Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Juggy777]

Folks sitting at the top are not interested in the relegation system.

LOL.. this is the root cause of all the problems. Current system guarantees that once test status is provided, it can't be taken away. No matter how poorly a team performs, the test status remains with them. And this results in poor standards for test cricket. If teams are confident that even if they perform poorly nothing will happen to them, then why they should put that extra effort to improve their performance? And the biggest joke is that although the ICC has linked fund allocation to performance for the associate nations, they are refusing to implement the same with test nations.

BTW, Ashes is about to start in less than 2 months from now. IMO, this is the most premier series in test cricket and I would prefer to watch Ashes over BGT anytime of the day.

@Sithara007 Test cricket becomes interesting only when the big 4 play and thus it’s not a surprise that ICC doesn’t even bother to make changes in the current system. Also I too love watching the Ashes because of the history of this tournament and the epic rivalry that England and Australia share, however currently I feel that Australia will crush England if England player’s quit international cricket for Franchise cricket.

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[Sithara007]

@Sithara007 Test cricket becomes interesting only when the big 4 play and thus it’s not a surprise that ICC doesn’t even bother to make changes in the current system. Also I too love watching the Ashes because of the history of this tournament and the epic rivalry that England and Australia share, however currently I feel that Australia will crush England if England player’s quit international cricket for Franchise cricket.

We still don't know which players are currently involved in discussions with the IPL franchises. My guess is that it will be Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali and Jason Roy. Ben Stokes is currently captaining the England test side and his absence will be a big blow. For now, bowling won't be much impacted, since most of the workload will be handled by Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. There is no such threat for Australia. Their players always prefer playing for the country, over IPL contracts.

[JSRAW]

BTW, Ashes is about to start in less than 2 months from now. IMO, this is the most premier series in test cricket and I would prefer to watch Ashes over BGT anytime of the day.

If we are looking at the history then yeah, i'd agree with this statement but in the last decade, Ashes become an almost one-sided affair when compared to BGT. Aussie always spanks Poms in their backyard and the latter provide some entertainment when hosting the series.

That's not the case with the BGT anymore. The last 5 BGT series have been very competitive.

[Marvell1]

@Sithara007 Test cricket becomes interesting only when the big 4 play and thus it’s not a surprise that ICC doesn’t even bother to make changes in the current system. Also I too love watching the Ashes because of the history of this tournament and the epic rivalry that England and Australia share, however currently I feel that Australia will crush England if England player’s quit international cricket for Franchise cricket.

We still don't know which players are currently involved in discussions with the IPL franchises. My guess is that it will be Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali and Jason Roy. Ben Stokes is currently captaining the England test side and his absence will be a big blow. For now, bowling won't be much impacted, since most of the workload will be handled by Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. There is no such threat for Australia. Their players always prefer playing for the country, over IPL contracts.

This is a very unique situation. It is hard to come up with a solution, to be honest. If we put it in simple terms, basically the players want the money that they are getting from the IPL to be the exact same as what they get from the cricket board. But IPL is always going to pay a lot more. At least compared to the national cricket board.

I believe IPL has actually done this very well because they have recognized that they will have a better chance with the England players for this type of contract instead of the Australian players.

So they are trying to lure the England players in. They also know that if an England player does agree to this type of contract, probably Australian players will also follow in their footsteps. I believe right now nothing is certain.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

@Sithara007 Test cricket becomes interesting only when the big 4 play and thus it’s not a surprise that ICC doesn’t even bother to make changes in the current system. Also I too love watching the Ashes because of the history of this tournament and the epic rivalry that England and Australia share, however currently I feel that Australia will crush England if England player’s quit international cricket for Franchise cricket.

We still don't know which players are currently involved in discussions with the IPL franchises. My guess is that it will be Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali and Jason Roy. Ben Stokes is currently captaining the England test side and his absence will be a big blow. For now, bowling won't be much impacted, since most of the workload will be handled by Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. There is no such threat for Australia. Their players always prefer playing for the country, over IPL contracts.

