The less said about Marsh the better. However, knowing the selectors he’ll be made the next test captain…

I saw the hate that people who were still criticising Marsh’s place in the side were getting. I had no interest in receiving any of that over the internet. Regardless, my position never changed, all the evidence points to Marsh’s complete incompetence.

one thing about reverse though, even the great Pakistani bowlers couldnt always get it to reverse. Given that each cricket ball for test matches is hand made, individual variety is a big part of whether a ball reverses or not. In game conditions also play a massive part, really it’s no better than a 50% chance in any given match.

Not taking anything away from Steyn, or excusing our batsmen. Good bowling by Steyn, and pathetic batting.

Numbers 1-8, Johnson included because he’s a good batsman, will get a blasting. Siddle and Harris are safe. You cant rely on the last 3 to get your runs. Rogers is also excluded, of course, and maybe Warner. I hope the rest all get blastings.

I kept quiet after Marsh’s hundred, because I knew any criticism of him would be met by howling Marsh converts, but there’s a simple fact about Marsh. 10 out of his 15 innings at test match level have failed to reach 20, and that he reaches a duck more frequently than mr. 2.36 Chris Martin. Get him out of the team, he does not deserve a place in a grade side with that kind of poor performance. As much as I hate it for the sake of the team, me and all the other Marsh haters have been proven right, he doesnt deserve a place in the side due to his inconsistency. His age is also a problem, 31, not going to get any better…

The ball that got Marsh out was a leg stump half volley, even for a new batsman that shouldnt have been dangerous. First innings was just as bad, prodding at a wide one. Honestly, let’s get over this technique hype, he’s rubbish, doesnt deserve his place at all.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/6683.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting;view=innings Shows us a compiled list of his innings. It is the height of inconsistency, more miss than hit. Honestly, I’d rather Hughes, his record is far more consistent, same number of ducks from 3 times as many innings. http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/6683.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting;view=innings

As for Doolan, I’d prefer a younger player, such as Burns or Lynn, but give him a more extended run, he doesnt have the history Marsh does.

Starc can reverse it as well, but he’s not in South Africa, needed some shield cricket. Much like our batsmen….

A few things could really improve shield cricket:

1. Better online streaming. CA could easily get better quality cameras and cameraman, rather than the handicam on a tripod they use now. All they have to do is say to local TAFES and unis is that they want camera crews for work experience. This brings in people who admittedly are learning how to film things, but would be miles better than what we’ve got now. It would also be cheap, and give the kids valuable experience.

2. Day/Night matches during the week. Seriously, it needs to happen. Now. if a match starts at 4 and finishes at 10 30, more people are going to watch it, because more people are finished work. Simple. Test cricket is the same. It amazes me that people complain about crowds when most of the population is working!

3. Using the BBL as a platform for shield cricket. It has the same players, and the commentators could easily hype it up.

It’s a damn shame this is only a 3 match series. I would love to see a hard fought 3-2 series either way, just for the quality of cricket that’s on offer in South Africa.

Having said that, here are my predictions for the series

Warner: scores a quick hundred in the first match, then fades
Rogers: is dogged, no hundreds, but a few gutsy 50+scores
Doolan: Unknown quantity, I suspect he’ll be solid, but unspectacular
Clarke: I back him for a bad first test, but hundreds in the last 2, he’s due for some hundreds.
Smith: Great tour for him, I think at least 1 hundred and 2 50s, and maybe a few wickets too
Marsh: Failure, perhaps worse than what happened when India was here in 2012. He might score runs though, just to spite everyone.
Haddin: He’s going to be our saviour, like he was in the ashes, but he wont pull it off every time
Johnson: I fear that he might not be as effective with the ball as everyone thinks, but will make up for it with lower order runs
Harris: Brilliant, he’ll do better than any bowler this series from either side, such is his skill.
Siddle: I have a hunch he might play a starring role in this series, better than what many are predicting from him
Lyon: Great variety, he’ll expose the Saffers weakness against spin, and should really bat at 9, not 11, his runs will be invaluable.

