Yep this is a very black day for cricket 

Won't happen but I would like Australia to stand out of international cricket for the year.

The way we play cricket is toxic and a circuit breaker is required.

To argue that everyone does it and that we are just taking the rules to their limits etc etc is just not good enough.

As to those directly involved I hate to say it but two year suspensions are in order. That is light.

what a pathetic effort. this team has been on a slippery slope for a long time.

and fmd what was a tiny piece of yellow sticky tape ever going to achieve? sheer amateurs. now thrown everything away.

shlt for brains

Does anyone believe that This is the first ball tampering in world cricket . Years ago reverse swing was not even a thing . The poms were sucking lollies the South Africans mints the poms again with dirt in their pockets. We are just not good at it .

sure sack Smith and his NSW mates maybe Put some victorians in the team.

the problem is that you can’t catch them all the time. My solution is to have a new ball after 40 overs so that reverse swing is not in play. May bring bowlers back into the game without cheating

The more I look at this the more I reckon that the outrage is completely over the top ... the angry mob are baying for blood but are those angry people consistent with their views with regards to other forms of cheating?  I don't think so.

As always, context needs to be applied but the outraged often prefer to look at these matters in isolation.

PED use in all sports is a far greater issue but no one wants to ralk about it (including in the AFL where the drug testing standards are negligible)  . . and then there is the widespread tanking (cheating) that went on for years & years. 

And CA will never find out even 20% of the truth so we'll never know the truth either.  My gut feeling tells me that they all knew but is the crime that bad anyway?  Most people would know that all the teams have cheated in the area of ball tampering so why should we cop the full brunt alone?

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australia/steve-smith-ball-tampering-scandal-12-yearolds-open-letter-to-australian-captain/news-story/0a8086e0850b511dc983ebfcd4b63426 

Well said?

8 hours ago, Macca said:

The more I look at this the more I reckon that the outrage is completely over the top ... the angry mob are baying for blood but are those angry people consistent with their views with regards to other forms of cheating?  I don't think so.

As always, context needs to be applied but the outraged often prefer to look at these matters in isolation.

PED use in all sports is a far greater issue but no one wants to ralk about it (including in the AFL where the drug testing standards are negligible)  . . and then there is the widespread tanking (cheating) that went on for years & years. 

And CA will never find out even 20% of the truth so we'll never know the truth either.  My gut feeling tells me that they all knew but is the crime that bad anyway?  Most people would know that all the teams have cheated in the area of ball tampering so why should we cop the full brunt alone?

saffers captain du plessis has had 2 ball tampering incidents against him. i don't remember the same outrage and he's certainly still the captain.

not saying its exactly the same or ok, but are there some double standards going on here?

smith, warner and anyone else involved should get suspensions from ca, but not necessarily over the top as some are calling for

3 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

saffers captain du plessis has had 2 ball tampering incidents against him. i don't remember the same outrage and he's certainly still the captain.

not saying its exactly the same or ok, but are there some double standards going on here?

smith, warner and anyone else involved should get suspensions from ca, but not necessarily over the top as some are calling for

There are a lot of ex-players chiming in and none of them were angels ... I still believe the botched attempt to change the nature of the cricket ball was way more stupid than sinister but it's not getting viewed that way.

And there's no love lost between Sutherland and the board and the players - but that's often been the case.  The decision to sanction the players should only be done if they are completely satisfied that all the facts have been presented. 

In the meantime,  standing down Smith,  Warner & Bancroft for the time being is the sensible thing to do ... Lehmann may want out anyway.  Who knows? 

Sure,  we could set an example with regards to ball tampering but are any of the other countries going to follow suit?  And isn't that the ICC's job anyway?

It doesn’t matter about the other countries because the punishment handed out will be done in the best interests of the Australia as a sporting nation. It may well be that other countries accept cheating from their sporting teams but, culturally, Australians don’t. 

Check out what happens after every sledging episode, with people arguing for and against, especially with those who have played being mostly for it in the right context. And what happens with ‘spirit of the game’ things, like walking. These are wishy washy things that are not specifically illegal, so it comes down to gamesmanship. Even whacking players in Grand Finals, which is exploiting the rules. Then check out what happens when Essendon is done for drugs .... year long suspension and almost everyone (except Essendon supporters) say “good riddance, drug cheats”. And in this episode it has been universal condemnation and an appetite for a fair and substantial punishment.

