Rhino Richards

George Bailey is a fair call and a worthy consideration. But not Geeves over our boy McKay. B)

Spoken like a true Tasmanian!!

Yes lets punish him for his bowling antics by breaking up what has been a strength for the team. That makes sense. The punishment should be specific to the crime. His behaviour was embarrassing and unnecessary. He should have been fined more heavily and possibly suspended if it had been worse. If Ponting cant play then I would pick either Klinger or Hughes to play or elevate Hussey for one test to No 3 and pick a middle order batsman. He aint making runs at 4 he may as well perform at 3 in final summer in Australia. If Hughes plays push be push Watson to 3. If Klinger plays I would play the SA at 3. I would get either Hilf or Siddle a rest depending on who is the least fit. Bollinger plays and so does Johnson. I would not advocate 4 quicks but Hauritz is about at useful as a wet match. Good point about the standings. Jim Maxwell said he did not think its been that open at the top since 1974 before Australia and then the WI dominated cricket.

In England Clarke against better bowling on more difficult pitches knocked up 445 runs in the series at 64 with 2 centuries. He was our premier bat there. If he showed the same application here in a batting paradise that he showed there he should be dominating and needs to be if he has aspirations of captaincy. How much better is WI when Gales leads with the bat?

Best of a not so good lot. He really choked at Test level. Ping. That's it and I recall a 774 discussion where there was a lengthy piece on Smith where he is highly rated. I am not writing him off at all. I highly rate him but the steel and resolve he showed in the Ashes has not been evidence here. If played more than 4 innings in this series I would rate him on all those. I just think this series is an absolute dream come true for batsmen. A player of Clarkes calibre should be readily turning double figure scores into serious 100s. Good batsman cash in on these situations because they know there will be tougher days. Ponting has always been good at this but this innings excluded, he has not been as his best this series. Maybe WYL's sledging is getting to him? As an aside, its pity the media got hooked on the pathetic tantrum of Benn. A storm in a teacup. It has unduly detracted from a masterpiece of a knock from Chris Gayle. Such sublime power. However his dismissal shows the fine line between brilliance and buffoonery with Calypso batting. A terrible way to go. He frustrated me early in the series but so far he is my cricketer of the summer thus far with two great knocks.

With a name like Smith its easy to be confused! I agree about White. A big knock away from the big time IMO Great stats. Shows a couple of things.... 1. There isn't a frontline spinner in Australia that is regularly taking wickets. 2. Krejza and McGain are the best but not compelling cases. 3. Smith got selected because he was from NSW....of course :D

He has played a cherry ripe batting strips against an overall mundane attacks. His dismissals have been soft in 3 knocks. In England he played some truly good innings. Tough concentrated battles. The bat has dominated the ball in this series and he should have really cashed in. I wonder if his back is really right ATM?

For a guy with pretensions of being Aust Captain, he needs to change his ways. His batting at times reeks of class but not leadership. I thought he had turned the corner during the Ashes. He has lapsed since. I agree he is done. i dont think this innings will save him. He will never get it so good as this Test. ordinary attack, firm true wicket, fast outfield. He needed a ton when the wind was blowing his way. He could not get it. At his best he cant crack a ton. At his worst, he should not be selected. Phantom facts by the journalist. Its strikes me as a beautful batsmans deck with a little bit of bounce. has been like that for years now. Must have got mixed up with 20/20. Oops. I think Cam White is definitely putting himself forward as a batsman ATM. As a batsman you are probably right. As a spinner, I am not so sure. Ah ha. All lame too!

I would have thought that 3/339 reflects a fair bit of momentum. Katich shot was not good. Watson got a very good ball. What was Clarke thinking? It would be good to see Watson get his breakthrough 100. He deserves it and has play well. He would not be the first player to have taken time to crack the ton (Simpson and S Waugh come to mind) However over the series, the middle order have played some pretty cavalier lightweight hands. Hussey is playing for his future today. Its the best I have seen him bat this year. Why the media goes on about Perth being fast bowlers strip I dont know? There is a bit of bounce but it is not a quick wicket. It played beautifully for first day wicket and I reckon looks good for 5 days of batting. Windies just cant sustain the pressure consistently. Just proves that Test Cricket is not dominated by one nation like Australia did for so long. The cricket has ben very enjoyable. i read somewhere that selectors are seeing ODI as a better proxy for Test than just Shield games. I dont think they were ever going to seriously drop Hauritz to go for Smith as a spinner here. Its more a reflection that he is definitely in the selectors eyes as a future prospect but more as a batsman. Krejza has bowled fairly well but cant get the wickets this year. Still a long way back. McGain might be a very outside chance for Melbourne (odds lengthened IMO). McGain at nearly 38 yo is finished By the injuries, they may only have Swann!

No issue there WYL. I noted your admission. A typical scenario in a Shield match is a fourth day run chase isnt it? And as SA prove it was a good track to start with and it got better. The drop in wickets at the MCG are producing flat lifeless wickets that bat well to the finish of a match. When White declared well short of the SA target it was going to be a case of SA setting up a run chase to push for full points. It was a fair ask at the start of the day and the powerful Victorian batting line up were equal to the task. I think these days WYL, the traditionalist would take that view, but the realists know that the preferred form of cricket around the world varies.

