Good to hear former Canterbury players Joe Thomas, David Gillespie & Andrew Ryan (amongst others) doing something to support this cause :

https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2018/10/08/true-blues-give-farmers-a-helping-hand/

The Aussies have stuffed it. Down to the tail & still 300 behind.
I'm still not convinced Asia is the place for the Marsh brothers...
The coverage on Fox Sports has been done well. Not ruined by ads every over like 9 was doing.
Fox sure make up for it during the tea breaks though, but that's fair enough, doesn't ruin the immersion that way.

Baa interviewee on Foxsports yesterday really talking up Foran & Lewis as the halves for 2019


He said a quote..... “we had to kick some people out during the year” had me in stitches

You'd even laugh at Anh Do!

Actually I would

Or better still Baa doing stand up...

I just think we are 4 class players short of being a top test cricket nation, that is 3 batsmen and probably a good spin bowling all-rounder.

Smith is one of the batsmen, it doesn't help that he is out for the time being, but he isn't the total solution and needs to come back in the same form.

If we were a top side the Marsh brothers rarely play. Shaun has been OK in Asia the past, but that is the issue, you don't win games by being OK.

It is also true that in Asia if you win the toss and bat and don't enforce the follow on, you rarely lose.


 

On the contrary. This is a perfect time for AUS to find that missing 1 or 2 batsmen that can do a role when/if Smith and Warner fail. 

Those two have carried the team over the last few years and have masked the deficiencies of the other 4 or 5 batsmen at the top who have failed routinely.

If we can find someone dependable in the next few months, we will be a strong team again when those 2 (or even 3) return.

The greatest attribute the powerhouse AUS team of the noughties was the fact they always had at least 1 player in the top 6 that would post a century or even 150. 

Yes, it is a good time to try to find those players and we have little choice.

But there is something about the standard of batting (and bowling) at state level that doesn't inspire confidence.

Things go in cycles, but I have some memory going back to the late 1970's, this is the lowest ebb I can remember in terms of talent being available for Australian selection.
In the past player like Mark Waugh had to battle hard to get into the Australian team.

I don't think it is terminal, just cyclical, and something looks wrong in terms of grade cricket and state cricket, like to Dogs lower grades in the Des era.
You always need the development areas of the game producing the next batch of players.

I'm not much of a "smart phone" person. There was a bit of fuss I read about the new "Android 9 Pie". I have no idea why because the phone was working fine with Android 8.
Anyway, I just went into the phone settings & clicked "System Upgrade". It took 10mins to download the 1.5gb update & another 25 mins for it to install itself & reboot the phone.
After all that, apparently I have Android 9 Pie on it. It looked slightly different, but barely. I can't tell any other difference. So many people were carrying on & getting upset about India getting the update first a week ago & constantly clicking "update" on their phones ever since. I just don't get it. Maybe they're the same people that line up in the streets for days on end without sleep to get the new release of Microsoft Windows & things like that.

I'm with you BN.
I can sort of understand that craze when the first iPhone came out back in 2007 or whatever it was, but since then, I cant see why you would bother. 

As for system updates, I shudder everytime my phone asks me to update. I keep thinking it will move things around or result in a worse user experience. Most times I'm right.

I was more worried about having to put all the phone numbers in again. Glad I didn't have to.
If I had an earlier Android operating system on it, I really wouldn't care, as long as it makes calls, that's the main thing.
I wonder what all the fuss is about.

Well I did discover an improvement on the phone during the arvo. I now only have to open the phone wallet & I can see the percentage of battery charge on the black screen without a double tap to bring up the whole screen.
I don't think I would've lost any sleep over it or thrown away the phone for a new one over it, but there you go. :)

Gavin Roberston made a comment that's been repeated a lot today and it's because it's a good observation.

He said a lot of the top batsman there's nothing wrong with their technique, it's that they're constantly bringing the short-form mentality to the crease in the long game. They face a few maidens and start to think they have to make something happen whereas the era before T20  if there was nothing happening a batsman would see it out even if took all day.

A long way of saying they don't value their wickets enough, and think there's something in that.

Perhaps you could say the same about bowling. Glen McGrath would just hit the same line and length all day and wait for it to happen, he wouldn't go chasing it.

Which is why I'm dumbfounded by the selectors complete lack of faith in Renshaw. There's a batsman who let's the game come to him even if it takes all day but once he's got it in his hands can and will take it on.

They should never have judged him on form, they should judge him on class. And if you think he's got it, trust your judgement and don't wet your pants the first time he has a lean series.

Damn Android phone update stuffed me up eventually. When I tried to make a call it had switched itself to speakerphone & switched off the microphone.
I still haven't figured out how to fix it, so I used a landline.

Yep, I'm sure T20 is a big part of the problem one way or another.

In the bad old days the SCG used to be a slow turner, batsmen from other states got tested against spin, the WACA was fast an bouncy and the Gabba regularly had swing and seam, Adelaide was a road and the MCG  had a bit of everything, but tended to play slow and low toward the end.

