Oceania The Stadium Australia Commentary Box v.7.0

Man that sucks. Still, it will be fun to watch the Aussies thrash the Brits. And Gary Freeman has said he doesn't mind playing the Aussies in October - as that will be great preparation for the tour of GB afterwards.

Incidently, the Kiwi's haven't lost to GB since 1993.

R.

 

Looks like the Man isn't wanted at Souths afterall -- would be good for them if they picked up Preston Campbell, though... with that money ol' Crowe has given 'em. 'Course, I don't think the Sharks would be too keen on getting rid of Campbell this early.

 

back to the front page, i wrote:
"and dont worry, we have seen australia get well over 400 from this situation many times before. it would be extremely smart for NZ to not start feeling good about themselves"

man, i am SO good.

applies to SA as well.

 

I reckon this innings of Mark Waugh's will tell us if he's up to test cricket. If he fails again I think he'll be dropped. Looking at his averages yuo'd have to say his game isn't well suited to the 5 day game. His highest score is only 150 odd in over a decade in the side. He really has to get on track today.

 

So far so good.

He just pulled a nice ball through square leg for 4. That half century moves a little closer!

20 mins later
And there's his 50!!!

Hayden on 99 is killing me!!!
Just make the run will ya!!!

 

i know jack about cricket, but does it seem to anyone else that the Aussies recent style of play lends itself to getting draws? Sure looks like this match here in Adelaide is gonna be a draw. The bloody beers expensive too! i improvised

 

Nah, I think when the commentators don't get it right (how many predictions were there today of when the declaration would be), they tend to suggest that the captain is wrong.

There will be 90 overs tomorrow and about 30 minutes tonight. So that's about 4 an over. Not entirely out of their reach, especially since the wicket seems to be playing a lot better than what the commentators (apart from Richie) would make us think.

Good to see Mark have a decent innings. He's saved himself for now. I still think he threw it away at the end. If he set up the target till the declaration, I'd have been more impressed.

 

DP

 

Hmmm. A double post and it didn't bring the thread to the top. Oh well. You can blame the price of beer on the GST.

 

i dont know tom, they tend to not play for the draw, unless they have no chance of winning.

nothing steve waugh has done here has said 'draw'. everything has been going well for the aussies. if you look at it, SA were bowled out in les than 1 day in their first innings. why wouldnt that happen again?

 

Oh boy. Who said Warne was passed it? His bowling is awesome this test, his slip fielding is top class and his batting has improved.

The guy is simply unbelievable on the field.

 

well i, for one, think he was better 10 years ago. but that doesnt mean i dont think he is good now. i think he relies on going around the wicket to right handers a little too much.

but more importantly, who said the Aussie team was no good anymore?
so they didnt beat NZ. the weather screwed them up in the first two tests, and the third one, the kiwis played really well, above themselves.
and people were sounding the death knell for the aussie team.

so how do they respond? against the team that these people call the best going around, they hammer them in the first innings, and now, battling to save the match, SA are 68/7.

amazing.

 

SA all out for 128.

man, i cant wait till the next test.

 

Unbelievable last day and a half from Australia. The old guys really showed their class. The game was so evenly poised at lunch yesterday. Good on them.

 

Well i think my last post is proof that i know *nothing* about cricket!! Whens the last time an Aussie didn't score a century in a test match anyway? Seems like a while.

 

I wouldn't say you know nothing. It's always a very interesting thing the third innings declaration. You have to get enough runs to win, but not enough to have the opposition play defensively for a day, you have to give them a look in to play a more open game cause you get more wickets that way.

Bill Laurie once set the West Indies (I think it was) about 800 runs to win. But Laurie also took about 5 hours to get a 50 once.

 

Good to see Hayden continuing his good form. He's the only batsmen I ever want to see do well, being a Queenslander and all.

 

Mark Viduka actually scored some goals! YAY!

 

Newcastle is on top of the Premier league, and Newcastle is the only undefeated team in the NSL. Looks like it matters not which Newcastle you're from, you're always a winner!

Gillespie is out of the Boxing Day test with a shoulder injury. Bugger. Bichel is in and Brett Lee will get another chance to impress channel 9 with his bowling.

But it'll rain in Melbourne on the 26th anyway.

 

yeah, they forecast rain...hope bichel does well. at least if it rains, i dont miss out on seeing the match because of the FF meet.

also tomorrow is the kings vs titans. both teams near full strength, with jason smith returning to the titans last week, and james smith returning to the kings this week (although terry johnson is still out). should be a huge match.

 

I can't believe it's gonna rain at the Boxing Day test again. I'm so sick of it. This is at least 4 years in a row.

 

did it rain the past few years? i dont know if it rained against the indians...or the windies

 

Trust me. The rain in Melbourne has been a constant joke amongst mates.

 

Did anyone ever doubt it!?!?!?

It's time to take away the Boxing Day test from Melbourne.

 

As a (usually) impartial observer of Australia-South Africa Test matches, I've noticed a recurring theme: that the South African cricketers lack...mental fortitude. As a team, the Aussies certainly have the wood on the Proteas. That's just my 2 cents, mind.

R.