MadAsHell

According to cricinfo there's still no sign of play resuming anytime soon, and there for it looks like any chance we had of keeping the Ashes alive have been washed away. Sad really. At least they gave it a red hot shot and can play with a bit of a nothing to loose attitude over the last two tests. If Lyon doesn't produce anything in the next test I'd love to see Fawad Ahmed drafted into the squad to play the last test at the always turning Oval ptch.

This series just can't avoid controversy can it!? Bad light stops play. Australia 1st Innings 7/527dec M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 G. Swann 5/159 (43) S. Broad 1/108 (33) England 1st Innings 368 K. Pietersen 113 A. Cook 62 P. Siddle 4/63 (29.3) M. Starc 3/76 (27) Australia 2nd Innings 7/172 D. Warner 41 M. Clarke 30* T. Bresnan 2/25 (6) J. Anderson 2/37 (8) Well we're 331 ahead and I suspect that will be it for the rest of the day and Clarke will declare overnight setting England 332 for victory on the final day so it's game one! Reckon he would have loved 10-20 overs at them tonight though. Under the old rule we would have been able to keep batting if we wanted but not anymore! Looking forward to an epic final day, although unfortunatly with only 1 day to bat I think England will play for the draw meaning our chances of victory are slim I must say.

Well they've already gone past my mark of a 310 run lead.

And due to the rain we're at an early Tea on Day 4. Australia 1st Innings 7/527dec M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 G. Swann 5/159 (43) S. Broad 1/108 (33) England 1st Innings 368 K. Pietersen 113 A. Cook 62 P. Siddle 4/63 (29.3) M. Starc 3/76 (27) Australia 2nd Innings 5/137 D. Warner 41 U. Khawaja 24 T. Bresnan 2/25 (6) S. Broad 1/30 (7) Lead is currently 296 so aleady England would need a record score at Old Trafford to win this match as the previous best there is 294. As I said in my other post when the rain stops I'd like to see us add as little as another 14 runs and then set England that 311 to win. Currently 38 overs left today as no overs have been lost to rain yet, but that could change. Then 90 overs tomorrow, but allow for rain and there's only a maximum of 128 overs left in this match. We very well could loose this match, but if we do it will be because we've chased the win and I'll cop that if need be. We've outplayed England for 3.5 days and the players have redeemed themselves somewhat from the disaster that was Lords.

Touching back on the subject of young Australian batsmen, this article caught my eye and I find it both concerning and frustrating. http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2013/content/current/story/658449.html I hope CA are doing everything to convince this kid that there's a future for him with Australia, and probably sooner then when he could carve one out with England. How they could allow a talent like this kid to simply walk to England would be criminal. We don't have many batsmen in the country at the moment under 25 who average over 40 in FC cricket apart from Maddinson. Robson's scored 993 runs at an average of 62.06 in County Cricket this season. I just hope the right people are doing everything they can to ensure we have the best players possible playing for Australia. And back onto the current match. I'd actually like to see Autstralia declare once we get to 151 and set England 311 to win, the same amount we had to chase at Trent Bridge Bit of psychological warfare. Pretty much saying to Cook that we weren't good enough to chase that down and we don't think you guys are either!

Nice footage there Macca. An interesting action from Grimmett I must say, seems a more round arm action then a lot of leg spinners, but obviously it worked! Hope the rain stays away, as we look set for another great finish otherwise. If they do take the rain into calculations as if as you say, there's almost certainly going to be rain about tomorrow, might we see a very early declaration and Australia simply set England a ground record run chase of 295 which would see a declaration probably 20 minutes out from tea?