This is different in other countries, where the deliberately cheating is not viewed as badly as in Australia. But they may also view things like sledging much worse than us. There are cultural differences between the playing nations, which is why the ICC is so weak on ball tampering.

We are a country of laws and the rule of law is held much higher here than almost anywhere. So pushing the boundaries within the law is often accepted, but deliberately breaking the law is not. They need proper suspensions to show the public that the team still represents the values of Australians because, as of a few days ago, they do not.

.

New lows after a series whitewash v Poms including a world record 481 in a one dayer FFS.

12 hours ago, SFebey said:

New lows after a series whitewash v Poms including a world record 481 in a one dayer FFS.

However to put in perspective, we were without:

Smith

Warner

Cummins

Pattinson

Starc

M Marsh

Kwahaja 

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any comment about the makeup of the team selected to take on Pakistan in the UAE and in particular, the non selection of Maxwell and Hanscombe.

What’s happening here?

On 9/12/2018 at 9:39 PM, Whispering_Jack said:

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any comment about the makeup of the team selected to take on Pakistan in the UAE and in particular, the non selection of Maxwell and Hanscombe.

What’s happening here?

Agree WJ, and it's even more odd given no comments have been made since the tests themselves have been played.

Langer lost me the moment that squad was named. I can't remember an Australian Squad being named with so many bizzare selections. Siddle ahead of Tremain, Doggett ahead of a wrist spinner like Swepson, Nesser over Stoinis, Labuschange over Maxwell and Finch over who would have been my left field selection to captain for the next 2 years and bat at 5, Cameron White.

The Aussies showed some fight in the first test, and the performances of Finch & Labuschange exceeded my extremely low expectations  (how two guys with first class batting averages in the mid 30's have made our XI I don't know??). But we had to much of the same. Marsh's fail, batting collapses, bowling left to too few.

To make atters matters worse, with the way our summer is structured this year with the ODI's being mixed amongst the tests, some players like Maxwell will only be able to play one Shield match for e entire summer, even f he were to miss test selection  (round of Shield matches starting 27 Nov). Lets not even get into the fact Khawaja's now likely to miss the summer.

For me, this is the summer/time to finally say enough is enough. We already did it with Smith/Warner with what happened in South Africa, well now is the time to also do it with the wishy washy Marsh bro's despite the absences of Smith, Warner, Khawaja & Bancroft.

For mine, I'd like to see our XI for the First Test against India to look something like;

Aaron Finch (did enough in the UAE)

Matt Renshaw

Kurtis Patterson  (may as well play him. NSW never shut up about him)

Travis Head

Glenn Maxwell 

Marcus Stoinis 

+Tim Paine*

Pat Cummins

Mitchell Starc 

Nathan Lyon 

Josh Hazlewood 

I don't expect Langer to drop his WA love children Marsh bros. But lets use this summer to stop the rot. Hope to win one test v India, series v Sri Lanka and hopefully set ourselves up for the Ashes. Keep an eye out for Will Pucovski from Victoria also. Only 20, averaging 52 after 7 First Class games and made a double ton in the opening round of the Shield.

Finally just for formalities sake, think our ODI XI should look something like.

Aaron Finch

D'Arcy Short

+Tim Paine

Travis Head 

Chris Lynn

Glenn Maxwell 

Marcus Stoinis 

Ashton Agar 

Mitchell Starc 

Kane Richardson 

Josh Hazlewood 

Hanscombe on the outer?

1 hour ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Hanscombe on the outer?

Wouldn't put a line through him, but he needs a good summer. Was very disapointing in the 2017/18 summer.

Test Cricket in this Country has an issue with the available talent coming through ... the choices for young people is vast these days so therefore the talent pool is and has been eroded.  Future test stars can also be lost to t20 as well as a host of other sports.

Specifically with regards to the batting but the reality is that our test batting order hasn't been consistently strong for more than a decade now.  We lose a lot.

The wickets in Australia are too easy to bat on as well ... learning how to bat on 'roads' isn't exactly a test at any level so when we are faced with spinning or seaming wickets overseas, we often struggle.

CA needs to find better pathways for talented sportspeople ... how they can do that is anyone's guess but maybe they can look at how the AFL goes about it.  The pathway for future t20 cricketers is a far easier hurdle to overcome so that might have to be the roundabout way of producing Test-quality batsmen looking ahead.

