Australia needs a change in thinking re development

[adelaidecrows]

The Australian Cricket Team at present is a horrible mix match of quick fixes, 4 opening batsman and a new spin bowler just about ever test.

Firstly Spinning

Things Australian selectors need to work on and realise pretty quick after the ASHES series.
1/ Their is no one as good as Shane Warne
2/ Did you hear me.....No one as good as Shane Warne
3/ No really f%^king listen.....NO ONE is as good as Shane Warne
4/ Seriously my goodness, get over the fact Shane Warne retired and move the f%^k on.

On raw numbers alone Nathan Lyon is performing as good as Shane Warne as far as Wickets per Test Match at the same time of their career. He maybe a fair bit more expensive but he still is obtaining wickets. Shane Warne also didn't play in an era of t20 in his early days which could easily explain the difference in runs. Nathan Lyon is the best spinner at this stage and Agar should have to earn his spot. Not just brought in on a whim every time Nathan Lyon might have an average test.

Secondly Batting

Batsman in the test side and the fringes have no idea if they are playing match to match. They might score well one test, next test have a bad one all of a sudden they are cast aside. Confidence anyone?

Listen up..... As much as Australia harps on about the shield competition it is actually pretty average in quality. Unlike 20 years ago the best bowlers Australia are producing are already in the test side and due to sports science and fatigue are not allowed to play state cricket on a regular basis. This means our best young prospects are not developing against the worlds best bowlers like they once were. This means they could get away with technique flaws right up until an international call up and surprise surprise they fail. We need to rebuild from the ground up our international team and start blooding young batsman who are showing a bit. Back them in. Give them an entire test series. sacrifice a couple of series for redevelopment. Young batsman may need 6 - 10 innings to really get going. Just back them in!!!!!! Give them every confidence that they have more then 2 tests to prove themselves.

Wicket Keeping
Brad Haddin?????? seriously WTF????????? was this before or after Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy said no. Move forwards!!!!!! at all times move forwards. If Wade was deemed to not be up to scratch move onto the next player in line. For the record that player was not BRAD HADDIN!!!!!! Last time I checked each state has a keeper. Pick the best performing one. Just for the record the best performing one was not nor has it been in the last two years BRAD HADDIN!!!!!!

I think the call should be made to all state players this summer that all players are up for selection especially with a focus on batsman under 25yo, for the first tour after the ASHES series as the side looks to rejuvenate and reenergise.

As far as the Wicket Keeping position goes, is it really that hard to fly all state first 11 keepers to the Cricket Academy for a weeks training camp that tests all the keepers on batting ability, glove work etc. surely not that hard.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

The Australian Cricket Team at present is a horrible mix match of quick fixes, 4 opening batsman and a new spin bowler just about ever test.

Firstly Spinning

Things Australian selectors need to work on and realise pretty quick after the ASHES series.
1/ Their is no one as good as Shane Warne
2/ Did you hear me.....No one as good as Shane Warne
3/ No really f%^king listen.....NO ONE is as good as Shane Warne
4/ Seriously my goodness, get over the fact Shane Warne retired and move the f%^k on.

On raw numbers alone Nathan Lyon is performing as good as Shane Warne as far as Wickets per Test Match at the same time of their career. He maybe a fair bit more expensive but he still is obtaining wickets. Shane Warne also didn't play in an era of t20 in his early days which could easily explain the difference in runs. Nathan Lyon is the best spinner at this stage and Agar should have to earn his spot. Not just brought in on a whim every time Nathan Lyon might have an average test.

All 3 of Doherty, Lyon and Beer will never be test match winning spinners, they simply don't have the talent.

Australia need to either persist with Agar and let him develop over a few seasons or play Fawad Ahmed who's ability outshines all 4 of those players.

We also have 2 young leg spinners who show some enormous potential in Cameron Boyce and Adam Zampa, who if given more exposure have the chance to develop into match winners.

The spinners we keep persisting with simply aren't up to standard, nor will they ever be capable of destroying opponents regularly.

If Australia are really serious as a group and as individuals they should also soak up the advice of Pakistani finger spinner Saqlain Mushtaq who, during his stints at the Centre Of Excellence in Brisbane, made a simple but powerful observation.

He said, the simple difference between sub-continent spinners and Australian spinners is that you don't bowl and practice anywhere near enough here in Australia.
Like India, Pakistani's eat, sleep and breath spin bowling and they do it for hours and hours and hours.

