Australia cruised to victory by 9-wickets in the opening Test against England at the Gabba. England were only in the contest for a couple of sessions and the ratings voted on by you have reflected that.
Not surprisingly, player of the match Travis Head received plenty of admiration with an average score of 9.24 out of 10. His century in the first innings came at a crucial time in the match when England had some rare momentum after Ollie Robinson took two wickets in a row including Cam Green for a golden duck.
Despite Green’s golden duck, his bowling got the nod from our readers and his 3 for 29 match figures means he actually has the lowest bowling average so far in the series.
Australian captain Pat Cummins had a dream start and he won the captaincy battle over Joe Root. Root did get him out with the ball (that’s a good future trivia question) and the England captain rebounded with the bat after a first-innings duck.
But just as the match looked to be swinging England’s way, Root falling short of his maiden century in Australia meant that he fell short on the ratings as well. It was a good performance but Root needs to be great for England to have a chance.
The great news for Australia is the fact they won so comfortably without needing a Steve Smith masterclass. Smith only had one chance to bat of course and he’s sure to improve as the series goes on which is not great news for England.
The DIY ratings paint a sorry picture for England with seven of the 11 players receiving an average score of under 5.
1. David Warner
Average score: 7.22
Most common rating: 7 (37.4%)
2. Marcus Harris
Average score: 2.57
Most common rating: 2 (37.4%)
3. Marnus Labuschagne
Average score: 7.51
Most common rating: 8 (44%)
4. Steve Smith (vc)
Average score: 4.35
Most common rating: 4 (32.8%)
5. Travis Head
Average score: 9.24
Most common rating: 10 (44%)
6. Cameron Green
Average score: 6.19
Most common ratings: 6 & 7 (31.9%)
7. Alex Carey (wk)
Average score: 6.60
Most common rating: 7 (37.9%)
8. Pat Cummins (c)
Average score: 8.63
Most common rating: 9 (45.7%)
9. Mitchell Starc
Average score: 6.36
Most common rating: 6 (31%)
10. Nathan Lyon
Average score: 6.96
Most common rating: 7 (44.4%)
11. Josh Hazlewood
Average score: 7.19
Most common rating: 7 (42.2%)
1. Rory Burns
Average score: 1.67
Most common rating: 1 (57.1%)
2. Haseeb Hameed
Average score: 4.30
Most common rating: 5 (34.5%)
3. Dawid Malan
Average score: 6.07
Most common rating: 6 (36.8%)
4. Joe Root (c)
Average score: 6.30
Most common rating: 7 (35.1%)
5. Ben Stokes
Average score: 3.46
Most common rating: 4 (30.1%)
6. Ollie Pope
Average score: 3.97
Most common rating: 4 (34.2%)
7. Jos Buttler (wk, vc)
Average score: 4.91
Most common rating: 5 (40.7%)
8. Chris Woakes
Average score: 4.61
Most common rating: 5 (36%)
9. Ollie Robinson
Average score: 6.38
Most common rating: 7 (42.1%)
10. Mark Wood
Average score: 5.99
Most common rating: 7 (33.3%)
11. Jack Leach
Average score: 1.67
Most common rating: 1 (61.4%)
Mooty
Roar Rookie
Describing his overall performance. I suppose you were impressed with his opening non play of the ball that bowled him. It was the shot of an amateur and should have been called that way
JamesH
Roar Guru
Travis Head's most common score was (correctly) a 10, but his average score was only 9.24. That means there were people who gave him less than a 9, despite hitting a chanceless 150 at better than run-a-ball when the Australian innings was wobbling. The word 'nuffie' comes to mind.
JamesH
Roar Guru
He also bowled a lot of beautiful deliveries that beat the bat. He had Stokes in knots in the second dig, just didn't get the edge. A six is more than fair.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Of course. Just saying when judging/comparing the quality of innings need to take into account how solid /lucky they were, chances given etc. Warner did well with his luck but I scored Marnus well ahead on quality of innings.
Akitas
Roar Rookie
Probably the only rating I would disagree with is Starc's. He bowled a lot of rubbish balls and was the worst of our bowlers.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Did a quick check. Averaged 47 with 5 centuries in 15 matches. So excellent results. Scored tons in his first three matches.
Micko
Roar Rookie
The irony was was that didn't Phil Hughes used to smash them in county cricket with the same dubious technique? Can't remember.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Well hope you’re wrong about Head, Micko, but I’m not saying you are. It troubles me that he could only muster 183 runs in 11 innings in county cricket last season. Have a lean trot like that usually means you are doing something wrong.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Like averages Dave, people get obsessed with scores per se. I felt far more comfortable watching Carey bat than Head, who gives me major Phil Hughes vibes of never being able to cut it at test level due to the technical flaw of making a huge percentage of runs through dubious swipes and prods through the offside: behind and just in front of square, making them constantly vulnerable until the bowlers tire, the pitch flattens, and the ball goes old and soft and doesn’t swing or seam anymore, like at the Gabba!
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Warner's job, particularly when he opens with a walking wicket, is to see off the new ball and set up the middle order. Batters get plenty of luck, some good some bad. Warner got a lot of the good stuff this match and took advantage. Marnus is coming off a string of SS matches. Warner was the only batter to really stand up without the FC run in. I think he's worth his score
Micko
Roar Rookie
A golden duck Mooty? Get rid of the bloke! :silly:
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
In principle, I agree. We thumped an underdone England team who will get better. Whether they get good enough to make a serious challenge is yet to be seen. Plenty of Australian players were underdone too.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
These ratings seem fair to me, perhaps just because they align with my thoughts.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Impossible to argue on the evidence of his test performances. He got big wickets though, held all his catches and looks at home. Next step is to convert his obvious talent and SS performances into test runs. I've seen nothing of him at FC level but views are universally positive. He looks a good bloke, popular with teammates too. Fingers crossed.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
I think people are getting caught up in the hype about Green. He finally took a few wickets but made a golden duck. I believe the jury is still very much out on him
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Scoring Warner 7.2 and Marnus 7.5 only makes sense if you just look at the scores. Warner made numerous false shots and bad plays and misses and was dropped, Marnus made very few false strokes.
Frank delosa
Guest
AUS is way too cocky after 1 match. Burns to bat a tonne in 2nd test. Leach (Mole Man) to come out and put Aus in a spin. Get Street in for Harris!!! You heard it here first!!
jameswm
Roar Guru
Aussie fans really taken with Leach and Burns...