Chappell: All eyes on battle of the quicks
SO often Test series are lop-sided because one team possesses an artillery of fast bowlers only to be challenged by a seam bowling pop-gun attack.
Expert Opinion
Everyone loses in cricket’s Rabada tangle
THE ICC demerit points time bomb and explosive passion conspiring against South African superstar Kagiso Rabada.
Series swings on Rabada appeal verdict
THE fate of the Cape Town Test, and the South Africa-Australia series as a whole, hangs on the result of fearsome paceman Kagiso Rabada’s disciplinary appeal says IAN CHAPPELL.
Chappell: Say what you will, Warner can bat
AFTER the hurricane that struck in the aftermath of the Durban Test, the opening jousts of the second contest were a gentle zephyr.
Test cricket getting a much needed boost
TEST cricket — badly in need of a boost — may get a positive jolt with a highly competitive and hard fought series between Australia and South Africa.
The big T20 question Smith has to answer
SINCE taking a break from the international scene, Australia’s T20 has discovered a winning formula under David Warner. Should he take on the role in a full-time capacity.
Australia’s got talent for T20 surge
AUSTRALIA has a poor record in the international T20 arena — no world title and a current ranking of seven — but the signs are there that a surge is coming.
SA has struck a rich vein in a golden summer
WHY Adelaide struck gold, won hearts and minds with BBL title.
Hard to believe but Steve Smith needs to find form
IT’S hard to understand how Steve Smith and Australia went from nigh unbeatable in the Ashes to struggle street in the ODIs. Ian Chappell explores the struggle facing Smith and CA, keeping Australia’s best fresh and firing.
CA breaks own rules with policy on the run
AUSTRALIA doesn’t seem to care about its Twenty20 series against New Zealand and England. How else can you explain the release of players for Sunday’s Big Bash League final, writes Sam Landsberger.
Red, white and Bluey has true courage
JONNY Bairstow’s story of rising from the ashes of utter despair to becoming a wonderful wicketkeeper-batsman for Yorkshire and England is one of sheer determination and love, writes Ashley Mallett.
Mallett: Ignore stats, it’s time to pick best spinner
STATS never tell the full story, and that is true of the debate over Australia’s best spinner, writes Ashley Mallett.
Forget Ashes, real challenge is South Africa
IT’S time to stop beating our chests after our Ashes victory, writes Ashley Mallett, for the real battle of the summer is about to begin.
Australia must rethink ODI policy
SO many players wore the green and gold in the one-day format last year but there were so few wins for an Australian outfit that will take on an England side that hardly loses these days, writes RUSSELL GOULD.
Why Boxing Day snoozefest will benefit cricket
MELBOURNE’S gruelling Boxing Day Test Bore War may have put a nation of avid sports fans to sleep, but it could yet prove a great thing for Australian cricket, writes Robert Craddock.
MCG my happiest hunting ground
TO be an Australian playing a Boxing Day Test is amazing, and being a Victorian, well, that’s something absolutely amazing, writes Shane Warne. Two moments stand out for the spin great:
Root’s scheming can’t stop Smith
JOE Root and his team must feel frustration and hopelessness with Steve Smith, as his extraordinary run-scoring feats continue.
England’s sliding doors moment
WHY splitting the Test and one-day coaching roles could provide England cricket boss Andrew Strauss with an Aussie dream team.
Aussies’ defining moment still to come
THE Poms have been conquered but the true measure of Australia’s progress won’t be known until March’s tour of South Africa, writes Robert Craddock.
Are English fast bowlers becoming too soft?
ENGLAND’S ailing fast bowlers were branded part of a “snow flake generation’’ with Ashes defeat inevitable and the future is looking bleak, writes Robert Craddock.
Stinging reality of England’s horror tour
FOR all the challenges of short pitched bowling, sledging, crowds, heat and flat wickets, there is one thing that makes a touring party to Australia sink like a stone, writes Robert Craddock.
How Ashes fire forged Smith’s stunning rise
IF YOU want to know the story of Steve Smith’s stunning Test career simply pick apart three Ashes Tests in Perth and there it is in all its rich, contrasting glory, writes Robert Craddock.
Unstoppable Smith in record-busting form
THE amazing Steve Smith continued on his rampant journey with his 22nd century that has taken him to a stratosphere where only Planet Don (Bradman) is floating somewhere high above.
Cricket’s constant fight to combat corruption
DON’T be too quick to dismiss match-fixing allegations because it’s happening right now somewhere in the cricket world, writes Russell Gould.
Pom cracks appear, not for first time
FORMER England spinner Phil Tufnell is among those to feel the pulsing stress of an Australian Ashes tours. ROBERT CRADDOCK writes he’s just one in a growing list.
