5th Test: Australia v India @ SCG Jan 3-7, 2025

[JJ]

Rahul was dodgy, but slightly better than the Australians against an overall more demanding attack

 

[JJ]

We completely outplayed them in 4 of 5 tests.
Bumrah the only reason they were in any of the games.

Like them, you carried a few passengers… your top 3, Marsh,Lyon

I only had 4 Indians there, and ‘completely outplayed’ is strong, you were better no question, but yeah… and lol at Konstas, li ku e I said you’re gonna love Crawley

 

[Twizzle]

Combined team is kind of hard to pick because of the poor batting and lack of spin bowling success. Something like

Jaiswal
Rahul
Smith
Head
Webster (impressive 1 test)
Reddy
Carey
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

Jadeja would be the spinner, in for Starc I guess. Siraj not far off Starc, Rahul poor but Australians poorer imo, #3s all horrible etc

similar to what Fox commentators picked, however they all had Pant over Carey, and Jadeja over Starc

 

[Twizzle]

We completely outplayed them in 4 of 5 tests.

no we didn't

 

[Fangs]

Konstas is interesting. Maybe he sneaks a spot in the final XI.

He only had one innings of value but it was one of the most important of the series IMO. It relieved pressure off the rest of the top order who produced some of their best batting of the series. Ended up being our highest team score of the summer as well.

 

[bazza]

Combined team is kind of hard to pick because of the poor batting and lack of spin bowling success. Something like

Jaiswal
Rahul
Smith
Head
Webster (impressive 1 test)
Reddy
Carey
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

Jadeja would be the spinner, in for Starc I guess. Siraj not far off Starc, Rahul poor but Australians poorer imo, #3s all horrible etc

only decent bats were Jaiswal, Smith, Head, Pant and Reddy
Discount Webster due to only 1 test
Put in Konstas because he probably had more impact in the 2 matches than any other openers

Jaiswal
Konstas
Smith
Head
Pant
Reddy
Carey
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

 

[bazza]

no we didn't

agree - The matches were anyones for the taking for most part (similar to the last Ashes in England)

 

[JJ]

similar to what Fox commentators picked, however they all had Pant over Carey, and Jadeja over Starc

Pant and Carey was kind of 50/50 - Pant offers more with the bat, but Carey is tidy.

Spinners did so little, Starc was mostly really good, didn't always have luck - possibly shouldn't have played the last test

 

[simmo1]

Only Indian's in consideration are Bumrah, Jaiswal and Reddy. It would have been 4-1 if not for rain, and 5-0 if not for Bumrah.

 

[Twizzle]

Paddy not definite on sitting out the SL tour, it's a wait and see

 

[JJ]

only decent bats were Jaiswal, Smith, Head, Pant and Reddy
Discount Webster due to only 1 test
Put in Konstas because he probably had more impact in the 2 matches than any other openers

Jaiswal
Konstas
Smith
Head
Pant
Reddy
Carey
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

Fair call - I thought Webster was very impressive, and while some argue Konstas had an impact, he wasn't good imo, and it's pretty clear the kid is better than a 20:20 hacker - tbh that disappointed me, I was looking forward to seeing Australia's next big talent and I saw some Bazball bullshit that ultimately did nothing much IMO.

On reflection Pant > Carey - fun series, better team won, but each test was interesting

 

[Twizzle]

agree - The matches were anyones for the taking for most part (similar to the last Ashes in England)

I thought India won a few sessions in the matches they lost and those were sessions where Bumrah cleaned up

 

[JJ]

Only Indian's in consideration are Bumrah, Jaiswal and Reddy. It would have been 4-1 if not for rain, and 5-0 if not for Bumrah.

People seeing things differently, I guess... ultimately it was 3-1, anything else is just speculation

 

[JJ]

agree - The matches were anyones for the taking for most part (similar to the last Ashes in England)

Great thing for Aust is they won both series

Bad thing is the team looks pretty old... but while the old men keep winning it's hard to squeeze new blood in - Konstsas if he plays properly, Green when fit, and perhaps McSweeney would be good additions - as an outsider looks like time for Khawaja and Lyon to consider retiring, selectors to grow some balls around Labuschange who looks bad, and perhaps Hazelwood should be restricted to the red ball?

 

[bazza]

I thought India won a few sessions in the matches they lost and those were sessions where Bumrah cleaned up

yeah - seemed like when it looked like Australia was getting on top they would lose a couple of wickets and India would be back in
No one from India really stood up with the bat which is why they struggled

 

[bazza]

Fair call - I thought Webster was very impressive, and while some argue Konstas had an impact, he wasn't good imo, and it's pretty clear the kid is better than a 20:20 hacker - tbh that disappointed me, I was looking forward to seeing Australia's next big talent and I saw some Bazball bullshit that ultimately did nothing much IMO.

On reflection Pant > Carey - fun series, better team won, but each test was interesting

Agree on Konstas - not convinced - seems most of his boundary shots were slogs of some kind and didn't bat for more than half a session

Would have both Pant and Carey in the combined team as I think Pant would be in the top 6 bats (and Carey wouldn't be far off for batting alone)

 

[bazza]

Great thing for Aust is they won both series

Bad thing is the team looks pretty old... but while the old men keep winning it's hard to squeeze new blood in - Konstsas if he plays properly, Green when fit, and perhaps McSweeney would be good additions - as an outsider looks like time for Khawaja and Lyon to consider retiring, selectors to grow some balls around Labuschange who looks bad, and perhaps Hazelwood should be restricted to the red ball?

Think it might be time for Khwaja - but opening the batting is the only thing keeping him in

Hope the selectors learn from this series for the next Ashes in Australia and look to rotate the team more. Brining in Konstas, Boland and Webster was what I reckon made the difference in the Melbourne and Sydney matches - some fresh legs

If any player isn't 100% then pick someone else

 

[Chins get the wins]

no we didn't

Yes we did

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Jaiswal
Rahul
Smith
Head
Pant
Carey
Reddy
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

If you look at the stats Rahul scored more runs at a better average than Khawaja, Konstas and Labs.

I'll have Pant as a specialist bat, Carey as the keeper. No room for a spinner which is fair because they had little impact.

 

[JJ]

Jaiswal
Rahul
Smith
Head
Pant
Carey
Reddy
Cummins
Starc
Bumrah
Boland

If you look at the stats Rahul scored more runs at a better average than Khawaja, Konstas and Labs.

I'll have Pant as a specialist bat, Carey as the keeper. No room for a spinner which is fair because they had little impact.

Think you’ve nailed it there