Australia [467 & 168/5d] defeat New Zealand [148 & 240] by 247 runs to win 2nd Test; Seal series 2-0

Wagner continues with his outstanding 130 k Thunderbolts.

boult with an Impressive speed of 131 on average. nice. phaassst bowling at its finest.

Wagner takes more wickets than almost any other fast bowler though... Heart as big as Phar Lap.
Most bowlers around the world could take a lesson from him.
 
Aus v India attracts crowds of Indians, and Melbourne is full of em- more than any other city in Australia.

Indians don't really attend Test matches in droves. Check out boxing day test of 2011 or 2014 , you'll find it tough to spot even a few hundred Indians in the crowd. You are confusing odis and T20s with Tests.
 
Kiwis/Australia has its own rivalry despite getting thrashed most of the time in the last 20 years. India/Australia rivalry is different due to several controversies over the years. Also the onfield rivalry is so intense. England is their traditional rival. An Australian even made a documentary 2 Nations 1 obsession about their rivalry

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/2-n...ket-rivalry-border-gavaskar-trophy/2018-10-12

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9324614/

Yes. See my previous post about how NZ vs Oz rivalry is best understood by looking at the RANGE of sports our rivalry exists in. You need to remember both Oz & NZ are not cricket-only sport cultures but really obsessed during winter with other games.
 
Wagner takes more wickets than almost any other fast bowler though... Heart as big as Phar Lap.
Most bowlers around the world could take a lesson from him.

that's true. Aussies love watching skilful bowlers. I personally prefer bowlers who bowl fast and possess a searing bouncer plus ability to move the ball.
 
@ wrongun, junaids believes height is the most important factor to succeed on Australian pitches. is that true? So skill and speed makes no difference ?

steyn is only 5'10. bumrah 5'10. jhye richardson who is Australia's future is only 5'10.
 
Read thread title

Don't post irrelevant comments
 
Yes. See my previous post about how NZ vs Oz rivalry is best understood by looking at the RANGE of sports our rivalry exists in. You need to remember both Oz & NZ are not cricket-only sport cultures but really obsessed during winter with other games.

All rivalries can co-exist. India vs Pakistan rivalry is always going to be bigger because of historical and political reasons.

Ind0-Pak_1561650986212.jpg
 
Wade is so trash it isn’t even funny

And finally gone as I’m typing this.
 
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@ wrongun, junaids believes height is the most important factor to succeed on Australian pitches. is that true? So skill and speed makes no difference ?

steyn is only 5'10. bumrah 5'10. jhye richardson who is Australia's future is only 5'10.

It is very important. But not the only important factor.

Add Marshall to your list who was also great out here at 5'10 or 5'9. Thing is though, those guys are ATG bowlers (Bumrah at least might be one day, he's outstanding currently). Exceptions though, not the rule. Worth noting that every single one of your examples was supported by very tall bowlers- Morkel, Ishant etc. But if you're not tall then you need to be world class. Richardson for example can't get a game & I actually don't expect him to have much of a Test career at all.

Otherwise, height is more a predictor of success- IF you can use it properly. Most Oz fast bowlers are pretty tall... Pattinson is the smallest & he can't get a game currently...
Alderman, Fleming... there is room for a good swing bowler.

So height will help- it gives an option/threat when it isn't swinging and helps exploit variable bounce later on. It can be overcome- if you are world class. But you also absolutely MUST have a tall bowler in your team.

Teams that beat us at home have a tall bowler or several. England & SA spring to mind.
 
@ wrongun, junaids believes height is the most important factor to succeed on Australian pitches. is that true? So skill and speed makes no difference ?

steyn is only 5'10. bumrah 5'10. jhye richardson who is Australia's future is only 5'10.

