Circumstances? Really don't buy this. 

 Look I get you think that the Ashes series win is a thing as against drawn series. But its still just another test series. There's been drawn series before, be drawn series again.

Its not like they'll skip the fourth and 5th test if Aus won the third. 

Now you can tell me I don't get it. But I got up to watch the English chase cos I thought they had a chance of winning. I got to see Stoke's innings, cos I thought England had a good chance of doing it.

Now Perera, in South Africa, after SL had lost 3-0 at home to England, had lost away comfortably, I mean thrashed, to NZ and Aus - then turn up with a mickey mouse team, facing Philander, Rabada, Steyn, Maharaj and Olivier. And pull off a bigger 10th wicket partnership chase to win. AWAY. On a spicy pitch. Against the best bowling attack on the planet!. Sorry - its not close. Noone had heard of Perera before that innings, we already knew Stokes. Perera scored more runs, he scored more his team's total, and he blunted the best bowling group on the planet. Away. On a mine field. In a team that had just lost 3 series in a row...

Perera for mine, much more brilliant and unexpected innings. Root, Bairstow, Stokes, England always had a chance. SL sent a rubbish team that should have been destroyed by Rabada, Ngidi, Philander, Olivier, Maharaj et al like Australia, India and everyone else has been. But they won? In those circumstances? With Perera playing like a man possessed with CHANCELESS innings. Not dropped like Stokes was. Chanceless.

Sometimes I don't get why any country plays test cricket, if the Ashes - between the 4th and 5th ranked test nations, means so much more apparently cos its the Ashes. You really think Olivier, Steyn and Rabada, let alone Perera, dont care about winning their tests even if they're not Ashes matches? But here's the thing, if Perera doesn;'t win that test, SL coudn't win their first series in SA. An entire SA tour on one man's shoulders ;)

You may not understand this, but it was  huge deal to Indiam cricket fans to win in Aus, even if not the Ashes,  India still have never won in SA. NZ has never won in SA. Its a big deal to many of us. And SL has, while fielding their worst test team since the 1980's. Perera made it possible. And it did then happen. SL beat India to a series win in SA... they got one up on big brother. Again. And while Aus and Eng fans may get excited about the Ashes, sub continental fans are always excited by every single test match. They are under intense and constant pressure. They drop players and coaches like tomorrow. And burn effigies in the streets. The players and the coaches fight in public. The CURRENT players even fight with each other's player's wives on twitter lately! Seriously, read T Perera, Malinga, wive, captaincy issue. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/sri-lanka-a-laughing-stock-captain-s-wife-in-spat-with-player-20190131-p50urh.html Its not evena  wait till retire and sell some gossip. These are current players. And they're fighting on twitter and facebook!

If winning in SA despite the Ashes was important to Aussies, Smith and Warner wouldn't have cheated. These guys are playing to win whether they are from Eng or Aus, Ind or SL, regardless of who they're playing and where.

 They're cricket nuts in the sub continent. There is always pressure to perform on them. Always. 

What Fernando's point was, it shows the Big 3 have become so myopic, that it doesn't matter what SL, NZ, SA, WI, etc players achieve. The global cricket media has gone Big 3 mad. Which is odd, cos England and Aus are 4th and 5th right now... afterall. The levels of ignorance to non-Ashes or non-Indian series is just overwhelming. 

No way! I saw Perera's knock and it was indeed absolutely incredible, but I think Stokes was better given the series circumstances.

Keep in mind, if Stokes got out, that was the entire ashes gone. The pressure on him was way higher than Perera - an entire Ashes series on one man's shoulders. Plus the bowling may not have been quite as hot but the pitch was tougher. To do that with all of those pressures on, plus 15,000 Northern English fans screaming, that's off the charts. 

Gday Paddles,
jaszyjim - agree with you 100%

Gday  Dc,
jaszyjim - I will answer this type of dialogue in full at the end of the series

There is no viable current captain besides Paine, and, Carey is inexperienced.

To go straight in to an Ashes series, is a big step for Carey.

I didn't see them, but according to Grazor Carey dropped many  key chances in the WC too.

True, Baggers.

I think Mike might have put this up too.

I don't think top quality batting is an integral  part of a keeper's skills set as I've said before. 

Many former captains and players have come out in defence of Paine, but it is usually a journo (often devoid of any professional cricket background) who have  opined  negatively, usually because they don't  have the knowledge to analyse  technical parts of game so they need something to write about.

