Fourth Test team

[saj_21]

Team is set I believe unless someone in the shield gets about 7 scores of under 10 in a row.
1. Renshaw
2. Finch
3. Khawaja --> Harris if injured (obvious re-arrangement of order)
4. Head
5. S. Marsh
6. M. Marsh
7. Paine
8. Cummins
9. Starc
10. Lyon
11. Hazlewood

12. Siddle

Assuming ussie is fit then I think it’s renshaw’s spot to lose. If but if Harris makes another big score and renshaw fails then I think Harris will take his spot.

 

[bird_man]

Team is set I believe unless someone in the shield gets about 7 scores of under 10 in a row.
1. Renshaw
2. Finch
3. Khawaja --> Harris if injured (obvious re-arrangement of order)
4. Head
5. S. Marsh
6. M. Marsh
7. Paine
8. Cummins
9. Starc
10. Lyon
11. Hazlewood

12. Siddle

I'd open both Renshaw and Harris and move Finch down to 4 or 5 where he's more suites, especially if the ball is moving around.

Harris
Renshaw
Khawaja
Marsh
Finch
Head
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

It’s not T20 ruining our batsmen. We just don’t have the talent going around.

Its not ONLY T20 ruining our batsmen. The focus on sloggers from a very young age, even before T20 existed, has played its part.
The balance between mass-participation and allowing the elite to flourish in younger age groups seems out, and all along the "pathway" there are holes.

 

[Badesumofu]

Spots have to be up for grabs to players who make runs in the Shield. If that means someone like Harris gets a game, then good for him. Jake Lehman has made 276 @ 92 in two and a half matches. Handscomb still averages 43 in Tests and is making some runs in the Shield as well. Renshaw has been underwhelming.

Finch
Harris
Khawaja
Handscomb
Lehman
Maxwell
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Hazlewood
Lyon

I've picked Maxwell based on his FC form of last year. He should be playing Shield cricket right now rather than this meaningless crap against RSA, but oh well. He's been unfairly denied chances over the last 12 months, so I'm giving him one to see what he makes of it. Finch is in for his performance against Pakistan. You have to retain incumbents who perform. Khawaja similar. Harris, Lehman, Handscomb are in based on making runs in the Shield and also in Handscomb's case a good Test record. The rest are pretty obvious.

 

[nobbyiscool]

Different format of the game I know - but today's collapse only reinforces what I came to think vs Pakistan. I'm not sure I need the guys with the (supposed) best techniques or the best averages. Given where the national team is at the moment, I just want the guys with the most backbone.

I wasn't a big supporter of Langer getting the coaching job, I thought he was a bit too close to the culture that got us here. But I've come to think that Langer and Paine are the perfect duo to try and recreate a team in their own image. It's why I'm happy for Siddle to be next cab off the rank if any of our bowlers go down again. It's why, despite his age and mediocre Ashes series a few years ago, I'd have Bailey as Smith's place-holder. It's why Renshaw is about my first batsman picked.

It's also why Mitch Marsh is a terrible choice for VC, and it's why I don't want Maxwell anywhere near the team. Supreme talent, clearly - but not even close to what we need at the moment.

 

[TheMcManusNose]

Lehmann, Wade (when you take out his test average), Handscomb, Renshaw, Burns.

Yeah there's a few more around the 38-39 mark as well. SMarsh as well. There's cases for and against all of them.

I think to an extent the jumping and jumbling we've had recently is just shuffling the deckchairs. I don't really mind who they pick so much, i'd just prefer a bit of picking and sticking for a while.

I think Renshaw is the only one i'd personally really think would be hard done by if not selected given that he's basically been the best Australian batsman in long form for a while now.

 

[BlueandGoldforever]

First and foremost we need guys with good techniques who have shown an ability to dig in.

To be honest, I don’t think they will make wholesale changes to the last Test team but guys like Renshaw, Harris, Lehmann and Cooper will come into consideration.

 

[Jimthegreat]

Rolling team update

Harris
Renshaw
Khawaja
Handscomb
Finch
Labuschagne
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazelwood

Harris made 65 this game on top of his 250 last game, Handscomb made 123 and Renshaw 89. nice to see some form from the barsmen.

 

[Jimthegreat]

Do you mean the Patterson who can't score a hundred to save his life?

25 50s for only 5 100s is a woeful return, and you can tell watching him because he never looks completely settled and is still having the occasional fish when he's on 60odd. He's like the opposite land Shaun Marsh.

Really though this just highlights where we are at. Every campaigner on here or reddit or at the pub is all raging about 'why can't X player from my state get a baggy green, they average 40!'. We have a bunch of just ok batsman who all have distinct flaws. Every bloke who is there about in shield has an obvious flaw or is just not quite at the level required to be a clear test batsman of the future. So we can pick blokes for just barely averaging 40, or after they score a big ton in a random game, but we shouldn't be surprised when they turn out to be not that great.

I'll take the consistency. Usually if they average 40 without making hundreds they are making runs near every time they go out to bat. It's frustrating but at least there's a reliability. Better than someone averaging 40 making either some 100s with alot of low scores.

