Changes For the sydney test

[apollo_creed]

Well.... scrap that thought then!

 

[The Passenger]

Jaques was averaging more than hughes though

1. bring jaques back in
2. ????
3. profit!!

 

[beez]

Ponting may need a replacement too

RICKY Ponting's Ashes campaign is likely to be over, and Michael Clarke has firmed to take over the Test captaincy for the first time in Sydney as Ponting seeks to heal the broken finger he took into the Boxing Day Test.

With Australia to enter the Sydney Test having already lost the Ashes - a result confirmed when England takes three wickets today - Ponting is unlikely to risk further aggravation to his left pinky in a bid to return to full fitness by the World Cup in February.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/pontings-series-may-be-over-20101228-199a2.html

 

[dan warna]

deary me, clarke as captain...

Kim Hughes, eat your heart out, there is someone worse than you in recent history!

 

[Doodlesweaver]

It's all so ridiculous. Someone in very poor form would play with a broken finger and now that player in poor form is being replaced as captain by a player... in poor form.

Who is in the worst form in the Shield? I'm sure whoever it is, they'll probably be brought in to replace Punter.

 

[Ricky]

Watson
S.Marsh
Khawaja
Ferguson
Christian
Maddinson
Paine (C)
Boyce
Pattinson
Starc
Copeland

Obviously this isn't going to be the side for the Sydney Test but it's what I would like to see in the future. (I didn't wanna start a whole new thread)

Watson clearly, most consistent bat, doesn't matter if he goes out between 50-100, he has done his job and seen off the new ball.

S.Marsh Class Batsmen, f***load better than Hughes (wouldn't be hard)

Khawaja, see if he can live up to his hype.

Ferguson, worked hard for 3 years with the Australian ODI and showed glimpses of form in the shield, give him a crack.

Christian, best domestic player this season in my opinion, in all forms of the game he is tearing it apart

Maddinson, 18-19 year old making 100's against decent oppositions, great player and i am sure will play for Australia one day

Paine, I'm a Victorian, but also a realist, Paine better bat, better gloveman, plain and simple. Wade & Hartley next in line, but due to Hartley's age, probably Wade

Boyce, Happy to take criticism here but I think the young Queenslander has lots and lots of talent, young leg spinner, who has a great bag of tricks, good flight with the ball and can turn the ball on any wicket.

James Pattinson, strike bowler with a bit agro about him and gets excited when he takes a wicket which is great to see in a young kid

Starc, this kid is our next big thing (bowling wise). If he can get his body right, he could be anything. Can swing the ball both ways, tall and is only going to get quicker.

Copeland, leading wicket taker in the sheffield shield this year I believe, I stand corrected if I am wrong. Must be doing something right.

Plain and Simple, If we are to return to the number 1 ranking in the world in both forms of the game then Ponting (special player and will go down as our greatest ever bat behind Bradman, end it now Punter), Hughes (OVERRATED PIECE OF S*** THAT NEVER DESERVED A GAME FOR AUSTRALIA!!!), Clarke (not as good as he was), Hussey (good series but old), Hilfenhaus (shadow of former self), Harris (injury prone) all need to stay away from the team. Smith, Haddin, Johnson & Siddle will float about and be in and out of the team.

Remember, obviously this isn't going to be the side we are going to see in Sydney next week, but it's a side I would like to see in the not to distant future.

Love to hear your thoughts

 

[wild side]

Good call, but we are a long way from being number 1 again.
May not happen in our lifetime ??
Might be the soap dodgers ?
But, I know one thing is Clarke is not a captain's a-hole.
I reckon Haddin could be worth a shot, and bring in Paine as keeper.
It's only Tugga Waugh's synopsis.

