T20 international Australiav India game 1 Adelaide Oval

Australia won the toss & elected to field

Travis Head playing his first match for Australia

Didn't end up too good did it? For Head or Australia.

Very disappointing considering the amount of batting power Australia had in the line up.

It's funny - but I actually enjoy the domestic 20/20 much more than the international stuff.

It's been a very long summer of International cricket, as much as I love it, it's been too much.

With the BBL on every night from mid-December until late-January, 6 Tests, 5 ODI's and now 3 IT20's on top of the 35 BBL games it really is an overload IMO. Mrs Boon is certainly over it.

Clearly the BBL is here to stay, so perhaps cut the IT20's out of the program in future and let the BBL end the televised summer of cricket. ( Shield still going, for some time yet but obviously not prime time TV ).

The players look jaded, they look disinterested and ready for a break, especially the ones who play more than one form of the game.

I still struggle with why there has to be a clear delineation between formats.

Why do all the tests have to be done and run by early January? Can't they play, say 3 test before Christmas, with the odd one dayer chucked in around them, then 2 or 3 tests in the New Year, plus a few more one dayers?

I'm sure that's what they used to do back in the day.

Gingernuts wrote:I still struggle with why there has to be a clear delineation between formats.

Why do all the tests have to be done and run by early January? Can't they play, say 3 test before Christmas, with the odd one dayer chucked in around them, then 2 or 3 tests in the New Year, plus a few more one dayers?

I'm sure that's what they used to do back in the day.

They did, indeed, but that was enough for one southern hemisphere summer. Now they cram in a visit to New Zealand or South Africa around the Aussie summer and, in essence, have two or three southern summers.

Add to that the cricketing world knows an Australian summer, while brutal on it's players, is a cash cow and every country wants to come here. We've had 3 NZ Tests, 3 WI Tests, 5 India ODI's, 3 India T20's. So 3 nations have hit us up for some summer action.

Remember the old 5 Test format, 2 before Xmas in Perth and Brisbane, the Boxing Day and New Years Tests, Australia Day Test in Adelaide and then a tri-series with Australia, the visiting Test country and one other who came in for only a few weeks. That worked.

I couldn't believe the amount of time wasting last night.

Did the Indian batsmen really need a drink and a towel after every few balls?

Having said that, it was lovely to watch Kohli bat.

I think Tait's finished as an international player.

players jaded etc, fair dinkum we would all give our right arm to be good enough to play & would play at every opportunity, obviously there is more cricket on but what pays the players ? i'd suggest a huge % would be from tv rights.....if these players are jaded well we have no hope in the upcoming short NZ tour followed by the T20 world cup, last night India made a decent score & history will say sides batting second chasing anything over 180 will struggle if they lose early wickets & apart from the odd occasion not many teams go through undefeated & above all else they are professionals

bayman wrote:players jaded etc, fair dinkum we would all give our right arm to be good enough to play & would play at every opportunity, obviously there is more cricket on but what pays the players ? i'd suggest a huge % would be from tv rights.....if these players are jaded well we have no hope in the upcoming short NZ tour followed by the T20 world cup, last night India made a decent score & history will say sides batting second chasing anything over 180 will struggle if they lose early wickets & apart from the odd occasion not many teams go through undefeated & above all else they are professionals

Just because it's a great way to earn a living doesn't mean you don't get tired.

Living in airports, hotels, training or playing all day every day would be a grind and some of the players just didn't look interested in the result last night. It was entertainment for entertainments sake.

Booney wrote:

Mrs Boon is certainly over it.

Mr. Booney,
seeing she had had enough cricket i hope you tapped her on the shoulder

Was Tait's BBL form good enough to get in the T20. Time to get some new bowlers in I think. I would also be giving Smith a rest, particularly since he has had some niggles and with a trip to NZ coming up soon. I think Kuwarja's current form would have him in at 3. Head and Lynn's BBL form justified their spots I think.

I think with T20 it is time to revisit what constitutes a wide. With batsmen inventing all sorts of shots both sides of the wicket with fancy footwork, there is absolutely nothing in it for the bowler. The balance has gone too far the batsmen's way. You may as well just stand there and bowl underarm long hops.

And if we are going to have the BBL and International T20s in this season timeslot, with everything else going on, I think the ODI format has to go or have less of them. You can see that the players are now approaching it like an extended form of T20 where 300 runs is now just par. I wasn't so tuned in to watch all the ODIs this time round. Once upon a time, ODI was about rotating the strike to win. Now it is invariably becoming more of a slogfest. If this pattern continues, does the game need both a long form and a short from of the T20 mantra. Personally, I don't think so. Maybe you could save it for a World Cup format every 4 years.

The worst part about ODI's is the 15-35 over period where they nudge and nurdle around for 4-5 an over with no risk. That part of the game is killing it as a spectacle, has done for some time now. Watch the first 10 overs, mow the lawn, come in and watch the last 10-15. Sides are getting 50-60 in the first 10, 120-150 with no risk in the next 25-30 and 100+ in the last 10. No longer does 300 require a massive hundred from one player or all out attack.

T20's have also developed a "new ball period" ( it's only 20 overs!! ) where the players go hard in the power play and that time from the 6-14 over period where less "risk" is taken for them to "have a platform to launch from" ( excuse me while I vomit in my mouth ) for the final few overs.

In both forms something needs to be done to aid the bowlers. ODI's now use 2 balls, so the ball stays newer, but anyone who have played knows the harder the ball the easier it is to hit and score from.

