Musik » only 27 wickets.Led by Mitchell Starc and ably supported by

Welcome back to the friendly, air-conditioned confines boys. It was hot work out there, hey? Hot enough for extra drinks breaks anyway. The breeze came in to the WACA Ground in the evening session, which offered some kind of respite from the heat and the sun. That should have helped you cool down enough to process a few things.But before you do, I want you to remember how you feel right now. The heavy legs, the dry mouths and the dull headaches from your sweaty baggy green hat-bands. Remember too the sinking feeling you got when you took a final glance at the WACAs old scoreboard before reaching shade, showing South Africas vast lead. A word of warning: it will be a fair bit bigger by the time you get another bat.Inconvenient memories like this can help you in future, when you have the opportunity to make a Test match your own. They can help you to keep your focus clear and your ruthlessness intact as they should have been yesterday, in the hour or so after Dale Steyn dropped out of the match, the tour and possibly even his whole career with a serious shoulder injury. That moment should have been one to steel yourselves, and think coldly about the physical imperative of Test cricket.South Africa had lost a bowler, and a great one at that. Chat to your teams long-time physio Alex Kountouris, now Cricket Australias head of sports science. He will be able to tell you of the pitifully small percentage of Test matches won by teams that lose a frontline bowler so early on. Another medico, doctor John Orchard, is perhaps the worlds biggest advocate for injury substitutes in Tests. His forward thinking cant help this week though.One of Orchards prime case studies comes from the last time South Africa toured Australia, in 2012. He has outlined how a side injury to James Pattinson - remember him? - in Adelaide led to an excessive workload for Peter Siddle in a match South Africa fought back to draw. In Siddles absence the visitors won in Perth, and the extra overs duly bowled by Mitchell Starc flowed into the need to rest him from the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka. It all adds up, you see.I dont need to tell you much about the physical drain, because your legs are still heavy even as you cradle some ice water, Gatorade or perhaps a consolation beer. Adam Voges has a tender hamstring. The sight of the fast bowlers icing feet, legs and shoulders - Starc is re-dressing the open wound in his left leg as we speak - should also remind you of the fact that you didnt give them much rest at all after their exertions on day one. Less than 24 hours in fact.Thats a betrayal (a strong word, but a true one) of the unwritten compact between batsmen and bowlers. They work so hard in the field on days like these, and should have the right to expect a decent total to defend after a reasonable amount of time at rest in the teams viewing area. Pattinson (hes not had much luck, Jimmy) once suffered serious injury in a Lords Test match after being asked to bowl again too soon after the first innings, due to a batting collapse. Slim first innings exacerbate the risk of injury to the very men who can win you the Test match. A confronting thought.Equally, the first Test of a series can influence how the rest play out, particularly back-to-back matches. Starc and Siddle in particular are coming off limited preparation for this series. They are playing in Perth not because they are fully fit, but because they are the best available for a vital contest. Selectors, coaches and medical staff took a calculated gamble that they would not be placed in the position they are now in, with the second Test in Hobart starting as soon as Saturday. South Africa are exacting a physical toll that will help them later.This brings us to the main thing I want you to take out of today. Once your thoughts of frustration subside, you really need to take in the lessons offered up by JP Duminy and Dean Elgar. Much like you on day two, they had a massive opportunity to take control of the Test. Unlike you on day two, they took it.Not through anything flashy or overly ambitious, but simply through relentless and disciplined Test-match batting - the batting you needed to provide on day two of this game. The bowlers bowled well, there were a few plays and misses, but they forged on regardless, frustrating and tiring the fielding side. Thats the way its done. As the day went on, South Africas drinks waiters brought on chairs for them to sit in. Youd have to agree they earned that.Now there may still be hope of escaping Perth without defeat. The pitch is still good, the cracks are far from the most dangerous ones seen in these parts - just ask your fielding coach Greg Blewett - and, as weve said, South Africa are a bowler down. But even if there isnt, you should be using days like these as motivation to bat like Elgar and Duminy in the future. The rewards will be Test match victories, happier bowlers, and fewer days of exhaustion.Anyway, Ive said enough. Go cool off, binge on a season of Sons of Anarchy, and well catch-up tomorrow. Look forward to seeing some resilience. New Balance Baratas España . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. New Balance Outlet Online España . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. http://www.newbalancebaratas.es/ . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. New Balance Ofertas España . