Cricket

[mld]

Not really, Watson clearly has trouble converting good starts which is why he should be moved down tehe order.

Nonsense. He is taking the shine off the ball like all good openers do. Of course it would be nice if he converted more starts, but there is a queue of players coming in after Watson and Katich have done the hard work, whose spots should be looked at before Watson's position as opener is questioned

 

[Tigers of Old]

Starting with Ponting, Clarke, North. You could tell Ponting was in trouble when pundits were lauding his quick 50 in the second dig in Brisbane. It was nice to see us get a positive 1-for, but the bottom line is it was junk time. The real guns perform when it matters.

Hussey has stood up so far but one of the vets will depart if we lose this series. He's right under the pump & it may well be time for Ricky to draw curtains on a fine career.

 

[ARCHYBOY]

Bottom line for me is that Watson is not an opener, he might make 50 with the shine on the pill but imagine what he would make with the shine off it. The other reason he should be down the order is because we fall away very sharply at the moment, once we are 5 for...., we are :-X :-X. Imagine being 5 for and still having Watson and Haddin at the crease, it can destroy the oppositions confidence, at the moment as soon as we are 4 for, the poms are saying one more and they are finished..

We are going that bad that there are only 4 safe players from test to test - Watson, Ponting, Haddin and Siddle. If i was picking the Adelaide test team it would read Katich, Hodge, Ponting, Clarke, Watson, White, Haddin, Siddle, Bollinger plus two more quicks that are in the best form.

 

[mld]

What is it with people wanting to move one of the only players who is actually doing the job given to him? I would have thought people would be more concerned with the players not doing their jobs.

 

[ARCHYBOY]

What is it with people wanting to move one of the only players who is actually doing the job given to him? I would have thought people would be more concerned with the players not doing their jobs.

I would assume you are talking about Watson???

What he is currently doing is good for him and his stats but no good for the team is my train of thought.

 

[mld]

I would assume you are talking about Watson???

What he is currently doing is good for him and his stats but no good for the team is my train of thought.

Your train of thought is heading into a siding. His role as opener is to take the shine off the ball for those who follow, which he is doing. Sure, he should go on with it more often that he does, but surely it is insanity to question one of the only players who is consistently doing his job.

 

[ARCHYBOY]

Your train of thought is heading into a siding. His role as opener is to take the shine off the ball for those who follow, which he is doing. Sure, he should go on with it more often that he does, but surely it is insanity to question one of the only players who is consistently doing his job.

Maybe you should get your eyes checked mld...

I said he is one of the safest in the team and never questioned him at all. What i said was the TEAM would be better served with him batting down the order a little. If his sole role as an opener is to take the shine off the aggart, i doubt he would be as attacking and he would try and stay out there all day. At the moment it doesn't matter if the shine is there, our middle order is that bad a taped up tennis ball would have them shitting themselves.

 

[Streak]

I do think we should ideally move Watson down the order.

We have a number of half decent openers floating around the place at the moment who should come in as openers, and move Watson down to 7.

 

[Tygrys]

lol at the internet critics who lash out at the only player who consistently does his job. Did you know that Watson and Katich have the highest opening partnership average for us? Including all the players you have listed? It is more a case of people having unrealistic expectations and lashing out like children when those expectations aren't met.

If you want to lash out like an idiot, you would do best to target it at the players who aren't doing their jobs first.

Clearly I am talking to an idiot right now. Do you understand, an opener who is good for a fifty but can't do any more is 'not doing his job'. Not by recent historic standards, and not by the team. It wouldn't just be 'nice' if he went on, it could actually be the difference between winning and losing. Ultimately are you helping the team if you consistently get starts but almost never go on with it? Watson can't simply point to what is happening at the other end of the wicket to claim it's working, more so as Katich is very much in the twilight of his career. Certainly the point can't be advanced because we're winning. Again this isn't an argument that Watson should be dropped, rather that he is not an opener. As for the rest of the team, I'd go through them with a knife. Again a losers mentality of excusing mediocrity.

 

[mld]

Fascinating, everyone reckons we should move one of the only players who is doing what is asked of him. Meanwhile, everyone ignores the players who aren't doing what is asked of them. Interesting priorities.

 

[mld]

Clearly I am talking to an idiot right now. Do you understand, an opener who is good for a fifty but can't do any more is 'not doing his job'. Not by recent historic standards, and not by the team. It wouldn't just be 'nice' if he went on, it could actually be the difference between winning and losing. Ultimately are you helping the team if you consistently get starts but almost never go on with it? Watson can't simply point to what is happening at the other end of the wicket to claim it's working, more so as Katich is very much in the twilight of his career. Certainly the point can't be advanced because we're winning. Again this isn't an argument that Watson should be dropped, rather that he is not an opener. As for the rest of the team, I'd go through them with a knife. Again a losers mentality of excusing mediocrity.

