This one has been really hard to watch, glad in back at work. Big Mitch is very hard to replace as a spectacle. Flat tracks, yawn.

All the same we missed 4 chances today that I saw and had Smith not dropped Kohli at 2nd slip off Starc when he was 59 we would probably be batting again.

Watson was terrific today.

... drop in pitches, I suspect/wonder if they are too shallow; so the moisture must be ideal, but maybe not for traditional cricket??? maybe they need to be deeper, so the roots are longer, & the surface moisture loss is more noticeable, as the test match days pass by.

You might be onto something there DL,

It's a shame really, I remember 10+ years ago pretty much all the grounds had their unique nature and played slightly differently. Now they're all the same pretty much. Even the GABBA & WACA, although they still off a bit more bounce, after Day 1 he wickets there seem to flatten out. Melbourne & Adelaide from Day 4 the pitches slowed down a heap and the odd ball would keep really low. That seems to eb a thing of the past also.

As for this match, just like Boxing Day, Australia don't deserve to win if they're going to waste the few chances we have on the flat wickets. We missed chances off Rahane & Kohli in Melbourne which cost us more then 50 runs to each batsman & the same thing has now happened in Sydney with Kohli & Rahul. Kohli wouldn't be such a thorn in our side if we could hold a ctach.....

Oh for the days with Taylor, M. Waugh & Warne in the slips, S. Waugh at gully, Ponting in the point/cover area, Slater at mid on/off & McGrath down at fine leg!

... drop in pitches, I suspect/wonder if they are too shallow; so the moisture must be ideal, but maybe not for traditional cricket??? maybe they need to be deeper, so the roots are longer, & the surface moisture loss is more noticeable, as the test match days pass by.

It seems like when they do try and keep the moisture in the drops ins they crack up a lot more as well. They have prepared Indian pitches for Aust, blasphemy!!!

All the same we missed 4 chances today that I saw and had Smith not dropped Kohli at 2nd slip off Starc when he was 59 we would probably be batting again.

Watson was terrific today.

He is a bowling all rounder in my eyes, when he bowls well, that tight line and length and jags 1 or 2 an innings we play well. He is not a no 3, 6 or 7 yes.

The fielding of Joe Burns is a concern, get him out of short leg fgs.

He is a bowling all rounder in my eyes, when he bowls well, that tight line and length and jags 1 or 2 an innings we play well. He is not a no 3, 6 or 7 yes.

56 tests for 4 centuries at No3.

Probably the first time in australian cricket history,somebody has got away with that.good luck to him i suppose.

The standard of catching in world cricket is pitiful

Edited January 9, 201510 yr by jazza

You might be onto something there DL,

It's a shame really, I remember 10+ years ago pretty much all the grounds had their unique nature and played slightly differently. Now they're all the same pretty much. Even the GABBA & WACA, although they still off a bit more bounce, after Day 1 he wickets there seem to flatten out. Melbourne & Adelaide from Day 4 the pitches slowed down a heap and the odd ball would keep really low. That seems to eb a thing of the past also.

As for this match, just like Boxing Day, Australia don't deserve to win if they're going to waste the few chances we have on the flat wickets. We missed chances off Rahane & Kohli in Melbourne which cost us more then 50 runs to each batsman & the same thing has now happened in Sydney with Kohli & Rahul. Kohli wouldn't be such a thorn in our side if we could hold a ctach.....

Oh for the days with Taylor, M. Waugh & Warne in the slips, S. Waugh at gully, Ponting in the point/cover area, Slater at mid on/off & McGrath down at fine leg!

I don't think its the drop in idea thats wrong, IMO its more likely they haven't got the science & engineering right? the way the mioisture is supplied & the rate of loss, etc. surely to have such shallow boxes means they have to supply moisture & nutrients differently, than was the case Pre Drop-Ins.

also our weather has changed down south in recent years, & we are getting a lot of tropical troughs delivering us warm nights & more rain???

I think they should reconsider the depth of the drop-in boxes make them deeper, even if heavier to transport, & try to make them more real life as it were.

currently they would suit T-20

The fielding of Joe Burns is a concern, get him out of short leg fgs.

he's not ready yet, imo, he's nervous & overtrying, not composed enough to do it. he could make a breakthrough, but we may also wreck him.... send him back to slowly ripen.

time for a Faulkner to show something...