You're spot on there Macca. Lyon needs to learn to mix his bowling up. Below I've attached an article from Ashley Mallett on Lyon earlier this year which still reins true today. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/history-lesson-for-lyon-20130111-2cl5h.html Mallett makes reference to the fact that he to had to learn that in order to be succesful, he needed to vary his delieveries to get more of a dip. Clarrie Grimmet taught Mallet that, below's from the above article. 'I took a train from Perth to Adelaide and walked to his home at Firle. I found him sawing a branch from the top of an old peppercorn tree. Suddenly this 76-year-old leprechaun armed with a Jack Hobbs-autographed cricket bat sprang to the ground. Beside him was a ball in a sock hanging from the branch of the tree. He handed me the bat and said: ''There you are, son. Let's have a look at your batting?'' I baulked at the offer, but the old man was firm: ''Ah, I taught a young man to back-cut on the ship to England in 1930 … and Don Bradman was a fast learner!'' I played one ball and Grimmett said, ''Right, that's enough of your batting.'' We then ventured to the full-sized turf wicket he had in his spacious backyard. Clarrie wore no pads; in fact no protection whatsoever. Wearing black horn-rimmed glasses, he faced up to my first ball. It met the middle of his bat and he called me down the wicket: ''Give up bowling and become a batsman … I could play you blindfolded.'' That really hit home. I was hurt, but I was determined to show him I could bowl. ''Mr Grimmett, I've got a handkerchief in my pocket.'' He placed the handkerchief over his glasses. My second ball hit the middle of his bat and when he stopped laughing, he gave me the best bowling lesson of my life. He talked about the need to achieve a dipping arc and how easy it was for a batsman if he was looking down on the ball. That is always the case when a delivery arrives at a trajectory below the level of the batsman's eye for most of its flight path. Any reasonable batsman would know almost immediately whether the ball is a half-volley or a ball slightly short of a length.' I hope Lyon can bowl well in the 2nd dig and take us towards victory. But sadly like Grimmet facing Mallet, I get the impression the English batsmen could face Lyon blindfolded. Lunch Day 4. Australia 1st Innings 7/527dec M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 G. Swann 5/159 (43) S. Broad 1/108 (33) England 1st Innings 368 K. Pietersen 113 A. Cook 62 P. Siddle 4/63 (29.3) M. Starc 3/76 (27) Australia 2nd Innings 1/24 D. Warner 12* C. Rogers 12 S. Broad 1/10 (3) G. Swann 0/1 (1) I reckon we'll bat for awhile and not go over the top funnily enough. Can see us declaring at 190 allowing us 10 overs at England tonight. Would set them 350 to win off 100 overs at 3.5 an over. Certainly keeping them interested. The weather is a concern, but at the same time I don;t think they should factor it in to much. You don't want to declare to early, have no rain and then leave England with a cofortable chase of about 280 with 4 sessions. Will be interesting to see how they play it?

Agree with you there HT. Just looked up that the highest ever run chase at Old Trafford is 294, so I reckon a target of around 350 will be in the Aussies thinking. Ideally they'll be hoping the wrap Englands innings up for no more then about 350 within the first hour to hour and a half giving us a lead in the area of 170-200. Then just go out there and bat normal through to tea and then maybe unleash for 8-10 overs after tea. Set England 350 to win off about 110-115 overs. Only a run rate of just over 3 an over would be required by England which should keep them interested which is important. If we were to set them 400 in the final day they'd never attempt it and just bat to save the match. But 350 off half the final session of Day 4 and all of Day 5 should be enough to still get them playing some shots which gives our bowlers a better chance of taking the wickets.

Stumps on Day 3. Australia 7/527 M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 C. Rogers 84 G. Swann 5/159 (43) S. Broad 1/108 (33) T. Bresnan 1/114 (32) England 7/294 K. Pietersen 113 A. Cook 62 I. Bell 60 M. Starc 3/75 (26) R. Harris 2/50 (26) P. Siddle 2/53 (25) Good effort by the Aussies. Would have loved 1 more wicket, but will take the 7 down. Important to try and wrap their innings up within the first hour tomorrow morning for around 320-350. Then go out and bat to get our lead to at least 320-350 and declare with an hour to go on Day 4 to keep them interested and increase our chances of taking some wicckets. Could be a big finifh coming up to this test!

