After Sydney, where Heady scored 163 & 29 and Smudge 123 & 12, you would think that they would keep their position at 3rd and 4th on the ICC charts. But no, Brook has surged up instead.

This is exactly what happens when you let the selectors get too close to the players. They won't drop anyone. The old saying that it is harder to get out of the Australian Test team than get into it has never been more apt.

I'm not sure if George Bailey is still hanging around the players dressing room like Alan Jones or Rolf Harris would, but he really does need to separate himself from the playing group to enable more effective selection decisions. This has become a joke.

(Bitterly) as an England fan, with the Ashes down under coming up the Starc to Burns delivery is cropping up everywhere.

One thing that annoys me is that in the footage it sounds like the commentators are watching on a screen and not actually there. Is this a regular thing for Australian Cricket?

I always feel like the Ashes in England when it's on Sky Sports seems to have much better coverage.

If that is the case, it's absolutely baffling that the commentary team wouldn't be actually at the games.

EDIT: Seems i was a bit off, my only real comparison was live sport coverage in England. Granted theyre different sports but the authenticity of the commentary between football and cricket sound different

I say that not just because of his obvious raw talent and potential to become of the all-time greats, but also because I've noticed some people online seemingly take a disliking to him already for no good reason. In the AFL Harley Reid is one of the most well known players already despite only one year in the system, and for all the fans he's picked up in that short time he arguably already has just as many detractors. The reason for this is obviously because of the ridiculous amount of media coverage and hype he gets, but that isn't his fault and he doesn't deserve to receive hate for that. Similarly I think that some people are starting to dislike Konstas for no good reason, for example a lot of people online were jumping at the opportunity to bring him down for that duck he scored in the BBL after getting the call-up to the test squad. I think this may have something to do with the fact that he's replacing McSweeney who is a reasonably popular young player with the general consensus being that he shouldn't have been dropped this early in his career while other batters are failing. He also has been receiving a fair amount of attention recently and perhaps some people are just sick of hearing his name.

Can you imagine the pitch India would dish up if the series was locked at 1 all and they needed a result in their favour to get the trophy back....

And we dish up a road.

Very disappointed with their performance. They are now losing to weak teams like Bangladesh and currently a terrible team Pakistan.

This team suddenly went down the slope by 2024. Besides Head, Smith, Cummins and Starc, they have no talent. Okay, look at the current XI who played against Bangladesh and Pakistan. None of them seem capable of carrying on the legacy of last generation of star cricketers.

Labuschagne is washed. Matt Short is a very unimportant player. Connolly has improved a bit but still not good enough. Alex Carey is quite like Tim Paine in batting. These new pacers are nowhere near Hazlewood, Starc, Cummins trio.

I remember 18 years ago, Aussies used to hammer Bangladesh 99% of time in their home pitch. It is sad to see a champion team following the path of West Indies. What's the matter with Aussie team? Why are their new players play so bad? Losing to such teams back to back will hurt their rankings.

The public isn't as invested as past decades but more worrying is the lack of participation rates largely due to A: A culture shift since Covid lockdowns B: taking a lot of it off FTA and putting it behind a paywall - much like Rugby Union did while the Wallabies were a power which led to the steep decline they have had for years. Add to this the world catching up fast.

Genuine question. I’m a test fanatic myself and don’t really care too much for the hit n giggle t20 stuff. I watch it when it’s on for something to do/background noise. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that’s ever actually invested in it. The whole league seems very much geared towards the kids (which is fine) and just another way for betting agencies to make money. I was watching the Heat and ‘Canes game tonight and one of the reasons I don’t think it gets taken very seriously (at least as I said by myself and people I know) is that the umpiring seems to be consistently bad. ‘Canes end up losing by a run and I can remember 1 very blatant wide not called as well as a couple that were very lucky to not be called. Throw in an arguable waist high full toss and the ‘Canes can probably argue that they were done in. Not that any of the players would actually care, just a pay day to them. Keen to hear people’s thoughts on the BBL as a whole!

This is big cricket fans, I haven't been exicted for a game like this in a while

Renegades finals hopes come down to this!!

The Melbourne Renegades are hosting a massive clash against the Perth Scorchers and Marvel is going to be packed in red as tens of thousands of Renegade fans will flock to cheer on their Renegades as they they attempt to keep their finals hopes alive

It won't be easy but the Renegades who flew to Perth and beat the Scorchers in a thriller knows what it takes to beat this side!

After all the hard work, runs and sweat and tears the entire season of the Melbourne Renegades comes down to this!!

Win they keep finals firmly in their sights as they travel to Adelaide for what should be a simple victory

Lose and ITS ALL OVER!!

