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Looks like rain is forecast for the first four days of this test, so we may be able to stop our run of defeats at least!

INS: Burns, Ferguson, Mennie
OUT: S.Marsh, M.Marsh & Siddle

The selectors have finally lost patience with M.Marsh.
Australia have lost the toss and have been put into bat on what looks a lively deck under grey sky's with a bit of drizzle around.

What a dreadful shot by Warner!

2/2 after 2 overs
Even Richie would be turning in his grave at that score line!

The only useful thing we have done all Summer so far was Smith taking Philander out!

5/18 now fair dinkum over the last 5 years I have seen some of the worst batting in Test Cricket history all from Australia and these are on covered pitches nowadays unlike in the distant past.
47 all out vs SA in 2011 after being 9/21 at one stage.
60 all out vs ENG in 2015 innings over 40 mins before lunch on the first day.
More coaches than players in the Aus set up these days and all on massive coin is anyone actually going to take responsibility for these complete and utter embarrassing failures?

Rain all day tommorow.Cant come quick enough.
Barry Richards made a good comment about the Aussie batsman.None of the players bat for time,ie wait for the bad ball.Most are also technally deficient against the swinging ball and spinning ball also.We will get flogged next time we go to England.

Simple solution...pay the batsmen a small retainer with bonus dollars for each run they make. They are treating cricket like a business these days so why not take it to the next level regarding remuneration. Perform or don't get paid. The bowlers earn their money but this current lot of bats play like they don't wanna miss the next ad break on telly. In my eyes what we are seeing with our test cricketers now is the legacy left behind by the former skipper...care factor zero cricket...compare that to the legacy AB left behind...chalk & cheese

gtr: I once heard BA Richards talk about batting against good fast bowlling.

the opening bowllers send down 10 overs
each batsmen faces thirty balls
of the thirty balls, ten to twelve may be wide and can be left alone
of the three overs left, with good judgement other balls could be left alone
so there are around two overs of genuinelly good bowlling which must be negotiatted by mostly backward defence play
finally of the thirty balls, against good bowlling he expectted to receive no more than one or two balls a spell to hit for four
he stressed that those balls had to be hit to the boundary

Boycott and Lawry would have agreed every word he said.

Lol what a fucken joke Australian cricket is. Glad a take very little interest in it these days. Are they a reflection of the soft cock society we live in today can't say this can't say that because you are not allowed to offend anyone? Or are they just over paid and overrated?

Oh deary, deary me! Thought I was hearing things over the radio waves this morning.
Apparently Smith being the highest scorer with 48 and everyone else deserted him. Sport becoming a business isn't working!