Axe hovers over cricket’s hold on summer
AXE the players, the coach, the sports scientists, the selectors … axe everyone. After five abject defeats, should the voice of a disgruntled public be heard?
Cricket must take lead from Maroons
AUSSIE cricket must reach for the same broom used by the Queensland rugby league team 16 years ago to sweep itself out of the doldrums, writes Ben Dorries.
Aussie cricketers just did a Hillary
OPINION: When it comes to the Australian cricket team, their performance lately can be likened to that of would-be US president Hillary Clinton.
Dying game badly misses entertainers
MONDAY BUZZ: We have been saying it for years but it’s now actually happening. Test cricket is dying, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
Fighters, scrappers could be the answer
HOW can the Aussies get out of this slump? Former test opener Chris Rogers says the team needs to pick more fighters and scrappers to have a chance.
Blame game must start with Warner
DONALD Trump gave campaign speeches that displayed more tact and discretion than David Warner’s ill-fated swipe, writes Richard Hinds.
Can Smith survive as Aussie skipper?
IF Steve Smith wants to turn Australia’s fortunes around quickly he needs to forget about offending anyone and take control, writes Ian Chappell.
Aussies will feel the heat in Hobart
FORTRESS Australia is under siege. A number of players are literally playing for their careers and the entire team is now under the microscope, writes Cate McGregor.
Aussies unsure what their best attack is
SOMETIMES in modern-day sport you can over-complicate things and it seems Australia has done just that, writes Graeme Smith.
Pampered cricketers don’t deliver results
GREAT sporting teams like the All Blacks have cottoned on to the fact that greatness doesn’t come from being handed everything on a platter. Paul Kent says Australian teams needs to adapt.
Sack Marsh and give Ponting the reins
CHAIRMAN of selectors Rod Marsh needs to be replaced immediately by Ricky Ponting while Pat Howard’s position also needs to be questioned, writes Catherine McGregor.
Hard-arsed Proteas 1 mollycoddled Aussies 0
DON’T be fooled by the semi-respectable last day scoreline — this was a serious hammering and it’s left Australia in a state of numb confusion.
Marsh should be given one more chance
AUSTRALIA all-rounder Mitch Marsh will hold his position for the Hobart Test and that’s not a bad thing despite the suspicion his heavy-handed game is not suited to Test cricket.
Unusual but Smith LBW call spot on
IF Aleem Dar was a tennis umpire we’d call him a genius. Yes, it was an unusual decision to give Steve Smith out LBW but it was correct, says Robert Craddock. VOTE
Time running out for floundering Marsh
MITCHELL Marsh’s Test career is on life support as he searches unsuccessfully to learn the difference between hitting and batting, writes Robert Craddock.
It’s time to stop Marsh madness
MITCHELL Marsh’s first innings duck at the WACA was only more evidence that he is not a capable No.6 batsman. Not now or at any stage since he was first selected.
Inquest pain can help cricket improve
THE Phillip Hughes coronial inquest was tough for everyone to deal with but the pain will be worth it if cricket can improve as a sport, writes Richard Hinds.
‘Old world charm in the wild, wild west’
THE odd Tests out at the WACA are the ones without drama – controversy and conflict are ever present, writes Robert Craddock of his favourite Test ground.
I’ve written off my friendship with Pup
IN an exclusive column, Andrew Symonds has his say on Michael Clarke, the “soft culture” that is developing in Australian cricket and the game’s lack of characters.
Johnson on factions, fights, sackings and betrayal
IN an exclusive extract from his book ‘Resilient’, Mitchell Johnson reveals he lost respect for Mickey Arthur when he was sacked for not doing homework.
Smith still Australia’s leading man
STEVE Smith needs a positive opening to the Test summer to shore up confidence in his leadership, but there’s no reason to doubt him yet, writes Ian Chappell.
Aussies wrestle with art of sledging
AFTER Kepler Wessels caused a stir when he slammed Australia’s verbal tactics, ROBERT CRADDOCK asks: to sledge or not to sledge?
It’s time to pick specialists
AUSTRALIAN cricket must abandon conventional thinking and take a horses-for-courses policy to all future tours of the subcontinent, writes Ben Dorries.
Time to turn to Swepson, says Mallett
AUSTRALIA’S spinners have bowled too many loose deliveries against Sri Lanka and it’s time for some fresh talent to be blooded, says former Test star Ashley Mallett.
Subs for all injuries? It’s just not cricket
CRICKET Australia wants to throw open the idea of widening the substitution proposal to incorporate all injuries suffered on the field.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/cricket/expert-opinion/page/4