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Rahkeem Cornwall makes it to West Indies Test squad
He is an all-rounder from the islands of Antigua and is perhaps the heaviest cricketer ever. He stands at a towering height of 6’6” and weighs around 140 kg.

Cornwall made his first-class debut in 2014 and has since become a regular for Leewards Islands, even captaining them earlier this year. He has 260 wickets from 55 first-class matches and finished as the leading bowler in the most recent regional four-day tournament.

KP_fan wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:I see the aussie commentators are already talking about Green being better than Stokes...

Not commentators...but one weird guy....and I am sure other are turning red in embarrassment in the box

That'd be Kerry O'Keefe. Australia's answer to Bumble. Both think they're very clever and funny at the same time. Personally I find them both pretty embarrassing and cringe worthy. They must have some real dirt on some former great players... or TV producers.

As for Green - time will tell. No point getting too excited just yet but he seems to have a decent head on his shoulders. He's only a young bloke.

So KP_fan... what do you reckon? Another 245 runs would be handy I'd say. You must be feeling a bit nervous?

Siraj on for Bumrah ...they will be conscious of not running their trump card into the ground. He is a pretty promising young bowler anyway and will be glad to get his hands on this ball earlier than he did in the first innings...
Going to be Jadeja now so a double change. Wonder how Starc will play ? He usually likes to chance his arm against the slow bowlers...but supporting Greem is probably his main aim at the moment.

It does seem a pretty dead track, but we all know the pressure of a fourth innings chase can do terrible things to a batting side, especially one that folded for 30-odd in the last test.

Another 80+ runs could make things interesting...

Not for the first time...Green falls trying to pull a short one
he is too far committed to the front foot all the time....and finds it hard to rock back needed to pull

I see NZ aren't messing about today...just lost their first wicket at 111 in the 33rd so they'll be pressing on to a declaration mid afternoon I'd imagine. 307 ahead and will probably want another hundred.

And Siraj has Green ! Took on the short ball and mistimed it...gone for a handy but not game changing 45. He looks really disappointed . Understandably...but he's not done his own image any harm with that knock

Fat Lady warming up her vocals...Starc might be having a swing now.

Dismissal of Lyon has lunch being delayed...lead is 59 so we won't see a finish until after the break anyway. But I think Starc will definitely start teeing off now.

Siraj has done well again with three wickets. Means they've not really missed Shami - even with Yadav unfortunately sidelined mid-match.

Starc survives what looked to me like a clear lbw by the tiniest of Umpires Call margin...I really think Reiffel got that wrong , should have given that out on field.
Melbourne paper making a lot of Paine's controversial dismissal this morning ...But overall I think Australia have had very much the advantage of the umpiring and drs in this match so don't think they've much to complain about - whatever your actual opinion on the Paine case.

Ashwin bowls Hazlewood now so all done...off for a late lunch and India will need just 70.

Hazlewood , like his mates , resisted well - if slowly - but that wasn't the best decision to leave one

That 'umpire's call' referral looked like it should have been three reds - surely more than 50% of the ball was hitting? No matter. Misjudged leave by Hazlewood ends the innings shortly after.

Good application by the Australian lower order this morning, but they left themselves too much to do after the collapse last night.

Let's see if Cummins can produce more miracles with the ball.

Pakistan batting without Babar is really not good

Nicely timed declaration by Williamson

Both openers nipped out for nothing before tea and the ball only five overs old...just about the perfect recipe .

NZ have quite a formidable pace attack when Boult and Southee are both fit and firing.  Wagner and Jamieson as back up...not a bad set.

So Australia looking for a pace inspired miracle...can't see it myself.

Didn't think Gill would mess about. If it's in the slot he'll be going for it ; few more boundaries like that will settle any possible Indian nerves.

Duty281 wrote:That 'umpire's call' referral looked like it should have been three reds - surely more than 50% of the ball was hitting? No matter. Misjudged leave by Hazlewood ends the innings shortly after.

