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Former promising junior left arm pace bowler turned couch enthusiast. My twitter is @TheFrenchCut
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Please, for the purposes of this article and any consequential discussion, momentarily ignore however surprising or unsettling such a revelation may indeed be for…
Provoking murmurs among the meagre crowd of students, cantankerous pensioners and break-seeking university lecturers, Victorian batsman Michael Hill walks onto the grass of the…
You've seen Shaun Marsh stride out to bat in a coloured Australian uniform. You've heard the commentators' repeated assurances Marsh is a man of…
Cricket Australia recently made the rather strange public concession, years after the decision was made, that Simon Katich's dumping from the Test side was…
The Sheffield Shield's most eagerly awaited season in decades begins this Wednesday, bursting out of the blocks with three simultaneous matches taking place at…
While the Australian one day team is playing India hoping to secure the ICC top spot, England's Ashes squad has already begun focusing upon…
The newly carnivalised Ryobi Cup - admittedly without fairy floss, yet possessing more than its fair share of clowns - concludes this week, with…
I had been playing indoor cricket for much of my short life, yet by the age of ten outdoor became the one true form…
In 2004 James Hird famously came under fire for comments regarding the umpiring of a game between Essendon and St Kilda, deeming their performance…
During the horrid time that was the Australian Test tour of India, I joked to a friend that I had realised the solution to…
One of the few knocks against Australian cricket over recent years has often been our exhausting lack of a genuine test all-rounder. England and…
Smith is a great leader, but awful tactician. Seriously, the man practically starts with a deep point, and he’s got Steyn/Philander/Morkel in his lineup.
Boycott is wrong – Alastair Cook needs time
I tell you what, an ODI batting lineup of Warner, Finch, Watson, Clarke, Bailey and then Maxwell is actually pretty damn impressive. And then factor in that Adam Voges and (probably) Shaun Marsh are on the outer and it looks even better.
Bowling stocks of Starc (arguably our best ODI bowler), McKay, Johnson, Coulter-Nile, Pattinson aren’t too bad either.
The Doherty element is interesting. I’m sure the selectors are worried about the world cup in 2015, and whether it’s too late to try and find a better ODI spinner. While he’s perfectly adept at containing, surely you want someone who can rip the ball when wickets are needed, and bowl to contain when otherwise.
Australian ODI squad announced: Warner back in, with Pattinson, Clarke and Marsh
I’ve been a massive critic of Hughes, but if you look back at the careers of some of our best players, langer, hayden and ponting, you’ll find that all 3 were in and out of the side for a few years then came good. He’ll probably end up alright, he makes too many runs at shield level to not be good.
That said, I wouldn’t consider him until our series against india next summer, and it’d only be if Rogers/Watson/Whoever’s at 3 by then have dropped off.
It's time we all forgot about Phil Hughes
Sorry, meant post return to world cricket.
ASHES: Talking points as Australia regain the Ashes
Clarke will still be playing in 3 years unless his back is buggered, but I expect he’ll retire from ODIs after the coming world cup. Watto will depend on whether he keeps trying to play all 3 forms as well as iPL stuff.
ASHES: Talking points as Australia regain the Ashes
Corey Anderson seems a very similar player to Watson actually, looked impressive.
ASHES: Talking points as Australia regain the Ashes
I wouldn’t rest Harris unless he isn’t fully fit. But come on guys, he’s got 8 days to recover let the man bowl!
Sidenote: It seems bloody surprising that we’ve never lost a test series in SA. I know they’ve always been a pretty good team, but now with that bowling attack they’re going to be seriously hard to beat.
Does anyone know if our series against Pakistan later in the year is supposed to be in Pakistan or if we’re playing in neutral venues like we did last time in England? I couldn’t find anything on it.
ASHES: Talking points as Australia regain the Ashes
And if you take Watson’s test stats away from his FC stats, he actually averages 50 in first class cricket.
The worth of Watson: He's better than you think
I don’t understand how ‘flat track bully’ is an insult. You still have to be good enough to make runs on a flat pitch and stay in. I mean, if they’re so flat why haven’t England scored 400 yet?
The worth of Watson: He's better than you think
What about the 68 he made at Durham when we’d lost 4 wickets in less than a session on a green wicket with the ball swinging/seaming and spinning?
