Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[ragavancoin]

It was a disappointing match for England, after all the hard work they put in to bowl out South Africa for less than 300 in both the innings. The decision by Joe Root, to send South Africa to bat first was wrong. They should have batted first and built a score around 300. Anyway, the next match will start on 3rd January and England may be still hoping to win the series and improve their ranking in the ICC Test Championship table.

Yes bro really it is disappointing performance from England team because England has got very good stated in 2nd innings and I was thought England will win test match without any trouble and stop wasting the score but after few hours later I checked score really  it was very disappointed me because i was my both bets.

[ene1980]

Yes bro really it is disappointing performance from England team because England has got very good stated in 2nd innings and I was thought England will win test match without any trouble and stop wasting the score

Did you mean that you stopped watching the match after England got a good start?

but after few hours later I checked score really  it was very disappointed me because i was my both bets.

I did not understand this part, you lost both bets means, what all bets, did you made a parlay?

England players are struggling with injury and other health concerns and the second Test should be interesting as i am expecting some changes in the English side. Australia New Zealand, expecting nothing but a domination by Australia.

[Sithara007]

England players are struggling with injury and other health concerns and the second Test should be interesting as i am expecting some changes in the English side. Australia New Zealand, expecting nothing but a domination by Australia.

With Jofra Archer back in form, England should be able to put up a better fight for the second test. He went for too many runs, but managed to pick up 5 wickets in the second innings. All the other bowlers have performed well for England. However, their batting is not looking as strong as it should have been. They need to convert their 50s to 100s, and so far in the tour, none of the top order or middle order batsmen has succeeded in doing that for England.

BTW, the South Africa team selection is back to controversies again:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/28394555/pieter-malan-backed-cape-town-debut-transformation-pressures

The politicians are saying that the team which defeated England in the first test had only one black player. Now they have added another African (Temba Bavuma) and a colored (Keegan Petersen) player to the squad for the second test. Bavuma is still recovering from injury and may not be 100% fit, but it will be interesting to know who are the two white players going to get kicked out of the playing XI.

[JSRAW]

Oh well, ICC pitching the idea of 4 day tests. They do have some solid points behind this though, let's see how international community (Cricketers) reacts on it in coming days.

ICC to consider mandatory four-day Tests

I honestly usually watch test matches through their highlights which is why I don't really care whether it goes on for 4 or 5 days. Test enthusiasts might have a problem with this though.

Arguments from both sides should have some value. ICC making his case okay i suppose by tossing ball into every cricket board's court. i didn't noticed  much outcry about this yet from the experts (except few), fans are not happy though. 

[Haunebu]

There will be a time in the future where club cricket will be more audience friendly than national tournaments as all the cricket boards are trying to start their own franchise cricket which means they are planning to go the route of soccer where club soccer is more audience friendly and then they have the world cup and Euro tournaments other than that there are only friendly matches and mostly they will have sending second string players.

Its already happening. IPL has become far more popular when compared to many big tournaments at present and more will probably follow in the near future.

However, their batting is not looking as strong as it should have been. They need to convert their 50s to 100s, and so far in the tour, none of the top order or middle order batsmen has succeeded in doing that for England.

This is the biggest problem with their team currently. They are focused on maintaining their high strike rate due to which they get out quickly. They need to adapt themselves to every format in a better manner.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Arguments from both sides should have some value. ICC making his case okay i suppose by tossing ball into every cricket board's court. i didn't noticed  much outcry about this yet from the experts (except few), fans are not happy though. 

Nowadays the tracks are getting more and more batsmen friendly and scores in excess of 500 are very common in subcontinental test matches. Now limiting the days/overs to 4/360 may be a good idea in countries such as England and Australia, but it is going to increase the proportion of drawn matches in India, Pakistan.etc. Another issue is that rain interruption is increasing in frequency and with climate change worsening, a lot of the matches are getting washed away. Reducing the duration to 4 days may negatively impact such matches.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

This is the biggest problem with their team currently. They are focused on maintaining their high strike rate due to which they get out quickly. They need to adapt themselves to every format in a better manner.

The high strike rate is one thing and the problem with players like Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler who are stroke players are finding it difficult to adapt to Test matches while similar stroke players like Virender Sehwag and David Warner were successful in adapting easily and the difference is that these players had solid defense but the England players are neglecting the defense part and trying for strokes every ball and in Test matches you cannot be successful.

