Sam Robson officially a turncoat

[Ruck Machine]

By the time he'd displayed even a scrap of good form he was gone. Wouldn't have made it if he'd stayed in Australia, fairly sure he's said that himself.

You may be right. The move by Robson made sense. But the fact remains ... He was born and raised in Australia until age 16 ... Surely his cricket talent begins to emerge before age he left for England ... Poor form Cricket Australia.

 

[Showbags]

You may be right. The move by Robson made sense. But the fact remains ... He was born and raised in Australia until age 16 ... Surely his cricket talent begins to emerge before age he left for England ... Poor form Cricket Australia.

Lets just wait and see how he goes against some decent bowling first before we start whinging about losing him.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

He obviously isn't one of those "purely natural" talents like a Warner. He is a "manufactured" talent.

Here in Australia he would of been told to be more attacking and he isn't good enough to do that so would of been lost in the shuffle I'd suspect. Over in England they celebrate dour/boring cricket so he would of felt right at home there.

Still think he may be found out next tour by Australia (SL is akin to facing an ordinary domestic attack).

Yeah, he definitely fits the English mould. And good on him if he can go into the County Championship and carve out a successful career out of it. I'm still going to relentlessly mock him for the next decade if he's around, but he found a way through willpower. There must be some strange, awkward feeling there playing for England, though.

You may be right. The move by Robson made sense. But the fact remains ... He was born and raised in Australia until age 16 ... Surely his cricket talent begins to emerge before age he left for England ... Poor form Cricket Australia.

See where you're coming from. Think Showbags has the right idea though. Not so much a serious 'talent' as an extraordinarily focused grafter - perfect English opener.

 

[Phone]

Sam Robson is a traitor ... No doubt! But Cricket Australia dropped the ball big time by not recognising his talent at a young age. What are our cricket scouts doing?

Well he was an Aus U19 player and had a rookie contract with NSW at 18....

But those don't guarantee a long life as a professional cricketer, and if you want to be one of those, England is the place to be. They've got 18 teams. We've got 6, and have only added one in the last 60 years. Robson did what was best for his professional career. There's plenty of doubt about whether he's a traitor.

 

[Santana]

When was the last time England were able to put out a competitive team of 11 English raised players? Got to be pushing 4 decades now.

I know Cricket has been on a slow decaying decline there for a long time now but this is just ******* embarrassing. It's almost as if they've just given up now and will pick anything that moves and has or can get a British Passport.

 

[Blue Dimension]

Always thought Plunkett had the talent. Clearly recall an OD series where he cleaned us up and got the ball swinging. Clearly had his issues/inconsistencies along the way but perhaps he could finally be bringing it all together?

 

[Hellgood]

Always thought Plunkett had the talent. Clearly recall an OD series where he cleaned us up and got the ball swinging. Clearly had his issues/inconsistencies along the way but perhaps he could finally be bringing it all together?

I have only been watching on a stream, but he looks much quicker than I remembered him to be. I rate Sri Lanka's batsmen so it looks as though he's done pretty well. I was going to say wait and see how he goes against the Indians, but it's arguable that the Lankan's batting lineup is just as good.

Was watching Robson bat the other night and thought he looked to have a really good temperament. Technique isn't stylish or particularly pleasing on the eye, but he got the job done as he has done in county cricket. Plenty of questions whether it will stand up against guys like Johnson/Harris and Steyn/Philander/Morkel bowling in tandem as opposed to the not quite so fearsome duo of Pradeep and Prasad, but really that's a statement that could be made about any young cricketer!

 

[Pykie]

On Robson, traitors probably too strong a word, but I will find it very hard to like him if he's a permanent international.

Fair enough if he was raised over there and born here, but he grew up supporting the Australian cricket team for 18 years.


I honestly hope he plays a boxing day test.

The treatment Geraint Jones got will be but a fraction of what he'll get from the Australian crowds imo.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Was interesting to read what his younger brother, Angus, had to say.

Said he'd have a difficult decision to make if ever he's good enough to play international cricket. Good on Sam for taking his opportunity, but it's a little sad when they're just tossing up which country they're going to play for. Takes away from it a little bit if you ask me - if I was ever good enough, I'd want to battle through and try to represent my country, rather than representing another just because the opportunity is there.

But I guess you can't imagine what's going through their heads when the opportunity presents itself. Particularly with the volume of cricket they can play in England and the ties they might have to the place.

 

[carnthemlions]

I think Robson might provide a bit of extra motivation for our bowlers(not that they'll need it).

 

[Wallaby]

I have zero problems with what Robson has done. International sport is rather bizarre when you consider it - it's not the 'Best 100 cricketers in the world playing against each other' - it's the best from each country, with strange rules about who you can and cant play for. Each country sets its own rules.
To play a game for Australia, I have to be one of the Top XI players in the country - out of 23 million. To play for India, I have to be one of the best XI out of one billion. If I was a decent Indian or Pakistani (200 Million), I'd certainly be examining 're-location' options.

It's just a game. You have the opportunity to play it as a career (and make some serious dosh along the way) - but only if some archaic rules let you - not necessarily anything to do with talent. We let coaches, trainers etc come from other countries - but not actual players. It's often said the coach is the most important person in the set-up.

The 'qualification' rules may be fun for the spectators and fans, provide plenty of pub-level argy-bargy and stir laughable emotions of patriotism (as if you can judge your country's worth by playing childhood games! Who's the best country at Hide and Seek? Just as valid). For the actual players trying to get a career, it must be a real pain in the arse.

