I hate that statement on two counts... Just can't figure out whether I hate the demise of test cricket, or you possibly being right about something more... ;)

Pujara faced more dot balls this innings than any Aussie has faced in an innings this series...
#application...

Any Aussie has faced total balls*

To keep test cricket relevant and interesting they need to tweak the game to produce more action.
Grinding teams down with attrition is a very effective way of winning but can be boring to watch.
My suggestions -
* new ball every 50 overs.
* 12 man can bowl.
* 100 overs per day.
* up to 3 substitute fielders allowed at any time.

The reason this is needed is that modern schedules are more compressed and wickets are tamer. Make it harder to win by attrition and teams might play more positively. The nature of the game has changed as winning was become more important and attrition has become the main game.

Have a championship points system where only wins score points.

When you look back on some of the great test matches you realise how much cricket has changed. One of the best Test Matches for mine was the Centenary Test back in 1977. It had everything that made Tests great starting with something for the bowlers in the first innings. Who can forget Rick McCosker being hit on the jaw by a Bob Willis bouncer and having the bad luck for the ball to ricochet onto his stumps. Rick the Rock (the rock on which we built our innings)..the wickets kept tumbling. Marshy made a few but it was hard work. The Pommy ba*tards were killing us. But we had DK Lillee...he tore through them and they didn't get quite as many as us. Then we batted again....Hookesy did that fantastic cameo 4 fours in a row off Greig...the biggest ba*tard of them all. Dougie made a few and MArshy played perhaps his best ever test innings. Rick the Rock came out at the end his swollen jaw held together by bandages. We were 450 or so ahead and then the Pommies unleashed this new bloke...Derek Randall....he couldn't keep still...it was like he had fleas. Finally DK Lillee took another 5 and we won...by 45 runs the same amount we won the first ever test by...was this a magic moment or what? It had everything BUT the thing it had we don't have now is something for the bowlers....unless it is some Indian groundkeeper with his rasp going hell for leather on the wicket it doesn't happen.
 
If I didn't see it on tv I heard it with an earplug I don't think I missed a single ball. It was a true contest but such is not the case now. Had we won a couple of tosses the match situation may have reversed..but has the cricket at any stage been riveting? No...not at all

I agree tame pitches, especially at the start of the game are a big problem and different to what happened in the past.

Get the pitch right and an exciting game always happens, not only that but it is a fair test for batsmen and bowler.
Because the challenge for the bowling side is to use the conditions while they last.

Live at the game assistance for bowlers lasted 3 overs, after that it was barely a contest. The bowling team was waiting for the batsmen to make a mistake. The batsmen where waiting for the bowlers to get tired.
While all this waiting was happening, spectators were bored stiff.

I am in heaven...just found a wine blog of a critic called Wlifred Wong...such overwhelming pretence....an 11 on a wank scale of 1-10...wine critics and audiophiles
Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006: Full-bodied, with soft tannins and spicy oak integrating nicely. On the nose and palate ripe black and red berries and currants on a background of spicy oak, all touched with hints of spices, vanilla and light mineral-earthy overtones. Best 2010–2015. Tentative Score 89–91. K

Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005: Brooding dark ruby-red, full-bodied, with near-sweet tannins and spicy oak wrapped around black currants, berries, spices and a hint of dark chocolate. Look as well for enchanting hints of citrus peel and vanilla on the long finish. Fine balance and structure bode well for the future. Best 2010–2018. Score 92. K

Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, Elrom Vineyard, 2004: Full-bodied, with still-firm tannins and spicy wood well on the way to integrating and already showing elegance and finesse. Look for layer after layer of currant, blackberry and wild berry fruits, those supported beautifully by notes of cedar, sage and tar, all leading to a near-sweet fruity finish that lingers on and on. Approachable now but best 2010–2016. Score 94. K

It's that Wine Spider website that's to blame for so many of those writers. Free online course on how to describe wine like that. 

The audiophile's creed "Do not accept what you are listening to is great without scientific confirmation"

Cmon lads... Let's see a ton today...

BBL doesn't start till 7pm Dman......
Let people enjoy re-runs of The Big Bang Theory during the day.....

What's a big bang theory???...

You'd be enjoying the strokeplay this morning...

Cambridge Audio sold an amplifier several years ago & the Total Harmonic Distortion rating was really low, around 0.002%, compared to most brands like Pioneer/Yamaha etc being around 0.08%. (Any no-brand el-cheapos are usually 1% & over, sound harsh & crap. Usually the lower THD rating the better).
The reviews for the Cambridge Audio amp were mostly complaints saying it sounded too harsh, lacking warmth & so on. It's pretty strange.
Sometimes it's best to just trust your ears, not electric testing devices.