Good application by the Australian lower order this morning, but they left themselves too much to do after the collapse last night.

Let's see if Cummins can produce more miracles with the ball.

Don't forget that is only a TV image representation , Duty. The actual margin of error is set in stone...though I reckon there is a case for reducing it a bit.
The umpires seem to have been reluctant to give close lbw decisions in this match...which suggests they are a bit mistrustful of the bounce. Which is fair enough as long as they are consistent.

19/2. Lovely ball shaping away, from Cummins, to get Pujara.

Does hope start to spring for Australia? Maybe if it becomes 30/4.

Two down early as the hapless Agarwal fails again (come in Rohit ?) and Cummins continues to dominate Pujara.

Only need another fifty but the Aussies to their credit aren't going to make a gift of the win. Rahane being tasked with finishing the job he pretty well ensured the other day...

Duty281 wrote:19/2.  Lovely ball shaping away, from Cummins, to get Pujara.

Does hope start to spring for Australia? Maybe if it becomes 30/4.

No miracles today , Duty. Adelaide lightning can't strike twice in a month.

Gill is the ideal opener for this sort of small chase...rattled up twenty already and the job's half done...he has some flaws but I continue to like what I see

The imperious Rahane and lively newcomer Gill cruising towards the finish line...

Lyon on to try for his hat trick ...but no joy there for Gary.

Get the MoTM award etc ready on the tray. Not much doubt where that is going .

Wonder if the Kiwis will be able to finish their game today too ? Need 8 more in a session.

Eight wicket win for India

Pretty fair result for the way the teams played. Massive comeback for India after Adelaide. I do not rate the "momentum" theory at all ; but the nature of their collapse there coupled with the loss of Kohli and Shami might easily have caused them to fold up ...instead their misfortunes seem to have hardened their resolve and honed their well crafted plans : even the unlucky loss of Yadav mid-match didn't seem to faze them.
An admirable effort ; and Australia has a bit of soul-searching to do before the third match (wherever it is played !)

A mighty fine result for India! After all that happened in the last game and after. After that calamitous melt down. After losing their best batsman and captain on leave. After losing their 2nd best seamer to injury. And already with another first choice player in Ishant Sharma missing from the tour party. Has to be right up there among the greatest test wins for India. Probably the second greatest in Australia for India, after Perth 2008.

The pitch had lost some life yesterday itself, but the Indian bowlers stuck at it pretty well, despite losing Umesh early on in the innings. Bumrah didn't look his absolute best, or probably he was not letting himself go full tilt considering they are already without Umesh, and Shami and Ishant for that matter. But even then, Boom produced a fine one to get Cummins to open things up, and Ashwin and Siraj finished it off well. Mayank Agarwal had another failure, and Cheteshwar Pujara couldn't get himself going either. But young Gill, and skipper Rahane finished the job without further alarm. And Rahane for me, looked more like the Rahane of 2014 in this innings than during his brilliant first innings hundred. It could be a case of less pressure from a small chase, but he wasn't holding back against the quicks, quickly counterattacked with some nice shots and ended whatever little hope Australia may have had at 19-2. Gill also enhanced his reputation. Could see some limitations in his technique, that pull shot is that bowlers and analysts are going to have a closer look at, and with his tendency to stay beside the line, might be a problem that need to be worked upon before he would play in more swinging conditions like England. But Shubman can play some nice shots, and does look a much better player at this stage of his career than his U-19 skipper Prithvi Shaw.

bit of a turn around time before the next test. And they need to take a call on where to play the next test.
Both sides will also have some thoughts on the mike of the side. Would David Warner be ready for the next test? They really seem to be badly missing him upfront. Not just because his trusted mate Joe Burns is looking like a walking wicket evey time he walks out to the middle, but also because of the general timidity that they've shown in the top order where they haven't been able to put the Indian bowlers under much pressure with some aggression of their own.
What about Will Pucovski? Will they let him come back soon, with all that history of knocks on the head that he seems to get far too often for comfort?
If Warner is available, then he should come in for Burns, or else, they should look at someone like Marcus Harris who did well against India last time round.
What about Head? He hasn't really kicked on despite chances. Who else are the possible middle order options? With Green's emergence, Head's second string with some parttime spin doesn't seem to be all that important, and in any case, they do have Labuschagne and a certain former leg spinner who was supposed to be the next Warne in their lineup.

