Guys,

What are your tips for the upcoming test series?

Mine is 2-1. Still a little unsure as to who will win but i think there will definitely be one drawn match.

My tip is bowl short boys. They can’t bat without heads.

I’m not sure how many draws there will be as i’m not au fait with the Indian weather conditions this time of year, but i predict that Australia won’t win a test

yeah i rekon indians to win 2-0

Definately a clean sweep to the Indians. It would have to be the worst Aussie touring team to leave our shores in 120years. With the stock market the way it is, any spare coin you got put it on the Indians to win series…..

Indian sweep. I. Sharma to take a bag full of wickets.

Aussies 2-1….there will be no sledging or whining from the Aussies this tour, they will get in there, play well, play clean cricket and come out the other end without a scar.

M. Clarke will be the hero with the bat, and will also get a few handy wickets. B. Lee will be the go to man in the bowling stakes.

Stuart Clark will certainly get the ball to deck around a bit, and with his hight and angle, anything that keep a little low will result in a number of lbw’s.

Shane Watson’s ability to bowl long spells on flat tracks is unproven (it he gets a run).

Aussie quicks (except for Brett Lee) haven’t mastered reverse swing as well as the Indian pacemen. Young Sharma could well be man of the series following his efforts in Australia.

No recognised spinner is a worry.

Both teams have the ability to post some big scores. Ricky needs to overcome some demons, but is still a class act. Hayden and Clarke has excellent record in the sub continent. Katich was in great form on similar decks in the Caribean.

Are the Indian bats up for one last campaign?

I think this will closer than many think. Recent series have gone to the team that has taken advantage of opportunities the best, not nescessarily the team that has performed better across the entire series.

Should be a fantastic series. The only one in world cricket anymore that has real feeling between 2 very even combatants both home and abroad.

live4golf..no sledging !!! you gotta be joking! what is hayden,clarke & ponting going home early & not gunna play? thats the only way there wont be any sledging. these 3 are a joke in sportsmanship the way they appeal & carry on when blokes are clearly not out. they nick it to the keeper & just stand there. they incite every drama we aussies get into. bring back waugh m. he only appealed when it was out, & if he didnt appeal it was not out!

:)

thought I might have to change my bait.

Apparently Sehwag accused the Aussies of cheating in the 3rd test last series. Heard it on the radio so dunno what the go is. I agree with Tiprat, bring back M Waugh. Although I must admit I never saw him appeal when he was out.

India 3-0 & that is being generous ,cannot see them winning a test…

Anyone want to revise their tipping now that we’ve seen just how good Australia is and how poor in sportsmanship the Indian team is…..?

no, That is probably the pitch that will most suit the australians. I can see some of the future ones being a little doctored towards spin now that they have seen that we have none. The indians have a good back up for Kumble if he’s unfit.

Our best chance is to get Tait over there in a hurry and hope he hits some form. don’t think they will do it. Depends on who you listen to as to whether Clark is injured or not. I reckon Ponting just doesn’t like him.

I think 1-0 or 2-0 to the indians

It’s over.
The golden era of Australian cricket has ended. Some of the all time greats of cricket have retired and left Australia short of experience and talent.
I went to my first game at the MCG in 1968. Since then I have seen some of crickets greats play. Mostly they were Australian and they all played together. Early on it seemed amazing that Australia should have Lillee, Marsh and Chappell all at the same time. It was great but little did we realize that soon players of greater stature and talents would appear.
Steve Waugh – The man of steel whose mental strength is unmatched. Averaged 50 plus after a mediocre start.
Glenn McGrath – 600 plus wickets. The only comparable fast bowler in my 50 years are the greats D K Lillee and Richard Hadlee.
Shane Warne – Unique. My grand and great grand children will not see his like. I have never, in 40 years of watching, and playing 300 plus games myself, seen a leg spinner who ruled all on any pitch. The rest are a talented bunch who only performed on pitches that suited them.
Adam Gilchrist – I made the comment in 2003 that the only bat that compared with him was Garry Sobers. My mate said “that’s a big call” I maintain that I’m right. I saw Sobers make 254 at the MCG in 1971, only Gilchrist has been able to dominate and intimidate bowlers in the same manner. Any who saw him take aim and almost hit the 100k sign in South Africa would know what I’m talking about.
Throw in Justin Langer whose mental strength made him a great and Matthew Hayden who was lord of the pitch in his prime and no other team could hope to match them.
These are once in a generation freakisly talented cricketers who are individually unique. The first 4 only come along every generation or so. That 4 played in the same team is unprecedented, and will not happen again in our lifetime.
Australia has always had batsmen that dominate. Chappell/Walters. Border, Ponting plus others. Only the exceptional others create the teams that dominate.
As I said – it’s over. Australia will rule again but never with such dominance as that created by the combined efforts of these all time greats.

Shiny pants

let me remind you of some stats when playing the indians in India
1969 – won 5 test series 3-1
1979 – lost 6 test series 2-0
1986 – 3 test series finished with 1 tie and 2 draws
1996 – lost 1 test series 1-0
1998 – lost 3 test series 2-1
2001 – lost 3 test series 2-1
2004 finally won a series 2-1

The main differences are that you didn’t get a lot of publicity or a lot of coverage of most of those and also that Indian cricket is very much on the climb. It is the ONLY sport of any significance in a country of billions.

Our boys are certainly weakened and will not steamroll many countries these days, but with the money in cricket now the playing field is very much levelled. Currently Bangladesh are leading New zealand in a test match.

We will win more than our share, particularly at home, keep the faith

HCWT
Sorry. I maintain my stance. The losses in India were happenstance. Australia dominated everything but the result in 2001. They were only beaten by a tactical mistake in enforcing the follow on and suffering exaustion as the greatest Indian partnership ever engulfed them. Australia was driving for their 16th I think victory on the trot. This affected the captains decision.
This has been the greatest team Australia has produced and its like will not be seen again. Never will such talent all assemble on the field at the same time.
We will not see their like again. Just like we will not see Tiger Woods again when he retires. They just don’t come along that often.

I still hold that it is wrong to judge them whilst playing in India. Have a look at the returns of the peopel you mention in India

Warne…...9 tests…....34 wickets at 43
McGrath…8 tests….....33 wickets at 21
S. Waugh..9 tests…...521 runs with 1 century at 47
Gilly…........7 tests…...342 runs with 2 centuries at 28

All well below their career averages. I think it was more a case of the other teams being weaker and now getting better.

hcwt- is on the right path here! other teams are improving…

Shinypants,

You may well be right. The era of domination is over, and the boys don’t seem to be handling it well.

The only hope of avoiding a toweling in this series is to win the toss in the next two tests. We may force a couple of draws if we bat well.

The bowlers will learn from this experience. Young guys like Mitch Johnson and Peter Siddle will take alot out of this tour.

Damn you Dennis Lillee. Your desire desire to set up a pace bowling academy in India a few years back (in a country where quick bowlers were just there to take the shine of the ball for the spinners) has produced one of the best new ball combinations in world cricket.

tiprat spot on! october 8th not bad for someone who doesnt know or understand cricket hey wildmen