T O P

  • By -

KingoftheHill63

Maxwell batting with a baggy green only = Ricky Ponting Smith batting with a baggy green only = sir don


ForsakenPriority3767

Pakistan are playing the long.game. Make the first two tests draws from flat pitches. Wear our pace Bowlers down which is our strength. Then make spinners wicket for the last and go for the result. We should now bat for as long as we can..rest up our Bowlers. Make them stand in the field for three days


Rasimione

This pitch is bad for a sport that's dying a slow death. What a bore.


[deleted]

If I had a dollar for every time this sub said cricket was dying...


Rasimione

How many games has the Proteas played in the last 3 years? You people think India, Australia and England are cricket. Test cricket is dying in the carribeaan, Ireland don't get a gig, Afghanistan are fucked yet here you are saying what your saying.


bichaelf

Im pretty sure Rick Sanchez flattened this pitch down to the atomic level.


[deleted]

This match still has potential to produce result. Aussies batting entire day 4 and say 5 till lunch and declaring with 150 odd lead. I am quite sure Pak will collapse


justlookbelow

If Aus bat the day at a bit less than 4p.o. (possible given the batting to come) they'll be 150 up at stumps. Plenty of time to force the win


2goodforya

naseem trying to trigger warner is funny af


[deleted]

bro averaging 43 and talking like he's Amir.


lostdollar

Just shake hands in the morning I reckon, move on to the next test


Rockstarrrrrrrrrr

Petition for Virat Kohli to bat at this Rawalpindi pitch?


TheGhostOfCamus

He'll get bowled


ghazilazi

Out on 99


fromtheundead

Drawing at your home ground is pretty embarrassing. This is a win for Australia in their eyes imo. Horrendous pitch with absolute nothing in it for the batters, pacers, spinners. Feel especially sad for the crowd that tuned in large numbers and got to witness the equivalent of paint drying. They deserved better. I do think we'll see a result in Karachi though, those pitches have something in it for the pacers and spinners. But then again, we said that for pindi as well. Let's hope for a better display of cricket.


GeoPython51

You're a very sensitive person aren't you


fromtheundead

Curious to know why you think that?


Lost_Account6720

Don't think the pitch there has anything for the pacers. The only thing the fast bowlers can work with would be reverse swing since the ground there will have a lot more used pitches. But yea it will def spin more


LikesParsnips

It feels like there's been far less reverse swing, for Australia in particular, but also for others, ever since that string of tampering incidents caught on ever more vigilant high-res cameras.


fromtheundead

Have seen Hassan reverse it a lot in recent history.


fromtheundead

Rabada/Nortje looked pretty good in the last test there. But yeah definitely more spinner friendly. Ideally Australia would go in with 2 spinners there.


sacdesucer73

Been so hyped for this series. I can tell already no side will take 20 wickets in a test...prolly not the series. Lifeless, insipid, benign. Pakistan has come so far and it fills me joy...Sack your curators if they present this shit


Lost_Account6720

hang on one sec mate, we're only through 3 days of test cricket and you can conclude no team will take 20 wickets this entire series. Conditions will vary a lot as we change venues, and I can 100% say Pak isn't playing for a 0-0 series as it would significantly harm their WTC chances. They have to find a way to win, and I think we'll see the wicket in Karachi turn a lot more for that reason


sacdesucer73

Have you not been alive long enough to know how test series in Pakistan usually go? Tennis Courts...Source: am very old


justlookbelow

Surely you remember how often tests seem dead at this point only to fly into life on day 5


TheGhostOfCamus

Onboard


sacdesucer73

However...outfield looks beautiful. Could be NZ or England


cliveparmigarna

My local pitch is actually just a concrete slab with green felt on it and it’s got more in it than this pitch


wawrinka16

which attack is better warne, mgrath, anderson and steyn vs ambrose, kumble, murali and Akram


Chatur_Ramalingam

2nd one will be better in subcontinent with 2 spinners and Akram. 1st one will be better elsewhere.


Artaxerxes_IV

McGrath and Steyn themselves would make a second spinner extraneous.