Aus openers question is clouded even more by Wade doing pretty well. In theory he should be their fifth choice and has a very mediocre test record, but is the only Australian currently consistently getting OK scores. Long term its hard to imagine he will become a genuine test opener, but for now hes doing a job Burns just has to go. Warner was expected to be available for this test so he really should be in the next one.

Any news on Yadavs injury, is he going to be out?  Indias bowling depth is going to be tested, pretty sure they will stick to the two spinners regardless with both doing a good job here and Jadeja showing hes fine as a 7.

Great for the series and test cricket in general that India won this. Id still have As as hot favourites for the remaining tests but we will see.

Meanwhile Sri lanka wold be best off declaring and not bothering to turn up tomorrow. Hammered by a half strength SA in spite of batting first, ouch. NZ cruising to another dominant home win, be nice to see them play a good side away, the Aus series showed them up a bit but that was an injury hit side

As for India, there are questionmarks about Umesh's fitness. In any case, I think he's a far better sub-continent bowler than in more helpful conditions for seamers. Fails to adjust from the Indian line and length despite all the experience that he has had over the years. Young Navdeep Saini is even quicker than Yadav, but has the same spraygun problem. But Rahane may not be left with much choice on that front. Ishant Sharma has resumed playing, is part of the Delhi squad for the domestic T-20 tournament. But I guess with all the COVID protocols in place, he can't be added to the squad at this stage. And he may not be ready for the long format yet.
In the batting front, they may want to have Rohit Sharma coming back in. I don't consider Sharma a first choice player in the Kohli/Rahane/Pujara mold, but he did some fabulous things back home as an opener when he played test cricket the last time. But can his suspect technique and temperament withstand the demands of opening in Australia? Mayank Agarwal didn't do great in New Zealand other than a half-century and has had 4 failures so far in this series. So there is indeed a case for replacing him... But would Sharma be the man to come in?
The other player with questionmarks over his place is Hanuma Vihari. He's been around for a while now, but hasn't quite looked the part at this level. He can be a decent reserve, but has largely been unable to bring his First Class game to this level. With Jadeja in there, his bowling wouldn't matter to the discussions. So for me, if they want to replace Mayank, I'd go for Rahul, and if they replace Vihari then it will be Sharma. Though playing Rohit in the middle order can have its own complication, his temperament can mean that he can be the part and cause for a middle order collapse as the chances of 1 bringing 2 are usually greately enhanced with him. Considering KL also hasn't played much FC cricket aafter being dropped, they might as well continue with Rohit at the top, after all he lost his position the last time round due to injury and not performance. And if he goes early, there will be Pujara and Rahane to try and mop up. And he somehow comes off, he'll pretty much take all the headlines, and he has some of his greatest limited overs performances against Australia.

Gooseberry wrote:Aus openers question is clouded even more by Wade doing pretty well. In theory he should be their fifth choice and has a very mediocre test record, but is the only Australian currently consistently getting OK scores. Long term its hard to imagine he will become a genuine test opener, but for now hes doing a job Burns just has to go. Warner was expected to be available for this test so he really should be in the next one.

Any news on Yadavs injury, is he going to be out?  Indias bowling depth is going to be tested, pretty sure they will stick to the two spinners regardless with both doing a good job here and Jadeja showing hes fine as a 7.

Great for the series and test cricket in general that India won this. Id still have As as hot favourites for the remaining tests but we will see.