Well done Marris, now go on with it...

Audiophile is a big "me too" thing...if some d*ck writing for a magazine says XYZ is top schite then the masses who don't want to show they are the ignorant pr*cks they pretend not to be will agree with the review...same if an item is damned.

It's a while ago I last had a read of what's around, main reason was my Marantz amp has been working well for a decade & part of me thinks it should conk out any day, but it keeps going...so it was just to have an idea of a couple of models for when that day inevitably comes.
I agree with what you say about magazine reviews, many are just ads or a sledge from another brand. Often it's best to see what end buyers have to say & with the C.A amp I read about at the time, they ripped in because they weren't impressed. You'd feel like a complete wally if you spent thousands on one just to get it home & the guy next doors $350 Yamaha sounds better.
If my amp carked it now, not sure what I'd do. I'd probably look for another Marantz because it's always the go to mid-range brand for both music & home theatre sounding good. Usually the other brands only do one or the other well. It takes a lot of reading up or you could lose out taking the word of a sales rep or just guessing.

You're lucky my Harmon-Kardin amp and my Bose speakers are in the garage under a pile of Mojo magazines I still think I will get around to reading properly...I like the clarity of the Bose though the magazines will probably tell me I shouldn't as the electro spectrometer shows them to be overly digitised.

Bloody hell... Cmon hanno and head...

It's frustrating seeing Marsh get out like that for 8. It wasn't a wicket ball, he just played a defensive shot & still managed to get out nicking a spinner.
Labs gone now after a solid start, very unlucky, but should've kept it on the ground though. I think he tried to at least.
Harris looks like he'll be the one to hold his spot for now, but the rest are a worry.

Do you have another system in the house? Sounds like what's in the shed is from the shop.
Harmon-Kardon, that's wine taster lingo for Samsung, not that there's anything wrong with Samsung products.

Just an altec lansing system to PC...doesn't really worry me but would like to hear the Beatles White Album...yes I have the super deluxe edition...just once

LOL. Same as the "follow-on" in cricket.
The masses are told you shouldn't enforce it because Aus lost to India in 2001 by doing so. SO the masses follow that advice even though it is technically not the correct option.

Here's one for Dman and Zef….. On the FOX commentary of this 3rd Test (I think it was day 2), Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh brought up a stat from the equivalent SCG game in the early 2000's whereby India batted first, scored 705 in first innings, declared after 187 overs (session 1 of day 3), Australia then scored about 474. India decided to NOT follow-on and batted for another 210 off runs before finally declaring and it ended up costing them a win as Australia saved the match losing only 6 wickets.

Mark Waugh was scathing in the commentary as to why India batted for so long in the first innings and equally as scathing as to why they didn't enforce the follow on.

Technically, that was a Test match LOST by India. There was absolutely no need to bat again and put themselves in a position to have no idea what a winning total would be. 

Its games like that, which aren't shown up as bad decisions when it comes to follow-on or not. The only statistics available are the ones that show a team losing after enforcing the follow-on. The sample space is therefore wrong.

Change in India ...from then NOT losing to now winning...it was not a test match they lost..obviously it was a friendly wicket...474 is not to be sneezed at....essentially a result was not going to happen in those circumstances at the end of the Aussie innings. unless the wicket was going to seriously deteriorate 

My main big front tower speakers aren't wired up either, not since I lived alone years ago. I've set up the pair of smaller surrounds as the 2 mains, but they still pack plenty of punch.
Mostly I just use the PC to hear an album once in a while, for that I have Genius SP-HF1800A speakers. They're about 50 watts RMS, so it's more than enough in a compact size.

steve, I have the Beatles White Album on vinyl......... hell most of my music is on vinyl...... deja vu....... we gave had this discussion before.

That is not the only reason or close to... We've given you plenty of other reasonable explanations as to why you don't always do it...
And once again you're speaking in absolutes, you have no idea whether Australia would have (which they did) batted a heap better and it been a draw anyway...
#technicallywrongagain...

What you keep failing to consider (and AU's totals in this instance are a good example) is what if wed scored 450 in the second innings as well. India would have chosen to leave themselves batting last on a sydney wicket chasing 200 against who???...

Or batting to defend the "technical loss" anyway...

All down to Hanno, the wicket is still flat.
Poor batting performance, we don't have an experienced in form top 6 batsman.
Uzzy is the closest.
Not many quality experienced players pushing for selection.
No easy solution, go with youth and be patient.
Hanno is lucky to get this 2nd chance, I hope he takes it.
If they are looking to replace Shaun Marsh with a player of equal ability, I am available.

Hanno is looking better, good to see.