Mitch did not miss him about this either. I am picking up more snippets from the article from various sources


(Bunnings is a large hardware chain in Australia)




Comments on social media flying everywhere as you can imagine.

Many were about this comment from our Paki opener




Calling Smith and Warner heroes did not go over too well


And what about this one from Warner's manager?




Like other countries, Australia has an ageing men's Test cricket team. Eight who played in Newlands in 2018 will probably start in the First Test against Pakistan next week.

Warner
Khawaja
Smith
Marsh M.
Cummins
Starc
Hazelwood
Lyon




In a few more years, most of them will be gone forever


Thank fuck. We can have our Test team back. Something to be proud of again



:bravo2:

I think MJ's comments reflect worldwide opinion of Warners involvement in Sandpapergate. Although it maybe history and those caught were "punished" it won't be forgotten.

Some bits & pieces.


In recent years, Bazza's party trick if I am discussing cricket with someone, is to ask if they know who has the 2nd best batting average in Test cricket. Nobody ever got it right. The answer was Adam Voges' at 61.97.


A couple of times, Smith and Labuschagne have gone past Voges but have not been able to maintain that average

Now we have a new kid on the block. Young Harry has moved past Voges. And look at his strike rate!! Nearly a run-a-ball :bravo:









I have always had the understanding that Test averages were based on a minimum of 20 Tests so this list from Cricinfo does not reflect that. Still, Harry is doing okay so far. An upcoming tour to India may test him but good luck to the lad.




I thought someone might have mentioned that the only reason Australia won the recent World Cup was that they had a Pom (Josh Inglis) in their side dancing


Now the Perth Scorchers have taken it to a new level.


This is their winning batting scorecard from a couple of nights ago. Guess where every one of these blokes was born?







:26_8_11:





Is Test cricket on its last legs?


South Africa sending a 14-man Test side to New Zealand with 7 uncapped players including the captain. Likewise, the Windies with 7 uncapped players in their squad are about to face Australia. These are WTC matches for fucks sake.


These teams will probably perform better than expected but still.


Both "series" are only two Tests. Same as the recent South Africa/India Test "series".


T20 of course is the culprit. And it will only get worse if the rumour of a 2nd IPL backed by Saudi money to be played in an October "window" comes to fruition.


LIV Cricket anyone?



:bigfinger

Who will ever doubt Ben Duckett again?? dancing


A win for the ages. A win for the Empire. Enjoy the moment lads.



Indian cricket must be in near meltdown at the moment.


Losing the "unlosable" ODI World Cup final, going from 153/4 to 153 all out in the Cape Town Test (though they ended up winning it), and now losing this one in Hyderabad after leading by nearly 200 on the first innings. Crikey.



I'm not talking about the Australian Test team at the moment other than our "Pretty Boy" captain maybe won't declare when behind again plus he should stick to commenting on cricket and not give his opinions on moving the date of Australia Day during a Test match

:thumbdown:

Let's see how the 2nd test goes Bazza Rahul and jadeja out of India team but think kohli is back which should give them runs and gobbing off leach out for us and Anderson in :angryold: also the anglopaki in forget his name but he missed the first test due to visa issues

The current (as 0f 4/3/24) WTC Points Table







Sometimes I wonder if my mind is going as I reach my senior years.


I understand that because not every team can play the same number of Tests over a qualifying period, the ladder is determined by a winning percentage.


Is that right?


If so, then India winning 5 from 8 should be 62.5%

New Zealand is OK

Australia 7 from 11 is 63.63% according to my Chinky phone calculator. Normally I do these in my head.

Bangladesh is OK

Pakistan 2 from 5 should be 40%

West Indies and South Africa are OK

England 3 from 9 should be 33.33%, not 19.44%

Sri Lanka is the easiest of the lot to work out :haha:




Looking at the points side of things, it seems that you get 12 points for winning a Test.


Again NZ, Banglas, Windies, Saffas are all ok


Australia, Pakistan, and England have their points reduced somehow. I assume slow over rates? Really?


England are only getting 7 points for each winning Test :clueless:


And fucking India somehow gets extra points for winning a Test


Does anyone know how this all works?


:dunno:

I've no idea how that system works Baz but it's probably run by some Indian based statistician. So nothing makes sense mathematically plus India getting more points for winning a Test sounds about right.

Well, the IPL circus starts tonight (Thai Time). The only show in town for the next two months. Totally innocuous to me. The same as all the other T20 leagues around the world. You can add the T10s and Hundred as well. Actually, I have never watched a game of the "Hundred" because it has no appeal to me.


The IPL tv coverage seems to be getting copied everywhere now. Screaming commentators (EVERYTHING is fantastic, tremendous, superb), 3 or 4 crowd shots after every ball, every ball is replayed etc etc. Does anybody give a fuck who wins or loses?


It is all show. Just "entertainment" like a circus. It is a play thing for the owners of the franchises and for the players, it is only about the money which is understandable. :rich:


No wonder why Daryl Mitchell is playing in it


This, after losing two Tests against Australia recently








That's up there with Harry Brook's "moral victories" and just about anything that comes out of Ben Duckett's mouth. "We can chase down anything" and then proceeds to lose by an innings and 64 runs.


Even Ben Stokes is still on the happy juice

From the BBC website after the recent series loss to India


" We're very disappointed, but write this team off, write me off at your own peril."

"The media use the name Bazball - everyone says 'What is it?'," said Stokes. "In my opinion it's wanting to be a better player. In the face of defeat and failure, Bazball will hopefully inspire people to become better players and become even better than what we are."


May I suggest that Stokes have a look at the current Test Championship ladder?


Yes, I am being selective with these quotes but they did say it.


Maybe Mitchell wants a "participation" medal like the kids get?


