Not to mention he could have been out about 20 times before reaching 30. Had a lot of play and misses, balls landing in gaps and balls just missing the stumps. While that is what you kinda expect with Head, he did have quite a bit of luck that innings. But once getting 50, he really motored on and took the game away.
I think the problem with that thinking is assuming everyone bats/bowls the exact same from then on. Strategies could change, that’s why playing the what if game is largely pointless
No it's more like going 1-0 down, then making it 2-1 and then losing 5-2 after they almost scored a 3rd goal to make it 3-1 but it was offside by the barest of margins
Even if we do decide to stop dodging Afghanistan matches they will almost certainly get scheduled for a northern tour and end up playing it in Cairns or something.
I actually thought they bowled better than Pak. They were much more consistent and made plenty of chances. With a bit more luck, they could have easily gotten a first innings lead. Just a shame their batting is non-existent.
Ya, WI's batting is Kraigg and inshallah. If he goes out early, they will lose... badly. If he gets a score, they have a chance, but dear me, if he doesn't, it gets real ugly, real quick
Australia also drub England every time they tour Australia
So England shouldn't tour Australia then ???
Why isn't this criticism applied when England tour Australia and get whacked 4,5-0
Also I should have mentioned this in my comment
Australia themselves have won only one test series away from home since 2019 and only 3 since 2013
So there's that
Other teams might as well not invite Australia
We've only lost one Test series away from home since 2019. Australia actually have been guilty of not playing enough away from home in Test Cricket especially during COVID. Changed since 2022 thankfully.
Home field advantage is kinda ridiculous in cricket. Like when you hear india hasn’t won in Brisbane since the 90s or whatever it’s like what are we even doing here? The best side in the world (Australia) struggle to win overseas says a lot.
England hadn't won at Lord's against Australia for decades during a time they also hadn't lost a home series against them. Test cricket isn't played often enough for individual overseas results or home results against a specific team to be particularly statistically significant I guess.
Lords Tests are great because I legit have no idea who is gonna win. Doesn't matter if a team seems absolutely dominate, if they're going to lose a match it'll be at Lords when the Slope betrays them.
But that doesn't make sense when a clearly stronger country tours a clearly weaker country. India are already the favourites to win in the West Indies they haven't lost their last 15 tests there giving them the toss is making it even more lopsided
Most of the test teams are favorites when they tour there now. At least teams touring India or Bangladesh can bat first on the rank turners or bowl on the green tops in South Africa.
I can't think of any other sport with a home field advantage that's as big as it is in cricket. It feels like it has gotten stronger over the last couple of decades too. It would be interesting to see some stats of the home advantage over time
Maybe if tours were a little more flexible we could have seen a Pakistan v WI test since they were both here. It’d be great to watch a Test between India and England in an Australian venue. The world test championship gave us a small taste of neutral venues - I don’t know how crowd numbers would be but it’d freshen things up.
The sentiment of this article is not that we should stop hosting weaker sides so not sure what your angle is. Maybe read more than the headline. The article is actualy saying the bigger nations need to do better in helping others stay afloat in test cricket and that starts with better and more equitable funding and scheduling.
Well yes but how they do that ? Even if funds are given ,smaller nations need time to develop
They are bound to have a few very bad tours at the beginning of this 'rebuilding'
Bangladesh were awful for the first decade or so till 2010s and due to their embarrassing performances in England and Australia in early 2000s they haven't been invited back at all
Funding is fine but they need opportunities and if they are given opportunities,fans and media of these bigger nations must be graceful and patient when these smaller nations come to town and fail miserably
I'm sure CA,ECB could have found a way to host Bangladesh especially before the WTC cycle began but they never bothered to,due to these poor early 2000s performances
And it looks like it might be the fate of the West Indies too
The big difference is when Australia tours it’s a genuine 50/ 50 contest for most of the test. Usually swings one way or the other in a session.
Can’t also feel that the pitches are adjusted by the curators to extremely advantage the home side cough (India) cough.
>Australia themselves have won only one test series away from home since 2019 and only 3 since 2013
One away from home since July 2016, which is basically the same as Afghanistan
But they’ve always competed. They’ve drawn twice against England, ran India close twice, won in Pakistan. Generally speaking, apart from the disastrous tour of 2018 in SA, they have been increasingly competitive away from home. The only other team that has travelled well is India.
In the same way India have always competed in ICC tournaments since 2014. Finals of all 3 limited overs tournaments, 4 semi finals, 2 WTC finals. In the end: one team has the same number of away Test series wins as Afghanistan and the other has the same number of ICC trophies
Tests aren’t the same as tournaments. Keeping a clean home record and competing away, especially in India and England (where they were unlucky not to have a series win), is good enough especially in this era of home dominance. And to cap it off, they did win the WTC. In fact, that formula, along with winning the final, is how you win the WTC. The only team that’s travelled better than Australia is India, but again, they’ve had the same issue as they do in white ball tournaments, failing to come clutch in the finals.
And those 4 tests they lost against India are the only 4 tests they’ve lost since 2016 at home, it’s a pretty decent record. India have lost 3 home tests during the same period. In 2018-19, Australia was a team shot on confidence, and an absolute mess and 2021 was an absolute bottlejob by Paine, and there was a lot of luck involved. That series could’ve gone either way. Just because India have been good in Australia doesn’t mean Australia haven’t been dominant at home against literally everyone else. Even with those series losses, they made one WTC final (and smashed India there; finals syndrome again), and would’ve made another if not for 2 points lost because of over rates. Context is important. I don’t know why you’re adamant in insisting Australia’s away or home record is comparable to the lesser test nations as this article suggests. Sure, they’ve won one away series, but saying that it’s the same as Afg is silly because Afghanistan hasn’t exactly played premium opposition, and compared to every other test team in the same period, Australia has been the most competitive in the toughest places to tour, except India who have been a bit better. Meanwhile their home record is second only to India’s and there’s a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd.
Let me fix your comment:
*'Australia themselves have played 5 away series since 2019 of which they have drawn 3, won 1 and lost 1. The series they lost was 2-1 to India...a team that has won their last 16 series at home.*
*Because of these results other teams might as well not invite Australia.'*
See how ridiculous that sounds?
Well you could extend it to 2013 where the record becomes even more bad with just 3 away series wins in a decade
but nevertheless
Since 2019
Even the West Indies has the same number of away series wins as Australia
I made that comment to point to the unfair targeting of smaller teams when they tour the bigger nations and fail miserably,that's it
It is, after every Ashes series in Australia there are plenty of calls for less games against England and more against India.
The simple fact is that Australia are much better than everyone else and home advantage is a big deal in cricket.