There is no magic in getting better. If we want to get better we can learn from greats like Saqlain or Muralideran who were legendary for their tireless work habits. Murali would bowl and practice, every day, for hours.

Obviously the conditions he bowled on were conducive to spin bowling, but he still had to know where to bowl the ball, how to spin the ball and how to work out his opponent. This is no different to any player, the difference is he has been honing his skills since he was a young boy right though to his retirement.

Maybe that is where we need to start - encouraging more kids from a young age to bowl spin.

Secondly Batting

Batsman in the test side and the fringes have no idea if they are playing match to match. They might score well one test, next test have a bad one all of a sudden they are cast aside. Confidence anyone?

Listen up..... As much as Australia harps on about the shield competition it is actually pretty average in quality. Unlike 20 years ago the best bowlers Australia are producing are already in the test side and due to sports science and fatigue are not allowed to play state cricket on a regular basis. This means our best young prospects are not developing against the worlds best bowlers like they once were. This means they could get away with technique flaws right up until an international call up and surprise surprise they fail. We need to rebuild from the ground up our international team and start blooding young batsman who are showing a bit. Back them in. Give them an entire test series. sacrifice a couple of series for redevelopment. Young batsman may need 6 - 10 innings to really get going. Just back them in!!!!!! Give them every confidence that they have more then 2 tests to prove themselves.

I agree wholeheartedly. Shaun Marsh is one player that I have full faith will become a star in test cricket, but needs to overcome injury issues. Australia were a victim of their own high standards previously, where batsmen deserving of a place in the side couldn't break into the team due to the abundance of star power already in the side. Our younger batsmen suffered as a result. Like you already suggested, players are scared of failure and are given less of an opportunity to build some confidence by being ousted as a result of a few low scores.

Watson isn't a top order test cricketer, but they keep persisting while players with genuine top order ability aren't given the necessary opportunity. Hughes doesn't have the technique to become a consistent and dominant test cricketer, so why leave out a player who does in Khawaja as a result of some unlucky innings.

Australian cricket has been spoit by the likes of Hayden, Langer, Ponting and Waugh, and the selectors fail to realise that not all batsmen in the country are capable of following in their footsteps.

We have some quality up and coming batsmen in this country who can replace the deadwood, but they must earn their stripes, not gifted test matches as what's occurring currently in this country.

Wicket Keeping
Brad Haddin?????? seriously WTF????????? was this before or after Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy said no. Move forwards!!!!!! at all times move forwards. If Wade was deemed to not be up to scratch move onto the next player in line. For the record that player was not BRAD HADDIN!!!!!! Last time I checked each state has a keeper. Pick the best performing one. Just for the record the best performing one was not nor has it been in the last two years BRAD HADDIN!!!!!!

I think the call should be made to all state players this summer that all players are up for selection especially with a focus on batsman under 25yo, for the first tour after the ASHES series as the side looks to rejuvenate and reenergise.

As far as the Wicket Keeping position goes, is it really that hard to fly all state first 11 keepers to the Cricket Academy for a weeks training camp that tests all the keepers on batting ability, glove work etc. surely not that hard.

I actually think Nevil is the best WK/Batsmen in the country and was on the verge of selection 2 years ago. They then opted to go with Wade, a player who's keeping skills are avaerage and who's batting technique is suspect to spin bowling and swing.

Paine promised to be our saviour, but unfortunately for him and Australian cricket, injuries interrupted.

I'm not sure where we go from here, but Haddins batting form and performance with the gloves certainly never warranted a recall.

 

[adelaidecrows]

The problem with Aus Cricket is the older generation do not grasp the concept of development and demand each player be deserving of a baggy green or be from NSW U14s. The Ashes series in 4 years time should be the goal for cricket Australia to have a #1 team again. We have to have the pain. We cant quick fix our way out of this one. long term benefits far outway the odd series win. If we continue on this way we will never be number 1 again but we maybe competitive and win the odd series against lesser nations.

If we do my idea we may lose series against Pakistan, WI maybe even NZ. but we will be developing the young guys. We can get them the worlds best data on technique flaws by having them face the best bowlers in the world. Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Damien Martin were all given shots as promising youngsters. All failed. It proved to be a massive investment however because they learned their technique flaws, learned their game and persisted with it for several seasons before being recalled and once Slater, Taylor and Mark Waugh were removed they came in ready made. We must start doing that again. Some batsman will stick. Give Kawaja a whole series. send him out into the middle first test and tell him no matter what happens he has the complete backing of the board of selectors for the entire series. They are a team afterall not just a one off representative side. Players must feel part of the side. If the selectors feel Agar is the better spinner then Lyon give Agar an entire series. don't bust his chops after two tests.