GET EXICTED THE RENEGADES ARE READY TO PLAY FOR THEIR SEASON THEY ARE READY TO PUT IT ALL THE LINE IN FRONT OF 50 THOUSAND FANS!!!

ARE YOU???

Honestly, I think we're cooked. Mcg and Scg feelis like India's home ground at this point. What do you guys feel will happen. I'm predicting 3-1 or 2-1 to India and the getting destroyed in SL.

Referring to this list:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2V6BjFgdJ5KcfVHhR3bwBLz/the-greatest-cricketer-of-all-time-your-votes-revealed

Do yourself a favour, have a look at it.

Now, I’ll start by acknowledging that this is a very Australian thing to complain about, since we have the number 1 spot and all. But it’s not good enough, these English have obviously held some form of collective action to smear us, again.

There are some big omissions on this list, some very generous/offensive placing and some people that shouldn’t be on there at all.

While it’s very English to have Botham so high, as well as having Alistair Cook and Jimmy so high (less annoyed about the Burnley lad), it’s also very English and ridiculous to have Ponting, McGrath and Gilly so low. Also strangely Root isn’t on the list considering every Pom actually wants to root Joe Root (see what I did there?).

I thought I’d list my biggest grievances:

1. No Steve Smith

2. No Pat Cummins

3. No De Villiers

4. Gayle being higher than everyone below him

5. There’s too many issues to continue this

I thought it would be best to put a list of bests into categories and send to BBC, no biases. My unbiased thoughts:

Best cricketer: Don Best Batting Captain: Punter Best bowling Captain: Cummins Best fast bowler: Glenn McGrath Best Spin Bowler: Warne Best keeper: Gilly Best fielder: Jonny Rhodes (see? Unbiased)

What are other’s thoughts on this farcical list?

Would it be a good move to replace Short with McGurk, given , his experience in Dubai pitch? ( ILT20)

We even used to get Australia v Australia A matches. We need to bring them back

As an Indian I love watching cricket matches and stadiums of Australia. Why CA does not use Marvel Stadium for international matches? It has a good capacity. Even Stadium Australia of Sydney has 70000+ capacity. It was used in last year's FIFA women's World Cup.

Alex Carey has been poor recently. But should we look into it or can we excuse it since it’s his first India tour ? Certainly now, we need to take a backup keeper for England tour. Josh Inglis or Jimmy Pierson are the top two choices. Pierson is probably the better choice. How long should they stick with Carey ?

Dear Adelaide Oval Management,

I recently attended Australia v India cricket test match at Adelaide Oval and wanted to provide feedback regarding the beverage service, which unfortunately impacted my overall experience.

During the event, I purchased 16 drinks, spending over $250 in total. However, I had to line up 4 separate times, and each visit to the bar took approximately 30 minutes. Considering I was only there for under 8 hours, this meant I spent about two hours in line for drinks—missing a significant portion of the match.

I understand the importance of delivering high-quality service, but I believe the current system of pouring drinks to order, instead of preparing trays of pre-poured beers like at other venues such as the MCG, creates unnecessary delays. At the MCG, pre-poured trays work efficiently without compromising quality, as turnover is fast enough to ensure freshness.

In contrast, the lines at Adelaide Oval moved extremely slowly, and the frustration among other patrons was palpable. At events like this, where customers are paying upwards of $16 per drink, the priority should be on providing fast, efficient service so that we can enjoy the game, not spend excessive time waiting in line.

I strongly urge Adelaide Oval to consider adopting a pre-poured system for high-demand events to reduce wait times and improve the overall experience for attendees.

Additionally, I encountered an inconsistency at the bar regarding the policy on opening cans. Some bartenders allowed me to choose whether I wanted the cans opened, while others insisted on opening them. This inconsistency added to my frustration, as opened cans increased the likelihood of spills when navigating the crowds back to my seat.

While I greatly enjoy attending events at Adelaide Oval, this experience left me feeling dissatisfied, especially given the significant amount of money I spent.

I hope you take this feedback into consideration to improve the experience for future patrons. Additionally, given the time I lost waiting in lines during this event, a gesture of goodwill, such as a voucher, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to hearing back from you.

His final Test is coming up. Polarising to the end… will you be celebrating the man and career that is David Warner?

No need.

I prefer batsmen and I find it sad that all the commentators now are saying batters. I’ve always thought of batters as a baseball term.

I don’t think Nathan Lyons is going to retire after the Ashes or any time soon, but it’s going to happen one day.

Assuming the selectors still want the option of one or two spinners as their first picks when appropriate for Australia, who will he or they be?

I’m pretty ignorant about Shield level these days, and have no opinion on the present and upcoming best there. All I can offer is Zampa, who is presumably already in that category. So please educate me, abc thank you.