One thing is for sure ... the Sheffield Shield is no longer producing a production line of test quality batsmen.  And that trend is more than a decade old and counting.

 

Hey everyone . . . 

Wondering if anyone can assist with the following information . . . or alternatively point me to where the info can be located.

How many tests did McGrath/Gillespie/Lee play together? 
How many test wickets did they take while playing in the one team?
What was the strike rate?

AND . . . comparing the above data to this data . . . 

How many tests have Starc/Hazelwood/Cummins played together?
How many test wickets have they taken while playing in the one team?
What is their strike rate?

Thanks all. John.

OK 

Paine not a Captains Aresehole

Should have put pressure on Indians with a silly Mid of catching when Lyon was bowling and instructed him to pitch the Ball UP

Starc ... perrennial waster of the new Ball 

Cummins at least is at you, but doesnt move the ball

Finch.. Lose some weight son and try to not turn away when at short Leg.. Limited Cricketer

S Marsh?? Only a big Hundrerd will save him .. Past it

Handscomb?

Not a Test class player dodgy technique and plays back too often .. A good Bowler would size him up for Boweld or LBW WITH EXTRAVAGENT back foot [censored] technique

I wish I was still playing.. Would clean him up everytime with late inswing!!

 

 

Take 2 

Starc needs to go back to Shield cricket and learn some control. I'm over his wasted new ball fiasco's

Handscomb still and will never be up to it with the dodgiest batting technique for a Test player I have ever seen

Finch is a selection issue, selectors got what they deserved!  why put a bloke into a position, opening which he doesn't even fill for Victoria?? MADNESS!

Aussie cricket is in Dire Straights!

I know Handscomb sincerely thinks he caught it, and Kohli annoys me.......but the ball hit the ground. Kohli got a shocking decision.

I can’t believe the commentators saying it was out.

The whole series could hinge on that decision, and I’m convinced it was wrong.

I admired Kohli for hiding his emotions as he left the field. He knew he wasn’t out.

 

13 minutes ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

I know Handscomb sincerely thinks he caught it, and Kohli annoys me.......but the ball hit the ground. Kohli got a shocking decision.

I can’t believe the commentators saying it was out.

The whole series could hinge on that decision, and I’m convinced it was wrong.

I admired Kohli for hiding his emotions as he left the field. He knew he wasn’t out.

The consensus is 50/50 on the decision though Jack and it can often go the other way so you take the good with the bad.  There is likely to be another decision that squares the ledger and that might happen sooner rather than later.  The rub of the green works both ways.

That type of decision is given out if the 3rd umpire believes that the player has his fingers under the ball even if the players fingers are on the ground or adjacent to the ground.  That is the ruling as I understand it. 

So,  what might look like a poor decision is actually a good decision by the letter of the law.  Grey area though,  all the same.  I'm happy with the decision and I'd hold the same opinion if it was one of the Australian batsman. 

The ruling could be altered but it's been that way for years now. 

 

On 3/27/2018 at 8:02 PM, daisycutter said:

saffers captain du plessis has had 2 ball tampering incidents against him. i don't remember the same outrage and he's certainly still the captain.

not saying its exactly the same or ok, but are there some double standards going on here?

smith, warner and anyone else involved should get suspensions from ca, but not necessarily over the top as some are calling for

Just wandered by to see if there's any movement on this thread. Not much, apparently, but I agree with your comment, Daisy.  I'm sure others here know a lot more about cricket than I do, but to me this seems to have been a decision so hysterical (and driven by the yellow press) that it borders on injustice - an injustice for which we're now paying. In this society, you have a right to expect consistency from the law. If I attend the magistrates court one morning and see the five guys in front of me get a $200 fine for speeding and I cop a $10,000 one, I'd have a right to feel pretty p'd off.  IMHO, we should have accepted the ICCs original decision. If there was going to be a renewed focus on ball tampering, there should have been a warning. From what I gather, ball tampering continues everywhere - we were just particularly dumb at it. Warner - what a moron - but at least he's maintained a dignified silence since then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 20186 yr by Jara

The Aussies are a joke only 1 change after a disgraceful performance at the G. How Finch holds his spot has got me stuffed? He's a one day batsman and that's it. The problem is we have too many one day batsman and not enough batsman who want to stick around.

Watching Australia play India is like watching a district team playing a Test team.

Dont be too confident about Sri Lanka..... let alone the Poms.