Boxing Day Tests

Great for those of us with nothing to do over Christmas. Aus vs Pak 11pm - 7am, then South Africa vs India 8am - 3:30pm. What bliss!

Also, anyone else love seeing the overarrogant Indians get a few notches taken off them?

RB wrote:Great for those of us with nothing to do over Christmas. Aus vs Pak 11pm - 7am, then South Africa vs India 8am - 3:30pm. What bliss!

Also, anyone else love seeing the overarrogant Indians get a few notches taken off them?

Talking of arrogance... sick of seeing the Aussies win!

but what a bowling side the Aussies are, Pat Cummings having one hell of a spell.

I was criticised for saying this in the summer, but this Australian side are, in my opinion, as good as the side from 20 years ago. If you picked a combined XI it would be about half and half.

Pat Cummins's amazing 2023 is rounded off with figures of 10-97, bowling his team to victory. At one stage it looked like Pakistan were going to do it.

Test cricket - you can't beat it.

RB wrote:I was criticised for saying this in the summer, but this Australian side are, in my opinion, as good as the side from 20 years ago. If you picked a combined XI it would be about half and half.

Pat Cummins's amazing 2023 is rounded off with figures of 10-97, bowling his team to victory. At one stage it looked like Pakistan were going to do it.

Test cricket - you can't beat it.

I'm not sure that any of the batsmen other than Smith would make it into a combined team. That batting line up would bludgeon you into submission and their aggression was like a version of Bazball without the brain fades! Look at the players who barely got a look in, like Rogers and Law. Gilchrist was such a powerful batsman that he would have to be keeper.

Bowling more even. Warne would keep out Lyon unless the team had two spinners (still one too few for RB). McGrath of course. Brett Lee to be squeezed out by Cummins & co probably but that would knock out the quickest bowler.

Great teams age and that is the Aussies' problem to resolve. Labuschagne is the only player under 30 in the current team and he is 29. Just like us, they may find that younger players are more attracted by the big bucks of T20 and some may never even play first class. What a loss Chris Green was to Test cricket. Said nobody...

adelaide wrote:

RB wrote:I was criticised for saying this in the summer, but this Australian side are, in my opinion, as good as the side from 20 years ago. If you picked a combined XI it would be about half and half.

Pat Cummins's amazing 2023 is rounded off with figures of 10-97, bowling his team to victory. At one stage it looked like Pakistan were going to do it.

Test cricket - you can't beat it.

I'm not sure that any of the batsmen other than Smith would make it into a combined team. That batting line up would bludgeon you into submission and their aggression was like a version of Bazball without the brain fades! Look at the players who barely got a look in, like Rogers and Law. Gilchrist was such a powerful batsman that he would have to be keeper.

Bowling more even. Warne would keep out Lyon unless the team had two spinners (still one too few for RB). McGrath of course. Brett Lee to be squeezed out by Cummins & co probably but that would knock out the quickest bowler.

Great teams age and that is the Aussies' problem to resolve. Labuschagne is the only player under 30 in the current team and he is 29. Just like us, they may find that younger players are more attracted by the big bucks of T20 and some may never even play first class. What a loss Chris Green was to Test cricket. Said nobody...

You're not seriously saying Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, and Jason Gillespie are better than Labuschagne and Starc/Hazlewood?

My XI:

Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Smith, Labuschagne, Marsh (to balance the side), Gilchrist, Warne, Cummins, Lyon, McGrath.

Martyn, no. Clarke, quite possibly, as I have never been convinced by Labuschagne, despite his figures. Maybe anyone called Marnus makes me think of "Matilda"!

Gillespie, I agree, though he did make a double ton! Having McGrath and Warne at the other end can do quite a lot for your statistics. I wasn't arguing for Gillespie, just that McGrath and Cummins were the only nailed on seamers. Whether you would pick one or two more depends on team balance (four or five bowlers) and conditions (one or two spinners, or iof you were selecting, five).

watching Big Bash:
Jamie Overton did well took 2 wickets, then batting scored 19 in 12 balls to close innings on New Years Eve
Chris Jordan also took 2 wickets - New Years Day

Alot of talk in commentary about their Big Bash sides becoming like IPL franchises, wanting big personalities/companies coming in owning clubs, similar kind of arguemnet to the Hundred here.