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***Official*** 2nd Test at the Adelaide Oval

tooextracool

International Coach
TT Boy said:
Has Brett Lee swung the ball once in this series?, missed the evening session but first up he did nothing with the ball other than give the batsman sighters followed by the wide one outside off stump.
Does Brett Lee ever swing the red ball? We saw this in the last Ashes series as well, while both Hoggard and Jones were getting the ball to swing prolifically towards the end of the innings, B.Lee barely ever managed to swing the ball. Australia may get away with not playing a swing bowler in this series(although i certainly think they need to reconsider that), but they cant continue to go in with this attack very often outside of Australia.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
tooextracool said:
I didnt think he bowled too well to be honest. He could have had a wicket or so, but his bowling lacked his usual drift, and he bowled far too many deliveries that were short and wide that both Collingwood and Pietersen dispatched quite comfortably while Ian Bell just hit them straight to the fielders in the post lunch session.
From the end he was bowling, the wind was blowing fairly stiffly from leg to off, and probably didn't help him get that drift to leg he normally does.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Terrible pitch tbh. Looks dead, no appreciable movement and while its spinning a bit, its slow spin. Hard to see the Aussies taking 20 wickets in any decent amount of time, or the English taking 20 wickets at all.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Just on Kevin Pietersen, whilst hes still prone to the odd rush of blood, its interesting that hes barely used the slog sweep all series, i dont remember him playing it even once this series. Its probably a sign of maturity, and in general both Collingwood and Bell seemed to have matured as players after touring the subcontinent as well. They've all become a bit more patient especially on slower wickets. Unfortunately people like Strauss(who not surprisingly was a miserable failure in the subcontinent) hasnt learned much.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
It was funny today on ABC radio, halfway through the last over and Peter Roebuck is banging on about how Pieterson is a genuinely intelligent cricketer and the words had barely left his lips and Pieterson played that shot that nearly got him caught off the second-to-last ball of the day... :)
 
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BoyBrumby

Englishman
tooextracool said:
I dont think he was trying to hit it in the air. The ball either stopped on him a bit, or he just misjudged the pace of the ball and spooned it in the air. Either way though he needs to start scoring soon, as does Cook as England cant continue to depend on their 3,4 and 5.
I thought Collingwood was sensational today, probably one of the best innings ive seen in recent times from an English batsman. He knows his limitations really really well. He only seemed to play 2 shots all day. Anything short and wide he cut, anything on the pads he flicked or nudged, everything else he either blocked or left alone. There was one pull shot that he should not have played and nearly got him out, but bar that he only played the shots that are bread and butter for him and he nudged singles with ease. You could be forgiven for having thought that you were looking at a mirror image of Graham Thorpe today.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt there too. I don't think he's a natural hooker or puller, but he played it very fine (even if he wasn't in total control) & only McGrath was out on the hook, who isn't very mobile at the best of times, much less with an iffy heel. Witness the KP "attempt" off that second last ball, poor old boy got nowhere near it.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
BoyBrumby said:
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt there too. I don't think he's a natural hooker or puller, but he played it very fine (even if he wasn't in total control) & only McGrath was out on the hook, who isn't very mobile at the best of times, much less with an iffy heel. Witness the KP "attempt" off that second last ball, poor old boy got nowhere near it.
Yeah Collingwood isnt a compulsive hooker like the rest, but i'd like to see him take that shot out of his game unless he really needs to use it. I think players need to play to their limitations. If you're not very good at playing a particular shot dont play it. Steve Waugh barely ever hooked or pulled for most his career. One of the reasons why England have played Warne better this series than the last is that they've played with straight bats and taken the sweep shot out of the equation. Last time around, Strauss, Tresco and Geraint were all sweeping like there was no tomorrow. Im sure Bell and Collingwood are the ones that have set the tone in this case, but thats the way to play.
 

valvolux

Cricket Spectator
KP is the best player of spin i've ever seen. But you know it's not his great technique - it's his bravery to hit them out of the attack. He takes huge risks and it doesn't always pay off - but when it does, he reaps the benefits of the bowler having to bowl unthreatening deliveries for the rest of the innings in fear of getting hit out of the ground. He's one of those players when a spinner comes on you close your eyes and just hope it only goes for 4. Warne was bowling rubbish to him, as I thought he bowled the whole Brisbane test. He is out of form....he appears to be bowling different (although his action changes every season) - or maybe it's just the platsic surgery he has so obviously had. KP forces him to bowl outside of his strengths, which is an absolute credit to him. He is bowling way too full at the moment and needs to sort it out. KP is my second favourite batsmen outside of Afridi, which i'm not afraid to say being an aussie....but maybe that's only because he isn't actually english.

