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Similar information advantage applies to the follow-on in test matches (rejecting the follow-on defies logic IMO).


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Not true. Depending on what day you are on, it is usually better to get in and 'blast'. While you are doing this you are also deteriorating the pitch and fatigueing your fielding opponents.


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You completely disregarded informational advantage (my point). If rain had closed in on the final day of the Tassie test like it was threatening to do, Ponting could have ended up with a draw, which would most likely not have happened if he sent Sri Lanka in again, since we could have made whatever 4th innings total at an appropriate pace. And yes, obviously there are other considerations.

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And one last thing that annoys me is the persistent talk of batsmen down the order having higher batting averages because they get a lot of not-outs.

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I can see your point here. But to take it to the next level one could again argue that fatigue is not such a factor for lower order batsmen especially 8-11 because they will always be at their peak fitness during their innings (as they are out faster or its all over) i.e their averages will never be directly in line relative to the rest of teh team.



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Semantics. In fact, lower order batsmen more often have to bat in a more extreme fashion (aggressively or defensively) which would certainly have an average lowering effect.