Still lashing out I see. Perhaps you would do better to sleep on it, and perhaps contribute more calmly tomorrow.

 

[Tygrys]

Still lashing out I see. Perhaps you would do better to sleep on it, and perhaps contribute more calmly tomorrow.

No just giving you the level of reasoning and respect that your arguments deserve. You might not like it, but at least I wasn't the first to apply the term 'idiot' to someone that had the nerve to contradict you. And true your comments might be calm, but people who excuse mediocrity often tend to have a very laid back attitude. I would recommend you get some sleep too, but I suspect you already are! :hihi

 

[Jason King]

Sorry but any bloke who consistently gets 40-50 runs per innings in a sure fire automatic selection. Watson might not convert starts to hundreds like Sachin, but he does get runs when needed.

 

[Tygrys]

Maybe you should get your eyes checked mld...

I said he is one of the safest in the team and never questioned him at all. What i said was the TEAM would be better served with him batting down the order a little. If his sole role as an opener is to take the shine off the aggart, i doubt he would be as attacking and he would try and stay out there all day. At the moment it doesn't matter if the shine is there, our middle order is that bad a taped up tennis ball would have them shitting themselves.

Truer words have never been spoken, Watson takes the shine off the ball by hitting quick fire fifties and then going out (I guess it's the process of hitting the fence all the time that removes the offending shine). It just staggers me how we're not winning more test matches? Personally he sounds like an excellent later order batsman in the making, but what do I know? (plus Marcus North would probably need to be dropped and that could never happen).

 

[mld]

No just giving you the level of reasoning and respect that your arguments deserve. You might not like it, but at least I wasn't the first to apply the term 'idiot' to someone that had the nerve to contradict you. And true your comments might be calm, but people who excuse mediocrity often tend to have a very laid back attitude. I would recommend you get some sleep too, but I suspect you already are! :hihi

Look, it isn't my fault that Watson is one of the only players who is consistently performing in the side, no need to be so shirty. Look, you might be unhappy that he isn't doing more than his job, but perhaps we could consider what to do with the players who aren't doing their jobs first.

 

[mld]

Sorry but any bloke who consistently gets 40-50 runs per innings in a sure fire automatic selection. Watson might not convert starts to hundreds like Sachin, but he does get runs when needed.

A voice of reason. Surely we should be talking about the blokes who aren't scoring runs before we talk about the ones who are.

 

[Tygrys]

Sorry but any bloke who consistently gets 40-50 runs per innings in a sure fire automatic selection. Watson might not convert starts to hundreds like Sachin, but he does get runs when needed.

Not one person here seems to disagree with you, including myself. It's just is that enough for an opener who doesn't seem able to go on with it? The question is where should he be played, not for a moment should he be played. Watson rightly remains an automatic selection.

 

[mld]

Truer words have never been spoken, Watson takes the shine off the ball by hitting quick fire fifties and then going out (I guess it's the process of hitting the fence all the time that removes the offending shine). It just staggers me how we're not winning more test matches? Personally he sounds like an excellent later order batsman in the making, but what do I know? (plus Marcus North would probably need to be dropped and that could never happen).

Indeed, it is the man who is scoring runs who is at fault, not the men who aren't scoring runs, not the men who aren't taking wickets. It is all Watson's fault for doing the job he has been given.

 

[mld]

Is it Hughes people want Watson replaced with? Pretty average eyes for talent if so. Sure, the man murders first class attacks on roads, but he has been found out with the high balls at international level before. He has a lot to prove before he can be considered a safe bet before Watson.

 

[Tigerbob]

I don't think anyone is having a go at Watson or wants him dropped, just that they think the team and he would be better served batting down the order.

I tend to agree.

Our middle order is without heart and strength. Add Watson, White and say Steve Smith to it and it get's a bit more meatier. Clarke needs to go, I don't know what North has to do to get dropped and Ponting is on his last legs but who else do we have to captain and come in first drop?

We need another strong natural opener to go with Katich and then start adding to that core. If we could have Hussey at four, Watson at five, White at six, Smith at seven, Haddin at eight it starts to look more stable in their batting wise.

Then Siddell, Harris, Johnson to follow. The batting of our eleven at least then looks dangerous. At the moment, we fold like a deck of cards once Haddin or Hussey is gone. Smith can bowl some spin, Watson and White can also part time. Plenty of bowling.

Katich
(name a top state opener)
Ponting
Hussey
Watson
White
Smith
Haddin
Johnson
Harris
Siddell

May not be the long term answer, may not be perfect but to me it is much more balanced for test cricket. White adds leadership, good fielding, good personality to the team, Smith good fielding and some Zest to the lineup. With Harris and Siddell doing the hard work, Johnson may get more confidence in coming in with them putting on the pressure.

You have to dare the opposition to bowl you out. Especially when you win the toss on a great wicket. We simply don't do that. We have a weak core.