Axis of Bob

Ha, no more than 1 minute later, Cadel attacks!

This is building to be something interesting.

Cadel's big advantage is that he's done it before. He's lasted the distance and was going well at the end. The last time trial and the last mountain stages are as much about having a tough body after 2.5 weeks of torture as it is about talent. He just needs to keep up the pressure and stay patient. I remember when Sastre won it a few years ago. He did nothing for 2.5 weeks and then won it in the last few days. Last year Schleck almost won it on a single stage at the end when everyone was exhausted (except Evans). Evans doesn't need to get desperate, he needs to stay patient and pick his time. Is that time tonight? I don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out!

Cadel rode his strongest at the end of last year's tour. Last night wasn't a tough enough stage to do real damage. Tonight is the big stage that could do damage, and there is a stage later on where it finishes after a big descent. Watching last night, Wiggins is an awful descender. Riders were being backed up behind him the whole way. Evans had a few chances to go last night, despite the attention, but he didn't. He could have driven the descent, because he was in position, but he stayed back in the field. I kept thinking that there was a reason for it. I think that it is a game of attrition for him, where he's tiring out the Sky team to isolate Wiggins when he's least comfortable. There will be some sore boys after last night, though. Tonight's stage is a good 'un. 2 uncategorised climbs and a cat 1 finish. It will be very interesting.

Evans looked a lot more comfortable on the climb - it was very encouraging. That was just one short climb and you could get team mates with you if they only needed one effort after being fresh from an easy week. As they get deeper into the tour, it will be harder and harder for Wiggins to get his team around him and he'll become more isolated. Especially on really tough stages with repeat high mountains. It was also not a particularly important stage for Evans to have his team with him, as it wasn't a long climb. The test for Evans will be with the time trial(s). Wiggins' pet discipline is the time trial, so it would be a massive thing if Evans could keep with him. Once the mountains come then we'll see how good Wiggins really is.

Ha! I was up at that point watching us as we were collapsing. All I was hoping that they'd bowl badly to Hilfy and he'd smack a quick 30 odd. Harris batted very well and Lyon was fantastic! I was waiting for the moment when Nathan Lyon was going to surpass Siddle's highest first class score of 45. The way Lyon was batting it looked like he'd get there comfortably too. I'm still not exactly thrilled with our tail (despite their performance this match). Before this match Harris averaged 10 with that bat, Siddle 15, Hilfy 15 and Lyon 8. We are fine if these guys batted from 9 on, but we lack a real number 8 who is capable of playing long innings. They are all capable 'Brett Lees', but not many 'Mitchell Johnsons'. Pattinson should become that number 8 in time, as he looks very accomplished, so I'm not as worried as a long term issue.

Exactly. I just loved Sehwag justifying being pounded by Australia (could have been 3 innings defeats) by saying that India beat Australia 2-0 in India 18 months ago. Wow. Two tight tests (India won by 1 wicket after a huge 9th wicket partnership, and needed to chase over 200 in the other Test) that they won at home 18 months ago, versus 4-0 with three absolute drubbings. "We are driving back the infidels!!"

There is a young Victoria leggie I saw playing a game of two for Adelaide in the T20 who looked very promising - Muirhead. Only a baby at the moment, though. Also, have India been sending the Iraqi information minister to do their press conferences? It is hilariously ridiculous.

But they're only doing it at just over 4 runs an over. Wasting valuable 5th day golf time. C'mon boys, get on with it!! Go the tonk!!

We'd have to make 700. ...... he might have it by tea!

I assume that we all agree that Dhoni isn't the world's best captain, but from what I'm seeing here he's the best that India have. As a club cricketer, I'd be disappointed to get out to Sehwag. So I don't know how he considers himself the most dangerous bowler to start after tea to two top international players approaching their centuries.

Clarke is a prototypical number 5. Excellent player of spin, but can be a little susceptible to the new ball early in his innings. Moving Clarke to number 3 would mean that you'd create two problems instead of one. I think Khawaja could be there in the long term. Former opener who can play long innings and play the new ball.

Conn has been trying to get rid of Ponting since the last Ashes series. In the past he was saying it was because he wasn't making any runs. Now he's saying it's because he IS making runs and should go out on top. It is hard not to view his articles as simply serving an agenda he has.

You don't want to be India and lose 4 for none to finish off the innings. If pitches keep having more grass left on them then lower order runs are only going to get more important. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.

Imagine if England had a weak tail. They'd have been rolled for 100. As it is they are still in the game ... albeit not going well.

My theory is that Haddin will keep going, regardless, until Paine is fit. Paine is the best keeper in the country and the Australian keeping job is his. It would be very difficult to put Wade in for a series knowing that Paine is going to come straight into the side, regardless of how Wade performs. It's easier for Haddin to keep going rather than face the sticky situation of having to drop a performing player when Wade makes runs against a poor attack on featherbed West Indian pitches.

Cowan batted very well. But they batted really well as a partnership. The Indian bowlers bowled absolute rubbish to them but it was, in part, caused by the batsmen. Warner put away everything, so the bowlers started changing their plans to him and, as a flow on, Cowan. They stopped bowling a good line and length and waiting for a mistake. That's how Australia has dealt with Sehwag, by just hitting good areas and waiting for him to edge or get himself out. It was like watching park bowlers bowling to a slogger. He may smash one or two of the good length balls on off stump, but he's just as likely to nick, miss or sky one. And they kept on with it to Cowan, who just put away the trash when it came. And I think we're seeing the good Starc today and yesterday. When he has rhythm and, hence, consistency he is a really dangerous bowler. He just needs to develop more Jekyll and less Hyde.

You can't win bowling first. I don't know where I read it, but it must be true.

It appears that it was the Twenty20 pitch from earlier in the week that they were on .... for 7 minutes! I see nothing wrong in celebrating a job well done (ie, the preparation of a test pitch) by 'christening' the square with an end of work beer. It's their grand final and they have put in a lot of hard work. It's a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. And if you read Indian newspapers, the quality is very poor. Even worse than the Hun as far as sensationalism goes.

If it is a tradition of many years then I have no problem with it. They will have walked over it countless times in the lead up to the game as they prepared it, and it should currently be hard enough that it would not be damaged in the least by normal shoes. If it is hard and fast then what is going to happen if ground staff stand on it? If Cameron Sutherland was one of those involved, do you think he'd let anything happen to the pitch (ie, his livelihood)? Storm in a teacup, as far as I'm concerned. However, it give India another excuse for poor performance. I have never seen a team that has more excuses for failure than India. They are more interested in saving face than they are in fixing their mess. Interesting the difference between Australia and India after poor performance. After the Ashes we said "We are crap, so how do we fix it?", while India has offered endless excuses why they aren't as crap as they really are. It's an interesting cultural difference.

Angry bowlers don't usually do well at Perth. Disciplined bowlers do.

Inverarity said that Pattinson was going to be rested in Perth anyway. This makes sense when read in conjunction with the previous comments about trying to create a squad of rotating fast bowlers.

Ryan Harris is a very handy replacement. Amazing that, injury aside, he is no longer an automatic inclusion.

That's what they tried to do last year. Unfortunately it then needs to be voted on by the members (ie, countries), and we all know what happens then! ICC voting reflects less what is best for the game and more what is best for the individual cricket boards. On a related note, I am so happy that the VFL clubs had the good sense to hand their power over to an independent body.

You are seeing what you want to see from the comment. It's a non-issue. It's less than a non-issue. It's the issue that non-issues ignore due to a lack of substance. In fact Dravid's grandmother's pet gerbil's strangely coloured turd has laid greater claim to importance than that comment.