lukeanddad said:
To me Ronald should be replacing Smith not Johnson if any. Good player McDonald, but Watto should play his role. We need another spinning allrounder perhaps...not Smith though, he's not our answer IMO.
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Cricket
- Thread starter mb64
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To me Ronald should be replacing Smith not Johnson if any. Good player McDonald, but Watto should play his role. We need another spinning allrounder perhaps...not Smith though, he's not our answer IMO.
mb64 said:
Ponting hasn't been a brilliant skipper, but people do need to keep that slightly in perspective.
1. He has followed arguable 3 of our best ever in Border, Taylor and Waugh.
2. He has not had the same level of talent, particularly bowlers, that those skippers had throughout their time.
3. Realistically after Waugh retired, who else was there? Warne, Hayden, Gilchrist? It is a hypothetical, but there was no heir apparent IMO.
Out of the square thinking poppa. Haddin as a specialist batsman is interesting. He has the talent but I can't see it happening. It's too early for Little Patto. He's only played four first-class matches, and none this season. Henriques has done nothing to deserve promotion, he didn't even bowl in his most recent Shield game.poppa x said:
Hohns was a great selector. Out: Hilditch, Boon, Cox. In: Hohns, AB, Junior.mb64 said:
Agree on the bowling, we have to try the young blokes who are performing because none of our current attack looks good enough, bar Johnson on his day, Harris on the rare occasion he's fit, and Siddle strictly as the third seamer workhorse. Notwithstanding a couple of great spells, he needs to do more with the ball.snaps truly said:
I'm a fan of Simon the Dog Katich but I reckon his time is up. If we want an experienced man at the top of the order we get Hussey to do it. While we don't play until August (what happened to the Bangladesh series in April/May?), we then play 15 Tests between August and March. Then it's just a year until we tour England. I'd use those 15 Tests to see who can step up to the level. The more I think about it the more inclined I would be to throw Maddinson in the deep end. Facing the new ball in Sri Lanka would not be the most arduous beginning, then three Tests in South Africa will show what he's made of. If he cuts it, we'll have a 21-year-old with 20+ Tests under his belt as we go to England in 2013.
Hughes should not be allowed to play T20 cricket if he wants to be a Test opener. Smith should be kept away from it too. Both should play strictly first-class cricket if they're serious about a Test career.
poppa x said:
cant agree with Haddin in the team as a batsman. he averages under 40, he just had one of his best series with the bat and averaged 45. better off leaving watson there and using the middle order spot for someone else.
not sure i would go maddinson yet either, but there isnt much competition for the opening spot.
Streak said:
Ponting is our second best ever batsman - and somewhere between Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop as a captain.
By the way, Border is in our top 5 all time batsman (would have averaged 50+ if he didn't have to play against the Windies), but a mediocre skipper.
I probably supported Ponting, but on reflection, believe that Warne/Langer/Gilly would have done better.
lukeanddad said:
Ponting has his deficiencies as captain, but is hardly ranked among the two guys you list.
Warne, Langer or Gilly would not have done better either. Certainly not in the era they would have been skipper. In fact its near impossible they could have done better than Ponting in that time.
Wash your mouth out l&d. AB pulled Australian cricket up by its bootstraps. Initially played not to lose (understandable, given that's all we did when he took over) but was a lot better than you give him credit for. Not many would have the nuts to throw the ball to an unproven Warne with a Test match on the line, three wickets to get and only 20 runs needed. His aggression on the opening day of the 1989 series set the tone. His toughness pushed Dean Jones to his famous double century in Madras. He was a strong leader (once he took to it) who led the team from rock bottom to within a dodgy decision of the holy grail. That man carried Australian cricket on his back at its lowest point and as far as I am concerned is above criticism.lukeanddad said:
On Ponting's captaincy, he has won two World Cups as skipper, and during the time he had the same team he inherited from Waugh, actually had a superior Test match winning record. But I agree he has tactical limitations and can be an edgy character. Warne is probably alongside Keith Miller as the best captain Australia never had, and Gilly did very well when filling the breach, but how you can claim the ultimate follower (not a criticism, but a compliment to his willingness to follow a leader into battle) in Langer would have made a better skipper than Punter has me beat.
lukeanddad said:
Mediocre? only as a statistic with a win / loss record compared to other contemporary captains. What AB achieved as captain of Australia ON THE FIELD is unparallelled in Australian cricket history.
mb64 said:
I put Haddin in the opening spot as a specialist batter because he deserves his chance and Paine is a better keeper and I want him in the team.
If Haddin fluffs it then we move on to Klinger or the young Victorian whose name escapes me (must be the grog).
BTW Haddin opens in ODI cricket so he's got some form in the position.
poppa x said:
Michael Hill? 22 year old Australian U/19 captain. Will be a good player in a year or two IMO.
Streak said:
Taylor was clearly our best skipper in my memory, I Chappell included. Brilliant tactician, with a modest set of cattle.
I knew my Border comment would be provocative; however, my view is unchanged. Terrific, tough cricketer, but risk-averse, notwithstanding his throwing the ball to Warne in a tough situation (who wouldn't!?)
lukeanddad said:
What rot. Haddin is an ordinary keeper. He dropped 2 catches this series and let one through between he and first slip without moving an inch. He drops plenty and his last couple of dismissals were the reckless Haddin I thought we'd seen the last of. Cannot possibly be expected to bat at 6 long term
I hope your recollections of Gilly as a keeper are not through rose-coloured glasses.
A genius with the bat, but no Ian Healy with the gloves
A genius with the bat, but no Ian Healy with the gloves
lukeanddad said:
i'd agree with that but its also true that haddin is not 70% the keeper gilchrist was
i guess what im trying to say is that haddin is the worst glovesman i have seen play test cricket in recent memory.