2015 Ashes - Australia In England

Well that was surely one of the most undisciplined displays of cricket from the Aussies since the tour against Pakistan. There was no intent to accept the conditions and put the head down by anyone in the top order other than Rogers. There really is a problem there when it comes to realising that every country will play mary with their pitches to win, but to see a top order fall so easily really is a joke. So can i call for Clarke's head? no leadership when times are tough and no form makes him a liability.

Now i know i have said this before but Edgbaston has creamed the cake for me. The pitch situation in world cricket has got to the utter ridiculous. Yep the Aussies are hopeless on slow turners but really that was a 4th day pitch on the first day. For me all the POMS have done with this behaviour is drag themselves down to the India level. They did this last tour as well and it defiles cricket and makes the countries that stoop to it no more than a cricket joke. Funny that the countries that have real cricket class like Sri Lanka and SA never play this childish game. The ICC must act and introduce a pitch controller that directs pitch preparation. OH how silly of me, the two worst countries for it are India and England and they are both on the dictators board.
 
Now i know i have said this before but Edgbaston has creamed the cake for me. The pitch situation in world cricket has got to the utter ridiculous. Yep the Aussies are hopeless on slow turners but really that was a 4th day pitch on the first day. For me all the POMS have done with this behaviour is drag themselves down to the India level. They did this last tour as well and it defiles cricket and makes the countries that stoop to it no more than a cricket joke. Funny that the countries that have real cricket class like Sri Lanka and SA never play this childish game. The ICC must act and introduce a pitch controller that directs pitch preparation. OH how silly of me, the two worst countries for it are India and England and they are both on the dictators board.

I completely disagree. That pitch was more favorable to the bowlers than the batsmen.. How often could that be said in the last ten years? What do you want, pitches like in the World Cup where no one can bowl anyone out and 400 is scored everyday for the loss of two? Having the occasional match where the bowlers dominant can only be a good thing for the game!

As for India, I think every country has the right to prepare whatever pitches they like as long as they are within the laws of the game... That's how you keep the intrigue in international cricket.. Why would you want to tour all around the world to play on the same pitches? It's up to Australia to up their game and find a way to deal with the English pitches if they are good enough...
 
You're on your own so far nairbe. I disagree. If there was a means got standardise Test wickets, I'd have that Edgbaston one any day. Eventually batsmen would adjust, and the game will take longer than 2.5 days. With the knowledge that no one scored 100 on it. It may ancrease the value/appreciation of scoring a 50/100.
 
I completely disagree. That pitch was more favorable to the bowlers than the batsmen.. How often could that be said in the last ten years? What do you want, pitches like in the World Cup where no one can bowl anyone out and 400 is scored everyday for the loss of two? Having the occasional match where the bowlers dominant can only be a good thing for the game!

As for India, I think every country has the right to prepare whatever pitches they like as long as they are within the laws of the game... That's how you keep the intrigue in international cricket.. Why would you want to tour all around the world to play on the same pitches? It's up to Australia to up their game and find a way to deal with the English pitches if they are good enough...

MMM, Interesting. I see from your comment and that of a few others that i may have mis stated my intention. I do however disagree in the case of India who i consider little more than cheats. Kram and Brian, i certainly would hate to see an homogenized pitch and much of the issues we are currently encountering in Australia is based very much around the drop in pitch love affair. I am sure you full understand that any traditional pitch will have its own character. This will always be different due to the individual conditions. Such as the WACA that has a high sub-surface moisture due to it's proximity to the river. Or Cape Town that has a special affair with the meeting of the ocean and the mountains.

That said you would also agree that a Test pitch must be prepared to last five days. This will see the conditions change and vary throughout the game but without a moments thought it will not see inconsistent bounce on day one. It will not have a pitch that is not negotiable by day two. Edgbaston was a joke, that was not a Test pitch, hell it was not a first class pitch. I stand by my statement that countries with cricket honor like Sri Lanka, who also happen to have slow turners, don't prepare them to break up on day one. They prepare very challenging Test pitches that heavily favour their team because it is their conditions without having to take it to stupidity. Should Australia want to, then we could prepare five green top ultra bouncers each year but we don't. Each of the five main test venues has a very distinct character. This is what make for a great contest and nothing better than when a team comes and truly has a go, like i expect NZ to do this year. Another of those countries that doesn't have to fix their pitches.
 
That said you would also agree that a Test pitch must be prepared to last five days. This will see the conditions change and vary throughout the game but without a moments thought it will not see inconsistent bounce on day one. It will not have a pitch that is not negotiable by day two.

Agreed but what we have been mostly getting the last ten years is pitches that don't even break up at all (still good batting wickets after four days)! It was refreshing to see a pitch that was very difficult to bat on..

I'll also add, a lot of batsmen threw away their wickets and all the batsmen who scored fifties were scoring at a around a run a ball. Maybe if they had been more selective with their shots and been more disciplined, then someone would have scored a century.. The aggressive approach to Test cricket is good but on pitches like that, players need to reign it in and graft scores if they really wanna score big.
 
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