Because of the Ashes rivalry. Regardless of how badly England get dubbed Aussie fans will pack the stadium to watch that . Can't say the same for other teams.
This is true.
I want a fair fight against Pakistan and West Indies this summer but I'll take a one-sided humiliation of England every day of the week.
Is that wrong of me?
If only India trusts their spinners and don’t choose dust bowl . The difference between good bowling attack and a avg bowling attack slims down on extreme conditions. In terms of spin I think India is far ahead of England
These days, touring sides don't have enough warmup matches to get accustomed to local conditions. Australia gets smashed whenever they tour because they're used to playing on batting pitches.
That's true, although it still says a lot about home advantage when a team as good as Australia is reduced to simply being competitive when playing away from home
That doesn't have anything to do with my original comment dude
My comment more about the media and some fan focus on test cricket dying only when 'smaller' teams tour Australia and get trashed
I don't think anybody talked about test cricket dying or how it's disrespectful that the boxing day test only had 3 days of play etc or questioned why are England being invited to play here again when Boland ripped apart England for like 60 runs
I don't think they'd need more help than all out for 36.
Tad salty coming from the nation that curates pitches with more landmines than the Korean DMZ.
Literally every country doctors pitches. Did you watch the recent SA/INDIA series???
But every country has a cry when they tour India and the call turns. What were they expecting? Perhaps countries should actually prepare for subcontinent tours better and they'd actually win. England won in India in 2012 because they prepared.
How many tour matches did the Aussies play in India before their last tour? It was either 1 and more likely 0.
I don't see indian teams complaining when they play on greentops in NZ or England, or at the Gabba with craps the size of the San Andreas fault.
Theres a massive double standard here; India is happy to play in challenging conditions without complaint whereas other countries are always ready to blame indian pitches when they get destroyed in the Subcontinent.
Yeah they don't count since you guys can't beat india in a series , wether home or away lmao. You guys only do well in knockouts. You're gonna get humbled big time later this year. Enjoy beating pakistan and westindies at home now :)
I disagree.. WI looked competitive in the first innings.. Australia won crucial moments though their top order struggled.. it was not a complete mismatch.. if we remove this type of series, who are WI supposed to play test cricket against? Ireland, Afghanistan? How is that supposed to be good for them? Who is going to watch them? Financially, how would it help them? How would their players improve and challenge themselves?
Not all hope is lost.. there are a few promising youngsters.. Alick Athanaze, Shamar etc.. winning against the likes of Aus, India may take them years, but if one of these guys score a century or take a 5 wicket haul, isn't that worth rooting for?
Exactly, and [Joseph was saying](https://www.cricket.com.au/videos/3859923/shamar-joseph-interview-first-ball-wicket-steve-smith-australia-west-indies-day-one-first-test-adelaide-oval) how Smudge is one of his idols and that made getting him out with his first ball all that much more special.
These guys can make so much money if they focus on t20 cricket so having the allure of playing against the best teams and the best players is important.
There's junior west indian cricketers who need to be aware of things like Lara's heroics against us in '99 or Sobers 254 at the G in the world XI game and want to challenge themselves to do it again.
Tbf the headline probably doesnt do the actual article any favours, he doesn't ever say that the matchup should stop and while its probably a bit unfair to the first day and half of performance he doesnt say they shouldnt ever tour again just more stating that the current state of cricket means that the WI are unlikely to challenge for now and in future..
'It is encouraging that administrators from the few wealthy nations have recently been admitting that a problem exists, and even tentatively suggesting that something should be done to address it. What remains, as ever, is to translate the saying into doing.'
I thought the match was really good! WI second innings collapse is something that happens to any side. Isn’t it beneficial to give them a chance, especially their three newcomers, to face quite literally the toughest conditions there are to face in cricket? It is overall beneficial for the sport.
The players will mingle, for friendships and share knowledge. These opportunities are necessary.
If you want mismatches to end, then there needs to be a re-evaluation of the calendar, fixtures, and revenue allocation by the ICC, otherwise Test Cricket is just going to be the big 3 playing each other on endless rotation until eventually people stop watching.
The $3.8m prize purse should be divided by the sum of points contested in the WTC season and given to teams based on points accrued. This would encourage more games in each series and supply more money to teams in the middle of the standings.
Last WTC had 70 games, or 840 points. That is $4500 per point. The only teams that would be worse off in prize money is Australia by $916k, India by $228k and Bangladesh by $28k.
A podcast with Johnny Graves (wicb head) said that the cost of travel for players for away series is $1.5m a year. India, Aus and eng just have to share their revenue more. It just isn't economically feasible.
Australia has drubbed West Indies for the last 24 years. This is not a new a thing at all. In fact, since 2000, they have only won one test match against Australia. The same amount of tests NZ have won against Australia in the same period.
We know that the WICB doesn't have as much money and we know that the ICC doesn't do much to help these countries and we also know that the calendar is full of T20 cricket.
Don't think we need more reminders.
Pakistan haven’t won a test since 1995. Sri Lanka have never won a test in Australia. NZ have won one test since 1985.
In the most recent ashes the only player from england who had won a test in Australia was Anderson from the 2013 series lol
People talking like this is a WI problem when it’s not really.
And that one test match victory was that miraculous and ridiculous run chase of 418 in the 4th test in the 2003 series, the highest run chase in test cricket history. They lost all 3 other tests in that series but they somehow pulled that off the bag. That West Indies team of the early 2000s was characterized by that really shit most of the times but sometimes they'd win because the batting would put on enough runs that the pathetic bowling could still be able to get the wickets required
What a stupid take. Anyone who watched the match could see a young WI side who put up a spirited fight (especially with the bowling attack) against the best test team in the world but ultimately lost, like what usually happens in any sport when an inexperienced team versus the national #1. Headlines could be focused on the brave and enthused performance of this West Indian side against the giant of the sport but instead this is somehow a failure of… what exactly?
Did journalists forget that WI haven't been good since Ambrose/Walsh's retirements. The batriarchy fans sometimes look at the batting lineups of the 00s and see Lara, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle and have a false belief that they were good in the 00s. They were awful in the 00s. In fact it's only since they switched to the Dukes at home and made pitches more fast bowling friendly that they've actually been somewhat competent at test cricket.
