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You would think in UK conditions Behrendorf is a better option than NCN, Stoinis and Richardson bowling wise mate....Pattinson for sure....and definitely Hazlewood....

Yep NZ 4hrs in front Gtr....staying up to watch that Aust innings definitely was a waste of my much needed bed time mate....should of gone to bed when Warner got to 100.....would of been sweet dreams then instead of cursing that pathetic Aust collapse...

Washout not a bad result for the Blackcaps who where 3 from 3 games.And I'm sure they would be happy with 1 point against India.
You better not rain on Sunday night as it's India v Pakistan.

Think the weather is getting better from here GTRX but tonight's game England v West indies could be rain curtailed as well.
I hope they do get on the park because this game promises to be a bit spicy with Joffra Archer turning out for England after he played much of his junior cricket with the West Indies.
Also the England coach has made a few comments about Sheldon Cotterell's military style salute when he gets a wicket which Chris Gayle responded to. All good fun and banter although I recall that Ben Stokes saluted Cotterall when he dismissed him in the recent series in the Windies which Sheldon didn't appreciate much.

mikeh wrote: Think the weather is getting better from here GTRX but tonight's game England v West indies could be rain curtailed as well.
I hope they do get on the park because this game promises to be a bit spicy with Joffra Archer turning out for England after he played much of his junior cricket with the West Indies.
Also the England coach has made a few comments about Sheldon Cotterell's military style salute when he gets a wicket which Chris Gayle responded to. All good fun and banter although I recall that Ben Stokes saluted Cotterall when he dismissed him in the recent series in the Windies which Sheldon didn't appreciate much.

Looks like the starts delayed.This game could be one of the big names in the wc.

Great innings by Finch. He is paying the selectors back in bucketloads when they stuck by him while he couldnt buy a run. Strange innings by Warner, he really seems to be over thinking his role when he should just go out all guns blazing like he used to. Smith has slotted in like he has never been away and Maxwell topped the innings off nicely. The innings stalled a little in the last 5 overs when they looked certain to get 350. The two Sri Lankan openers played well but our new ball bowlers were giving them a lot of freebies. Once they zeroed in on the stumps they got the results. I thought Maxwell actually bought the game back under control with his bowling. I don't think we will get away with him being the 5th bowler against a stronger team though and this will make Stonis fitness a priority in the lead up to the next game or two. I think its also time to give Nathan Lyon a few games to see what he can offer. If Stonis doesnt come up, it may pave the way for Mitch Marsh to come straight into the team ( probably in place of his brother). If this happens I would favour Carey moving up to number 6 and Mitch at Number 7. I think that Coulter-Nile is a better proposition than either Berendorff or Richardson.

Even though NCN has the figures of 2/220 odd mikeh....yep that 92 was great....but ain't gonna happen again in this carnival....Behrendorf deserves a run, whilst Richardson is expensive early, seems to bowl tighter at the death than NCN has....agree Lyon needs a bowl and Maxy will get smacked by better batting sides....conundrum for JL re S Marsh and Uzzie...both were the two leading run scorers in Smith and Warner absence, but with Warner and Smith back, both Marsh and Uzzie are batting in positions they didn't score their previous big runs in...in hindsight a Hanscomb or Turner would of been better picks from a team balance perspective.....

Go Pakistan, lol.1 billion watching live.1,000,000.000.

Never good to interfere with a winning combination, but does Aust look at the bigger picture here and try to get some runs into Uzzie and S Marsh?....both boys are unlucky in the fact the roles they are playing now are totally different to the roles they played pre WC, where both were Aust leading 2 run scorers....with no disrespect to Bangladesh does Uzzie open and S Marsh bat 3 to give them some batting time....Warner and Finch have been 50+ consistent so far, with one blemish v India opening stand wise, whilst Smith has been his usual run scoring self....Maxy thrives on his cameo batting between overs 40-50 as does Carey to a lesser degree....just need Uzzie and S Marsh to get some confidence and complete Aust batting unit. In hindsight perhaps a Handscomb or Turner would of been better fits to those roles Uzzie and Marsh are having to perform now, as both Turner and Handscomb performed them successfully when Uzzie and S Marsh were scoring the runs.....

Bowling wise I really would like to see the Aussie bowlers bury their ego's and stop bowling short, SL hammered them mercilessly until the ball started becoming a bit fuller from Aust bowlers....Bowling in Eng lads not back home....does Lyon need a run or will Austvrely on Maxy for that 5th bowling slot....usually when Maxy bats well he bowls well.....as much as Stoinis has been under par, his presence does seem crucial to the Aussie balance.....

Gee didn't the Eng skipper have a day out overnight....made Rashid Kahn look like a hack.....17 Sixes is no mean feat.....

Freezin, gtr: sometimes I wish they would try Morgan at six again in the test side. I think he should be captain and Root concentrate on his batting. It has been a few years ago since they dropped him from the side, and considerring some of the players the English selectors have picked in the middle order since, he could not do much worse. He was batting with Bell when Dohni mankaded him after a throw in from the boundary. Does anyone remember that?