Australia vs Pakistan

[ledge]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

Won by luck more than judgement.

[Bornadog]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

One thing Ponting said today after the match which is so true --- no matter what target you are chasing its always difficult. I guess the psychological factor comes into it, and Pakistan fell for the old problem in the mind.

[DOG GOD]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

I put $150 on aust to win the test at $3.45 when they were bowled out for 127 on day 1....mainly for the reason I know whataust are like coming back from no win situations, and what pakistan are like in losing the ones they shouldnt....paki's at 3-50 i was licking my money....

[hujsh]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

So when Ponting makes his decision based on the difficulty of batting last at the SCG and we skittle the opposition in the 4th innings for 139, no one can admit there was some logic to his decision?

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

So when Ponting makes his decision based on the difficulty of batting last at the SCG and we skittle the opposition in the 4th innings for 139, no one can admit there was some logic to his decision?

Of course there was logic with the decision and we all know that most captains want to bat on day one in just about every test. There are of course some exceptions whenever a green top is presented to the sides and that is what a lot of people are questioning.

Don't let the result fool you into believing that it was a 100% correct decision, Pakistan dominated the game but still lost mainly based on their inability to win the game more than our outstanding play. They set very poor fields and lost the plot with their fielding and catching far more than us dominating them. We were cherry ripe for the picking but they clearly didn't know how to finish off the game.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

One thing Ponting said today after the match which is so true --- no matter what target you are chasing its always difficult. I guess the psychological factor comes into it, and Pakistan fell for the old problem in the mind.

Fails to note that Pakistan lost the game not in the last innings but more so when they collapsed in the first innings, by dropping hussey 3 times and their lack of pressure early today. As suspected the win has glossed over what was generally a poor performance by a number of players

[comrade]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

The win shouldn't gloss over anything. It was a woeful display from all but a few players and changes need to be made.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

The win shouldn't gloss over anything. It was a woeful display from all but a few players and changes need to be made.

I agree 100% but history would say it's Katich for North at best or more likely Katich for Hughes.

The guys that should be under the most scrutiny are North, Hughes and Siddle but other than Katich the replacements aren't clear cut.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

The win shouldn't gloss over anything. It was a woeful display from all but a few players and changes need to be made.

I doubt there will be any changes for last test. Maybe Katich for Hughes only.

[hujsh]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

Of course there was logic with the decision and we all know that most captains want to bat on day one in just about every test. There are of course some exceptions whenever a green top is presented to the sides and that is what a lot of people are questioning.

Don't let the result fool you into believing that it was a 100% correct decision, Pakistan dominated the game but still lost mainly based on their inability to win the game more than our outstanding play. They set very poor fields and lost the plot with their fielding and catching far more than us dominating them. We were cherry ripe for the picking but they clearly didn't know how to finish off the game.

I don't for a second believe that, but Ponting was somewhat justified by the collapse in the 4th innings which is being declared purely luck. Ponting can only do wrong in some people's eyes and any slight good is dismissed as luck.

[Sedat]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

The win shouldn't gloss over anything. It was a woeful display from all but a few players and changes need to be made.

If the CA brains trust are honest with themselves, they would fully understand and acknowledge that, notwithstanding the terrific grit and determination displayed by Australia late on day 2 and in the first session today to keep in the contest, this test result is a direct reflection on Pakistan and their woeful fragility. They dropped several easy catches in Australia's 2nd innings (Watson early, Hussey 3 times, Siddle once), which if even just a couple of them were taken would have resulted in close to an innings defeat. In addition, Pakistan in both innings self-destructed and threw away 7 wickets in each innings to terrible shot selection and execution. Australia's batting in both innings was poor and the bowling lacked penetration for large parts of the test match. Only the fielding was above average, and was arguably a bigger factor in the 4th innings collapse than the bowling.

This was no dustbowl that turned square and it wasn't a day 5 crumbler with variable bounce. It was a beautiful batting strip on day 4 that was more like a day 3 belter because of the rain. In the 2nd innings, Australia's no.10 was able to bat for 40 minutes longer than the entire Pakistan batting line-up put together. Sth Africa chased down more in the 4th innings on a worse pitch at the MCG last summer and won easily by 8 wickets - make no mistake, this was one of the most inept displays of batting that test cricket has seen. Australia hung in really well and capitalised on Pakistan's implosion, but there are many unresolved problems within the Australian test team that a 4-0 scoreline this summer will unfortunately mask over.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

I don't for a second believe that, but Ponting was somewhat justified by the collapse in the 4th innings which is being declared purely luck. Ponting can only do wrong in some people's eyes and any slight good is dismissed as luck.

I understood why he made the decision but I still think it was the wrong one. I think what you fail to acknowledge is that the Pakistani collapse wasn't necessarily because of our bowling efforts or a pitch that was too hard to play on.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

You are right about the fielding sedat, how's haddin's catch!

[Sedat]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

You are right about the fielding sedat, how's haddin's catch!

Absolute cracker. The contrast between Haddin's catch and Kamran Akmal's keeping couldn't be more stark - Akmal makes Geraint Jones look like Allan Knott.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Australia vs Pakistan

Won by luck more than judgement.

Disagree . A mighty gritty comeback by the Aussies and kudos to Hauritz,Siddle and Hussey . Yousef just captained like unfortunately has been the norm probably since Willis against Thompson and Border 1982 83 series. Never understood why captains don't back their bowlers to get the batsmen out and force them to take chances to farm the strike.
Unfortunately [as per usual] some out there are talking ''Match fixing'' conspiracy talk,and the side is not getting enough plaudits for a gutsy fightback. The captain must get some kudos for backing Hauritz who is improving all the time. Yes there are defiencies in the side with the batting needing an overhaul