Boxing Day Test. Australia v. New Zealand.
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Jezza
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75,000 sounds about right.
Apart from the Ashes, the Boxing Day crowds never draw more than 80,000 people through the gates. The only time the Boxing Day crowd was more than 80,000 which didn't involve the Ashes was the 1985 Test match against the West Indies.
Boxing Day Crowds (2009-2019)
2009 = Pakistan (59,206)
2010 = England (84,345)
2011 = India (70,068)
2012 = Sri Lanka (67,138)
2013 = England (91,112)
2014 = India (69,993)
2015 = West Indies (53,389)
2016 = Pakistan (63,478)
2017 = England (88,173)
2018 = India (73,516)
2019 = New Zealand (?)
Apart from the Ashes, the Boxing Day crowds never draw more than 80,000 people through the gates. The only time the Boxing Day crowd was more than 80,000 which didn't involve the Ashes was the 1985 Test match against the West Indies.
Boxing Day Crowds (2009-2019)
2009 = Pakistan (59,206)
2010 = England (84,345)
2011 = India (70,068)
2012 = Sri Lanka (67,138)
2013 = England (91,112)
2014 = India (69,993)
2015 = West Indies (53,389)
2016 = Pakistan (63,478)
2017 = England (88,173)
2018 = India (73,516)
2019 = New Zealand (?)
| 1902 | 1903 | 1910 | 1917 | 1919 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1935 | 1936 | 1953 | 1958 | 1990 | 2010 | 2023 | Wrap-up of news leading up to Boxing Day:
Team selections:
Boult in (recovered), Ferguson out (injured); Raval out (dropped), Blundell (spare keeper
) in. [So NZ will sort of play three keepers, but one of them is a real batsmen who keeps in their ODIs.]
Talk of selecting Neser as 5th bowler to combat dead pitch. Paine would bat at 6. [Hope they're really sure it's dead before doing that.]
In the nets:
Warner hit and injured by throw-downs. Thumb bandaged. Will play, possibly in pain.
Smith practising throw-down short balls on hip, which he's struggled with. I don't know why he has such a problem with them, given he's always on the back foot, but it's good that they are trying to fix it and not living in denial.
Talking ex-players:
Michael Vaughan says not to worry about pitches and just get the ball to do more. A bigger seam seems to be the idea.
Mark Butcher thinks the opposite: it's not the ball, he says; it's always the pitch.
Mark Taylor says Oz's biggest problem is... in the spin department. Need a good leggie, he says. Swepson? [O'Keeffe said the Sheffield Shield needs to support spin bowlers better with wearing pitches. He's probably right that slogathon pitches are not best for 'young' spinners' development.]
Media focus:
Most of the media coverage has been about the MCG pitch and CA's PR attempts. (Save for new post.)
Team selections:
Boult in (recovered), Ferguson out (injured); Raval out (dropped), Blundell (spare keeper
) in. [So NZ will sort of play three keepers, but one of them is a real batsmen who keeps in their ODIs.]Talk of selecting Neser as 5th bowler to combat dead pitch. Paine would bat at 6.
[Hope they're really sure it's dead before doing that.]In the nets:
Warner hit and injured by throw-downs. Thumb bandaged. Will play, possibly in pain.
Smith practising throw-down short balls on hip, which he's struggled with. I don't know why he has such a problem with them, given he's always on the back foot, but it's good that they are trying to fix it and not living in denial.
Talking ex-players:
Michael Vaughan says not to worry about pitches and just get the ball to do more. A bigger seam seems to be the idea.
Mark Butcher thinks the opposite: it's not the ball, he says; it's always the pitch.
Mark Taylor says Oz's biggest problem is... in the spin department.
Need a good leggie, he says. Swepson? [O'Keeffe said the Sheffield Shield needs to support spin bowlers better with wearing pitches. He's probably right that slogathon pitches are not best for 'young' spinners' development.]Media focus:
Most of the media coverage has been about the MCG pitch and CA's PR attempts. (Save for new post.)
Pattinson is in for the injured Hazlewood, as Oz selectors decided against surprises. And Swepson has been called up for the SCG Test.
At tea, Oz 3/155 (55).
Crowd about 78,000.
Marnus will be unhappy to have played on CdG trying to leave. Not as unhappy as Burns though. (Ponting says Marnus was a bit unlucky, but CdG deserved a wicket.)
I don't know why Wade keeps getting hit by Wagner's short balls.
Ponting says his mindset is too defensive and he's not watching the ball closely enough.
At tea, Oz 3/155 (55).
Crowd about 78,000.
Marnus will be unhappy to have played on CdG trying to leave. Not as unhappy as Burns though. (Ponting says Marnus was a bit unlucky, but CdG deserved a wicket.)
I don't know why Wade keeps getting hit by Wagner's short balls.
Ponting says his mindset is too defensive and he's not watching the ball closely enough.
Why was Wade batting ahead of Head anyway? Is Head that bad? Wade is a converted wicketkeeper. Mark Waugh infamously scoffed at Wade ever being able to become Test quality as a batsman (not so remarkable in the social-media age, but that was from a recent national selector). There are sort of five wicketkeepers playing in this Test. Are there only three Test batsmen in Oz?