Surely Sydney never hosts another New Years test after this.
Two things from me
I somehow hope the 3rd Test is a draw, I donât think PAK deserve to lose 3-0, 2-0 with one draw seems like a fair result to me
As for who opens with Khawaja in the next Test, my preference is for one of Bancroft, Marcus Harris or Matt Renshaw. Not a fan of the idea of all rounder Cameron Green being the new opener. AUS are already well served for bowling options, and he is not an opener.
Because the weather is famously just sooo perfect in Melbourne all the time.
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To be fair, the stats donât lie:
Hereâs Finlayâs list by city, from least days washed out to most, with the overall number of Tests played in each city in brackets.
- 0 Perth (47 Tests)
- 1 Hobart (14)
- 2 Adelaide (81)
- 8 Brisbane (67)
- 9 Melbourne (115)
- 25 Sydney (110)
Just to add salt into the wound:
As a cheeky little add-on, Finlay included the relevant stat for Manchester, which has lost 24 days to rain. Yes, Sydney has seen more washed-out days of Test cricket than gloomy old Manchester
Brisbane in a few weeks is going to be interesting with their weather this time of year and it being a pretty wet season to date.
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Incidentally, today was humid and dreary in Melbourne - might have got away with it, but could just as easily have had the same outcome.
My point is that itâs hardly the first time that a large portion of play has been lost due to weather in the New Years Test. These things shouldnât be sacred (especially as the climate continues to change).
Iâd reshuffle the calendar - maybe swapping Sydney and Perth, for example.
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MEL gets the Boxing Day Test, and SYD the New Yearâs Test because they are the most âprestigiousâ and generally draw the best crowds = $$$$$ and thatâs all there is to itâŚ
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Does the average person actually call it that? Maybe a select bunch in Nsw. I hear most people (certainly those around my circles) just refer to it as âSydney Testâ or âFifth Testâ (normally) or âSCG Testâ or simply âSydneyâ.
Whereas, Melbourne, âBoxing Day Testâ (or âBoxing Dayâ) used in conjunction with âthe Gâ or âMCGâ or I do hear âMCG Testâ are almost universally used, including worldwide amongst cricket territories (and often a delight and bucket list for say Indians).
â
Also, posted this in a wrong thread (coverage thread) and probably not needed, but anyway: 
Todayâs D2 âPink Testâ ended up sadly being abandoned after only a few hours play, due to bad light and then rain in Sydney, however after holding off yesterday was widely forecast a week ago and discussed in advance in the media
Iâd say itâs pretty common still.
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The Sydney test should definitely be moved to earlier in the season; the climate there is becoming basically a slightly cooler version of Brisbane. The best months for fine weather in Sydney are actually August and September which is one reason why the Olympics were held in September 2000 (the other being NH training schedules).
My first visit to the SCG was the 2nd test of the 1996-97 Australia v West Indies series. This test was played from November 29-December 3:
So the âNew Yearâs Testâ is a very recent phenomenon really. I reckon late November/early December is the best compromise, short of a âTop End and East Coast Tourâ that includes Sydney and Brisbane in August 
In other news, the crazy test at Cape Town is over and India have won by 7 wickets. This has to be the shortest test in the modern era, over well before tea on the second day.
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South Africa had a better second innings, making 176, with Aiden Markram scoring 106. Jasprit Bumrah took 6/61 in the second innings after teammate Mohammed Siraj grabbed 6/15 in the first innings, which could be another first.
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India were chasing 79 which was far from a dead cert on that wicketâŚthey approached it the only way the modern player knows how, treating it like a T20 game and wrapping it up in 12 overs.
Cricinfo have just confirmed that this was indeed the shortest test on record, lasting only 642 balls.
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Wow, in 2,522 Test matches, thatâs some record!
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Aaron Finch announced this evening that he would retire from BBL at the end of this season.
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Good on ya Finchy 
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David Warner has been reunited with his old Baggy Green, after it went missing earlier this week as he travelled with his teammates from Melbourne to Sydney.
seems like the place for the NY Test.
People who want to protect test cricket are the same ones killing it with the arbitrary rules. i.e. not at a roofed stadium, no pink or white ball for light delays.
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ConvenientâŚ
Wow, wasnât expecting PAK to get the lead on the 1st innings.
AUS folded quickly to lose their last 5 wickets for just 10 runs!
Aamer Jamal took 6 wickets to back up his 82 with the bat.
Plenty of starts by the Aussie bats, with 6 of the top 7 scoring 30+, but top scorer was only 60 (Labuschange)
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I feel bad for barracking for Pakistan, but itâs such an amazing story.
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Iâd like to see PAK win too, you are definitely not the only one.
They are the underdogs, a 3-0 series win wouldnât be a true reflection of this series, they have played better than that.
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