Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Avirunes]

Australia were rattled quickly which was quite unexpected but you also have to consider the thing that they were playing in England. So definitely England have an upper hand plus since they know their pitches very well and with experienced bowlers like Anderson, Broad, and Woakes it was really hard day for Australia in first innings.

Hope that they don't fall again in second innings.

[cryptoloverlife]

What a great century by Smith! Didn't expect Australia could score more than 180. Siddle had a great assistance. For Australia this is common though.

Never expected about the Smith Century because at one stage Aussies lost their Efficient batsman and at last they manage to score more than 150 runs with Siddle help. It cannot be estimated because England knows their pitches very well and has the ability to defeat the Aussies in this series easily.

[Haunebu]

Australia were rattled quickly which was quite unexpected but you also have to consider the thing that they were playing in England. So definitely England have an upper hand plus since they know their pitches very well and with experienced bowlers like Anderson, Broad, and Woakes it was really hard day for Australia in first innings.
Hope that they don't fall again in second innings.

Smith once again saves Australia displaying how good of a player he really is under pressure. Read an article earlier about him thinking that he might never be able to play Cricket ever again due to his scandal.

Its amazing how he and Warner have bounced back since then. Without these guys, I don't think Australia would have even reached the semi finals of the World Cup. Truly stunning cricketers.

[erikalui]

Smith spoke about his ban and rehab and must give it to him for being the only player in the entire team to get Aussies to such a good score. If he had to get out earlier, the team score would be in 100s and Eng couldn't take his wicket for over 70 overs.

Now England will have to save their wickets and chase the score which is going to be very tough. If Aus get more than 3 wickets before 100, the team would not be able to even chase down 285 and put on a decent score and to slow down Smith again in their second innings would be a challenge.

[Avirunes]

Now England will have to save their wickets and chase the score which is going to be very tough. If Aus get more than 3 wickets before 100, the team would not be able to even chase down 285 and put on a decent score and to slow down Smith again in their second innings would be a challenge.

You are forgetting that even if they manage to pick 3 wickets before 100 they still have Buttler, Stokes, Denly and Bairstow so it will be quite difficult for Australians to blow them out before that score of 285.

[deadley]

Now England will have to save their wickets and chase the score which is going to be very tough. If Aus get more than 3 wickets before 100, the team would not be able to even chase down 285 and put on a decent score and to slow down Smith again in their second innings would be a challenge.

You are forgetting that even if they manage to pick 3 wickets before 100 they still have Buttler, Stokes, Denly and Bairstow so it will be quite difficult for Australians to blow them out before that score of 285.

In test cricket, everything is possible because it's different game than limited overs. But I agree wicket not looking much threatning, so they will pass  285. But everything depends on how good their middle order will play.

[Haunebu]

You are forgetting that even if they manage to pick 3 wickets before 100 they still have Buttler, Stokes, Denly and Bairstow so it will be quite difficult for Australians to blow them out before that score of 285.

The players that you mentioned are all great in ODI and T20 matches, but test cricket is a different ball game altogether. You need to have a lot of patience in this format and these guys are not known for their patience(Especially Bairstow).

This is why Root will be critical in this chase since everyone knows how good he is at staying at the crease and playing patiently. This is also the reason why he has the lowest odds for best batsman from the England team in various sportsbooks currently.

[Pffrt]

Roy has gone. England 35 for 1 at this moment.
Australia will be looking at Root since he is the Smith version of English. If he gets set, he will cause trouble for Australia. The swing is getting lessened and England will have a comfortable field now.

[AB de Royse777]

~snip~

You are forgetting that even if they manage to pick 3 wickets before 100 they still have Buttler, Stokes, Denly and Bairstow so it will be quite difficult for Australians to blow them out before that score of 285.

This English team was booked by only 85 runs against a team like Ireland :-P

This is test cricket and only a single player can change the picture of a match. Sometimes they may need support from others like Smith needed from Siddle but for a bowler it's not even needed. In their day they can pick even 10 wickets of an inning. Not saying that anyone from Australia is going to do that today. But this test is very wide open for both team now.

[Indymoney]

Roy has gone. England 35 for 1 at this moment.
Australia will be looking at Root since he is the Smith version of English. If he gets set, he will cause trouble for Australia. The swing is getting lessened and England will have a comfortable field now.

Right now things looking good for England as Burns and Root both playing comfortably they need to be patience and calm for today if these both can stay on crease for sometime then surely they are going to take some good lead and bring Australia under-pressure in second inning Australian bowling is not looking good without Starc and Hazzlewood.

[DeathAngel]

England 66/1 as I type this, Australia finished their first innings on 284. This first test could have effectively been over if it wasn’t for Smith saving the Aussies with a century. England firm favourites to win the first test but you can never be certain. These games can swing very quickly with a few quickly taken wickets.