Must say that apart from his late spell on Day 2, Lyon hasn't done anything to change my mind that bringing him in for Agar wasn't going to add anything to the team apart from giving us a weaker batting line up. As for the discussion about blooding some young batsmen go, for me it's a case of I wouldn't go out of my way to do it, but if the opportunity arrives I wouldn't be against it. Apart from Clarke our top 6 really is up in the air. Watson & Warner seem to be in a place where they don't know themselves whether they can be bothered working hard enough at the longest form of the game. Hughes is an openner, however shouldn't come back into the XI for some time given the chances he's had. Smith I don't think is going to be good enough at this level and Khawaja has a queston mark. Rogers, while he looks to potentially have the goods, as Macca says, clearly has a shelf life. Maddinson's certainly a batsman who's in form who I'd consider bringing into the side for our home series, but don't feel the need to rush him over now. Ideally I wouldn't be bringing in any really green batsmen until after our home series and the tour of South Africa as they'd be getting a pretty tough initiation. But if they're in form and there's a spot available, then don't shy away from it either. Having said that I wouldn't discount either of Mark Cosgrove or George Bailey at making it into the XI as mature age players if they can produce some good form come the start of the Shield season.

Stumps on Day 2. Australia 7/527 M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 C. Rogers 84 G. Swann 5/159 (43) S. Broad 1/108 (33) T. Bresnan 1/114 (32) England 2/52 A. Cook 36* J. Root 8 J. Trott 2* P. Siddle 2/7 (5) S. Watson 0/0 (5) M. Starc 0/8 (5) Great day for Australia, and I can finally say it, Australia on top,... For now. And good to see us finally get some luck with Bresnan not refering his dismissal. Would love to knock England over tomorrow for under 300 and then bat for half a day and set them 420 in a day and a half. Worst case scenario I'll take having them 8/350 at stumps tomorrow. If they're in any better position then that it will take an effort on our part to get a result in the final two days.

Australia declare at 7/527. Thought they could have batted another hour, but maybe they're concerned about some of the weather around? Come on Aussies, lets get them 3 down tonight to really start and turn the screws!

You might be right there RR. The 4 day leg of the Australia A tour has now ended and not sure if Maddinson was in the OD squad, so he could be a handy inclusion seeing as he's in form. Tea on Day 2. Australia 7/507 M. Clarke 187 S. Smith 89 C. Rogers 84 G. Swann 5/149 (41) S. Broad 1/108 (33) T. Bresnan 1/114 (32) Got to put out honerable mentions to both Haddin & Starc on their current unbeaten 50's. Come out after tea and go hell for leather for 10-12 overs, get the total to somewhere from 550-580 and then have an hour at England before stumps tonight. Lets bat them out of the game. Loving seeing their bowlers worked into the ground. They're looking tired that's for sure, especially Anderson!

And Australia A have gone down by 7 wickets inside three days. Australia A 1st Innings 146 N. Maddinson 88 B. Hendricks 5/52 (9.5) South Africa A 1st Innings 356 R. Rossouw 115* F. Ahmed 4/80 (17.4) Australia A 2nd Innings 277 N. Maddinson 90 S. Harmer 8/87 (31.1) South Africa A 2nd Innings 3/71 (Target 68) S. Van Zyl 23 N. Maddinson 2/22 (3) A nice effort to at least pinch three wickets at the end to bring some respectability to the score board. Despite the heavy defeat, Maddinson would surely have to go close to Man of the match after his effort in this match. Two 50's in low totals and two 2nd innings wickets!

And he's just added a wicket to his match figures to go with the runs, so he can do it all that kid! Loving the way Clark's batting the last 2.5 years really since he got the captains role. He's taken his game to another level that like him or not, he's one of our best batsmen ever. Wonder if our murder of part time spinners have role to play also? (Smith, Warner, Clarke)

Not wrong RR, that was one of the most bizzare DRS's I've ever seen. Warner copping it big time on twitter from the likes of Dean Jones and Ryan Campbell. Smith's was a waste. Rogers dismissal was a loss of concerntration however Smith's was a brain fade up there with Warne when he was on 99, although at least Warne has the excuse of being a bowler and not a batsman. 500 will put us in a real strong position and Lyon will need to bowl well, because if he struggles in his first few tests back the likes of Agar & Fawad Ahmed will be knocking on the door.