 

[Mateyman]

I have zero problems with what Robson has done. International sport is rather bizarre when you consider it - it's not the 'Best 100 cricketers in the world playing against each other' - it's the best from each country, with strange rules about who you can and cant play for. Each country sets its own rules.
To play a game for Australia, I have to be one of the Top XI players in the country - out of 23 million. To play for India, I have to be one of the best XI out of one billion. If I was a decent Indian or Pakistani (200 Million), I'd certainly be examining 're-location' options.

It's just a game. You have the opportunity to play it as a career (and make some serious dosh along the way) - but only if some archaic rules let you - not necessarily anything to do with talent. We let coaches, trainers etc come from other countries - but not actual players. It's often said the coach is the most important person in the set-up.

The 'qualification' rules may be fun for the spectators and fans, provide plenty of pub-level argy-bargy and stir laughable emotions of patriotism (as if you can judge your country's worth by playing childhood games! Who's the best country at Hide and Seek? Just as valid). For the actual players trying to get a career, it must be a real pain in the arse.

National teams without true national players would lower interest, making the whole "profession" of test match cricket non-existent. People only support Australia because of these "archaic rules". If you want the "best 100 cricketers playing against each other" you watch the champions league.

 

[The_Reaper]

Otherwise we'd have a world league.

I guess Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and another few Indians cities will have teams.

 

[Santana]

You don't damage the credibility of international sports for the sake of individual careers.

What about when this happens to the weaker cricket nations. It hurts stronger ones like South Africa & Australia, but it's far worst when it's happening to the weaker ones. The gap between the big 3 and the rest when it comes to resources is already pretty big and is only going to get bigger, how are the likes of Zimbabwe, Ireland and the West Indies going to compete in the future when they're always having to look over their shoulder?

I hope Robson never plays against us his home nation. Test cricket is already facing a battle for credibility and relevance, the moment "English" player Robson does an interview with that thick Aussie accent it's going to be cringe worthy stuff for the sport.

If international sports isn't nation vs nation then what is the point of it? May as well watch the IPL or BBL. At least there you know what you're getting, unlike international cricket which is a turd dressed in drag nowadays.

 

[Pykie]

What I find a crock of s**t is this idea that being a test player is some sort of stepping stone in a professional cricketers career.

It's an honor and a privilege to play for your country.

The idea that he's taken the "easy" route in playing for England, rather than where he was born and raised kind of pisses me off, and sure as hell is a slap in the face to guys that weren't given the opportunity to play test cricket, but battled away in the shield for seasons on end.

I get the financial aspect, I get that they gave him the opportunity, but ffs, you've got to question the guys patriotism in any respect, about .01% of the Australian population would even find it conceivable to play for England as a born and raised Australian.

 

[Phone]

if i lived in england for 7 years and own my professional career to the country i would imagine it becomes easier to conceive

 

[BarneyBent]

if i lived in england for 7 years and own my professional career to the country i would imagine it becomes easier to conceive

Exactly. It's not like he was playing Shield and England picked him out of nowhere. He was barely given the time of day by NSW so he went to England for his career, and loved it so he stuck around. He's a local there now. England is the country that gave him the opportunity to play consistent FC cricket, so fair enough he plays for them.

 

[woofles]

In all honesty, I want him to make the Ashes...and fail miserably. I do understand the logical arguments but I just see a guy who jumped ship

 

[Santana]

This guy clearly put a county contract well above the chance of playing shield cricket & playing for Australia. For his own professional career that fine but spare us this "he's not a traitor and we should wish him all the best" BS. The prospect of playing for Australia obviously meant very little to this guy.

And keep in mind before you hope this guy does well that he is not alone. English Cricket is well and truly on the prowl for Aussie prospects with British links. We've also lost one of our best young batsmen (Sam Hain) to them before we even got a chance to play him in Shield Cricket. Cricket is having a hard enough time fighting with the football codes for when it comes to talent (it's losing right now) without also having to worry about losing cricket prospects because of cricket reasons. Cricket in this country needs all the talent it can get and hold on too, so * off with that "oh all the best to him" rubbish.

 

[woofles]

This guy clearly put a county contract well above the chance of playing shield cricket & playing for Australia. For his own professional career that fine but spare us this "he's not a traitor and we should wish him all the best" BS. The prospect of playing for Australia obviously meant very little to this guy.

And keep in mind before you hope this guy does well that he is not alone. English Cricket is well and truly on the prowl for Aussie prospects with British links. We've also lost one of our best young batsmen (Sam Hain) to them before we even got a chance to play him in Shield Cricket. Cricket is having a hard enough time fighting with the football codes for when it comes to talent (it's losing right now) without also having to worry about losing cricket prospects because of cricket reasons. Cricket in this country needs all the talent it can get and hold on too, so **** off with that "oh all the best to him" rubbish.

They were in to Steve Smith big time as a youngster as well

 

[The_Reaper]

They were in to Steve Smith big time as a youngster as well

And Maxwell and Harris

 

[Santana]

They were in to Steve Smith big time as a youngster as well

I know. They're like Hawks. It is one of a number of problems facing Aussie Cricket nowadays.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

He's a British and Australian citizen.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

the moment "English" player Robson does an interview with that thick Aussie accent it's going to be cringe worthy stuff for the sport.

 

[woofles]

He's a British and Australian citizen.

I've spent a grand total of 3 weeks in the UK...but am a British citizen. Shows how little it means