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Cricket
- Thread starter mb64
- Start date
Tigerbob said:
I agree that changes need to be made and that Pointing is on his last legs, no doubt about it.
But I still fail to see how he is forced to carry the can for the entire decline of Australian cricket.
Our bowling stocks are shocking, much bigger concern then the batting.
Navy Days said:
Agree. Watson stays at the top of the order. He has made his name as a opener and shouldn't be moved. Needs help from the middle order. 3,4,5,6 are the issues. Hussey has booked a spot for the rest of the series but must be moved on. I still don't think that we have guys capable of stepping up. We are only going to get more floggings over the next 2-3 years.
Well done Kev, even though 3/4 of his batting were all 4s. At least he knows where to find the gaps.Tigerbob said:
SCOOP said:
Especially Mitchell Johnson. Geez.... at times he looks like a kid just starting.
hate seeing us play so average .. I have always rated Michael Clarke but right now he is in such miserable form and why play a guy with an injury . Lets him get over his injury and get some form ..short term thinking again from the selectors .
Punter, for all his quick 51 in the second innings at the Gabba, is nowhere close to the Punter of a few years ago. Not a no 3 anymore ..Why not give Clarke a rest and bring in Hughes ..and he can bat 3 and Punter can bat down the order .
Katich was unfortunate but even he is not really a match winner anyway. Hussey is going well but near the end of his career .
Watson has a bit of form ironically and he is a makeshift opener, not even a proper one.
I though North was a good option 3-4 years ago . But there are better players now to take his spot , just not up to it.
Punter, for all his quick 51 in the second innings at the Gabba, is nowhere close to the Punter of a few years ago. Not a no 3 anymore ..Why not give Clarke a rest and bring in Hughes ..and he can bat 3 and Punter can bat down the order .
Katich was unfortunate but even he is not really a match winner anyway. Hussey is going well but near the end of his career .
Watson has a bit of form ironically and he is a makeshift opener, not even a proper one.
I though North was a good option 3-4 years ago . But there are better players now to take his spot , just not up to it.
On a pitch that resembles some of the flat tracks we see in India, 7 of our 11 bats can't get to double figures.
Then the poms show us how good the pitch is.
IMO our problem is batting not bowling.
If we'd batted for 2 days and made 550, then asked the tired poms to bat, the game would be totally different.
But we have a skipper who is maybe past it,
Katich who can't run,
Clarke who can't bend over and lies about his physical health,
and North who more often than not fails his team - but he's a good bloke apparently.
Unless the selectors get ruthless then our necessary rebuild will be way too late.
My top 7 for the next test ....
Hughes
Marsh
Watson
Ponting
Ferguson
Haddin
Smith
I'd drop Hussey (better sooner than later) and North and Katich
And rest Clarke
Then the poms show us how good the pitch is.
IMO our problem is batting not bowling.
If we'd batted for 2 days and made 550, then asked the tired poms to bat, the game would be totally different.
But we have a skipper who is maybe past it,
Katich who can't run,
Clarke who can't bend over and lies about his physical health,
and North who more often than not fails his team - but he's a good bloke apparently.
Unless the selectors get ruthless then our necessary rebuild will be way too late.
My top 7 for the next test ....
Hughes
Marsh
Watson
Ponting
Ferguson
Haddin
Smith
I'd drop Hussey (better sooner than later) and North and Katich
And rest Clarke
evo said:
Looks to be about right for me.
The ABC is still the only thing keeping me going in this.
Our batting is that dicey I would think about getting Timmy Paine in to keep, bat Haddin at 6. Paine has shown more with the bat then North and is going to be a big part of the next decade. Either that or play Steve Smith. Roll the dice.
I reckon the Aussies will roll turn back to Mitchell Johnson if we get rolled. We need the rain to come.
Raining now.Much as I hate us getting flogged, nothing is quite as depressing as a rain delay in Test cricket..
im not sure how so many can be calling for the inclusion of a guy who is averaging 22 with a high score of 48 this season. surely some form is needed.
north needs to be dropped- stating the obvious- khawaja the likely replacement.
i cant see any of ponting, hussey, clarke or katich being dropped. yet. 2 more bad tests and changes should be made though.
bowling wise each of the 3 quicks playing deserve their spot, just not with each other. a copeland or cameron should get a go for maybe siddle next test.
not sure what to do about a spinner. doherty aint the answer. i dont think smith is either. yet. hauritz? bit blah but he is taking wickets for nsw and has an ok record for oz.
