Australia Tour Of India 2012/13

[Dutch]

As an Englishman I am thoroughly enjoying this!

 

[swacker]

Dhawan's one crazy mo fo. Played it like a Twenty20.

 

[Warner Watson]

What a sensational knock by Shikhar Dhawan very pleased with his performance a new sehwag borns

 

[cerande]

This is an extraordinary innings by Dhawan.His footwork was excellent as well,which is a good sign.Some of the shots he played were absolutely stunning.A dream start to his career.

I am very impressed by Vijay as well.He is not letting the fireworks at other end distract him.Just playing his own game.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Amazing day ends. Shikhar Dhawan thanks for lighting up this match which could very well have a result now.

125 runs behind and 100 odd overs tomorrow to bat at, I can seriously see us batting for 80 overs for 275 runs and 150 runs lead would be pretty awesome to bowl at and then chase 100 runs total if at all Australia bat out

 

[Gurjot95]

SciD (former moderator) will probably will be the luckiest member on PlantCricket having witnessed this match live on ground. Only If my board exams were over, I would have been sitting on stands too!

 

[icyman]

Probably Dhawan's innings was required as the match has been reduced to 4 days. Go all out and notch up a big total would be the signal from the dressing room. Again, I am quite happy with the performance of the team and see them batting till mid-day tomorrow to give the game a sporting edge.

India could also declare say 50 short of the Aussie total. But,going by the current form, I'd say India might just match the total by lunch and let their spinners rule then onwards.

 

[Left_Hander]

Every time Australia has a good session or two, India steam roll us. I don't know why we bother

 

[Satan666]

I am lost for words, the Aussies are extremely disappointing, enjoy it while you can India, the next task in the African continent would re-expose your weakness!

 

[midgetwars]

I don't know why they kept Maxwell. Probably for the left hand spin option but he was as expensive and took less important wickets than Maxwell.

 

[Gurjot95]

I don't know why they kept Maxwell. Probably for the left hand spin option but he was as expensive and took less important wickets than Maxwell.

lol wut?

 

[Gurjot95]

Thanks to Sid -

 

[Sedition]

Decided to dig a little deeper into that 26 odd average for Australian #3 batsmen and see who the culprits are.

In the 27 tests since the Ashes kicked off in November 2010, all batsmen appearing at 3, in order of first appearance:

Ponting - 161 @ 16.10
Khawaja - 203 @ 29.00
Marsh - 301 @ 30.10
Watson - 228 @ 28.50
Quiney - 9 @ 3.00
Hughes - 258 @ 32.25
and now Clarke


Tests played at #3:

Eng - Ponting 4, Khawaja 1
SL - Ponting 1, Marsh 2
Saf - Marsh/Ponting 1, Khawaja 1
NZ - Khawaja 2
Ind - Marsh 4
WI - Watson 3
Saf - Quiney 2, Watson 1
SL - Hughes 3
Ind - Hughes 2

Hughes just finished our longest run of 5, or 4.5 consecutive tests at 3. He started strong like Marsh, demolishing Sri Lanka at home and abroad, then like Marsh, proceeds to look clueless against India. Hard to justify not dropping them at the time.

Khawaja was unlucky, filling in for Ponting in the final Ashes test, but lost out to Marsh for SL. Marsh's injury gave him another opportunity, but failing to capitalise against NZ, albeit on green tops, opened the door for Marsh's unfortunate return.

Watson returned from injury for WI and with the newly formed Cowan/Warner opening pair whitewashing India, the obvious solution was to play him at 3 in place of Marsh. Some typical 50's and another injury before Saf arrived and Quiney began and ended his career.

So basically, all the current viable #3's - Khawaja, Marsh, Hughes and Watson - are all hovering around the 30 average mark after 4-6 tests, nowhere near enough time to have an accurate reading. The more games these guys string together, undoubtedly the greater their average will be, given their talents.

Guys like Amla, Trott and Sanga are far more experienced so comparing our youngsters sporadic appearances to them is pointless. Pujara's had an explosive start, averaging 67 after 11 tests, but obviously that's going to drop as he plays more overseas and goes through low patches. Azhar Ali for Pakistan has been quietly going about his job, now averaging 42 after 27 tests, but it took him time to find his feet, averaging 29 after 5 tests and 34 after 6, similar numbers to our guys.

Then when you factor in that our home series aren't played on SC style flat tracks, and we play Bangladesh the least out of everyone, our averages overall are going to be lower given equal skill.

 

[War]

As I said...the criticism of Smith has been unfair...the guy can play...seems these dump on everyone fans know nothing...and can not even name any alternatives anyway.
Yeah, Smith's bowling is not test standard...yet.
But the guy is 23, leave him be.
He shows way more potential than Cameron White ever did.

I couldn't get the smile off my face all the way after Smith got past about 20. He's been massively written off. I think most Aussie fans think he's a joke, while most international fan thinks he's playing as a leg spinner.

Ha, wow are we AUS fans so desperate for something to cheer about that we around going to jump of little innings of part of a test match here by Steve Smith. I hope you two were jumping when Smith made 77 vs Pakistan in 2010 facing Aamir/Asif/Gul in seaming conditions, saying he was the real deal leading up to the 2010/11 Ashes.

All credit to him for making the runs here, since the team certainly can do with someone attempting to make runs, but fact is nothing Smith did before this test in international cricket (ignore his FC record in the decline AUS First-class system) to justify a place. He also did well in the last IPL 2012 before his ODI call-up in England last year & looked out of his depth.

Plus its highly inaccurate to say Smith shows more potential than White ever did. Cameron White for a for 2 years once arguably the most destructive # 6 in ODI cricket. Smith has never reached such heights in any form of international cricket.

 

[Cricketman]

I think Smith has oodles of potential. Maybe I had my doubts as a test player (still do) but I think if utilized properly by Australia he can prove to be quite a fantastic cricketer. I remember watching him bat for Pune in the IPL up the order and was really impressed by how cleanly he hits the ball. He reminds me a lot of Michael Clarke (before he became a friggin beast). His fielding is excellent too.

I think Smith's value becomes a bit depreciated by is underwhelming bowling. If he was a specialist batsman I feel he would be rated much higher.