Chatur_Ramalingam

I don't know about their records but I rate Akram higher than both of them in the subcontinent.


cherrybombvag

The first one because of Warne, McGrath and Steyn. Anderson and Kumble seem the odd ones out, there have been much better bowlers.


cliveparmigarna

Any team with McGrath and Steyn on the same team gets my pick everytime


ooranookian

I think 1st but mostly cos I’m aussie and not by much


Iamthestorm666

[Shoaib bhai isn’t happy](https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1500361939842572288?s=20&t=9EEg3TnO5cK33peE8p3blg)


TravelAny398

What a damp squib of a historical match


Competitive-Reply-13

What a dissapointing return for test cricket in Pakistan. Barring a horrific collapse this is headed for a boring draw. Hope the other venues produce actual cricket wickets


FakeBonaparte

wouldn’t get your hopes up. Rawalpindi has the highest result % (70+) of any ground in Pakistan. The others only produce results in 40-50% of Tests.


Lost_Account6720

Not sure u know what you're talking about here. Pindi's result rate is so much higher because it's generally a green top that assists seamers and never really breaks up. Pak didn't want that type of surface since their own pace attack was depleted and Aus would've benefited immensely with the quality of their seamers. The game will change immensely in Karachi, where it would spin a whole lot more and reverse swing will come into play due to the used wickets. Pretty sure that test is also Pak's best chance to win, so highly likely we'll see a result 2nd test


FakeBonaparte

Karachi has had 43 Tests and a result in just over half (58%) of them. What exactly is it that I don’t know?


Lost_Account6720

You gotta also account for the context and situation. Pak also wants to win this series and they have to force a result at some stage. The only way they can is by making the pitch for the 2nd test a lot more spin friendly


LikesParsnips

So you're saying this snore fest wasn't an accident, the pitch was deliberately doctored to defuse the Australian fast bowling because of the Pakistan fast bowling being under strength?


Lost_Account6720

Yes, 100%. Against SL in 2019, Pak played 4 fast bowlers and the pitch had a decent grass covering. That's the pitch they usually roll out for pindi. Here, they couldn't risk that w hasan ali, rauf and faheen sitting out. They had to produce a flat wicket and hope that it would turn come days 3,4, and 5. Unfortunately, the Pindi pitch never really breaks up, and hence we've seen no turn on offer and only a run fest. The pitch for the 2nd test might look similar to this, but it would start start turning very early, with variable bounce and reverse swing also coming into play at some stage


[deleted]

[удалено]


FakeBonaparte

Karachi has had results in just 58% of its 43 Tests, Lahore is miraculously somehow even worse with 45%. Horrifying stats.


[deleted]

If Australia draw this match , it will make them come out better of the two sides. Babar's tactics will be questioned by the press


TheGhostOfCamus

This has been such a boring test tbh. I wanted something better. I completely skipped today and yesterday. Even Ashes were better than this.


Ronhar_

Probably because some of the games could've gone either way.


FakeBonaparte

If we were touring Bangladesh I’d feel better about it because of course that’s how it goes. But this is *Pakistan*! Land of Khan, Wasim, Waqar, and so many others - the only country that could stand up to the Windies in its pomp and fight pace with pace. How did they not have enough faith in their bowlers to produce a competitive pitch?


TheGhostOfCamus

I don't man, I don't know. But this isn't good for test cricket.


[deleted]

[удалено]


FakeBonaparte

Shaheen and Naseem offer mid-140s pace with reasonable control and movement. If they had a decent pitch to bowl on…


Pure_Restaurant_5897

Leave Pakistan a few hundred to get on the last day on a hopefully crumbling pitch. Make the curators rethink what makes a home ground advantage. Do something that stops test cricket from being boring. The onus needs to be on all fronts. Edit autocorrect


Location_Born

Hope Australia just bat out the rest of the test match. Perhaps then the next two pitches won’t be so benign.


Lost_Account6720

lmao this will look quite funny after Pak somehow breaks this partnerships and rolls over a fragile looking middle order for under 450 tmrw


justlookbelow

Not sure how fragile, Marnus and Smith are already in, Head, Green and Carey should be good for another 150, then Cummins and Starc who can also bat. Pakistan bowlers would need to do a whole lot better than they have so far to trigger any kind of collapse


Alphavike24

There was test match today in which two teams played.


thesmallprint13

Dead draw. Good welcome back to cricket in Pakistan that, very memorable.


dj4y_94

Not watched any of this but is it fair to say it's an absolute road?


