Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[fuguebtc]

All three test matches ended in just 3 days. England had a good comeback in this series. After a disappointing start the English bowlers destroyed the South African batter in next two test match. I was expecting the last match to go on for till the end od day 5th but due to rain I knew it wouldn't.

England pitches are deadly and they are ideal for test cricket unlike rest of the world. In England we don't usually have a draw. The last test match is historic in a sense that first two days play was washed but still the match comes to a result in almost 2 days. Poor show of batting from South Africa in this test.

If you analysis the three test matches, you will find that all of these matches were won by a big margin.

The first test at lord, South Africa won by an innings and 12 runs. The second test at Manchester, England won by an innings and 85 runs. Finally, the third test at Oval, England again won by big margin that is with 9 wickets.

I just thinking why in every test one team plays a lot better than the other team and the margin for victory is too big for the matches resulting in less interesting matches.

There is really no way I can explain why the pitches in England have started to behave in this manner. There was a time not so long ago when England pitches were preferred for competitive matches against the side of their opponents. But in recent times that has not been the case. We can clearly see that almost all three matches have been one-sided in one way or another. And that has certainly taken the fun away from the test series. I really do not want anything special. The only thing I want to see is competitive cricket on a regular basis. I am not a fan of anything that is one-sided in any way.

[n0ne]

85℅ people predicted the match between South Africa and England to be a draw
 But in an instant he changed his mind England's bowler England bowler bowled very well England's baller was great their pace of the ball was confusing South Africa time and time again South Africa's batting was not very clear so they have to accept defeat

South Africa should've performed better in the second innings. In the first innings both teams had the similar performance. The match could've got closer if it have set a target of 250+ runs. England had a clear plan on their second innings, thats why they were able to make the comeback in a very strong manner.

[Sithara007]

South Africa should've performed better in the second innings. In the first innings both teams had the similar performance. The match could've got closer if it have set a target of 250+ runs. England had a clear plan on their second innings, thats why they were able to make the comeback in a very strong manner.

South Africa was competitive only because of the pace-friendly conditions. They had the ideal pace combination (Rabada-Ngidi-Jansen-Nortje), while the Poms were overdependent on James Anderson and Stuart Broad. On top of that, South African lower order batsmen managed to score valuable runs when it mattered the most. But in the second test they did a big mistake by bringing in Simon Harmer. I don't understand the logic. They dropped Marco Jansen, who was performing exceptionally, to accommodate a spinner, and that too on a pace friendly track.

[JSRAW]

Update
South Africa took a hit in this series and lost more than 11 points. Next 3 teams must be licking their fingers and it won't be wrong because they can now fancy their chances, all thanks to this series. Especially India and Pakistan as they have 2 series left.

In my opinion, India and Pakistan have a good chance of winning. There is no way Bangladesh has a chance for sure.
However, I had expected New Zealand to perform better than it did. Especially as they are the world's test championship winner. As a result of winning the test world championship, the performance of New Zealand gradually deteriorated.

It is expected that India and Pakistan will try their best to have a better performance in the next matches as well. There is also the fact that the t20 world cup is just around the corner. As a result, the teams are going to be focusing a lot more on that aspect. Test cricket is losing its popularity but as long as it is alive I think the bigger teams are going to be the ones who are actually interested in it.

WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

[DanWalker]

~snip~

WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

It is my belief that the subcontinental teams have no chance of winning this competition and I believe that they will lose. There are two countries at the top of the table, Australia and South Africa. They have the best chances of being selected as finalists, in my opinion.

There is a close relationship between Pakistan and India, but I do not think they have a good chance of winning. In other words, they don't have a very good chance against bigger opponents like England or South Africa if they are playing outside the subcontinent. However, I would not rule out the possibility that India could be a serious contender.

[onecall123]

Update
South Africa took a hit in this series and lost more than 11 points. Next 3 teams must be licking their fingers and it won't be wrong because they can now fancy their chances, all thanks to this series. Especially India and Pakistan as they have 2 series left.

In my opinion, India and Pakistan have a good chance of winning. There is no way Bangladesh has a chance for sure.
However, I had expected New Zealand to perform better than it did. Especially as they are the world's test championship winner. As a result of winning the test world championship, the performance of New Zealand gradually deteriorated.

