4 axed for 3rd test

[Ill Chicken]

I call bullshit on the idea that they've targeted Shane Watson and that the other lads had to be done as well. It's not that bigger issue to dump a player for a poor attitude such as happened to Michael Slater. It'd be as easy and more efficient to reprimand the others in private, giving the example of where they heading with Watson's suspension.

Hell they can say that Lyon was "rested" for technical work on his action. What's the difference?

 

[Mateyman]

Looking forward to the day Clarke is injured and one of Wade/Warner captain the test team

 

[damochandler]

i'd be surprised if pat howard has spent five minutes with any players. i still don't know what he actually does and i don't think he knows what he is doing.

this new setup of trying to catch up to the sporting world has gone so well now hasn't it

 

[Shupe]

I'd have Wade as VC personally. He's entrenched in the team IMO and has a lot of c*** about him.

Big call considering you aren't a fan of having Wade in the team! Definitely a lot of mongrel in him, I like it.

 

[frankrizzo]

Looking forward to the day Clarke is injured and one of Wade/Warner captain the test team

If clarke is out then we don't have his batting so it really wouldn't matter who captained the side we would sink without a trace.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Big call considering you aren't a fan of having Wade in the team! Definitely a lot of mongrel in him, I like it.

Meh, I'd have him in the team as a batsman if he wasn't in as keeper. They'll stick with him in both roles.

 

[Scotland]

If Clarke ever gets injured CA will bring in George Bailey as his stand-in.

 

[Suckling2Gunston]

Good on him, takes pride on his wicket. Pity he can't score a run or put us in any form of position to win a game.

Gee I guess I dreamt the 44 he made in his last innings. When Warner does that whilst everyone else fails he's labelled as a God..

 

[iDon]

Gee I guess I dreamt the 44 he made in his last innings. When Warner does that whilst everyone else fails he's labelled as a God..

Don't get me started on Warner and being in the test team.

But for Cowan how many more innings does the man deserve?

15 tests, 26 knocks, ave. 31.96. 1 ton. 5 fifties.

Is it not an international player. Plain and simple.

 

[Suckling2Gunston]

Don't get me started on Warner and being in the test team.

But for Cowan how many more innings does the man deserve?

15 tests, 26 knocks, ave. 31.96. 1 ton. 5 fifties.

Is it not an international player. Plain and simple.

At least we can agree on Warner. One thing people need to get a grasp on is the need for a rock to partner Pleb Warner. Whether that's Cowan or not is debatable, sure, but for example a combination of Watson and Warner would be absolutely horrid.

 

[The Speaker]

Remember the days when we would win a series 3-0 and the lads would just go get loaded after a win?

In India? No.

 

[bomber2013]

we have hit new low in austrailan crickert our depth very ordinary we have no real leaders on and off the feild maybe apart from (clarke) in that side the austrailan review has made us in worse situation time to get aussie crickerters who have played the game and know what takes to make at the top, in charge of our coaching and selection duties also need better managment from the board selectors need to be clear on how they want to pick the side i could go on for awhile leave with that with the bleeding obivious it on going problem for at least 2 to 3 years

 

[Keys]

I've never really taken a shine to Clarke but despite his flaws he is the best equipped player to be captain atm. I will also say his form since becoming captain has been sensational and he has displayed a pretty good tactical mind when captaining in the field

His weakness imo is that he doesn't seem to be a good leader of men and whilst he espouses the team first mantra now its wise to remember that Clarke :

Once left the team during a tour of NZ because he had a fight with his girlfriend
Caused a fair deal of consternation amongst his teammates on a tour of England by taking every opportunity to split from the team to spend time with same girlfriend
Acted like a twat in a post game celebration leading to the now infamous katich throat grab
Had a rumored spat with one of the most selfless players to ever pull on a baggy green in post match celebrations after husseys last test

Clarke has a track record of putting his interests ahead of the team when its suited him in the past so it shouldn't be a surprise that he's having trouble getting players to do so now. Couple that with the fact that he is also a selector and has commented on his preferences / reservations on certain players and their role in the team it becomes a recipe for disharmony

That's not to put all the blame on Clarke as I believe he is genuinely trying to do what he thinks is best but its indicative of how our national team has been mismanaged by the powers that be

 

[erbenz]

^ That's a well-reasoned position that criticises Clarke while recognising his virtues. FWIW, I take a similar view.

