Opinion 2014-15 Cricket Thread

[Kangaroos4eva]

I thought l would create a cricket thread, but with blackjack and hookers. The mod's can send it to lidge's lounge if they need to with no problems, but l thought seem with have many cricket followers, l would put a thread up on the main NM board. Starting tonight is the first test with Pakistan V Australia and starts off the international cricket season.

Thread is intended for all things cricket, including your own local, domestic and international games for the 2014/2015 summer.

 

[scooby1279]

I thought l would create a cricket thread, but with blackjack and hookers. The mod's can send it to lidge's lounge if they need to with no problems, but l thought seem with have many cricket followers, l would put a thread up on the main NM board. Starting tonight is the first test with Pakistan V Australia and starts off the international cricket season.

Thread is intended for all things cricket, including your own local, domestic and international games for the 2014/2015 summer.

Crap when is the footy back?

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Crap when is the footy back?

Not soon enough, but of all the other inferior sport's in the world, cricket and soccer (football/epl) will suffice for a short period.

 

[Only Forwards]

 

[Kimbo]

Many thanks for creating a separate thread for this, rather than cluttering up the 'non-North' thread which I reckon is best focused on non-North, AFL teams.

Now, for a separate EPL thread, and perhaps an NFL one too?!

 

[Only Forwards]

Many thanks for creating a separate thread for this, rather than cluttering up the 'non-North' thread which I reckon is best focused on non-North, AFL teams.

Now, for a separate EPL thread, and perhaps an NFL one too?!

1 thread called other sport

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Many thanks for creating a separate thread for this, rather than cluttering up the 'non-North' thread which I reckon is best focused on non-North, AFL teams.

Now, for a separate EPL thread, and perhaps an NFL one too?!

There's one in lidge's lounge on epl, so l don't go there, maybe ask Btron or toes to move the epl one. Not sure about a NFL thread already existing.

 

[Only Forwards]

We should start a new thread with Black Jack and Hookers.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

We should start a new thread with Black Jack and Hookers.

Fill with dirty jokes and puns.

 

[Groucho]

I love cricket.

I recall when L J Hooker were trying to set up in the US and the its headquarters were called "Hooker House". Got some interesting visitors apparently and also a popular place to have your photo taken.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

I love cricket.

I recall when L J Hooker were trying to set up in the US and the its headquarters were called "Hooker House". Got some interesting visitors apparently and also a popular place to have your photo taken.

Shane Warne and Mark Waugh like this.

 

[Twinkletoes]

I hope Mitch Marsh turns in a blinder on debut. I'm not looking forward to the Pakistan chuckers appealing every second ball on the turning pitch though. MJ to rifle through their top order if we bowl first, before the dead pitch reverts to a road for the pacemen.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

I hope Mitch Marsh turns in a blinder on debut. I'm not looking forward to the Pakistan chuckers appealing every second ball on the turning pitch though. MJ to rifle through their top order if we bowl first, before the dead pitch reverts to a road for the pacemen.

Pakistan v Australia 2014-15
Marsh can be future Australia captain - Clarke
Brydon Coverdale

October 21, 2014

Michael Clarke on Mitchell Marsh: "His cricketing maturity is at least five years ahead of the date of birth printed on his passport." © Getty Images
Enlarge
Related Links
Players/Officials: Michael Clarke | Mitchell Marsh
Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of United Arab Emirates
Teams: Australia
Mitchell Marsh can be a future captain of Australia, according to the current leader Michael Clarke. Marsh is likely to make his Test debut against Pakistan in Dubai on Wednesday and potentially has a long international future ahead if he grabs his opportunities, given that the incumbent allrounder Shane Watson is now 33.

But it is not just as a top-six batsman and fifth bowler that Marsh can contribute to the Australia outfit, according to Clarke. Marsh captained Australia to an Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2010 and if Clarke's assessment is correct, he could join the likes of Steven Smith as candidates to take over the captaincy after Clarke has retired.

"I believe Mitchell Marsh can be a future captain of Australia," Clarke wrote in his News Ltd column on Tuesday. "That might sound like a big call for a bloke who only turned 23 on Monday and has yet to play a Test match. But I have toured with him quite a few times now and continue to be impressed with his talent, knowledge and game awareness.

"His cricketing maturity is at least five years ahead of the date of birth printed on his passport. I don't have any plans to give up the captaincy yet - there's plenty more cricket left in me - but I genuinely see Mitch as future leadership material. When he sets fields, you can see that he is thinking not from the bowler's perspective, but the batsman's.

"He is assessing conditions, the batsman's strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities to exploit the latter. And when he is batting, he is not one of those guys running around without a plan. He is thinking about how to construct an innings. I also love how much he cares about the team. If Mitch has a game in which he doesn't get among the runs or wickets, he always goes out of his way to congratulate those that have. He doesn't get lost in his own little world. He is all about the team."

A significant contributing factor to Marsh's cricketing nous is the amount of time he spent around elite cricket when he was a child. His father Geoff Marsh coached Australia and Zimbabwe during Marsh's youth and if he debuts, he and brother Shaun will become only the third combination of a father and two sons to have played Test cricket, after the Hadlees and the Amarnaths.

"He has been exposed to overseas conditions, players and theories about the game from a young age," Clarke wrote. "He's obviously got plenty of talent - he might just be the cleanest hitter of the ball for a bloke who can also bowl 130kph that I've seen - but his understanding of the game is well beyond his years.

"Assuming he's fit, Mitch is a big chance of earning his Test debut against Pakistan this week. Should that happen, you just know he'll be the kind of guy to treasure the baggy green. He has an extremely bright future."