 

[The Passenger]

all of those guys are talented and some could definately be in the team now. that's the sort of team that would be good to be put on an austrlian a tour, but i don't think they do them anymore but they should. how good would a one month (post shield final) 4 x 4-day match be. a 15-man squad would look something like 1. Maddinson, 2. S Marsh, 3. Khawaja, 4. Ferguson, 5. White (c for 2 matches), 6. Lynn, 7. Paine (c for 2 matches), 8. O'Keefe, 9. Copeland, 10. Pattinson, 11. Bollinger, 12. D Hussey, 13. Holland/Boyce, 14. Hazlewood, 15. George. i know the world cup is on so obviously players that make that squad get replaced accordingly.... those sort of tours used to occur and i think they are great for australian cricket.

this is without a doubt the weirdest article i've read today
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/t...gainst-top-order/story-fn67w6pa-1225977486918

"Fans revolt against top order" resulted in a fans XI being made, the 10 most selected players are already in the test XI with Khawaja the 11th most selected player and Hughes the 12th most selected.... Hardly a revolt

 

[Bazzar]

Ill put my bottom dollar on it, the only change will be Beer, or if we manage to force an unlikely draw then maybe Hauritz for Harris.

It’s our last test match until September 2011, so no way the conservative bunch at the ACB will make drastic changes just yet

 

[CarlosSETANTA]

Starting to grow on the idea that changing the batting order may just be a lot more effective than wholesale changes, especially if Ponting stays.

Opener in (Khawaja, Marsh, whoever), Watson to 3, Hussey to 4, Ponting to 5, Clarke to 6, Smith either to bat at 7/8 or dropped makes more sense than throwing someone to the wolves for one test.

 

[The Passenger]

are we still touring bangladesh in april??

 

[Bazzar]

All the different future teams thrown up here are great, BUT what about Tim Nielsen?

They talk about Ponting inheriting one of the greatest sides in history, but so did Nielsen. His inability to successfully and seamlessly build a new team to take us into the future on the back of Warne, McGrath, Gilly, and Hados and to a lesser extent Martin and Langer departing has to be bought in to question.

I was totally stunned to hear he has just been offered, and signed a new two year extension on his contract. Its just not cricket.

 

[Maddhew]

Some observations on Clarke.

Clarke averages 48 in tests and 44 in ODIs. Was averaging 50 before this form slump. He is a good fielder and a handy bowler. He is still the better side of 30. Has been our most consistent test batsmen for 3 years. Everyone in the team has been allowed form slumps. Clarke has had his at an unfortunate time. His captaincy in ODIs has generally been good. People dislike him for reasons other than cricket. Dating Lara Bingle and the subsequent media circus wasnt good for his reputaton. His record would see him walk into any test team in the world, especially england, maybe not SA. Anyyone who thinks he should be dropped are about 2 more series premature.
Clarke isnt a good T20 player. Form slumps go and people look stupid. Hussey anyone? peope are hysteric because of the current state of Aus cricket and because of the previous mentioned dislike for clarke see him as a scape goat.

If he can find some runs soon and turn it around, he is the best placed player to be the next captain of Australia.

Wouldnt most if not all players average less in the 2nd innings of losing test matches.

 

[dan warna]

concur with the calls about the management as well.

Need a top down replacement of the hierarchy.

whip bob simpson out, hand the management to Border, even get deano as the fielding coach.

Give the ACB under the control of Lawrie Sawle at 85, probably smarter than those there now.

Get some steel in with people Australians trust.

IF your honest, the era after simpson/border/sawle just road the coat tails of the infrastructure put in during the mid to late 80s and added nothing new.

Hohns took kruggerrands rather than play for aus.

 

[Dagger5]

I don't expect Clarke to perform under the huge pressure the South Africans and Indians will have us under next summer. He has been very poor for a long time now so he should be dropped.

 

[Maddhew]

I don't expect Clarke to perform under the huge pressure the South Africans and Indians will have us under next summer. He has been very poor for a long time now so he should be dropped.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/4578.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting

read his stats, medicore 2010 averaging 36, look at 04, 06, 07, 08, 09. He doesnt deserve to be dropped yet. And if he can rediscover his form, he deserves to remain in consideration for the captaincy.

People need to stop getting so hysteric. We lost to a good team. Move on

 

[ROSEMVP]

starc aint any good. he got 4 tail end wickets against sri lanka and now is the new big thing,

 

[Super Hans]

Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener
Shaun Marsh is not an opener

 

[Bazzar]

Shaun Marsh is not an opener.....

