View Full Version : Watson & Gilly partnership!
Bentleigh
16 Oct 2006, 16:54
How refreshing!
Death to Katich :mad:
Gilly & Wato open @ the World Cup! :cool:
* Great opening partnership - Gilly the smacker, Watto the technquie player
* You get an extra alrounder in the side, + open up another spot
:)
bombersno1
16 Oct 2006, 16:57
Thank goodness. Could not have happened sooner!
Id rather watson to open over katich anyday
Cassius_Clay
16 Oct 2006, 18:10
Watson is poo and unreliable.
Watson is poo and unreliable.
Love your arguement :p
Well done Watson, bad luck Katich, probably just warming it up for Cosgrove :thumbsu:
frankrizzo
16 Oct 2006, 19:06
jaques must be rooting the selectors wife's or something.
at least crabich is gone for good.
Great move - adds so much versatility to the lineup when you can open with 2 allrounders.
Get McGrath to open with gilly
8 runs off 3 balls with 1 six!! :eek:
go_the_bombers
16 Oct 2006, 19:32
Get McGrath to open with gilly
8 runs off 3 balls with 1 six!! :eek:
LOL :D
Kane McGoodwin
16 Oct 2006, 19:37
Also, happy Katich is not in the team - he should concentrate on making the Test team.
Watson appears to best suited batting higher in the order (ie. top-4), but is he a better option than Jaques?
Big John
16 Oct 2006, 19:45
Jaques would be a better option as an opener, but then you would have to drop another batter for Watson, and Watson isn't very good at the end of the innings so should be in the top 4, but the other 3 positions are well set, so it is probably best for team balance that Watson opens.
How bout we drop Martyn, wats he done lately
Kane McGoodwin
16 Oct 2006, 22:01
How bout we drop Martyn, wats he done lately
Went alright in the practice game. ;)
But Marto wouldn't want a drop in form.
IMO, Martyn should probably be playing in the Tests & not the ODI's to prolong his career.
Possible ODI line-up:
1. Gilchrist
2. Jaques
3. Ponting
4. Watson
5. Symonds
6. Clarke
7. Hussey
8. Hogg
9. Lee
10. Bracken
11. McGrath
I don't think the Watson as opener move is going to be a long term one. Eventually, either his batting or bowling will suffer, particularly if he is going to bowl 10 overs in most matches. It just would take too much out of him, particularly with the hectic one day schedule. I still think he will ultimately settle at 2nd drop and 2nd change bowler in both forms of cricket.
I don't think the Watson as opener move is going to be a long term one. Eventually, either his batting or bowling will suffer, particularly if he is going to bowl 10 overs in most matches. It just would take too much out of him, particularly with the hectic one day schedule. I still think he will ultimately settle at 2nd drop and 2nd change bowler in both forms of cricket.
I reckon he'll handle it - his fitness levels are unbelievable right now, he's a machine.
But having said that I'd be just as happy with KM's lineup above.
Cassius_Clay
17 Oct 2006, 13:13
Went alright in the practice game. ;)
But Marto wouldn't want a drop in form.
IMO, Martyn should probably be playing in the Tests & not the ODI's to prolong his career.
Possible ODI line-up:
1. Gilchrist
2. Jaques
3. Ponting
4. Watson
5. Symonds
6. Clarke
7. Hussey
8. Hogg
9. Lee
10. Bracken
11. McGrath
What the hell is with you people and Phil Jaques?
Matty Hayden all the way.
Having Watson at 4 (Above guys like Symonds, Clarke and Hussey :o) is ridiculous. Really he has to either open or be dropped. However, Hayden is the much superior option for that role.
Kane McGoodwin
17 Oct 2006, 14:03
What the hell is with you people and Phil Jaques?
Matty Hayden all the way.
Having Watson at 4 (Above guys like Symonds, Clarke and Hussey :o) is ridiculous. Really he has to either open or be dropped. However, Hayden is the much superior option for that role.
Jaques is the future, whereas Hayden is the past. Let him concentrate on Tests.
IMO, the openers are more important than #4, in terms of setting up the innings & I rate Jaques higher than Watson as an opener. Punter is a must @ #3 & I reckon Watson can play Marto's consolidation role @ #4 in the middle overs.
Symonds, Clarke & Hussey are all better later in the innings than Watson to accelerate the run rate. However, if the top 3 batsman bat most of the innings, then you change the order around & promote the attacking players up the order.
pav_is_god
17 Oct 2006, 14:16
I don't see why Hussey couldn't open with Gilchrist. He's in stunning form and the two of them could effectively kill the game in the first 20 overs.
Having said that, I'm glad Watson is opening instead of Katich.
bombersno1
17 Oct 2006, 14:44
I don't see why Hussey couldn't open with Gilchrist. He's in stunning form and the two of them could effectively kill the game in the first 20 overs.
Hussey is the best finisher in world cricket! You would never move him!
Blues_Man
17 Oct 2006, 15:10
Hussey is the best finisher in world cricket! You would never move him!
agreed ...if it ain't broke ...then don't fix it
bombersno1
17 Oct 2006, 15:26
agreed ...if it ain't broke ...then don't fix it
Exactly and it is not as if we are starved of openers! Watson, Jaques, Cosgrove, Clarke (I rate him as a opener), Birt, etc. There is no need to move the best finisher in world cricket as the options we have are fine.
I reckon he'll handle it - his fitness levels are unbelievable right now, he's a machine.
But having said that I'd be just as happy with KM's lineup above.