 

[kidgorgeous]

All worthy comments. How about picking Sheffield Shield records that stand up to scrutiny after a period of 3 seasons rather than flavour players? Unless the talent is so freakish leave them to develop in the Shield. Just a thought.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

The Australian Cricket Team at present is a horrible mix match of quick fixes, 4 opening batsman and a new spin bowler just about ever test.

Firstly Spinning

Things Australian selectors need to work on and realise pretty quick after the ASHES series.
1/ Their is no one as good as Shane Warne
2/ Did you hear me.....No one as good as Shane Warne
3/ No really f%^king listen.....NO ONE is as good as Shane Warne
4/ Seriously my goodness, get over the fact Shane Warne retired and move the f%^k on.

On raw numbers alone Nathan Lyon is performing as good as Shane Warne as far as Wickets per Test Match at the same time of their career. He maybe a fair bit more expensive but he still is obtaining wickets. Shane Warne also didn't play in an era of t20 in his early days which could easily explain the difference in runs. Nathan Lyon is the best spinner at this stage and Agar should have to earn his spot. Not just brought in on a whim every time Nathan Lyon might have an average test.

Secondly Batting

Batsman in the test side and the fringes have no idea if they are playing match to match. They might score well one test, next test have a bad one all of a sudden they are cast aside. Confidence anyone?

Listen up..... As much as Australia harps on about the shield competition it is actually pretty average in quality. Unlike 20 years ago the best bowlers Australia are producing are already in the test side and due to sports science and fatigue are not allowed to play state cricket on a regular basis. This means our best young prospects are not developing against the worlds best bowlers like they once were. This means they could get away with technique flaws right up until an international call up and surprise surprise they fail. We need to rebuild from the ground up our international team and start blooding young batsman who are showing a bit. Back them in. Give them an entire test series. sacrifice a couple of series for redevelopment. Young batsman may need 6 - 10 innings to really get going. Just back them in!!!!!! Give them every confidence that they have more then 2 tests to prove themselves.

Wicket Keeping
Brad Haddin?????? seriously WTF????????? was this before or after Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy said no. Move forwards!!!!!! at all times move forwards. If Wade was deemed to not be up to scratch move onto the next player in line. For the record that player was not BRAD HADDIN!!!!!! Last time I checked each state has a keeper. Pick the best performing one. Just for the record the best performing one was not nor has it been in the last two years BRAD HADDIN!!!!!!

I think the call should be made to all state players this summer that all players are up for selection especially with a focus on batsman under 25yo, for the first tour after the ASHES series as the side looks to rejuvenate and reenergise.

As far as the Wicket Keeping position goes, is it really that hard to fly all state first 11 keepers to the Cricket Academy for a weeks training camp that tests all the keepers on batting ability, glove work etc. surely not that hard.

None of this is new information. But I am interested in the Haddin hate. What is the issue here. His kid got sick so he left the test side and when he was ready to return Wade made way. When Haddin finished up a solid - not spectacular but by no means poor - test career within the next 12-24 months Wade (Paine/Hartley) will come in. Why the rush?

 

[adelaidecrows]

None of this is new information. But I am interested in the Haddin hate. What is the issue here. His kid got sick so he left the test side and when he was ready to return Wade made way. When Haddin finished up a solid - not spectacular but by no means poor - test career within the next 12-24 months Wade (Paine/Hartley) will come in. Why the rush?

He hasn't been the best keeper in Australia for over 2 years now. His selection is the very base of my argument that the selectors are too scared to develop and love quick fixes. His selection for the Ashes was the worst decision in a decade. I don't hate Haddin but he should have retired.

 

[the_interloper]

He hasn't been the best keeper in Australia for over 2 years now. His selection is the very base of my argument that the selectors are too scared to develop and love quick fixes. His selection for the Ashes was the worst decision in a decade. I don't hate Haddin but he should have retired.

I wasn't happy with the selection either. When you have Wade and Haddin who were very close in ability and form you'd go the younger option surely, you can't just pick Haddin for leadership. Wade had done ok with the gloves and quite well with the bat, especially considering he'd been at 6 for most of his test career up until then.

