AU V WI 1960-2010 Super Test

[Lightning McQueen]

They reckon the Border dismissal came off his pad, he smashed the wireless in the rooms with his bat, he wasn't happy.

[mal]

Newsflash...

HODGE IS UNHAPPY
Australian batsman Brad Hodge is very disappointed on not making the team
Distraught and visibly upset , Hodge went on to say that his Test average of 55.88 should have been good enough to be selected
""Well I mean Alan Border only averages 50 and he captains the team, WHATMORE do I have to do.""
"" Fair dinkum the selectors have little idea, Im genuinely surprised selector Andrew Hilditch has not selected Bob Simpson...""
Hodge says he will just go back to Domestic cricket to re -establish his International career
"" Im just going to keep scorin' runs for Victoria, like I always do, and see from there.""

[mal]

They reckon the Border dismissal came off his pad, he smashed the wireless in the rooms with his bat, he wasn't happy.

There is talk of a new cricket show on Channell 9
Alan Border, Michael Holding and Brad Hodge have been interviewed by Kerry Packer for the new show
The titled show is to be called Grumpy Old Men

[mal]

BOB WILLIS
SKY commentator Bob Willis says AU 7/290 at stumps was not enough on a good batting pitch
"'Australia failed to capitalise on a great innings by Greg Chappell and will need the tail to get the innings to about 350.""
""The West Indies batting is awesome, I should know, my bowling average against the West Indies is about 36."'
"" Against all other countries individually in my career I averaged below 27 with the ball, so i know first hand about these brilliant batsmen.""
""I envisage WI to bat well enough and establish a good first innings lead and win this match.""

Bob Willis celebrates his birthday today, born 30/5/50
Born Robert George Willis , he later changed his name to Robert George Dylan Willis
The Dylan is his adpoted name after that iconic pop artist Bob Dylan

RICHIE BENAUD
Journalist Richie Benaud reports :
A marrrrrrrrvellous days play, the Australians in control until a late resurgence by the West Indian bowling attack, brought this game to a delicate even poise.
This game could go either way, from here although I suspect the key will be how the greatest leg spinner the world has ever seen performs , and I dont mean with Liz.
The winner is hard to predict after day1, I anticipate a close finish, and dare I say it , perhaps a Tied Test.

[redandblack]

Is it raining at Lords, mal

[mal]

DAY1

HAYDEN....... C RICHARDS B HOLDING 8
LANGER........ C HAYNES B MARSHALL 17
PONTING... C GREENIDGE B AMBROSE 74
CHAPPELL................ LBW HOLDING 104
WAUGH.......................... B SOBERS 58
BORDER.......... C DUJON B MARSHALL 10
GILCHRIST.........C DUJON B MARSHALL 6
DAVIDSON ................ ...... NOT OUT 0
WARNE...............................NOT OUT 1

SUNDRIES......................................12

AU 7/290

DAY2

DAVIDSON..................... LBW MARSHALL 1
WARNE................... C LLOYD B HOLDING 1
LILLIE.................................. NOT OUT 15
MCGRATH.......................... LBW GARNER 3

SUNDRIES.......................................... 15

AU 315

3/86[20] HOLDING
4/75[34] MARSHALL
1/58[19.2] GARNER
1/47 [20] AMBROSE
1/44[12] SOBERS
0/3[2] RICHARDS

WEST INDIES

GREENIDGE.............................. RUN OUT 7
HAYNES................. C gilCHRIST B LILLIE 12
RICHARDS................................B WARNE 77
LARA.................................... B MCGRATH 0
SOBERS................................ NOT OUT 108
LLOYD................. C BORDER B CHAPPELL 54
DUJON.................. C gilCHRIST B WARNE 28
MARSHALL.............................. LBW LILLIE 0
AMBROSE.................................. NOT OUT 8

SUNDRIES 12

WI 7/306

[mal]

Day 2 was enthralling
The big controversy was that Dennis Lillie batted with a yellow cricket bat
Vivian Richards and Desmond Haynes remonstrated with the iconic Australian fast bowler
Michael Holding greeted Lillie with a bouncer that had Lillie backing away to avoid contact
Holding stood mid pitch suggesting that Lillie and the bat were both yellow
Lillie had the last laugh when his 15 not out steered Australia to over 300 runs


