Cricket: International Discussion Thread

All O'Keefe had to do was to bowl faster through air and be accurate, Singh said. "You don't need to flight the ball or anything. You just need to bowl fast and not give the batsmen room to either come down the track, or be able to manoeuvre the ball around. "Bowling six deliveries in the same spot is all you need to get wickets on such tracks," he added.
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That describes Jadeja perfectly.

I don't recall this kind of commentary when we toured there...funny that.
 
Ho3n3r said:
Exactly. Hahaha.

And "This is not a pitch". Dumbass comment of the week. I bet he would have been singing the praises of the groundstaff, had India won.

I wonder what we would have been able to do on that pitch with Tahir and Shamsi.
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as much fun as that would be. Tahir does not do well in tests.

Shamzi and Maharaj maybe.
but there inexperience plays against us.

O'Keefe did as well as he did due to experience.

so many wickets that were a result of pressure built by balls before spinning a lot, and then he bowls the non spinning slider and gets an LBW.
 
Baxteen said:
as much fun as that would be. Tahir does not do well in tests.

Shamzi and Maharaj maybe.
but there inexperience plays against us.

O'Keefe did as well as he did due to experience.

so many wickets that were a result of pressure built by balls before spinning a lot, and then he bowls the non spinning slider and gets an LBW.
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Agree re Imran and actually, Shamsi as well...neither of them are patient enough.

Maharaj, however - I think he would have killed on that pitch. His control is very good and he has the temperament to go along with it - he wouldn't be forcing it the way Immie does. He's actually played more first class matches than o' Keefe, oddly enough.
 
Neoprod said:
Agree re Imran and actually, Shamsi as well...neither of them are patient enough.

Maharaj, however - I think he would have killed on that pitch. His control is very good and he has the temperament to go along with it - he wouldn't be forcing it the way Immie does. He's actually played more first class matches than o' Keefe, oddly enough.
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he has been playing since he was 16 or something like that.

and yeah shamzi does not have the patients yet. but he might learn it over time, he has a lot of potetntial. and between all the spinners we have used over the years, him and Maharaj are the only 2 that have impressed me.
 
And the inquest continues.

How the Pune pitch backfired for India

the MCA Stadium in Pune has one of the flattest pitches in India and the only way to get results in four-day matches here is through seam and not spin. The Ranji final last year was one of those matches. Otherwise fast bowlers do twice as well as spinners in first-class cricket here. Not counting the Pune Test, they average 32 against spinners' 63. In outright results, the fast bowlers' average drops to 28 as against 59 for spinners. In drawn matches, the quicks fare worse than the overall where the spinners' average remains somewhat similar.

This was an accident waiting to happen. Ravi Shastri, former director of the Indian team, has said on air, in his role as commentator now, that he had asked for the pitches India laid out for South Africa in Mohali and Nagpur. Both were three-day wins for India, but in both those Tests India won the toss. Such pitches stay okay for about a session, and they get progressively worse. India's score of 107 in the second innings in Pune was about par for such pitches. That makes winning the toss crucial, which can't be good news for the No. 1 side in the world who have the superior skill in normal Indian conditions.

The other thing such pitches do is level the playing field for spinners. A spinner like O'Keefe, who is not the most threatening bowler on good pitches, can become as unplayable as Ravindra Jadeja through proper tactics and application. Most importantly, unlike South Africa, Australia came prepared for exactly this. They spent hours in Dubai playing the line of the ball, training their mind to not worry when beaten and their hands to not follow when a ball turns big. They batted without the front pad on, making sure they trained themselves to play with the bat and avoid the lbw to the unpredictable straight bat.

India were out-strategised. Their spinners kept bowling the traditional spinner's lengths, and their batsmen played the old-fashioned way in the second innings when you needed street-smarts to master such tracks, the way Steven Smith did. Apart from Kanpur, the first Test of this season, India have played the whole season on pitches that turned out to be traditional Indian tracks. There was one that helped the New Zealand seamers, in Kolkata. Yet India had stayed unbeaten in a long home season by the time Australia came calling. They came prepared for conditions that were part lottery, and lottery they got.

