Cricket Banter

(14-03-2022 11:10 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(13-03-2022 11:03 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(12-03-2022 16:00 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  Pakistan v Australia 2nd Test Karachi Day 4 Close
Australia won the toss & elected to bat
AUS 556-9 dec (189 overs) Khawaja 160 Carey 93 Smith 72 Lyon 38 Cummins 34 no Faheem 2-55 Sajid Khan 2-167
Pakistan 148 (53 overs) Babar 36 Starc 3-29 Swepson 2-32
Australia 97-2 (22.3 overs) Labuschagne 44 Khawaja 44 no
Pakistan 192-2 (82 overs) Babar 102 no Shafique 71 no
Target 506

What kind of form has Usman Khawaja been in?? In a way, replicating the kind of numbers/Ave Steve Smith did for an extended period!! Looks like this match may be heading for a draw, but Pakistan building a decent 2nd Inns!.

I sometimes wish that Haysman had an off button, but I agreed with one comment he gave this morning when the umpire got involved with Australia -it was usman actually- returning the ball on the bounce. Haysman sain that he couldn't see an issue, and that if it aided reverse swing, then good ....so what!! Correct.......so what!!

(15-03-2022 11:04 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(14-03-2022 11:10 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(13-03-2022 11:03 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(12-03-2022 16:00 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  Pakistan v Australia 2nd Test Karachi Day 5
Australia won the toss & elected to bat
AUS 556-9 dec (189 overs) Khawaja 160 Carey 93 Smith 72 Lyon 38 Cummins 34 no Faheem 2-55 Sajid Khan 2-167
Pakistan 148 (53 overs) Babar 36 Starc 3-29 Swepson 2-32
Australia 97-2 (22.3 overs) Labuschagne 44 Khawaja 44 no
Pakistan 443-7 (171.4 overs) Babar 196 Rizwan 104 no Shafique 96 Lyon 4-112 Cummins 2-75
Match Drawn

Great fightback by Pakistan, after a poor 1st innings performance. Going into the las session with 36 overs & 196 runs required, They have come out & scored 20 runs in 2 overs. Can they pull off a remarkable victory, with the ball continuing to keep low Australia must still believe they have a genuine chance to win with a couple of quick wickets. Pakistan have to double their scoring rate from 2.4 to 2.8, difficult to maintain throughout a whole session.

Commentators curse strikes again, into the final hour with 12 runs per over required, & Babar approaching a double century, with some talk of hands being shaken as the match drift towards an inevitable draw. But no, the persevering Lyon get 2 wickets in 2 balls, it's 6 down & Cummins takes the 3rd new ball.
Still An epic knock from Babar, his 196 from 425 balls is the highest 4th innings score by a Test captain, beating Atherton's 185 not out at the Wanderers in '95.

Another fantastic example of Test match cricket!! In Pakistan, an outcome like this is few and far between! It would be great if this example of a true contest between bat and ball was replicated at more venues in the sub continent!

I was surprised - as seemingly the commentators were - that Cummins persisted with spin, and didn't rely on his quicks (including himself) at the death, when it looked like Australia - from a point where Pakistan were slight favourites - almost got over the line!

A word for Babar Azam!! What a player this man is! In the shake - up of the top batsmen in world cricket - for some reason?? - (and I am guilty here too) he is often forgotten when names come up! An unforgiveable oversight to be fair!!

I was surprised that Babar hadn't made a Test Match 150 before today, & he really deserved a double. For a player of his obvious ability, he has had a quiet time in Test Match cricket, now as captain, this innings should see him back alongside the top 5. I do wonder that his success as an T20 player has distracted him in recent times,

Would we be looking at a different result if Cummins had enforced the follow-on ? Pakistan were bowled out inside 50 overs, none of his bowlers were overworked, & they only had around an hour before they got a night rest. With 2 front-line spinners & another 2 part-timers, fatigue shouldn't have been an issue.

He is not on his own though, most modern captains go down the safety first route, but I thought that bowlers were suppose to be be more attack-minded that the more negative batsman captains.

South Africa v Bangladesh 1st ODI Centurion
SA won the toss & elected to bowl
BAN 314-7 (50 overs) Shakib 77 Yasir 50 Litton Das 50 Tamin 41 Maharaj 2-56 Jansen 2-57
SA 276 (48.5 overs) van der Dussen 86 Miller 79 Miraz 4-61 Taskin 3-36 Shoriful 2-47
Bangladesh won by 38 runs

(18-03-2022 11:24 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  South Africa v Bangladesh 1st ODI Centurion
SA won the toss & elected to bowl
BAN 314-7 (50 overs) Shakib 77 Yasir 50 Litton Das 50 Tamin 41 Maharaj 2-56 Jansen 2-57
SA 276 (48.5 overs) van der Dussen 86 Miller 79 Miraz 4-61 Taskin 3-36 Shoriful 2-47
Bangladesh won by 38 runs

A test win in NZ and now the first ODI in SA back garden!! The Tigers are showing much overdue consistency now! Can they sustain and build?? South Africa - on the other hand - inconsistent to say the least!

I heard the debate Pommie had around player availability. Seems the same tail that wags other countries dog, is doing so in S.A. The debate seemed to centre around how - as everywhere else - accommodation with the IPL needed to be found, and a different balance to the fixture congested calendar was needed to do it!! The wrong way round for me.

The ICC has to become the governing body it purports to be, and instead of being a by - stander to the self interest of Boards/Players, lay out the parameters for nations playing its' product of test cricket, if the the World Test Championship is to gain traction, and be seen in a wider context as the pinnacle - once - and - for - all! In return, they (the ICC) have to close the gap between remuneration levels for those players playing in their championship - depending on the country they represent - thus making it worth their while to spurn the IPL as a necessity to make a decent living!! They can do it, they have deeper pockets than they admit too.

A stand out championship (properly constituted), in reality - rather than name only - could well attract a headline sponsor/(s) with equally deep pockets, if they see the tournaments worth!

Back to reality for Bangladesh today it seems with their batting, and tactical awareness issues returning! Decent rearguard from the lower order, but not enough on this track I think. Then again, this is the modern day Proteas!