so my changes for next test unless something drastic happens is north, siddle and doherty out. khawaja, copeland/cameron and hauritz in. (made myself chuckle with those changes- 3 nswelshman in- o out. even tho i don think they get favoure by selectors.)
north needs to be dropped- stating the obvious- khawaja the likely replacement.
i cant see any of ponting, hussey, clarke or katich being dropped. yet. 2 more bad tests and changes should be made though.
bowling wise each of the 3 quicks playing deserve their spot, just not with each other. a copeland or cameron should get a go for maybe siddle next test.
not sure what to do about a spinner. doherty aint the answer. i dont think smith is either. yet. hauritz? bit blah but he is taking wickets for nsw and has an ok record for oz.
so my changes for next test unless something drastic happens is north, siddle and doherty out. khawaja, copeland/cameron and hauritz in. (made myself chuckle with those changes- 3 nswelshman in- o out. even tho i don think they get favoure by selectors.)
Tigerbob said:
He isn't the player he used to be, but calling for his axing from the team is harsh considering he was our second best batsman in India with an average of 55, he's always been one of the best two or three performed aussie batsman in most test series for a long time. He has said he will retire when Australia finds a better number three than him, meaning he isn't moving down the order. Khawaja is the man to replace him at three, whether that happens after this series or in a year or two after Khawaja cuts his teeth at four or five, i'm comfortable With Rick in the team for now. A few others need to go pronto and let Ferguson and Kwaj get amongst it before Punter steps down.
This test was lost on day 1. 245 on this wicket was a terrible result. With our pedestrian attack, we need to post big scores. If it weren't for Hussey and Haddin, we would have been stuffed at the GABBA and even worse off here.
England's batsmen are playing our bowling with ease. There is no discipline..too much rubbish..4 good balls an over and then a couple of bad ones to release the pressure. We are now what england were in the 1990s.
Has anyone else noticed that every time we take a wicket, the next partnership rockets along in the blink of an eye? No pressure at all. Bowlers don't move the ball off the straight and bowl both sides of the wicket. Cannon fodder against good batsmen. Pietersen looked like he was having a casual net session at times today.
England are doing to us what we routinely did to them when we went to their country and smashed them series after series from 1989 up until 2003. I think we are going to have to endure a few more years of this unfortunately.
England's batsmen are playing our bowling with ease. There is no discipline..too much rubbish..4 good balls an over and then a couple of bad ones to release the pressure. We are now what england were in the 1990s.
Has anyone else noticed that every time we take a wicket, the next partnership rockets along in the blink of an eye? No pressure at all. Bowlers don't move the ball off the straight and bowl both sides of the wicket. Cannon fodder against good batsmen. Pietersen looked like he was having a casual net session at times today.
England are doing to us what we routinely did to them when we went to their country and smashed them series after series from 1989 up until 2003. I think we are going to have to endure a few more years of this unfortunately.
The way the selectors now handle this performance is going to be very interesting.
Will Johnson and Hilfenhaus have Shield games before Perth to push their case?
Have Harris or Bollinger looked dangerous enough to hold their spots? Or Siddle for that matter? Who is the next one to try? Cameron, McKay, George, Pattinson, Starc, Faulkner?
Do we need a spinner in Perth? Looks like Doherty is gone, so do they go back to Hauritz, or take a chance on Smith which also strengthens the batting?
Does North get one last chance on his home deck, and does his spin help keep him in the team?
Is Katich fit to take his spot? If so, can he slide back down to 6 to take North's spot and Hughes comes back to open? Is Hughes playing in Perth playing into the Poms hands as we know they will try to test him out with short stuff?
Has Ferguson or Khawaja been in good enough form to be called up? Is Clarke sore, out of form or both? Is there someone from left field?
Lots of questions.....very few answers at this stage.
Will Johnson and Hilfenhaus have Shield games before Perth to push their case?
Have Harris or Bollinger looked dangerous enough to hold their spots? Or Siddle for that matter? Who is the next one to try? Cameron, McKay, George, Pattinson, Starc, Faulkner?
Do we need a spinner in Perth? Looks like Doherty is gone, so do they go back to Hauritz, or take a chance on Smith which also strengthens the batting?
Does North get one last chance on his home deck, and does his spin help keep him in the team?
Is Katich fit to take his spot? If so, can he slide back down to 6 to take North's spot and Hughes comes back to open? Is Hughes playing in Perth playing into the Poms hands as we know they will try to test him out with short stuff?
Has Ferguson or Khawaja been in good enough form to be called up? Is Clarke sore, out of form or both? Is there someone from left field?
Lots of questions.....very few answers at this stage.