It is expected that India and Pakistan will try their best to have a better performance in the next matches as well. There is also the fact that the t20 world cup is just around the corner. As a result, the teams are going to be focusing a lot more on that aspect. Test cricket is losing its popularity but as long as it is alive I think the bigger teams are going to be the ones who are actually interested in it.

WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

Is there a reason why the finals are always held in England? Although the weather in England is unpredictable and rain is always present, the WTC Final is always scheduled there despite the fact that it is unpredictable there. Furthermore, any SENA country will have a significant advantage over the subcontinent team in Lord's.  

World cup tournaments should not be held in England again and again. One more dampener on our excitement would be unwelcome.

[Sithara007]

Australia and South Africa are still at the top of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship League table. It is too early to make any conclusions, but England doesn't look to be in a very healthy position. The same can be said about the defending champs, who are at the 8th position. At this point, India is at the 4th position and I am sure that they will be looking forward to improve their ranking. For India, the next series is going to be against Bangladesh, by the end of this year. After that they have the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, sometime in February 2023.

[JSRAW]

~snip~
WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

Is there a reason why the finals are always held in England? Although the weather in England is unpredictable and rain is always present, the WTC Final is always scheduled there despite the fact that it is unpredictable there. Furthermore, any SENA country will have a significant advantage over the subcontinent team in Lord's.  

World cup tournaments should not be held in England again and again. One more dampener on our excitement would be unwelcome.

I don't know the exact reasons or how they actually choose the venue for WTC. WTC is still a new setup so there is some hope that in the future venue process will go through changes (Rotation basis), just like other ICC tournaments.

Lord's has a historic factor in cricket so we can assume that's the main reason.

[Juggy777]

~snip~
WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

Is there a reason why the finals are always held in England? Although the weather in England is unpredictable and rain is always present, the WTC Final is always scheduled there despite the fact that it is unpredictable there. Furthermore, any SENA country will have a significant advantage over the subcontinent team in Lord's.  

World cup tournaments should not be held in England again and again. One more dampener on our excitement would be unwelcome.

I don't know the exact reasons or how they actually choose the venue for WTC. WTC is still a new setup so there is some hope that in the future venue process will go through changes (Rotation basis), just like other ICC tournaments.

Lord's has a historic factor in cricket so we can assume that's the main reason.

@JSRAW I believe that India or Pakistan can definitely beat any team in Lord’s, because these two team’s have the caliber to beat any opponent irrespective of where they’re playing. Furthermore you’re correct, because I too feel that Lord being an important ground ICC is keen to grow support for this tournament by scheduling the finals there, and then they’ll start scheduling it in other countries once this tournament’s fan base grows.

[WatChe]

Australia and South Africa are still at the top of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship League table. It is too early to make any conclusions, but England doesn't look to be in a very healthy position. The same can be said about the defending champs, who are at the 8th position. At this point, India is at the 4th position and I am sure that they will be looking forward to improve their ranking. For India, the next series is going to be against Bangladesh, by the end of this year. After that they have the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, sometime in February 2023.

I am reading about WTC here quite often. ICC introduced this to increase interest in test but I don't think anyone watch test cricket from the prospective of WTC. Most of us still see scorecard at the end of day. Right now there is no team that is consistent in test as focus is shifting to T20I and leagues.

[JSRAW]

@JSRAW I believe that India or Pakistan can definitely beat any team in Lord’s, because these two team’s have the caliber to beat any opponent irrespective of where they’re playing. Furthermore you’re correct, because I too feel that Lord being an important ground ICC is keen to grow support for this tournament by scheduling the finals there, and then they’ll start scheduling it in other countries once this tournament’s fan base grows.

Pakistan play nice at Lord's, also Pakistan's record is marginally better than India when playing at Lord's.

India is a strong test outfit but for some reason, they always mess things up with the selections. I still remember the selection blunder in the WTC finals and after that how our batters shit their bed in 2nd inning against the Kiwis.

[Sithara007]

Australia and South Africa are still at the top of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship League table. It is too early to make any conclusions, but England doesn't look to be in a very healthy position. The same can be said about the defending champs, who are at the 8th position. At this point, India is at the 4th position and I am sure that they will be looking forward to improve their ranking. For India, the next series is going to be against Bangladesh, by the end of this year. After that they have the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, sometime in February 2023.

I am reading about WTC here quite often. ICC introduced this to increase interest in test but I don't think anyone watch test cricket from the prospective of WTC. Most of us still see scorecard at the end of day. Right now there is no team that is consistent in test as focus is shifting to T20I and leagues.

I agree. WTC, as well as the ODI Super League hasn't been followed keenly by the cricket fans. A competition that stretches for 2-3 years is not palatable for most of them and they remember about the WTC only at the time of the finals. All that said, in my opinion the world test championship has done very little to renew interest in the longer format. The main issues remain the same and fans get frustrated when matches end up in draw after playing for 5 days. One sided matches involving teams such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has done little to help test cricket.

[DanWalker]

~snip~
WTC Final is scheduled in the Lord's again so there is hardly any chance of the subcontinent team winning there if they are up against any SENA countries, most probably Australia or South Africa. They could win if they bring their top effort but it's true for every team.

If these finals are taking place in the subcontinent then there is a very good chance that India will win against any SENA. Pakistan is an unpredicted team so hard to comment but fact is ICC is not considering any final here.

Is there a reason why the finals are always held in England? Although the weather in England is unpredictable and rain is always present, the WTC Final is always scheduled there despite the fact that it is unpredictable there. Furthermore, any SENA country will have a significant advantage over the subcontinent team in Lord's.  

World cup tournaments should not be held in England again and again. One more dampener on our excitement would be unwelcome.

I don't know the exact reasons or how they actually choose the venue for WTC. WTC is still a new setup so there is some hope that in the future venue process will go through changes (Rotation basis), just like other ICC tournaments.

Lord's has a historic factor in cricket so we can assume that's the main reason.

Honestly, I also don't have any clear idea about why the WTC final is held in England. The only reason which probably makes a little sense is maybe England being one of the best test cricket-playing nations and also one of the biggest admirers of test cricket.

But a lot of people can sense a lot of conspiracy behind this decision. A lot of people think that the teams in the Asian region or especially India is a great test cricket nations and they took this decision so that India does not have a good chance of winning. But I don't think that is the case. But at the same time, I also don't see any credible reason as well.

[Sithara007]

Honestly, I also don't have any clear idea about why the WTC final is held in England. The only reason which probably makes a little sense is maybe England being one of the best test cricket-playing nations and also one of the biggest admirers of test cricket.

But a lot of people can sense a lot of conspiracy behind this decision. A lot of people think that the teams in the Asian region or especially India is a great test cricket nations and they took this decision so that India does not have a good chance of winning. But I don't think that is the case. But at the same time, I also don't see any credible reason as well.

Lord's is being considered by many as the home of cricket and that maybe the reason.

IMO, WTC finals should be hosted by one of the two participating nations. For example, if the final is being played between Australia and South Africa, how interested would be the English fans in that particular match? I would rather prefer the match being played at the SCG or Kingsmead. But then there is the issue with host nation preparing a pitch to suit their team. And this can happen if the final is being played between a SENA nation, and a team from the Indian subcontinent.

[rugrats]

@JSRAW I believe that India or Pakistan can definitely beat any team in Lord’s, because these two team’s have the caliber to beat any opponent irrespective of where they’re playing. Furthermore you’re correct, because I too feel that Lord being an important ground ICC is keen to grow support for this tournament by scheduling the finals there, and then they’ll start scheduling it in other countries once this tournament’s fan base grows.

Pakistan play nice at Lord's, also Pakistan's record is marginally better than India when playing at Lord's.

India is a strong test outfit but for some reason, they always mess things up with the selections. I still remember the selection blunder in the WTC finals and after that how our batters shit their bed in 2nd inning against the Kiwis.

This is going to be a  really interesting match between two interesting teams. I think that past records won't really play a big role in this game because these kinds of matches are always quite unpredictable And depend on who plays better on game day. But over the last few years, both the teams have been playing with good in test cricket so I'm hoping for an interesting game.

