Australia v England Fifth Test

[1910]

Australia's 14-man squad for fifth Magellan Ashes Test: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb.

Holland not being the second spinner is a national disgrace.

 

[Sproj]

Australia's 14-man squad for fifth Magellan Ashes Test: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb.

Holland not being the second spinner is a national disgrace.

Also if Khawaja is not performing even at home as the home test specialist, why persist with him?

 

[1910]

Also if Khawaja is not performing even at home as the home test specialist, why persist with him?

61 Shield wickets in the last 12 months v 15 Shield wickets in the last 12 months.

Bowling your team to three Shield final wins in a row v doing not much at all.

Might as well do away with Shield.

 

[Unbreakable]

61 Shield wickets in the last 12 months v 15 Shield wickets in the last 12 months.

Bowling your team to three Shield final wins in a row v doing not much at all.

Might as well do away with Shield.

Khawaja has 15 shield wickets in the last 12 months?

 

[1910]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...s/news-story/28ba5bad889b0d4714acf69fc4e94aa0

 

[Sproj]

Well that article is pretty hard to fault. I mean, aren't they supposed to be picking representatives for the whole country? How does personal bias and favouritism sit well in that context? It isn't the selectors own representative team they are picking, they should pick the guys who are performing.

If there is some other agenda, given it is in the interests of the nation as a whole, not a personal thing, this criteria should be made available to everyone, otherwise there is no accountability.

The combination of a very weak England team coupled with a few decent performances from the questionable selections makes the selectors feel justified...but they aren't. Agar shouldn't be near the test team and neither should either Marsh but here we are.

 

[1910]

On with the real stuff.

105 Tests at the SCG.
58 wins.
Second lowest of all Australian venues.
Only lost one of the last 15.

Funnily England have a win percent of 40%.
Their best overseas venue.
But 2 last 11.

Teams have batted first 83/105 times- for 35 wins and 34 defeats so no real advantage there. Australia's win in 2013 is the only match since '92 a team has bowled first and won.

Sydney doesn't turn like it used to but it still has a high spin wicket % of 28%. But the economy rate is higher than everywhere bar Perth. Spinners at the SCG 3.51 compared to Perth 3.61.

 

[1910]

Too reckless from Stoneman. He was trying to be attacking but too many false shots.

Vince needs to play later so he doesn’t nick off.

 

[Browny]

Cook gone

 

[PerthBrissy987]

Surely you have to drop Bancroftafter this series

 

[Unbreakable]

I would be dropping him, I thought he looked handy after the first test, showed good intent and technique, since then he's looked like a scared kid every time he comes out. I'd be getting Maxwell or Handscomb back in there for the next test series, whichever is in the best form at the time.

1. Warner
2. S.Marsh
3. Khawaja
4. Smith (c)
5. Maxwell / Handscomb
6. M.Marsh
7. Paine
8. Cummins
9. Starc
10. Hazlewood
11. Lyon

 

[holdzy]

Marsh opening lol.

 

[Browny]

Warner gone

 

[1910]

Surely you have to drop Bancroftafter this series

I wouldn’t drop him. He’s only had six bats but he does need to adapt. All six have been to similar balls.

The fullest pitched 5.4m from the stumps, the shortest 7.7m. Only one of those balls swung more than 1°, Bancroft's technique largely to blame - a technique he has failed to adapt.

 

[1910]

I think Australian fielding and catching hasn’t been great this series. The BBL has been a poor standard too.

Australian dropped catches this series (11): Smith 3 Paine 2 Bancroft 2 S Marsh 1 M Marsh 1 Cummins 1 Hazlewood

Bowlers suffering dropped catches: Lyon 5 Starc 2 Cummins 2 Hazlewood 1 M Marsh 1.

 

[Unbreakable]

Fastest to 6,000 runs -

1. Sir Donald (68 innings)
2. Sir Steve (111 innings)
3. Sir Garfield (111 innings)

 

[holdzy]

I hope Khawaja goes on with this, he deserves a ton for all the close-but-no-donuts so far this series, and it would help convinvce me he's not a perennial choker.

 

[roo-ted]

I think Australian fielding and catching hasn’t been great this series. The BBL has been a poor standard too.

Australian dropped catches this series (11): Smith 3 Paine 2 Bancroft 2 S Marsh 1 M Marsh 1 Cummins 1 Hazlewood

Bowlers suffering dropped catches: Lyon 5 Starc 2 Cummins 2 Hazlewood 1 M Marsh 1.

I think catching is pretty much our only problem in terms of fielding, and most of these drops have been either at silly point or in the slips when it's been half a chance, the two drops today were absolute sitters and the only other drops I would be critical of that I can remember is Paine's one at the gabba, S.Marshs one and smith's drop of Cook. But other than that Gary has taken blinders all series, hazlewood also and we have been doing really good at cutting off boundaries