Apparently Kohli made 50m last year.. All of those AFL players who made the switch to footy as it paid more... Uh-oh

World Cup Squad announced.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/current/story/819681.html

Pretty good squad and no real suprises. Same 15 I'd of picked except I wouldn't bother the risk with Clarke personally, save him for the tests, just like Rhino.

If Clarke doesn't make the deadline given I hope they replace him with Wade as the spare batstsman/keeper. With no reserve keeper I'm nervous. What happens if 20min before the quarter final Haddin rolls his ankle and can't play? Don't really want Warner keeping for 50 overs and then expect him to have his usual impact with the bat.

Wade showed in the RSA series that his keeping has improved a fair amount and his batting is solid enough to be a reserve batsman.

Another can of worms that Clarke will impose is who will be left out of the XI when he's fit? From what I can see it'll be Finch or Bailey. Neither of whom deserve to be out of the team.

My World Cup Best XI

A. Finch

D. Warner

S. Watson

S. Smith

G. Bailey*

M. Marsh

+B. Haddin

G. Maxwell

J. Faulkner

M. Johnson

P. Cummins

M. Clarke (reserve batsman. If unfit M. Wade: reserve batsman/keeper)

X. Doherty (reserve spinner - Maxwell)

J. Hazlewood (reserve pace bowler for Watson or Marsh: Maxwell or Faulkner can move into top 7)

M. Starc (reserve death bowler for Cummins/Faulkner & like for like reserve for Johnson)

With that XI we bat all the way down with Mitch batting at 10. Maxwell & Faulkner as finisheers at 8 & 9 will be the envy of every other team. For bowling Cummins & Faulkner as death bowlers, Maxwell covers spin, Johnson is the spearhead & Watson and Marsh can hold the middle overs together. Good variety with bowlers and a better fielding team also with Maxwell joining the fray.

I'd like to see Clarke get back ... there are going to be some games where we'll need his steadying influence and his unique batting skills. In the ODI's not every batsman needs to have the capabilities of hitting the ball out of the park ... mainstays are often required especially when it gets to the QF stage onwards.

I like the look of the squad but I agree with TD about the reserve keeper ... of course, one of the 14 other players would then miss out but if it were a batsman or a bowler breaking down shortly before a game then at least that type of player can be replaced (apart from the spinner)

The squads are too small anyway - 17 or 18 would be a better number. It's not as if it would be much of an added cost to the countries involved.

Did anyone else hear Freddie Flintoff drop the C... word when he failed to put away a loose ball while batting in the BBL last night?

Mark Waugh and Gilly tried to cover it up humorously by saying "yes, he said he tried to CUT that one , didn't he" !

I don't know how they managed not to burst out laughing.

Did anyone else hear Freddie Flintoff drop the C... word when he failed to put away a loose ball while batting in the BBL last night?

Mark Waugh and Gilly tried to cover it up humorously by saying "yes, he said he tried to CUT that one , didn't he" !

I don't know how they managed not to burst out laughing.

Was very humorous. Channel 10 must be re-thinking their microphone of players when on field every now and then. But it is good for the TV audience, outside the language that the kids get to hear.

Meanwhile did anyone see the West Indies World Cup Squad? No Dwayne Bravo or Pollard.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/819677.html

I tell you what, their first match in the World Cup is against Ireland. They could very well loose that match and miss the quarter finals.

A sad state of affairs for a once great cricketing nation.

Meanwhile did anyone see the West Indies World Cup Squad? No Dwayne Bravo or Pollard.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/819677.html

I tell you what, their first match in the World Cup is against Ireland. They could very well loose that match and miss the quarter finals.

A sad state of affairs for a once great cricketing nation.

The talk of bringing Ireland as a test nation grow louder and demoting a current test nation.

Meanwhile did anyone see the West Indies World Cup Squad? No Dwayne Bravo or Pollard.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/819677.html

I tell you what, their first match in the World Cup is against Ireland. They could very well loose that match and miss the quarter finals.

A sad state of affairs for a once great cricketing nation.

Victimised because of the stance they took during the player pay/contract dispute.

Administrators having the last say to the detriment of West Indian cricket.

Chris Gayle has tweeted his discontent.

Few raised eyebrows in England too over the omission of Stokes.