[JSRAW]

This is the biggest problem with their team currently. They are focused on maintaining their high strike rate due to which they get out quickly. They need to adapt themselves to every format in a better manner.

The high strike rate is one thing and the problem with players like Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler who are stroke players are finding it difficult to adapt to Test matches while similar stroke players like Virender Sehwag and David Warner were successful in adapting easily and the difference is that these players had solid defense but the England players are neglecting the defense part and trying for strokes every ball and in Test matches you cannot be successful.

I do agree with you on some part if its hypothetical scenario otherwise i would like to point out very important factor which is the most crucial point. Sehwag and Warner were/are openers in the Test format and Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos buttler are not.

In case if you want to judge or compare them then pick middle order batsmen.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

~snip
I do agree with you on some part if its hypothetical scenario otherwise i would like to point out very important factor which is the most crucial point. Sehwag and Warner were/are openers in the Test format and Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos buttler are not.

In case if you want to judge or compare them then pick middle order batsmen.

Virender Sehwag started his Test career as a middle order batsman and he was playing for Delhi as a lower order batsman and Sourav Ganguly experimented him as an opener because of his stroke and it became an instant success, first in the ODI and then later on in Test matches and he went on to become one of the most successful Test openers India ever had with two triple centuries to his name, if you want middle order aggressive batsman in Test Adam Gilchrist is the perfect example as he had a solid defense and an attacking style.

[Sithara007]

The high strike rate is one thing and the problem with players like Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler who are stroke players are finding it difficult to adapt to Test matches while similar stroke players like Virender Sehwag and David Warner were successful in adapting easily and the difference is that these players had solid defense but the England players are neglecting the defense part and trying for strokes every ball and in Test matches you cannot be successful.

It is surprising, because all these players came from the English county cricket system and it is probably the only domestic setup in the world which gives more focus to 4-day cricket, rather than 50-over or 20-over matches. Players such as Jonny Bairstow have almost 200 first class games to their name, and you may not notice this for players from some other country, such as Pakistan or South Africa. So ideally they should not face any issues in transforming to the longer format. But that is not the case, as your post confirms.

[Murat]

It's nice to see that team Australia has come back strongly in the Test arena, I think this team deserve to be the best team in the longer version aspect, They have a compact team in every segment both Bowling and Batting, after joining both Smith and Warner they are just like flying, I believe that Australia will win the test championship, I am very excited to enjoy India's tour of Australia, I think that series would be the vital factor for both Team, certainly, This coming series will be a huge competitive and exciting.

[JSRAW]

Oh well, ICC pitching the idea of 4 day tests. They do have some solid points behind this though, let's see how international community (Cricketers) reacts on it in coming days.

ICC to consider mandatory four-day Tests

Follow back on 4 day tests, this time statements coming from ECB and they seem to be agree to this idea.

Main points from their perspective
1. Yes, its controversial but it might help with "complex scheduling" and "player workloads"-
2. Free time -30/40 days a year-
3. Buzzword -Lets face it Test cricket is dying-

England and Wales Cricket Board 'cautiously' supports four-day Tests

[Last of the V8s]

Happy New Year to all god-fearing cricket-loving fellows too. I've been lurking here a while, and it's an honour to read your reports and discussions, the standard of which is pretty damn high.
I confess to not reading every single word, but sometimes just the gist
So thank you and may your god go with you.

[JSRAW]

Happy New Year to all god-fearing cricket-loving fellows too. I've been lurking here a while, and it's an honour to read your reports and discussions, the standard of which is pretty damn high.
I confess to not reading every single word, but sometimes just the gist
So thank you and may your god go with you.

^^ You too v8
We have tiny community here as compared to other sports so everyone try to contribute. its not perfect but we are heading on right direction. Feel free to stop by and say hi sometime, as you might noticed that this section is dominated by Indian Subcontinent's posters so we can definitely use some English supporters.

Happy New Year to all Cricket Fanatics.

[AB de Royse777]

So back in the game!
Last few weeks I was totally out of Cricket, forum and my regular life. Been busy with some real world projects and feels like I am way behind the trend here. A summary of the missed event and the upcoming cricketing event from anyone will be nice. Cheers,

Happy new year by the way. Finally we are in 2020, the Bitcoin Halving year.