This is a very unique situation. It is hard to come up with a solution, to be honest. If we put it in simple terms, basically the players want the money that they are getting from the IPL to be the exact same as what they get from the cricket board. But IPL is always going to pay a lot more. At least compared to the national cricket board.

I believe IPL has actually done this very well because they have recognized that they will have a better chance with the England players for this type of contract instead of the Australian players.

So they are trying to lure the England players in. They also know that if an England player does agree to this type of contract, probably Australian players will also follow in their footsteps. I believe right now nothing is certain.

Now everything is about money and we can see various players leaving their national teams and series over richy rich IPL. 
And that's how the world works now, IPL have been successful in bringing all top players from the world for cricket and have given pretty exciting matches to its fans from all over the globe.

[Sithara007]

If we are looking at the history then yeah, i'd agree with this statement but in the last decade, Ashes become an almost one-sided affair when compared to BGT. Aussie always spanks Poms in their backyard and the latter provide some entertainment when hosting the series.

That's not the case with the BGT anymore. The last 5 BGT series have been very competitive.

England's performance in test cricket has gone down over the years, while Australia was able to maintain their quality. I don't know the exact reason, as the quality of county cricket hasn't deteriorated. In fact county championship remains as one of the top 4-day domestic competitions around the world in terms of quality. One reason maybe England players prioritizing T20 over test format. England players prioritize money over national duty, while for the Australians it is the other way around (there will be some exceptions though).

[darewaller]

Now everything is about money and we can see various players leaving their national teams and series over richy rich IPL. 
And that's how the world works now, IPL have been successful in bringing all top players from the world for cricket and have given pretty exciting matches to its fans from all over the globe.

In last one decade things are getting changes which are surely beneficial for the players as now they are getting huge amounts from IPL but in International cricket we are having troubles as well which are surely creating mess-ups as well with this all organization like ICC is also having not suitable replacements for this all which is surely the biggest problem, or they don't want to bring changes because with this we can lose Big-4 power as well for the better future of this game we need a dialogue between all boards with having good changes and allowing more countries to be involved in this game.

WTC is surely good from ICC but in this still we need better share for many small boards instead of giving all power to big boards with ICC also needs to bring changes in revenue as well mean they must create system which helps them for increasing their revenue from test formats as well.

[JSRAW]

India Announced its team for WTC Final



I still do not understand why KL Rahul has been selected for this test playing squad. He is barely able to bat in any format of cricket now days. I feel the selectors had no choice left as Sheyas and Panth are both injured or they did not look for other players.

Update on WTC squad

-KL got injured and ruled out of the IPL and WTC finals. Blessing in disguise for Team and KL as well. Poor guy can't catch a break nowadays.
-Unadkat also got injured and is likely to be ruled out.
-Shardul and Umesh are not 100% fit, the jury is still out.

[pakhitheboss]

India Announced its team for WTC Final



I still do not understand why KL Rahul has been selected for this test playing squad. He is barely able to bat in any format of cricket now days. I feel the selectors had no choice left as Sheyas and Panth are both injured or they did not look for other players.

Update on WTC squad

-KL got injured and ruled out of the IPL and WTC finals. Blessing in disguise for Team and KL as well. Poor guy can't catch a break nowadays.
-Unadkat also got injured and is likely to be ruled out.
-Shardul and Umesh are not 100% fit, the jury is still out.

I am aware of it and I know this would seriously hamper our chance of winning the cup.   Who knows we won the 2007 T20 WC with a brand new team.

You might now say the format is different. I think a new team was required at the moment as that list has all of the non functional players that got proven from their past performance.

[JSRAW]

Update on WTC squad

-KL got injured and ruled out of the IPL and WTC finals. Blessing in disguise for Team and KL as well. Poor guy can't catch a break nowadays.
-Unadkat also got injured and is likely to be ruled out.
-Shardul and Umesh are not 100% fit, the jury is still out.