Stuey Clark made the interesting comment that it seemed to be a 2nd day pitch ie. that's as flat as it will get...it's only down hill from here, which aint good for the aussies. But the stupid move to play Anderson leaves the door wide open. 260 odd in a day isn't commanding at all. They're gonna have to bat all of tomorrow to get the 600 required to to win this match. With a bit of rain about and a strong aussie batting line up some serious brain freezes are going to be required for this to be anything but a draw. The poms were playing like they had a lot to lose today...which is a long way from the attitude they had at edgbaston.

Speaking of Stuey Clark.....I get the feeling this guy is actually starting to believe the hype. He shouldn't be bagging Punter for under bowling him even if he was painfully underused. I know it must've been frustrating when the likes of Tait and Johnson, and even Lee were being talked about and he wasn't, you should really avoid team critisism like the plague.

That Binga has to go....he was the difference today between them being bowled out by tea and finishing up where they did. He is like a pressure release valve...and for some reason Punter always turns to him. We were bowling superbly on a very flat track - then Lee comes in and gets rid of any pressure that was applied. He either takes wickets with the new ball, which is becoming a rarity, or gets batsmen out trying to hit him for consecutive fours. He doesn't swing the ball, get appreciable bounce or get anythign off the seam if there aren't massive cracks - in this day and age 90mph+ bowling isn't enough to get wickets.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
Matt79 said:
It was funny today on ABC radio, halfway through the last over and Peter Roebuck is banging on about how Pieterson is a genuinely intelligent cricketer and the words had barely left his lips and Pieterson played that shot that nearly got him caught off the second-to-last ball of the day... :)
I think its quite obvious that hes a better player now than he was in the last Ashes series, or the Pietersen we saw in the subcontinent. Almost Certainly better than the player that tried to hook Shoaib Akthar for a second 6 after just crossing 100 while needing to get a big score. Yes he still plays the occasional poor shot, and i doubt he'll ever be able to curb that, but you can see now that a majority of his shots are risk free, in fact his game on the off side is so much better than it was at the start of his career that he now scores most of his runs in that area.
 

chalky

International Debutant
I think todays play (and to a lesser extent the 2nd innings at Brisbane) show why Australia are so desperate to get Watson in to the team. With Mcgrath & Warne coming towards the end of their careers and not quite able to back up as they used to be ale to Pointing needs another attacking option in the field. If England can follow the strategy of just trying to see the Seamers in the 1st 1 & 1/2 sessions and then try to up the runrate they may have some success in this series.
 

PhoenixFire

International Coach
Well I sense a KP special, so Im gonna go with him making 160, and Collingwood getting 120. I'd like to see 500 on the board.
 

simmy

International Regular
Nothing worse than watching a dead pitch (well watching Australia batting on a dead pitch is infinitely worse)...

Very frustrated with Bell... he is a star in the making IMO and needs to keep his head. What the hell sort of a shot was that after grafting all day?! Same can be said about Cook to be honest.

Pietersen for 150 at tea :D
 

Tomm NCCC

International 12th Man
Theres nothing I hate more than getting my hopes up then being dissapointed. But i can see Collingwood making 150 and Mr Pietersen Charging home another test century, or dismissed 3rd ball.
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
techno t said:
so whats a realistic target for england. Gotta get 2 atleast 400 i'd have thought:cool:

*
My first target is 300. Having watched England for a long time, Ive learnt never to look too far ahead.
 

techno t

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
Goughy said:
My first target is 300. Having watched England for a long time, Ive learnt never to look too far ahead.
well i know what england are like. Their 1st innings have been crucial as the 2nd inns havent been as hot. But gotta get 2 400 to give some sort of challenge out 2 the aussies :)

*
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
tooextracool said:
Does Brett Lee ever swing the red ball? We saw this in the last Ashes series as well, while both Hoggard and Jones were getting the ball to swing prolifically towards the end of the innings, B.Lee barely ever managed to swing the ball. Australia may get away with not playing a swing bowler in this series(although i certainly think they need to reconsider that), but they cant continue to go in with this attack very often outside of Australia.
At times last summer vs South Africa, Home & Away he did manage to swing the ball, mainly away from the right hander & in to the left-handers pretty consistently. If he gets the conditions in this series i expect him to get the ball to swing.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Lee also swung it in Brisbane against the West Indies. Steve Harmison could probably swing it in Brisbane when it's overcast though, so it's not much of an achievement.

Anyway, I think England will be five down at lunch, and all out in the middle session for 450 odd, which should be a very competitive score. 450 isn't huge on this pitch by any means, but runs on the board always helps.

Overcast, cool and a slight chance of rain today, I hear.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Get 500 and you are nigh guaranteed a draw, regardless. Though if KP goes early, 350 could be a chore.
 

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