Lunch Day 2. Australia 5/392 M. Clarke 168* S. Smith 89 C. Rogers 84 G. Swann 4/103 (31) T. Bresnan 1/80 (26) J. Trott 0/6 (1) Despite the losses of Smith & Warner we're still in a pretty good position. Anytime you bat first and make 400+ it's pretty rare that you'll loose, but seeing as we're after the win lets hope Clarke, Haddin & the tale can take us to 500+ by batting into the final session. And it's nearly all over in Africa Australia A 1st Innings 146 N. Maddinson 88 B. Hendricks 5/52 (9.5) South Africa A 1st Innings 356 R. Rossouw 115* F. Ahmed 4/80 (17.4) Australia A 2nd Innings 277 N. Maddinson 90 S. Harmer 8/87 (31.1) South Africa A 2nd Innings 0/27 (Target 68) D. Elgar 15* F. Ahmed 0/6 (2) But at least Maddinson and Fawad Ahmed have kept pressure on our main squad with their performances.

Great 150 Michael Clarke, now lets keep it going! Shame Smith couldn't go on for his first 100, but it brings Warner to the crease who I reckon might start this series with a bang!

Tea on Day 1. Australia 3/180 C. Rogers 84 M. Clarke 55* S. Smith 20* G. Swann 2/37 (13) T. Bresnan 1/38 (12) S. Broad 0/50 (13) It's that time of the week night that I head to bed and hope for the best for the final session. If we can get through to stumps no more then 5 or 6 down for about 300 then I think we're in a reasonable position. Not imposing position, but it's a start. Bad luck on Chris Rogers falling short of his first test century, but good to see Clarke and Smith looking steady at the crease with the likes of Warner & Haddin still to come. Meanwhile in Africa 8 overs before stumps on Day 2. Australia A 1st Innings 146 N. Maddinson 88 C. Sayers 22 B. Hendricks 5/52 (9.5) M. De Lange 3/45 (13) South Africa A 1st Innings 356 R. Rossouw 115* D. Elgar 83 F. Ahmed 4/80 (17.4) M. Marsh 2/56 (14) Australia A 2nd Innings 2/79 A. Doolan 28* S. Marsh 24 S. Harmer 1/17 (5) K. Abbott 1/28 (6) It's a long way back for Australia A in this one. Will need to bat all day tomorrow and probably till at least lunch on Day 4 to give themselves a chance and make about 450 odd. Pat Cummins took 1/70 off 21 overs and Fawad Ahmed's now taken 15 wickets in his last 4 innings, he's certainly putting his hand up. Let's hope Nic Maddinson and Alex Doolan can make some big scores to give us some batsmen to look forward to on the horizon.

Agree TU that Bird should consider pretty unlucky, I would have had him in my XI back for the 1st Test, but I'm sure his time will come. However as for the Lyon in for Agar, I would have stuck with Ashton as I don't think Lyon adds anything to the team. As for the 1st session: Lunch Day 1 Australia 2/92 C. Rogers 67* S. Watson 19 M. Clarke 5* G. Swann 1/3 (2) T. Bresnan 1/18 (5) S. Broad 0/34 (9) A shocking call by the 3rd umpire to give Khawaja out on that review. Nothing on hotspot, the sound came early and his bat clearly hit his pad with dalight between ball and bat. If that can't get overturned by DRS then what can and there's no point having it! On a positive note though, has been great to see Rogers bat so well. Fingers crossed he can go on to make his maiden test century. Meanwhile Australia A are really struggling without David Warner against South Africa A. Midway through Day 2 Australia A 146 N. Maddinson 88 C. Sayers 22 S. Marsh 13 B. Hendricks 5/52 (9.5) M. De Lange 3/45 (13) K. Abbott 2/39 (15) South Africa A 7/321 R. Rossouw 100* D. Elgar 83 R. Hendricks 37 M. Marsh 2/49 (11) C. Sayers 2/64 (28) F. Ahmed 1/57 (14) Going to take a super effort from Australia A to get out of trouble here! Was good to see Maddinson bat so well though. He could be a bolter for a spot in our top 6 come our home summer.

