OZGOD
Senior Test Player
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Runs
- 27,187
- Post of the Week
- 4
There can only be one winner in this match. The question is - can Australia force a win?
Drawski is still the most likely scenario given the possibility of rain interruptions. I would really love for us to win this though, with Horroritz bagging some and cleaning them up to rub it in even more. That would really put us in good shape and avoid any Pom headlines about "heroic rearguards saving the draw and winning a moral victory" etc.
If you think about it this is the best possible scenario for Horroritz to shine - turning wicket, 239 run lead, unloseable match, nobody expects him to take wickets, and the Poms are physically and psychologically shot. If Horroritz is unable to take wickets tomorrow on a fifth day turning wicket like this I seriously doubt whether he will figure in the rest of the series, with Twatson, Clark and Lee all set to be available (Lee later in the series). This is his moment - he needs to seize it if he can. If he chokes with all this in his favour, I would ship him back to Australia ASAP, economy class.
Compared to the McGrath-Warne-Gilly-etc team we used to have, what we've missed is the ability to take the weather/umpiring decisions/external factors out of the equation as we don't have the firepower to win Tests in 3 or 4 days anymore. Before it didn't matter if we lost a couple of sessions to rain because we could still take the 20 wickets we needed in 3 or 4 days. These days we need the full five, and that may not be enough even if we win more sessions than the other team.
The biggest gap right now is the lack of a spinner as Horroritz is truly pedestrian. He's the primary reason why I'm hesitant to say that if we get a full days' play in we should win tomorrow. Our quicks will really have to step up.
I'll be doing my own dance to keep the rain away
Drawski is still the most likely scenario given the possibility of rain interruptions. I would really love for us to win this though, with Horroritz bagging some and cleaning them up to rub it in even more. That would really put us in good shape and avoid any Pom headlines about "heroic rearguards saving the draw and winning a moral victory" etc.
If you think about it this is the best possible scenario for Horroritz to shine - turning wicket, 239 run lead, unloseable match, nobody expects him to take wickets, and the Poms are physically and psychologically shot. If Horroritz is unable to take wickets tomorrow on a fifth day turning wicket like this I seriously doubt whether he will figure in the rest of the series, with Twatson, Clark and Lee all set to be available (Lee later in the series). This is his moment - he needs to seize it if he can. If he chokes with all this in his favour, I would ship him back to Australia ASAP, economy class.
Compared to the McGrath-Warne-Gilly-etc team we used to have, what we've missed is the ability to take the weather/umpiring decisions/external factors out of the equation as we don't have the firepower to win Tests in 3 or 4 days anymore. Before it didn't matter if we lost a couple of sessions to rain because we could still take the 20 wickets we needed in 3 or 4 days. These days we need the full five, and that may not be enough even if we win more sessions than the other team.
The biggest gap right now is the lack of a spinner as Horroritz is truly pedestrian. He's the primary reason why I'm hesitant to say that if we get a full days' play in we should win tomorrow. Our quicks will really have to step up.
I'll be doing my own dance to keep the rain away
@ Horroritz