I am aware of it and I know this would seriously hamper our chance of winning the cup.   Who knows we won the 2007 T20 WC with a brand new team.

You might now say the format is different. I think a new team was required at the moment as that list has all of the non functional players that got proven from their past performance.

We were not winning it anyway lol. Let's see if Rohit stays fit, he's injury prone as well.

Ajinkya will walk into the playing XI so batting looks okay on paper. The bowling department looks tricky to me now as 5th bowler is missing.

2007 is a distant memory but we do have an excellent example of (2021 BGT) Melbourne, Sydney and Gabba.

[pakhitheboss]

We were not winning it anyway lol. Let's see if Rohit stays fit, he's injury prone as well.

Ajinkya will walk into the playing XI so batting looks okay on paper. The bowling department looks tricky to me now as 5th bowler is missing.

2007 is a distant memory but we do have an excellent example of (2021 BGT) Melbourne, Sydney and Gabba.

Who knows who will win? Let's wait for the test match to start first.

Rohit Sharma has already lost his form which is more concerning. I guess if he gets injured, the selectors have to completely restructure the team. I am waiting for the BCCI to come up with a replacement.

About Jaydev Unadkat they are saying that he might be fit by that time. If he is not then I think looking at his present performance in the IPL Ishant Sharma can replace him.

For KL Rahul I expect out of these four players one might get this golden opportunity. Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan & Vihari. I have major doubts about Sarfaraz Khan looking at his present performance but Bengal Cricket Board has been lobbying hard for this guy and Dada too.

[Sithara007]

Who knows who will win? Let's wait for the test match to start first.

Rohit Sharma has already lost his form which is more concerning. I guess if he gets injured, the selectors have to completely restructure the team. I am waiting for the BCCI to come up with a replacement.

About Jaydev Unadkat they are saying that he might be fit by that time. If he is not then I think looking at his present performance in the IPL Ishant Sharma can replace him.

For KL Rahul I expect out of these four players one might get this golden opportunity. Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan & Vihari. I have major doubts about Sarfaraz Khan looking at his present performance but Bengal Cricket Board has been lobbying hard for this guy and Dada too.

The biggest blow for India is going to be the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. None of the bowlers listed here can match him in pace. Shami and Siraj are much slower and the latter is far more inconsistent when compared with Bumrah. I am happy about the spin options. The good thing about the spin trio (Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel) is that all of them can bat in middle order. One of my concerns is regarding the wicket-keeper. KS Bharat is quite inexperienced and he may struggle in overseas conditions with his batting.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

About Jaydev Unadkat they are saying that he might be fit by that time. If he is not then I think looking at his present performance in the IPL Ishant Sharma can replace him.

For KL Rahul I expect out of these four players one might get this golden opportunity. Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan & Vihari. I have major doubts about Sarfaraz Khan looking at his present performance but Bengal Cricket Board has been lobbying hard for this guy and Dada too.

Ishant Sharma is semi retired so I'd be very surprised if he makes a comeback for one off test as for bowlers T-20 fitness is very different from the test fitness because in the latter situation, you have to bowl 15-20 overs every day. 

Getting a spot in the squad and playing XI is not an easy task. Rahane now definitely playing the test. There is an argument that you don't expose debutants to tough alien conditions so both Gaikwad and Sarfaraz's selection look dicey to me.

[romero121]

Who knows who will win? Let's wait for the test match to start first.

Rohit Sharma has already lost his form which is more concerning. I guess if he gets injured, the selectors have to completely restructure the team. I am waiting for the BCCI to come up with a replacement.

About Jaydev Unadkat they are saying that he might be fit by that time. If he is not then I think looking at his present performance in the IPL Ishant Sharma can replace him.

For KL Rahul I expect out of these four players one might get this golden opportunity. Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan & Vihari. I have major doubts about Sarfaraz Khan looking at his present performance but Bengal Cricket Board has been lobbying hard for this guy and Dada too.