 

[ColinWood]

Read this;

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/624537.html

Boom.

These comments should be taken seriously. Over-reaction is the unanimous view

 

[ColinWood]

Control. Freak.

more.book titles:

How I became the first captain to declare and lose by an innings, MJ Clarke

Captaincy and Me (the team is there to make me look good right?)

The annointed one. One man's arduous, unwarranted but satisfying armchair ride to personal glory and team failure

The Perpetual Allan Border Medallist, why I erred on the side of run-making over winning

 

[ColinWood]

Waugh wasn't a complete waste.

My point is that Waugh is seen by many as a partially wasted talent. Langer is not. Langer is a thinker who was prepared to give different ideas a go. Waugh was not.

Are these different ideas necessary? I think so, as far as they help players improve. Is a suspension justified for an infraction of this nature? Absolutely not.

I get your point but in the context of this issue/thread isn't the point that the team structure on and off-fiel benefited from both players' contributions and needed to find a way to accommodate both?

Given yesterdays example, ME Waugh would have been sacked- and the team (& fans) would have been the poorer team for it (notwithstanding Langer's contribution). Coaches dont get the luxury of having prefect-types across the board. Enjoy it when they do, I'm sure, but the real challenge comes from harnessesing the collective (differences and all) to win.

 

[sherb]

The players haven't been sacked.

They have been dropped for one test.

 

[the_interloper]

At least we can agree on Warner. One thing people need to get a grasp on is the need for a rock to partner Pleb Warner. Whether that's Cowan or not is debatable, sure, but for example a combination of Watson and Warner would be absolutely horrid.

So they're looking for Simon Katich pretty much? He should never have been dropped. They had to find a replacement, so they got Ed Cowan to do the same job, which he does, at about a 10-15 lower average (don't know the exact figures).

 

[legend166]

Unless someone can actually provide proof of the supposed 'boat-gate' incident, everyone needs to stop using it in arguments. That chain email was so hilariously bad I can't believe a single person takes it seriously. Need I remind everyone that the same email accused David Warner of beating his girlfriend. It was the epitome of internet stupidity.

 

[Slax]

If Clarke ever gets injured CA will bring in George Bailey as his stand-in.

Which is why he should be in the team now. As an interim measure make Wade vc until bailey has played a couple of series and cemented his spot in the side then promote him to vc.

 

[Father Jack]

I don't have a problem with a bit of a discipline, but I'm finding it hard to believe that the players were aware that their spots in the side hinged upon completion of this task. To lose your spot in the team in the past you had to do something like miss training or punch on with a bouncer, now it can be done at the whim of the coach or captain for minor reasons. How does that improve anything? The punishment was out of all proportion to the crime, and the lack of respect shown to one of the senior players in the team was disgraceful. I don't blame Watson one bit for having a bit of pride and telling them to stick their team up their arse, and I can also completely understand that Patto has no choice but to suck it up.

And the worst part was that the task was make-work bullshit. What's next, being dropped for forgetting to put in sugar when making Clarke's cup of tea? I guess in this brave new world of rotations and resting that they consider being dropped a minor punishment anyway.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Once left the team during a tour of NZ because he had a fight with his girlfriend
Caused a fair deal of consternation amongst his teammates on a tour of England by taking every opportunity to split from the team to spend time with same girlfriend
Acted like a twat in a post game celebration leading to the now infamous katich throat grab
Had a rumored spat with one of the most selfless players to ever pull on a baggy green in post match celebrations after husseys last test

In Jimmy Andersons book , Anderson claims that Clarke was behaving badly in the post match celebrations after England collapsed in Adelaide 2006 ashes match. He claims Damien Martyn advised him to wack clarke over the head with a cricket pad ,which he did. ha!

 

[Wicked Lester]

Whatever the rights or wrongs of this situation, don't look to the regular cricket writers for any real insights beyond the official line. They know where their bread is buttered in terms of interviews and access to the players.

 

[Black Diamond]

...

What I'm saying is the players should give new ideas a go. I used Langer and Waugh as examples of players who did and didn't give new ideas a go. I think the current group should have been disciplined for not completing the task, but not suspended (unless this is something endemic).