Forget Basil...try Manuel (Man-well).

So you seriously rate Murali and consider his action legitimate??

Personally i don't blame him but his action should have been corrected as a junior.

So you seriously rate Murali and consider his action legitimate??

Of course I rate him, he is one of the best bowlers ever. Strange action, but effective. Is his action not legitimate ? Is it not legal ?

He has met the requirements. It has been deemed legal.

Personally, I find it hard to throw with tremendous off-spin. I always found it easier to turn the ball by bowling it.

PS. I personally regard Shane Warne as the best spin bowler ever. Just not for this exercise of the "Naughties", that's all.

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by High Tower

Of course I rate him, he is one of the best bowlers ever. Strange action, but effective. Is his action not legitimate ? Is it not legal ?

He has met the requirements. It has been deemed legal.

Personally, I find it hard to throw with tremendous off-spin. I always found it easier to turn the ball by bowling it.

PS. I personally regard Shane Warne as the best spin bowler ever. Just not for this exercise of the "Naughties", that's all.

But that's just it, the rules were changed to accomodate him. so i find it hard to put his record in that top bracket.

His action was deemed legal to save face within the sub continent i have no doubt.

Heard Terry Jenner call him a chucker the other day on radio, and he knows far more about spin bowling than i.

This topic shall always be debated i am sure...

BTW if you are talking Fawlty Towers, the Major is always my fave character!! "Hate Germans, Love Women-Good Card Players" best comedy ever written....

Onto to more relevant and interesting topics.....

Pakistan 3/221 ...and Umar has just spanked four 4s off 5 balls of Hauritz. Might have had his day in the sun our Nathan.

This is a nasty situation for Australia now.

Looking at 200+ behind on the first innings unless they can fold the Pakis batting line up.

And a few batsman playing for their Test spots...Hughes, North and the undroppable Hussey.

Onto to more relevant and interesting topics.....

Pakistan 3/221 ...and Umar has just spanked four 4s off 5 balls of Hauritz. Might have had his day in the sun our Nathan.

This is a nasty situation for Australia now.

Looking at 200+ behind on the first innings unless they can fold the Pakis batting line up.

And a few batsman playing for their Test spots...Hughes, North and the undroppable Hussey.

Bingo, Johnson gets the wicket. Pakistan now 4/237 with the skipper out caught by Haddin. Good catch. It's a big wicket.

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by High Tower

We are Dead Meat at this stage in this match. Weather improving by the minute.

160 in front 4 down.....The Jungle drums are beating....

C'mon Misbah, get out!

Yes! Tell you what, this has been one of my more interesting bets (and that's saying something!)

Innings by innings:

Up by 28, down by 37, even, even, up by 3, down by 8

Edited January 4, 201015 yr by 45HG16

6 Down now, but the ball is still flying around, so it will still be hard for our one day batsmen to make a lead

But it is test cricket.....

Gonna need this last wicket real quick this morning.

Then Watson and Hughes will have to set a massive platform.

Watson is the only member of our top 7 that is in any sort of form. This could be a defining innings for Hughes, Ponting, Hussey and North.

Well, that took 6 balls. I'd have just declared overnight and protected my bowlers. is the pitch rolled before each day's play? Because if so, it's just been rolled twice in twenty minutes which must be an advantage.

We'll need at least 450 you'd think, should be a good day for batting

Clear skies in Sydney today....

Pakistan well in front but they failed to kill the snake when it had its foot on its throat. After some good work early, their batsman were too cavalier and their tail too timid. A bit of grit and being only 5 to 6 wickets down then Pakistan could have well and truly batted Australia out of the contest.

Australia need to wrap up the last wicket for less than 20 more runs and get to the task of batting when the wicket is arguably at its best. TU rightly points out the Australian batting line up has alot to play for.

If they bat all day today for say 85 overs and go at 3.5 runs per over and are no more than 2 or 3 wickets down then its game on with Australia taking a lead into day 4 and its game on. There is a golden rule in Sydney...You dont want to be chasing runs in the fourth innings at the SCG. If Australia can set them 220 to 250 or more then we are set for a beauty.

On the other hand if Asif and Sammi bowl a line and length that the Australians struggled with demonstrating then this Test could easily be over today.

The fascinating Chess game of Test cricket.

Hughes scores his first runs in Australia.

It may lead to his undoing, but I like seeing the young man back himself and play his natural game.

Hughes scores his first runs in Australia.

It may lead to his undoing, but I like seeing the young man back himself and play his natural game.

That is what brought the Aust batsman undone in the first dig. They ignored the conditions on the first day.

However today should be more to there liking.

The initial start is good. Now to build on that....

Can you tell me if the pitch is rolled before the start of the day's play?

Can you tell me if the pitch is rolled before the start of the day's play?

Not sure about that one.

But it the batting captains choice whether he has it rolled between innings before his side goes into bat.

Pitch looked firm with no signs of being dusty or cracking.

Great session for Australia. 0/86 and 120 behind. They need two more good sessions today(100 runs per session few if any wickets) then the pendulum starts to move back. Still a lllooonnnggg way to go though.

It's time to go... Marcus North.

Akmal has dripped Hussey not once, not twice, but thrice

Edited January 5, 201015 yr by 45HG16

It's time to go... Marcus North.

Akmal has dripped Hussey not once, not twice, but thrice

It would seem so.

Runs aside, Hussey is scratching around again. He is on borrowed time as well.