Off topic, but good to see the MCG get the rights to stage the final for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/current/story/656365.html Odd though that we're in the same group as New Zealand and we have to play them there! Surely they could have arranged it that we were in different groups. Aside from New Zealand we've drawn England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and two qualifiers, usual suspects being Netherlands, Kenya, Afghanistan, Scotland, Canada etc... Big tournament for Ireland I reckon, if they can make a big showing and get through to the quarters or even semi finals they could mount a strong case for Test inclusion. They've got India & South Africa who you wouldn't think they'll push, but then they've got West Indies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and another qualifier who they're certainly capable of beating on their day. Early prediction of our World Cup 15 man squad: David Warner Shane Watson Phil Hughes Michael Clarke* Glenn Maxwell George Bailey +Matthew Wade James Faulkner Pat Cummins Clint McKay Xavier Doherty Michael Beer Aaron Finch Mitchell Starc Adam Voges Could well be a farewell international tournament for Shane Watson before he vanishes into the world of full time T20 cricketer.

I've mentioned myself that I wouldn't be against Katich coming back as captain to lead us through the next 18 months as it's going to be a very testing one. After this Ashes leg is over we have England for 5 tests out here, then a trip to South Africa for 3 tests, then a three test series against Pakistan in a neutral venue (England or UAE no doubt) followed by a 4 test home series against India. These are all big challenges! I believe that the future of our batting is in the likes of Joe Burns, Nic Maddinson, Jordan Silk, however I don't think these next 15 test matches are the environment to debut them in. Bring Katich back for those 15 tests as captain and also bring in George Bailey or Tim Paine as Vice Captain to take over after next summer against India. He's a fighter Katich and will bring back some of the qualities we saw in Steve Waugh and AB and this could be a chance for a good legacy to be left to one of Bailey or Paine to take forward. After next summer against India it does get a bit easier. We have two tests against the West Indies in the windies. That is followed by another Ashes campaign which isn't easy, but that is then followed by 2 tests against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, 3 at home to both New Zealand and the West Indies, a 3 test tour of New Zealand, the same in Sri Lanka before the next big series, being a three test series at home v South Africa. This would allow a 2 test series against the Windies for whoever Kat's replacement is and the new captain to get their game together before an Ashes campaign. Once that Ashes campaign was over, they would then have 14 test matches against the likes of Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka to establish themselves again before the next big series. These next 3 tests will tell a lot. If they can somehow turn things around a big turnover of players may not be required, but if things go as they look like they may, then starting with the 1st Ashes test out here I'd be more then keen to see Katich come back in as captain. Paine given the gloves, Faulkner replace Watson and bat at 6 and then some stabilty around the other openers spot and the number 3 and 4 spot. Khawaja, Warner, Doolan, Cosgrove, Bailey. Pick 3 of those players to play in those roles and try and leave them there for as long as possible. Once Katich's reign is at an end and our run becomes a little easier, then we can look at a rebuild with youth, who hopefully will have used these next two summers to make a truck load of runs at Shield level.

