Is this the future ?
I don't know how many of you are following the Aus vs Essex game. At one point of time Essex, having chosen to bat first, were 123/0 in 24 overs. As I write this, they are 238/1 in 52 overs. Against an Aus side, which has thrown its entire kitchen sink and dishwasher into the bowling attack. Tait, McGill, Kasper, Gillespie, Lee.
So, if there is no Warne and McGrath, the 'team' is not a great team after all ? Sure, they may also go on to score 500 in a day, but that would hardly mean anything. Because, as we all know, to become a good test team the bowling attack is the most vital cog. For all these years when we were hailing the great Aussie juggernaut, did ever think how much reliant they were on those two.
And btw, does anyone know more about the Chelmsford pitch etc ? Is it so flat always ? Or the Aussies holding back (sure McGill can't be, his selection is on the line) ?
So, if there is no Warne and McGrath, the 'team' is not a great team after all ? Sure, they may also go on to score 500 in a day, but that would hardly mean anything. Because, as we all know, to become a good test team the bowling attack is the most vital cog. For all these years when we were hailing the great Aussie juggernaut, did ever think how much reliant they were on those two.
And btw, does anyone know more about the Chelmsford pitch etc ? Is it so flat always ? Or the Aussies holding back (sure McGill can't be, his selection is on the line) ?
posted by worma at
10:05 AM
20 Comments:
thx whomami. Will try to cover ashes also as much as possible. And we'll catch Prem's straightforward views on Ganguly sometime, atleast try to.
Yes Lee would not bend his back for sure, but all the rest are in with a chance for next game (even Gillespie, who can get a look-in if he does exceptionally well here). I do think they might have deliberately made a flat track for this game. But still its poor of Aus attack...they are the best in the world, so can't they atleast do decently against a county side, even if on a flat track ?
By
worma, at 10:50
Wow....it is now 325/1. For some reason the Aussie bowling unit has not been able to take top order wickets. Wonder what gives.
I guess it is pressure. Gillespie is trying to get back into the XI. Lee is fighting to make an impression. And in general, the Aussies are proving to be clueless on how to attack and get wickets.
I can now say that England look like they are going to win the Ashes...this Aussie attack will not be able to stop them in the final test.
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RPM, at 11:08
sachin..true India proved it, but at that time not fully so, because India had done reasonably well at home also (when both those bowlers played). So at that time, although this theory was there, Aus themselves denied it to some extent. I wonder what's left now to prove
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worma, at 11:09
Worma: do you know who this player Cook is. He is just doing so good to England's cause:)I never heard of him. This attack of Australia without Mcgrath and Warne looks pedestrian to me. I mean once these two guys are gone, there is no way these guys can bully any team. With the infrastructure that they have for cricket they will always be in top 3-4, but not no.1 anymore. What's your take?
By
Ravi Agrawal, at 11:11
rpm...remember. McG & Warne. They can do it. Without much support also. We saw what Warne did in Trent Bridge last innings..he almost 'willed' Eng batsmen into submission.
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worma, at 11:12
Look at the figures for Mcgill: 16-0-91-0..Are they still planning to play him at Oval?
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Ravi Agrawal, at 11:13
yeah sure....they will not be 'dominant' anymore once these 2 go. They may still be good, as you said, even no 1, but not the same kind of 'supreme' no 1 that they have been. Even this Eng team, when and if they become no 1, will be mortal champions only. Look at how they bat even now...remember the same attack which India batted so well against...and Eng is throwing away chances after chances. Just 1 big score from their batsmen the entire series !
btw, do seem to remember name of Cook...but not sure...
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worma, at 11:15
Yeah..it was exactly the same attack which was dominated by India in 2002. Harmison and Jones made their debuts in that series. However, their pace quartret seems to have matured alot. I think Flintoff and Hoggard owe a lot to the 2001 India series becuase they began to mature then only. Nasser Hussain guided these youngsters beautifully. Even Giles came into his own from that series only.
Right now India are no.3 test team, far ahead of no.4 . And, if status quo is maintained for next year, the next series in India will be just amazing..
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Ravi Agrawal, at 11:31
ravi I meant about the Eng batting...is not dominant, against an Aus attack which India mauled so much down under....so the Eng team may go on to be no 1, but they wont be as dominant as the Aussies.
About Eng attack, ofcourse its matured a lot. I dont think its correct to assume that its the same attack which India thrashed last time around. Even Aus thrased Harmison, Jones, Hoggard. But they have changed a lot now. They are working well as a quartet.
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worma, at 11:34
ravi...just checkd his profile, and now I know where I remember his....he was the Eng captain this last U19 WC(2003)
Check it out here, just 10yrs of age, his second season into county...looks all promising
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worma, at 11:43
oop...I mean 20 yrs of age :-)
By
worma, at 11:44
although it does look like this Aus attack is only worth being handled by 10year olds ;-)
By
worma, at 11:45
Though the scoreline is a little demoralising for the aussies, i would not read too much into it. The Aussies will do fine at the OVAL.