Was in swashbuckling form in the BBL the other night, smashed 77 off 30-odd balls. One of the better innings of the whole series.

Channel 10 put up numerous tweets from English cricket types saying he should have been selected.

Was very humorous. Channel 10 must be re-thinking their microphone of players when on field every now and then. But it is good for the TV audience, outside the language that the kids get to hear.

Ponting nd Gilly have been an insight into the modern game,Not often we get that from common-tators.

Meanwhile did anyone see the West Indies World Cup Squad? No Dwayne Bravo or Pollard.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/819677.html

I tell you what, their first match in the World Cup is against Ireland. They could very well loose that match and miss the quarter finals.

A sad state of affairs for a once great cricketing nation.

Most WI's get far more money playing T20 than representing the nation.No brainer really.

The talk of bringing Ireland as a test nation grow louder and demoting a current test nation.

Zimbabwe.Bangers

The talk of bringing Ireland as a test nation grow louder and demoting a current test nation.

Yeah Zimbabwe should be the ones to go.

Only problem is BCCI probably wont allow it as it may mean one less vote for them on the council.

It's really sad the powr they have over the game. I think Ireland's best chance of getting test status is if Afghanistan also get it at the same time. That way there's another Asian nation there that India can control on the council and rely on for votes.

The English certainly took the long handle to the PM's attack today at Manuka, 6/391 off the 50 overs with bell amassing 187.

A decent effort from the PM's X1 replying with 331, Maxy 136 off 89.

In a concerning sign leading into the World Cup. I don't know what this scorecard says for Afghanistan less then a month out.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/812645.html

Bowled out for 63 by Scotland! And the Afghans will have to face the likes of Johnson, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood on a bouncy WACA pitch on Wednesday March 4. We might bowl them out for under 20 if they can't make many runs against Scotland on the slow tracks of Abu Dhabi....

Not much made of the win on friday night?

England 8/303 (50)

I. Bell 141

J. Root 69

M. Ali 46

G. Sandhu 2/49 (10)

M. Henriques 1/34 (7)

J. Faulkner 1/59 (10)

Australia 7/304 (49.5)

S. Smith 102*

S. Marsh 45

B. Haddin 42

M. Ali 2/50 (10)

C. Woakes 2/58 (9.5)

S. Finn 2/65 (10)

Thought we actually won that a bit easier then the score card suggested thanks to another Smith ton and some great bowling at the death from out bowlers. For me that's three of our last five games where our bowlers in the last 10 overs have brought the opposition score back about 20 runs then what they looked set to score. Game 4 v RSA @ MCG, our 2nd Tri Series match v India @ MCG and this match just gone against England.

What was most pleasing aspect of the win for mine was the XI that we did it with, it was almost a 2nd XI against a full strength England team, so we surely must be shortening for the World Cup. Here's a pretty good XI that didn't play on friday.

N. Maddinson

D. Warner

S. Watson

M. Clarke

G. Bailey

M. Marsh

M. Wade

N. Coulter-Nile

M. Johnson

X. Doherty

J. Hazlewood

Arguably a better XI then the one we put out on friday.

Very dominant win by the Aussies in the ODI final tonight. Crushed England and sets us up nicely to repeat the dose to them come Valentines Day.

In a blow though it looks like Faulkner has picked up a side strain injury and could be out of the World Cup! Very big loss given he's a valuable asset both with the bat as a finisher batting at number 8, we saw his 50* off 24 balls today as proof. Not to mention his ability to bowl at the death of the innings. His injury could well be Watson's life line I think.

Fingers crossed the injury isn't to bad and we'll see him in a few weeks.

Well done to the Aussies so far. This summer we've won the T20 series v South Africa, won the ODI series against them also, won the Test series aainst India and now the tri ODI series v India & England. Only the World Cup to go.

Tough luck re: Faulkner. Great finishing record with the bat. Looks as though Clarke will be back to take the helm. Whilst Bailey hasn't got a great batting record of late in his last several knocks (short knocks). Thoughts ?

My thoughts are if he is fit to go, he plays - despite his absence in the ODI arena.

Not a bad Summer to date result wise with the exception of the sad loss to Phillip Hughes.

NZ have got a terrific record at home, almost a monty for the Semi's one would suggest.