H_T

http://www.heraldsun...a-1226245807831 - Malcolm Conn. Hmmm. Squad named and possibly Siddle rotated for Starc tweets Malcolm Conn. ie. Lyon in.

Dead rubber or not, I'd play Hilfy, Harris, Siddle & Lyon. Of course *niggles permitting*, but I reckon they're hungry for Test cricket and the short time nature of the results (ie. Perth done in 2.5 days), wouldn't be overly taxing. And the two days extra rest wouldn't hurt either. *If one fast bowler had niggles to get over, sure play Starc.

Take away Warner's swash-buckling innings of 180 in the first dig and the total is around 189 (Total 369). Take away Cowan's important and watchful 70-odd and the rest of the team contributes a paltry and disturbing 119 runs. Much of the time India bowled too short and wide (rubbish) to Warner - but it's a credit to Warner for unsettling some of the bowling. However, India did bowl reasonably well at times for the remainder to get Australia out for 369, considering it looked as though the Aussies were looking at 450+ easily. Aided by the pitch and a better line and length they made inroads. I thought Siddle's cameo of 30 was pretty handy too. The Aussie bowlers to date, bar probably Lyon have had a golden Summer so far. It will be interesting regarding selection for Adelaide. Lyon may have to come in; perhaps for Starc.

Why did we bowl first ? Saying it didn't matter either way is ridiculous and more confirms your method of avoiding your wrongful opinions on matters - particularly batting first every time. You would make a brilliant captain taking everything into account and all.

My thoughts precisely. I'm more concerned of the colour of Dravid's grandmothers pet gerbil's turd. And if Dravid's 38yo, his grandmother is playing a mighty innings.

Hilfy breaks through 'the wall !' He is a revelation this Summer to date. Enter SRT.

Isn't Cameron White struggling with the bat ? And to think a year or two ago I was suggesting possible captaincy material for Australia.... Wade tried valiantly to get the Stars over the line. Faulkner did impress me too. Brad Hogg still very handy with the ball. Wright took up too many balls with singles or dot balls towards the end which proved as costly as the top order collapse.

Happy for the Huss, and just maybe happy to declare whilst on 329* (unbeaten).

For the record, Clarke & Hussey's 5th wicket partnership of 334* finished the 4th highest of all time. See you later Sehwag....

I like 45HG's post, I want them to bat too. I sort of covered it earlier today in another post. But I think around 550. Maybe declare either at tea or half an hour into the last session. I think you would have to be liasing with the weather bureau regularly. And as I've just heard, Clarke has declared leaving a 468 run lead. I think they must be eliminating the risk of any stoppages due to rain that maybe forecast. Clarke's a team player.

Yeah, brillinat innings Nasher. He's highest Test score of 195 is definitely looking like it will be surpassed. Just for comparison Clarke's strike rate is around 70 runs per 100 balls, Hussey's is 57 runs per 100 balls. How and the hell did Sth Africa let Sangakarra and Jayawardene get ~624 odd. That is ridiculous ! * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Test_cricket_records

Best 5th wicket partnership of all time against India. Now 302* (now ranked 8th) Remarkable that two partnerships of 288 and 302* have been made in the same innings. I wonder if that is a record in itself....

^This ! Up there with the best of all time.

I'm in the midst of excitement going through stats.... the 5th wicket partnership of Clarke/Hussey is closing quickly on the all-time highest 5th wicket partnership against India - Chanderpaul & Hooper's 293 in Georgetown 2002. Currently ranks as the 10th highest all-time 5th wicket partnership @ 287*

Maybe it's me that thinks India misses him...

Just out of interest Clarke and Hussey have put on 203 for their 5th wicket partnership. Doesn't that seem awfully quick ! edit: Partnership now 235* Here's the link for record 5th wicket partnerships, Hussey & Clarke are making their way up rapidly. They have a fair way to go to get to 405 by Bradman and Barnes who hold the all time record. As it turns out they made it on the SCG too. http://stats.espncri...rds/283583.html

Last I looked Ishant Sharma's bowling average is something like 36.44. That's far too high for a "strike bowler". Zaheer Khan is their main weapon and of course they miss Harbahjan Singh.

That is interesting. Kallis is a remarkable player and he certainly is recognised and given credit here on this thread I feel. Several of us have highlighted his performances. I often mention all three in the same breath and Kallis wicket haul is of significance. Very durable player for his size. Whilst we speak of the positives of Australia to date, what do we make of India at present ? Correct me if I'm wrong but to my recollection, they have not won a Test series here in Australia. They're preparation prior to the series could have been much better IMO. But I'm not sure their schedule prior would have allowed for it. Last summer England came well prepared and had very good lead up games and took the honours relatively comfortably. A touring team IMO must have a few good 3 or 4 day matches with our states to get a good feel for the conditions. I know many of their players are experienced but it's different to playing on dust bowls.

Thanks. Saved me time. Where did you find that 45HG ?

I figure sometime early in the last session (maybe a half hour in), 5pm at the latest for me. Current lead is 292, one hundred runs a session up til' tea will give us ~lead of 492+. Yeah, about 550 + if everything goes to plan. I'll try and find it out. That's a tough one, but definitely intriguing.

Remind me to post Happy Birthday to you this year when you're 122.

Clarke made over 200 runs in a day. That's some kind of innings. I hope they bat until just after tea, and if they do and Clarke is out there Hayden's 380 will be under threat - at Clarke's run rate it will be surpassed ! I hope Clarke declares and gets "red ink" (that's not another tattoo by the way for those unfamiliar). Great innings and full marks of respect. The SCG gave him a standing ovation and thoroughly deserved. The PR campaign is doing wonders for him too. Well done. Could Lara's all-time top score be under threat ? Yeah, nah... edit: Just for note, I thought his answers to Mark Nicholas' questions showed how well grounded Clarke is. He reinforced that he is a team player and what he does is for the team. He's there to win and any individual accolades he receives he'll acknowledge but the focus is still to do the team thing. I just thought it highlighted what Michael Clarke is about and all the carry on nonsense about cars, girlfriends, tattoo's and critics versions of "playing for himself" are off the mark, are irrelevant and somewhat unfair on him.

Michael Clarke now has his highest Test Score, surpassing his previous highest of 165. Clarke is currently 170*

Partnership closing in on 300 runs. Remarkable. Clarke just 14 runs from his highest Test score. I hope they bat out the day, I really do. If they do, records will tumble. Punter 88 runs from 13,000 Test Runs. And the Australian Test record for a 4th wicket partnership is inside 100 runs. edit: Crap ! Just as I hit post, Punter is out for 134 in the gully. Their partnership - 288 runs.

Time to open the record books. Firstly big congratulations to the incumbent and former skippers of Australia. Punter a little lucky on 99 and taking a run that wasn't quite there. A direct hit would have seen him more than a metre out and on the way back to the pavilion. Current partnership is a massive 267. *Record for Australian fourth wicket partnership is 388 between Bradman & Ponsford in 1934 against England at Headingley. The all-time record is 437 for Sril Lankan pair Samaweera and Jayawardene against Karachi against Pakistan in 2009. (Interestingly Sri lanka hold the records for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th all-time record partnerships all against worthy recognised opponents). Clarke just 25 runs from his highest Test score. Ponting needs 98 more runs to reach 13,000 Test Runs. * Source - wikipaedia updated until Nov 2010.