Meanwhile Sri lanka wold be best off declaring and not bothering to turn up tomorrow. Hammered by a half strength SA in spite of batting first, ouch. NZ cruising to another dominant home win, be nice to see them play a good side away.

Umesh's injury didn't look good at the time, and Harsha Bhogle on commentary was speculating that Saini may have to be played in the next game at least.
Think the BCCI should have added a seamer to the squad after Shami's injury. Not sure Shardul Thakur is still in Australia. T Natarajan's FC record isn't great, but perhaps...

I am not sure I'd make Australia "hot favourites". Their bowling is fine ; but the batting has been pretty limp so far in both matches - not just the low scores but the general lack of their normal busy scoring : generally speaking , in home conditions anyway , they look to dominate. There has been no sign of that in these games.

It is possible that the (presumed - pending fitness assessment) return of Warner will make a big difference. For all he often struggles in more bowler friendly conditions abroad , he has an imposing record at home with an average approaching 70 ... and the way he savages an attack tends to soften it up for others. Mind you , these two matches have seen more than usual in the way of assistance for the bowlers so it can't be assumed he'd have plundered them : but I'll warrant he'd have been a lot more likely to succeed than poor old Burns !

Even then ; if Smith continues to struggle (he is surely going to make big runs at some point , no ?) Australia look a bit short of batting class. Labuschagne is frankly using up most of the team's ration of luck in every innings and still failing to impose himself ; Head is not impressing at all and Paine and Green , while they have shown some resilience , aren't exactly Waugh and Gilchrist. Wade is the only player who one might argue is playing up to his presumed level - even if he is batting out of place.

Funny : a few weeks ago all the talk was "How do we fit all this new talent into a settled lineup ? Want to pick Pucovski and Green but no one deserves to be dropped" Now it is" who the hell do we use to replace Burns & Head ... if Warner doesn't come up fit we are probably stuffed"...

At the same time , India need to get their team right as the batting basically ends with Jadeja (Ashwin seems to have lost his batting mojo , even as he bowls better than ever) and neither Agarwal nor Vihari look likely to get many runs against this Aussie attack. And while Gill (really like him !) and Pant have done pretty well I'm not sure I'd put the house on either to bat for my life at present...so a collapse is always possible (if not for 36 every week) Agree with msp they will probably go for Rohit ; though that does mean two aggressive openers with the potential for 15/2 or a fast first sixty... They'll be hoping Yadav comes up OK as I doubt they'll want too many new players coming in at once.

If the pitch (Melbourne again , perhaps ?) is similar to this one India might fancy their chances again. Probably more so than Brisbane , the Aussie Fortress (though this match is being played at a very different time to usual calendar.)

I reckon the series is very much 50/50 at the moment.

Labuschagne reminds me of Voges to an extent, makes a series of big scores far beyond his actual ability.

It's a commendable comeback by India, totally outplayed Aus...whose only problem is their top order batting
And a pretty serious one...with Smith unable to buy a run....and Labuschage their most successful needs 3 lives to get to 40 odd.

some of or atleast one Aus commentator was getting mental orgasms over Green....while I wish him well....his biggest flaw is he takes such a BIG front foot stride & so decisively...that he would struggle to retreat is a really fast bowler digs it in to his body.
AND
as we have seen twice in the series.....if he gets a long hop....he is so far forward with all hjs dangling long arms and legs that he struggles to transfer weight to backfoot to pull.....and ends up lobbing catches to Midwkt / sq-leg....like he has done twice

Wade will survive not because he is a test match batsman but because Burns and Head are looking like bigger liabilities.

For India.....jadeja's batting and spinners being effective using the bounce are a delight.

Bumrah is down on pace and it seems team management had asked him and probably Siraj also to conserve themselves for a long bowl once Yadav went down.

Next game Saini should come in....but won't be surprised if they bring in Natrajan or Shardul.

once there are 3 fit seamers in the 11 ,,,,I hope Siraj and Bumrah will push their pace upto 140 and 140+ respectively.

