My thoughts after today's match:
- Whoever at Ch9 thought Kevin Pietersen was a great overseas commentator needs their head pulled in. I really hope Ch9 don't plan to bring him out here regularly in the future. Some of his stints remind me of when Wally Lewis was a commentator during Origin, cheering for QLD in the background of the commentary box.
Why David Lloyd or even Michael Vaughan weren't used during this ODI series is a mystery. Either of them would've injected something more insightful and relevant. No surprise Pietersen runs and pisses off from the BBL once his team starts losing. Very typical of the man during his career.
- Great crowd of 53k+ at the new Perth Stadium, but as someone mentioned earlier, these AFL stadiums lack something. Looks like one big slab of concrete crap, reminiscent of Adelaide Oval post-redevelopment. Also, the straight boundaries looked a bit short. Will be interesting to see how the test match vs India later this year pans out, given the drop-in pitch. Pitch will be a far cry from the one at the WACA in 2012 which saw India risoled by an innings within 3 days
- ICC need to do away with this 2 x 25 over ball nonsense in ODIs and use the white Dukes ball used in the 1999 World Cup which lasts the 50 overs. Kookaburra balls have been crap for a while, yet at least $500 ($125 each) worth of Kookaburra Turf balls are used in one ODI (I say 'at least', as sometimes their white ball hasn't even lasted 20 overs before having to be changed due to going out of shape, even in T20 matches), that's a very good money earner for an inferior quality of product. Ironically, although Dukes is based in England, ECB will love to keep the status quo so they can keep spanking the Kookaburra balls around as I believe England have hit more 300+ scores in ODIs over the past 3 years since the new ball from each end rule was introduced.
- Australia have a got a lot of work to do to defend their World Cup in 2019. Squad for this ODI series vs England should've comprised of players who are highly in contention for the World Cup squad, meaning Cameron White should've never been selected in the first place. Would've loved to have seen Billy Stanlake given a run, as his height, 90mph+ pace and bounce would've troubled the poms.
