Called it 
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What a belting in the end. Go Aussies 
Woo hoo! Party time 
Shame the 5th test was so one-sided, like the first 3.
Hence I actually enjoyed the Boxing Day Test, Englandās best, although not amazing (couldāve won had it not been abandoned the 2nd last day).
But yes, sad to admit it as a Victorian, the MCG wicket needs serious work. Not sure how theyāre going to go about it, being a drop in. Though the 26th Dec occasion and 90,000 crowd is always very special to be a part of. I highly recommend it and I hope @OnAir will indeed consider it as he mentioned he might.
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Itās definitely on my (and my dadās) bucket list. Hopefully this year.
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I love that term.
Yes, I enjoyed the Boxing Day Test the most because it was the most competitive.
It was also the Test that exposed Australiaās shortcoming with their bowling - in that it doesnāt cope as well with pitches that arenāt fast and bouncy (and overseas, only SAF have pitches anything like ours).
Media Spy meetup 
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Move over Barmy Army, itās the Spy Guys (/Girls)
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Iād be in for that 
ā
Melbourneās weather is of course notoriously fickle, so probably wonāt be as good, but Boxing Day was amazing, best weather in many years 
The Sydney test was brutal in many ways. It was stinking hot for most of the match. The Aussies made 649 runs, they also managed to bowl out England twice to win by an innings. Even worse, Joe Root had to retire hurt due to heat exhaustion.
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I heard England were putting that down as gastroenteritis rather than just the heat. Mind you, that on top of heat would be horrible.
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What I would like to seeā¦
An All Australian Super Test.
Pit the Aussie bowlers up again the Aussie bats.
So youād have battles like Smith vs Starc, Cummins vs Warner, Lyon vs Khawaja etc.
And put fringe bowlers in the same side as the Aussie bats, and fringe batters in with the Aussie bowlers to make up the 11 a sideā¦
So weād see if Smith is really as good as his stats suggest, and see how Warner goes against genuine fast short pitch bowling. It would tell us who the real heroes in the Aussie side is.
Get a promoter to put big prizemoney up for the winner so everyone gives their all.
If not as a Test, then as an ODI or T20.
It would rate it socks off.
Iād watch it for sure!
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Yep, whichever way it was, I do feel sorry for him. Heās had a few days Iām sure heād rather forget. I found it interesting that they actually reported to the media that he was in the rooms sleeping, poor bloke would not have got any sleep last night by the sounds of things.
My thoughts about the reasoning and mentioning the gastro is because itās an easier explanation. If things were put entirely down to heat stress/exhaustion then it opens a huge can of worms which Iām sure will get opened at a later date about the OH&S implications of playing in the heat and being out in the field so long. A discussion Iām sure England will certainly want to be a part of but not at the moment.
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Yes, I bet none of the English players have played in heat like that before (as it was apparently 57 degrees out in the middle on Sunday).
Tried that in the 90ās when the One Day team was experimentally segregated from the test team (the main team had the likes of Gilchrist, Ian Harvey, Michael Di Venuto in it, when Ian Healy was playing for the A-Team). Nobody showed up, the players hated it (thatās what domestic cricket is supposed to be for), ratings were probably below expectation. Same thing happened with a couple of 20 over games between an Australian side and a Cricketerās Association team at the Gabba about 4-5 years ago, which incidentally ruined the career of the current Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine whose broken finger basically cost him years of being on the paddock with all the complications. The game was played at the Gabba for 2 years, and they only cared about the first year because McGrath and Gilchrist played against Australia.
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In relation to Big Bash and expanding the competition. I would rather see another SA team, not being biased here, and the team be a NT/SA based team. It would make take the tournament to a complete national level and provide Northern Territory with an opportunity. I would then encourage a derby match between the new side and the Strikers on New Years Eve.
If there were to be two new teams the other team should be the Gold Coast. It is a touristy area and it is evident the tournament is popular in QLD. At this stage, and although popular in Perth, I wouldnāt be having another team in WA just yet.
The Gold Coast has a history of being a graveyard for sports teams.
Iām not convinced it needs 2 more teams yet, player depth could be an issue.
If there has to be 2 more teams Iād be going Canberra and a 2nd Perth team. They have been successful and it would give TEN more opprtunities for double headers on TV.
The NT would be too hot for cricket matches at this time of year.
Newcastle doesnāt have a suitable venue.
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In recent history their A-League team went under and even the Titans and Suns arenāt that well supported, right?
Despite itās population and being a big region for tourism/entertainment, I donāt think the Gold Coast has ever been that big of a sporting market so probably not the best place for a new BBL team.
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Newcastle is in NSW not the NTā¦
The NT/SA team would have 2 Darwin games and 1game in Alice. They would then host 2 games at Adelaide Oval and partake in the local derby.
The thing with the gold coast is this is the time of the year the gold coast is its busiest. But understand the point.
I know, I live there 
I still think NT is too hot and/or humid at this time of year.
I guess we can see how the games in Alice Springs go next week. After seeing them play in Sydney the other day and hot temperatures in Melbourne before I think they can work with the heat but the humidity could make things interesting. I think thereās some games coming up in North Queensland - Mackay? or Cairns? I canāt remember. We can see how they go too then.
Can see the argument for Perth, would help the other teams though with the Scorchers losing some of their dominance. Theyāve been consistently the best team in the competition.
Iām hanging out for the Launceston Lightning though or if they want to go real specific for Launnie and to recognise our local hero the Prospect Punters or the Mowbray Madmen.
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