Australian Summer Of Cricket '08/'09

[The Brizz]

Why the f##k did Ponting bowl Lee and Siddle in the few overs this afternoon? Clearly Johnson is our best bowler and most likely to strike in the short period. Lee and Siddle got flogged and deserved to becuase they bowled way too short or way too full, Lee bowled one half decent ball to a passenger and managed to make it a no-ball. Lee seems to think he still bowls at 155kph and that he is against Bangladesh because I see no other reason why he insists on spearing ball after ball in at yorker length when he doesn't swing the ball one iota. They need to draft in guys that can bowl a length and bowl tight because Lee and Siddle are a joke neither understand how to bowl a length and bowl too slow to get away with bowling short/full.

1. Hayden (Last chance) then Hughes from NSW
2. Katich
3. Ponting
4. Clarke (C)
5. Watson
6. Hussey
7. Haddin
8. Noffke
9. Johnson
10. Krejza (it will be a spinning wicket at least use a spinner who turns the thing)
11. Hilfenhaus

 

[Bucking Beads]

Noffke is injured he has been out for the bulls for the last month.. Hayden doesn't deserve another chance IMO he has thrown his wicket away far too often. They will not I repeat will not take the captaincy of Punter.. I doubt they will play Watson either but they really should.

 

[Bucking Beads]

My team for the Sydney test is....

Katich
Hussey
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Watson
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Siddle
Hilfenhaus..

12th man
Bollinger

 

[The Brizz]

Noffke is injured he has been out for the bulls for the last month.. Hayden doesn't deserve another chance IMO he has thrown his wicket away far too often. They will not I repeat will not take the captaincy of Punter.. I doubt they will play Watson either but they really should.

Lol @ Noffke, dammit! Well then Bollinger instead of Noffke until he is fit. I hate Ponting as a person and a captain, he is selfish and not smart enough for the job, a great batsman though he is. I know he won't lose the captaincy that was wishful thinking. If Watson isn't picked I will not watch a single ball, I am fed up with these archaic selectors.

 

[The Brizz]

Also if/when Hayden goes they have to give Hughes the spot, we can't just shift the 30 somethings around to make the batting numbers up. Look at what Clarke is doing now and that is because he got a go early and they were patient with him.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Clarke got dropped after the 05 ashes side if you don't recall. I watched Hughes bat at the 20/20 at the Gabba he is awesome but he is only 20 and hasn't played much cricket. He probably is good enough and we may get a few good innings out of him but I feel in a year or 2 he will be ready so why rush him in.. Also I know the selectors won't open with Hussey that is just wishful thinking and the fact I'd love to see D.Hussey get a game. I am not opposed to Hughes getting picked I just think he needs more time to be a complete player.

 

[The Brizz]

Clarke got dropped after the 05 ashes side if you don't recall. I watched Hughes bat at the 20/20 at the Gabba he is awesome but he is only 20 and hasn't played much cricket. He probably is good enough and we may get a few good innings out of him but I feel in a year or 2 he will be ready so why rush him in..

I do recall Clarke got dropped, he was excellent at first and then faded the dropping really built character. Hughes is scoring the runs now so should be picked now and he is a genuine opener. When your good enough your old enough.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I hope they pick him it is great to see the young guys get a go I just hope the Saffas don't break him they have a mighty bowling line up at the moment..

 

[The Brizz]

Yeah they are pretty darn good. Steyn is so similar to Alan Donald its spooky.

 

[Bucking Beads]

The Saffas have modeled themselves on the England Ashes assault of 2005 and they are destroying us TBH. There whole side is in form and contributing whilst the Aussies have a few good performers here and there but no dominance.

 

[The Brizz]

Yeah outside of MacKenzie they are all firing. They should play Prince at 3 when he returns and open with Amla (he has been basically opening lately anyway).

