***Official*** Pakistan in Australia 2016/17

[Pratters]

Completely regardless of whomever you support, batsmen who are in the 90s at stumps, are not supposed to lose their wicket just after coming in the next morning, before getting 'there'. Just not cricket!

People have a break in concentration. They are human ffs.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah, love me a back foot drive to a wide, full ball. Always reminds me of Gary Sobers. He used to blaze that shot in clips I've seen of him

 

[Pratters]

Handscomb has looked quite iffy so far.

 

[Niall]

Yeah this is why Sohail is so infuriating in test cricket. His batting is useful, but his bowling as a test progresses gets worse and worse.

This is a modest bowling line up from Pakistan.

 

[Johnners]

Handscomb is all over the shop

 

[morgieb]

Oh dear. Was close to LBW but for the overstepping.

 

[zorax]

Why are people assuming that Warner is somehow blisfully unaware that he is using a large bat and that if he were forced to use a smaller one he wouldn't pick his strokes more carefully?

 

[centurymaker]

Do you think batting is easier now than it was, say 10 years ago?

I think it's swung back a touch towards bowlers these days than it was a decade or so back.

Then again, that might be because these days there aren't as many good players as there were a decade or so back.

It's becoming ever easier to 'score runs'

A batsman batting on a 100* now.. would perhaps only be on a 70* couple of decades ago like 1994 as an example. But then you have to allow for the fact that batsmen played fewer attacking shots back then, but at the same time fields were never as defensive as they often are now.

Moreover, several of the 4's (boundaries) now would, for example, only be 2's. So if you add up things like that, batsman are still benefiting by something like 20% in terms of run scoring..

but at the same time compared to the last decade,however, conditions and DRS have brought it back a bit for the bowlers. So batsman are a bit more likely to get out, which is somewhat limiting the inflationary effect on the batsmen's averages.

 

[morgieb]

Wow Handscomb looks like 50 times better when Shah came on.

 

[Pratters]

What's the forecast of rain?

 

[Pratters]

Why are people assuming that Warner is somehow blisfully unaware that he is using a large bat and that if he were forced to use a smaller one he wouldn't pick his strokes more carefully?

It's not all that easy to adjust and change your game.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah but players are products of their time.

 

[Niall]

Wow Handscomb looks like 50 times better when Shah came on.

Who wouldn't?

Yasir has been trash this test.

 

[Pratters]

Yeah but players are products of their time.

Yeah, true. Another aspect is it is not just that a player from the 90s with a thicker bat would suddenly be able to play like Warner. There are many more variables to a player than a thick or thin bat.

 

[Burgey]

Indeed. These players have enormous ability to reach the level they're playing at. We all do it, me included, but it's a disservice to them to say they couldn't play in different eras. Very good/ great players adapt.

 

[Pratters]

Who wouldn't?

Yasir has been trash this test.

How has he bowled in Australia in general?

 

[Burgey]

Thought he was ok in Brisbane. Loathe to agree with the channel nine comms, but I don't think the fields he's got have helped. Neither misbah nor smith covering themselves in glory with their captaining of their spinners, though neither has exactly bowled very well.

 

[Pratters]

Indeed. These players have enormous ability to reach the level they're playing at. We all do it, me included, but it's a disservice to them to say they couldn't play in different eras. Very good/ great players adapt.

I don't buy the notion that a great player in one era would necessarily be a great in another era. How would Viv be in the modern era or Warne bowling in tandem with O'Reilly These are things which will always be mulled over. We do it when forming an all time XI, so what's the problem when we do it otherwise as well? it's okay I think.

 

[Johnners]

Seems a bit stupid that Sohail is going to take the new ball instead of Wahab.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Can someone explain why there are so few spectators? Is it just regards to the state of the match? I can't imagine if England or SA were playing at the MCG. Unlikely to be a result, but Aus could theoretically make 600-650 if they bat out the rest of today which would make things interesting.