Agarwal is a worry falling cheaply and quickly to Starc....but in my books he has enuf credit to get the next test.
Rohit is hovering in the background.,....but his form, match fitness and match practice are all unknown

Rahane showed you don't need overt aggression all the time to lead well.....his fielding / bowling changes were far more astute than Kohlis
Kohli has probably better skills to motivate / push/Pump-up and Kick-a.s.s his players esp fast bowlers...and also get under the skin of opposition

msp83 wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:Aus openers question is clouded even more by Wade doing pretty well. In theory he should be their fifth choice and has a very mediocre test record, but is the only Australian currently consistently getting OK scores. Long term its hard to imagine he will become a genuine test opener, but for now hes doing a job Burns just has to go. Warner was expected to be available for this test so he really should be in the next one.

Any news on Yadavs injury, is he going to be out?  Indias bowling depth is going to be tested, pretty sure they will stick to the two spinners regardless with both doing a good job here and Jadeja showing hes fine as a 7.

Great for the series and test cricket in general that India won this. Id still have As as hot favourites for the remaining tests but we will see.

Meanwhile Sri lanka wold be best off declaring and not bothering to turn up tomorrow. Hammered by a half strength SA in spite of batting first, ouch. NZ cruising to another dominant home win, be nice to see them play a good side away.

Umesh's injury didn't look good at the time, and Harsha Bhogle on commentary was speculating that Saini may have to be played in the next game at least.
Think the BCCI should have added a seamer to the squad after Shami's injury. Not sure Shardul Thakur is still in Australia. T Natarajan's FC record isn't great, but perhaps...

Shardul and Natrajan are both in Aus....shardul was the officially declared replacement for Ishant.
He would be my first choice
Logic and consistency would dictate Saini to be the first pick...he is the firts among the reserves and in squad for a long time.
But don't be surprise if the team management invents some convoluted logic to justify picking Natrajan...like we need Left arm variation

Are India really seriously considering changing openers again? They didnt exactly give Shaw much of a run (again) and Agarwal is also barely at the start of hi test career. What happens if Gill fails to make scores in the next test, will he get dropped too? Theyve used 10 openers in the past 4 years (not including night watchmen) and only two of those have aged out. Dont think even England have got through quite that many, at some point you need to back a player for a run of tests, at least a whole series to see if they can learn and adapt. The only one whos had a proper opportunity in recent years was Rahul who now isnt even in the conversation.

Soul Requiem wrote:Labuschagne reminds me of Voges to an extent, makes a series of big scores far beyond his actual ability.

People said that about Smith (who tbf has averaged 26 since the last Ashes)

Think Labuschagne might have overachieved a bit in his early matches - and like any new batsman , he's now been analysed to death by opposing coaching staffs so it does get a bit harder.

He has certainly looked a lot scratchier this summer : may just be out of nick - in which case the fact that he has still hung in and made "ugly" runs (albeit via a lot of luck) is greatly to his credit.

I'd be reluctant to mark him down too much on the basis of a couple of bad matches . Unlike a few Aussie bats he doesn't appear to be an FTB...his early successes in England came on generally bowler friendly surfaces on which not many batsmen prospered.

Reckon it is too early to judge so I will wait and watch...

Also worth noting that he has two scores of 40+ and only one single figure score so its hardly a disastrous return, cba to check but he cold well have the highest average of any top 3 bat in the series.

Of course any player who has an average around 60 is most likely to be punching above their weight, but its a bit early to be having him down as "fond out" just yet. If he can keep that average above 50 in two years time we will have to accept he is pretty good. Part of it does seem to be that he (as with Smith) has big game temperament which is every bit as important as skill when it comes to tests. As with others he was short of red ball cricket having only played 3 first class matches this year and them being 6 weeks prior to the test series, pls a test in early jan (where he made a double century and a 50). Hes also been exposed by the failings of the openers.