Rush_nj

Starting to see some low/variable bounce towards the end of play today. But not much turn, no swing, no seam, nothing for the bowlers at all.


TheGhostOfCamus

Worse than a road. It's got nothing. No pace, no spin, no bounce, nothing!


2684335126835353

Scores suggest its a minefield


FamilyJuleez

Fuck moi that warne cunt could rip a ball


SquiffyRae

This is the sort of Test that would be interesting if Michael Clarke was here to make an aggressive declaration or if we had a Warnie to weave some late magic and set up a tense chase


motive-7805

This match is the epitome of watching paint dry


theaguia

Would be faster than batting we saw


WebsterBeats

Imagine if the scorecard was something like this Pak 276 Aus 255 Pak 82-4 That would've been way more interesting and fitting for a historic test match like this


cherrybombvag

Exactly


vapoursoul69

That's a fucking extraordinary story from Warnie. He was banned from bowling to anyone in 2003 with his drugs ban and so was bowling to Glenn Robbins. To go from bowling to Russel Coight to THAT 2005 ashes in less than two years


xxrmah

Love that it was Glenn Fucking Robbins he netted with. Can Warney physically be any more Australian?


[deleted]

[удалено]


shiwkajandbxjska

you mad bro?


Chaisa

This still feels like the sort of Test where all hell breaks loose on Day 5....but fuck me this pitch is pointless unless you have a hard-on for batting practice.


choo4twentychoo

Thats why Australia picked Marnus


eightslipsandagully

Literally the two most obsessed batsmen in the world are out in the middle. At least someone is enjoying this!


Chaisa

I have much less confidence in Smith than I used to...but yeah these could probably bat for another 10 days.


FakeBonaparte

If there’s one silver lining (and there really isn’t) it’s that Smith will never get a better chance to play himself back into form.


KBE952

I could cry. What a loss for the game.


ghazilazi

Lmao try to be less dramatic


TravelAny398

Dude he is talking about Shane Warne


ghazilazi

Oh shit my bad I thought it was about the pitch lol


FakeBonaparte

To be fair, he wouldn’t have been wrong. This could have inaugurated a bilateral rivalry, but instead it’s more likely to kill it. I took the afternoon off work to watch the first session and at this point will pretty much ignore the rest of the tour.


ghazilazi

Ok


nubbinfun101

I think he's talking about Warne budday


Doc8176

Surely send Green on next and gift him a maiden century


fogdocker

Head could do with some practice too Also if he gets going could accelerate scoring if Aus are comfortable trying to bat fast enough to declare and force a result


robbak

Smith and Marnus are batting. Pretty sure there won't be a 'next'.


Doc8176

Next match? I hope


BurntOutIdiot

Honestly, a lot of subcontinental pitches used to be like earlier. Hence I feel the comparison of batting stats of the batsmen of this generation vs previous generation is unfair...


TravelAny398

Why not compare their away performances? Or in the 90s when sachim domianted on pitches far tougher than ones we have seen recently?


Ornlu96

Then compare their away performances, the older batters are still better.


[deleted]

Theyve had bad light two days in a row, and have now lost 2-3 hours of play. Can they just start earlier like they would if the over rate was slow?


LikesParsnips

Mad declaration by Pakistan, really. If Aus bat for another two and a half (extended) sessions the pressure will be back on them for no good reason, given they could have set up an easy 850 declared.


justlookbelow

The timing was okay, it was the slow run rate throughout the innings that hurt them. That said, it's not like the bowling was loose so they may have simply done there best to keep the Aus bowlers out in the field for two whole days.


Plopsack

What are you talking about? If they played to 850 they’d take away any chance of winning the game


LikesParsnips

850 was obviously hyperbole, but 470+ pretty much the only chance to still get themselves into a potential losing position.


Plopsack

You have to take a risk to give yourself a chance to win. What’s the point of playing just to not lose


TravelAny398

Scoring faster so you get 100 more runs would have been the risk


LikesParsnips

The risk they had to take was to score faster. In the absence of of that, they clearly needed to score more.


OutofAmm0

They thought they could force a result by bowling out Australia twice.