Jhye is actually listed at 181 cms that is literally on the dot 6 feet plus I don’t think Bumrah is 5”10 either he looks pretty possibly easily touches 6 feet
 
It's a shame what happens to non-ashes record teams when they tour here. All that hype only to get smashed like no tomorrow. Got to say Aussie fans know their cricket and spend quite wisely :)
 
Jhye is actually listed at 181 cms that is literally on the dot 6 feet plus I don’t think Bumrah is 5”10 either he looks pretty possibly easily touches 6 feet

dude jhye is 178. He is no way near 181 with shoes. I have met him. I am 181. bumrah is a proper 178 cm guy. He only looks 3 cm taller than 5"'8 kohli. or 5'9 kohli.
 
dude jhye is 178. He is no way near 181 with shoes. I have met him. I am 181. bumrah is a proper 178 cm guy. He only looks 3 cm taller than 5"'8 kohli. or 5'9 kohli.

Either wat, those guys are not tall fast bowlers. Need to be up around or above Past Cummins height to begin to be tall for the business of fast bowling, 190cm+, 6'3"+

People mentioned as really tall- Hzlewodd, Ishant, Morkel, the West Indians are significantly above that even.

Shaheen fits the bill, but maybe just don't expect a 19 year old to lead the attack along with a 16 year old & a club trundler. Was too much to ask without an effective spinner.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today’s attendance of 80,473 at the MCG was the second largest Day 1 crowd at a Boxing Day Test for a non-Ashes fixture – behind only the 85,661 who turned out to watch Australia play West Indies in 1975-76 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvNZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1210088766704099328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Cricket Australia thanks fans after record Test crowd between Australia and New Zealand

Cricket Australia extends its thanks to the 80,473 supporters who attended Day 1 of the Domain Boxing Day Test between Australia and New Zealand today – the largest ever crowd for a day of Test cricket between the two nations.

Today’s attendance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the second largest Day 1 crowd at a Boxing Day Test for a non-Ashes fixture – behind only the 85,661 who turned out to watch Australia play the West Indies in 1975-76. Over all, it’s the sixth highest Day 1 Boxing Day Test crowd at the MCG including Ashes Tests.

The previous Day 1 record for an Australia-New Zealand Test at the MCG was 51,087 in 1987/88.

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said the huge crowd at the MCG spoke to the popularity and vibrancy of Test cricket in both Australia and New Zealand.

“Thanks so much to the Australian and New Zealand fans who made history at the MCG today,” Roberts said.

“The atmosphere was brilliant from ball one and reflective of the great rivalry between our two nations on the field, and the close relationship we have off it.

“We can’t wait to be back at the MCG on March 8 next year, as we seek to eclipse today’s crowd at the Final of the ICC T20 World Cup Australia 2020 on International Women’s Day.”
 
Australia are far too strong for New Zealand in these conditions. Australia should aim to grind NZ into the ground here.
 
If the Kiwis can get some early wickets and bowl Aussie out for around 300-330 we can still win this, although Kane will need a big Hundred
 
Just seen the highlights. Good day of cut and thrust Test cricket with the MCG pitch finally having some bounce and seam movement on offer after years of dead flat surfaces.

Read that this was a record non-Ashes crowd too for a Boxing Day Test since 1975.
 
This NZ attack is just too slow for these conditions. You’d think they would’ve learned after their last tour here.

How quick is Jamieson?
 
No boundaries scored by Aussies in last ten overs. Maybe extra cautious in last few overs of the day yesterday and few early overs of today.
 
@ wrongun, junaids believes height is the most important factor to succeed on Australian pitches. is that true? So skill and speed makes no difference ?

steyn is only 5'10. bumrah 5'10. jhye richardson who is Australia's future is only 5'10.
Yes, and the four Tests in Australia so far this summer really prove it.

I accept that a pace bowler with ATG-level skills of around 5'10 can succeed in Test cricket. But he needs to be like Dale Steyn and Ryan Harris and Malcolm Marshall:

1. He be the world's most skillful and accurate bowler, and
2. He must be an absolute minimum of 5'10 tall, and
3. He must bowl at a bare minimum pace of 140K.