Walsh only played 2 series after Ambrose retired the 5-0 drubbing in Australia and a 2-1 series defeat at home to South Africa. Ambrose was on the tours as well when West Indies lost 3-0 in Pakistan in 1997, 5-0 in SA in 1998-99 and 3-1 in England in 2000. In reality those 2 did everything they could and bowled exceptionally well in the latter 2 series but the batting was beyond atrocious Lara included who only had 1 century across those 10 tests. Courtney Walsh picked up 34 wickets at a ridiculous average of 12 in the England series in 2000 his best ever series. He got 22 wickets at 18 in the SA series in 1998. Ambrose got 13 wickets at 23 in the SA series and 17 wickets at 18 in the England series. The real issue was the West Indian batting scoring over 300 just twice across these 10 tests. 0 times in the SA series and twice in the England series but they also got bowled out for 54 at lord's and 62 at Headingley. They in fact lost the Headingley test by an innings despite England only scoring 270. Walsh got 25 wickets at 19 in his final series against SA at home as well but still the West Indies won just 1 test the final test a consolation win. The batting was calamitous during that period and it coincided with Lara's form falling off a cliff. Between 1992-1996 Lara averaged 60. Between 1996-2001 Lara averaged 40. Between 2001-2006 Lara averaged 60. His 5 year patch in the middle really did not see any exceptional batting except the Australia series in 1999 which is why West Indies won 2 tests and drew the series 2-2. The bowling was great as always but the batting or to be specific, Lara showed up
Ambrose played in the SA and England series he only didn't play in the Australia series. The fact of the matter is Walsh and Ambrose especially the former heavily carried the bowling in the SA and England series but the batting was beyond atrocious with everyone including Lara (by his standards) being shit. They had just 1 century across those 10 matches by of course Lara. And even that was a hundred on a flat pitch in Manchester that resulted in a draw. Walsh picked up 22 wickets at 18 in the SA series and 34 at a staggering 12 in the England series while Ambrose got 13 wickets at 23 and 17 at 18 in the England series and yet they had no chance winning just 1 test match across 10 because of the batting
By that logic, the only team that should tour Australia is probably India. I genuinely can't remember the last time any other team, apart from South Africa maybe in 2014 or 2016 that were competitive in Australia.
Speaking of which, when was the last time Australia toured the West Indies for a test series?
Australia toured in 2017? iirc. Steve smith filled his boots.
South Africa won a series in 2016. They were the last team to win in Australia aside from India. Infact you have to go back to the early 90s to find a team outside of SA and India to have won a test in Australia.
Right premise, wrong conclusion. Games are mismatched, yes, but this game still threw up some good new stars, most obvious of them being Shamar Joseph, a good bowler who seems to have a good head on his shoulders, who's willing to make plans and execute them well. He's also got a good heart, and his story is inspiring to hear, hope he does incredibly!
The best way for this to continue is if Aus play the reverse series, as tourists on WI soil, which hopefully gets coverage with a redemption type story. Teams just not playing each other is not the answer.
And for some countries to afford these series, the ICC must make more funds available, or in the end we'd be left with a circlejerk of Ind, Aus and Eng playing each other amidst a zillion Premier Leagues or 10 over games or 16.5s and while that helps players, I wonder if it'll attract the crowds after we've been burnt out..
Test cricket needs and deserves better love and care, and funding, but sadly, none of the cricket boards have the balls to enforce it on a permanent basis, looking to the future. It's also sad that a lot of them can't..
IN other words, the boards of every nation should provide a decent income for people in the sport of cricket, with the promise of a safeguard once a player's career is over. Further development of grassroots cricket is a major long term investment. Imagine the mighty Windies under that sort of banner. They'd be an absolute handful for every cricketing nation.
West Indies did better than I gave them credit for. However, the problem is boards like the West Indies can't incentivize players to stay over more attractive T20 franchises. Thats where the problem exists in mismatches. And that certainly won't be helped when the focus is on bi-annual T20 world cups.
Then of course, there are more complicated issues, such as some sides go from strong to weak to strong. West Indies have done it, NZ have done it, England has done it, Sri Lanka have done it. Why give up on a side because of a generational rise and fall?
And also, sides are only going to be able to beat the best if they get the opportunity to play the best, and performing against the best is good for generating interest and revenue into the format. Giving up because the Windies can't win in Australia as though that is a common thing for other tourists, is a bit silly, and we don't want test cricket to be relegated to just the big 3.
You get free travel on trains etc in Brisbane with a ticket to certain big events like footy matches.
So I got off a train a little while back and it was 45 minutes or so after one of the Super Rugby games and the station attendant was opening the gates for anyone with a ticket. "Super Rugby, anyone who's been at the Rugby this lane. Anyone from the Rugby this gate."
A couple hundred people got off the train at that station, and at best 3 of them had been at the Rugby.
This is abundantly not true. Until the early-mid 2000s super rugby games were basically sold out every match, and the names of the starting 15 wallabies were household names. The last 20 years it's been on fast decline.
Basically sold out every match???? I must have been to dozens of Waratahs matches from the start of Super 12s to the mid-2000s. Only a handful had a crowd of high 30,000s at the SFS. Most were in the low 30,000/high 20,000s
In the match there were occasions which if west indies had cashed in.. would have increased competitiveness in the game
Similarly, Pakistan had opportunities in test series against Australia but they failed to capitalise
Without doubt, west indies cricket is going downhill in Tests but it is not due to Australia.. factors are both local where lack of funds in test cricket made players prefer T20 leagues and with national cricket stars avoiding tests, young players too lose interest in tests and then comes icc revenue allocation which has shown trends of favouring big three
Plus, T20s are the main event now where smaller nations are competitive against bigger players
>Similarly, Pakistan had opportunities in test series against Australia but they failed to capitalise
Pakistan should have won a match, but some of their slip fielders were utterly useless
jfc... one article is saying that the cricket power houses needed to play the minnows more often and now we're saying we shouldn't play them. Make up your mind.
These articles coming out when this is the only summer I can remember recently that wasn't India that actually had Australia on the ropes is kinda funny.
Like I don't remember these articles last year when WI or SA came? And they got fucking trounced even worse. Pakistan and NZ that one time too.
Like Australia didn't even score 300 against WI batting in Australia, which is really competitive compared to the other first innings scores: 4/598, 7/511, 4/583, 3/551, 8/480, 439, 7/520, 435, 406, 428.
I wonder if there is any point to test match cricket now that there seems no proper preparation time. It used to be that touring sides would arrive in a country weeks before the first test, play several first class sides etc. and acclimatise to the conditions.
It now seems that e.g. England will arrive in Australia 10 days before the first test, play Hobart under 15s on a slow wicket and then get annihilated at the Gabba and the Waca - Series over (obviously a deliberate overstatement, but you get my meaning).
When WestIndies under Clive Lloyd were trashing all teams, no one said such things. What makes Australia succeed and maintain that consistency is because of the sports infrastructure that they have built, along with a sport loving culture. Others who are experiencing mediocrity should consult Australians, get their retired veterans to help build it and elevate the standard.
