Pakistan vs Australia (in the UAE)

The_Reaper

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Posts
40,121
Likes
30,969
Location
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
East Fremantle
I love this forum when we're losing. Such a cut off your nose to spite your face attitude :D

Lyon doesn't need to be dropped, but he does need to be bloody told to stop firing in 90km/h darts and actually slow it down and toss it up. It's amazing how much better he looks when he does it - he has a genuine issue with rushing through his overs when things aren't going our way.
He drops his head massively whenever he goes for a few
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Cotchin 9

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
May 10, 2008
Posts
5,484
Likes
1,587
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Ryan ten Doeschate. LFC, Hertha BSC
Pakistan look so talented its frightening. And always have done. Its just the relentless off field shit that rips them apart all the time and denies them any semblance of the stability needed to become a great die.

Terrorist attacks, match fixing, fitness issues, chucking, beamers, fast bowlers getting 'STD's' - what's next?

It wasn't long ago that Mohammed Amir was turning into the next Wasm Akram until he got done.

Well played Pakistan this test. For the sake of international cricket, lets hope it continues. Their performance was awesome and they are enjoyable to watch when they're on fire.
Was saying this exact same thing to a couple of mates today, they seriously could be anything as a cricketing nation, the potential is there. It's always the off field shit that seems to be their undoing though.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

happy_eagle

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Posts
20,679
Likes
13,379
AFL Club
West Coast
So I must have missed him getting more than 2 wickets in the 1st test and being smashed to and over the boundary all day long. It is a bad sign when a first gamer out bowls Lyon!
No, you are just deciding to judge Lyon on one game and suggest changes that will make the side weaker
Lyon has taken 25 wickets in the sub continent from his 7 matches, including 2 five for's

Lyon's bowling with the newer ball was good in this test, without getting results. He managed a fair amount of turn late on day 1 and was unlucky not to get a few wickets

If we had a better SPIN BOWLING option waiting in the wings, then I would say that Lyon could make way for them. However Maxwell provides much less in this regard, and his batting ability has nothing to do with Lyon
 

bird_man

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Posts
18,401
Likes
31,536
Location
The River Murray
AFL Club
St Kilda
Lyon is still relatively young and I don't see any better options then him at the moment. O'Keefe may push him out of the side for a while but I'm not sure he will do any better in the long term.

Lyon definitely needs to work on his bowling in the slower decks though.
 

bird_man

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Posts
18,401
Likes
31,536
Location
The River Murray
AFL Club
St Kilda
After 8 innings Doolan has passed 50 just once at an average of 23.

We need a consistent performer in at 3, it has been a weakness for some time now. I think we are mad not to promote Smith up the order.
 

swingdog

Premiership Player
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Posts
4,626
Likes
3,951
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
West Coast
Adding Maxwell at the expense of Doolan wouldn't seem to hurt our batting stocks. So, order would be:

  1. Warner
  2. Rogers
  3. Smith
  4. Clarke
  5. Maxwell
  6. Marsh
  7. Haddin
  8. Johnson
  9. O'Keefe
  10. Lyon
  11. Siddle
I'm not saying that's a team I like - especially what looks like a weak middle order after Clarke - but it may be the best option of what's available in the UAE.

The worrying thing about Doolan is that he seems a naturally slow scorer, which plays into Pakistan's attritional approach, and looked clueless against the spinners.

Bringing in Maxwell may also relieve some pressure on Lyon - tell him that no matter what, his job is to give it some air. Maxwell can do the round the wicket, tie down an end stuff. I'd keep O'Keefe really only because dropping a debutant isn't going to tell us, or him, anything about how he performs. Only other option would be Starc.
 

Super Hans

marcus proudson
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Posts
23,374
Likes
28,082
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
TrailBlazers, Juventus, Raiders
Just keep the team the same. Lyon was good in the ashes and vs SAF, plays his first test match in a completely different environment and people want him out. He's still our best spinner.

Doolan needs to make runs or he's out. Simple as that.

And I think most people would agree Marsh isn't in our best team and that Watson will come straight back in for the Australian summer anyway. So just give him another test to see how he handles it.
 
Top Bottom