4th Test: Australia v India at Gabba Jan 15-19, 2021

[Bazal]

Bit harsh. They’ve had 4 players bruised, 2 players with the squirts, a handful of scraped knees, a bloody nose and Ragnar swallowed a fly. The umpires should have called stumps before tea

Adversity in Brisbane. Who woulda thunk it...

 

[hineyrulz]

Bit harsh. They’ve had 4 players bruised, 2 players with the squirts, a handful of scraped knees, a bloody nose and Ragnar swallowed a fly. The umpires should have called stumps before tea

And they all had to make their beds this morning FFS!!

 

[The Mad Hatter]

It's amazing how many people think being an ornery little f**kwit is "toughness"

AB is, from the meetings I've had with him, a genuinely nice man. But my goodness some of the stuff he did as a captain was ordinary.

I don’t think he ever thought he would be nor really enjoyed the role to be fair.

Had a lot on his plate too.

 

[Bazal]

I don’t think he ever thought he would be nor really enjoyed the role to be fair.

Had a lot on his plate too.

Oh no doubt. Don't get me wrong, he was absolutely an amazing cricketer and one of my favourites as a young fella even though I missed his peak. An all time great with the bat.

My admittedly unpopular opinion is just that he was actually not half the captain he's made out to be. Maybe partly because he didn't enjoy or really want it, for sure.

 

[TIGER14]

Agreed, it's 5pm and 10 overs behind. It's just not good enough, umpires have to grow a pair and take control.

Needs to be some accountability beyond just fines. Why should the Australian batsmen be negatively affected by having to bat for an extra half hour. Needs to be some penalties that actually influence the game, extra runs, playing with one less player, etc....

 

[Incorrect]

It's amazing how many people think being an ornery little f**kwit is "toughness"

AB is, from the meetings I've had with him, a genuinely nice man. But my goodness some of the stuff he did as a captain was ordinary.

Elaborate at your convenience...

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Oh no doubt. Don't get me wrong, he was absolutely an amazing cricketer and one of my favourites as a young fella even though I missed his peak. An all time great with the bat.

My admittedly unpopular opinion is just that he was actually not half the captain he's made out to be. Maybe partly because he didn't enjoy or really want it, for sure.

I think from 84-88 it was a case the seniors retired, Hughes cried, South African rebels and not much in the cupboard.

Clawed their way back and 87/88 into 89 it was I’m not doing this shit anymore.

Wins 89 Ashes gets a period of success and it became a case of when ya gonna retire?

Ch 9 used to rubbish him a lot too. Didn’t have the support entourage they have now. Touring was arduous - long tours; lower standards etc.

I’m surprised he lasted to 1994.

If you look from his WSC era debut to his retirement it was an amazing era of change.

Edit - probably a C of a C but an all round awesome talent and should’ve bowled more.

 

[hineyrulz]

It's amazing how many people think being an ornery little f**kwit is "toughness"

AB is, from the meetings I've had with him, a genuinely nice man. But my goodness some of the stuff he did as a captain was ordinary.

He did what he did to toughen us up, looking back now and you think WTF but when he took over as skipper we were at our lowest ebb. Mentally weak and pretty lazy, he got frustrated because his standards were so much higher than his teamates.

You listen to guys like Boonie,Deano and S Waugh, he made them better players and they knew the level they had to get too. He never craved the captaincy or wanted it but by the end he turned into a pretty damn good skipper. I am biased because he was my first cricket hero and my dads favourite ever player but we never have he run we did from the mid 90's to the mid 00's if it wasn't for the work he did.

 

[hineyrulz]

Cracking shot by Tiny Tim.

 

[Bazal]

Elaborate at your convenience...

Look it's a discussion a few of us have had before littered over a few threads so I won't derail this one too much, but in a nutshell the way he treated most of the players at times was pretty ordinary. He had a short fuse a bad temper and a proper nasty streak, and I personally don't kind of follow the train of thought that makes him a great captain in the eyes of plenty. Abusing blokes doesn't make someone a great leader IMO.

Hypothetical, but if Dean Jones had died in Mumbai would people admire AB for telling him "nut up or I'll get someone tough out here?" It's not that far outside the realms of possibility, Deano was so sick he struggled to handle the heat for the rest of his life.

I think that era (not just AB) laid the foundations for the win at all costs ugliness we saw for a while there, too, and for the idea that being abrasive unlikeable merkins was the way to play cricket.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

He did what he did to toughen us up, looking back now and you think WTF but when he took over as skipper we were at our lowest ebb. Mentally weak and pretty lazy, he got frustrated because his standards were so much higher than his teamates.