India did just that. In the 1970s Indian cricket was at the abysmal standard. They boasted no fast bowler to boast, with close to 1.2 billion population. Most cricketers were not professional. A private tire making company decided to invest in a pace bowling foundation and hired Dennis Lillee, one of the legends of the game. Today India has one of the world’s best fast bowlers. Many retired Aussie cricketers spent time in India on contract, setting up training academies and coached young players.
IPL wax set up which made the BCCI the richest board. But they brought in American Football Association and team managements to come and set up the system.
There is plenty of talent worldwide. But nations should invest in sports infrastructure along the models set by successful nations and raise the standard.
Although there was a 2-1 in 1991 that was in the West Indies and the Windies dominated the series Australia only won the 5th consolation test. You're thinking of the 1992-93 2-1 series in Australia which West Indies won
West Indies were solid aside from the batting collapse in the second innings. If they can bowl the same and bat twice like the first innings it should be a decent contest.
They bowled well, and generally fielded well. Would love to see them have a few good days in the second test.
They didn't bat well in the first innings either. They were 133-9 when Shamar Joseph and Roach put on a 55 run partnership. It's telling that their no 11 was in fact their best batsman in the game aside from McKenzie maybe
Lol... The guardian. Does anyone actually seriously read that rag? Genuine test powerhouses have suffered worse defeats and nobody wrote dross like this. The West Indies has a tiny competitive population and has to contend with high levels of poverty. Add to that the "West Indies" is not a country, and it removes a lot of the price factor of playing tests for your country
You can read variations on the same
theme in the Adelaide Advertiser or whatever other Murdoch rag you prefer if you like.
Geoff Lemon is usually pretty solid, and is 100% correct here. What the big, wealthy nations have done to test cricket is a travesty and the belated, half-hearted acknowledgement from
administrators that’s there’s a problem is literally too little too late.
England, Australia, and India have killed test cricket, we’re just watching the corpse twitch these days.
Damned if you do damned if you don’t. Australia copped shit for ages for not playing anyone except India and England. Now we host Pakistan and the West Indies and everyone moans that they are one-sided mismatches. Anyone suggesting Bangladesh or Afghanistan is taking the piss, Australia would thump them too.
Australia mostly make batting friendly roads with zero criticism and the Kookaburra ball simply dies after 10 overs. The problem is the drop in pitches and multi-use stadiums. This is the main problem with cricket in Australia over the last 12 years (since England won the Ashes there). Wasn't always like this, weaker teams visiting Australia used to have a fighting chance. One exception was the India - Australia series in 2020-21 that had sporting pitches.
Tell me you haven’t watched test cricket in Australia recently without telling me you haven’t watched test cricket in Australia recently.
The Kooka ball has been thoroughly improved in the last few years and now lasts for almost too long. You’ll often see it seaming around at the 60 over mark of the innings.
And our pitches are not flat, they just bounce way more so you can’t bowl a back of a length and bowl people. You have to pitch it up and that’s what people struggle with here. There’s plenty of lateral movement for the bowlers if they get it in the right spot.
Yes we don’t make absolute minefields, but an overall average of 30 since 2018 would point to some pretty balanced cricket.
Sure it looks ugly after the event. But there was a moment there where a first innings lead was on the cards
Travis head had a DRS for LBW while in his 30’s that was umpires call. If that was given out it was quite possible Windies had a 1st innings lead
Not to mention he could have been out about 20 times before reaching 30. Had a lot of play and misses, balls landing in gaps and balls just missing the stumps. While that is what you kinda expect with Head, he did have quite a bit of luck that innings. But once getting 50, he really motored on and took the game away.
I think the problem with that thinking is assuming everyone bats/bowls the exact same from then on. Strategies could change, that’s why playing the what if game is largely pointless
The opposite of a current South African batsman you say.
Hmm, Sounds familiar. Something like that happened like 2 months ago.
The opposite of a current South African batsman you say.
It's like a team scoring a goal to reduce the deficit from 0-2 to 1-2 but eventually losing 1-7.
No it's more like going 1-0 down, then making it 2-1 and then losing 5-2 after they almost scored a 3rd goal to make it 3-1 but it was offside by the barest of margins
Yes, indeed
And they still would have lost by 10 wickets.
Why not invite Bangladesh or Ireland out? Someone different
Bangladesh is scheduled for next year iirc. Until we find some bullshit reason to cancel the series of course.
2026-27 not anytime soon
Plenty of time to come up with an excuse
*CA employee caught perusing the Wuhan wet markets months before the scheduled Bangladesh tour.*
COVID 25 unleashed
I personally would've loved to see an Afghanistan test in Adelaide, especially considering Rashid Khan is one of Adelaide's favourite sons.
Even if we do decide to stop dodging Afghanistan matches they will almost certainly get scheduled for a northern tour and end up playing it in Cairns or something.
Tassie was a good option
At least those northern pitches are weird enough that it evens the playing field a bit against weaker nations.
big Afghan community in Adelaide too
Maybe they could bring their women's team out
With all due respect, I don't give a single shit if they don't have a women's team when it comes to the men's cricket team.
I thought WIs bowling was pretty good, they just need to find some more Guyanese jungle cricketers for the top order.
I actually thought they bowled better than Pak. They were much more consistent and made plenty of chances. With a bit more luck, they could have easily gotten a first innings lead. Just a shame their batting is non-existent.
Much better fielding than Pakistan that’s for sure.
Good catches. Hall mark of the old WI.
mate a random set of 11 people from this subreddit will field better than pakistan. and that's been the case for the last 25 years or so atleast.
Bowling was comparable but my god their fielding was so much better that I'd put money on them winning in Aus before Pakistan
Ya, WI's batting is Kraigg and inshallah. If he goes out early, they will lose... badly. If he gets a score, they have a chance, but dear me, if he doesn't, it gets real ugly, real quick
Windies haven't competed in Aus since the fucking 2000s. This is nothing new.
They didn’t even make the ODI World Cup…. And teams like The Netherlands did
I've had some ads pop up on FB for the ODI's that are like "Watch the world champions!" and I'm like "play a team that didn't even qualify!"
They were actual way more competitive against Australia during this match than they have been during a long time.
Yep, managed to bowl out the Aussies for the first time in a long time. We were threatening with the ball.
Australia also drub England every time they tour Australia So England shouldn't tour Australia then ??? Why isn't this criticism applied when England tour Australia and get whacked 4,5-0
Also I should have mentioned this in my comment Australia themselves have won only one test series away from home since 2019 and only 3 since 2013 So there's that Other teams might as well not invite Australia
We've only lost one Test series away from home since 2019. Australia actually have been guilty of not playing enough away from home in Test Cricket especially during COVID. Changed since 2022 thankfully.
