63 runs scored after lunch by the time i had made it back to work from the pub;

good innings for warner, he needed it.

if australia wins, ponting will keep his spot, quinney is gone the second watto is fit.

good. hes a no one.

they haven't lost that much facey, it is like 6 meters at its worse, and on one side

faceman, you're on drugs.

Terrible footwork?

that ball that got Punter would have bowled every batsman in the games history.

It was a thing of beauty

faceman, you're on drugs.

Terrible footwork?

that ball that got Punter would have bowled every batsman in the games history.

It was a thing of beauty

bar boonie, boonie's wicket was a hard one, thats why he was so good, he might not have always gotten a high score, but fuck me, he was often there till the 8th wicket

Clarke is killing them

Hussey goes for 103, clarke not out, he will get hope to be 300 runs breaking top off don bradman.

SAF more like SFA

Well done. Bravo!

Demolishing. Geez Warner made them look and feel bad. Some of those balls he carted were good line and length - he was just hungry.

Clarke is so hot right now. Hussey also looks really damn solid.

To be fair - Gabba was a batting pitch and this is also very much a batting pitch. Not doing a lot for the bowlers at all. I don't reckon the Aussie bowlers are going to be able to take wickets either unless the pitch degrades substantially. I'd definitely bat on to a big score at this stage, with this wicket.

If Clarke is willing to do that and he continues to bat fast and well he could top Bradman's Lara's score.

Fixed.

wade fluffed a stumping off clarkey

disappoitning.

ball was spearing into his feet, where would you have liked them to move to?

i love running out bat dabbers.

A regulation forward defensive would have done the trick. It swung in and then jagged away but all he needed to do was get in behind it and not get completely squared up. Both feet were pointing straight down the pitch

He got squared up because it was tailing in at him, he had no idea it would then viciously swing away late.

Prime candidate for LBW if you just throw your foot forward at a ball like that, tried to get his bat under it and then remarkably it swung late the other way.

Saying he should have thrown a stock standard forward defence at it, is like saying Gatting should have kicked away the ball of the century. It's hard to cover those rare deliveries that go both ways!

wade lucky not to fluff another stumping

haha you are saying that ball was comparable to the ball of the century? Please tell me more. I posted the gif. If it is too small just zoom your browser in. There was also a hawkeye done a bit after he was dismissed. There was nothing overly dramatic about the movement, Ponting just fucked up

Comparable in the sense that it tailed IN, then swung away. Which is a rare feat, especially for a non leg spinner.

The thing that made the ball of the century so good was that he ripped it so much it drifted from off to outside leg in the air, then spun across him - essentially the classic delivery that 'goes both ways'.

The Kallis delivery looked out of the hand like another big looping inswinger like the one that got Cowan, then dramatically it swung away late to take off. So what makes it comparable is that it essentially went both ways.

Only the most strident Ponting haters are suggesting it wasn't an absolute peach, or those who continually prove they are cricket nuffies. Sadly for fpot, he fits both categories.

Well I am not a Ponting hater for a start. You really do have a problem with making shit up don't you?

The simple fact of the matter is that a complete lack of footwork and lack of balance contributed heavily to the dismissal. I know you love to jerk yourself off about how much of a scholar of the game you are (you have actually referred to yourself as that unironically before) but if you'd actually look at the gif and get your hand of your own cock you'd realise that if his movement was in order it would have been possible to keep that one out.

edit: plus you are literally the only person going on about how it was a magical unplayable ball. Even the commentators who are all ex-test cricketers, ex-test captains and Mark Nicholas (lols) were saying it was an embarrassing looking dismissal that Ponting wouldn't want to see again. I guess they must be cricket nuffies and Ponting haters too right?

To me it looked like Ponting thought he was going to get a ball near his pads that he could hit through midwicket for four. Then it started moving away from him and due to his typically poor footwork early in his innings he ended up looking like an absolute goose.

In my mind it was a great ball made to look even better by Pontings terrible footwork.

Actually fpot, all the commentators at the time declared it an absolute gem of a delivery - I'm beginning to think you weren't watching?

Then again, doubt you were at work.

rofl, very few of the commentators know the quality of a delivery from up there.
They see just as much as we do and tend to go easy on Aussie stars.

Dravid was dismissed the same way last year and i rem saying his footwork was gone too. Punter looks terrible he looks like Dravid last summer, hes agitated as the delevery comes in and he has lost that composed stance he used to have.

He should stand down and i wouldnt be surprised in he makes the announcement at the end of this test.


Just on Sport, that girl that fell from the balconey ?
Shes Mike Colemans daughter, he covers sport in the Courier mail and works with TEN news.

Lol @ the cricket. The #1 side should always win against a #3 side. Situation normal, here.

To be fair that ball he got in the first innings was simply unplayhahahaha sorry.

In all seriousness though I reckon he should be given the summer to make some runs and book his place in the ashes.

yer, i agree with you there facey; hes bowled much better in adelaide, but im still not impressed with lyon;

Yeah I think everyone here knows my opinion on Warne (omg overrated I hate him so much). Lyon has been our best spinner since though plus he seems like a cool bloke so yay Lyon.

oh noes!

Amazing that Patterson has a ball hit his stumps (from a pace bowler unhindered) and not dislodge a bail.

Not sure I've ever seen that before.

Seems Clarke agreed with me on 425.