The biggest blow for India is going to be the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. None of the bowlers listed here can match him in pace. Shami and Siraj are much slower and the latter is far more inconsistent when compared with Bumrah. I am happy about the spin options. The good thing about the spin trio (Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel) is that all of them can bat in middle order. One of my concerns is regarding the wicket-keeper. KS Bharat is quite inexperienced and he may struggle in overseas conditions with his batting.

For a long Bharat have been added to the test squad as a replacement for Wriddhiman Saha. Finally this year he made his debut debut against Australia. As said he hasn't got overseas experience. Anyhow he is the pick and he needs to perform to get his name added to the upcoming matches. Absence of Bumrah is a big drawback for India, however it is possible to manage with Shami and Siraj, as the spin unit good to play overseas matches. The team having the spinners with batting ability is an advantage, as they can manage depending upon the performance between the bowling and batting.

[Sithara007]

Ishant Sharma is semi retired so I'd be very surprised if he makes a comeback for one off test as for bowlers T-20 fitness is very different from the test fitness because in the latter situation, you have to bowl 15-20 overs every day.  

Getting a spot in the squad and playing XI is not an easy task. Rahane now definitely playing the test. There is an argument that you don't expose debutants to tough alien conditions so both Gaikwad and Sarfaraz's selection look dicey to me.

Ishant may get the selection, because he has a good track record in England. In that case Umesh Yadav will be benched and the pace attack will be taken care by Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur/Ishant. Spin selection will be more interesting. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja may be the first preference spinners, which would imply that Axar Patel need to sit out. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan and Ishan Kishan are stand by players. This means that they will get an opportunity only if more than one player in the regular squad gets injured.

[JSRAW]

Ishant Sharma is semi retired so I'd be very surprised if he makes a comeback for one off test as for bowlers T-20 fitness is very different from the test fitness because in the latter situation, you have to bowl 15-20 overs every day.  

Getting a spot in the squad and playing XI is not an easy task. Rahane now definitely playing the test. There is an argument that you don't expose debutants to tough alien conditions so both Gaikwad and Sarfaraz's selection look dicey to me.

Ishant may get the selection, because he has a good track record in England. In that case Umesh Yadav will be benched and the pace attack will be taken care by Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur/Ishant. Spin selection will be more interesting. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja may be the first preference spinners, which would imply that Axar Patel need to sit out. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan and Ishan Kishan are stand by players. This means that they will get an opportunity only if more than one player in the regular squad gets injured.

Now i have virtually no idea about bowling combinations even if Ishant finds the place in the playing XI or Squad, although I do have my doubts on his selection.

Oval is typically not famous for quick wickets, it's a bit on the slow side so ideally it should be 2 seams + 1 seam All rounder + 2 spin allrounders attack, if Thakur is a match fit then it's all good.

Ofc the combination might change, in case of overcast conditions.

[Vaskiy]

We were not winning it anyway lol. Let's see if Rohit stays fit, he's injury prone as well.

Ajinkya will walk into the playing XI so batting looks okay on paper. The bowling department looks tricky to me now as 5th bowler is missing.

2007 is a distant memory but we do have an excellent example of (2021 BGT) Melbourne, Sydney and Gabba.

Who knows who will win? Let's wait for the test match to start first.

Rohit Sharma has already lost his form which is more concerning. I guess if he gets injured, the selectors have to completely restructure the team. I am waiting for the BCCI to come up with a replacement.

About Jaydev Unadkat they are saying that he might be fit by that time. If he is not then I think looking at his present performance in the IPL Ishant Sharma can replace him.

For KL Rahul I expect out of these four players one might get this golden opportunity. Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan & Vihari. I have major doubts about Sarfaraz Khan looking at his present performance but Bengal Cricket Board has been lobbying hard for this guy and Dada too.

The inclusion in the place of Rahul seems to be Sarfaraz Khan who had been good in the recent Ranji trophies. He had scored 1910 runs with an average of 136 scoring seven centuries and 11 fifties. As he isn't added to the squad, he could've got lined up for the upcoming test matches after WTC final against Australia.

