back to back maidens

oz used to bowl to a strategy that if you can bowl 2 maidens in a row you are much more likely to get a wicket

Handscomb with a poor shot and out.

and there is the wicket caught at midwicket in an unnecessary shot

Bumrah seems to have hurt his shoulder

and if we had a couple more wickets in hand we could cash in

It does not seem to bad, I expect he will bowl tomorrow.

Handscomb perishes to a mistimed pull. Ricky Ponting says due to his deep in the crease technique he sweats on anything short. He reckons he went too hard at that pull. Sorry Pete that is not good enuff.

Marsh is trying to play on, has not succeed yet but been very close

Hazlewood bowled 6 on the trot yesterday. What sort of pressure do you think that produced?

Against Pujara... nothing... would be my guess. He's the Wall part 2...

BAGGERS FOX NOWWWWWW

SWITCH TO FOX NOWWWWW!!!

O'Keefe is going to goto task on the pitch this week.

He called it before the series started - straight after the first SA ODI.

He is blatantly saying sporting pitches do not suit Australia. 

??

quite a lot india good enough to not let it hurt them

also its only a back to back maiden if his partner gets one

For months Baggers and I have disagreed on pitch preparation that Aus needed to beat or not lose to India.

I called it before O'Keefe stated it, but O'Keefe and I are have identical opinions on the issue.

Baggers has a very contrary one...

I want him to hear O'Keefe analysis...

What all neutral and international fans will tell Aussie fans - is O'Keefe clearly watches a lot of current cricket globally, not just what he is employed to commentate on or coach for. This is not necessarily true for the rest of Aussie commentators (or any countries for that matter...).

Neutrals and internationals are almost ubiquitously agreed that O'Keefe is the most knowledgeable of the world game in Aus media...

The thing about the pitch is that it is slow so players can not drive the ball on the up which Australian player like to do. However the groundsman has said he tried to produce a fast wicket and is disappointed that it is slow. It was only made accidentally slow.

it has felt like an away game amazingly

Yups -- this is like something found in England...

Unfortunately, even though the batters are trying their hardest, this is the worst batting top six we have ever had.

Almost none average 40 at Shield level.

Shaun Marsh has averaged 35 in 35 Tests. In any other era he would have been dropped.

Apart from Steve Smith who has propped up a misfiring top six in home and away Tests, no other batter we currently have can dominate opposition attacks.

If we had any of our batting line ups for the last 25 years before 2015, Smith could be suspended for a lot longer. He wouldn’t have been missed like he has been.

A further issue is the new techno zombie generation.

Apart from the school playground, one never sees any kids playing any sport on the street amongst themselves. There is always a father involved, playing with kids.

Why else have kids if not to have some someone bowl you throw downs and ball retrievers?

I don't think this is as much of an issue, the issue cricket faces is the time poor generation of parents, who prefer sports over in a much shorter time frame. 

Parents I know do not keen encourage cricket because it takes too much of their weekend. Football is different.

Even though Cummins hasn’t bowled badly, he can’t sustain his pace.

He loses it as a series progresses, and as each game progresses.

Apart from Lyon , who is our best bowler by far, home and away, as he can be a stock bowler and strike bowler, the pace bowlers can’t back up because their actions take too much out of them.

Starc can sustain pace, but is erratic.

Australia needs a McGrath type bowler to bowl tight spells in tandem with Lyon.

In all seriousness Cummins is bowling just as fast as he did in the Ashes last year. There is nothing new here.

This is how fast he bowls. He is still tall, gets good bounce, he is effective.

Starc needs a stock ball... If he ever learns to bowl a stock ball, he will be a much better bowler...

We have to take our hat off to India.

They have improved batting, bowling and fielding.

They have plenty of depth too.

For the first time they are outplaying us in the First Test in Australia. Our pitches are very different from theirs too.

Ashwin has improved out of sight bowling in Australia.

Paddles

I’m on my mobile and can’t quote.

In short spells overseas, Cummins has bowled nearly all balls over 140kph.

In this Test, the fastest ball I’ve seen him bowl has been 143kph.

He gets a lot of bounce from his short balls off a length, but if he simply bowls most balls in the mid 130s, then have a look at some of the Shield bowlers I’ve seen at Bellerive whose actions take less out of them, have more stamina and can bowl longer spells.

Tremain or Boland ( I get them confused) , Tasmanians Bird and Bell, can do more donkey work.

Also , Tasmanian, Riley Meredith, although a tyro, bowls 140 plus with less effort than Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood. Supposedly, Meredith has been recorded at 150kph.

Against England, Cummins bowled 140kph plus bouncers.

Don't worry about the pitches issue - India has only played 2 tests at home this year, 3 in SA and 5 in England...

India plays a global game both at full intl and at A level... And has a massive squad of intls, MASSIVE squad to select horses for courses...

I'm watching NZ A play IND A right now, the Indian team is full of stars...

I despise the Murdoch empire, but the advert free Fox coverage is decidedly better than free to air TV for Aussie Test Cricket.

The channel 7 coverage has been excellent i feel, far superior to 9.