Anyway I guess my view on him is that he did overperform a bit last year (most of his runs coming at home against weakened opposition), but you can take 20% off his scores and still have a good test batsman. Also Smiths slump in form is more more prolonged and troubling.

South Africa completed the job as expected, Pakistan managing to drag the game to the last day, and in with a small chance of saving the game if they can manage to see the day out with 7 wickets remaining. But seems rather unlikely, New Zealand should be 1-0 up some time in the second session I feel.

Tim Southee reaching the 300 wicket mark was the other highlight from that game.

I see Tim Paine is having a right moan about the DRS. Things seem to be getting to the Australian skipper, who has otherwise led the team with dignity in the last couple of years. He should stop crying, just take it that the luck he got with that run-out in the first innings was evened out in the second, if anything.
I don't see the fuss in any case, think the right call was made in both Pujara and Paine cases.

Imagine how much he'd be moaning if it was the umpires giving the questionable decisions

End of the day if its that close the super slo mo can't see you were clearly in you got beat by the bowler. That's the reason you're out, not the application of DRS. If youre not given a wicket because the technology isn't clear its still not an unjust outcome, benefit of the doubt has always been a thing too.
The situation now is a world away from the farce of pre DRS umpiring.

msp83 wrote:South Africa completed the job as expected, Pakistan managing to drag the game to the last day, and in with a small chance of saving the game if they can manage to see the day out with 7 wickets remaining. But seems rather unlikely, New Zealand should be 1-0 up some time in the second session I feel.

For much of today it has seemed Pakistan were going to save it after all...thanks to the excellent Fawad and Rizwan ; who took the score to 240/4 into the last session. However the last ten overs have seen 4 wickets fall to Wagner and Jamieson ...so the last hour sees Pakistan's nine ten jack trying desperately to hang on.

Don't fancy their chances...

Neil Wagner has some claims to being superhuman (in an understated , Kiwi kind of way) Deep in the second innings of a match in which he has now bowled 49 overs - now continuing in his 11th over of this spell alone ... and still pounding away whacking batsmen on the head...

All with two broken toes , mind. And a smile on his face. Pretty cool.

Into the final ten overs and the last pair gritting it out...

Wagner is done but Santner took the ninth wicket and the opening bowlers are back to try and finish the job. Good Test Match , this.

Agony for Pakistan as Santner finishes the job with a C&B with just four overs left in the match...so close to saving it after it all appeared to be effectively over last night...

Well done NZ...but praise for Pakistan's middle order , and even the rabbits for dragging it so close to the draw. Indeed a good Test Match

That was an enthralling last few hours. The Kiwis have done it!

Thought Pakistan looked to be in a good position earlier on with Fawad Alam getting his ton and being ably supported by Rizwan. It was a gripping finish in the fading light... actually thought Pakistan might survive with around six overs to go; but Santner got his reward with everyone crowded around the bat and Naseem spooning one back to him.

Joe Burns dropped for final two Tests; David Warner, Will Pucovski included in squad

Looks like Aussie selectors have slotted Pucoviski for one opening slot..in place of Burns
given he is aged 22 and averages 55 in FC cricket......he offer the exciting long term upside..the type that that lures selectors world over.

If Warner is also fit.....then I guess Head will make way for him & Wade might bat at 5

Don't think they should risk Pucovski for this Test. That would be too desperate and silly. I'm hoping it's only some form of mind games. He needs more time to work on playing short balls. He's definitely not ready technically and mentally. It's only asking for trouble if they select him.

Dropping Head would be a touch harsh this early in the series, hes had one decent score from 3 innings and had an OK series (including a century) in australias previous tests. His overall record is considerably better than Wades still. As things stand it makes more sense to keep Wade as an opener where hes doing a job as a short term option and bring back Warner for Burns. Longer term they will want the young lad in, but Id assume theyll want him to play a bit in the nets with their quicks giving him a few short ones and be sure he has the confidence before dropping him straight into a debt test. Seems a bit much to throw him straight in after several weeks without any practise, although it wold be very Australian to find out if hes a good bloke or not! To me though Warner Wade gives a more solid base for the next test, an experienced partnership with little pressure on them.