I know about this because I'm professionally qualified in  another sport and was in the media. Many journos have little technical or tactical  knowledge of the sport they write about as they  have neither  coached or played at professional or semi -pro level.

Usman probably isn't a leader of men, and is doing less to justify his place in terms of performance  than Paine. The current captain is keeping better than Usman is batting ATM.

Gilchrist was the exception.  Besides, his keeping record is better than many think.

Bollocks - Gilchrist or Healy - who you taking? Don't bs me :P

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27486154/usman-khawaja-australia-captain-why-not

Oh no - the Aussie media campaign to drop Paine has begun...

The issue I always raised is then who is captain? The answer according to cricinfo is - Qld and former Aus A captain, Ussie Khawaja...

Paine's problem is not just that he is the worst of test captains and wicket keepers at reviews, its his total and utter lack of runs of late...

Carey raises a problem being the ICC World Cup team wicket keeper - and fair enough. He outshone my favourite in Jos Buttler. Carey is in career form...

Now I expect DC to go ballistic about this and staunchly defend Paine. But there is a problem. He is not scoring runs. He is not reviewing well. As good as a champion he is of a bloke, he isn't ticking all the boxes.

I've always subscribed to the view that the  best keeper  takes the position, regardless of batting. Dropped catches can cost 100 runs. Wicketkeeper is the key catching position. Even though others have shown Bairstow's better contribution  with the bat, Sangakarra analysed how Paine is the better keeper with freeze frames.

So have I DC.

Batting averages and bowling averages are dropping. I just did a study for 97 - 2006 vs 2013 to now. I can cut and paste it for you if you want. Baggers has no doubt seen it.

No I have not seen it Paddles.

Australia XI to face Derbyshire: Usman Khawaja (c), Cameron Bancroft, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, Matthew Wade.

Khawaja skipper..interesting. Doubt if they are planning to drop him at Manchester. So he scores big against a rookie (likely) Derbshire side.. what does that prove? The decks will be made for batting to give us a false sense of security.

Ok. I'd have liked Tim to give him longer. A fourth seamer is what is needed in the later portion of the game when the pitch seems to settle down and batting is easier. Hazlewood for instance bowled 31 overs last innings at Leeds. Six more than anyone else. and it was 31C that day. Reckon he may have been spent when Stokes took the tonk to him.

Haze has won you over DC. The second test too.  He only needed  seaming decks to bring out his potency. He has so often had to toil on Aussie roads and flat Asian decks.

Thanks DC.

They can - but they don't average out like that. Ever. Even if you drop Tendulkar, say he averaged 1 life per innings before out, and he averaged 54 - that's 27 per drop. A bowling dominant team, will have the keeper take about 2 dismissals an innings. If you start talking the 1 percenters - if the run difference is huge - it makes sense to have Gilchrist over Healey... and you all saw that vs Pakistan in 1999. Gilly won the unwinnable with the bat. Its doesnt matter if he was never going to be as good as Healey with the gloves. He still took more dismissals per innings than Healey, as the seam stocks he kept too were much stronger than Reiffel, Whitney, Mcdermmot, Hughes, Lawson and whatever else Healey kept to...

I wouldn't give up Watling's ability to turn a disaster around (2  record partnerships batting at 7) for Blundell's glove work. Watling may only average 40 as a keeper, but he only makes big runs when needed. He never downhill ski's like Blundell did.  India use Pant, who is the worst keeper in intl cricket - but a batting average of near 45. Pant is so bad, that it starts to become an issue. Watling at least is not bad. He missed one stumping opportunity in the past series, was still mots... for his runs.... Pant is terrible - I think he will get dropped at some point in India keeping to spinners. But he is the extreme example of choosing the best batsman over the best keeper...

For Australia, Carey looks like a good keeper... He certainly looks a gun bat... He is making huge runs for Sussex right now continuing his WC form...

Im a huge fan of it. Took NZ years and years to finally pull the plug on them last season. And it was the right move. Went to a 5 prong seam attack with 4 quciks and Lord Colin as the allrounder. Destroyed the Bangas with a seam blitz after Ajaz had been struggling to make effect vs SL.

WI went 4 seamers also vs England and won in WI. Holder got suspended after winning the 3 match series in 2 tests for over rates. LOL.