To most Australian cricket followers, they would probably find all this gibberish totally laughable. Especially to the older generations like me.


There is only one acceptable result from a game of cricket. No matter how you get there as long as it is within the rules.


Rant over







On another subject, I somehow missed this from last year


Australia is no longer alone in losing a Test after enforcing the follow-on








We welcome the Poms to a very select club dancing


:toot:

At least we got beat without cheating too

Fuck the IPL and all that shite. The real deal, also known as the County Championship, starts in 2 weeks time. Assuming it's not snowing or there's a heavy frost. Unfortunately the CC has been shunted into the nether regions off the season so The 100 has centre stage in the summer. FFS. Looking forward to freezing my bollocks off, and gazing at trees with no leaves on, whilst out in the middle blokes in white try and make a game of it despite the ECB enforced conditions.

Have you watched any of the hundred Frankie ? I've not watched 1 ball myself as it's basically written off the international game in August here in England
I'm considering getting a ticket against the West Indies at lords but only day 4 & 5 available the way we play and how bad WI are probably won't go to 4th day unless it rains £125 for a decent seat sure I read it's full refund if the game is over before your days play
It's either that or try for a one dayer or T20 against Australia in September

I must have a bit of Indian in me somewhere coz I finally nutted it out.


You get 12 points for a win and 4 points for a "No Result" which everybody else calls a draw. Look at the 2nd graphic.


You do get deducted points for slow over-rates. There may be other ways to get points deducted but I don't know what they are.



This is the current table (Friday morning 25/3/24 Thai Time)






So look at India. Played 9 games so a possible maximum of 108 points. So 6 wins and 1 draw gives them 76 points minus a 2-point deduction for slow over rates in their loss in the 1st Test against South Africa

So 74 out of a possible 108 is 68.51%


Australia lost 10 points for a slow over-rate in the drawn Test at Manchester


England are the worst culprits as they lost points in 4 out of the 5 Ashes Tests for slow over-rates


It can be seen here







If Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh later today, England will be last on the table. However, if, and it is a big if, England win their next 6 Tests at home against the Windies and Sri Lanka this northern summer, they will improve to 48.43% (93 points out of a possible 192 points), good weather and no slow over-rate penalties permitting.


Just wondering if slow over rates are still a tactic in Test cricket? The West Indies always did it in the 70s & 80s before the rules were changed to a minimum amount of overs in a day's play. They got it down to 8-9 overs per hour. How can you score runs if you don't face enough balls?



Surely, in the "Spirit of Cricket", England would not stoop to these tactics?


dancing






Just a wind-up, lads



:toot:

I heard on radio today we'd be 5th if we never bowled slow

Probably, as you would have 40 points out of a possible 120 so 33.33% the same as Sri Lanka, Windies & Bangladesh but you have played more Tests. This will change again after this weekend with the upcoming SL/Bangla Test



Plus England has started with two 5 Test series against the top two Test-playing nations. It should get easier from here on in but nothing is a given as Australia found out when they lost to the lowly-ranked West Indies at the "fortress" Gabba.



And the Aussies somehow managed to beat the Kiwis but only thanks to Cameron Green in the First Test and Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey in the 2nd. The common thinking is that Australia is not playing well but still finding a way to win. It is the batting that is letting them down but selectors are not willing to change a winning team.



The 5 Test schedule against India for the next Australian summer has just been released. Cricket Australia has purposely started with Perth and Adelaide as that's where the Baggy Greens perform best. The idea is to be 2-0 up before heading to Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney.



After that, the Aussies go to Sri Lanka for 2 Tests where they are notorious for playing badly. That should be their last matches in the current WTC cycle.



England go to Pakistan for 3 Tests in October then 3 Tests in NZ in Nov/Dec



So a long way to go yet



:toot:

This site gives you all the future programs coming up in cricket.


Here is a link to all of England's upcoming matches up to 2027


England Cricket Future Tours



:detective:

I tried watching The 100 (or 16.4) but can't get away with it because the teams are franchised and mean nothing to me. I couldn't give a shiny shite if the KP Crisps Sunrisers beat the Dunkin' Doughnuts All Stars as they mean fuck all to me and I couldn't care less. Totally different with County Cricket as I would like to watch say Derbyshire thrash Surrey in the CC or even T20. At least way there is history and tradition behind those sorts of games. The bits of the 100 I watched had me trying to work out in my mind which player played for which County rather than concentrate on the irrelevant manufactured franchise. Plus you've got overs being called sets and the TV screen filled with stats that are difficult to comprehend. And of course as it's the ECB's pet project all other formats have to be sidelined for it including the biggest money spinner of the lot Test cricket.

Back to the real cricket. I'm going to the Trent Bridge Test, as it's the farthest north venue, against the Windies. Got tickets for the first 2 days. Mate did the booking and managed somehow to pick up the tickets on-line by claiming to be an ECB member, or something. Normally he tries every year for either an ODI or Test and we get fuck all, or like last year Day 4 at Headingley in The Ashes but that worked out great in the end.

Don't know how accurate that website is Baz but if this is correct then I reckon we will turn India over.

Jan - Feb 2025
Tour of England 2025
Matches: 3 ODI, 5 T20
Venue: England.

Not be many bunsen burners that time of year and the weather will not be what the Indians are used to.

Maybe playing indoors? :blink:



Actually, that has been tried before at the Docklands (now called Marvel) Stadium in Melbourne about 25 years ago. Australia played South Africa in August right in the middle of the Australian football season. Poor crowd attendances ensured the idea was scrapped.


With its retractable roof, it is mainly used for football, sporting events, and concerts. It is the home of the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash. It can hold over 50,000 for sporting events and more for concerts


Docklands Stadium



Think how many more cricket games in England would end in a result if you had a ground like this


dancing