Even then, the fact that he is so short means that the short fast bowler misses out on the opportunity to get batsmen out in SENA by lifting the ball off a full length, making the batsmen fence and edge to the slips.

Which is why Marshall was supported by tall bowlers like Garner, Ambrose and Holding who dried up the scoring at the other end due to their height. Similarly, Steyn had Morkel and Kallis at the other end, who were 6'0 and 6'5 tall.

Everybody knows that James Pattinson is more skillful than Starc, Hazlewood and even Cummins. But they are 6'5, 6'6 and 6'4 tall, whereas Pattinson is only 6'1 tall.

That means that he can't maintain the pressure on the batsmen the same way. And so he is on the bench, while less gifted bowlers play instead of him.

It's also why Australia won the First Test at Perth and why they are 275-4 now. These pitches are flat and the Kookaburra ball is only moving laterally very briefly. The only thing which is getting people out is the combination of higher pace from a full length delivered by a taller bowler who gets more lift.

That's why Jhye Richardson isn't Australia's Test future, indeed why he isn't even in the squad. He's got all the skills, but he's 4-6 inches too short for the role that Justin Langer needs him to perform.
 
One extra comment for [MENTION=150610]tyron_woodley[/MENTION] .

Don't get carried away by India's series victory here in Australia last year.

They had already lost 6 Tests last year - and lost one more in Australia - and came up against a demoralized team which was facing public outrage at its ball-tampering scandal. The only two international class Aussie batsmen were suspended and the state of shellshock was summed up by Aaron Finch being used as a Test opener.

India did all they could do in beating a highly vulnerable and demoralized team. But this was the same Ishant who had done so badly before and the same Shami who had averaged 44, 34, 35, 73, 17 and 39 with the ball on his 6 previous SENA tours.

Bumrah was superb, but there is very little you can learn from India's Test series victory in Australia a year ago apart from the fact that Pakistan's Test series victory against Australia two months earlier was probably equally misleading and meaningless.
 
Run rate is under control for kiwis but fact they aint taking wickets means at somepoint Aussies will go through the gears.
 
Smith gone, good stuff by wagner. Much needed wicket.
 
Was a fantastic day at the ground yesterday. NZ fans were certainly making the most of it.
 
One extra comment for [MENTION=150610]tyron_woodley[/MENTION] .

Don't get carried away by India's series victory here in Australia last year.

They had already lost 6 Tests last year - and lost one more in Australia - and came up against a demoralized team which was facing public outrage at its ball-tampering scandal. The only two international class Aussie batsmen were suspended and the state of shellshock was summed up by Aaron Finch being used as a Test opener.

India did all they could do in beating a highly vulnerable and demoralized team. But this was the same Ishant who had done so badly before and the same Shami who had averaged 44, 34, 35, 73, 17 and 39 with the ball on his 6 previous SENA tours.

Bumrah was superb, but there is very little you can learn from India's Test series victory in Australia a year ago apart from the fact that Pakistan's Test series victory against Australia two months earlier was probably equally misleading and meaningless.

I understand. However, just going to mention that india also played 2 walking wickets in the form of Rahul and dhawan.

Shaw and Mayank were supposed to be the main openers for tests.

Demoralized or not, no other team barring india could beat that australia side devoid of smith and warner in their home.

India and australia are two of the hardest places to tour.

Another important stat that goes unnoticed is that kohli has never lost a game when he wins the toss. Home and away included.

Not saying they can beat australia in australia for sure but it's still possible.
 
60 runs partnership , ominous signs for kiwis here

It's another dead as a dodo MCG pitch, like the one on which Azhar Ali scored 200.

The ICC should threaten to ban the MCG from hosting Tests. This is just pathetic.
 
You know he actually has a higher Test batting average than Matthew Wade - and he's a better keeper than him too!

You are right Tim Paine is underrated with the bat,last year Khawaja and him saved a test match in U.A.E.
In his earlier days a lot of pundits were telling that he is next big thing.
 