Then SA did it vs Pakistan. Bare in mind, Maharaj is a gun, their best spinner in decades and decades. So it was a big call for them. Also Faf got suspended for over rates for the third test after winning the series in 2 tests. LOL. 

But Faf and Pak both conceded, its why SA beat Pak in SA. SA just didnt give away free spinner runs. 

I had made a thread arguing with someone, whether spinners were needed in England, SA, Aus and NZ... the season before.  Updated after Rashid went an entire test match in England without bowling a single ball. Then last home for us season - it started happening! And it kept winning series :)

India did it to Aus at Perth, but lost.... Their issue wasnt the strategy, but 2 things, they couldnt chase 286 to win, AND they played Yadav who took only 2 wickets for 139 runs.... He has never played a test since... Unless there is an injury crisis, or some serious holidays - I think his intl career is done...Sharma, Shami, Bumrah are the main 3 - with BK the 4th...

Is Smith expected to be back to do a Ponting at Old Trafford?
Anyway that Leeds Test served up the perfect denouement to my holiday in England :-)

Something has to be done about our (top) batting order though...

Batting averages and bowling averages are dropping. I just did a study for 97 - 2006 vs 2013 to now. I can cut and paste it for you if you want. Baggers has no doubt seen it.

Its very fair. Pitches are turning and seaming more (in WI, Eng, Sa, and Asia - Ind, Pak, SL where there is ball tracking data), its harder than ever (since before 1960) to make runs...

lyon bowled ok actually. A bunch of the sixes were mishits and should have been catches. He also generated two dropped catches of stokes (Warner in the slips and Harris at 3rd man)

These modern bats and short grounds mean you can beat a batter and still go for 6 which is a bit unfair

I'm not a fan of dropping specialist spinners for a 4th seamer.

They change the rhythm of  the game. Particularly if you can get Lyon at one end and Labu at the other. 

Batters have to face a lot of balls , probably five times as many in a given period of time. They have little time to switch  off in between balls.

Some merit in Mitch Marsh's selection, but Neser may be a better bowler..

Wade has scored a century and a 30 in six innings and little else.

Shame so few batters have decent averages in this series. 

I am really surprised how some posters seem to denigrate Hazlewood after bowling superbly in most of the 3rd Test.

Those lauding his  qualities, Baggers et el, were right.

I can't believe anyone can argue otherwise.

I didn't see the last 100 runs scored by England, but I think it would be folly to drop Lyon.

I thought he bowled a lot of balls that were close to taking wickets, but he bowled without luck.

It would still  be nice to have a 4th seamer/all rounder to ease the workload on three pace bowlers who need to bowl less overs - Cummins, Hazlewood, Patto and Starc. 

How did Labu bowl?

Some thoughts on Paine's captaincy and position in the team.

I've always subscribed to the view that the  best keeper  takes the position, regardless of batting. Dropped catches can cost 100 runs. Wicketkeeper is the key catching position. Even though others have shown Bairstow's better contribution  with the bat, Sangakarra analysed how Paine is the better keeper with freeze frames.

in News Corp, who don't let posters access it free of charge , because of a pay wall, Ben Horne elucidates   Paine's captaincy.

* Horne argued those calling for his sacking have short memories. He argues that Australia were in a position to have challenged for the Ashes in England for the first time  since 2001, is due significantly to his leadership in steadying the ship.

* Horne contends Paine is a superb statesman. Moeroever, he has united a broken dressing room.

*Horne advances that Paine could benefit in having access to Ian Chappell or Michael Clarke's tactical nous, but Chappell himself posts no Aussie captain in history would have handled the predicament  as well as Paine has just done in the wake of a crushing  defeat in the 3rd Test.

* Horne  suggests those calling for Smith's ascension to the captaincy, forget he  struggled as leader on the field, and, was never a great tactician as a captain. When Pakistan amassed 450  at he Gabba in 2016, he argus Smith was worse as a captain than Paine was against Stokes.

* As we stand, Horne posits Paine is on the verge  of one the greatest performances by an Aussie captain.

* Yes he got  DRS challenges wrong, but he has got a lot else right that has been overlooked.

I wrote "in a perfect world" Paddles. Tongue firmly planted in cheek mate. 

Their is a push among my fellow keyboard warriors for Mitch Marsh to come in for one of our dud batsmen. Makes sense as the fourth paceman if they hold onto Lyon. Bowling is Marsh's stronger suit but he may just come good with the willow too. If picked he has to bat at #7 away from the pressure.