@hydro11 because 1 Perrera innings of about an hour does nothing to explain the Australian ODI team team stinking up the joint since Feb 2017

They lost 4-1 at home last summer and took a game off SA and India making that 4-2, so they managed 1 win per series on home conditions for 2 summers (3wins from 11at home). They got hammered everywhere overseas AND on some days they had their best bowlers and batsmen.

For a country with all that cricket IP and advanced cricketing institutions, the winning history ; the last 2 years performances are more than just Davey having a brain explosion with sandpaper.

But sure, there's nothing unexpected in Australian cricket performances on home soil that can't be explained by noting 2 innings by a Sri Lankan in a losing game in another country

Australian cricket has never seen any value in a "close" loss

@MN5 Yeah, for sure. But 9 months later would we see dropped catches, knee high full tosses, soft batting dismissals and a deer in the headlights look from the players in the winning and losing moments in a game that could be won? Bowling full with a short bowling field set?The basics of cricket.

Nah, the loss of Smith and Warners runs is one thing, the attitude and mental fortitude of the others suggests this boil hasn't been properly lanced.

For a redeeming series final, that was pretty insipid for a team whose main characteristics have been never give up and fight till the end.

Aussie cricket is actually a bit fucked at the moment.

Pretty lame bowling and fielding performance from a backs to the wall Aussie team in a face saving game.

Something (lots of things) ain't right in that camp.

It's all a bit weird to be honest, but this mob is playing unaustralian cricket

@nzzp yep, might even be an argument that India have been better running the game than poms and ockers.

Made cricket a genuine high earning career on their watch, everyone plays each other more (poms used to go to sub continent once every decade, aus similar), have spread the money around (we get a year's revenue from one full indian tour).

After the Drs refusals a few years ago, cricket has been relatively issue free for a few years now.

Besides if the poms ran the game it'd have to be "bats-they" or "bats-them" in a year or two!

@Chris-B Good points.

I do think it's a bit like worrying if Dan Carter was going to fail us come World cup time - definitely possible but the career pedigree suggests it's quite low on the list of forcastable banana skins

@taniwharugby that can be seriously stressful

Sitting with an empty seat peering at cabin crew beside the door to see when it closes.

Watching 2 ton Terry waddle down the aisle looking at his boarding pass. "Keep going you fat cunt, keep going". As he trundle past "thank fuck for that"

Breathing in and putting on your welcoming smile as hot ( hottish will do) chick sides up to your empty seat...."Oh fuck she's still going...probably a lesbo anyway"

"Oh fuck, a socks and sandle wearing yank.... Keep walking dickhead...."

I don't miss frequent air travel

Can this new found deplatforming vigour from massive tech companies be explained generally as a strategy to oust Trump in 2020?

If so we need Don to prevail in 2020, Jesus what a state we're in!

Surely these organisations cannot wholly discount the recent history of what free speech suppression has taught? Or are we going to have to wreck the joint because a generation can't read (or fucken knows it all!)?

@MN5 bless you

3 quick reasons backing the ordinary bowling line up appraisal?

Must say this upcoming series has me nervously excited or excitedly nervous.

It's a great indicator of how good we actually are, or how we're tracking.

Can't go past hoping we do well, rather than a full swagger of " we've got this ". Only ask for a live 5th game, that'd be good.

Sensed a bit of fatigue in Kohli last game and maybe a big factor for us might be the tiredness after an historical trip to oz, tempered with what Indian batsmen could do on our wickets, if 3 batting performances from an average Sri Lanka was any guide.

Really dont know how it'll pan out but i suspect we'll have to be at the top of our game

Should be bloody interesting.

C'mon lads! Let's see whatcha got

@mariner4life that was such a masterful chase. So calm. And it worked. Even the last bat knew the script.

Watching this (and the ABs) live your reminded how fucken good they are in the flesh. TV casts a production type performance for the viewer, viewing angles are pretty standard so its easy to overlook the significance of a few moments or the physics of the skill execution.

They made it look like chasing 250, and most of the way I thought that Oz would win. Nup. Quality team, hope we do fucken well against them