Remove this Banner Ad

OT - Ashes

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

CaptainDangerfield

CaptainDangerfield

Cancelled
Veteran 10k Posts
Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Posts
13,054
Reaction score
121
Location
Adelaide
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Glenelg
My 11 for the first test:

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Hussey
Symonds
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Bracken
McGrath

I can't wait for this series. It's going to be interesting to see how the old war horses go. We could see quite a few retirments after the series as the likes of Johnson, Watson ( don't believe he is test standard ), Clarke, Jacques must be given a go at some stage. Bring it on.

BTW Noddy is taking all bets.
 
I know Symo played a couple of good hands late last summer at test level - but IMO he is not in the 6 / 7 best batsmen in Australia....and his bowling at Test level is laughable.

As much as I love the guy in the OD game - I don't reckon he is a Test player.

Hodge Clarke and Jacques should get the nod in front of him - then it's a matter of messing with the batting order....but I do favour 6 + Gilly.

I'd start with

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Clarke
Hussey
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Bracken
McGrath
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

SpringChoke said:
While I think Tait has potential, to mix it up abit, I reckon the selectors will go for the left armer Bracken.

Tait, Jacques, Clarke and Clarke.
Click to expand...

I think you're right, even though Bracken doesn't do much for me. As long as Stuart Clark doesn't get a spot!

I'm still rooting for Tait!
 
Mad Dog said:
I know Symo played a couple of good hands late last summer at test level - but IMO he is not in the 6 / 7 best batsmen in Australia....and his bowling at Test level is laughable.

As much as I love the guy in the OD game - I don't reckon he is a Test player.

Hodge Clarke and Jacques should get the nod in front of him - then it's a matter of messing with the batting order....but I do favour 6 + Gilly.

I'd start with

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Clarke
Hussey
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Bracken
McGrath
Click to expand...


I hear what you're saying MD but Hodge and Jacques won't threaten Symonds place as they bat further up the order. The only real threat to Symonds are Watson and Clarke. Watson, IMO, isn't up to test standard. I reckon Symonds will get the nod ahead of Clarke as he is a better bowler.
 
Hayden
Langer (Give him 2 Tests to perform otherwise out-Harsh but fair (Jaques in)
Ponting
Martyn (Doing well in ODI but needs to do well here otherwise losing patience)
Hussey
Watson (IMO he is part of the future-doing well in ODI-better suited upt he order though)
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Bracken (This a big Decision- Johnson, Tait and Clark all within a chance)
McGrath

12th Man: Clarke/Clark


If Martyn or Langer doesn't perform I would be tempted to put in Clarke and Jacques. Jacques is in brilliant form - against the Pommy's as well. 3rd bowler will be interesting. DOn't forget that we could play 2 spinners-MacGill with a chance.


Tait: Selectors will pick him because of his dangerous reverse swing and his massive performance against England in Prime Ministers XI. Is quick and takes qickets at a fast pace. Sometimes can be inconsistent but seems to have found more consistency. A big weapon if on song. Can go for a lot of runs at times which is a bit like Lee so selectors will have that in mind.


Bracken: Selectors will pick him becuase he has done a great job in ODI this year. Swings the ball and adds a bit of variety with his changes of pace and being a left armer. Tore up WI in Champs Final. Not the quickest around and queries whether he is effective with the more patient 5 day games.


Johnson: The selectors will pick him because he is an up and comer who is definately part of the Australian future. Is pushing for a spot due to his eye catching champ trophy performances. Is very quick and is a left armer to make him more appealing. Can sometimes be erratic and not sure whether he has "stamped himself" in 1st class matches yet. Is also very inexperienced.


Clark: The selectors will pick him because he's played very well in lead up matches. Doing well against England at the moment and has taken some good wickets. Is very much a line and length Version II McGrath bowler. Can move the ball and get a bit of bounce due to his tall frame and his action. Is he too close to McGrath? Maybe. The selectors might want more variety in the attack but he is tearing it up and proven though.


MacGill: The selectors will pick him because with Watson an option to fill the 3rd bowler spot, the selectors might want to have another leggie due to England having trouble with leggies. Spins the ball a mile and can ease the worload on Warne. A different bowler to Warne all together though. Is proven and is actually one of the best spinners in the world, up there with Warne and Murali but has been in Warne's shadow all his life. Has a great strike rate and can get you wickets but can cost a lot.
 
IMO there's 2 teams. The one the selectors will pick and the one that I would (my changes in brackets)

Langer (Jacques)
Hayden
Ponting
Martyn
Hussey
Gilchrist
Watson (Clarke)
Warne
Lee
Johnson
McGrath

My reasons for the 2 changes are

1) Langer has had a run of average performances at the top level while Jacques is on fire. I respect Langer's intestinal fortitude though.

2) Marginal call with Watson out and Clarke in, only because I believe 4 good bowlers should be good enough to bowl out the Poms, and Clarke must eventually replace one of the ageing batsmen. However if Watson does play as I think he will, I'd love to see him succeed as I can't remember when Australia last had a good all-rounder.

Players who could get a chance through the series:

Tait as the 3rd quick
Bracken as the 3rd quick
MacGill for the Sydney test.
 
Jacques wont play again for australia until he learns to field... he simply isnt up to it... appalling fielder...
 

