Showtime

So Cricket Australia have confirmed it was indeed sandpaper. Good on them for clearing that up.

I'm still trying to picture this team within a team. Having drinks after a big win: Warner: Guys let's just raise a glass to Bancroft, he carried himself well out there in the field for a young bloke. Everybody else: Okay? Bancroft: Winks at Warner Team meating after a big loss: Lehman: The top order will be held accountable for not converting starts into big partnerships. We will be making some changes. But to the bowlers, we can't ask for more. Bancroft: Hang on a minute, I cleaned up the middle and lower order there with reverse swing?

It doesn’t make sense to me either. It’s a team sport and you are secretly (in your own team) doing something that cannot benefit your individual performance. Then if the team wins you have to byte your tong and smile deep within yourself even if you made no runs. It’s quite sad that they spent good money to fly the boss here to understand what level of cover up will fly. And he came up with that... They may have to fly his boss over next who ever that is because this won’t stand the test of time any more than the initial press conference.

Surely they don't expect anybody to believe that this was the first time they got a bit impatient for some reverse swing. If the camera didn't catch him he would have gotten a poor performance review from his team in any case because the ball sure reverses more when Davey is taking care of it. I would like some confirmation of this sticky tape story because the entire press conference was clearly concocted in a hurry and there wasn't much truth in the air. If you have to hide the object regardless it could just as well be sandpaper, not some boy scout version you made yourself.

Nice run out. Bancroft battling with where the line is again.

I was impressed with MS Dhoni arriving here in the middle of the tour and showing the young brats how to behave. No bogus appealing, no tantrums, just class and giving 100%.

Well, we are told regularly that everybody except a world cup podium finisher needs to be on a Camber so he is just complying.

The consequences are disproportional to the offense. If the timing was different he could have missed two one day games against Bangladesh as supposed to 2 test matches vs Australia. Some common sense is needed here but I doubt it will come from the ICC.

“You have to delve and dig deep into yourself to actually get some hatred about them to actually get up when you’re out there." Warner before the ashes. But Smith says although they might be noisy they don't get personal or nasty whereas de Kock hurt poor Davey's feelings which is not acceptable. And in other news politicians everywhere started caring for the people.

Thanks That will be nice even from very far away.

I really shouldn't have to google words on the awesome thread. This is for guys like me who pretend to read but prefer pictures.

Let us also give credit. Those two Indian spinners are seriously good. Landing the ball on the same spot with the same trajectory every time except the one goes miles this way and the one goes miles that way. Like playing against 2 Shane Warnes in one team.

He was playing forward defensives posing for the camera as though they were filming a bakers mini cricket training video, not chasing 300+ Was it not him who made the complaint to government after our tour to India about black players being marginalised in the team?

Imagine if we all got fired every time something didn't go to plan. You okes are hardcore. I hope the groundsmen understand what went wrong and that they are now in a better position to create good wickets going forward. Pitches aren't built in a laboratory but in cooperation with mother nature.

.. and burden a precision machine with 1-month-old oil. Sounds like a bad idea.

Where do you get time to work on the bikes?

And the mighty # is unsold at the IPL auction again. Last year he was unsold and drafted in later to score two centuries. #IPLSEMOER

Yes I know that is what would happen according to the regulations but I would prefer if we could own up to it as a country. But Faf declaring our second innings on zero and forfeiting the game might get some betting people hot under the collar

If they abandon the match the result should go to India. As the host country, we need to take responsibility for the pitch.

Faf must be pulling his hair out with the pitches prepared for the last two tests. Centurion was slow the way India like it and we had to play really well to win that one. Now, this pitch which makes almost any bowler unplayable negates any advantage of having faster bowlers than them. When you visit India there is no way they level the playing field for you.

With 5 bowlers none of them are being bowled into the ground especially if one get's injured so if we want to rest a bowler it would make sense to bring in Morris or Phehlukwayo to share the load. Also building for the future it would be nice to give Bavuma a game if Markram is injured since he is already in the squad.

That Mayweather McGregor fight. Boxing purist delight or not those two were responsible for putting on a show and selling it to the viewing public. Perhaps if the Sharks as an example only get 20% of their match fee when the stadium is 20% full because it is too boring to watch they might make a plan.

Is Steve Hanson a world-class international coach that could save us? - His win record as NZ coach is 89% over 82 matches - His win record as Wales coach is 33% with wins coming against Canada, Fiji, Italy, Romania, Tonga and Scotland. In hindsight, that was just a reflection of the strength of the Welsch game in 2002. The NZ game of post 2011 still has super rugby derby matches of international quality or higher. Getting our domestic strength closer to NZ and now also the European leagues should be the priority at this stage. As a rugby country right now we are behind NZ, England, Ireland, Wales and maybe even Scotland with similar struggles in depth to Australia.

Are you seriously telling me that having your most talented players picked off by Euros every year makes no difference to our playing strength? The global landscape has changed and we are playing a poor standard of rugby in empty stadiums across our domestic competitions. I don't think he is a good coach either but I was trying to make a different point about comparing stats to a different era.

It's frustrating as anything to watch the Boks struggle but I'm not sure it's possible to compare now to 10 years ago. Jake White and P Divvy coached before the player exodus to Europe while we were still competitive in Super Rugby. There is nothing dynamic about our attack with forwards getting the ball from a standing start behind the advantage line but that is how our super rugby teams were playing as well. There will have to be wholesale improvements across the player and coaching base before a new national coach is going to save us all.