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Australia (218 & 35/4) defeat South Africa (152 & 99) by 6 wickets to win the 1st Test

If Pakistan were playing, this match would have gone 3 days only cuz Aus would declare at 550/3 against Faheem and Mohd Wasim type pacers
 
David Warner might quit test cricket after this series. He has very averaging 27 in test cricket in the last 2 years.
 
KG has always been a quality test bowler. Yes, he has been helped by some helpful pitches but he has done a good job on flat pitches over his career too. Unlike a Philander who becomes a support bowler on such wickets, KG still is capable of challenging batsman.

Pace going down is fine, most pacer starts losing pace after 200+ wickets.
 
That bounce. It is dangerous. I am surprised not many got slammed on to their helmet. Borderline dangerous.
 
Need to make the pitch more batsmen friendly, pitches are not supposed to favor the bowler, it ruins the game.
 
SA probably 50 runs short in this match of making it a very close finish.
 
The 3rd test between England and Sa deserved to be punished for excessive seam movement upfront but there was no talk about it whatsoever. Surely ICC won't ignore this pitch.

If this was that Ahmedabad pitch, you would have Englisj journalists, players, holier than thou ex captains like Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan criticise/mock the pitch etc to pressure the match referee into giving the pitch a substandard rating
 
Nikhil_cric said:
The 3rd test between England and Sa deserved to be punished for excessive seam movement upfront but there was no talk about it whatsoever. Surely ICC won't ignore this pitch.

If this was that Ahmedabad pitch, you would have Englisj journalists, players, holier than thou ex captains like Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan criticise/mock the pitch etc to pressure the match referee into giving the pitch a substandard rating
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Isa guha did bring that up indirectly. Much like how Indian pitches were rated poor this will also come under scrutiny
 
Some pretty poor batting it seems

But is such a pitch also ok?

Latest standings

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Gotta feel for SA. They don't have inform batsmen like Smith, Labu, Travis head in their line up. Elgar is their best batsman. He himself is average
 
Australia have maintained their unbeaten Test status at home this summer and closed in on booking a spot at next year's World Test Championship final with a decisive six-wicket victory over a disappointing South Africa in Brisbane on Sunday.

The Test match was over in less than two days as Australia's strong bowling attack - with some assistance from a bowler-friendly surface at The Gabba - made light work of South Africa's batters with an impressive team performance.

Skipper Pat Cummins (5/42) and the consistent Scott Boland (2/14) did the majority of the damage on Sunday, while Mitchell Starc (2/26) picked up his 300th Test wicket early in the day as South Africa were skittled for just 99 in their second innings.

South Africa caused some concern in the Australia camp when they claimed four wickets as the hosts chased down the 34 required for victory, with Marnus Labuschagne (5*) and Cameron Green (0*) guiding the side home.as the Aussies clinched the opening match of the three-game series.

The win sees Australia move further ahead at the top of the World Test Championship standings, while South Africa are overtaken by India and drop to third as a result of the loss.

Australia now hold a 76.92 win-percentage, with India (55.77) now ahead of South Africa (54.55) following their 188-run triumph over Bangladesh in Chattogram earlier in the day.

The battle to reach next year's World Test Championship decider at The Oval is still wide open, with South Africa a chance to reclaim second place with positive results during the remaining two Tests in Australia.

The Proteas travel to Melbourne for the second Test that commences on Boxing Day, before the third and final Test of the series in Sydney early in the New Year.

Australia will be keen to add to the three Test matches they have won against the West Indies and South Africa at home this summer, with a difficult trip to India for four Tests in February and March to likely to decide who claims the two spots in the World Test Championship final.

ICC
 
James said:
SA probably 50 runs short in this match of making it a very close finish.
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I said at start of match SA batsmen needed to score runs to help there bowlers make series competitive, but they failed to do that. Huge chance missed here.
 
I wonder if there will be any penalties from ICC regarding the pitch.
 
It's only the second time a Test in Australia has been completed in two days, and the second-shortest by balls bowled in Australia
 
MenInG said:
Thoughts on the pitch?
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Movement, bounce, pace right through the match. Especially back of the length/good length deliveries were unplayable even for guys who are used to bounce. Only full length deliveries were negotiable. Short balls were useless here as most of the time went over keeper or batsman. Even Lyon was turning big and generating bounce on day 1 pitch. What makes it even harder is both sides had world class fast bowlers. If they had given this pitch to West Indies , the match would have been more competitive.
 