Remove this Banner Ad

crowsarethebest said:
He's not that bad. If England have Monty then Australia can have Jacques:p.
Click to expand...
dropped 6 catches in an innings against sa the other week... 4 were sitters.. sorry but these days if you cant field you dont play... hence why hes definately not in the odi team... id play chris rogers before him... and if he was going to bat at 6 id play clarke or marcus north before him
 
I know the selectors won’t go ahead with my plan, but why bother with a second rate all-rounder? Why not just play Jaques at No.6 and play just the 4 specialist bowlers? It’s worked for years, why bother changing it now? I think Tait has done enough to warrant selection over the past fortnight, and his spell against the Poms should have cemented his spot. However as everyone knows the final bowling spot is going to go to either Johnson or Clark. Anyway, this would be my team…

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Hussey
Jaques
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Tait
McGrath
 
I would go like this;

Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Clarke
Hussey
Gilchrist
Lee
Warne
McGrath
Tait

This way, not only do we get to keep Macgill out of the test team, have 3 quicks but we also get to have the "I'm the world's best Number 9 who bats at Number 11" bat at 10.
 
My Team:

Hayden
Jacques
Ponting
Martyn
Hussey
Watson
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Bracken
McGrath

As I see it, there are three positions "up for grabs".

Starting at the top of the order, I don't expect Jacques to be picked for the first test - Langer is the incumbent, even if his recent form has been woeful. Jacques could well take the position on a permanent basis if Langer fails in the first two tests. I would like to see the team picked on form and Langer has none, but as the incumbent the position is his to lose and the Australian selectors have a long history of loyalty to the status quo until the player makes it impossible to continue selecting them.

The next position in doubt is #6. I've selected Shane Watson in this position. For all his talent, Clarke remains an unfulfilled promise - he's never really delivered after his outstanding first couple of tests. The selection of Watson gives extra flexibility by adding a 5th bowler to the attack. Four bowlers were sufficient while McGrath & Warne were at the peake of their powers, but McGrath is now well and truly in decline (though his performances towards the end of the Champions Trophy would appear to bely this).

The last position is #10 - that of the third seamer. There are several candidates - Bracken, Tait, Johnson, Clark and even (arguably) MacGill.

I have no love for MacGill - can't stand the human ego. I sincerely hope he never plays for Australia again, with his position as "second best leggie" being taken by Cullen Bailey. Second best spinner is already Dan Cullen IMHO, but there's no great drive to see him playing tests yet (while Warne remains a potent force anyway).

Clark is the incumbent, having dominated the bowling attack in South Africa last time the Aussies played a significant test series (Bangladesh don't count). It's hard to knock his form - he was the pick of the bowlers yesterday as NSW took on England in the joke game at the SCG.

Tait & Johnson are both exciting young quicks, who will lead the attack when McGrath & Lee are gone and forgotten. They're both ready to play tests now and probably would be in most countries, unfortunately in Australia they're fighting for one position with McGrath and Lee well and truly cemented into position.

Bracken is the man most likely to be selected. The reason for this is not only his form, which saw him as the #1 wicket taker in the Champions Trophy, but the variety he offers. Lee is an express right armer, Warne bowls leggies, McGrath is a deadly accurate nagging medium pacer (no longer medium-fast), Watson is a vanilla right arm medium-fast bowler. Bracken is a left armer, who swings the ball the other way and comes at the batsmen from a different angle.

This Ashes series will almost certainly see the retirement (forced or otherwise) of Langer and possibly Hayden. The World Cup which follows will probably see the retirements of McGrath, Gilchrist, Martyn and Hogg. Hogg's replacement is obvious (Dan Cullen) and there are no shortage of quicks to replace McGrath, but the (long term) replacements for Gilchrist and Martyn are not obvious.
 
Hayden
Langer
Pointing
Martyn
Hussey
Symonds
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
(Johnson) Or Tait
Mcgrath

Bring in Tait he bowled well over there last year and hasnt had the chance since then I think Tait is in the mix for a call up. Johnson is also a top bowler and i hope he gets the call up soon to.:)
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Mad Dog said:
Fantastic analysis Vader - not much to argue with there.

What are your thoughts on Symonds ?
Click to expand...

His bowling isn't up to test standards. With the decline of McGrath (inevitable at his age - he'll be 37 before the World Cup starts), the #6 position needs to go to an all-rounder.

However, it is entirely possible that he may get a position in the side purely as a batsman if Martyn retires following the World Cup. Symonds is almost 4 years younger than Martyn. On the other hand, this position could (and probably should) go to Baby Boof (Cosgrove).

Probably the hardest-done-by player in all this is Brad Hodge. Remember how well he performed in the test matches last summer? For all that, he's going to be stuck in no-mans land and unlikely to be recalled even when the senior citizens do retire.
 
My team for the first test.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Reid
Mahmood
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar

This test will be your best chance for the Aussies to have a win over the Poms in the current ashes series.

Lose this one & it's goodnight nurse & thank you very much for the chocolates & we'll see you all next time around.. :D
 
noddy said:
My team for the first test.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Reid
Mahmood
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar

This test will be your best chance for the Aussies to have a win over the Poms in the current ashes series.

Lose this one & it's goodnight nurse & thank you very much for the chocolates & we'll see you all next time around.. :D
Click to expand...

England wont get close this series ... I have a worry that this "greatest series of all time" could turn out to be a fizzer.

(and yes - I tipped England to win the last series)
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Similar threads

Cleric
Honestly, how would you now rate our midfield against the other teams?
Replies
11
Views
566
GameofSloanes
GameofSloanes
screech
    • Haha
    • Like
  • Locked
Opinion Non-Crows AFL 11: Succession plans and other lols
495 496 497 498 499
Replies
12K
Views
452K
Drugs Are Bad Mackay?
Drugs Are Bad Mackay?

Remove this Banner Ad

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top Bottom