If I was Test batting aspirant, I would be wanting to make sure I got amongst the runs. Pity there is little domestic cricket on beyond 20/20 at the moment.

At 7/255,49 runs in front, Australia are fooked.

Again a disappointing batting performance by all bar Watson. At one stage 0/104 and then to lose 7/151 is really poor.

Kaneria is bowling them over on a seemingly reasonable batting strip. Shows the value of a good wrist spinner. Australia dont have one ATM.

Could Siddle be a Hero with Hussey??

Gotta love Test Cricket.

That article in the SMH yesterday was a disgrace saying Test cricket is dying.

That article in the SMH yesterday was a disgrace saying Test cricket is dying.

While it may not appear so in Australia and England, Test cricket is seriously on the wane in the sub continent (key importance) and the West Indies. Its also poorly attended in South Africa.

Its a terrible state of affairs and has been so for a while.

The more I think about it, I am more [censored] off with the Australian's 2nd innings than the first innings. Losing 8/170 on a better batting track after getting to 100+ opening partnership is very poor and reflects the lack of concentration that has been with the Australian batting all summer and during the Ashes.

Ponting's injury, lack of fitness and consequential form has really hurt Australia. He has been a rock at 3 for years. But the recent Tests drop in runs has exposed and not balanced the other cracks elsewhere.

Hussey may get a ton today and good on him if he does. However, he should buy K Akmal some velcro for his keeping gloves. He is lucky to be still there. Regardless, today wont change my view that his star is fading and has been for the past 12 months. He should not be there for the next Ashes challenge and should be moved out of the team prior to then.

Clarke has been a worry all summer. Good enough to dominate the WI and the Paki attacks and hasn't and has got progressive worse. Rumour has it that things off the field are not going well for him and the mystery of the disappearing and re appearing Aston Martin has given rise to suggestions that the planets are not lining up for him privately and its affecting his game. His back would also be a worry.

North should go. Does not get runs when its tough. We dont use his off spin which is not Test standard. We already have one of those in the team. I recall him taking some good grabs in the Ashes. I also recall him dropping a couple of sodas though. The catch he dropped in the first innings was a sitter at a critical time. Should have been taken. Goodbye. I would play Bailey (There you go Nasher!)

Haddin has had an indifferent season with the gloves and the bat. A great flat track striker of the ball and will have days where he scorch the opposition. But he is not solid enough to play 6 and should stay at 7.

Hauritz aint there in my book. He had a day out at MEL (a one off) but has not done much otherwise.

Watson is and has been the premier batsman for Australia this summer. Notwithstanding his dismissals in the 90s, his season has been outstanding. HIs leadership and aggression at the start of the batting yesterday was outrstanding. Got a great ball but deserved a ton. He was badly let down for his efforts.

If anything he is more secure than Katich and Hughes to open and comments that he should be batting six have been and are folly. He is the one strength at the moment.

I am not sure whether Hilfy is going to be fit enough for Hobart but if so Siddle can be deemed unlucky to go. Bowled as well as the other bowlers but has not has the luck. Would have felt wretched after North's fumble. A good innings wont save him either.

What this summer and the Ashes have shown is that the Test attack is at best honest where all bowlers apply to game plan and the wickets are shared. We dont have a real match winner like a McGrath, Warne or Gillespie. Johnson can do jaffa cameos but can vary from missile to monkey quickly.

The distance between 1st and 6th on the Test rankings is probably closer than its been for 40 years.

Shane Watson has really impressed of late. He is Australian's best Test opener because he is more often technically correct than other candidates in Katich, Hughes. Whilst talk of dropping him down the order a few weeks ago was a consideration. His consistent form of late and a no-flaws technique provide the Australian team with an excellent opener who can occupy the crease. Fact of the matter is, the selectors can't possibly drop him down the order given his return of figures (albeit a few in the 90's).

M.North should go. His figures that he has returned and the manner of his dismissals should be more than enough evidence. I haven't seen alot of S.Smith to be honest, but I have seen alot of C.White.

I'm not really convinced on Hughes, he has a high risk game and as such I think the selectors should re-evaluate. S.Marsh is another option.

They should IMO, either look to give Watson a new opening partner or more of the same with Katich. And replace North with a new No.6 or push Katich down the order.

Hehe. i can't work out why any bowler bowls no balls really, it is their job to know the length of their run up.

I know this is an old post in the context of this thread, but

What's hard to understand about it? Fast bowlers are sprinting, at full speed, and have to stop instantly, as close to the line as they possibly can to get maximum advantage. It's a very difficult thing to do at full pace. Bowling no balls for overstepping usually has nothing to do with knowing their run-up length, because it only takes one slightly long step through their entire run-up to cause a no ball.

I know this is an old post in the context of this thread, but

What's hard to understand about it? Fast bowlers are sprinting, at full speed, and have to stop instantly, as close to the line as they possibly can to get maximum advantage. It's a very difficult thing to do at full pace. Bowling no balls for overstepping usually has nothing to do with knowing their run-up length, because it only takes one slightly long step through their entire run-up to cause a no ball.

Agree.

However, I do find it annoying that a spinner bowling off a couple of paces at no more than a trot bowls no balls.

Agree.

However, I do find it annoying that a spinner bowling off a couple of paces at no more than a trot bowls no balls.

Yes, that's very annoying.

While I'm no fan of cricket, I am going to be bed bound for the next 2-6 weeks with a broken knee cap, so thank goodness for cricket!!!