When pitch becomes unplayable due to bounce nobody questions. When pitch becomes unplayable due to turn everybody whines.
 
Desi Don said:
look's like Gabba not everyone's cup of tea
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Yeah Gabba and that too in series decider with everything at stakes on Day 5 is not everyone's cup of team except the one :inti

No prizes guessing the one though.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
The 3rd test between England and Sa deserved to be punished for excessive seam movement upfront but there was no talk about it whatsoever. Surely ICC won't ignore this pitch.

If this was that Ahmedabad pitch, you would have Englisj journalists, players, holier than thou ex captains like Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan criticise/mock the pitch etc to pressure the match referee into giving the pitch a substandard rating
Click to expand...

Ahmedabad pitch was not given any demerit points. BCCI and Indian media would have torn ICC to shreds if they did.

Surprisingly Srinath gave a demerit point to his own Chinnaswamy pitch.
 
Australia is scheduled to play tests in India next year. Will they whine about the pitches?
 
jnaveen1980 said:
First innings warner vs 2nd innings warner

View attachment 118171
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Reminds me of Ponting toward the end. It was the reflexes on the short balls that disappeared first. I remember Ishant Sharma and Kemar Roach gave him a real working over (back when they were young and touching 150k), each on successive summers iirc.
 
cricketjoshila said:
Ahmedabad pitch was not given any demerit points. BCCI and Indian media would have torn ICC to shreds if they did.

Surprisingly Srinath gave a demerit point to his own Chinnaswamy pitch.
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Srinath was always a pretty serious and legit fellow.
 
Pollack said:
When pitch becomes unplayable due to bounce nobody questions. When pitch becomes unplayable due to turn everybody whines.
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What utter rubbish. Every headline in the country (Australia) is about the poor pitch right now, how the curator got it wrong by at least 24 hours, maybe even 48 hours.

ICC sanction greentops, roads, anything that isn't quite good for balance.
 
wrongun said:
Reminds me of Ponting toward the end. It was the reflexes on the short balls that disappeared first. I remember Ishant Sharma and Kemar Roach gave him a real working over (back when they were young and touching 150k), each on successive summers iirc.
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I agree with you and I think Warner is smoked.

This is exactly what has happened to Azhar Ali also. It’s the short balls.

Once the eyes and the reflexes start to wane then a Test match batter is effectively done, and soon enough they are gone.

Crazy in the game of cricket how it’s pretty much split-second reactions that make the difference between being an international class batsman and a domestic standard player at best.
 
Pollack said:
When pitch becomes unplayable due to bounce nobody questions. When pitch becomes unplayable due to turn everybody whines.
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Just go onto Google and type in “Gabba pitch” and you will see that almost all of the news articles are roasting the wicket.
 
Last edited:
cricketjoshila said:
Ahmedabad pitch was not given any demerit points. BCCI and Indian media would have torn ICC to shreds if they did.

Surprisingly Srinath gave a demerit point to his own Chinnaswamy pitch.
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I didn't say the pitch got a poor rating. But there was clear pressure on the match referee to give it a poor rating.

To be fair to the Aussies, they don't complain much about pitches in Asia. Not in recent times anyway.

That Chinnaswamy pitch had excessive turn. He was not wrong in giving it such a rating. Problem is there is no consistency in giving ratings to pitches even within the same country.


Very ad hoc way of going about it.
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
No, they won't. Their players also have to appear in the Pyjama League later. Speaking of whining, our fans are still whining about WTC final venue. :facepalm :inti
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biggest addict of IPL i have ever seen. doesn't let a single thread go by, with out mentioning it. chanting IPL IPL IPL 365 days, damn funny.
Himself spends most of the time here whining about something or the other, yet lectures indian fans about whining :facepalm hypocrisy.
 
Winning in Gabba is not everyone's cup of tea. England flopped big time last year and now SA lost within 3 days. It just goes to show what a tremendous achievement that was by Indian team with all its main bowlers out to win the test match here.
 