....Shaun Marsh is not an opener

Your point is?

He was a Lawrie Sawle Medallist as an opening batsman, and also when in the one day team opens for us, also was an opener in the IPL.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Your point is?

He was a Lawrie Sawle Medallist as an opening batsman, and also when in the one day team opens for us, also was an opener in the IPL.

Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist opened for us in ODIs. You really want to use that as justification to promote someone to the opening spot in the Test side?

And please don't talk about IPL like it's real cricket. It's ads and entertainment with some cricket thrown in.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Some observations on Clarke.

Clarke averages 48 in tests and 44 in ODIs. Was averaging 50 before this form slump. He is a good fielder and a handy bowler. He is still the better side of 30. Has been our most consistent test batsmen for 3 years. Everyone in the team has been allowed form slumps. Clarke has had his at an unfortunate time. His captaincy in ODIs has generally been good. People dislike him for reasons other than cricket. Dating Lara Bingle and the subsequent media circus wasnt good for his reputaton. His record would see him walk into any test team in the world, especially england, maybe not SA. Anyyone who thinks he should be dropped are about 2 more series premature.
Clarke isnt a good T20 player. Form slumps go and people look stupid. Hussey anyone? peope are hysteric because of the current state of Aus cricket and because of the previous mentioned dislike for clarke see him as a scape goat.

If he can find some runs soon and turn it around, he is the best placed player to be the next captain of Australia.

Wouldnt most if not all players average less in the 2nd innings of losing test matches.

The worrying thing with Clarke is that his average since he moved to 4 is around 20. Hussey also struggled at 4 and that was why Clarke and Hussey swapped. Clarke's average at 5 is over 50. Hence, what we have here is a middle order that cannot bat above 5.

I'm thinking that if Katich is fit, he should now come in at 3, Ponting to 4, Hussey stays at 5 and White comes in at 6. Clarke needs to go back to Sheffield Shield and make runs before he comes in for consideration again. As for who opens, Hughes should remain for Sydney and see what happens. I don't think he's a long term option but I also don't believe he can be dropped again after 2 tests. Give him 3 before acting on it.

As for our bowlers, I've got no idea and the worrying thing is that our coaches and selectors also seem to have no friggin idea. The English bowlers were able to move the ball yesterday whereas struggle at the best of times. What the hell is going on there? Is it the coaches? Is it the bowlers? I'm thinking it's a combination.

Edit: The reason I want White in at 6 is that I believe he is our next best option as captain and I believe after Sydney, Ponting needs to be a batsman only and have someone else take on the responsibility of captaincy. Happy to have Katich come in to open then (if fit) and have Khawaja @ 3 (Hughes gone...yes that goes against what I said earlier but Khawaja is important to get into the team).

 

[ManWithNoName]

TBH I'm all for Punter staying in the side going forward, as captain too, mainly due to a complete lack of alternatives. CA put all their eggs in the Michael Clarke basket and are paying for that now. If we had another strong opener at Shield level I'd love to see him come in, build a long term Hayden/Langer style partnership with Hughes, Watson dropping to 3, Punter as skipper at 4, Pup 5 and Hussey 6. Then if Huss retires you can bring in a young kid to bat 6 and find his feet.

I can't think of any strong openers we have at Shield level currently though.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Just to clear something up; the series against Bangladesh in April is only an ODI series. Our next Test after Sydney is in August against Sri Lanka

 

[TheMase]

If Katich is back I would probably go for something like this...

Katich
Hughes
Ponting (c)
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Haddin
Hauritz/Smith
Johnson
Siddle
Hilfenhaus/Bollinger

 

[ManWithNoName]

I know given his current lack of form this will seem like a stupid idea, but Clarke is the idea number 3 currently in the side. Solid technique, capable of sticking it out through tough bowling, able to get singles to turn over the strike to the more settled in opener at the other end. It seems stupid now, but once he comes good again I can see him being the idea number 3.