The thing was batsmen and bowlers got tested in a variety of conditions, against home state specialists, who knew how to use the conditions, now a lot of pitches seem flat and lifeless. Batsmen get used to batting on roads in the short form games, the guys that can hit a long ball get favoured over gritty players with good defence.

Shield cricket used to mean something, year after year a mad Queenslander  took bets against the whole office for lottery tickets, it was sweet indeed turning up to work on Monday and collecting from him again, I never got tired of it. These days T20 has a higher profile and I can never work out who the teams are.

Lol. That added icon on the front screen drains more of your battery!

(Sorry to ruin it for you.....)

The problem with the current Test team is not so much T20 but the fact that the individuals cant figure out when to play defensively and when to keep ticking the run rate over.

They are mentally defeated by players/teams who play just as much T20 cricket (if not more) yet do t use the excuse for their Test performances.

So many times I have seen our team drop 1 or 2 quick wickets and instead of the next 2 blokes coming in and play smart cricket by ticking the run rate over and punishing the bad balls, they instead get bogged defensively and allow the bowler to dominate them. They also allow opposition captains to set aggressive fields.

What we need is some smart players who can assess the situation well, take the game to the opposition but not be stupid to throw the wicket away. It's all psychological. We have lost our mental toughness and edge.

I dont think T20 is to blame

I do think HD is right re the wickets. The most memorable one day games are those where there is something in the wicket for the bowler. One example is one a few years ago now Australia vs NZ in NZ...NZ ripped through Australia and then Starc did similar thing to NZ. Kiwis won but you weren't sure for a lot of their innings. It is probably aimed at the non cricket fan...they want to see runs where the real fan wants wickets and runs but only if they are not gifted.

So Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will captain the NZ Kiwis against the Kangaroos due to unavailability by RTS and Issac Luke and a few others who have retired (Mannering)

Geez they must be light on options if they are getting a winger who is typically quiet and otherwise childish to captain them.

Surely they could have picked someone closer to the middle or someone who at least commands some authority.

Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor are in the team but not selected as captains due to their cocaine incident last year. 

Not sure if Johnson is playing but surely he was a far better option than DWZ?

Actually come to think of it.....
Maybe new coach Michael Maguire did it on purpose as a sweetener to Penrith nd Phil Gould perhaps with an eye on the Panthers job.
Someone should tell him it will go to Cleary as soon as they release him from the Tigers

This is worth watching:- https://www.bulldogs.com.au/news/2018/10/11/harper-i-was-close-to-not-coming-back/

HD..... he’s definitely put on some weight and size Morgan Harper in the last 12months

Let’s hope that continues this off-season too


I really hope Jayden O can take that next step.... he now has the size to compete in NRL... is he hungry enough to take it?

Well done to the aussie.

I've never been a fan of not enforcing a follow-on.
I know statistics indicate that you are likely going to win irrespective, but try telling that to a team that fails to do so like Pakistan.

Perhaps burnout of bowlers is the reason?
Who knows but I can't think of another sport where you have your foot on the opposition's throat and instead of beating them,  you decide to have mercy and give them a chance to beat you.

It's like a James Bond villain, who captures him and instead of just killing him, he tries to lock him up and giving him the chance to escape..... (reminds me of Austin Powers when Dr Evils son explains this to Evil but he wont listen)

Needs angry pills..built like Tarzan plays like Jane

"Perhaps burnout of bowlers is the reason? "

That's the one.
It not only puts a massive strain on the bowlers in the existing test by not having a rest, especially the pace bowlers, but can cause ongoing probs for them in the following test as well, in some cases forcing someone out with an injury or the ones that back up can lose some pace or effectiveness.
In this case, if they whipped through the Aussies for under 100 runs in their first innings, then sure they could've forced the follow on, but the Aussies hanging around for a slow 200 probably made the decision for them. They would've also been confident of getting them all out bowling 4th, but great effort from the Aus batsmen, even Lyon for hanging around out there for 30+ deliveries at the end.

The wheels go on..la de dah de dah
La de dah de dah

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/bulldogs-land-new-sponsor-after-mad-monday-drama-20181011-p50945.html

IMO we have found the right position for Jayden at present, on the wing.

He is much  fitter than Idris, and seems to have a lot more hunger.

He seems prone to poor reads, and possibly bad technique in defence. That is just something he needs to work on.

He is very fast for a bloke of that size, a lot of the raw ingredients are there, it is mostly up to him, and needs some patience.

I will not be surprised if he plays a couple of games of NRL in 2019, again that is up to him, provided he makes the 30 which would not be certain.

He might be a good option off the bench in the NRL as he can cover a few positions and could get limited minutes, unless there is an injury in the backs.

With this dumb 30 man squad idea...surely something approaching 36 is more realistic?....2 full squads be available. Why 30? Who's brilliant deduction was it? Greenberg? Pfffftttt.

Damn......was hoping we would get The Everest as the sponsor but it looks like the Opera House beat us to it!