As for the spinners, Lyon hasn't done much wrong and until Ahmed beats the door down I'd play Lyon. Agar is worth keeping an eye on, perhaps as an all rounder, his bowling didn't impress me much to be honest.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

I wasn't happy with the selection either. When you have Wade and Haddin who were very close in ability and form you'd go the younger option surely, you can't just pick Haddin for leadership. Wade had done ok with the gloves and quite well with the bat, especially considering he'd been at 6 for most of his test career up until then.

As for the spinners, Lyon hasn't done much wrong and until Ahmed beats the door down I'd play Lyon. Agar is worth keeping an eye on, perhaps as an all rounder, his bowling didn't impress me much to be honest.

Ian Healy was quite critical of Wades keeping in the South Africa/Sri Lanka series if i recall correctly. He spent a lot of time in the commentary box rambling on about how Wades technique wasn't 100% polished. I pretty much agree with the 'pick the younger guy if both are even on ability' argument but I think the selectors felt Haddin was still the incumbent keeper and the spot was his to lose and not his to fight for. It was hardly the "worst selection in a decade" as another poster commented.

 

[adelaidecrows]

Ian Healy was quite critical of Wades keeping in the South Africa/Sri Lanka series if i recall correctly. He spent a lot of time in the commentary box rambling on about how Wades technique wasn't 100% polished. I pretty much agree with the 'pick the younger guy if both are even on ability' argument but I think the selectors felt Haddin was still the incumbent keeper and the spot was his to lose and not his to fight for. It was hardly the "worst selection in a decade" as another poster commented.

It was an extremely shit decision and I stand by my comments. for a year to two years Haddin was being blasted by all media as a pretty average keeper, he was dropping catches and his batting was shit. How dumb and thick do the selectors have to be to bring a HAS BEEN back just so he can be a senior player and be vice captain. What a joke. It was seriously pathetic of the selectors and one that should warrant a non extension of their contract when it runs out. You can not expect to create a successful team by producing those sort of decisions. These selectors have no idea. It wouldn't surprise me if Steve Waugh and David Boon got phone calls for a recall the rate those arse holes are going.

 

[Outshined]

Haddin was perfectly fine with the gloves in the Ashes. Wade was dropped because his keeping was terrible. Pretty simple really.

Where are all these youths that we are going to "blood" coming from? So far you could argue that's pretty much what we've done (Warner, Smith, Khawaja, Hughes), and as expected, there have been more than a few teething problems, largely due to technical and temperament issues. Smith is good though.

Agree re Lyon.

 

[adelaidecrows]

Haddin was perfectly fine with the gloves in the Ashes. Wade was dropped because his keeping was terrible. Pretty simple really.

Where are all these youths that we are going to "blood" coming from? So far you could argue that's pretty much what we've done (Warner, Smith, Khawaja, Hughes), and as expected, there have been more than a few teething problems, largely due to technical and temperament issues. Smith is good though.

Agree re Lyon.

So at the end of this Ashes series when Haddin probably will retire we are back to square one. If we loose this Ashes series his selection effectively was a massive waste of time and achieved nothing. I have said a million times you pick the next guy in line, never go backwards. Since we achieved jack in England its safe to say we might as well have either stuck with Wade or we bring in a guy like Ludeman. What happens when Wade comes back and fails next time. Haddin gets the phone call again. is he the constant fail safe 'Devil we know'

Sadly this Ashes series we should stick with the same squad for team unity.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

He hasn't been the best keeper in Australia for over 2 years now. His selection is the very base of my argument that the selectors are too scared to develop and love quick fixes. His selection for the Ashes was the worst decision in a decade. I don't hate Haddin but he should have retired.

The national team is not the place to develop. That is what club and Shield cricket are supposed to be for. The Test side is the finishing school for the best First Class performers. Every Test whether it be against England or Bangladesh demands the best available eleven for the opposition and conditions, with virtually no consideration for age.
In terms of keepers, in my view that is Hartley. Worst selection in a decade is a big, and I believe wrong, call.

I'm also not one to think players should retire to make way for someone else. The selectors should have the balls to drop somebody who is no longer first eleven, and be willing to recall them if they regain the form that warrants. That has been a problem in the past, a reluctance to dump under-performing older players because it would effectively end their career

 

[adelaidecrows]

The national team is not the place to develop. That is what club and Shield cricket are supposed to be for. The Test side is the finishing school for the best First Class performers. Every Test whether it be against England or Bangladesh demands the best available eleven for the opposition and conditions, with virtually no consideration for age.
In terms of keepers, in my view that is Hartley. Worst selection in a decade is a big, and I believe wrong, call.