The worth of Watson: He's better than you think
I think we’re going early on the “x should be dropped” calls. Remember, before this game there were people who were saying Smith wasn’t up to it, even though he’d been one of our best in India and then England.
Similarly, Rogers was our second best in England and did just score 72, which though not enough by any means, isn’t cause for being dropped. When he looks to score he’s five times the batsman he is otherwise.
The case for dropping Watson down the order is interesting. On the one hand he does average more in the top three, probably because of the new ball coming on nicely and the usually aggressive fields set by opposing captains that allow him more boundaries. But batting at six might mean he could rotate the strike easier with spinners on, thus keep his concentration up for longer. The problem is that we don’t have a ready made number three. Clarke’s probably the most capable, but he probably won’t move from four. Hughes is tearing it up in the shield, but he’s done that for years. In my opinion he’s just as much of a raffle as Watson.
So what I’m saying is, I’d keep the same lineup
ASHES: Talking points from day one at the WACA
Silk’s gotten out to left armer’s a few times this season. Worth looking at that.
ASHES: England on a slippery slope to a 5-0 result?
That is a quality comment. Well done sir.
ASHES: England on a slippery slope to a 5-0 result?
The worst signs for England other than their own performances, are;
– Harris and Siddle get an extra day’s rest
– Harris and Siddle haven’t had to bowl all that much during this series
– Johnson in this adelaide match was moving the ball not only at pace but into and away from the batsmen
– England’s bowlers have spent more time in the field than ours
ASHES: England on a slippery slope to a 5-0 result?
Siddle bowling with no luck here.
The Ashes: Australia vs England Second Test - Day 2 cricket live scores, updates
Pitch certainly looks on the slow side. Watto and Warner’s dismissals were the worst of the day. I don’t know why, but Warner has this strange habit of playing shots while his feet are in the air. Buggers up his balance and timing. Haddin needs to help tomorrow, but Clarke’s the key for mine.
As for Watson, while I like him, the following is a list of his danger time periods:
– Early in his innings
– in his 20s
– Just after he has hit a boundary
– Ten minutes before a drinks break
– Ten minutes after a drinks break
– when he reaches the 40s
– When a wicket falls at the other end
– When he passes 50 until he passes 70.
– Ten minutes before the end of a session
– Ten minutes into a session
– After facing an over or two without scoring
– When he reaches 90
Note: Not enough data for post 100 scores.
ASHES: Talking points from day one at Adelaide
Good luck Prince George!
The Ashes: Australia vs England Second Test - Day 1 cricket live scores, updates
Think ol’ Nasser “We’ll-have-a-bowl-first” Hussain may’ve misfired there.
I’m sure Clarke will be tested against the short ball for the rest of the series, but the good news is that all he needs to do is hit a four before Cook sends most of the fielders back out.
England sliced and diced at the 'Gabbatoir'
Johnson’s test record at Adelaide is 19 wickets at an average of 23. Not the worst!
England sliced and diced at the 'Gabbatoir'
Feels good to have been one of the Johnson backers, doesn’t it? The benefits of a diverse bowling lineup. Happy for him and the team.
It is important however during the week and a bit between now and the next match, that he works on getting that inswing to the right-hander back. I do have faith in McDermott though and I think he can help make that happen.
The best thing about this is how well the entire bowling lineup bowled. Siddle was great and he only took 2 for the game!
England sliced and diced at the 'Gabbatoir'
Yeah, did it to Swann in the fourth test.
The Ashes: first Test Day 3 Live Lunch, from 1:00pm AEDT
How bloody good is this?
Also, do you agree with me when I say it’s important that (barring injury) we keep the same top six for the five matches?
The Ashes: first Test Day 3 Live Lunch, from 1:00pm AEDT
Stick with the same top six for the five matches.
Tremlett got away with a short and wide ball once an over, which was really irritating.
ASHES: Talking points from Brisbane day one
Harris is ageing but he should play as many matches as possible because of the depth we have in the bowling department. We don’t need to gift NCN a game, because Pattinson, Starc and Bird have all been exposed to test cricket and have some level of success.
Doolan and Coulter-Nile must play at Sydney