Ratbat assessment after 2 tests:

[dan warna]

Katich: fair form till broken
Watson: getting started then blowing it.
Punter: 1 50 to save the first test, probably would have seen a collapse had he gone early, form is fading with age.
Hussey: Welcome Back mister cricket, can he sustain it for the whole series, 360 odd runs from 3 innings?
Clarke: seems in fair form but he's a good ordinary, not a great, fielding skills have dropped
North: Can't bat, can't bowl
Haddin: fair form with the bat, needs an adult with him otherwise he throws it away, drops between 1 and 2 catches ever test match.
Siddle: On the scoreboard the best performed australian bowler this ashes with 6 wickets
Harris: bowled well without luck had 2 or 3 catches dropped of his bowling
Johnson: Can't bat or bowl atm, the magic has good, thanks cooley.
Doherty: bowling true to his FC form
Bollinger: 1 for a million, looked threatening, had a dropped catch of his bowling too, faded
Hilfenhaus: had a few dropped catches and bowled well in patches.

---

lacking zap in the field, drops heads faster than boony drops a bear, leadership seems lacking and fitness is worrisome.

Going through the motions to collect the paycheque from some.

 

[mattymac]

the poor fielding has hurt us the most and is the most disappointing aspect of our rich tapestry of mediocrity.

gotta take those chances all the more when your bowlers are outclassed

seriously, wtf were we doing in the build up? obviously not fielding practice

 

[The Fonz]

Siddle hasn't done anything since the hat-trick.

Nerves got the better of England on the first day in Brisbane - had they bowled first, every chance they would now be 2-0 up.

Both sides only took 11 wickets in Brisbane, which wasn't really equal given how many more overs Australia bowled. Anyhow since then England took 20 to Australia's five.

Whichever way you look at it, all the Aussie selectors are doing is shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic. If they don't go back to Hilf and Hauritz, then who? More debutantes? There is a strange imbalance to the side where you either have guys who are on the wrong side of 30 or have only played a handful of tests.

 

[Bomber Bears]

Really, the fielding is inexcusible. Bowling and Batting, we dont have the same talent we had in that 95-07 era. Fielding should be of a high standard regardless of talent with bat/ball.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Katich: fair form till broken
Watson: getting started then blowing it.
Punter: 1 50 to save the first test, probably would have seen a collapse had he gone early, form is fading with age.
Hussey: Welcome Back mister cricket, can he sustain it for the whole series, 360 odd runs from 3 innings?
Clarke: seems in fair form but he's a good ordinary, not a great, fielding skills have dropped
North: Can't bat, can't bowl
Haddin: fair form with the bat, needs an adult with him otherwise he throws it away, drops between 1 and 2 catches ever test match.
Siddle: On the scoreboard the best performed australian bowler this ashes with 6 wickets
Harris: bowled well without luck had 2 or 3 catches dropped of his bowling
Johnson: Can't bat or bowl atm, the magic has good, thanks cooley.
Doherty: bowling true to his FC form
Bollinger: 1 for a million, looked threatening, had a dropped catch of his bowling too, faded
Hilfenhaus: had a few dropped catches and bowled well in patches.

---

lacking zap in the field, drops heads faster than boony drops a bear, leadership seems lacking and fitness is worrisome.

Going through the motions to collect the paycheque from some.

Some of this is really funny. Thanks.

The fielding is so clapped out from the Aussies, it's like Pakistan. They weren't hugely better in India.

 

[belfast_bomber]

Really, the fielding is inexcusible. Bowling and Batting, we dont have the same talent we had in that 95-07 era. Fielding should be of a high standard regardless of talent with bat/ball.

It's also the barometer that the competitiveness has gone.

Remember how Bob Simpson turned it around in the mid to late 80s. We were an ordinary side talent-wise apart from Border, but we chased after every ball like demons, held all our catches, and ran between wickets like there was no tomorrow. We looked after the little things, and the big things began to take care of themselves.

AND NOBODY GOT A F***ING DIAMOND DUCK IN THE FIRST F***ING OVER.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

 

[dan warna]

It's also the barometer that the competitiveness has gone.

Remember how Bob Simpson turned it around in the mid to late 80s. We were an ordinary side talent-wise apart from Border, but we chased after every ball like demons, held all our catches, and ran between wickets like there was no tomorrow. We looked after the little things, and the big things began to take care of themselves.

AND NOBODY GOT A F***ING DIAMOND DUCK IN THE FIRST F***ING OVER.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

This

Deano was kicked out of captaining an english county side because he expected his team to do laps, do fielding practice, not be fat and run between wickets I remember.

Dav whatmore, tubby though he maybe, turned around a lazy SL side by bringing aussie discipline. Ultimately it ended his career and the blue blood ranatunga took his revenge on being dropped, used his connections to get into admin and knifed dav. Which then saw about a decline in SL cricket at the time.

That sort of thing wasn't done then, now look at the english, it took them 25 years to learn.

I can't think of a fielder in the latter part of borders captaincy, all of s.waugh's captaincy and the beginning of punters.

I think we slid a little under taylor, but we were so rich in talent, it didn't hurt as much.

Look at us, we've forgotten what we knew.

 

[belfast_bomber]

Look at us, we've forgotten what we knew.

That's what most hurts. The poms are playing like us and we're playing like them.

It's flat out embarrassing.

 

[Bomber Bears]

Was watching an old mock the week episode this arvo, just after we trounced the poms in 06/07, and the quote
"England selection policy was criticised a bit. Of all the teams to play, why choose Australia!"

Shoes on the other foot now

I think we started to slip a little once Mark Waugh went from the side. That threw our slip cordern a bit, Warney was good in 3rd but dropped a few sitters in first (eg Pieterson 05), others like Langer and Martyn who, whilst decent, were nowhere near Taylor or Waughs ability in the slips, ended up there, Ponting was wasted in slip when still good in gully/point etc.

Then the post star's era we seemed to have slipped all over the shop. Our fast bowlers arent great fielders, compared to say Brett Lee, and there is a lot less energy out there.