God help me - the Test Cricket thread

[DJC]

I suspect the CA wear this because if they don't they will further kill Test Cricket, the only thing that even gave the Pakis a sniff was Starc letting them off the hook with 90% pie chucking.

But that might be the trick for him, because somewhere in the remaining 10% is an unplayable delivery when conditions suit and when he is switched on, you just have to wear the rest. It's that last point that is the most burring, because often the pie chucking seems attitude based not a result of the conditions or pressure, it's like he switches off and body language exposes a Laissez-faire approach, I assert that is what is most grating to cricket die hards.

We grew up watching blokes like Sobers, Lillee, Ambrose, Garner, Willis, Hadlee give batsmen nothing, the idea of a half-ar5ed spell was anathema to them, they were dirty on just releasing one bad delivery. Not only did you have to survive, but getting runs off them was like growing algae on a rock for a daily feed!

Now in context look at the batting records tumble, can you imagine if blokes that did dominate like Richards, Simpson, Walters or Border were batting now getting 2 or 3 lose pills an over or having a Cummins type try to bounce them out on the modern pitches, pitches that look like relative batting paradise compared to the 60s, 70s or 80s?

When you read about him doing a net session after play because he was unhappy with his action, you know that his attitude is spot on.

I reckon Starc is more like Lee or Thommo than the bowlers you mentioned.  Even when his radar is a bit off, there's a good chance that his next ball will do some damage.

And the question remains, how was he Australian player of the last Ashes series if he was chucking pies?  Perhaps because he was the leading wicket taker ...

Starc has 342 wickets from 84 tests at an average of 27.53, marginally better than Mitch Johnson, Lee and Thommo and is ranked among the best Australian left arm quicks.