To be honest with a full day and a half to go I would probably have let them finish off the innings. Patterson won't be bowling and Lyon won't bowl for at least the first hour so tiring out bowlers shouldn't have been a concern.

I do suppose the issue is without Patterson there will be significant periods of part time bowling mixed in so you need to allow more time (but also more runs to chase as a result)...

More I type, more I realise that is one bugger of a decision to make in this situation.

Well Australia are making some good inroads here. Got the important wickets of Smith and Amla in the bag. Just need to get Kallis out and it is almost a sure thing.

Lyon really proving himself here as a bowler as well.

edit: oh yes and De Villiers can be quite a nuisance as well. He has to be feeling the sting of keeping for so long in this match though.

Quality fight from SA. Draw is looming, with Kallis still to bat.

Especially when catches are dropped...

Todays play is a classic example on why test cricket needs to die as slow a death as i feel when im watching it.
I love writing off cricket to modern day fans, they get that look in their eye that says 'i agree but i still watch it because its just what i do' and continue to namedrop and crap out useless stats that only other lame ass cricket fans care about.

you dont like cricket

Ohhh noooo we love it yeah!

Ah, so much fail from no you. How's your ADHD going? What makes Test cricket like today awesome is that it's a battle not only of pure sporting ability - it's also an extremely tactical battle that gradually unfolds over a few days.

Not many other sports can boast that, aside from maybe the Sydney - Hobart sailing race.

johnson has been named in the 14 man squad for the game starting friday.

god help us all

Todays play is a classic example on why test cricket needs to die as slow a death as i feel when im watching it.

Troll Denied.

That was a great Test Match.
That SAF Batsman put in an awesome performance in his first Test Match to deny Australia a victory. He deserved MOTM.
Australia finished 200 ahead yet still didnt win.
In the old days they used to play until the game ended.

Test Cricket is a bit like a War.
You could say Australia won the battles on nearly every day but they couldnt win the War. Unless you bowl a side out twice, you dont win Test Matches.

I suppose Test Cricket is unfashionable in a World with attention spans of little more than a couple of hours. For those of us that love the game it just doesnt get better than Test Cricket todays was a great Test.

Australia have played very well and would have beaten any of the other sides in both Tests. SAF used to have a reputation for rolling over when you pressured them. Theyve held Australia out twice now.
Its very tough to beat a Team that believes in themselves.

Cant wait til Friday.

alot of people have been hating on SAF for not scoring runs and playing a very defensive game.
Australia would have done the exact same thing.

Got to give it to Siddle. He had absolutely nothing left and still delivered. Having said that he shouldn't have bowled the last over. After the 8th fell Hilfenhaus should of stepped up.

hilfy really is useless without a new ball

Troll Denied

Yeah fail cat.
Only from you will i accept defeat. You also raise some valid points.

Tests like that are the reason you sit up watching cricket at 2am on the other side of the world. Even if it means annoying and waking up your roommates (that don't even understand what cricket is) when you yell at the screen.

And huge effort from Siddle and Du Plessis, can't say enough about the effort both of them summoned up late in the day.

australia should just stop playing spinners altogether until the next shane warne comes along

australia should just stop playing spinners altogether until the next shane warne comes along

Heh. Cos Shane Warne's debut test was a stunning display of bowling...

yer, i was joking about that matey, read the next bit i wrote;

id rather they bowl part timers whose primary job is to bat, then waste a spot on a spinner who just isnt up to the job (clarkey, warner, hussey)

put in another quick for lyon imo, probably would have won us the game if we'd had the starc option in adelaide

anyway, we'll get watson back next game and another couple of fit bowlers, so they can afford to give away a spot for another spinner to keep practicing

hope siddle will be ok to play.

is that the case? how about career overall? the thing i admire most about siddle is that hes not the fastest, or the most accurate or even the greatest thinker when hes bowling. he doesnt seem to ahve the best of any fast bowling attributes, but hes got a ticker the size of phar lap and you have to respect h im for that.

its hard not to after we had warney

He was very poorly treated.

He bowled very well, then was dropped for Doherty due to some misguided theory about Peiterson and left arm spin. While it's true KP struggles against quality left arm orthodox spin, X Doherty is NOT quality.

Hauritz also had the problem of being skippered by Ponting, and bowling during a period where our quicks weren't too flash either. As much as I love Punter, he had no idea how to set a field for spinners or how to use a spinner in a defensive or attacking way, he just set Hauritz his 'Warne field' and let him loose.

The other advantage of Hauro over Lyon, is that Lyon is a genuine bunny, Hauritz averaged 25 at test level with the bat and has multiple first class hundreds.

anyway, Lyon is there to stay now and he is bowling well. His issue yesterday was that he just bowled too quick after lunch most of the time. The ball he got Kallis with was good length & flight, but after that he seemed more focussed on rushing through his overs so we got more balls at them - breaking the old rule of quality over quantity.

He bowled far too many balls in the 88-95km/h range, when he should have been tossing them up in the early 80's.

I dont think you should be picking bowlers because they can bat a bit.

I disagree to some extent. You can't have 4 bunnies in the tail, otherwise you're screwing your numbers 5-7 out of lower order support and possibly leaving 100-150 runs on park. So sure you don't want to pick a guy just because he can bat (regardless of his bowling), but if you have players of a similar standard as bowlers (and arguably Lyon and Hauritz are), then I'd pick the guy that can bat a bit even if he's a slightly worse bowler.