 

[Coxy]

Hammo, beautiful post. Allan Border was the best captain I ever saw. With the talent (or lack thereof) he had with which to regain the Ashes in 1989...and not just win, absolutely flog them 4-0...that was incredible. And in 1992-93, with a team that, really, wasn't that much stronger, to go within a whisker (actually, an arm guard and a blind umpire) of beating the still mighty West Indies was incredible.

Ponting isn't a stain on the undies of AB after a bad curry in India.

For Sydney:

Hayden (last chance)
Katich
Ponting (c)
Hussey
Clarke
Watson
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

Drop Symonds until he gets his knee right. It's embarrassing watching him hobble around.
Drop Lee until he gets fit and actually has some penetration - other than on no balls.
Siddle did enough to retain a spot.
FFS stop changing spinners...give Hauritz another go.

As for Hayden, I don't expect a hundred in each innings, but he should at least show some application and if he gets out, get out to a good ball that he actually tried to play well. If that means scores of ~10, so be it, but as long as he doesn't throw his wicket away. Again.

 

[Hamm.0]

Agreed Coxy.

The biggest gripe I have with Hayden and in fact the entire batting line up, minus Ponting, Clarke and to a lesser extent Hussey, is they are playing at shit balls.

That's what I meant by playing for the draw. Everyone could see we were pushing shit uphill to win this game, so why go out and try to score off anything? Let the crap go through and pick off the occasional delivery. You may not win, but you will force Sydney to be something special.

 

[Coxy]

Exactly. I wonder about Australia's coaching staff too. Are they studying opposition bowlers and batsmen? Say what you want about Buchanan, but he was meticulous. And he made sure his players were meticulous too. They knew where to bowl at each batsman, and how to read each bowler.

It seems they don't do that now, they just bowl randomly, bat off the cuff. Conversely, India and South Africa (and England in 2005) worked out the batsmen. They know which balls entice them to play and how to position the field to capitalise.

Ponting seems intent on covering runs as much as possible and not attack the weaknesses of the opposition - as I said, probably because he doesn't know their weaknesses.

Fact is this team still has a lot of talent, particularly with the bat, and they're embarrassing themselves.

 

[Fozz]

The problem is Warne and McGrath, the batsmen could play at crap balls with Warne and McGrath to contain the opposition in the bowling but now they're gone and the batsmen need to play more conservativly but they aren't.

 

[Browny]

Ok here's how I see things:

Hayden - has to go before Sydney, he has done well in the past but should have retired with Langer
Hussey - needs to go back down the order - Pup has shown the maturity to bat at number 4
Symonds - He wasnt fit so why was he picked? Marketing!! To watch him hobble around was dead set embarressing
Siddle - I thought his first couple of spells showed what he is capable of but resorted back to bowling crap like in Perth maybe worth persisting with.
Lee - broken so he's gone (would like to know how many wickets he gets off no balls)
Hauritz - did what the selectors wanted and tied up an end but we need a happy medium between Krajza and Hauritz
Johnston - FFS give him the new ball and the right field he will carve
Haddin - Curb his aggression or better shot selection but has turned the corner and will be as good as Gilly batting wise, keeping needs to improve
Clarke - Deserved a hundred and unlucky he picked out the fielder, give him the captaincy
Katich - Mr consistant
Ponting - Can bat but captaincy lacks ideas and how to motivate a team.

Watson in for Symonds
Hughes/Rogers/Jacques(injured?) for Hayden
Hilfy in for Lee
Krejza or Huaritz in dont see why both should be in as we have Clarke and Katich for spin options as well.

 

[Bannermania]

Watson is out for 6 months with a stress fracture to the back. Gone. Poor watto.

Marcus North and David Hussey in the Aus side please. Thnx. I'll also kill the selectors if they pick Cameron White.

 

[ethos]

Marcus North would be a good option. He's a pretty good spinner as well, probably even on par with Hauritz and Krezja. If he were in the team, Australia could play their 4 best quicks and use North to bowl spin.

And it's so unlucky for Watson, got so much potential.