Difficut thing to do, given is it on what they're produced at test level or first class level? What they're capable of or what they're currently producing? Personally I rate them the follwoing SWING/SEAM Michael Clarke: Pretty easy, he's our best batsman by a country mile, whether it's against the quicks or spinners. David Warner: Has shown he's more then capable against the seaming ball (NZ in Hobart) when all others around him struggle and has dismantled some of the worlds best quicks all over the world. Consistency is his problem. Shane Watson: See David Warners comments. He's capable of a lot more then what he's producing. Simon Katich: Eight years ago he really struggled against the seaming ball but worked hard to fix this issue by playing the ball later. Scoring big runs over in England and could easily still be playing. Phil Hughes: Has shown at First class level that he's more then capable of handling the new ball on all kinds of surfaces from green tops at Belrieve to fast bouncy pitches in Perth. Hasn't been able to do the same at Test level, but whenever he's dropped from the test team, he scores a mountain of runs at Shield level up the top. Chris Rogers: Has been producing big numbers in First class cricket both here and in England for years now on both seaming and bouncy wickets. I'm still optimistic he could pull out some big innings over the remaining tests. Like Katich, he plays the ball late to combat the swing. Usman Khawaja: Very good technique and no obvious weaknesses in his game apart from his ability to rotate the strike. Has shown an ability to get starts which bodes well, just a matter on converting them. His move to the greener wickets at the GABBA didn't seem to effect him to much. Mark Cosgrove: Very good first class cricekter who moved from the flat road of Adelaide to the seaming wicket in Hobart and his game has improvd to go with it. Amazed that he hasn't been mentioned by selectors as far as a potential top order batsman given our issues as he has a good compact game but still with the ability to go big when needed. His fitness and fielding I believe is his biggest issue. Joe Burns: Young batsman who's been doing it tough up at the GABBA but has an average in the high 30's. Has moved around the batting line up from openning to batting down as low as 5. I think the number 3 or 4 role suits him best. Has a good technique and array of shots against the quicks. Consistency is his issue as he seems at this stage to be a bit feast or famine which does happen sometimes with the young batsmen. One worth watching. Nic Maddinson: Another young batsman with a lot of potential. Plays a bit like Matthew Hayden in that he enjoys taking it up to the quicks even on the seaming wicket. Made a century recently for Australia A on a wicket that was doing a bit in England, he does however need to learn to reign it in from time to time. SPIN Michael Clarke: No comment needed I don't beleive. His footwork is that of Dean Jones though. David Hussey: After Clarke he's easily our next best player of spin. Very quick on his feet and playing in the IPL has been good for his play against spin which was already good. At 36 has probably missed the boat and shoudl of been given a shot years ago. Simon Katich: Has played very well for Australia on tours of India & Sri Lanka. In Steve Waughs final test he scored a century on a turning SCG wicket that Anil Kumble described as one of the best he's seen. Brad Haddin: Actually plays the spinners very well when he gives himself a chance to get in and doesn't go to hard to soon. One of the best staright drivers off the spinners in world cricket. Steve Smith: I've seen him play very well against the spinners at first class level and played quite well in India, however Swann looks to have him confussed. There is some hope for Smith, it's just a question of how long we give him. Adam Voges: I've seen him take a lot of spinners apart at FC level in both Shield cricket and the shorter forms. Enjoys using his feet. Mark Cosgrove: Doesn't use his feet a lot but he knows his limitations. Plays from the crease and is generally pretty careful about what he defends and what he atatcks. If a spinner's bowling well to him however he can get bogged down. Glenn Maxwell: Very similar to Voges in the way he plays them, but he can get very reckless in his shot selection. Has the ability to become a very, very good player. but I have my doubts at Test level due to his temperment. Cameron White: Foot work isn't that great, but he has a pretty good ability like Cosgrove of picking what shots to attack and what shots to use his feet to in order to try and get on top of the spinners. Doesn't have the ability to see a spinner off over a long period though when they're playing well as he'll eventually try and play one shot to many. Aaron Finch: Very simlar to White, although he will attempt to play one scoring shot off them an over whether it's there or not.