Its going to depend on the conditions. While on most occassions you will bat first, it is not golden rule. So the word "always" is simply wrong and history proves it. And using one game to back your argument is wooden thinking at best.

You could see it coming. 45hg16 had them summed up. Another instance of foot in mouth. Agree about the Test prospects. Spot on. Its not a miracle but a contrived result to push for a win. Check the scorecard. Both Captains played for the win. Wrong. Your earlier email was a flagship to some of the ignorance about calling the toss when you win. Its already been proven that while in most situations you bat first it will depend on the conditions. And it isn't "gutless" to send a team its actually brave call particular when know nothings spout such rubbish that "you always bat first". I would not be pushing any thing "meaningful" with that earlier opinion. Proof that some people never learn.

The first 10 overs were a little mundane. The wicket and the ball were doing a bit but they bowled too full at times. O'Brian bowled a better line than the first 2 and goty amply rewarded. Probably too much. But yes the batting ...the batting... I think Younis had a falling out with Paki management and refused to tour. I dont believe he was injured.

It was great bowling. Southee and Martin squander the new ball that was moving off just short of length. They repeatedly overpitched. O'Brian comes on and bowls just short of length on or about off peg with the seam high and bang look what happens. Good on him. Mind you it does not bode well for Pakistan. Both openers do play away from their pads too much. The lack Younis's class.

I guess that's Ponting fault too. We have come off the back of the retirements of extraordinary talents like Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Hayden and Langer and what have we replaced them with and what is there within Australian cricket to replace them? Capable cricketers but they are not of that calibre. In fact we dont have a front line spinner at all. Our batting at No 4 has been ordinary and Hussey should not see Test matches past Christmas. But who is staking their claims for for those spots.

Dont get out of your depth now......

There is no need to drop Watson at this point down the order. The openers aren't the issue. If it ain't broke dont fix it. Katich is in doubt for Perth. Hughes to replace him. Hussey might survive but Melbourne could be his swansong. Siddle in doubt. Hilfy or McKay or both. Good reason they wont play a spinner in Perth. If we did choose a spinner in the Test beyond, O'Keeffe suggested McGain who has a good record at MCG and SCG. Krejza? Any reliable form this year?

Well done Windies so far. Australia 5/139. Bravo Bravo with 3/14 off 8. S. Benn bowled super tightly. No wickets but has turned the screws. 0/30 of 23 overs. 24 more overs to go, 5 wickets to get. If the Windies win, they deserve it. If the Australians lose, they deserve too. Gayle, Bravo or Benn for man of the match. Hussey may finally be dropped after another fail. Questions have to be asked about Hauritz's effectiveness given Benn's efforts. No 4 batting spot and spinner position open. Applications can now be accepted for both spots!

Absolutely. Full marks to Gayle. Definitely made up for his soft performances in the Test so far. A great effort to carry your bat. Now we have seen three WI players stand up on this tour and go on and make tons. Does Australia have the mettle? Hussey wont want to fail now if he gets the chance. Very intriguing. Still think Adelaide Demon is a lucky bastard to be there though!!

Lucky Bastard! :D

Hmmm. 27 overs for 68 runs on the 4th day of a Test with the ball turning. Hauritz has not done himself any favours in this Test especially as the tall West Indian Benn took 5 wickets. Now if a good spinner was to show some good form........

We are still to play another minnow in Pakistan. Geez a guy makes 96 and puts on 170 for the opening partnership and we want to break it up. Amazing. I do recall Barath and Gayle playing worse shots to get out in this Test series. Lucky they are not genuine openers.

Has Hughes been amongst the runs recently? I dont think so. If he shows form then he gets considered for selection not before. Our problem is in the middle order. Watson and Katich put on 173 in the current Test for the opening partnership. No problem there. Hussey is like a chook scratch in the dirt. He is looking brittle even on a great batting strip like Adelaide. Its now 4/212. 20 overs to go and in the last 10 overs Windies have scored 28 and lost one wicket. Gayle would have to go ballistic to set a decent score. Still backing a draw but a score over 300 on a turning wicket might be interesting with the Windies plying two spinners (yes the Windies) from both ends.

I think the Windies should be congratulated for their pluck after a horrible perfomance in Brisbane and the soft dismissals of the top 3 batsman on Day 1. The efforts of Bravo, Nash and others to put a value on their wicket has been a positive. Their keeper has been impressive in both Tests. The issue with the Australian batsman is not that they get to the 90s and dont go on. Its the fact that they get to double figures and dont go on with it. A partial excuse for the openers who paved the way. But on a good deck with an honest but hardly lethal attack we have a few cavaliers who just wont do the hard work. I dont think the wicket will wear that much. It may play a little lower. Barring a batting collapse by either side I am calling this a draw. But the Windies deserve some congratulations for their efforts. So does Shane Watson who is doing what any batsman should do under pressure. Make runs. We are looking thin in the attack with Bollinger on debut, a sometimes wayward Mitch Johnson and a "part time" trundler in Watson. Hauritz is hardly likely to run through a line up on this wicket given his history. Its thin in the attack without Siddle and Hilfy. Clinton McKay might get a baggy green for next Test.

While the Windies bat like millionaires but perform like paupers. A perfect batting pitch and they blow it...