I'm also not one to think players should retire to make way for someone else. The selectors should have the balls to drop somebody who is no longer first eleven, and be willing to recall them if they regain the form that warrants. That has been a problem in the past, a reluctance to dump under-performing older players because it would effectively end their career

That sentence alone is entirely wrong and full of old fashioned thinking. I would agree with you if the Australian side only played 5 tests a year. However the reality is the gap is widening every day between Shield cricket and test cricket because the test team are full on constantly touring. Shield batsman seldom get to face world class bowlers anymore because of the demands of international cricket. If the test team isn't playing and the test bowlers are making a rare appearance in their shield teams, the ODI and t20 bowlers are out playing a series in another country. This means the bulk of the bowling at practice in the nets is left up to machines and reserve grade bowlers who aren't good enough to be playing shield cricket regularly and therefor batting technique flaws go unexposed until the batsman is perceived to be good enough for international level and they fail. Time for a change in thinking and direction and treat the team like a team and not a representative one of side.

 

[Cleavy]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/c...f-serving-states/story-fni2usfi-1226749977316

so we should give Keath a free ride into the Vic Shield XI?

 

[adelaidecrows]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/c...f-serving-states/story-fni2usfi-1226749977316

so we should give Keath a free ride into the Vic Shield XI?

Its a fantastic article but forgets to mention the biggest problem facing cricket in Australia. Money! Why on earth will a 30 plus year old cricketer retire and go back to working. Hell I wouldn't. Why retire when I make $100K plus a season with a state contract, in the off season I can go to England and play county. What a life. Why retire????? In AFL retirement is a given because the body starts giving way and slowing down. In cricket the body can go on until the late 30s easily.

If you put state cricket into perspective. Assuming each state is the same, the Southern Redbacks have 22 players in the squad. That's a total of just 132 players offered a state contract. From that 132 only 66 players will play in any round of shield cricket at one time. Only 6 keepers, 24 bowlers and 36 batsman. The rest of those 66 players go back to their respective grade cricket clubs. Is this enough to truly create an atmosphere of development good enough when you put other countries into the picture. I think the old state league tradition was good and worked well when international cricket was minimal. I know people will say its diluting the competition but I say we increase the teams from 6 to 10 teams by Adding a 2nd teams to QLD, NSW, VIC & SA. Too few players are playing state level cricket and I seriously can not see a dilution of talent by adding just 44 more players to the mix. That could be 40 18/19yo cricketers who were stuck playing grade cricket because senior players refuse to retire. Australian cricket has to evolve, this is the way to do it.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

If you put state cricket into perspective. Assuming each state is the same, the Southern Redbacks have 22 players in the squad. That's a total of just 132 players offered a state contract. From that 132 only 66 players will play in any round of shield cricket at one time. Only 6 keepers, 24 bowlers and 36 batsman. The rest of those 66 players go back to their respective grade cricket clubs. Is this enough to truly create an atmosphere of development good enough when you put other countries into the picture. I think the old state league tradition was good and worked well when international cricket was minimal. I know people will say its diluting the competition but I say we increase the teams from 6 to 10 teams by Adding a 2nd teams to QLD, NSW, VIC & SA. Too few players are playing state level cricket and I seriously can not see a dilution of talent by adding just 44 more players to the mix. That could be 40 18/19yo cricketers who were stuck playing grade cricket because senior players refuse to retire. Australian cricket has to evolve, this is the way to do it.

Oh good lord no. Adding more teams would lower the standard of the comp.

 

[adelaidecrows]

Oh good lord no. Adding more teams would lower the standard of the comp.

would it? so you would rather see a shit international cricket team and have a strong shield competition? strange opinion. I thought the state of the Australian cricket team was of paramount importance and supersedes the stat game.

 

[Cleavy]

weren't they planning to introduce the ACT into the Shield and then decided against it?

 

[Doodlesweaver]

would it? so you would rather see a shit international cricket team and have a strong shield competition? strange opinion. I thought the state of the Australian cricket team was of paramount importance and supersedes the stat game.

How would adding more teams make the international team stronger? If the level of ability/skill/talent is not up to being number one test nation, more shield teams won't turn out superstars. It will just have more batsmen getting good money for doing **** all like the Warriors.