Final scorecard from both the Australia & Australia A matches. Australia v Sussex Australia 1st Innings 5/366dec S. Smith 102* P. Hughes 84 M. Panesar 3/70 (24.4) L. Hatchett 2/38 (14.4) Sussex 1st Innings 7/368dec J. Taylor 121* R. Hamilton-Brown 73 M. Starc 2/43 (18) J. Bird 2/62 (20) Australia 2nd Innings 2/152 E. Cowan 77* P. Hughes 38 L. Hatchett 2/28 (11) C. Nash 0/10 (2) A bit disapointing to give up a 1st Innings lead in the tour match. Steve Smith dropping taylor off Bird on 23 was costly in the end. No real standouts from the bowlers. Both Lyon and Agar struggled and both Bird and Starc took 2 wickets each, although Bird should of had 3. Cowan made two 50's and Khawaja was dismissed for 40 and then 1 in his two innings. Hughes an 84 and 38 and Wade 30* in the 2nd dig. In the Australia A match. Australia A 1st Innings 5/474dec D. Warner 193 G. Maxwell 155* K. Abbott 2/83 (25) M. De Lange 2/129 (23) South Africa A 1st Innings 7/614dec D. Elgar 268 T. Tsolekile 159 F. Ahmed 3/177 (42) J. Hazlewood 1/68 (27) Australia A 2nd Innings 6/254 A. Finch 88 A. Doolan 38 M. De Lange 2/42 (15) S. Harmer 2/94 (30) Good to see the A team hang on for a draw given they spent the best part of 5 sessions in the field heading into the last day. Warner made 33 in his 2nd dig to go with his 193 in the 1st. Finch two 50's in the match (could we see a breakout season in Shield cricket for him this season?). Was also good to see Fawad Ahmed take 3 wickets on a road of a picth , toiling for an amazing 42 overs. Best figures in any innings for the match from Fawad. As for changes for the 3rd test for Australia, personally I think Bird in ahead of Starc for Pattinson given Bird's line and length. He took 4 wickets in the last tour match and should of had three in this match when the century maker Taylor was put down by Smith on 23. I think Agar will hold his spot as the spinner as Lyon didn't really impress, although could we see an 11th hour call up for Fawad Ahmed given he's taken 11 wickets in his last 3 innings bowling? As for the batting it's a real toss of the coin. I expect to see Watson keep his spot at the top of the order, Khawaja to stay at 3, Clarke at 5 and I expect to see Warner come in at 6. That leaves the other opening spot and the number 4 role. Number 4 I expect will go to one of Smith or Hughes as Wade needed a big score in the tour match to give himself a chance. Given Smith's unbeaten century, his ability to play spin better and given he's a right hander (Swann to spin into Smith, away from Hughes), I think we'll see Smith given the number 4 role. As for the other openers spot, we've got Cowan who made two 50's in the tour match and was one of our better players in India. However played two very ordinary shots in the 1st Test, only averages just over 30 in 18 test matches and has only made 1 century in all that time. Hughes who made 84 in the 1st innings in the tour match, made an impressive 81* in the 1st Innings of the first test, however nothing since, is a natural opener however and that's where he scored all his runs in the last shield season, although showed in the last series in England that he can struggled against the new ball. Or Rogers, who has waited years to add to his 1 test, has had two tets this time around and scored a 50, yet got out in two ugly fashions in the 2nd test. To be fair to him he has had two very stiff LBW decisions go against him, however he's certainly yet to demand his spot. Verdict.... Rogers for me, but only just, you could give it to any of the three and there'd be a strong argument for and against any. Time will tell I guess.

it does raise some difficult selection questions for the 3rd test. Apart from poor old Matthew Wade making a duck and kissing his chances goodbye at least for this series. The main spot up for grabs for the 3rd test for me was the number 4 spot, with Rogers and Watson to open, Khawaja at 3, Clarke at 5, Warner in at 6 and Haddin at 7 meaning one of Smith, Hughes or Wade was to bat at 4. With both Hughes and Smith making runs though they could possibly drop Rogers, open Hughes with Watson and bat Smith at 4? Watson will be safe due to his bolwing, for the rest of this series at least IMO. Meanwhile in the Australia A game at Lunch on Day 4 Australia A 1st Innings 5/474dec D. Warner 193 G. Maxwell 155* K. Abbott 2/83 (25) M. De Lange 2/129 (23) South Africa A 1st Innings 7/614dec D. Elgar 268 T. Tsolekile 159 F. Ahmed 3/177 (42) J. Hazlewood 1/68 (27) Australia A 2nd Innings 1/90 A. Finch 51* A. Doolan 20* S. Harmer 1/32 (9) K. Abbott 0/10 (6) Obviously a very flat wicket over there with 4 batsmen making over 150. A good effort from Fawad Ahmed taking 3 wickets and bowling an amazing 42 overs in obviously tough conditions for the bowlers. Hopefully Australia A can bat out the day to secure the draw. Some 2nd innings runs for both Doolan and Warner would be nice. Also worth noting Shaun Marsh who's on this tour (don't know why) made two poor scores on a complete road. How this guy is on our A tour ahead of guys like Silk, Burns, Bailey, Cosgrove, Henry, Handscomb and Lynn is a complete joke!