[Haunebu]

Right now things looking good for England as Burns and Root both playing comfortably they need to be patience and calm for today if these both can stay on crease for sometime then surely they are going to take some good lead and bring Australia under-pressure in second inning Australian bowling is not looking good Starc and Hazzlewood.

Starc and Hazlewood were dropped from this match and Siddle and Pattinson were selected in their places which is why I don't understand why you mentioned them even though they aren't a part of this match.

This is a really weird decision by the Australian team and I feel sad for Hazelwood who was dropped for the World Cup too. Not the best decision in my opinion.

[erikalui]

You are forgetting that even if they manage to pick 3 wickets before 100 they still have Buttler, Stokes, Denly and Bairstow so it will be quite difficult for Australians to blow them out before that score of 285.

The main thing is building pressure and partnerships. We could see the earlier matches when they kept picking wickets regularly so the new batsman couldn't even get time to settle in so 3 wickets gone before 100 would put some pressure on England batsmen as now they are against the strongest team. To note that they have less bowlers now so they may not be able to defend the runs if they don't put up a score of 200.

As of now they are playing comfortably with 1 wicket gone. At this rate, their partnership is 48 and they can easily score 300 by the end of the day.

[AB de Royse777]

Day 2 Lunch break.
England is trailing by 213 runs with 9 wickets in hand. England is looking good but this does not mean that we can predict a winner easily from this stage. Few wickets for Australia can easily turn the table in their favor.

Starc and Hazlewood were dropped from this match

Any injury? Starc is in very good form. Not sure about the reason of not taking him but if this is not injury then what else could it be the cause for him.

[erikalui]

^No injury but the decision was taken due to their bad form. Being the WC, I can see why they are being so tough in choosing players and plus the selectors choose whom they want. Internal politics.

[Pffrt]

Starc and Hazlewood were dropped from this match

Any injury? Starc is in very good form. Not sure about the reason of not taking him but if this is not injury then what else could it be the cause for him.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27292598/australia-bargain-big-three-breakup-mitchell-starc-falls-behind
From the above link, what I have understood behind not taking Starc and Hazlewood is a future oriented thoughts. Starc is one of the key bowlers of Australia. Australia team is thinking of two years championship where it would probably not be possible to continue the whole tournament by Starc, Hazzle and Cummins, as a result they are trying to be less dependent on thia three.

However, I think Ashes must be more important as of now.

[deadley]

Day 2 Lunch break.
England is trailing by 213 runs with 9 wickets in hand. England is looking good but this does not mean that we can predict a winner easily from this stage. Few wickets for Australia can easily turn the table in their favor.

Starc and Hazlewood were dropped from this match

Any injury? Starc is in very good form. Not sure about the reason of not taking him but if this is not injury then what else could it be the cause for him.

Because he is not consistent test match bowler for sometime, and Australia have so many better option than him for test matches.

Umpiring still very low, umpire must be on very pressure after giving so many wrong decision, those changes because of DRS, I can't think how many match results affected because of wrong decisions in old times.

[AB de Royse777]

^No injury but the decision was taken due to their bad form. Being the WC, I can see why they are being so tough in choosing players and plus the selectors choose whom they want. Internal politics.

Bad form? This is not fitting for Starc. He has taken 27 wickets in this world cup from only 10 matches. He surpassed McGrath who took 26 wickets in 2007 World cup.
https://www.cricketworldcup.com/teams/australia/players/490

as a result they are trying to be less dependent on thia three.

Well very poor excuse in my opinion. Have the series in hand first then take chance with others.

[JSRAW]

The England fans once again showed that they don't have any manners at all. After Warner got out, they insulted him by flashing sandpaper. Warner did something wrong and he got the punishment for that. But what right does England have to humiliate him like this?

-Edited-

Every country has some bad apples, be it England, India or Australia. A small section of the crowd booed Smith as well when he reached his 50-100 mark, but the majority of spectators applaud his brave inning.  

You might want to check the history of Ashes when English players visit Australia. it's quite ugly and its not just from spectator's side ( read previous Oz's coach Darren Lehmann's comment on Broad during 2013 Ashes)


Damn how bad is umpiring in this Test match so far. they keep giving wrong decision back to back.

[Pffrt]

Every country has some bad apples, be it England, India or Australia. A small section of the crowd booed Smith as well when he reached his 50-100 mark, but the majority of spectators applaud his brave inning.  

You might want to check the history of Ashes when English players visit Australia. it's quite ugly and its not just from spectator's side ( read previous Oz's coach Darren Lehmann's comment on Broad during 2013 Ashes)

I see nothing wrong with this. These happens, even among the players as well. We have seen how Yuvi attacked right before hitting 6 Sixes in a over. I am not saying these should be happened but these are commons. In football, these are worse.