Though purely in terms of representative fairness, I'd cop the NT and ACT getting a chance to have teams, but as I said, it won't help the strength of the competition.

 

[bird_man]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/c...f-serving-states/story-fni2usfi-1226749977316

so we should give Keath a free ride into the Vic Shield XI?

21 is extremely young for a cricketer. I wouldn't be judging the decision he made until he is into his mid to late 20's at least. Until then, let him develop in grade cricket, he'll get his chance eventually.

 

[Run n Spread]

21 is extremely young for a cricketer. I wouldn't be judging the decision he made until he is into his mid to late 20's at least. Until then, let him develop in grade cricket, he'll get his chance eventually.

True but I don't think that was the point the article was making. Basically there are only 66 shield spots and 11 test spots at any given time + change of 1 day and 20-20 caps. As you correctly point out cricketers peak in their mid 20s and even then there is no guarantee of success and opportunity.

Compared to footy a lot of players tend to get a few matches straight away and looking at the other mid 20s players who made the football over cricket decision a lot are 200 game players and established stars. If they chose cricket they may be just starting an international career and no guarentees at all.

So football has that advantage over cricket but imo it is the nature of the beast. Football offers a clearer pathway as there are more elite spots on offer and the demand for players kicks in right away. (injuries, rebuilds etc). So as a career choice football makes the most sense for the average player.

For superstars thou would you rather be a Clarke or Franklin/ James Pattinson vs Jageur O'Meara. Cricket offers a chance to shine on the world stage and live like royalty if you are one of the very elite. Cricket should just run its own race and while paying attention not be so obsessed with the AFL's moves every 5 minutes.

 

[Gough]

The real insanity of cricket nowdays is that when our test team is in the middle of a series, the only cricket other players are playing is T20, so if poor form or injury causes a need for a change in the side, all the shadow players have been doing for the last month is slapping balls outside off over square leg's head, or trying to perfect the slow bouncer. Entertaining, maybe, ideal preparation for a Test, no.

 

[The_Reaper]

would it? so you would rather see a shit international cricket team and have a strong shield competition? strange opinion. I thought the state of the Australian cricket team was of paramount importance and supersedes the stat game.

It will make both shit.
Just means that every team will field a whole bunch of bowlers and batsmen who aren't first class standard. So the good players don't get tested and get cheap runs and wickets.

The size of the grade cricket comps in WA and SA are part of the problem WA and SA have in cricket.

Also note how South African cricket has done after they replaced their main first class competition with a higher comp made up of only 6 teams.
And how England have done after splitting County Cricket into two divisions.

 

[western royboy]

I believe this topic has been done to death in other threads, our system changed twenty years ago when Milo was introduced which caused an explosion in junior cricket which has inadvertently led to an overall decline in playing standards of all levels of cricket which has finally made its way to the international level.

Instead of making your way through the District / Grade system through the shield and eventually earning your baggy green, it's now elite talent identification, "pathways", futures leagues and big bash.

Talent is now preferred to hard work and weight of runs / wickets, which is a recipe for disaster and why we are where we are.

Batsman actually mature in their 30's - it takes experience to be a solid bat at any level. Gift kids games without them earning it and you do them no favours.

If Alex Keath was worthy of a place in the Vic side he'd be there. He's not and he isn't - we've stuffed our system up enough without bastardising it even further.

 

[adelaidecrows]

I believe this topic has been done to death in other threads, our system changed twenty years ago when Milo was introduced which caused an explosion in junior cricket which has inadvertently led to an overall decline in playing standards of all levels of cricket which has finally made its way to the international level.

Instead of making your way through the District / Grade system through the shield and eventually earning your baggy green, it's now elite talent identification, "pathways", futures leagues and big bash.

Talent is now preferred to hard work and weight of runs / wickets, which is a recipe for disaster and why we are where we are.

Batsman actually mature in their 30's - it takes experience to be a solid bat at any level. Gift kids games without them earning it and you do them no favours.

If Alex Keath was worthy of a place in the Vic side he'd be there. He's not and he isn't - we've stuffed our system up enough without bastardising it even further.

So your a fan of the quick fix series to series representative team then an actual sporting team. interesting. The team is crap purely because they went down the quick fix pathway instead of developing.

Batsman are maturing in their 30s because on average because they aren't cracking the shield sides until their mid to late 20s and spend 5-6 seasons maturing their game.