The Eng-India series early next year will hopefully live up to the hype. There were some great memories of the 2002 series. I think the defining moment was the fourth day of the second Test at Trentbridge. India had to face about 17 overs towards the end of the day's play 350 down and lost Sehwag and Jaffer. In comes sachin, not in the greatest of form( which means he had gone 6 innings without scoring a 100) and counter attacked England with a brilliant 50 that evening. I still remember the trademark punched extra cover drives off Hoggard. breathtaking stuff.. in fading light. It set the platform for India to save the match(Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly all made big scores and Patel did his bit.) The momentum swung in India's favour and they won at Headingley.
India needs such brilliance early on.( Ganguly's hundred at brisbane , Sehwag's triple hundred at Multan) if they need to beat England. They can no longer expect blokes like Dasgupta and Devang Gandhi to make hundreds.
Anyway my take on the Ashes is Aus win to make it 2-2. The match will be close, but Aus will win comfortably( of course all this happens if the rain stays away.)
By
Ram Subramanian, at 12:34
Worma and Whoami,
I think England is firing on all cyllinders right now. They have a lot of confidence at the moment and if they win the ashes, they can really go on pretty far for next 3-4 years. However, whether this team can do an Australia in the long term (say 10 years) remains to be seen.
I have been very impressed with the captaincy of Vaughan in this series. In fact, his record as a test captain has been nothing short of outstanding. The way he remains cool in the field, his field placements and his backing of youngsters like Bell and Jones have been really superb. Last year, England won virtually every test match. England have got so much of flair in their cricket at the moemnt ( a sharp contrast to the team with gooch, gower and gatting). Its only wonderful for the test cricket if they play like this in future. I just can't wait for England series now with our team (and hopefully our team would live up to it as well, they are good in test cricket anyways).
One note here: Did anyone notice how the England selectors have supported their captain (who still has a batting avg of 30 in ODIs and plays occasionally well in test cricket) and their youngsters? Any comparisons with our cricket????
By
Ravi Agrawal, at 14:06
Mahesh,
I tend to disagree with you on Australia's redemption. Every great adventure comes to an end. Mcgrath and Warne are the bowlers that come in a century. They ARE not going to be replaced. A keeper like Gilchrist may not born again, not in Australia. I mean these are some of all time greats. Remember WI of 80's, what happened to them. Australia has a better infrastructure and cricket culture, so they won't go as low as WI have gone, but still they will not dominate other countries like they did in last decade.
Regarding the next test match, nothing can be said. But, if England play the same way they have been playing, then its going to be a cracker especially since Mcgrath is returning. Interesting to see if they play Mcgill though as Oval has been traditionally friendly to spinners. Whoever plays won't matter though if England plays the way they have been since last year:)
By
Ravi Agrawal, at 14:14
All those saying Aus will do well, they'er not done yet, my resonse is - certainly not. They are still number one side in the world. And I have no doubts that they will continue to win a lot now and in near future. Even this Eng side would struggle to beat them repeatedly home and away. But all this is because of Warne and McGrath. Withough them, they wouldn't be bad, they'll just stop being great. Just a good side with some good batsmen, a few decent bowlers. Thats all.
And about Eng, as I said, they have a long way to go before becoming number one. Aus is not number one because of winning the ashes last time around. Ashes is not the world cup of test cricket. So I would think Eng needs to beat ALL the teams home and away, to become num 1 (that means Ind, Pak, Aus, SL have to be beaten in their backyard and in Eng. 'This' Eng team has beaten only SA, WI, Zim, Nz). They may become ICC num 1 slightly earlier than this (although I doubt that).
By
worma, at 14:53
And btw, what Eng is doing now is great, no doubt. But shouldn't we think, hey we've done that earlier. They're not the first one to beat this Aussie team. And, infact, we did it to a much more dominant team (broke the 16 win streak).
All that meant was that we were a good team. We didn't become num 1 then, or anywhere close. So, all this says for this Eng team is that they're damn good. Nothing more.
By
worma, at 15:04
dark nights, I agree that whatever we may talk about here....is Aus win the toss and bat first, half their problems gets sorted then and there !...
...and anyway we would like to see this condition happen atleast once...otherwise we are forever going to wonder - "what if.."
By
worma, at 17:11
Ashes joke:
McGrath and Warne are talking to each other:
Mcgrath: "They say that the ENG team will take the Ashes. Is there no one to stop them?"
Warne: [bond style, throwing up the ball, not the gun] "Just us".
By
ramakrishna u, at 19:12
ohh...did he..250!!...hmm...then it must be real flat
By
worma, at 04:20
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