[Naficopa]

@JSRAW I believe that India or Pakistan can definitely beat any team in Lord’s, because these two team’s have the caliber to beat any opponent irrespective of where they’re playing. Furthermore you’re correct, because I too feel that Lord being an important ground ICC is keen to grow support for this tournament by scheduling the finals there, and then they’ll start scheduling it in other countries once this tournament’s fan base grows.

Pakistan play nice at Lord's, also Pakistan's record is marginally better than India when playing at Lord's.

India is a strong test outfit but for some reason, they always mess things up with the selections. I still remember the selection blunder in the WTC finals and after that how our batters shit their bed in 2nd inning against the Kiwis.

This is going to be a  really interesting match between two interesting teams. I think that past records won't really play a big role in this game because these kinds of matches are always quite unpredictable And depend on who plays better on game day. But over the last few years, both the teams have been playing with good in test cricket so I'm hoping for an interesting game.

After 17 years England team has arrived in Pakistan.
Pakistan has a great love for cricket and they welcome all the teams with big hearts and make the player feel so special.
I would like to see how these matches roll.

[SirLancelot]

Lord's is being considered by many as the home of cricket and that maybe the reason.

IMO, WTC finals should be hosted by one of the two participating nations. For example, if the final is being played between Australia and South Africa, how interested would be the English fans in that particular match? I would rather prefer the match being played at the SCG or Kingsmead. But then there is the issue with host nation preparing a pitch to suit their team. And this can happen if the final is being played between a SENA nation, and a team from the Indian subcontinent.

Surely play at Lord's is always amazing atmosphere for all teams, and now we have second final in 2023 as first was played at Southampton due to Corona restrictions here you concern is right mostly host nations take good advantage and prepare pitch for their own which helps them, but now I will be happy if we have final between Australia vs India because two top quality teams are fighting hard for their first title on English soil what a moment even things could be in Australian favor but still this is going to be good match with both are having good level in bowling and batting at neutral place and pitch is also favorable for both teams with most chances this is going to be good for Australia.

[JSRAW]

^^ Australia, New Zealand and South Africa playing against any Subcontinent country in England is hardly a neutral venue as their home conditions are more or less same and favor the pacers.

It's like all these countries playing against India in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or the subcontinent and we are calling that it's a neutral venue.

[DanWalker]

Honestly, I also don't have any clear idea about why the WTC final is held in England. The only reason which probably makes a little sense is maybe England being one of the best test cricket-playing nations and also one of the biggest admirers of test cricket.

But a lot of people can sense a lot of conspiracy behind this decision. A lot of people think that the teams in the Asian region or especially India is a great test cricket nations and they took this decision so that India does not have a good chance of winning. But I don't think that is the case. But at the same time, I also don't see any credible reason as well.

Lord's is being considered by many as the home of cricket and that maybe the reason.

IMO, WTC finals should be hosted by one of the two participating nations. For example, if the final is being played between Australia and South Africa, how interested would be the English fans in that particular match? I would rather prefer the match being played at the SCG or Kingsmead. But then there is the issue with host nation preparing a pitch to suit their team. And this can happen if the final is being played between a SENA nation, and a team from the Indian subcontinent.

As a result, if one of the two countries participating in the final is the host of the final match, the match is not going to be neutral. In the event that the field is being prepared by another country, they will do their best to keep things as neutral as possible. There is a possibility that this will not be the case when one of the two finalists is going to be responsible for preparing the field and pitch for the game. The curators are also going to be biased. The choice of having a neutral venue is therefore one that I think is a good one.

However, the question that remains is, why England?

[Sithara007]

As a result, if one of the two countries participating in the final is the host of the final match, the match is not going to be neutral. In the event that the field is being prepared by another country, they will do their best to keep things as neutral as possible. There is a possibility that this will not be the case when one of the two finalists is going to be responsible for preparing the field and pitch for the game. The curators are also going to be biased. The choice of having a neutral venue is therefore one that I think is a good one.

However, the question that remains is, why England?

There can be a solution that is acceptable for both the sides. The toss should be given to the visitors. That will take away some advantage from the hosts. If the ICC wants these matches to be really neutral, then I agree that it should be played in a third country. And England would make the perfect choice, since it has the oldest cricket clubs and rich cricketing history. Now the question is how interested are the fans. Back in 2021, there was some interest from the fans, only because India was participating. If India is not there, then I don't think that this championship will attract much interest.