Australia vs India: Fourth Test, international cricket live scores, blog

I agree. Lyon is bog average - especially when compared to Shane Warne.

Lyon mainly focuses on the long format and doesn’t spend much time playing short form cricket. We already have world class short form spinners in agar and Zampa and don’t need any more. Lyon will always be more suited to the long form and he seems to be ok with that.

Consistently average? What about last series against New Zealand? He finished with 20 wickets, including 10/118 in the Sydney test. And before that, against Pakistan, he took 7 wickets in 2 matches, including a five wicket haul. And what about when he took 6/49 to help Australia win at edgbaston for the first time in 19 years? That doesn’t look consistently average to me. This series has not been his best, but he’s been very unlucky and I don’t think he’s bowled as badly as you claim he has. Lyon has made huge contributions to the team over the years so it’s ridiculous to say that he’s just ‘a passenger’ of the team. The pitches in the last two games have been pretty flat with not much turn so he couldn’t get much out of it. And when he did get a chance, Paine dropped it. Lyon has a lot of courage, and he also has an arm ball and a topspinner which he uses often. He often can be attacking and create chances, and I don’t know how you’ve decided that ‘ every nation called his bluff’. And I have researched my stats simmo, maybe look at something other than stats for once and you’ll realise what a bowler Lyon is.

Fair enough.

Just because it’s his home ground doesn’t guarantee success. Starc had good stats at the gabba coming into that test, far better than Sydney, so it was obvious he was going to be picked. Starc often gets batsmen out, especially at the start of an innings, so I don’t know what you are talking about there. Any decent bowler should be able to get ‘noted batsmen’ out. Starc had only been in bad form for two matches, considering he did prettt well in the first test, so I wouldn’t say the hole he’s in reaches China. Maybe just penetrates the crust?

Did you see the turn Lyon got while bowling to Pant? The trouble is he would get hit for a 6 next ball! There was no consistency. I also got the feeling that Starc just didn't want to be around which was really shocking. There's only so much the bowlers can do when they are a bowler short.

Australia need to play to their strengths and they don't need 3 good spinners. Look at how they played when they won in 2004. Their bowlers were disciplined, accurate and dull...none of this ego rubbish about bowling short balls and roughing people up. In fact, Brett Lee was on the tour but Kasprowicz was favored. Shane Warne bowled defensively as well I recall they had a 3rd man from ball one to protect 4s. They also got lucky- Ponting was a great player but he always struggled in India and when he got injured at the start, Michael Clarke made his debut and he was a fantastic player of spin. Hayden, Martyn, Katich and Lehman all played spin well and Gilchrist captained well.

Agree...the best players in one format can do well in other formats. I have seen lots of people say that Pant showed his T20 skills yesterday and the irony is of course that he was dropped from the T20 and ODIs for this tour due to poor performances!

Yeah - - btw - - the season for Renshaw I refer to was a couple of years ago, he was having issues scoring pre Christmas runs in the shield. The test selection policy is strange at times. Joe Burns ironically has been seen to have been given a tough run........so finally coming into a home series v India.....he "finally" gets given a break and he burned it.......is he done for good now? Renshaw SHOULD be good enough to come back.....he did have some issues to work on. I'd still prefer Pucovski somewhere around 4/5. Renshaw to open with......mebbe Harris if he can start converting starts.

I noticed Langer was in complete denial immediately after the match concluded. "Who would you have left out?" or words to that effect.

I think Australian pitches have become way too flat. Indians are used to such pitches and thus they exploited the conditions better. Also reliance on speed alone won’t intimidate batters anymore. You have to learn the art of nipping the ball (swing /seam). I have noticed Starc is not using the Yorker at all. I wonder what’s the reason.

when dale steyn, cummins, starc, broad and malinga etc are coming to your home and give net practice to teenagers or under 19s of franchises, why else do you need? you see indian players have become brands, so they cant risk any other cricket board utilizing these brands better than indian management, and thus hijacking their big fat hen that gives golden eggs

Bro snow is an inevitability in the upper reaches thats in north and south for example sonamarg, gulmarg in north and pahalgam in the south, in fact snowfall starts in these areas when the valley is still in its its beautiful autumn charm and it is bright yellow all around thanks to infamous chinar trees. In the central districts like srinagar and in plains of northern and southern districts you may witness 1 or two years in a decade when snow fails to show up or it may come as late as in april when it is peak of fresh spring season, but this untimely snow fall doesnt hinder life and roads, it never stacks up. i am telling you all this just to make a point about a typical january spell and how harsh it is. this year it broke all records of lowest temperatures and it is this chilly after a long long time. january snow fall is heavy, two hours of non stop snow means no more small vehciles the next morning, lot of disco due to slippery roads and bone hospitals get over burdened with overwhelming cases of fracture. this year, as if covid 19 wasnt enough, we had harshest snowfall, lowest temperatures and on top of it mayhem in electric lines. life is a real struggle for natives of kashmir, it is paradise on earth only for tourists. for your information it has been sunny since two days and snow, mud and ice is slowly getting cleared

4 actually, 2 bowlers and 2 batsmen!

Don't forget Green and Puk

How's the snow situation in the Vale?

Test match specialists who can easily fit in any t20 team I can think of are khawaja and shuan marsh

Definitely, honestly when you think about it more teams should be able to chase 300 even on the 5th day assuming the pitch isnt a minefield. I think its mostly a mental capitulation by batsman that cant seem to fathom chasing a total where they as individuals have to bat a long time and make big scores. I certainly think every team where possible should have a very aggressive batsman at No.5/6 who can play like an ODI aggressor when needed. If Maxwell had been backed in during the 17/18 Ashes, he could have been that player for us for sure, send down 10 handy overs an innings and averaging 37/38 striking @ 65. He would have had 30 odd tests under his belt by now, alas he was shafted for Shaun Marsh, and we know how that panned out.

Surprisingly hazelwood did say " did you see that " agressively. See video on roar . Warne did get it wrong or covered up for him

That's ok tom , unfortunately it looks like I was on the money . I'm surpris though see the video posted on roar about hazelwood