There hasn�t been a lead-up to a Boxing Day Test this uninspiring for a long time.� Rain is forecast for the first couple of days, David Warner�s Perth ton removed the only element of Australian selection intrigue and there...
There hasn�t been a lead-up to a Boxing Day Test this uninspiring for a long time.�
Rain is forecast for the first couple of days, David Warner�s Perth ton removed the only element of Australian selection intrigue and there is an air of inevitability about the result.�
Pakistan tried hard at Optus Stadium but were gradually worn down before collapsing in the fourth innings.�
And now they�re down two more bowlers with Noman Ali and Khurram Shazhzad ruled out for the rest of the series.�
Bilateral Test cricket is still evoking interest when India and England come to Australia but with the other nations struggling to compete, perhaps a format rethink is needed.�
If the men followed the lead of the women�s team and held multi-format series, the overall result may indeed end up the same but it may bring an element of much-needed unpredictability to the contest.�
A Test is worth four points then two each for a pair of three-match T20 and ODI series like they do in the women�s Ashes. On a side note, the BCCI has kyboshed that system for Australia�s current tour, deciding each format will stand alone rather than being part of an overall trophy.�
For half the time in the four-year cycle of touring teams to Australia outside of the Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy you could have the first side�s series culminating with the Boxing Day Test and the second one starting with the New Year�s fixture at the SCG.�
A venue like Optus Stadium would get more fans through the gate if they were hosting three T20s than the modest totals that turn out for a Test in the West no matter how much of a marketing spend there is to point out that it rhymes.��
Alex Carey and Marnus Labuschagne appeal for the wicket of Abdullah Shafique. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Teams like Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are some chance of upsetting Australia in some white-ball fixtures to make it interesting.�
It would be worth a try rather than constantly repeating the drudgery of last summer�s four Test drubbings over the Windies and Proteas which was only saved from being five on the trot by Sydney rain.�
A multi-format schedule could potentially soak up less of the already crowded calendar than a three-Test series where touring teams.�
Melbourne fans will still turn out in big numbers for Tuesday�s start of the second Test even though the pre-match cricket headlines have barely been about the marquee event.�
The only real Test-related storyline has had nothing to do with the match itself � Usman Khawaja being reprimanded by the ICC for wearing a black armband to raise awareness about the human cost of the Israel-Palestine war.�
On the field, Australia need to be operating with dual focus in each of the six Tests they have left this season � ensuring they win each one and that everything they do is building towards next summer�s five-match series when they host India.�
Usman Khawaja was given a reprimand for wearing a black armband to protest the violence in Gaza throughout the first Test against Pakistan. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
They�ve got two more Tests against Pakistan, the West Indies and on tour in New Zealand to iron out any kinks or weak links.�
With Warner fulfilling his wish of playing on until his farewell Test in his home city, Khawaja�s new opening partner will have the two Windies outings to find their feet before facing a tricky assignment across the Tasman in late-summer conditions on likely seaming wickets.�
With no Sheffield Shield matches before next month�s first Windies clash, Marcus Harris got a leg-up on opening rivals Matt Renshaw and Cameron Bancroft by scoring a ton in the two-day fixture jammed into the Pakistan tour this week to give them a chance to tune up for Boxing Day.�
Hopefully it helps Pakistan put up a fight at the MCG. Australia have not been defeated in a Test at home in the 11 matches since India upset them at the Gabba in 2021 and the chances are they won�t lose another one until they come back again next year.�
