**Official**VB Series 2005 Australia,Pakistan,West Indies.

[honestbharani]

lol, I didn't mean that it should be a permanent thing. I just suggested it to be tried as an one-off, on a rather fast or bouncy track, just try out Lee and the three other bowlers. After all, I still don't think Watson has done anything notable at the international level. And Gillespie can more than hold his own as a batter. So can Warnie, but when in the mood.


I know that this idea might put a lot of pressure on the top order of Australia, but like I said, it doesn't sound THAT bad if it was tried as an one-off, just to see how Lee goes in tests now that he has done well in the ODIs.

 

[Slow Love™]

Australia 2/24 with both Hayden and Ponting out. Ponting's dismissal was that classic "walking across/leading edge" shot he so frequently plays early in his innings, except it usually results in a caught and bowled.

A LOT of pressure on Symonds this innings, it goes without saying. Clarke has looked very good up to this point.

 

[Slow Love™]

Collins on fire here - just went straight through Clarke.

3/34. We might have a match on our hands here.

 

[Sehwag309]

Go WINDIES...Lovin in MAAAN

 

[Arrow]

Collins OMG!!

 

[Arrow]

The ozzie tail enders are like rabid ticks, you just cant get them out. Its just so hard to beat this team down!
I think the windies will lose.

 

[Mr Casson]

That finish was unbelievable... massive props to Dizz and Brett for giving everything they have.. champion stuff. If they have enough energy to bowl now, I think we've got a winning total.

You could hear the sadness in Michael Holding's voice when he said "This is turning out to be a very good score for Australia..."

Getting 269 really shows the resilience of this side. Being 5-down for not many, most teams would buckle down and aim at 200; but the Aussies kept their run-rate going and reaped massive rewards for it at the end.

 

[Slow Love™]

The ozzie tail enders are like rabid ticks, you just cant get them out. Its just so hard to beat this team down!
I think the windies will lose.

It's certainly far harder than they would have thought it would be, halfway through the innings. I don't know if Collins could have continued - if the heat was too much for him, fair enough, but if Lara decided to take him out of the attack and he could have kept going, it was a mistake.

I know that Beleg had a go at some people for arrogance in suggesting the Aussies might have clawed back in the last one, but while the situation was marginally better this time around (4 for 38 as opposed to 5/30), this demonstrates that you never know.

Loved that shot in the last over from Lee, where he sat himself down on his a$$. Some great bowling from Collins though - dammit, I came so close to putting him in my fantasy cricket squad....

I'm not calling the game yet though - the West Indians could chase this.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Great performance by several Australians today. Katich was great, and Symonds also played very well and was unlucky to get out when he did. Lee and Gillespie were spectacular at the end.

Some great bowling by Collins, but it goes to show again (like with Akhtar in the Perth test) that it is very hard to get on top of the Australian lineup unless ALL your bowlers are firing.

Should be a good finish.

 

[Eclipse]

how the hell did Lee hit a six over cover while siitting on his ass lol..that was amazing

 

[Slow Love™]

Oh and I forgot Katich... He just has this knack for not doing much wrong whenever he gets an opportunity.

 

[Mr Casson]

how the hell did Lee hit a six over cover while siitting on his ass lol..that was amazing

That was one of the finest one-day shots I have ever seen. Lee hits some awesome sixes; I can remember more than a few match-winning ones!

 

[Tom Halsey]

Great performance by several Australians today.

Very poor shots by several others.

Lee and Gillespie save Australia right at the end, when their batters let them down a touch.

 

[Richard Rash]

Great performance by several Australians today. Katich was great, and Symonds also played very well and was unlucky to get out when he did. Lee and Gillespie were spectacular at the end.

Some great bowling by Collins, but it goes to show again (like with Akhtar in the Perth test) that it is very hard to get on top of the Australian lineup unless ALL your bowlers are firing.

Should be a good finish.

Is Shane Bond the exception to the rule?

Unless Lara gets a century WI will most probably lose.

 

[Linda]

I love it when Richie chirps "How did he do that?" because it usually means it was a freakishly good (and somewhat flukey) shot...
*coughgoodinningsbykatichcough*

 

[Tom Halsey]

Oh and I forgot Katich... He just has this knack for not doing much wrong whenever he gets an opportunity.

Yeah, IMO he should be a regular in both your Test and ODI side atm.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Is Shane Bond the exception to the rule?

Shane Bond wasn't the only New Zealand bowler who bowled well that tour, Collins and Akhtar have been lone hands. Also, it wasn't quite the same Australian side that is playing now, particularly in one dayers.

 

[marc71178]

Some great bowling from Collins though - dammit, I came so close to putting him in my fantasy cricket squad....

Same here, but I went for Hinds instead

 

[Arrow]

Windies are slowly getting choked to death. Typical.

 

[Slow Love™]

The West Indians are playing fairly conservatively, after Lee got Gayle and Hinds cheaply. 2/53, with the run-rate required climbing up towards 7. Lawry's going after Sarwan this time, just like he did Afridi in the match the other day, but they can afford to do this for a little while yet, to make sure that wickets are in hand when they ramp it up and start pushing. Game's far from over at this stage.

Those little ceramic figures they're selling of Shane Warne and Steve Waugh are the worst pieces of cricket merchandise I think I've ever seen. They don't even look like the players. Funniest of all is they're proudly advertising that they're signed by the sculptor. That guy should never be let near a kiln again.