Saj said:
I wonder if there will be any penalties from ICC regarding the pitch.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">142 overs and not even lasting 2 days and they have the audacity to lecture on what kind of pitches are needed. Had it happened in India, it would have been labelled end of test cricket, ruining test cricket and what not. The Hypocrisy is mind-boggling . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvSA</a></p>— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) <a href="https://twitter.com/virendersehwag/status/1604378741492236289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">142 overs and not even lasting 2 days and they have the audacity to lecture on what kind of pitches are needed. Had it happened in India, it would have been labelled end of test cricket, ruining test cricket and what not. The Hypocrisy is mind-boggling . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvSA</a></p>— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) <a href="https://twitter.com/virendersehwag/status/1604378741492236289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Why are people in India crying about a match between SA and Aus,
 
Gilly said:
Why are people in India crying about a match between SA and Aus,
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Not just people in India...

==

The Gabba pitch has long been known for its pace and bounce.

Winning the toss and bowling in Brisbane is rare but not unheard of. When pulled correctly, it’s a lever that can give teams the ability to get ahead of the game from the first session of day one.

In other instances, it can backflip. Former England captain Nasser Hussain infamously sent Australia in at the Gabba in 2002, only for the home side to finish day one sitting comfortably at 2-364.

Days one one and two in Brisbane are often tough but not impossible and, historically, runs are there to be made for batsmen who get themselves in.

Generally speaking though, the Gabba can be a particularly happy hunting ground for fast bowlers, who thrive on the carry and seam movement off the pitch.

But we’ve never seen anything like what has happened in the first two days of the 2022 Gabba Test between Australia and South Africa.

At tea on day two, 27 wickets had already fallen in the match after Australia won the toss and sent the visitors in to face the music.

Granted, arguably the world’s two best bowling attacks are going toe-to-toe in this series, but the green Gabba wicket has been borderline unplayable at times with sideways movement off the surface wreaking havoc.

“The pitch has certainly moved itself into focus, it is the story that everyone is concentrating on at the moment,” Channel 7 commentator Pete Lalor said during commentary. “We will ask the guys in the commentary box: Is this an appropriate wicket for Test match cricket?”

“I haven’t seen one as green,” former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said.

“Matthew Hayden played here more than me, and he hasn’t seen one as green. And Justin Langer said he hasn’t seen one as green.

“There wasn’t a lot of moisture was there? There was a little bit of moisture on the surface on day one, probably what you would expect from the Gabba. But what we have seen is excessive seam movement.”

The pitch will come under ICC scrutiny given the clear imbalance in the contest between bat and ball.

“The ICC can sanction grounds for the pitches that they prepare,” Lalor said. “One of the first things on the checklist is – if you are going to rate a pitch as poor – excessive seam at any time in the game.

“Second point is, excessive uneven bounce at any time of the game. I guess the other element on the checklist that might be relevant here is excessive moisture.

“So there is a danger here, that this pitch could get a poor rating if it ends quickly, because I reckon it is at least ticking two of those boxes.”

“I actually think it will get a poor rating,” Ponting replied. “To have 22 wickets fall in the first four sessions of a Test match says to me these are very, very good bowling teams, no doubt about that, but I don’t think that the batting teams are that bad.

“Speaking to some of the players this morning, they seemed to think it is as difficult a surface they have ever played on. A lot of these guys have played a lot of cricket. They have played on some pretty tough wickets in different places around the world. So, it’s probably pretty justified at the moment, Pete.”

Hayden, a Queenslander who played all of his domestic Australian cricket on the Gabba wicket, said the pitch “started too green”.

“Certainly in my view, it’s that excessive movement,” Hayden said.

“This is a new ball wicket and we have got a very, very good new ball attack. It is as simple as that. A lot of the wickets have fallen inside that zone where you are always vulnerable. It doesn’t matter whether this is an absolute road, brown and spatterings of grass on it. It will always seam and bounce at the Gabba.

“It was such an unusual place to come and play, basically it is not really a home game for Australia either. They have to come here and get used to the conditions, both with bat and ball in hand.

“But in my opinion, it started too green. And that’s just from someone that has seen this from a very young age, there is no need to make it so full of grass, such heavy grass content. Because it seamed too much.”

“These are pretty alarming observations that you guys are making,” Lalor added.

“If this pitch is deemed to be poor, that gets three demerit points. Those demerit points stay on your record for five years. If you pick up another two, you pick up a 12-month suspension as a venue.”

But Ponting tempered suggestions that the famous Gabba ground could be stripped of a Test match, given its proven track record.

“I think one point to back that up here, I have been here for a long time, nearly 30 years, and this is the only one that I’ve ever seen that’s been unsatisfactory so far in the game,” he said.

