The batsmen were the mood to chase even a big total like 380 but poor visibility restricted them to do so.
Quotes about batsmen (15 Quotes)
It's back to business as usual for the fifth Test. I've made a full recovery and will definitely play at The Oval, ... It has been so frustrating sitting out two of the first four tests, but now I can get at the England batsmen in the decider.
Our batsmen can play Shane Warne out. Previously McGrath has been at the other end and he is almost impossible to score off. Naturally batsmen have tried to go after Warne a bit because he is seen as easier to get away than McGrath. Not having him will affect how Australia plays because he and Warne bowl so well together. Batsmen can now try to see out Warne and go after the bowler at the other end.
If he were injured, England would immediately be deprived of their leading bowler, one of their most reliable and destructive batsmen and their most inspirational personality,
If we survive the first session without losing too many wickets then we can go for the chase. The pitch is not doing much and there's good bounce, so the batsmen can play their shots.
If they give us bouncy and seaming tracks they will struggle against our attack because their batsmen are not technically sound.
His average here is higher than other grounds, (but) he'll still play a big part because I think their batsmen will be a bit worried about our pace attack and they'll probably take a few more risks against Shane,
I am only worried about the balance between the bat and ball. It has titled heavily towards batsmen.
I build myself up with confidence with aggression, and confidence to control the game. If you're the bowler and you've got the ball in your hand you're controlling the game, so you've got to make sure the batsmen knows who's boss.
Both wickets can take a little bit of turn, particularly Adelaide, having had such a dry summer. The ball may turn a little bit more there, and the (shorter) square of the wicket boundaries also probably suit a few of our batsmen. But we are still going to have to play our best cricket to stretch Australia to the limit. We did that well in Sydney and we know going into the finals series that's the game we have to play.
But Western Australia battled back in the final session, taking four wickets, including two important late strikes from Brett Dorey after Victoria had seemed to be cruising at 2 for 79. We're in a pretty good position, ... We've still got six wickets in the shed and less than a hundred to score and one of the wickets to fall was a nightwatchman. We've still got some good batsmen and we'll be looking to be positive in the morning.
But you've still got to go out there and play. Australia won't ever be a bad side. They're always going to find good young batsmen and bowlers to come in. So we've got to do the same.
We produced a good all-round performance and I suppose the only slight concern was that the top order batsmen could have done better,
We have quality batsmen who can play defensively and can also attack if needed. It's still a very good wicket to bat on.
What's disappointing is that we had opportunities to win the game. But their batsmen made the most of their opportunities and credit to them. It took nine days of Test cricket for someone to really win a day. And that was yesterday, which Australia won.