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. New Balance Outlet España . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. In the last week, two ODI series finished with identical 4-1 scorelines; one was a surprise, the other wasnt. Pakistan, who had done so well to level the Test series 2-2 and take the top spot in the Test rankings, came a cropper in the ODIs, losing each of the first four before managing a consolation win in the last game. Australia, on the other hand, shook off the disappointment of a 3-0 Test drubbing by Sri Lanka - which lost them the No. 1 ranking as well - to turn the tables on the hosts in the ODIs, despite losing the toss and having to chase in tough batting conditions in four matches.Those results were symptomatic of the ODI fortunes of these two teams over the last 30 months. Pakistan have lost 30 out of 50 completed matches during this period, while Australia have won 41 out of 55. The win-loss ratio of 2.93 for Australia is easily the best among all teams - New Zealand are the only other team with a ratio of more than 2.00 - while Pakistan are languishing in ninth position, with only West Indies and Zimbabwe below them (among teams who have played at least 30 games during this period).Pakistans ODI problems have been manifold over the last two and a half years. Their run rate of 5.38 is eighth among the 11 teams, but then batting has traditionally been Pakistans weaker suit.What is more surprising is the lacklustre bowling numbers during this period: their economy rate of 5.61 is worse than all teams except Sri Lanka and West Indies, while the bowling average of 38.55 is the worst among these 11 teams. As Ahmer Naqvi pointed out in this piece, it wasnt entirely surprising that they conceded the largest ever ODI total in this series. Over the five matches in England, Pakistans bowlers averaged 53.59 runs per wicket, and 6.29 runs per over, numbers that are a damning indictment of how ineffective they were throughout the series. In the five-match series in England, Pakistan struggled to take wickets throughout, and Englands deep batting line-up only encouraged them to engage the fourth gear right through the innings. In the first 20 overs of the innings, Pakistan took 12 wickets to Englands 16, in the middle overs they managed eight to Englands 13, and in the last ten they took seven to Englands 11. The middle overs were especially poor for Pakistan. Not only did they fail to take wickets, they also leaked more than a run a ball during this phase.The first 20 overs have been a problem through the last 30 months for Pakistan. They have averaged 46.37 runs per wicket during this period, while the next highest among the top eight teams is Sri Lankas 38.10. For a team that has had a tradition of potent pace attacks, this is a definiite worry.dddddddddddd A look at the individual bowlers for Pakistan during this period shows the dearth of strike bowlers. Wahab Riaz has been the leading wicket-taker for them during this period, but he has conceded more than 33 runs per wicket, and almost a run a ball. When bowling in the first 20 overs, Wahab has taken only 13 wickets in 128 overs, at an average of 47.23, while Anwar Ali has nine wickets in 80 overs at 47.88.Mohammad Irfan has done better with the newer ball, taking 24 wickets in 161 overs at 30.29, but overall, the bowling picture is a pretty dismal one for Pakistan. And while Yasir Shah has been a star in Tests, his ODI numbers are fairly ordinary so far. Pakistan have also been badly hit by the unavailability of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez the bowler, leading to pace and spin numbers that dont inspire confidence - both categories of bowlers average more than 40 during this period. Australia, on the other hand, have been the dominant bowling team during this period: their average of 27.80 is the best among these 11 teams, and more than ten runs better than Pakistans 38.55. Australia have bowled teams out in 27 out of 55 completed games, which works out to once every two games. They did it four times in five matches in Sri Lanka, while there have been seven other instances when teams were nine down against them.Pakistan have only achieved it ten times in 50 games, an average of once every five matches. In five matches in England, Pakistan took only 27 wickets.Led by Mitchell Starc and ably supported by James Faulkner and Josh Hazlewood, Australias bowling attack has largely been a wicket-taking one. Starc has been the leading ODI bowler over the last couple of years, with an outstanding strike rate of 25 balls per wicket; in the last ten overs his numbers are even better - 24 wickets at 12.41, and an economy rate of 5.43. The bowling attack is dominated by pace, but Adam Zampa has already made a huge impact in the 12 games he has played, taking 22 wickets at 23.31. While fast bowlers have done most of the bowling, the spinners havent done badly, taking 93 wickets at 32.66.Australias batsmen - led by Steven Smith, Aaron Finch and David Warner - have done the job too, but the bowlers have played a huge role in Australias outstanding success in the last 30 months. The difference in the bowling attacks of the two teams is arguably the biggest reason why Australia are clearly the best ODI team at the moment and why Pakistan are struggling to even qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup. ' ' '