The West Indies were really struggling at 3/34 after 23 overs after some destructive bowling by Lillie Mcgrath and Davidson
The next 49 overs produced some of the most belligerent batting imaginable
Vivian Richards and Gary Sobers counter punched with a blistering array of strokes that had the Lords massess gasping
The duo purposefully attacked Shane Warne, the leg spinner at one stage conceding 38 runs of 4 overs
An incident that changed the momentum of this game involved Richards and Warne
Richards was struggling early on
Warne beat Richards with a perfect leg break, then followed up with the Warnera that struck Richards almost in front
Warne quipped Richards with a suggestion that the cricket ball was red with a seam and easy to see
The next ball Richards was down the track and launched the delivery over the stand, the ball was lost for a considerable time
Richards retorted Warne by advising him "' You know what the ball looks like, go fetch it .""
Warne and Richards traded insinuations for a while
Sobers intermitted by suggesting to Warne to have a long on and long off in place, it would be quicker to fetch the ball, and would not slow down the Australian over rate
From this point on Richards, Sobers and a late cameo by Lloyd propelled the WI innings to a stumps score of 7/308
Sobers was superb and was undefeated at stumps on 108 not out off only 133 balls
He treated Warne with contempt and repeatedly hoisted him over the infields, and was brutal on anything with width from Lillie as he blasted several cuts and drives through the offside fields

Australia holds a narrow 15 run lead
The key is to dismiss Sobers quickly on day 3
Day 2 was controversial, but the cricket on days 1 and 2 has been of the highest standard
This game is still evenly poised

[smac]

So in two innings, what are possibly the two greatest opening pairs to play the game have both delivered bugger all?

No wonder people are flocking to T20!

[mal]

So in two innings, what are possibly the two greatest opening pairs to play the game have both delivered bugger all?

No wonder people are flocking to T20!

Im still sulking Langer and Hayden were selected b4 my openers Lawry and Simpson ...

[whufc]

What channel and time does the telecast start? sounds like a good game i wouldnt mind watching!

[Lightning McQueen]

Did it p!ss down all of day 3 malster?

[mal]

DAY1

HAYDEN....... C RICHARDS B HOLDING 8
LANGER........ C HAYNES B MARSHALL 17
PONTING... C GREENIDGE B AMBROSE 74
CHAPPELL................ LBW HOLDING 104
WAUGH.......................... B SOBERS 58
BORDER.......... C DUJON B MARSHALL 10
GILCHRIST.........C DUJON B MARSHALL 6
DAVIDSON ................ ...... NOT OUT 0
WARNE...............................NOT OUT 1

SUNDRIES......................................12

AU 7/290

DAY2

DAVIDSON..................... LBW MARSHALL 1
WARNE................... C LLOYD B HOLDING 1
LILLIE.................................. NOT OUT 15
MCGRATH.......................... LBW GARNER 3

SUNDRIES.......................................... 15

AU 315

3/86[20] HOLDING
4/75[34] MARSHALL
1/58[19.2] GARNER
1/47 [20] AMBROSE
1/44[12] SOBERS
0/3[2] RICHARDS

WEST INDIES

GREENIDGE.............................. RUN OUT 7
HAYNES................. C gilCHRIST B LILLIE 12
RICHARDS................................B WARNE 77
LARA.................................... B MCGRATH 0
SOBERS................................ NOT OUT 108
LLOYD................. C BORDER B CHAPPELL 54
DUJON.................. C gilCHRIST B WARNE 28
MARSHALL.............................. LBW LILLIE 0
AMBROSE.................................. NOT OUT 8

SUNDRIES 12

WI 7/306

DAY 3

SOBERS. ..................C WAUGH B MCGRATH 111
AMBROSE .......................C BORDER B LILLIE 18
GARNER....................................... NOT OUT 4
HOLDING..................... C GILCHRIST B LILLIE 0
SUNDRIES 15

4/98[18.2] LILLIE
2/53 [21] MCGRATH
0/42 [12] DAVIDSON
2/87 [16] WARNE
1/31 [12] CHAPPELL

WI TOTAL 326

AU SECOND INNINGS

HAYDEN...................... C HAYNES B AMBROSE 27
LANGER .....................................B AMBROSE 15
PONTING........................... C DUJON B GARNER 6
CHAPPELL................... C GREENIDGE B SOBERS 42
WAUGH......................... C HAYNES B AMBROSE 0
BORDER......................................... NOT OUT 63
gilCHRIST.......................................NOT OUT 40
SUNDRIES 14