The idea that Pucovski might start ahead of Warner (if fit) seems the oddest of all options.

You've got a very strange notion of an Australian mind set, Goose. Seems like it has been influenced by some tongue in cheek jingoism from the 80s or even earlier. You fall straight into the trap of course! You are so far out of touch with reality. It's hilarious to read.  

Rather than act recklessly "to find out if he's a good bloke" I'd say that we actually have a generally conservative and cautious mindset - the opposite to what you probably are led to believe. I suppose it's quite easy and comfortable for you to accept the simple caricature of the Australian presented for the masses; rather than the actual reality of a very diversified and complex bunch of people from all over the place.

After the tragedy of Phil Hughes and with Smith and Labuschagne getting knocked around the head a few times during the last Ashes... I think Australians are probably more sensitive to sending some young hopeful kid out into the cauldron... just to see how he would cope. Shouldn't happen.

On the contrary, it wouldn't surprise me if we see some heavy medical opinions being voiced early in the New Year. We take this sort of thing very seriously indeed. Pretty sure there will be some form of public outcry if Pucovski is selected - if not, then something is drastically wrong in this time.

If, by some dreadful turn of events - such as Warner tearing his other groin - and we see Pucovski selected, it will almost completely turn me off having even the most minuscule faith and respect for our selectors.

If he does play and gets hit by a ball on the head/helmet again - then they (whoever was instrumental in defying common sense and duty of care by putting him in the team) ought to be dragged before the courts (because we all knew of the possible danger) and be held personally/collectively responsible for any personal injury to the lad.

Pucovski if selected opens up a real can of worms. Is it a legitimate tactic to target him with short bowling? I'm think of the ashes in particular where Archer has an uncanny ability to hit batsmen on pacey pitches.

Gooseberry wrote:Dropping Head would be a touch harsh this early in the series, hes had one decent score from 3 innings and had an OK series (including a century) in australias previous tests. His overall record is considerably better than Wades still..

Yeah true....but I get the feeling Wade is "undroppable"
especially now that he has scored about 75 runs in this test

Soul Requiem wrote:Pucovski if selected opens up a real can of worms. Is it a legitimate tactic to target him with short bowling? I'm think of the ashes in particular where Archer has an uncanny ability to hit batsmen on pacey pitches.

Exactly Soul. That's why most sane people agree he needs at least one more, possibly two more years of FC cricket to try and hone his batting skills and work on his evasive techniques to bouncers. He's a near stationary target at the moment. It would also be unfair on the Indians - to try and avoid hitting him flush on the head again. Imagine the uproar if something like that were to happen? Don't think any of us need to go through that again.

I'm not entirely sure that's a great solution either, he's been concussed countless times in FC cricket as it is. I see things slightly differently to you regarding Australia and these things, it was only after pressure from outside that they withdrew Smith in the first place.

Yes, maybe he needs a tap on the shoulder even. Sad thing is we don't know how much all those concussions have affected his ability to think straight both on and off the field. He was in a mess recently and suffered a breakdown at only 21 years old.

On a similar subject, I was recently reading about a 70s-80s rugby league player who took many knocks to the head during his career. His wife would come home to find him trying to hang up unwashed clothes on the clothesline... all barely pegged to the wires. Sadly he died in 2016 having suffered from Alzheimer's Disease during the last 10 years of his life. Brian Johnson... played for St George, Easts and Warrington.

There's so much we don't know about why some people do go downhill quickly and others don't after getting too many hits to the head. But you don't have to be a medical expert to see the obvious connection between the two.

https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/adam-gilchrist-says-will-pucovski-could-still-miss-sydney-test/f0d44b2c-f9e0-4f03-8348-168f8579829a

Gilchrist believes Pucovski won't make it to the playing 11
so who opens if Warner is not match fit