As for the Saffers
Smith: I dont think he’ll have a stellar series, his comeback from injury has been worse than I thought.
Peterersen: I dont rate him at all, poor series
Amla: I expect a big bounce back from him, he’ll probably score at least 2 hundreds
Du Plessis: CA calls him attacking. I think not. He’ll be almost impossible to remove
De Villiers: He’s coming back from injury, so a slow start, probably be good in the last test
Duminy: Also coming back from injury, so another slow start, solid but not spectacular
McLaren: It’s going to be hard to replace Kallis, and McLaren is no Kallis. He’ll be like an older, more docile Ben Stokes, no 5 wicket hauls, no hundreds, and expect South Africa to do with this spot what we did with spin for the next 5 years.
Peterson: I dont rate him as a spinner, he’s probably on par with Michael Clarke for spin ability, but his lower order batting could prove crucial
Philander: He’s the real danger man. More than Steyn, he’s going to cause our collapses. Big, big series from him. His batting will also be useful
Steyn: He’ll be dangerous, but not as much as Philander will be. Both him and Johnson will have the same sort of series, good, but not great.
Morkel: Fast, but no control. He’s someone we’re going to go after, but it’ll cost us a few wickets in the process.

I dont know who’s going to win. My head says South Africa, especially because we have Marsh in our squad. My gut says Australia, because Nathan Lyon’s a massive difference between the sides. Maybe 1-1, with a tied test?

No. No one with the surname Marsh should ever be let near the Australian team ever again. M Marsh would need to consistent in shield cricket for at least 2 more seasons, with both bat and ball.

Not to mention a certain James Faulkner might pip him into the team. If Faulkner could focus a little more on his batting in the remainder of this FC season and the next, possibly score a few hundreds, then he’d be in real contention to replace Watson.

True, especially more than Marsh. But he’s not there for batting, he’s there for bowling.

Both De Villiers and Amla have an average in the low 30s against offspin. Smith in the 40s, all below their career average. Hardly wrecking it against spin, unless you consider a few sixes wrecking. Mark my words, Lyon is the biggest difference between the sides, in that he can bowl much better than Peterson could ever.

You need to look at his FC record. It’s pretty shocking. Marsh looks good when he bats, but he doesnt bat for long enough, and he doesnt get enough runs. Averaging 35 in FC cricket at the age of 31, with a century every 18 months is not good enough for a test player. You might pick a younger player (Lynn, Silk, Burns, there are tons, really) with that kind of average, just so they can gain experience, but not a 31 year old, with about 5-6 years left.

As much as I hate to say it, I dont think there’s a need for Lyon for the first test. I just saw on Cricket Australia what the pitch looks like, and it’s got more grass than Bellrieve. If it stays like that, the test match wont last 2 days, and spinners wont bowl more than 5 overs the entire match.

However, CA says that the curator will remove a good portion of that grass. Not so sure.

If it looks anything like it does today on Wedensday, this is my XI

Rogers
Warner
Hughes
Clarke
Smith
Doolan
Haddin
Johnson
Harris
Siddle
Bird

If it gets better, then I’d have Lyon instead of Bird.

That would make our already weak batting lineup weaker. No, we need either 5 or 6 specialist batsmen, not 5 bowlers.

mm, fair point, but with Lyon there now, we dont need to change our spinner unless he looses form, or there’s another spinner in the shield getting 30 wickets a season. They took a punt with Lyon, it’s paying off, why take another punt with no guarantee of success?

He might be good as a t20 player, but not a test player. I guess I should have qualified that statement as “No FC batting lineup is ever stronger with Shaun Marsh in it”

Yes, I am a Marsh hater. He doesnt have the goods. Not for test match cricket. I dont think you hate spinners either, just offies who dont have the doosra. Are you saying you would have Marsh in your side?

Ah, the Adelaide test. What a disaster. Lyon deserves some of the blame, I agree, but so do the other bowlers.

And yes, his form in the last ashes was for me, and for most fans, proof that he’s the best in Australia. His 7fer was also proof of that.

I still dont think Muirhead is anywhere near ready for test match cricket, but he does have the ability. It’s going to take a long time though, at least 3-4 years. Agar on the other hand… Unless he can perform as a batsman, he wont ever play test cricket again.