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Match facts

Oct 22-26, 2014
Start time 10.00 local, 06.00 GMT



Big Picture

For most of the past seven years, Australian cricket has laboured in the absence of Shane Warne's prodigious talents. Warne was not only vital to the team's success between 1995 and 2007 for his own many qualities as a leg spin bowler, but also for what his presence and skill did to aid others. Fellow bowlers, captains and also batsmen were all grateful for his ability to take command of a match, and found themselves growing in confidence whenever they watched him do it.

So it has been in recent times for Pakistan and Saeed Ajmal. His crafty spin meant that few causes were lost until he had bowled his last ball, and Pakistan's other bowlers invariably benefited from an Ajmal spell that left batsmen cowed and confused if not actually dismissed. Now Ajmal has been sidelined, by means other than retirement. Irrespective of the circumstances, he has left a major gulf in Pakistan's team, and granted Australia an unexpected advantage.

Even with Ajmal, Pakistan's Test team had stumbled lately, notably in Sri Lanka. That series was played against the backdrop of Ajmal's report for a questionable action, and the distraction undoubtedly affected the performance of Misbah-ul-Haq's men. Lacking him entirely, they must summon up greater performances from the likes of Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Talha, while also hoping that Misbah and Younis Khan can guide the batting order to tallies capable of being defended by an Ajmal-less bowling attack.

Australia, meanwhile, have had time to regather after the exertions of a brilliantly successful but taxing 2013-14. The wages of series wins over England and South Africa are evident in the absence of Ryan Harris, while Shane Watson is also regaining full fitness at home. Michael Clarke enters the series with his captaincy unquestioned but his body increasingly unreliable, and Watson's prospective replacement Mitchell Marsh has bowled only seven competitive overs since his return from a hamstring strain. In their only warm-up match, Clarke's men were undone by a slow pitch and reverse swing - signs that Pakistan may yet prosper, even without Ajmal's influence.



Form guide

Pakistan LLWLD
Australia WLWWW



In the spotlight

At the start of last summer Mitchell Johnson was still an enigma. Now he is the game's most feared fast bowling weapon, having found critical consistency and strength of mind to focus his speed and skill. His major opponent in Dubai are likely to be an unhelpful pitch and steep temperatures. But having razed England with the help of some reverse swing on a similarly barren surface at Adelaide Oval last year, Johnson's confidence is unlikely to be dented by balls not flying immediately through to Brad Haddin.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been holding Pakistan's team together as captain for four years, and during the ODI series the strain showed. Resting from the final match of the series amid controversy about Shahid Afridi's claims to the limited-overs captaincy, he must have felt every one of his 40 years. Australia's victories over England and South Africa were characterised by the unrelenting pressure heaped on Alastair Cook and Graeme Smith, forcing the former to consider his position and foreshadowing the retirement of the latter. It will take a strong captain to stand up.



Teams news

Mohammad Hafeez is likely to slot in as opener over Taufeeq Umar in Pakistan's re-shuffled team, which will also include tandem spin.

Pakistan (possible): 1. Ahmed Shehzad, 2. Mohammad Hafeez, 3. Azhar Ali, 4. Younis Khan, 5. Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6. Asad Shafiq, 7. Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8. Zulfiqar Babar, 9. Mohammad Talha, 10. Yasir Shah, 11. Rahat Ali

Mitchell Marsh and Steve O'Keefe look likely to make their debuts, though the former's lack of bowling after a hamstring strain may cause the selectors to hesitate. Another option would be to play five bowlers with O'Keefe and Mitchell Johnson at Nos. 7 and 8.

Australia (probable): 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Alex Doolan, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steve Smith, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Steve O'Keefe, 11 Nathan Lyon



Pitch and conditions

The Dubai surface was handed over to Pakistani ground staff ahead of the limited-overs series, and the Twenty20 and ODI pitches were spinning and slow, respectively. Early glimpses of the Test pitch suggested a strip sporting very little grass. Temperatures are forecast to hover around 35C all match.


Stats and trivia

• This is the first Test match between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai
• Pakistan's only previous Test match meetings with Australia in the UAE were in October 2002, resulting in two innings victories for Australia at Sharjah. The first was over in two days, the second stretched into a fourth.
• Australia last played twin spin in the third Test against the India at Mohali in 2013
  
  
  Quotes
  
  "I think it's the slow wickets. I think that's our greatest challenge, the fact that the wickets are so much slower than what we're used to in Australia. It's being able to adapt to that, whether we're bowling or we're batting."
  Michael Clarke sums up his team's environmental challenge
  

 

[GreatBradScott]

The surface of the pitch we're about to play on is an absolute batting paradise.

 

[Rockstar6]

Only 165 days til round 1.
Go Australia and the mighty Renegades! All North people should be Renegade fans due to JB being the chairman!

 

[Twinkletoes]

Pakistan won the toss and will bat first.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Marsh and O Keefe debut.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2014/engine/match/727927.html

http://livescores.cricket.com.au/summary_2968_1.html

To follow, both excellent sites for those that can't watch.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Gone, got him, Johnson with the first wicket.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Johnson to Mohammad Hafeez, OUT, there we go! Searing yorker at 144 kph and its struck full on his toe! The inswing had him in a right tangle, he had to play around his front pad which seemed right in line with all three stumps. Should not have gone for the review, but he has. And by all accounts, he's wasted one. Brutal pace and dangerous swing gets him. Johnson unstoppable

 

[Flawed Genius]

MJ is an animal.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Siddle wicket, bowled him around the legs.

 

[Jay-Z]

2/10 after 9 overs, nice!

 

[Jay-Z]

Both openers replaced by the two debutants. Good captaincy. Get the newbies on while the pressure is well and truly on Pakistan