The only question that remains is: did Salgaoncar go too far in ensuring home advantage or whether this was exactly what India had asked for. These pitches don't show up out of the blue, especially when the opposition lost the series in Sri Lanka on rank turners. Let's look at the preparation first. In the week leading up to the Test, Dhiraj Parsana, zonal head of the BCCI Ground and Pitches Committee, joined Salgaoncar. Two days before the Test, Daljit Singh, the chairman of the Pitches Committee, landed up.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt from sources that over the four days leading upto the Test, the pitch got only about half the water it gets before a usual first-class match. Brushes were used to remove the grass and rough the pitch up. Only 2mm grass was left. Information of highs of 37 degrees over the week was readily available on every weather forecast site.

The curators are now not accessible. Salgaoncar was not at the ground the day after the Test, and refused to meet at his residence in Pune. Daljit is back in Chandigarh, but calling his phone drew no response.
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Most importantly, unlike South Africa, Australia came prepared for exactly this. They spent hours in Dubai playing the line of the ball, training their mind to not worry when beaten and their hands to not follow when a ball turns big. They batted without the front pad on, making sure they trained themselves to play with the bat and avoid the lbw to the unpredictable straight bat.
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I found this interesting. If this was instrumental in their success, whoever planned this deserves a decent bonus. Nothing rocket-science, just clever out the box thinking. Kudos.
 
First ODI between the West Indies and England today. Think it's the first time they faced off since Carlos Brathwaite took a liking to Ben Stokes in the World T20 final. Should be a great match! First ball is at 15:30 (SA time)
 
McT said:
I found this interesting. If this was instrumental in their success, whoever planned this deserves a decent bonus. Nothing rocket-science, just clever out the box thinking. Kudos.
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I remember when Adam Gilchrist used to put balls in his gloves to stop his bat from turning when playing a shot.

Just a matter of time before they dominate world cricket again.
 
WaxLyrical said:
I remember when Adam Gilchrist used to put balls in his gloves to stop his bat from turning when playing a shot.

Just a matter of time before they dominate world cricket again.
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Agreed. We need to up our game from one series to the next. If we aren't pushing the boundaries, we will be left behind.
 
West Indies vs England - 1st ODI from Antigua. Toss delayed due to wet run-ups. Weather is apparently good though...
 
India, after winning the toss on day 1 of the second test, are bundled out for 189 with Nathan Lyon taking an incredible 8/50. Rahul showed some fight for India scoring 90. Australia in reply are 24/0 after 8.3 overs

Really hard not to laugh right now...
 
Didn't watch any of this after watching our game...is the pitch like the first test? If so, that might not be a terrible score. Could wind up a tight game if Aus get rolled at some point in the match.
 
Aus are 40/0 so pitch seems OK. 10 Indians scored a 100 combined, can't see them not losing here
 
After the initial early wicket, India lost their second wicket at 72, after which the rot set in. So batting wasn't too bad at the start, so I doubt it's the pitch.
 
Australia are -24/5 :whistle: (165/5)

Looks like this game might be heading for a one innings shoot-out...maybe Starc and co can put up another 80. Tough to call with Aus having to bat last.
 
India 189 & 87/2 (25.0 ov)
Australia 276
India lead by 0 runs with 8 wickets remaining

Half way through the contest. Day 3. Session 2. Scores level. Intriguing.
 
WaxLyrical said:
Something seriously wrong with this Indian side.
I think the Aussies have broken Kholi and the rest are just following suit.
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India are actually in a decent position at the moment...this is looking a good series in the making. Definitely need around a 200 lead at least though...this pitch is tough but people can bat for awhile if they knuckle down.

Kohli is having a shocker though...0,13,12,15. He'll probably put up a double ton in the next test :p
 
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