You listen to guys like Boonie,Deano and S Waugh, he made them better players and they knew the level they had to get too. He never craved the captaincy or wanted it but by the end he turned into a pretty damn good skipper. I am biased because he was my first cricket hero and my dads favourite ever player but we never have he run we did from the mid 90's to the mid 00's if it wasn't for the work he did.

Border is my Bradman.

For all his faults he pulled us out the mire. Him and Bob Simpson.

And I’m not having a go @Bazal either. He’s free to his opinion. AB wasn’t Capt Cranky for no reason.

 

[TheParraboy]

He did what he did to toughen us up, looking back now and you think WTF but when he took over as skipper we were at our lowest ebb. Mentally weak and pretty lazy, he got frustrated because his standards were so much higher than his teamates.

You listen to guys like Boonie,Deano and S Waugh, he made them better players and they knew the level they had to get too. He never craved the captaincy or wanted it but by the end he turned into a pretty damn good skipper. I am biased because he was my first cricket hero and my dads favourite ever player but we never have he run we did from the mid 90's to the mid 00's if it wasn't for the work he did.

AB was the Jon Snow (not the bowler) of Australian cricket in the 80s

 

[undertaker]

But my goodness some of the stuff he did as a captain was ordinary.

Such as...

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Look it's a discussion a few of us have had before littered over a few threads so I won't derail this one too much, but in a nutshell the way he treated most of the players at times was pretty ordinary. He had a short fuse a bad temper and a proper nasty streak, and I personally don't kind of follow the train of thought that makes him a great captain in the eyes of plenty. Abusing blokes doesn't make someone a great leader IMO.

Hypothetical, but if Dean Jones had died in Mumbai would people admire AB for telling him "nut up or I'll get someone tough out here?" It's not that far outside the realms of possibility, Deano was so sick he struggled to handle the heat for the rest of his life.

I think that era (not just AB) laid the foundations for the win at all costs ugliness we saw for a while there, too, and for the idea that being abrasive unlikeable merkins was the way to play cricket.

There a degree of toxic masculinity about it all.
But I think he egged them on with don’t be soft mentality. Whether that is right or wrong, it’s a good discussion.

He’s awfully nice these days. Probably does regret or questions things he did. But don’t we all?

 

[hineyrulz]

Border is my Bradman.

For all his faults he pulled us out the mire. Him and Bob Simpson.

And I’m not having a go @Bazal either. He’s free to his opinion. AB wasn’t Capt Cranky for no reason.

Baz makes some fair points, he was overly negative at times as a skipper probably from the early hiding he copped as a skipper. But from where we were when he took over and where he left us it was light and day. He toughened up a group core of world class cricketers under his watch and for that we should be all grateful. But it is ironic it took for him to retire for us to finally topple the windies and become number 1. Simpsons role shouldn't be understated as well.

 

[undertaker]

Needs to be some accountability beyond just fines. Why should the Australian batsmen be negatively affected by having to bat for an extra half hour. Needs to be some penalties that actually influence the game, extra runs, playing with one less player, etc....

ICC needs to start suspending captains for slow over rates.

 

[2 weeks]

Cam Green is getting me moist

 

[Incorrect]

He did what he did to toughen us up, looking back now and you think WTF but when he took over as skipper we were at our lowest ebb. Mentally weak and pretty lazy, he got frustrated because his standards were so much higher than his teamates.

You listen to guys like Boonie,Deano and S Waugh, he made them better players and they knew the level they had to get too. He never craved the captaincy or wanted it but by the end he turned into a pretty damn good skipper. I am biased because he was my first cricket hero and my dads favourite ever player but we never have he run we did from the mid 90's to the mid 00's if it wasn't for the work he did.

84/85 when Hughes stepped down and AB took over was the summer I started really following the game.... Amazing I'm still bothered with it now given how f**king shit we were that summer!!

For those who may not be old enough to remember that era, there was a genuine feeling of triumph if we were able to draw a Test, particularly v the West Indies. And I say that with no tongue in cheek. AB I'm sure was genuinely aiming to draw some tests as opposed to winning them. He had no choice really given the calibre of players around him.

Skippers like Taylor and Waugh should bow down on their knees whenever AB is in their vicinity. He changed the Aussie cricket psyche from brittle to brutal. Probably never got to enjoy the fruits of his labour... Waugh, Taylor, Ponting did though....

 

[undertaker]

But it is ironic it took for him to retire for us to finally topple the windies and become number 1. Simpsons role shouldn't be understated as well.

I've heard he was abruptly forced into retirement. Any truth to this at all?

 

[hineyrulz]

Excellent little partnership this, hopefully they can get through to stumps so i can drunkenly abuse them tomrrow.