Weakening one spot to fix another: Moving Marnus to opener is not the answer for top-order puzzle
When it comes to Test cricket, deciding the batting order ultimately boils down to two options - picking your openers, a pseudo opener at…
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Paul has been a sports journalist since 1997, working as a reporter and editor at media outlets including the Illawarra Mercury, Sydney Morning Herald, Sun-Herald, Daily Telegraph and NRL.com.
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He said virtually the same thing prior to the WTF final and Ashes that nobody is guaranteed a spot game to game … and then picked Warner each of the following 6 Tests despite further modest returns
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Lyon, not by his own choosing, is following a similar path to Anderson, who cut the limited-overs formats from his workload in his mid 30s
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Smith scrambling to make T20 World Cup squad as diminishing white-ball returns put spot in jeopardy
there’s a suspicion he is trying to remain relevant in T20 cricket so he can boost his chances (and earning potential) on the global circuit in a year or 2, particularly in the US
Smith scrambling to make T20 World Cup squad as diminishing white-ball returns put spot in jeopardy
the weird thing about the selectors not picking Ashton Turner is he’s pretty much what George Bailey was 10 years ago – a very good middle-order bat and astute captain but not necessarily one of the best couple of batting options
Smith scrambling to make T20 World Cup squad as diminishing white-ball returns put spot in jeopardy
if you had to put money on it, you’d think the selectors will stick with the conservative method as they have done many times recently with Smith & Stoinis but Short has another BBL season like last summer he should be in the WC squad ahead of both of them
Smith scrambling to make T20 World Cup squad as diminishing white-ball returns put spot in jeopardy
Smith probably had the best career but it’s not a given that he was the greatest player of all time
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Lazarus was a class above those props, Harragon was probably the closest to him along with Ian Roberts but they were not as durable
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
he was running on old legs according to Mundine, he wasn’t necessarily wrong but Daley was the better player
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
even before the last couple of seasons when his knees were an issue he always seemed to have hamstring or shoulder problems during the prime years of his career
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Cliffy then conjured up arguably one of the greatest tries of all time
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
He was a very good 2nd banana but he was always a class below Stuart, Langer, Daley, Fittler in the 1990s
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
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Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Fittler had an unusual career, he was dynamic as a young player, plateaued a bit during what should have been the prime of his career and was then probably his most complete as a player when leading the Roosters in their five-year stretch of 4 GFs at the tail end of his career
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
JJ Giltinan, Peter Frilingos & Ray Warren were inducted as contributors a few years ago, George Piggins & Ian Heads in July
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
there was 100 named from the first century then 10 named by the following decade, there will likely be another 5 named next year another 5 by the end of 2028 … the balance is about right if it’s just one HOFer per season on average, some sports like basketball do way more
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Lozza would be an Immortal if the selection criteria was based around a player’s best few seasons but injuries and the SL war derailed his career somewhat at club and rep level
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Anyone who can throw a ball over a grandstand is truly immortal
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Those guys should be in contention for HoF or have been in the past, not suggesting they are in the Immortal mix
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
Fittler was a very good player and a phenomenal talent but it’s hard to see him ever getting into the Immortals, Laurie Daley is probably in that category too … Lockyer, Slater, Thurston, Cameron Smith have racked up many more achievements than those two even though you could argue Fittler and Daley on their day was just as impactful
Six of the best: The standout options for the ultimate honour in the NRL Immortal debate
LP, he shouldn’t be the next in line but he appears to be going by everything coming out of the Australian camp
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Weakening one spot to fix another: Moving Marnus to opener is not the answer for top-order puzzle