It is a massive burden. Gilly does it but he rarely bats more than 20 overs and so the physical toll of batting may not be as great - he is also a freak which helps. Essentially, the guy has to bat and bowl in a front line capacity in pretty much every match he plays. Fit or not, I reckon that would take its toll.
bombersno1
17 Oct 2006, 15:56
Kallis does it.
frankrizzo
17 Oct 2006, 16:07
Ian chappell had a good point with hussey though, as an opener using the power plays he could more often than not take away the need for a saviour at 5-6.
it's nt a good sign if your number 5 is having to try and save you in one day matches on a regular basis because even hussey will have a dip in form at some point.
your top 4 needs to be making most of the runs most of the time in one day cricket with 20 overs of power play thats even more true.
bombersno1
17 Oct 2006, 16:10
You need a guy down the order that is a "floater" as I call it. He is the best finisher in world cricket. If the side loses 3 quick wickets, Hussey gets moved up to steady the ship. You don't need 2 bashers of the ball up the top of the order and Watson is hardly a slowcoach anyway. We have enough openers. if you are really obsessed with another basher then Clarke to open and Watson in at 5 but I like their choice now.
frankrizzo
17 Oct 2006, 16:41
You don't need 2 bashers of the ball up the top of the order .
you don't?
hmm wonder why teams are reaching 300 and chasing down 300 every second game nowdays?
the question is if you have two guys who can score at a better than 85-90 runs per 100 balls why settle for a guy who can score at 70-75?
bombersno1
17 Oct 2006, 17:10
you don't?
hmm wonder why teams are reaching 300 and chasing down 300 every second game nowdays?
the question is if you have two guys who can score at a better than 85-90 runs per 100 balls why settle for a guy who can score at 70-75?
Watson's S/R at the top of teh order is about 85! Hussey is the best finisher in world cricket. There is no other player like him in ODI cricket down the order with his versatility. there is no need to push him up. If you want a basher Clarke, Cosgrove, Jaques, watson all score at over 85 S/R at the top of the order!
frankrizzo
17 Oct 2006, 17:16
rofl watson has had what two innings at the top of the order?
Unwritten_Law
17 Oct 2006, 17:30
Kallis does it.
No, Kallis used to do it.
At 30 his body is falling apart and he barely bowls these days.
Watson opening is fine to get rid of Katich but it shouldn't be a long term move. Watson has already had two long lay offs with serious back injuries so putting unnecessary stress on his body is not a smart option.
Kane's team with Jaques opening and Watson at 4 looks the goods going forwards although Hayden's experience is perhaps a better option than Jaques short term with the world cup approaching. The selectors should have been giving Jaques a fair chance at cementing a spot instead of putting blind faith in Skat.
Kane McGoodwin
17 Oct 2006, 20:10
Hussey is the best finisher in world cricket! You would never move him!
Exactly.
Critical to have a cool head at he end & Hussey has replaced what Boof & Bevan used to do.
Power21
17 Oct 2006, 20:13
Gilly bats better when the other batter is scoring at a rate aswell. Gilly doesn't rotate the strike that much so Katich taking a single on the first ball means Gilly feels he needs to get off strike more and the pressure builds.
johnnyhoward
17 Oct 2006, 21:40
Watson's more an accumulator of runs rather than a smasher like Gilly, but he still scores at a decent rate. The only worry is if they instruct Watson to play the Katich role...Katich seems to strike highly at domestic one dayers, so it's obvious he's been told to play the boring style he does. But good to see him go, hard to see him getting back into the Test side, but that's what he should aim for.
Katich annoyed me opening the batting, glad to see him gone... With watson opening the batting, it now gives us the option to play another spinner on these terrible slow wickets...
bombersno1
18 Oct 2006, 14:17
Exactly.
Critical to have a cool head at he end & Hussey has replaced what Boof & Bevan used to do.
Exactly and I may sound like a broken record but the facts are you don't move your best finisher when you have openers that can do a job!
TorresIsGod
18 Oct 2006, 15:48
Watson is poo and unreliable.
Exactly right.
Cassius_Clay
19 Oct 2006, 08:51
What a duck that was :thumbsu:
Watson is a chump, always has been and always will be.
Australian cricket is at the crossroads at the moment because selection is done on potential & reputation, not on performance. This is why we lost the Ashes.
Michael Clarke and Watson are prime examples of this. They were identified early as having talent and have been fast tracked into the national squad regardless of results.
If you are not making runs / taking wickets consistently at first class level then odds are you will struggle at test level. Of course the decline in international cricket standards of a number of countries may mask this.
If you make runs you should be given the chance. Hodge, Jacques & Hussey are names that come to mind that were not given ample opportunity.
Vics never get a go-that's just fact.:mad:
With every state envious of Victoria ,it's not surprising.
What a duck that was :thumbsu:
And to think he's going to be a regular in the Test side this summer. :o
just maybe
19 Oct 2006, 12:56
Vics never get a go-that's just fact.:mad:
With every state envious of Victoria ,it's not surprising.
No one is envious of the Vics and the reason they never get a go is, Warne aside, none of them are good enough to play for Australia.
Simple fact.
No one is envious of the Vics and the reason they never get a go is, Warne aside, none of them are good enough to play for Australia.
Simple fact.
With the exception of Hodge I tend to agree. Should have been given an opportunity earlier.
What a braindead effort by Watson last night. His role (as a batsman) is to attempt to bat through the innings and rotate the strike to Gilchrist. It's not rocket science!
Big John
19 Oct 2006, 19:43
At least Watson was playing a shot. It was a crap shot, but i'd rather he did that than take up 10 overs and then go out.
If anything Katich should be opening this series to see off the new ball on these low pitches, his go-slow tactics would be good here in the first 15.
I'm not complaining though, i like attacking cricket & Watson attacks, Katich doesn't.
As long as Katich doesn't open in the One day series this summer...