Australia v. India, Third Test - SCG.

[K]

Good news for lovers of The Flat-Track Bully.

Smith has got to double figures and doubled his series total.

Will Ashwin come on?

Ponting thinks India should not wait till he's 20 or 30.

Ponting: "Poor last over from Saini. Get him out of the attack and Ashwin into the attack."

[Donny]

2/123. Labu 41*. Smith 14*.

[K]

Ponting says Marnus is not getting a big enough stride forward and has too much bottom hand in his shots. You can see too many fingers of his bottom hand, he says.

He mentions Gilchrist and the squash ball.

[Donny]

[K]

You know what I think about the ICC rankings.

Kane of course cost himself another century and lots of ranking points by taking paternity leave for one Test. And Virat is costing himself even more for the same reason.

One thing's for sure. The batting conditions at the SCG right now are perfect. There is no excuse for Oz not to score 500.

Ch. 7 keep flattering their new BBL commentator Lara by talking about the SCG when they cross to him. There's a good reason he scored so many runs in that innings at the SCG.

[K]

Slater: "A little mixup in the running there."

Wouldn't it be great if Smith does his usual thing and runs out Marnus?
(Ask Wade, Finch, ... for details.)

Marnus has run himself out in silly ways already in his Test career.

................................

But Marnus reaches 50.

[Donny]

.. runs out Marnus ?? How many times has this happened, K ?

[Donny]

Labu drives one through the covers to the boundary, to bring up his 9th. Test fifty.

Celebrates with a driven 4.

2/148. Labu 56*, Smith 24*.

[K]

[K]

Marnus comes down the pitch and lofts Ashwin for 4.

The commentators want Jadeja...

They get their wish.

............................

On the run outs, I actually now do remember at least one time Smith almost ran Marnus out in a Test...

............................

JB: "Good toss to win."

[K]

Ashwin beats Smith and India appeal for bat-pad catch.

Not out. Rahane almost goes for a review... but doesn't. It would have wasted a review.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

What do we think if w pski knock of 62 I think it’s a great start and it’s a well controlled innings too he reminds me of a young mark Waugh well composed and good timing too and looks the goods and nice to watch too

[K]

Ponting says Oz need to go big on such a flat pitch:

"They really have to cash in and capitalize on this surface when it's at its best."

[K]

[K]

The biggest issue of course is not his batting but the concussions:

"Chris Nowinski, a professional wrestler turned neuroscientist who has been a prominent figure in tackling the concussion crisis in US sports, said that advice could not be disputed and the outlook for cricketers avoiding long-term consequences from repeated head knocks was much better than for athletes in codes such as American football.

"The odds are [the concussions] won't destroy his life, but there is a chance they will," Nowinski told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age from Florida. "We just can't quantify that risk and we can't quantify the additional risk of one more concussion that could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"My own personal experience was zero diagnosed concussions, even though I now know I had them, and then one gave me permanent symptoms, which are difficult to live with. No one can predict when the next one will bring a decade of headaches and all these other cascading issues.

"We've all just got to watch with bated breath and hope there is a happy end to the story. You hope with good education, good medical care and continued tweaks to the rules to protect the athlete, it will allow him to get through unscathed. But in that same conversation, we have to respect the fact that nine concussions in seven years is extraordinary and could be a real problem. We're just not seeing it today.""

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/concussion-expert-issues-warning-for-pucovski-but-says-it-s-up-to-him-20210106-p56s6d.html