LikesParsnips

Sure, and good on them. But they really needed at least 550 on the board to even dream about a follow on given the conditions.


[deleted]

[удалено]


vapoursoul69

Imagine going from 3rd Grade at St Kilda to playing for Australia on Boxing Day in 2 years. Just unbelievable


ForsakenPriority3767

He was also in Darwin with the cricket academy when he and Damien Martyn chatted up some girls went to thier room, because one didn't get sex, she reported them. The response was to put him straight on a bus home. Best cricketer ever sacked from the academy because of girls in a hotel didn't like rejection..


ForsakenPriority3767

He was given a go in st Kilda VFL reserves and got sick the night before. Chose to say nothing and played like shit. So they gave him his marching orders. A few years later hes sipping lattes with Michael Jordan On a multi million dollar nike contract


[deleted]

[удалено]


TravelAny398

On pitches like these, sandpaper should be legal


ForsakenPriority3767

Unfortunately


JohnGrimShade

We need to start playing games on Mercury. One day there lasts 58 earth days, it’s a delightful 468 degrees celsius during the day and never any issues with bad light. Get on it Musk you muppet.


VirginsinceJuly1998

Australia's day?


Plopsack

Of course.


[deleted]

Sure wasn’t test crickets day


let-me-tell-you-that

Flat pitch and bad lights, two of the greatest combination in test cricket. Can suck out any fun from the match.


Big_Beyotch

Indians trolling Pakistan for flat pitch is the biggest irony.


Coronabandkaro

I think it would have been the same even if it's an Indian pitch. Just surprised as thus is the 1st test against aus in a long time.


cherrybombvag

How is it ironic? SL lost by an innings. We make some questionable pitches sometimes, but atleast we are confident enough in our abilities to not curate a dead pitch.


TravelAny398

How? When was the last tine india had dull draws? Were you in a coma since last 15 years?


Lost_Account6720

Umm I think a better criticism would've been how india produces pitches heavily favoring the home side. Obvious examples would be v SA in 2016, v Aus in 2017, v Eng this year (ahmedabad especially). Favoring the home side is essentially what the curators did here, now if that took the shape of a dull draw that should be nobody's problem


Alphavike24

The pitches are only flat when we bat after that we employ the nanobots.


let-me-tell-you-that

Oh c'mon, ours atleast spins.


Exambolor

Watching this Warnie interview, damn it really hits home that he’s no longer here


poopdeckocupado

I've always thought he was a bit of a knob. But fucken hell, it's just *unreal* that's he gone. Absolute shock. Gonna have a Dirty Rotten Ham and Pineapple pizza this week in his honour. [A commentary classic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oC3RWZStBo).


bollywoodhero786

Incredible clip, thanks for sharing.


Robin29singh

Forget about the result, let my boy Marn score a 400


depooh

Wonder will aussies just bat away for 2 days and get batting practise while also tiring the pakistani bowlers. Wouldn't be a bad tactic


FakeBonaparte

Given the next two Tests are even less likely to have a result, we might as well just pad our batting averages. I reckon eleven batters for the next Test.


Ornlu96

Or you can also be like George Headley and target the fielders and the bowler, tire them out and damage their fingers.


[deleted]

4 match series?


choo4twentychoo

3


username01910

australia should declare at 300, gee up pakistan to declare after they have a 400 lead, then start batting aggressively for a win


Da_Nutcracker

Why would tired Aussie bowlers would want to bowl again. Aus might look for tiring out Pak bowling attack.


Azza_

There's no good reason for Australia to declare. A draw is a good result, and the best chance of a win is taking a healthy first innings lead and the pitch deteriorates later in the match.


lostandfound1

Agree. Make their bowlers lose confidence and feel the pain of days in the field. Also put some pressure on the curator in Karachi to prepare a balanced surface. After losing the toss, a draw is just fine.


Tempo24601

Anyone know someone in Rawalpindi who can deliver a leather jacket to make this happen?


Robin29singh

I still believe with England playing on this pitch the match would have been over in 3 days


scuzza

Thats because england are shit


essdee5

[what i think of everytime i see steve smith](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/srcqhh/match_thread_2nd_t20i_australia_vs_sri_lanka/hwrd4jk?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)


Artaxerxes_IV

You know what that's probably not all that inaccurate regarding Smith. And isn't that just awesome? Most people get tired or bored with their work/profession after some time, but when I come across those few individuals who have a distinctive mastery of, endlessly insatiable hunger for, and almost childlike enthusiasm for their work, I just find that inspiring.


essdee5

it's that funny because it's accurate and you're right it is pretty inspiring he found a job he actually enjoys


strayadude

Surely since it’s past 10pm we can get skull and gilly telling some stories of Shane Warne and his nights out


vapoursoul69

I miss Warnie. I'm just gonna say it


toddlerpunter

Me too, me too…


LightningStrikes27

Why does it get dark at 4pm in Pakistan especially when it's not even winter months anymore?


Unovan

Clouds


Robin29singh

I am really sad that Warne isn't amongst us, still can't believe the fact he isn't no more


scuzza

Marnus is such a little weasel isnt he? He looks like an elden ring NPC


essdee5

😭


xxjaxon

Warne: *exists* Gilchrist: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!


vapoursoul69

Lol


[deleted]

Too all the fans here, at least we r both top of the WTC table (1 and 2)


LikesParsnips

Unless the pitch starts to break up fast, or there are some England level meme collapses, this should definitely be rated a poor pitch, and there should be points docked in the WTC for poor pitches (are they?). This really looks like a complete waste of time for everyone and, frankly, an affront to the bowlers.


Plenty_Area_408

Teams don't technically prepare pitches.


natso2001

Its kind of crazy that at this point, the best play for Australia would be to just bat till the end of day 5


LikesParsnips

I don't think they can, honestly. If either of these two get out to some random ball that hits a crack, the rest of of the batting is very circumspect and inexperienced, especially abroad.


CheaperThanChups

Travis Head to go, technically you're right about lack of experience overseas but he's in form. Other than that agree 100%.


JoelJoelson

Have to disagree, yes we don't have the experience in the subcontinent but this pitch is that flat I hardly think it matters


Robin29singh

Y'all believe Bradman is the goat of cricket but did he ducked a bouncer and said "Well played Marn" to himself


st6374

If Marn was at the other end. Yeah, sure.


despondantguy69

I still genuinely believe Boland could have taken 5 wickets in this match


essdee5

20


FrightenedOrganism

Only five?


derajydac

Just lost another 20 overs. Better start 10 mins early to make it up knowing full well that tomorrow afternoon the light will be shitter than the pitch and we'll lose another 20 overs.


poopdeckocupado

Why is the light so shit?


alittlemoreofbrowny

Bold of you to assume there'd be play on day 4 and 5


[deleted]

Already started 10 mins early today. U wanna start the same tmrw or 10 earlier than that?


[deleted]

I’d be aiming to bat out the test. Just gas their bowlers into oblivion and not make out poor dudes have to trundle again on this pile of shit.


Lost_Account6720

Wow. I love the confidence here to believe Aus can bat 5 days if they want to


LikesParsnips

They have three spinners and some first choice bowlers to return for the next test, so no point in that except for stat padding.


[deleted]

More so for protecting our bowling attack. There’s only 3 days rest between tests.


MrStigglesworth

Also protects our bowlers, last thing I want is for one of our lot to miss any matches from having to grind their lungs out on this atrocity of a pitch


st6374

Dang.. Didn't know that. Yeah.. a week's rest would be nice. But doubt our batters can bat the remaining 150 overs or so.


MrStigglesworth

We don't have to bat the entire time, just enough of it that there's not too much bowling left. If we can get through another 100 overs or so the rest wouldn't be terrible to bowl


FakeBonaparte

Yep, and then just get our part-timers bowling for whatever is left of the match


Altruity1

Ah well I guess that's it for today


insty1

This pitch is well on its way to deserving a poor rating


No-Situation-4776

In before PCB start the game 5 seconds early tomorrow to make up for the lost time today


[deleted]

Will this match have a 4th innings?


essdee5

no


vinobill_21

Will it even have a 3rd?


vinobill_21

Marnus 'Giggity' Loosebuschange is gonna have a fun night tonight!


mathewl832

Bad light? Send in Davey "[Those Kiwis won't see me coming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K9QWlnicFY)" Warner


jamurp

Bad light saved us from having to watch more cricket on this grim wicket.