[JSRAW]

Test Cricket
-Pakistan got Whitewashed in Australia, Smith's out of form
-Kiwi and English team were busy with circle jerk -Series not included in WTC-
-Srilanka lost the test against Pakistan. pakistan finally got some points in the table.
-Australia dominating kiwis in the home series - Marnus Labuschagne is new sensational cricketer-
-England got some spanking by Proteas- quality cricket in first 3 days and Joe root failed as an batsman, Again.-

Interesting News
- BCCI planning Super series (Ind +Aus+ Eng+ 1 more team)
-ICC thinking about 4 day Tests

[AB de Royse777]

Test Cricket
-Pakistan got Whitewashed in Australia, Smith's out of form
-Kiwi and English team were busy with circle jerk -Series not included in WTC-
-Srilanka lost the test against Pakistan. pakistan finally got some points in the table.
-Australia dominating kiwis in the home series - Marnus Labuschagne is new sensational cricketer-
-England got some spanking by Proteas- quality cricket in first 3 days and Joe root failed as an batsman, Again.-

Pakistan/Australia: Haven't seen a single ball :-( The Legend will come back in no time. I am sure Aussie management is not much worried about him. Is Warner still getting runs?
I was really into the Kiwi vs English Series but again seems like I missed all of them?
Pakistan is still better than at-least a Test playing nation LOL
I heard good things about Labuschagne, it was meant to be and let him enjoy his time.
So England and SA is a current series where I can spend some of my lazy time now?

Interesting News
- BCCI planning Super series (Ind +Aus+ Eng+ 1 more team)
-ICC thinking about 4 day Tests

The 1 more team: Kiwis - came in mind.
4 day Test? Let's not play Test match anymore LOL
Honestly speaking there are only few people left in the world who actually enjoy Test cricket. Instead of making it more interesting, they are now planning to erase the entire format? Not cool.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

I was really into the Kiwi vs English Series but again seems like I missed all of them?
Pakistan is still better than at-least a Test playing nation LOL
I heard good things about Labuschagne, it was meant to be and let him enjoy his time.
So England and SA is a current series where I can spend some of my lazy time now?

Yeah, you missed it. it was boring series anyways because no points system.
Pakistan got individual players who are exceptional cricketers but right now as a team they suck, let's see what future holds for them.
Labuschagne had a fruitful year, he should thanks to Jofra Archer/smith (When Smith got injured) before he was struggling at 100ish rank in the ICC batsmen ranking now he's at 4th.
England vs SA = Green pitches = Enjoy the battle in between bat and ball.

The 1 more team: Kiwis - came in mind.
4 day Test? Let's not play Test match anymore LOL
Honestly speaking there are only few people left in the world who actually enjoy Test cricket. Instead of making it more interesting, they are now planning to erase the entire format? Not cool.

It depends, if BIG 3 ( Ind+Eng+Aus) are aiming for financial gains then New Zealand is liability and they might chose South Africa over them. otherwise it should be new zealand.
I am not sure where all this talk heading but if situation keep continue like this then test cricket future looks dicey. Problem is Test Cricket having hard time adjusting in new era of T-20 (T-10 in the near future).

[SaShiRaJaVu]

Pakistan got individual players who are exceptional cricketers but right now as a team they suck, let's see what future holds for them.

The problem with Pakistan is that they are not able to perform consistently and if they are able to perform like they did in the second innings like they did in the past match then they will be a force to recon but most of the time they fail to perform as a team and that is their biggest failure but now they have the players who could perform and hopefully they can show some consistency. 

I am not sure where all this talk heading but if situation keep continue like this then test cricket future looks dicey. Problem is Test Cricket having hard time adjusting in new era of T-20 (T-10 in the near future).

I enjoy good battle between the bat and the ball rather than T20 and we hardly see most of the time but if there is a battle between players then i will enjoy the most and only Test cricket can bring that competition as the shorter version always prefer batsman friendly rules.

[mersal]

I am not sure where all this talk heading but if situation keep continue like this then test cricket future looks dicey. Problem is Test Cricket having hard time adjusting in new era of T-20 (T-10 in the near future).

I enjoy good battle between the bat and the ball rather than T20 and we hardly see most of the time but if there is a battle between players then i will enjoy the most and only Test cricket can bring that competition as the shorter version always prefer batsman friendly rules.

Retention level of current generation people is getting reduced that is why sports are also being adjusted to get their business profitable as before but as a true cricket lover I am still enjoying watching a est cricket but in the most detructive way like how sehwag used to handle the bats when everyone struggles and also I liked players like Ajinkya Rhane,Pujara who seems to be more as test players than others.