The pitches need some juice in them. TV rights holders would do their best to ensure 100 overs of play to be televised but they are cutting their noses off to spite their face. Keep offering bat-a-thons and people will turn off or walk away.

Booney wrote:

bayman wrote:players jaded etc, fair dinkum we would all give our right arm to be good enough to play & would play at every opportunity, obviously there is more cricket on but what pays the players ? i'd suggest a huge % would be from tv rights.....if these players are jaded well we have no hope in the upcoming short NZ tour followed by the T20 world cup, last night India made a decent score & history will say sides batting second chasing anything over 180 will struggle if they lose early wickets & apart from the odd occasion not many teams go through undefeated & above all else they are professionals

Just because it's a great way to earn a living doesn't mean you don't get tired.

Living in airports, hotels, training or playing all day every day would be a grind and some of the players just didn't look interested in the result last night. It was entertainment for entertainments sake.

we ALL have days at work when the enthusiasm is down a bit but because we all have bills to pay (they charge too much for them too) & so forth we ALL just keep working.....same can be said for our cricket team, just get on with it & as for their training they don't train every day, yes they train a lot but not day in day out as has been suggested, i'll presume ''living in airports'' is the start of a wrongly worded sentence because they fly first class.......................i also take umbrage to the fact they looked 'disinterested' last night for two reasons (1) it was Australia Day & (2) it shows no respect for the Indian team & i'm surprised you watched it Mr Booney given the fact you call it ''t ball''

1 - There is no First Class from Sydney - Perth, Brisbane to Melbourne etc and you still need to be there well before the flight and it still takes as long as cattle class does to get there. Don't tell me a trip to the airport, flight and transport at the other end isn't taxing on you. It is.

2 - They have a session everyday....yes, everyday. Some are recovery sessions, some are strength and conditioning, whatever.

Don't for one minute misunderstand me here, I'd give my right gentleman's pickled onion to play cricket internationally.

As for being disinterested, they were, it's been a long summer and they wouldn't have lost any sleep over last nights loss.

T-ball, that's not what I call it, it has it's place. For me, 3 T20's a year with a visiting side is perfect. A whole generation of kids thinking a summer of cricket goes for a month, is played every night in pyjamas and it's got more flame throwers than a Wesley Snipes action film is not.

At least it is introduces the kids to the game, anyway.

''t-ball'' i'll apologise for that but i was positive i read you posted that at some stage.....at the bbl matches it is 95% of people that i've never seen at a shield match are at those games, most are young females or boys around the early teens which as you say introduces different people to the game....i've been at airports when the players have come off the plane first & their luggage is on the conveyor belt first, hence the first class comment, i still take umbrage at the disinterested comment for the above mentioned reasons, they definitely get days off.....taxing flight etc, it wasn't too taxing for Port in 2004

There's no doubt it's taxing on the players.

I'd be happy to be tired for the mega-dollars they're getting, though.

taxing...yep the plane taxis on the runway, the Government taxes them & they sit on a plane, read a book or whatever, no different to us ''mere mortals'' that ride on public transport on the way to work......obviously we'll be hearing that the travel factor was to blame when teams lose ''on the road'' this football season, while home ground is an advantage if your good enough, your good enough to win anywhere, anytime & the same goes for cricket where home ground (country) is most definitely an advantage, last night after a good start scoreboard pressure is what won it for India nothing more, nothing less

Is this a reason why Australia lost ?
The guys that batted 4-5-6 were playing for their spots in the team
Head
Lynn
Watson

Also ,those 3 players are all excellent players of fast bowling in the BBL
All 3 smash well
But not as good when facing spin

Head handles spin , but I think bashes faster bowlers better
Lynn appears to get stage fright when he faces spinners , but absolutely clobbers quick bowlers
Watson has some problems starting against slow bowlers at times , and needs to open the batting to show his best

Australia may well have won this game if Glenn BIG show flash max Maxwell was in the middle order

With a World Cup T20 coming up in India , its makes some sense to pick good players of spin , not good players in form

For example Chris Lynn deserves International 20/20 selection
He is a sensational hitter , one of the best Ive ever seen in 20/20 formats
However for India, or games against India I would pick someone like Alex Ross, who plays spin very well

Game 3
Shane Watson opened the batting !
124 not out off 71 balls

Travis Head can bash spin
26 off 19

India win the series 3-0

Why pick Lynn and bat him in the middle order? Waste of his talent for mind. Shaun Tait is done, bowls too many wides and ordinary deliveries and bleeds runs.

I think this T20 series has shown many of our players to be less creative than the Indian counterparts. I have thought that for a while. We have had only limited success in this format.

Up to now we have gone with a tried and tested format from the ODI game.
But now that the BBL has taken a strong toe-hold, other players have emerged that are very creative. But there still seems to be a reluctance to go with them.

Sure Watson scored a good ton, but he has hardly shown this previously and has been burdened in recent years with very suspect footwork. He isn't the future. Neither is Tait.

Really don't know why Khuwarja wasn't picked for the first 2. His form has been amazing in all forms.

Head and Lynn showed what can be done by being creative, but Lynn opened and Head was 3 in the BBL. Why not go with that?

But in game 3 our bowlers weren't smart at the death knoll. Half volleys, even wide ones ain't the thing to do.

You have to wonder about the programming of this, when blokes left for NZ half way through it. I think cricket scheduling is all to cock at the moment.