“You’ve got to cut them a bit of slack. We are not perfect. We can’t get it right all the time. It looks to me that they have overcooked this one on the grass. But they don’t get it wrong too often up here.”

https://7news.com.au/sport/cricket/...w-hayden-make-alarming-observations-c-9202540
 
SA batsmen can’t handle pressure.SA has a good bowling attack but their batting lets them down.Pakistan batting is also like SA.Pakistan had good bowlers but didn’t win as many matches as it should have due to batting collapses.
 
Gilly said:
Why are people in India crying about a match between SA and Aus,
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Becouse Australian expert can give opinion or crying about Indian pitch when india - England series were played then certainly indian experts can also gave opinion .
 
Fenrir said:
SA batsmen can’t handle pressure.SA has a good bowling attack but their batting lets them down.Pakistan batting is also like SA.Pakistan had good bowlers but didn’t win as many matches as it should have due to batting collapses.
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It’s not just SA who collapsed yesterday. Australia were 4 down chasing 30 odd runs & they managed to cross the line only due to the extras. Another 50-70 odd runs to chase & Australia could have completely collapsed as well. Shows you that the pitch was utterly unplayable for both the teams.
 
Personally speaking don't mind such pitches once in a while. More so if this Rabada spell had come yesterday Aussies could be in trouble too. So they took the risk and reaped the rewards. Full points for bravery. No other team would like to face Rabada, Nortje, Jansen on that track.
 
SamNJ said:
Personally speaking don't mind such pitches once in a while. More so if this Rabada spell had come yesterday Aussies could be in trouble too. So they took the risk and reaped the rewards. Full points for bravery. No other team would like to face Rabada, Nortje, Jansen on that track.
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Their hope was they had better batsman atleast on paper (Smith, Labu, Head all 3 in very good form).
 
I didn't see the test match but from the scorecard this pitch should get demerit point atleast.
 
So this is officially recorded


"I did ask the umpires when KG [Rabada] got [Travis] Head out down leg," said Elgar.

"I said, 'How long does it go on for till it potentially is unsafe?'.

"Nortje was also bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads. I know the game was dead and buried; it was never to try and change or put a halt to the game, but that's obviously where the umpire's discretion comes into play, not us as players. It's a tough one to answer, really."
 
Is ICC going to rate (matter of fact, de-rate) this Aussie pitch as they did with Pindi pitch?
 
You had to have blooody good eye sight to tell the wicket from the square. The deterioration in the quality of Australian wickets is nothing short of scary for the future of test cricket
 
Main difference i see is that no one in Oz is defending the pitch or using it to claim victim status. Everyone is just saying- yep got it wrong.

When a pitch in Asia gets criticised all I hear is a bunch of excuses and "what about other pitches..."
 
Bewal Express said:
You had to have blooody good eye sight to tell the wicket from the square. The deterioration in the quality of Australian wickets is nothing short of scary for the future of test cricket
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Curator got it wrong by a couple of days, in a very rainy year. Hardly a major deterioration.
 
wrongun said:
Main difference i see is that no one in Oz is defending the pitch or using it to claim victim status. Everyone is just saying- yep got it wrong.

When a pitch in Asia gets criticised all I hear is a bunch of excuses and "what about other pitches..."
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Not really. Wild Aus, Eng, SA pitches have started to get criticism from their media & players only recently, my guess is this has happened after the double standards were repeatedly pointed out by .. well mostly Indian fans and pundits.
 
wrongun said:
Main difference i see is that no one in Oz is defending the pitch or using it to claim victim status. Everyone is just saying- yep got it wrong.

When a pitch in Asia gets criticised all I hear is a bunch of excuses and "what about other pitches..."
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Its just an opportunity for team supporters from Ind and PAK to cry again.
 
Aus, SA, England and India- all have a solid pace attack in tests.

India may have fallen off some after their weird team politics of leaving out their best bowlers at times + Bumrah injury, but Pakistani attack is nowhere near close. Sad to see.

I underestimated England severely. But Anderson is still class and Robinson has improved leaps and bounds.
 
RexRex said:
Not really. Wild Aus, Eng, SA pitches have started to get criticism from their media & players only recently, my guess is this has happened after the double standards were repeatedly pointed out by .. well mostly Indian fans and pundits.
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What other pitches would you want rated poor? And why would you guess they have no criticism?

I also think you wildly overestimate whether anyone in Oz aside from a tiny % of cricket tragics like me ever hears what outraged Indian fans post.
 
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