AU 5/203

0/38[12] HOLDING
0/38[13] MARSHALL
3/48[21] AMBROSE
1/38[17] GARNER
1/31 [11] SOBERS

[mal]

Australia got the early wicket of Sobers from a magnificent lifting off cutter by Mcgrath
Sobers could only fend it off to Waugh in the gully
Some lusty hitting from Ambrose got the West Indies to a total of 326 and a sMALl lead of 11 on the first innings

Hayden and Langer got the Australians off to a very slow start of 33
The introduction of Ambrose changed the complexion of this match
Ambrose ripped out both openers , and later Waugh in a awesome display of fast bowling
He finished with 3/48[21] in a spell which put the West Indies in a commanding position at one stage
Australia were vulnerable at 4/66, until a middle order revival by Chappell and Border saw Australia claw thier way back into the match
Chappell made a patient 42, playing in the vee
Border an industrious 63 not out
Border once again rescues his team as he so often does in a crisis
Waugh, no comment ...
Ambrose and Garner were frugal and relentlessly went after the batsman
Adam GilCHRIST came to the crease at 5/148 and played a brilliant innings of 40 not out, the only batsman to break the shackles in this innings

Australia at 5/203 have an overall lead of 192 runs
Sobers gained some turn late on day 3, if Australia can conjure a lead of about 300 it may well prove a hefty target to chase

[mal]

STUMPS DAY 3
AU 315
WI 326
AU RESUME 5/203 a lead of 192
BORDER 63*
gilCHRIST 40*

DAY 4
BORDER.... C DUJON B GARNER 98
GILchrist. C LLYOD B AMBROSE 77
DAVIDSON........ C+ B GARNER 42
WARNE.. C DUJON B MARSHALL 8
LILLIE.....................NOT OUT 3
MCGRATH............LBW GARNER 1
SUNDRIES 23

AU ALL OUT 346

0/60[17] HOLDING
1/64[19] MARSHALL
4/69[33] AMBROSE
4/76[27.5] GARNER
1/34 [11] SOBERS

WI 2ND INNINGS

GREENDIGE...................... B LILLIE 0
HAYNES................... LBW WARNE 51
RICHARDS. C WARNE B DAVIDSON 55
LARA........................... NOT OUT 52
SOBERS.........................NOT OUT 2
SUNDRIES 2

WI 3/162

0/34[10] MCGRATH
1/39[11] LILLIE
1/33 [13] DAVIDSON
1/36 [9] WARNE
0/18 [7] BORDER

[mal]

What a game who wrote the script ....
AU resuming on 5/203 continued its middle order resurgence
gilCHRIST a punishing 77 was at his brutal best, he batted like a West Indian !
DAVIDSON an invaluable 42
BORDER a gritty 98 an innings which may well win this one off Super Test
Australia managed a good score of 346 and a lead of 335, far more than expected when 4/66
Curtley 'dont talk to no man' Ambrose bowled superbly 4/68 with an economy rate just exceeding 2 runs per over
The man they call the Big Bird also bowled splendidly with 4/76

The West Indies were in early strife when Gordon Greenidge played on for a duck
Greenidge appeared to be in pain when he ran a quick single in the previous over, his troublesome knee the problem
The brilliance under pressure by Haynes, Richards and Lara was on display each making half centurys
Lara looking princely took to Warne late on day 4 as most West Indian batsman have done throughout this test

This game is still in the balance
The West Indies need a further 174 for victory, Australia 7 more wickets
Both Warne and skipper Border were both gaining some appreciable turn today, and may hold the key on day 5

The weather forecast is occasional showers, hopefully no play is lost when these 2 great teams meet tomorrow

[mal]

QUESTION
Who do the experts think will win this Test Match ?

[Dogmatic]

QUESTION
Who do the experts think will win this Test Match ?

Whoever your money is on

[whufc]

QUESTION
Who do the experts think will win this Test Match ?

Surely the greatest spinner of all time has to come into this game.

Warney spins the aussies to victory!

[Lightning McQueen]

mal, its LILLEE

[Media Park]

Everyone's going to back the Aus boys, so I'm going with the Windies...

Either way, match is over by lunch...