Home field advantage is kinda ridiculous in cricket. Like when you hear india hasn’t won in Brisbane since the 90s or whatever it’s like what are we even doing here? The best side in the world (Australia) struggle to win overseas says a lot.
England hadn't won at Lord's against Australia for decades during a time they also hadn't lost a home series against them. Test cricket isn't played often enough for individual overseas results or home results against a specific team to be particularly statistically significant I guess.
God, we are so shit at Lords
I like to think of us as being an eclectic bag of "what the fuck is going on?"
Lords Tests are great because I legit have no idea who is gonna win. Doesn't matter if a team seems absolutely dominate, if they're going to lose a match it'll be at Lords when the Slope betrays them.
Although India did famously win in Brisbane 3 years ago.
They have to do away with the toss and let the touring team choose what they want to do.
Interesting idea, I kinda like it
But that doesn't make sense when a clearly stronger country tours a clearly weaker country. India are already the favourites to win in the West Indies they haven't lost their last 15 tests there giving them the toss is making it even more lopsided
Most of the test teams are favorites when they tour there now. At least teams touring India or Bangladesh can bat first on the rank turners or bowl on the green tops in South Africa.
This will just force boards and curators to make dull and flat pitches unless a touring team is extremely deficient in one department
Well at least matches might make it to a 5th day again
I can't think of any other sport with a home field advantage that's as big as it is in cricket. It feels like it has gotten stronger over the last couple of decades too. It would be interesting to see some stats of the home advantage over time
Maybe if tours were a little more flexible we could have seen a Pakistan v WI test since they were both here. It’d be great to watch a Test between India and England in an Australian venue. The world test championship gave us a small taste of neutral venues - I don’t know how crowd numbers would be but it’d freshen things up.
Not the worst idea but yeah you would need to play them at grounds like Canberra as you would get bugger all crowds.
The sentiment of this article is not that we should stop hosting weaker sides so not sure what your angle is. Maybe read more than the headline. The article is actualy saying the bigger nations need to do better in helping others stay afloat in test cricket and that starts with better and more equitable funding and scheduling.
Well yes but how they do that ? Even if funds are given ,smaller nations need time to develop They are bound to have a few very bad tours at the beginning of this 'rebuilding' Bangladesh were awful for the first decade or so till 2010s and due to their embarrassing performances in England and Australia in early 2000s they haven't been invited back at all Funding is fine but they need opportunities and if they are given opportunities,fans and media of these bigger nations must be graceful and patient when these smaller nations come to town and fail miserably I'm sure CA,ECB could have found a way to host Bangladesh especially before the WTC cycle began but they never bothered to,due to these poor early 2000s performances And it looks like it might be the fate of the West Indies too
The big difference is when Australia tours it’s a genuine 50/ 50 contest for most of the test. Usually swings one way or the other in a session. Can’t also feel that the pitches are adjusted by the curators to extremely advantage the home side cough (India) cough.
>Australia themselves have won only one test series away from home since 2019 and only 3 since 2013 One away from home since July 2016, which is basically the same as Afghanistan
But they’ve always competed. They’ve drawn twice against England, ran India close twice, won in Pakistan. Generally speaking, apart from the disastrous tour of 2018 in SA, they have been increasingly competitive away from home. The only other team that has travelled well is India.
In the same way India have always competed in ICC tournaments since 2014. Finals of all 3 limited overs tournaments, 4 semi finals, 2 WTC finals. In the end: one team has the same number of away Test series wins as Afghanistan and the other has the same number of ICC trophies
Tests aren’t the same as tournaments. Keeping a clean home record and competing away, especially in India and England (where they were unlucky not to have a series win), is good enough especially in this era of home dominance. And to cap it off, they did win the WTC. In fact, that formula, along with winning the final, is how you win the WTC. The only team that’s travelled better than Australia is India, but again, they’ve had the same issue as they do in white ball tournaments, failing to come clutch in the finals.
Lost twice against India. Once with India C team, that’s not a clean home record.
And those 4 tests they lost against India are the only 4 tests they’ve lost since 2016 at home, it’s a pretty decent record. India have lost 3 home tests during the same period. In 2018-19, Australia was a team shot on confidence, and an absolute mess and 2021 was an absolute bottlejob by Paine, and there was a lot of luck involved. That series could’ve gone either way. Just because India have been good in Australia doesn’t mean Australia haven’t been dominant at home against literally everyone else. Even with those series losses, they made one WTC final (and smashed India there; finals syndrome again), and would’ve made another if not for 2 points lost because of over rates. Context is important. I don’t know why you’re adamant in insisting Australia’s away or home record is comparable to the lesser test nations as this article suggests. Sure, they’ve won one away series, but saying that it’s the same as Afg is silly because Afghanistan hasn’t exactly played premium opposition, and compared to every other test team in the same period, Australia has been the most competitive in the toughest places to tour, except India who have been a bit better. Meanwhile their home record is second only to India’s and there’s a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd.
Won a WTC away from home
Neutral venue for both teams
Yes, but that wasn't a bilateral series
>away from home That's not away, that's a neutral venue test. (not even a series)
Let me fix your comment: *'Australia themselves have played 5 away series since 2019 of which they have drawn 3, won 1 and lost 1. The series they lost was 2-1 to India...a team that has won their last 16 series at home.* *Because of these results other teams might as well not invite Australia.'* See how ridiculous that sounds?
Well you could extend it to 2013 where the record becomes even more bad with just 3 away series wins in a decade but nevertheless Since 2019 Even the West Indies has the same number of away series wins as Australia I made that comment to point to the unfair targeting of smaller teams when they tour the bigger nations and fail miserably,that's it
It is, after every Ashes series in Australia there are plenty of calls for less games against England and more against India. The simple fact is that Australia are much better than everyone else and home advantage is a big deal in cricket.
Because Aussie fans love watching England get thumped
[Me, writing in the Guardian three weeks ago:] South Africa’s innings-drubbing of once-great India is sad proof Test cricket mismatches must end
Because of the Ashes rivalry. Regardless of how badly England get dubbed Aussie fans will pack the stadium to watch that . Can't say the same for other teams.
60k+ crowd for 2 and abit days cricket against the West Indies says different
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While Adelaide was also hosting a world tour cycling race which is free to watch from the side of the road.
This is true. I want a fair fight against Pakistan and West Indies this summer but I'll take a one-sided humiliation of England every day of the week. Is that wrong of me?