 

[BlueandGoldforever]

I'll take the consistency. Usually if they average 40 without making hundreds they are making runs near every time they go out to bat. It's frustrating but at least there's a reliability. Better than someone averaging 40 making either some 100s with alot of low scores.

I wouldn’t. More than likely a player who can make centuries is likely to win you a match or two, if not more.

 

[TheMcManusNose]

I'll take the consistency. Usually if they average 40 without making hundreds they are making runs near every time they go out to bat. It's frustrating but at least there's a reliability. Better than someone averaging 40 making either some 100s with alot of low scores.

Fair enough if that's what you want, it's a valid thought. I disagree as I think it is the blokes who can get in and make you the hundreds that are going to win you the games. I'd love for Patterson to make those hundreds and force his way in, his conversion rate is worse than Watson's in first class cricket.

That's kind of what my point is though. We can go to this bloke or we can go to that bloke, none of them are the messiah. None of them are really unjustly dealt with because no one is really ahead of the pack. It's easy to say why can't kid x get a run when he's in many ways no better than half the others we've tried - and then we can potentially get to a point where we're chopping and changing every 5 seconds and no one can solidify a place.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Rolling team update

Harris
Renshaw
Khawaja
Handscomb
Finch
Labuschagne
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazelwood

Harris made 65 this game on top of his 250 last game, Handscomb made 123 and Renshaw 89. nice to see some form from the barsmen.

Harris has always been terribly inconsistent. He is not the answer.

 

[Dayan Warna]

Picking on form or reputation or mateship with sons of or NSW and friends?

 

[TommyD13]

I'd open both Renshaw and Harris and move Finch down to 4 or 5 where he's more suites, especially if the ball is moving around.

Harris
Renshaw
Khawaja
Marsh
Finch
Head
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

Sorry mate, which Marsh?

 

[bird_man]

Shaun

 

[bird_man]

Harris has always been terribly inconsistent. He is not the answer.

He's been quite consistent since moving states. Has averaged a touch under 49 since the start of the 16/17 season.

Averaged over 40 in each season with 5 centuries and 9 half centuries. Just the one duck.

 

[Bwillow11]

Renshaw/Finch/Burns/Harris/Doolan/Weatherald
Renshaw/Finch/Burns/Harris/Doolan/Weatherald
Khawaja (if fit)
Head
Handscomb/Lehmann/K Patterson/T Cooper
S Marsh
T Paine
Cummins
Starc
Hazlewood
Lyon

How the team should/will be picked. We have a tendency to want a allrounder which at the moment is bonkers/so hopefully best 6 batsmen are picked.

 

[foxdog50]

Surely Jake Lehman has to be in consideration, his pass 12 months in Shield Cricket been in good form.

 

[Dayan Warna]

Patterson is trash panda

 

[bird_man]

Surely Jake Lehman has to be in consideration, his pass 12 months in Shield Cricket been in good form.

Averaged 28 last season...

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Averaged 28 last season...

Agreed, he's got potential but jeez can we stop putting blokes off half a season. I rate Jake Lehmann but probably 6 months away. Give him a full Shield season.

 

[toml]

Why do people seem so keen to leave Renshaw out? He is 22, has scored 6 tons and 4 50’s in FC cricket this year (4th on the runs scored list worldwide) as well as a handful of list A 50’s and people are putting a line through him because he missed out in 1 shield round? Settle down

 

[JackOutback]

Harris has always been terribly inconsistent. He is not the answer.

Think that’s a bit harsh; might be judging him on his time at WA rather than Victoria.

Why do people seem so keen to leave Renshaw out? He is 22, has scored 6 tons and 4 50’s in FC cricket this year (4th on the runs scored list worldwide) as well as a handful of list A 50’s and people are putting a line through him because he missed out in 1 shield round? Settle down

I think it was two Shield games and he failed pretty hard. That said, he has runs now, so probably bring him in. I think we need a mix of youth and experience, flair and backbone. It’s a tough combination to get right. As it stands, I think;

Renshaw
Finch
Khawaja
Handscomb
SMarsh
MMarsh

Is what they should go with. I’d happily swap MMarsh for a Burns or Maxwell or Harris (top of the order, shuffle the rest around) but I don’t think they will go that way.

 

[TheMcManusNose]

I think it was two Shield games and he failed pretty hard. That said, he has runs now, so probably bring him in.

It was one. He was in Pakistan for the opening round.

He also played the A series second game against India and didn't get runs there, but then quite a lot of runs in his last few county games. Interestingly enough Mitch Marsh tonned up in that A series game.

I really think we get a bit to reactive. We shouldn't be dropping blokes off two bad games in shield or the like. Or picking them off 2 good ones. We're picking based on who is having a good run rather than who actually has the body of work behind them.

Agree on Harris. I don't really rate him over our other opening choices and wouldn't pick him, but he has improved since moving to VIC and getting rid of that weird bat down/no backlift set up.

 

[toml]

I think it was two Shield games and he failed pretty hard.

Only one. He didn’t play in the first match.