quickly on CricInfo but as I said...unorganised and busy...)

Why should there be sour grapes, Australia sent probably the least potent bowling attack to leave our shores in 20 years, maybe more, to a country that was bound to produce some pretty good batting wickets, and boasts some of the classiest batsmen of this era. Australia also sent part time and untried spinners, to a country that produces turning wickets like Switzerland produces cheese...and watches...and a country which boasts some pretty decent spinners of their own.

This wasn't through poor selection, or inept ability in any way, there just wasn't the options. Some will argue that Casson, or Nofke, or Hilffenhaus or whoever should've gone. All that wouldn't matter. Australia were out batted, out bowled, out captained, out endured and in the last test particularly, even out fielded!

Australian cricket is not as strong as it used to be - sure, we all know that, we knew that last summer. So why be surprised, and "demand answers" and all that garbage that the press goes on with, when we were up against the challengers to our crown of the greatest Test side in the world, in their own backyard. This was a front we conquered only once, even when we were well on top.

To the Aussie's credit, even with conditions making wins difficult, and their bowling attack, sickness and a little bit of poor luck with the toss all working against them, we were still in a position to dream of the unlikely, on Day 5 of that last Test. It wasn't to be, and neither should it have been. India deserved their win. It was a culmination of a career's work for the likes of Kumble, Ganguly Tendulka, Dravid and Laxmann. It has positioned Dhoni and Harbharjan as the countries next cricketing leaders and there is some exciting new talent for India fans to look forward to watching.

Australia will come home now and lick their wounds a bit. A few excuses may be made...I hope not. Sure, the standard set for some many years has dropped a bit, that only adds to the awe with which we remember Warney, Pidgeon, Gillie, Langer etc etc.

Australia have lost some of the ability of recent decades, but none of the heart.

We will now take on the Kiwis and the Saffas, who will be smelling blood and looking for a tour to re-invigorate their own cricketing fortunes. These series will tell just how far the Aussies have slipped really.

Then it's on to Ashes in '09. Sure to be another ripper!

The golden era of the 90s

As India pick up in the fourth test, where they left off in the first innings of the third, pummelling the bowlers to all parts, is it time to draw a line in time - and start talking about that great Australian side of the 90s (and 00s) like we do the great West Indies side of the 80s?

Gambhir out - Indians not happy - Aussies ready - lets go!

I suppose it worked for them once. In Australia when the India Cricket Board (BCCI) threatened to take their bat and ball and go home over the Harbharjan affair, the Aussies and the ICC were made to look ridiculous or worse - Andrew Symonds was completely undermined. So that the ICC held it's ground against the BCCI is a credit to them. Anything less would've rendered the process useless for future incidents.

Indian fans will cry foul, and come up with all these reasons why Gambhir should play, and that they're victimised yet again. The truth is, for all the Aussies bad behaviour, if you insist on calling it that, they have not crossed the line that Gambhir crossed.

He's out, the Indians are not happy, and a Test Match that could decide the fate of the Border-Gavaskar trophy starts today. What more could you want?

Sunil Gavaskar has been commentating on the coverage we get here, and has been very critical of the Aussies behaviour when taking wickets. Now I respect the man as a batsman, but he seriously needs to take a quick peek in his own backyard. India players have carried on far worse in this area on this tour, than any Aussie, and let's not bring his on field tantrums into this right now! Seriously there is a lot of hypocrisy going on at the moment. That's why I reckon, both sides should stop searching for some moral high ground, and just get out there and give it to one another. Like always, to the winner go the spoils (and bragging rites) and to the loser, well, there's always next time. If we laughed about some of this stuff a bit more, instead of getting so upset about it all, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal.

India vs Australia - Third Test - Day 2, 3 & 4

Finally I get to post some positive words about these Test matches.

After being thumped for nearly two days and conceding 613 runs, Australia answered in the only way possible, if they were to maintain any semblance of dignity and any chance of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

After india's 7 for 613, Australia had to prove to India that this was a feather-bed wicket with lightning fast boundaries. In doing so, they had to undermine as must as possible, the dominant performances of the Indian batsman. And they did!

In a previous post I called for Australia to start batting like a team, and they did that too. Every recognised batsman getting above 50, they left India with such a small lead on the first innings that a win is now much less likely than a draw. Not only that, but snagging 2 India wickets in the evening of Day 4, is a gentle reminder to India that they are very beatable.

Without Gambhir next test, and with Kumble's finger sure to be troubling him, things have evened up a bit in the injury stakes.  (Not sure how bad Harbhajan toes is!) We now look like being in for a series deciding fourth Test.

I haven't been that optiistic that we'd be presented with a  pitch that the Aussie seam attack and second rate spin attack was capable of taking 20 wickets on. I have been expecting flat, dusty wickets which would pretty much ensure India hold on to their 1 nil lead - but I hear now that a new pitch has been installed at Nagpur and maybe, just maybe, there could be a little unpredictability about it.

A glimour of optimism flickers deep within, and the Australian side should at least go into the fourth test, with some momentum, at least as much as the Indian's can claim, abeit, needing to win!