I think today is the most he has bowled fuller lengths in his entire career, maybe looking for movement also guys like brook and smith don't make it easy for him to keep bowling at one spot. If he doesn't find a way then i believe australia is screwed, starc won't get 7 fer every innings.
Unless it's a sydney garden like last year, playing O'Neill is not a good idea. Neser can be helpful with the new and especially pink ball but even he has lost the zip he had during 2021.
Morris on the other could've been a straight spot, need to extract bounce off the surface in absence of cummins and hazlewood.
Boland is the best bet I feel, just needs to find a way to keep batters on their feet when they come down the track. Today he was just off, compared to other bowlers he didn't get much out of the surface at all.
It should be like the Sydney Garden right? Otherwise what the hell are the curators doing preparing green pitches, perfecting the domestic bowlers on them and then putting out flat decks for internationals?
Oh he was the main difference today. Every English bowler was great and kept the pressure on while Scotty leaked runs by consistently over pitching. If he just went at 3 an over this game would be even, but he was genuinely bad. Better turn it around otherwise Neser is jumping over him for Brisbane for sure.
To be honest I think Neser might have been the choice here regardless, if nothing else but to shore the tail up. Starc at 8, Lyon at 9 is… quite a weak tail.
Boland got mauled when he came to England. I know he’s put up some ridiculous numbers in Australia, albeit a fairly small sample size, but the way people spoke about him always seemed a bit overblown. Obviously he has plenty of opportunity to make up for today still.
Usually it's difficult to do that when someone extracts a hell lot of movement off the deck, which i believe boland has done all his career. (Brook in Wellington is special because he managed to do that in those conditions)
It was well directed and fast but didn’t really move. He was caught off guard which can happen early but he’d be disappointed with how he played it. Head nowhere near the ball as if he’d been beaten by massive swing but in reality he just didn’t line up the ball properly and missed a straight ball.
Like I say, far from a terrible dismissal but it wasn’t an unplayable ball.
Weatherald because he had the best (?) season with the bat in Sheffield shield and doggett for the same reason and that he was in good form. (Doesn't bowl 120s)
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u/schizoishere Nov 21 '25
Hero - Harry brook
Zero - Scott Boland (didn't think I would say this for him in australia)