by Aerie » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:11 am
I can understand the lack of respect/hope for a good series vs West Indies prior to the 1st Test, but I was surprised to see people double down after Adelaide. I went to the 2nd day and it was one of the best days of Test cricket I've been to. Had it not been for Travis Head, West Indies probably take a 1st Innings lead in that match too. So often we've seen Australian teams put the foot down in the final hour, as Hazelwood did on Day 2. The West Indies were very well lead, alert in the field and their bowlers looked dangerous.
Any score over 200 is hard to chase in the 4th innings of a Test match. West Indies batsmen did a fine job in both innings to push to competitive totals.
It was one of the best Test match wins you could hope to see. Shamal Joseph an absolute breath of fresh air, as was his team. Craigg Braithwaite and Kemar Roach, wonderful leadership on field and off. The press conference after the game with Braithwaite and Joseph a late Christmas present for every cricket lover around the world. Hopefully just in time.
The players want to play Test cricket. The administrators must make it work. There needs to be dedicated windows for Test Cricket, World Cups of the shorter formats and IPL and clever fixturing of the local T20 leagues to make it work with international cricket. It can't be that hard. Cricket has never been richer, the ICC must subsidise the pay of the best 15 cricketers from West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland to ensure they are available to play Test cricket for their country.
We have three very good and viable formats. Strike the right balance and we continue to see what we've seen at the Gabba and in India over the weekend.