All these apologists are pathetic. What a disgraceful self indulgent arrogant display from The captain the coach Marsh et al. The wonderful Melbourne public backed them and were slapped in the face. fellas need to recognise they are nothing without the public unless you want to sell yourselves out on the sub continent. What an indulgence on Marsh so no wonder all fans I know are reckoning 99 was justice. As to Smith we were all prepared to love you but you blew it - a long way back from here mate. And while I am at it the rank hypocrisy from Aussie players on Kohli shames us.
Doug Andrews - 9 years ago
Why do you think that more people pay to go to ODI's and 20/20 matches. It is a sign of the times. Very few people would pay to see 5 day cricket only to see a drawn out draw. If they open them up to result cricket then the stands would be full mainly on the result days. Same as Soccer not many at Australian games where there could be nil all draws. More go to other football games where a decision is nearly always achieved.
NGT - 9 years ago
The late Aussie declaration stopped me & my mates from attending last day. In hindsight tit seems this was the best decision of the day!... I reckon declaration was made 15-17 overs too late,,,
Paul - 9 years ago
I can't believe the sentiments of these other comments. People....we won the series !!
What smart General wouldn't make a sacrifice to win a war ?? Smith should be praised for his actions.
If he had given India a realistic target to chase and they chased successfully, would we be praising his courage ? No.....we would be calling him the biggest idiot of his generation !
Anyway....when we smash India in Sydney....this will al be forgotten.
Silver Fox - 9 years ago
Smith definitely played for a draw. He even agreed with Dhoni to end the game with 4 overs left and 4 more wickets needed, a possibility in my opinion.
Ron Murfett - 9 years ago
Smith has much to learn great player that he is if he wants to be Australia's cricket captain .
John Wilson - 9 years ago
Playing for a draw from a position of overwhelming strength is a retreat to the bad old days when not losing was the main game. The paying public and the TV viewers are entitled to more. Little future for cricket in Australia if this becomes the new attitude.
Ted - 9 years ago
This article does not comment on the fact that the declaration was left until Australia had far more runs than needed and left insufficient time to gain an Australian win. In other words there was no point in the long-deferred declaration. Similarly, there is no explanation for the leisurely scoring rate of the final recognised batsmen. Smith seems to have already become nervous in his captaincy.
Phil - 9 years ago
snith didn't play for a draw, he played to win, albeit a little less boldly than recent matches the Aussies have played in. It needs to be remembered that had we taken our chances we would have won comfortably. Smiths captaincy has been excellent-lets get behind him, not start to criticise so early in his tenure. He has made two centuries in his two tests as captain, won one and had the better of the other!!
Mark - 9 years ago
Wrong Question - Do you think Smith was advised to play for a draw and conceded?
We don't know that he was told to or directed in anyway. he may well have been.
It seams so out of character that the team played as they did.
Australian's have long criticised other national teams for playing for draws to retain international trophies.
Have we changed too?
All these apologists are pathetic. What a disgraceful self indulgent arrogant display from The captain the coach Marsh et al. The wonderful Melbourne public backed them and were slapped in the face. fellas need to recognise they are nothing without the public unless you want to sell yourselves out on the sub continent. What an indulgence on Marsh so no wonder all fans I know are reckoning 99 was justice. As to Smith we were all prepared to love you but you blew it - a long way back from here mate. And while I am at it the rank hypocrisy from Aussie players on Kohli shames us.
Why do you think that more people pay to go to ODI's and 20/20 matches. It is a sign of the times. Very few people would pay to see 5 day cricket only to see a drawn out draw. If they open them up to result cricket then the stands would be full mainly on the result days. Same as Soccer not many at Australian games where there could be nil all draws. More go to other football games where a decision is nearly always achieved.
The late Aussie declaration stopped me & my mates from attending last day. In hindsight tit seems this was the best decision of the day!... I reckon declaration was made 15-17 overs too late,,,
I can't believe the sentiments of these other comments. People....we won the series !!
What smart General wouldn't make a sacrifice to win a war ?? Smith should be praised for his actions.
If he had given India a realistic target to chase and they chased successfully, would we be praising his courage ? No.....we would be calling him the biggest idiot of his generation !
Anyway....when we smash India in Sydney....this will al be forgotten.
Smith definitely played for a draw. He even agreed with Dhoni to end the game with 4 overs left and 4 more wickets needed, a possibility in my opinion.
Smith has much to learn great player that he is if he wants to be Australia's cricket captain .
Playing for a draw from a position of overwhelming strength is a retreat to the bad old days when not losing was the main game. The paying public and the TV viewers are entitled to more. Little future for cricket in Australia if this becomes the new attitude.
This article does not comment on the fact that the declaration was left until Australia had far more runs than needed and left insufficient time to gain an Australian win. In other words there was no point in the long-deferred declaration. Similarly, there is no explanation for the leisurely scoring rate of the final recognised batsmen. Smith seems to have already become nervous in his captaincy.
snith didn't play for a draw, he played to win, albeit a little less boldly than recent matches the Aussies have played in. It needs to be remembered that had we taken our chances we would have won comfortably. Smiths captaincy has been excellent-lets get behind him, not start to criticise so early in his tenure. He has made two centuries in his two tests as captain, won one and had the better of the other!!
Wrong Question - Do you think Smith was advised to play for a draw and conceded?
We don't know that he was told to or directed in anyway. he may well have been.
It seams so out of character that the team played as they did.
Australian's have long criticised other national teams for playing for draws to retain international trophies.
Have we changed too?