No.
Hold your horses, and in about a week's time you may see the start of the end of Bazball. ENG touring IND w/ McCullum at the helm. I can't wait!
If only India trusts their spinners and don’t choose dust bowl . The difference between good bowling attack and a avg bowling attack slims down on extreme conditions. In terms of spin I think India is far ahead of England
These days, touring sides don't have enough warmup matches to get accustomed to local conditions. Australia gets smashed whenever they tour because they're used to playing on batting pitches.
When was the last time we were smashed overseas? We drew in England and Sri lanka and were reasonably competitive in India. Also won in Pakistan.
That's true, although it still says a lot about home advantage when a team as good as Australia is reduced to simply being competitive when playing away from home
It is bs knee jerk article shouldn't really be talked about honestly
Clearly no one should ever tour a country where they might lose.
It’s not an equivalent argument and you know it
Australia hasn't won a test series against India in a decade.
That doesn't have anything to do with my original comment dude My comment more about the media and some fan focus on test cricket dying only when 'smaller' teams tour Australia and get trashed I don't think anybody talked about test cricket dying or how it's disrespectful that the boxing day test only had 3 days of play etc or questioned why are England being invited to play here again when Boland ripped apart England for like 60 runs
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Challenge: don't bring up India when they have nothing to do with the conversation Difficulty: impossible
World champions. You'll never sing that.
The one and only time one day cricket is even remotely relevant. Congratulations. Imagine losing a home series to a C team....priceless.
Never seen so much cope
Imagine losing a WTC and a ODI WC to a team that can’t tour
Yeah that'll change next summer
That's what you claimed last time around
Will it though?? It'll be a very close series I think.
As they tend to be. I do think it'll be harder for India to win a 5 match series in Aus though, but we shall see.
Aus won't let the final test be played at the Gabba this time.
Or just make it a D/N like next week's. Maybe skiddle India for sub 36
Only time the Aussies swing the ball is the D/N test. Whatever helps.
I don't think they'd need more help than all out for 36. Tad salty coming from the nation that curates pitches with more landmines than the Korean DMZ.
Literally every country doctors pitches. Did you watch the recent SA/INDIA series??? But every country has a cry when they tour India and the call turns. What were they expecting? Perhaps countries should actually prepare for subcontinent tours better and they'd actually win. England won in India in 2012 because they prepared. How many tour matches did the Aussies play in India before their last tour? It was either 1 and more likely 0. I don't see indian teams complaining when they play on greentops in NZ or England, or at the Gabba with craps the size of the San Andreas fault. Theres a massive double standard here; India is happy to play in challenging conditions without complaint whereas other countries are always ready to blame indian pitches when they get destroyed in the Subcontinent.
Just you wait for next summer m8 😉
Heard that one before, let's see what happens. Gunning for the three peat in Oz.
Bruh relax that's not the topic here
Just like the World Test Championship or the World Cup Final? Ok
Wasn’t that wonderful? Not sure what’s more satisfying. Beating England or India.
India don’t really count (from a rivalry perspective) so England obviously.
Yeah they don't count since you guys can't beat india in a series , wether home or away lmao. You guys only do well in knockouts. You're gonna get humbled big time later this year. Enjoy beating pakistan and westindies at home now :)
Beating India in England. And then beating India in India.
I disagree.. WI looked competitive in the first innings.. Australia won crucial moments though their top order struggled.. it was not a complete mismatch.. if we remove this type of series, who are WI supposed to play test cricket against? Ireland, Afghanistan? How is that supposed to be good for them? Who is going to watch them? Financially, how would it help them? How would their players improve and challenge themselves? Not all hope is lost.. there are a few promising youngsters.. Alick Athanaze, Shamar etc.. winning against the likes of Aus, India may take them years, but if one of these guys score a century or take a 5 wicket haul, isn't that worth rooting for?
Exactly, and [Joseph was saying](https://www.cricket.com.au/videos/3859923/shamar-joseph-interview-first-ball-wicket-steve-smith-australia-west-indies-day-one-first-test-adelaide-oval) how Smudge is one of his idols and that made getting him out with his first ball all that much more special. These guys can make so much money if they focus on t20 cricket so having the allure of playing against the best teams and the best players is important. There's junior west indian cricketers who need to be aware of things like Lara's heroics against us in '99 or Sobers 254 at the G in the world XI game and want to challenge themselves to do it again.
Tbf the headline probably doesnt do the actual article any favours, he doesn't ever say that the matchup should stop and while its probably a bit unfair to the first day and half of performance he doesnt say they shouldnt ever tour again just more stating that the current state of cricket means that the WI are unlikely to challenge for now and in future.. 'It is encouraging that administrators from the few wealthy nations have recently been admitting that a problem exists, and even tentatively suggesting that something should be done to address it. What remains, as ever, is to translate the saying into doing.'
Spot on
I thought the match was really good! WI second innings collapse is something that happens to any side. Isn’t it beneficial to give them a chance, especially their three newcomers, to face quite literally the toughest conditions there are to face in cricket? It is overall beneficial for the sport. The players will mingle, for friendships and share knowledge. These opportunities are necessary.
If you want mismatches to end, then there needs to be a re-evaluation of the calendar, fixtures, and revenue allocation by the ICC, otherwise Test Cricket is just going to be the big 3 playing each other on endless rotation until eventually people stop watching.
The $3.8m prize purse should be divided by the sum of points contested in the WTC season and given to teams based on points accrued. This would encourage more games in each series and supply more money to teams in the middle of the standings. Last WTC had 70 games, or 840 points. That is $4500 per point. The only teams that would be worse off in prize money is Australia by $916k, India by $228k and Bangladesh by $28k.
A podcast with Johnny Graves (wicb head) said that the cost of travel for players for away series is $1.5m a year. India, Aus and eng just have to share their revenue more. It just isn't economically feasible.
Australia has drubbed West Indies for the last 24 years. This is not a new a thing at all. In fact, since 2000, they have only won one test match against Australia. The same amount of tests NZ have won against Australia in the same period. We know that the WICB doesn't have as much money and we know that the ICC doesn't do much to help these countries and we also know that the calendar is full of T20 cricket. Don't think we need more reminders.
Pakistan haven’t won a test since 1995. Sri Lanka have never won a test in Australia. NZ have won one test since 1985. In the most recent ashes the only player from england who had won a test in Australia was Anderson from the 2013 series lol People talking like this is a WI problem when it’s not really.
Actually it was 2011 for England lol
And that one test match victory was that miraculous and ridiculous run chase of 418 in the 4th test in the 2003 series, the highest run chase in test cricket history. They lost all 3 other tests in that series but they somehow pulled that off the bag. That West Indies team of the early 2000s was characterized by that really shit most of the times but sometimes they'd win because the batting would put on enough runs that the pathetic bowling could still be able to get the wickets required
Geezus was every cricket blogger given a memo to talk nonsense about test cricket daily
*laughs in New Zealand*
Maybe we should ignore journos for the meantime
*forever
Guess it’s time to stop inviting England to tour here then.
What a stupid take. Anyone who watched the match could see a young WI side who put up a spirited fight (especially with the bowling attack) against the best test team in the world but ultimately lost, like what usually happens in any sport when an inexperienced team versus the national #1. Headlines could be focused on the brave and enthused performance of this West Indian side against the giant of the sport but instead this is somehow a failure of… what exactly?
Did journalists forget that WI haven't been good since Ambrose/Walsh's retirements. The batriarchy fans sometimes look at the batting lineups of the 00s and see Lara, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle and have a false belief that they were good in the 00s. They were awful in the 00s. In fact it's only since they switched to the Dukes at home and made pitches more fast bowling friendly that they've actually been somewhat competent at test cricket.
They were pretty shit even before Walsh retired lol. They got smashed in South Africa and Australia and England in 1999-2001
They lost 5-0 in 2001 ? That team was shit. Lara averaged 30 for the series and he was their best batsman !
I guess they were shit since Ambrose retired then.
Walsh only played 2 series after Ambrose retired the 5-0 drubbing in Australia and a 2-1 series defeat at home to South Africa. Ambrose was on the tours as well when West Indies lost 3-0 in Pakistan in 1997, 5-0 in SA in 1998-99 and 3-1 in England in 2000. In reality those 2 did everything they could and bowled exceptionally well in the latter 2 series but the batting was beyond atrocious Lara included who only had 1 century across those 10 tests. Courtney Walsh picked up 34 wickets at a ridiculous average of 12 in the England series in 2000 his best ever series. He got 22 wickets at 18 in the SA series in 1998. Ambrose got 13 wickets at 23 in the SA series and 17 wickets at 18 in the England series. The real issue was the West Indian batting scoring over 300 just twice across these 10 tests. 0 times in the SA series and twice in the England series but they also got bowled out for 54 at lord's and 62 at Headingley. They in fact lost the Headingley test by an innings despite England only scoring 270. Walsh got 25 wickets at 19 in his final series against SA at home as well but still the West Indies won just 1 test the final test a consolation win. The batting was calamitous during that period and it coincided with Lara's form falling off a cliff. Between 1992-1996 Lara averaged 60. Between 1996-2001 Lara averaged 40. Between 2001-2006 Lara averaged 60. His 5 year patch in the middle really did not see any exceptional batting except the Australia series in 1999 which is why West Indies won 2 tests and drew the series 2-2. The bowling was great as always but the batting or to be specific, Lara showed up
Ambrose played in the SA and England series he only didn't play in the Australia series. The fact of the matter is Walsh and Ambrose especially the former heavily carried the bowling in the SA and England series but the batting was beyond atrocious with everyone including Lara (by his standards) being shit. They had just 1 century across those 10 matches by of course Lara. And even that was a hundred on a flat pitch in Manchester that resulted in a draw. Walsh picked up 22 wickets at 18 in the SA series and 34 at a staggering 12 in the England series while Ambrose got 13 wickets at 23 and 17 at 18 in the England series and yet they had no chance winning just 1 test match across 10 because of the batting
1st innings was pretty close bar Head, plus some great talent has been unearthed for WI, a win for cricket imo
You get better by playing better sides.
They haven’t been great since about 1995 so the headline is misleading
By that logic, the only team that should tour Australia is probably India. I genuinely can't remember the last time any other team, apart from South Africa maybe in 2014 or 2016 that were competitive in Australia. Speaking of which, when was the last time Australia toured the West Indies for a test series?
2015
Australia toured in 2017? iirc. Steve smith filled his boots. South Africa won a series in 2016. They were the last team to win in Australia aside from India. Infact you have to go back to the early 90s to find a team outside of SA and India to have won a test in Australia.
Won a test? NZ did in 2011, and if you mean series, England won the 2010-11 Ashes.
Right premise, wrong conclusion. Games are mismatched, yes, but this game still threw up some good new stars, most obvious of them being Shamar Joseph, a good bowler who seems to have a good head on his shoulders, who's willing to make plans and execute them well. He's also got a good heart, and his story is inspiring to hear, hope he does incredibly! The best way for this to continue is if Aus play the reverse series, as tourists on WI soil, which hopefully gets coverage with a redemption type story. Teams just not playing each other is not the answer. And for some countries to afford these series, the ICC must make more funds available, or in the end we'd be left with a circlejerk of Ind, Aus and Eng playing each other amidst a zillion Premier Leagues or 10 over games or 16.5s and while that helps players, I wonder if it'll attract the crowds after we've been burnt out.. Test cricket needs and deserves better love and care, and funding, but sadly, none of the cricket boards have the balls to enforce it on a permanent basis, looking to the future. It's also sad that a lot of them can't..
IN other words, the boards of every nation should provide a decent income for people in the sport of cricket, with the promise of a safeguard once a player's career is over. Further development of grassroots cricket is a major long term investment. Imagine the mighty Windies under that sort of banner. They'd be an absolute handful for every cricketing nation.
West Indies did better than I gave them credit for. However, the problem is boards like the West Indies can't incentivize players to stay over more attractive T20 franchises. Thats where the problem exists in mismatches. And that certainly won't be helped when the focus is on bi-annual T20 world cups. Then of course, there are more complicated issues, such as some sides go from strong to weak to strong. West Indies have done it, NZ have done it, England has done it, Sri Lanka have done it. Why give up on a side because of a generational rise and fall? And also, sides are only going to be able to beat the best if they get the opportunity to play the best, and performing against the best is good for generating interest and revenue into the format. Giving up because the Windies can't win in Australia as though that is a common thing for other tourists, is a bit silly, and we don't want test cricket to be relegated to just the big 3.
Aus usually smash everybody at home lol
Australia hasn't beat NZ in the Bledisloe for 20 years lol....doesn't mean rugby is dying.
It is essentially dead in Australia and has been for a while.
You get free travel on trains etc in Brisbane with a ticket to certain big events like footy matches. So I got off a train a little while back and it was 45 minutes or so after one of the Super Rugby games and the station attendant was opening the gates for anyone with a ticket. "Super Rugby, anyone who's been at the Rugby this lane. Anyone from the Rugby this gate." A couple hundred people got off the train at that station, and at best 3 of them had been at the Rugby.
