TOPIC:

Pat Cummings mother is in Intensive Care.He won't return to India any time soon.
Steve Smith will Captain the 3rd Test.Will be interested to see the team selection and difference,with on field tactics.
According to the coach.Its everybody's fault but his own.
If Australia cop beltings in the last two tests.Cant see McDonald coaching in the Ashes.If Australia performs well under Smith.Does he remain in the Captains role.
Whispers around about Ricky Pointing.As a possible coach replacement for McDonald.The players better perform.Ponting will be as hard arse as Langer ever was.CA must be in panic mode.

the tour is a trainwreck
someone's gambled on form , injured players & some vague plan
Still tests to play but it is getting harder to see how this current coaching set-up could possibly work for England 
 

I wonder if the Aussie will have the guts to go into the next test with  full pace attack, Starc, Morris, Bolland and Green.
Spin has not really done it for us. Worth a try. Nothing to lose.
 

Gee wiz what a Test Match over in Wellington between NZ vs ENG.
After being asked to follow on after their first innings NZ have fought back to win the Test by only 1 run unbelievable.
Only the 4th time in the 150 year history of Test Cricket where a side being forced to follow on after the previous 3 occasions being us AUS the last in 2001 vs IND where Dravid & Laxman batted for nearly 2 days and before that in 1981 vs ENG at Headingly where Botham & Willis destroyed us with bat and ball respectively!
Test Cricket at its best!

and this is where the new tactics fell apart mate - they spent 3 days plus in the field and were probably cooked 
but you have to credit NZ for that second innings

Awesome game of test cricket, I thought we might be getting the 3rd tie in test history. As BH said it was only the 4th time a team has won after following on and the first time this hasn't involved Australia. Despite their defeat, England have changed the way test cricket is played over the last 12 months. They nearly pulled off their 11th test win out of the last 12 and they will continue to play attacking cricket no matter the outcome. They will be coming hard at Australia in the ashes and if our players don't respond to the pressure they will be all over us.

Great fightback by the kiwis.Amazing test victory.

I think the Poms were a bit stiff not to get a wide called for at least one of those balls that Wagner bowled to Anderson and Leach. This would have ensured a tie and a series victory for England. Having said that NZ were due a bit of luck against England after they were robbed of the 2019 World Cup by a dumb rule

Getting back to the Aussies V India, I was thinking during the first 2 tests that Pat Cummins looked distracted and some of his on field decisions were not very good, now we know why that was the case. Smith will be much more focused and it will help his performance as well. He would have had a week to stew over his shot in the last test so don't be surprised to see him get a big score this time around. I would expect a lot more fight from the Aussies in the last 2 tests, whether it will be enough to get them a victory remains to be seen. Hopefully they will be encouraged by the way the Kiwis bounced back from their thrashing in the first test against England. This seems to be the likely team, given that the pitch will turn from the get go

Head
Khawaja
Labuschagne
Smith
Handscomb
Green
Carey
Starc
Lyon
Murphy
Kunemann

If the pitch offers a bit more for the pacers, Boland could come in for Kunemann with Head bowling 10- 15 overs of spin if required but Greens presence gives them a lot more balance.

I'm pretty much with you regards that Test line-up, Mike.
I'd probably choose Boland ahead of Kuhnemann, simply because both Green and Starc are underdone and if they both broke down, we'd be without a paceman.
As you say, Head is a more-than-useful spin bowler, though having three right-arm offies adds a touch of sameness to our attack.
Yes, from looking at the highlights of the Test in Wellington, Wagner might have gotten away with not being called for a legside wide on the penultimate ball of the match.
That said, I think the umpire would've left the Basin Reserve in a wooden box if he'd signalled a wide.
The equivalent in footy is a holding-the-ball decision not being paid to a team trailing by three points after they've applied a perfect tackle in their attacking goal square.
Umpires, perhaps understandably, are reluctant to make marginal calls when games are on the line.  
I agree that New Zealand was shafted in the 2019 World Cup final, so this victory was poetic justice.
It would have to be one of the 10 (out of 2494 played) greatest Test matches ever.