I dont think they’re going to be stupid enough to play Marsh in the first test. He’s had no time to acclimatise, and probably hasnt even had a net session. It would be lambs to the slaughter. However, our selectors are the worst in world cricket, so it wouldnt surprise me if that excuse of a batsman named Shaun Marsh got a look in ahead of Hughes.

That is fair enough, but he has a first class average of 26 from about 50 matches. He’s not a part timer, as Barry wrongly suggests.

Lyon has been given a good run in the side, but there’s a few things that make people complain about how he’s been treated.

1. Agar over Lyon. Agar didnt do his job, which was to take wickets. 98 from a no.11 is a one off, and great, but it’s not bowling. Lyon had taken a 7fer in India before that test, and had finally looked secure in the side, but was replaced by an inexperienced spinner. There was no excuse or justification for Agar’s selection.
2. Being dropped in India for Doherty. Sure, he’d taken 3/215, that’s horrible figures. Really horrible. But Doherty is not and cannot be a test bowler, and Lyon would have done a much better job than him.
3. Constant speculation about any Legspinner, who doesnt even have to land in 6 balls out of 6, replacing him. What ever happened to Ahmed? Oh yeah, he wasnt close to a test match bowler, that’s right.
4. His non inclusion in the one day side, to Doherty, or others. As a superior bowler, he should be in the team, and he wants to be, but is left out.

This is what leads people to think that Lyon is insecure in the team. Especially 1 and 3. Lyon could easily end up with 300 wickets or more if the selectors persisted with him, because right now, he is about 5 times as good as any other spinner in the country.

No batting lineup is ever stronger with Shaun Marsh in it.

Pattinson is nowhere near ready for Test cricket yet. Did you see him in the one dayers? He was horrible. He needs much more match practice, should have stayed in Australia for the shield, another fast bowler should have taken his place, maybe Coulter Nile. If we’re going to have four seamers, Bird should come in, not Pattinson.

The same Jadeja who has 35 wickets from 7 tests at an average of 23? Right, a real part timer. I think you just dont like offspinners. You, like so many other people are waiting for the next Warne. It’ll never happen, just like we wont find a new Bradman. You aren’t even decent enough to give any numbers, or names, of the spinners of each side. That’s actually pathetic, your piece looses all credibility because of that. Seriously, do some research. It’s people like you who lead to the selection of Shaun Marsh because they look good. Looking good doesnt count for anything, results do.

Give Muirhead a season in the shield and he’ll be the next big thing? How many bowlers have we said that about? By my count we’ve had 12 spinners since Warne, and none has done nearly as well as Lyon has. Pull your head in and get real. We’ve seen Muirhead bowl well in 3 T20s, a completely different format to tests. He’d have to have a damn good Shield season to get close to the test team, I’m talking 30+ at less than 28. I dont think that’s possible, given that straight after the T20s I saw him bowl horribly in a big bash game, half of his balls were either long hops or full tosses. Great control, sure.

Lyon will do well in SA. He’s a far superior spinner to Peterson, and knows how to bowl on bouncy decks (Brisbane anyone?), so dont write him off. He might not be world class, but he’s streets ahead of Peterson, learning quickly and will be a big difference between the two sides. As I’ve said before, Port Elizabeth and St. George’s park are the most spinner friendly grounds in SA, like the SCG is in Australia.

I think in terms of overall usefulness, Starc has the greatest potential for Australian cricket. He swings the ball with more consistency than any other bowler in the country, bar Harris. He can reverse it too. He’s got pace as well, I’ve seen him hit the 140s quite regularly. This article also missed out on something with Starc, his great gifts with the bat. Already he has a 99, and averages 30 with the bat. I can see in him, if he develops his bowling correctly, a new Wasim Akrim, a left armer who can swing the ball, and can add very useful lower order runs. Once fit, and Harris leaves, or Siddle’s form drops, Starc should be given an extended (a whole series at least) run in the side. It’s just as bad when selectors drop bowlers after 1 poor performance as it is when they drop batsmen, Starc would love knowing he has the confidence of the selectors.

actually, Henriques scored a hundred in his last FC innings. His bowling has been so so, however.