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Yep agree totally Mikeh...tho disappointed at the shot selection of those Aussie dismissals....the Kiwis had their short ball plans in place and the Aussies fell for them...only Burns didn't get himself out....what was Smith thinking?...Seems like his ego got the better of him....I guess the Aussies will try to eat into some heat time before bowling allowing the pitch to bake a bit more....hopefully not expend too much energy before the night session....gonna be a big ask for the Aussie bowlers one man down tho, as I reckon the Kiwis will try their best to keep Starc and Cummins out there for as long as they can....Lyon and Labuschagne sneaking a few wickets might be handy too....Will we see day 5?

Oh for that batting all rounder who is capable of bowling 140km in this situation where a fast bowler is down early in the 1st innings a la a Mitch Marsh....but alas!
And surely Mitch Marsh's batting is no worse than Head who continues to get chance after chance....must be an SA bias/conspiracy!!!

Gee how good is Day/Night Pink Ball Tests in Perth?
And how good a deck is the Perth Stadium pitch?
It had pace & bounce for the quickies, turn and bounce for the spinners and if the batsmen are good enough they can score runs on it.
Full credit to the curator with the job he has done there it is a ripper....unfortunately now we head to Melbourne for the 2nd Test to witness the most boring pitch in the country by a mile and quite possibly the world. lets hope their Test isnt abandoned after lunch on Boxing Day!

Stand the Test wrote: Home team wins the toss, match over. Anywhere in world anytime between any 2 teams.

Bullshit - no surprise there.

Home team won the toss........ win 539 out of 1222 ........... 44%.

www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Misc/MiscTossAnalysis.asp

In the end that was a pretty comprehensive win to the home side...tho the Kiwis have provided a lot of food for thought for Aust with their game plans for Aust top order...up to the likes of Smith et al to adapt and get creative.....all Aust top six were dismissed with the short ball.....weakness or ego...perhaps both are the same TBH....Good to see Wade prepared to wear a few to the body....pretty sure the Kiwis won't do that considering Starc and Cummins are 5-10km quicker.

Read Siddle is in the mix for Melbourne....seriously JL what is it with your faves in Siddle and Bancroft?....Pattinson or Neser any day over Siddle....I wonder if Stoinis may be an outside chance for either of the remaining tests?...Head keeps talking the talk about learning from his mistakes, yet repeats them over and over again....but how do you drop a fella averaging 40 odd batting at 6?...

Lot of talk about both sides being a bowler down....Think NZ were two down....Santner provided the Kiwis with nothing, whilst GOAT snared 6/111 for the match and some big wickets too...great effort by all the fast boys during those oven like temps....Southee and Starc with 9 wickets each, Wagner and Cummins for charging in relentlessly bowling at decent pace...Can't fault any of those boys fitness, hearts and ability.

Unbelievable that Piddle is even in the conversation to replace the injured Hazlewood for the next Test.
After being given far too many opportunities in the recent Ashes series including the last Test at The Oval were he was nothing short of pathetic with the ball and looked well past Test level that should have been his swansong, FFS Langer he is well past it in International Cricket!!
Give me Pattinson, Neser Richardson (if fit), Meredith etc anyone but Piddle!
The other issue of concern is still that number 5 & 6 in the batting order as Head & Wade are both still not in great touch, we can probably get away with playing one of them but not both for too much longer!

Summed it up pretty well guys. Aussies were the superior side. NZ fought hard but in the end they had too many passengers. Starc, Cummins and Lyon were all outstanding and worked together brilliantly to bowl NZ out cheaply twice. It must have been a close call between Starc and Labuschagne for man of the match as Marnus set up the 400 first innings score on day 1 and was the only batsman on either team to prosper on the pitch.

I concur about Siddle, he has had his day. As far as replacing Hazlewood is concerned I think it is time to give Neser a go. He will provide the same workhorse type approach that Siddle would but he has been around the squad for a while and he would be aware of the plans. Neser would also strengthen the batting and he has shown that he is an excellent fieldsman.

NZ will be bolstered by the return of Boult but their main issue is the ineffectiveness of their spinner Santner. Jeet Raval looked more dangerous TBH. It may be that they go for broke in Melbourne and add Matt Henry as well for an all pace attack.

It should definitely be Michael Neser who comes in - he's done everything asked of him and more so deserves his chance
But what's the bet Siddle gets in because it's in Melbourne

Southy if thats their limited thinking then they should pick Pattinson who is also a Vic.
I heard someone mention on the radio (possibly Wayne Clark from memory) that Neser's form at the MCG has been pretty average over the years but then again most bowlers could probably say the same with the absolute shit tip of a road that has been dished up at that ground for years now!

Yeah saw that but Wade or Head could drop out - then Siddle & Neser could come in
Neser could then be an allrounder of sorts which would be bloody handy on that rubbish tip of a wicket mate