Fitzy
NRL Captain
- Sep 10, 2018
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- 7,112
It's been a case of all year Renners and Marnus score tons or the side struggles. Only 2 games where one of them hasn't scored a ton and we have won is Victoria last week where both sides were woeful and the WA one day game where we were 4-38 and Hugh scored an exceptional 115 and built some nice lower order partnerships with Wildermuth and Neser to get the boys home with 2 wickets to spare which was a 1 in 100 result from 4-38 and a rookie bat and tail to come. And mind you Weigben has since done **** all since then.
The Heat were absolutely atrocious for large parts of the season, batted well at the Gabba and was boosted by the inclusion and good performances of Balkin and Patterson to make things more competitve on the bowling front at times but largely away from home they were nothing short of pathetic. Follow that up with an overall pathetic season the year before after having just won the comp. If one or two of Wildermuth, Renshaw and McSweeney didn't turn up this season then neither did we.
You can argue we made a shield final last year but we won 3 games and were 4 points off the bottom of the ladder. It was a case of being the best of the shit-heap and imo we weren't the best of that shit heap we just finished off the best.
It's been individuals that get the job done and absolutely nobody has excelled on a consistent basis for him
He has won 19 from 51 games of cricket in all 3 formats the last 2 seasons. The only 3 players to have been in the top 5 run scorers or wickettakers in any of the 6 competitions is:
- Marnus - OD 25/26*
- Renshaw - OD 24/25
- Hearne - OD 24/25
Credit where credits due Renshaw was in the top 10 for most competitions and Swepson was sitting in about 6th for both shield seasons.
Does anyone find any of the above acceptable??? Like who genuinely is happy with the performance of cricket in QLD at the minute. You can say they are young all you like and I can acknowledge had Vidler, Renshaw, Bartlett played a few more games and pace stocks not get ass ****ed every year things could be a little bit different. But lets face it 3-10 to start the innings and 6-8 to finish it. And we see it far to regularly in all 3 formats. There will be a dramatic collapse nearly every 2-3 innings in every format.
I don't think they will sack Botha but you can absolutely not claim Shield finals as a proof of high performance and most definitely not last years. At least this seasons shield cricket has been the peak of Botha led sides but some shocking collapses especially of late and outside of Marnus and Renshaw there hasn't really been much to write home about. It's standards that just aren't being met.
You can argue 20 shield games all you like for Hearne, Burdon and Weibgen but at the end of the day all 3 of those names have the potential to wear baggy greens in their careers. No excuses that this lineup scored 185 and 119 and lost by 7 wickets to a team with a first innings total of 215. It's simply not good enough. The inexperienced bowling lineup got a strong South Australian batting lineup for 215 wtih a low total on the board and 3-91 with all hope lost.
At the minute Botha is scraping by on an undeserved final and Marnus and Renshaw going lights out to begin the season. Very underwhelming cricket has been played in this state for a fair while now. And I'm personally not seeing to much improvement beyond natural progression from younger players like Hearne and Clayton. Lovell and Burdon have found it so hard for consistent opportuntiy despite having mountains of runs below and showing promise. I'd say Straker you could put a tick down for under Botha considering his age and his contributions. Renshaw has excelled, marnus had a good month and that's IT.
Does anyone think in 12 months time Botha will have earned a renewal? and is anyone actually remotely content with the cricket dished up?
Like I said 2 games all season qld have won where Labs or Renners hasn't scored a ton.
I don't have to much positive to say about the state of qld cricket without it being completely dire.
They are just stuck in mediocrity at the minute I think personally. Seemingly more upbeat from a lot of people in here than I was expecting when the topic was broached. IDK do people see more hope beyond just the natural talent at qld's disposal in the younger age brackets? I don't think Botha contributes to any optimism I have personally.
