There’s a lot to unpack from a whirlwind second Test, so let’s get straight into it.
Pakistan continue to prove themselves to be one of the most frustrating teams in world cricket.
A prodigious double century from Azhar Ali put his team into what looked like an unlosable position, but session-by-session the team let the game slip away.
This culminated in a disastrous day five of their own making – heinous dropped catches, bizarre field placements and lacklustre bowling set the tone, before it all spectacularly unravelled in just over two sessions of cricket.
This is not a team short on talent, it seems to ostensibly be a recurring attitude problem.
Surely Mickey Arthur and the skipper, Misbah-ul-Haq, must take the lion’s share of the blame.
What do you think Pakistan’s biggest problem is?
After a recent string of underwhelming performances, there were calls for Nathan Lyon’s head as the team looked towards Sydney.
Steve Smith seemed particularly reluctant to use the off-spinner and the fat lady started to warm up her vocal cords as Stephen O’Keefe reportedly got called up to the Australian Test squad.
But then Lyon, as he is wont to do, pulled out a stunning spell just as his career seemed destined for the gallows – getting the ball hooping and bouncing and turning to rip through the middle order.
So is that enough to keep him in the side? And are the alternatives, O’Keefe, Fawad Ahmed, Ashton Agar and co doing enough to push him out?
Both teams face selection dilemmas going into the third Test and most would be surprised to see any unchanged XIs.
For the Australians, they’ve got to take into account the intense workload of their fast bowlers, how many spinners to play, and whether or not Nic Maddinson and Matthew Wade get another crack?
And for the tourists, do they go wholesale changes for the third Test?
It seemed to do wonders for the Aussies going into the Adelaide dead rubber – will Pakistan follow suit?
Who would you select for the SCG Test?
I know, I know, the two aren’t mutually exclusive, dichotomies are unhelpful etc etc, but it’s a useful starting point.
With Australia’s recent transformation into a side that actually wins Test matches, it’s important to take stock and consider how far we’ve come.
The addition of Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb to the talented line-up of Steve Smith, David Warner and Usman Khawaja seems to have shored up Australia’s top and middle order.
But is it a mirage?
How much confidence can we take from these performances going into a year where we play India in India and try to reclaim the Ashes?
Likewise with the bowlers, how much can we take away from the stunning bowling performances of our pace bowlers?
Despite a wayward first innings, when Mitchell Starc finds his radar he proved again that he is utterly lethal.
Josh Hazlewood seems to have taken the next step in his career, and Jackson Bird is now producing the form he’s shown at state level for so long.
Were their performances inflated against a young and fragile Pakistan team, or are they the real deal?
The Big Bash had some incredible games this week, and it is genuinely wonderful to see the competition grow so rapidly.
But today showed that there really is no other sporting battle on the planet quite like Test cricket.
The slow burn, the spurts of drama and the heaving shifts in momentum all stretched out over five enthralling days.
Test cricket is the best.
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