Hazlewood, Zampa star as Aussies strangle Sri Lanka after batting collapse

Well, I think back to John Dyson's incredible catch in the Sydney Test against the West Indies in 1982 to remind myself, there have always been incredible catches. Classic Catches I think was the phrase coined by Channel Nine executives back in the day, but I take your point. Spectacular catches are more frequent than they have ever been. Perhaps fielder's in the dim dark days were concerned about banging their heads against the white picket fences that hitherto represented the boundary. Outfield catches are a lot easier, surely, if the only obstacle you need concern yourself with is a stretch of rope.

We're on yesterday's feed. Gotta get to the live coverage.

True he’s falling from grace but he’s still Captain. Not sure the selectors will give him the flick just yet, more concerning issues like the rest of team as you suggest Inglis & McDermott need a regular run & some others like Agar need an opportunity.

Well...I was saying it beforehand. He's been out of form for a very long time.

Yea easy after the fact Don

He won't...oh wait! He didn't. I don't mind these selectors. They'll move pretty quickly.

The selectors think differently Don. Look he might hit a 80 today & what happens then?

Remember Bill Hayden and the Drover's dog? Others have gone past him.

Hahaha. Didn’t Finch just win a World Cup. I agree his form is down but the wins keep coming under his leadership.

Both have a problem with sub-standard form. Finch has the added problem of leadership that let's poor bowling go unchecked. After all, Starc and Cummins would have him removed if he challenged them.

Maybe Don the problem is Starc rather than Finch.

To me, Peter my very learned colleague, glorious cricket is the same whether in the back yard or a test match: you run a single, then a two, then another two, then a three and then the next shot reaches the boundary after the batsmen have already turned and started their 3rd run. T20 takes brilliant running between the wickets right out of the game and brilliant ground fielding in stopping a cheeky 2nd or 3rd is also somewhat obsolete, even if we are seeing regular ridiculous boundary catches that would have been unthinkable even 20 years ago.

Integrity is the price Cricket Australia had to pay to keep the broadcaster’s happy. They sold the soul of the game for a pound of flesh. In maintaining a surfeit of batsman, they guarantee’d Fox, Seven or whatever consortium of fools it was that chose to pay the big bucks for what they must now ultimately concede was a novelty, certainty. Certainly, that the game would run it’s full duration and allotted time slot and certainty too that fans will be rewarded with a night’s entertainment. How could they not ? I hear you ask with so many batsman teams have little choice but to hit out. The theory being, sixes and wickets equates to entertainment. No thought given to the context and the importance of the context in which these wickets and sixes take place. Context is everything. It’s context that sets the stage as would a stage director, not big hits and wickets, they are merely decorative embellishments. It’s a story that people want and they don’t want to be told the same story night after night. The end result is of course, as one would expect of a game concocted by accountants and faceless marketing executives. It’s trite, derivative, predictable and as dull as dishwater. Almost as trite and as tacky as the Ugly number’s emblazoned on the backs of every Test and Sheffield Shield player. I rejoice when a cold southerly blows through and they are forced to put their sweater’s on. To soil as these numbers soil the traditional cream and whites that were for so long the hallmark of the game is not only absolutely pointless vandalism but a tasteless example yet again of culture cringe. Why do Sporting administrators feel the need in this country to be more American than American’s. Cricket has it’s own rich, colourful history and traditions. It’s own unique qualities that it should embrace not be shamed or shy away from as might an embraced child uncertain of themselves.

Yeah. That still doesn't excuse Starc. There is no need for him to bowl at the death.

Hey Don don’t we get 20 overs only :silly:

Am I the only one that the names of subcontinent crickets on their shirts, on the broadcasters ticker, commentators call and scoreboards really annoy. I understand that, depending where they are from, some have their family name first whilst others have it last, but it is annoying and at times confusing when their shirt has one name shown, but the broadcaster ticker and the commentators refer to something else. An example of this is Virat Kohli with Virat shown on his shirt but Kohli noted elsewhere. It should be a simple to ask the player upon arrival - what name does he wish to be known by. Again using Virat Kohli as an example - if he says Virat - the shirt, the broadcasters ticker, commentators and scoreboard should show or be referred to as Virat. Simpl really.

He continues to bowl Starc when he is being carved.

Can’t upset his boy Justin

Peter, that is the greatest address since Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. And yeah, consider this: proper one day cricket (50 overs), a team is chasing 290, and slump to 4 for 45 off 12 overs. T20, team chasing 190 and slump to 4 for 45 off 6 overs. In the first case the required run rate per over has risen to 6.45, per over or a rise by 9.5% of the original requirement when they began their innings. They can now only afford to lose a wicket every 38 balls, an increase of 26.7% on the original WAF (wicket affordability factor) of 30 when they began their innings. In the second case, the required run rate per over has risen to 10.36, also an increase of 9.1% compared to the start of their innings. However, they can still afford to lose a wicket every 14 balls, an increase of only 16.7% compared to the start of their innings. Certainly clear to see which scenario gives value to taking as well as preserving wickets. Add to that the fact that it is rare and extremely unlikely that a team will ever be bowled out in as little as 20 overs, so this shows even more the reduced value of actual wickets. A team that loses so many wickets so soon in a run chase should not remain on an even footing and that is one of the many failings of T20.

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