World Test Championship Finals - India vs Australia @ Oval

[Bevab]

Spurs?

Didn’t expect to see a r/soccer type of comment here.

Spurs have made plenty of shakeups since they last won a trophy, look at how many managers they’ve cycled through and how many players have been bought/sold, all of differing playing styles. If anything a little bit of sensible planning and continuity would have helped the club.

I don’t even think RCB qualify for this, they’ve changed their internal structure with Hesson as the man behind the scenes, they’ve finally changed their captain and have been focusing on getting more established bowlers alongside more unproven domestic talents instead of plumping for the same recognised names like in the past. There’s only so much you can do when you have a Kohli taking up a vast majority of the salary cap.

India as pointed out have been quite unique. Numbers three, four and five are still here and the same in 2023 in a big match, Rohit’s still around in some capacity as are Shami, Ashwin, Umesh and Jadeja from way back then. I’ve never thought of it this way but whoever pointed out that the team needs an overhaul is spot on, they’ve grown stale and have been mostly sticking with similar tactics in pressure situations.

 

[Hobbi07]

Well, whether you like it or not- Test cricket is going to die soon. I just dont see the smaller nations playing the longest format, especially one where the gulf is so evident between England, Australia and the rest. If they play in India, they will end up playing on turning tracks wherein the matches get done in 3 days.

Apart from the Ashes, BGT, Pataudi Trophy I really do not see Test matches surviving more than 5 years. The public doesnt have the timeor the stomach for the games,which are becoming increasingly one-sided day by day.

To that effect, will not blame the players for not wanting to play the format. I also believ most players end up stating "Test is ultimate" cause of peer pressure/ media pressure.

Does this doomsday prophesy have anything to do with the fact you're going to lose another final?

Personally, I don't think test cricket has been as enjoyable in years as what it is at the moment. The Ashes especially has me licking my lips to see what will happen when bazball meets the best seam attack in the world.

Then there's South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan with strong test teams.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

 

[Ed Smith]

Supreme start

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Supreme start

Dammit, I turned on my PS4 but hadn't launched Sky.

 

[Bevab]

Is Langer saying his daughters aren’t allowed to do martial arts but his hypothetical son can?

 

[Fenil]

6 an over in the last 10 overs. Very useful runs these. Hopefully India can avoid the follow on.

 

[CerealKiller]

Still don’t know why England has the monopoly on hosting the WTC final

 

[Fenil]

Still don’t know why England has the monopoly on hosting the WTC final

Right. Home of cricket yada yada aside, I personally think it's a better idea to let the previous edition's winners host the final.

 

[Bevab]

I wouldn't have had Thakur ahead of Umesh in my side but fair play the lad's done adequately enough with the ball and is providing vital runs now.

Still think Ashwin being dropped was bonkers though. That fourth pacer hasn't really made a big difference and Ashwin would have very likely taken a couple of wickets at least on his own. Jadeja's also shown that he deserves to play as a pure batter anyway.

Really pleased for Rahane here too, his story felt incomplete after he was dropped and a fifty in testing conditions when the rest of the team has struggled coming in cold is a huge moment for him. Can't help but feel that this won't be good for the team in the long run though, they may well be forced to play him now that he's in a good mental space and form. It may well end like Pujara who keeps giving one good knock whenever his spot is in serious question to keep the murmurs down. In any case I don't think we can afford a top order of Pujara and Kohli followed by Rahane, there has to be a long-term overhaul for the next four years that doesn't just involve moving Gill down to four because for some reason everyone seems to think a technically classic batter with aggression has to be a top order bat and not an opener.

 

[CerealKiller]

Right. Home of cricket yada yada aside, I personally think it's a better idea to let the previous edition's winners host the final.

I think it should be whoever among the finalists finished first on the table. Don’t want a neutral venue with too many empty seats.

 

[Bevab]

Still don’t know why England has the monopoly on hosting the WTC final

Right. Home of cricket yada yada aside, I personally think it's a better idea to let the previous edition's winners host the final.

I'd guess it's because a test in England is the most likely to be sold out irrespective of which country plays.

The table toppers or the defending champion getting the honour of hosting it could work but there's the issue of scheduling around that as always. I don't think you can play cricket in Australia in June for instance. Organising a test with limited time after getting confirmation of who is the table topper is also a bit difficult. Just one of many flaws that exists with the WTC (I've warmed up to it a bit though, if we are to have a test competition in the sea of T20 leagues this may well be the compromise).

 

[Skankhunt_42]

Right. Home of cricket yada yada aside, I personally think it's a better idea to let the previous edition's winners host the final.

If that happens then, Imagine PAK winning next WTC mace and IND playing final in 2025 again

 

[CerealKiller]

I'd guess it's because a test in England is the most likely to be sold out irrespective of which country plays.

The table toppers or the defending champion getting the honour of hosting it could work but there's the issue of scheduling around that as always. I don't think you can play cricket in Australia in June for instance. Organising a test with limited time after getting confirmation of who is the table topper is also a bit difficult. Just one of many flaws that exists with the WTC (I've warmed up to it a bit though, if we are to have a test competition in the sea of T20 leagues this may well be the compromise).

Doesn’t have to be in June though. You can always start the new cycle in June, but have the final played whenever it’s convenient. Sure, it'd be weird to have the final after the new cycle has already started, but it’s cricket, things are bound to be weird.

 

[Fenil]

Can't help but feel that this won't be good for the team in the long run though, they may well be forced to play him now that he's in a good mental space and form. It may well end like Pujara who keeps giving one good knock whenever his spot is in serious question to keep the murmurs down. In any case I don't think we can afford a top order of Pujara and Kohli followed by Rahane, there has to be a long-term overhaul for the next four years that doesn't just involve moving Gill down to four because for some reason everyone seems to think a technically classic batter with aggression has to be a top order bat and not an opener.

It would be tough on someone like Shreyas Iyer as well who has done quite well and had made a spot for himself in the middle order before he suffered an injury.

I feel Pujara too should up the ante. Granted he is the traditional old school batsman but he has the tendency to get sucked into playing a lot of dot balls even when there is no need to (not talking about this particular match but overall) while if one compares his current playing style with the one he had 4-5 years ago, he has almost barred himself from pouncing the bad balls barring them from the spinners which was so unlike him back then despite being a defensive batsman all along.

I think one batsman that doesn't get due credit for his exploits is Hanuma Vihari. Wonderful batsman with excellent temperament. If given the power of choice, I would happily swap Pujara with Vihari and Rahane with a fit Shreyas Iyer at this point.

Post automatically merged: Jun 9, 2023

If that happens then, Imagine PAK winning next WTC mace and IND playing final in 2025 again

Nah, then India would probably bow out before making it to the final. Politics FTW!