[Sithara007]

Ishant Sharma is semi retired so I'd be very surprised if he makes a comeback for one off test as for bowlers T-20 fitness is very different from the test fitness because in the latter situation, you have to bowl 15-20 overs every day.  

Getting a spot in the squad and playing XI is not an easy task. Rahane now definitely playing the test. There is an argument that you don't expose debutants to tough alien conditions so both Gaikwad and Sarfaraz's selection look dicey to me.

Ishant may get the selection, because he has a good track record in England. In that case Umesh Yadav will be benched and the pace attack will be taken care by Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur/Ishant. Spin selection will be more interesting. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja may be the first preference spinners, which would imply that Axar Patel need to sit out. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan and Ishan Kishan are stand by players. This means that they will get an opportunity only if more than one player in the regular squad gets injured.

Now i have virtually no idea about bowling combinations even if Ishant finds the place in the playing XI or Squad, although I do have my doubts on his selection.

Oval is typically not famous for quick wickets, it's a bit on the slow side so ideally it should be 2 seams + 1 seam All rounder + 2 spin allrounders attack, if Thakur is a match fit then it's all good.

Ofc the combination might change, in case of overcast conditions.

In case of overcast conditions, do you think that they will include another pace bowler in place of a spin allrounder? I don't think so. I agree with your prediction of 2 seamers (Mohammad Shami/Mohammed Siraj) + 1 seam All rounder (Shardul Thakur) + 2 spin allrounders (Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja). I am not very hopeful of Ishant's inclusion. If he needs to be included, then Siraj needs to be dropped (or he can replace Shardul). Anyway, I am more curious about Sarfaraz Khan replacing KL Rahul.

[JSRAW]

Now i have virtually no idea about bowling combinations even if Ishant finds the place in the playing XI or Squad, although I do have my doubts on his selection.

Oval is typically not famous for quick wickets, it's a bit on the slow side so ideally it should be 2 seams + 1 seam All rounder + 2 spin allrounders attack, if Thakur is a match fit then it's all good.

Ofc the combination might change, in case of overcast conditions.

In case of overcast conditions, do you think that they will include another pace bowler in place of a spin allrounder? I don't think so. I agree with your prediction of 2 seamers (Mohammad Shami/Mohammed Siraj) + 1 seam All rounder (Shardul Thakur) + 2 spin allrounders (Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja). I am not very hopeful of Ishant's inclusion. If he needs to be included, then Siraj needs to be dropped (or he can replace Shardul). Anyway, I am more curious about Sarfaraz Khan replacing KL Rahul.

Traditional wisdom says that they should but the problem is who would you choose in the current situation of injuries. You can airdrop inexperienced seamers if you want but exposing them in alien conditions for just 1 test is not ideal. If it was 3-5 test match series then it makes sense otherwise it's a bit risky.

Same explanation for any new batters like Sarfaraz etc. You can add em to the squad but finding their name on the roaster is tough.

[Sithara007]

Traditional wisdom says that they should but the problem is who would you choose in the current situation of injuries. You can airdrop inexperienced seamers if you want but exposing them in alien conditions for just 1 test is not ideal. If it was 3-5 test match series then it makes sense otherwise it's a bit risky.

Same explanation for any new batters like Sarfaraz etc. You can add em to the squad but finding their name on the roaster is tough.

Sarfaraz Khan is just 25 years old, but looking at his style of play I get an impression that he is well past his prime. He tried his luck in the IPL (despite the fact that he is not comfortable in T20 format) and in the end it did no good to his career. But I agree with your argument. I don't expect any test debuts during the WTC final at the Oval. It is going to be tough for both the sides. Australia is the only team that can challenge the Indians in test format. But their captain doesn't have the ability to motivate the team or to keep the morale high. I would have preferred Steve Smith instead of the useless Pat Cummins.