< 1 minute readEmbed from Getty Images Or at least it could be seen that way if Australia didn’t already have a Steve O’Keefe. Nathan Lyon still bowled like one though. You know that classic Steve O’Keefe thing; the one where you go to India and spin them out for under 200? Lyon
Continue readingCategory: Australia
A poor pitch? And Australia won?
< 1 minute readThe Pune pitch on which Australia beat India was rated poor on the grounds that it gave too much assistance to spinners. This is a paradox. Australia made 260 and 285. Australia did. Australia. Australia, with their leaden hands and their be-aggressive-but-patient-and-show-a-bit-of-mongrel-and-play-in-this-one-specific-way-but-find-your-own-method approach to facing spin bowling. They managed to
Continue readingAustralia and spin bowling – all of their problems are completely solved
< 1 minute readIt’s hard to see how India’s batsmen could possibly learn to play Steve O’Keefe any better than they did on the one occasion they’ve faced him. Compounding this is the 100 per cent true fact that they’ve already committed to playing on pitches identical to that used in the first
Continue readingThe experts say Steve O’Keefe doesn’t spin it enough
2 minute readTerry Jenner said that Steve O’Keefe bowled blancmanges. If you for some reason think that was intended as a compliment, O’Keefe himself recalls: “He’d just look at me in disgust about how putrid these things were that were coming out of my hand.” Jenner’s greatest protégé Shane Warne feels similarly.
Continue reading
Matt Renshaw retires hurt because of the wild shits
< 1 minute readMatt Renshaw might think that ‘while batting during day one of a Test match’ is the worst time to realise that you’ve been struck down by a case of the wild shits. All we’d say is at least it wasn’t the start of an overnight train journey with no hotel
Continue readingVideo: Mitchell Johnson playing tennis right-handed
< 1 minute readWell, looks like we’ve got to the bottom of that whole ‘bowl to the left, bowl to the right’ thing. Turns out Mitchell Johnson is right-handed. Here’s some expert coaching advice, Mitch: bowl with your other hand. Better late than never with these kinds of tips. You may already have
Continue readingWhat does Australia’s Test series win over Pakistan actually mean?
2 minute readDoes it amount to a hill of beans? A fell of discarded iPhone covers? A mountain of offcuts of plasterboard? Just before Christmas, we said that Pakistan are, essentially, a swing bowling side, and therefore pretty much always do terribly Down Under. There has been more to the series than
Continue readingDid Australia win or did Pakistan lose? YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE
< 1 minute readOne of the rules of cricket coverage is that Australia, England and India have results and the other teams are merely inactive participants. In 2016, India beat New Zealand, Australia lost to Sri Lanka, and England drew with Bangladesh. Technically, this also means that New Zealand lost to India, Sri
Continue readingDavid Warner’s “lean” 2016 in Test cricket
< 1 minute readSome of you may have both noticed and cared that David Warner was apparently having a relatively mediocre year before this Test. His 2016 one-day record is exceptional, but his long format returns had been little more than ‘all right’. Against Pakistan Warner edged a load and also became what
Continue readingMop-up of the last couple of days – Angelo Mathews still has work to do
< 1 minute readFor a good long while you could accurately gauge Sri Lanka’s score by whether or not Angelo Mathews was walking out to bat or not. If he was, they were 22-3. If he wasn’t, it was some other score. A couple of recent batting finds had encouraged the notion that
Continue reading