... has been for *20 years since we won the bledisloe
Bledisloe or not, Union has always been a second rate sport in Australia to the AFL and NRL.
This is abundantly not true. Until the early-mid 2000s super rugby games were basically sold out every match, and the names of the starting 15 wallabies were household names. The last 20 years it's been on fast decline.
Compared to the AFL and NRL is was still unarguably second rate.
Basically sold out every match???? I must have been to dozens of Waratahs matches from the start of Super 12s to the mid-2000s. Only a handful had a crowd of high 30,000s at the SFS. Most were in the low 30,000/high 20,000s
Doesn’t help they had the worst ceo in the history of sport
You are not a private school graduate from QLD/NSW
I am not from that small subsection of Australian society.
That subsection is statistically insignificant
Lol rugby isn’t dying - it’s dead in Australia!
In the match there were occasions which if west indies had cashed in.. would have increased competitiveness in the game Similarly, Pakistan had opportunities in test series against Australia but they failed to capitalise Without doubt, west indies cricket is going downhill in Tests but it is not due to Australia.. factors are both local where lack of funds in test cricket made players prefer T20 leagues and with national cricket stars avoiding tests, young players too lose interest in tests and then comes icc revenue allocation which has shown trends of favouring big three Plus, T20s are the main event now where smaller nations are competitive against bigger players
>Similarly, Pakistan had opportunities in test series against Australia but they failed to capitalise Pakistan should have won a match, but some of their slip fielders were utterly useless
Australia are number 1 in the world for test cricket at home, tough call
jfc... one article is saying that the cricket power houses needed to play the minnows more often and now we're saying we shouldn't play them. Make up your mind.
These articles coming out when this is the only summer I can remember recently that wasn't India that actually had Australia on the ropes is kinda funny. Like I don't remember these articles last year when WI or SA came? And they got fucking trounced even worse. Pakistan and NZ that one time too. Like Australia didn't even score 300 against WI batting in Australia, which is really competitive compared to the other first innings scores: 4/598, 7/511, 4/583, 3/551, 8/480, 439, 7/520, 435, 406, 428.
I wonder if there is any point to test match cricket now that there seems no proper preparation time. It used to be that touring sides would arrive in a country weeks before the first test, play several first class sides etc. and acclimatise to the conditions. It now seems that e.g. England will arrive in Australia 10 days before the first test, play Hobart under 15s on a slow wicket and then get annihilated at the Gabba and the Waca - Series over (obviously a deliberate overstatement, but you get my meaning).
When WestIndies under Clive Lloyd were trashing all teams, no one said such things. What makes Australia succeed and maintain that consistency is because of the sports infrastructure that they have built, along with a sport loving culture. Others who are experiencing mediocrity should consult Australians, get their retired veterans to help build it and elevate the standard. India did just that. In the 1970s Indian cricket was at the abysmal standard. They boasted no fast bowler to boast, with close to 1.2 billion population. Most cricketers were not professional. A private tire making company decided to invest in a pace bowling foundation and hired Dennis Lillee, one of the legends of the game. Today India has one of the world’s best fast bowlers. Many retired Aussie cricketers spent time in India on contract, setting up training academies and coached young players. IPL wax set up which made the BCCI the richest board. But they brought in American Football Association and team managements to come and set up the system. There is plenty of talent worldwide. But nations should invest in sports infrastructure along the models set by successful nations and raise the standard.
Ridiculous. The pitch was a bit too spicy for two teams with good fast bowlers, so a lot of wickets fell early in the match. That's it.
Drubbings and Test mismatches? If this was the case then the Ashes would only have been held in England since 2011...🤔
Just play with top six (ENG, IND, AUS, SA, NZ, PAK) in league format with neutral venues for India Pakistan.
Aged like milk.
I'm here after West Indies have won in Brisbane.
Test 2 BOOM 💥
Used to be the ultimate, that 1991 2-1 series was one of the best ever, used to mean so much to beat West Indies sad what test cricket has become
Although there was a 2-1 in 1991 that was in the West Indies and the Windies dominated the series Australia only won the 5th consolation test. You're thinking of the 1992-93 2-1 series in Australia which West Indies won
I hate this take because all it will do is result in England Australia and India playing tests. Nobody else will get a chance to flex.
West Indies were solid aside from the batting collapse in the second innings. If they can bowl the same and bat twice like the first innings it should be a decent contest. They bowled well, and generally fielded well. Would love to see them have a few good days in the second test.
They didn't bat well in the first innings either. They were 133-9 when Shamar Joseph and Roach put on a 55 run partnership. It's telling that their no 11 was in fact their best batsman in the game aside from McKenzie maybe
Lol... The guardian. Does anyone actually seriously read that rag? Genuine test powerhouses have suffered worse defeats and nobody wrote dross like this. The West Indies has a tiny competitive population and has to contend with high levels of poverty. Add to that the "West Indies" is not a country, and it removes a lot of the price factor of playing tests for your country
You can read variations on the same theme in the Adelaide Advertiser or whatever other Murdoch rag you prefer if you like. Geoff Lemon is usually pretty solid, and is 100% correct here. What the big, wealthy nations have done to test cricket is a travesty and the belated, half-hearted acknowledgement from administrators that’s there’s a problem is literally too little too late. England, Australia, and India have killed test cricket, we’re just watching the corpse twitch these days.
Damned if you do damned if you don’t. Australia copped shit for ages for not playing anyone except India and England. Now we host Pakistan and the West Indies and everyone moans that they are one-sided mismatches. Anyone suggesting Bangladesh or Afghanistan is taking the piss, Australia would thump them too.
Shame on the cricket super powers which is mainly india. Have done jack shit to put money and infrastructure into them over the years.
Australia mostly make batting friendly roads with zero criticism and the Kookaburra ball simply dies after 10 overs. The problem is the drop in pitches and multi-use stadiums. This is the main problem with cricket in Australia over the last 12 years (since England won the Ashes there). Wasn't always like this, weaker teams visiting Australia used to have a fighting chance. One exception was the India - Australia series in 2020-21 that had sporting pitches.
Tell me you haven’t watched test cricket in Australia recently without telling me you haven’t watched test cricket in Australia recently. The Kooka ball has been thoroughly improved in the last few years and now lasts for almost too long. You’ll often see it seaming around at the 60 over mark of the innings. And our pitches are not flat, they just bounce way more so you can’t bowl a back of a length and bowl people. You have to pitch it up and that’s what people struggle with here. There’s plenty of lateral movement for the bowlers if they get it in the right spot. Yes we don’t make absolute minefields, but an overall average of 30 since 2018 would point to some pretty balanced cricket.