These two making runs... Ugh..

Maybe some hope for our batsmen.
 
Ind won @ MCG last year :D

Trust me, I'm not knocking India for winning there last year.

I'm attacking Misbah's Pakistan for managing to declare but then lose there 3 years ago, on the deadest Australian pitch imaginable.
 
it was a blunder to put Australia in, and Kiwis are facing 500+ in first innings. Only positive is that they kept RR in confor most part, hence Aussies will need to bat longer.
 
it was a blunder to put Australia in, and Kiwis are facing 500+ in first innings. Only positive is that they kept RR in confor most part, hence Aussies will need to bat longer.
if we had batted first we probably would have been bowling late in session 3.

We don't have the bowlers to compete here and our batting looks pretty shot.
 
This NZ attack is just too slow for these conditions. You’d think they would’ve learned after their last tour here.

How quick is Jamieson?

Mid 130s.

He's really tall though, may as well of had him in there to give the attack something.
 
Captain Kane did half job for Australia by putting them to bat. 2-0 Australia.
 
It's another dead as a dodo MCG pitch, like the one on which Azhar Ali scored 200.

The ICC should threaten to ban the MCG from hosting Tests. This is just pathetic.

Have you even watched the match? Ball is moving enough. Kiwi's just have not made the most of it.

When Oz bowl out NZ for 250 in each innings, will it still be a poor pitch?
 
This NZ attack is just too slow for these conditions. You’d think they would’ve learned after their last tour here.

How quick is Jamieson?

It's not entirely their fault- they picked Ferguson but he broke down injured straight away. Adam Milne has also been injured so can't pick him. I can't remember if they had one more genuine quick anywhere or not.
 
Does smith have a vulnerability with short pitch bowling. 3 out of 3 for Wagner.

To left arm? Yes, clearly. Teams will need a really fit, disciplined bowler with great short ball accuracy like Wagner to exploit it, but I think a chink in the armour for sure.
 
It was criminal to drop Head at Oval [MENTION=129939]wrongun[/MENTION]
 
27 overs left in the day , Aussies should declare here and at least throw 20 overs at kiwis.
 
150 runs too many.

On the bright side they didn't make 500 and we bowled them out.
 
38 overs by Wagner !! gave away just 83. 4 for 83. That is less than average of 21 !! incredible given the opposition has made close to 500
 
Wasn’t it too late for him to find his rhythm :))
Coming back from injury and his pace was down. His spell towards the end he was bowling a lot quicker and was hitting the right lines and lengths to trouble the batsmen.
 
Kane (pretty much already is) or Nicols should have opened, not the smartest move to have Blundell open.
 
It was criminal to drop Head at Oval [MENTION=129939]wrongun[/MENTION]

Our batting selection was a bit mystifying over the last 2 years or so.

They seem to have got it about right now, although Wade is erratic.
 
38 overs by Wagner !! gave away just 83. 4 for 83. That is less than average of 21 !! incredible given the opposition has made close to 500

He's a fascinating bowler. His weakness is he ALWAYS takes 30+ overs to get his wickets. He isn't effective up front at knocking you over for a cheap total. He just pounds away and limits the damage & gets wickets eventually.

I quite like him, but he is not a match winner in setting games up. He can be effective in winning a 4th innings though as he's hard to chase against on day 4/5.
 
Our batting selection was a bit mystifying over the last 2 years or so.

They seem to have got it about right now, although Wade is erratic.

But he was your best batsman last summer,
Even in England he tried to save a match at Lord's.
 
AUS 467
NZ 31/1 (9.2) CRR: 3.32
Day 2: 3rd Session - New Zealand trail by 436 runs

First blood for Cummins.
 
Kiwis missing on runs here , because they have got into survival mode , it is dangerous , need to score wherevever it is possible.
 
Pattinson bowling in 140's,this is what Newzealand were missing.
Phaast bowling.
 
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