Steve Smith

[Partridge]

What happened to picking the best 6 batsmen in the country, the best wicket keeper the best 3 quicks and a spinner?

it's not a guarantee of success but i guarantee it will work a lot better than picking specialist number 7's who bat like number 8-9's.

Smith isn't the all round savior people want him to be, when that genuine all rounder comes along life will be great but they come along once every 50 years they can't be invented out of desperate need.

Absolutely right. It's remarkable the sheep mentality that pervades sporting teams. Cricketing nations are always very quick to search for the next all-rounder. In reality the number of genuine all-rounders that have played the game is extremely few. There are plenty who are batsmen who can bowl a little, or vice versa (e.g. Steve Waugh in the first instance, Shaun Pollock in the second). That doesn't make them all-rounders.

Return to basics, pick the best 6 batsmen in the country, the best balanced bowling attack, the best wicketkeeper, and go from there. If you happen to discover the next Ian Botham, great, but don't try and make players what they aren't.

 

[Daytripper]

Over the past 3 seasons, White has scored less shield runs than Smith and from more innings than Smith.

White is hardly unlucky to not be selected.

Actually seeing as he is only averaging 28 with the bat and has not taken a wicket in Shield cricket this season you could say that White is lucky to be getting a game for Victoria at the moment......

 

[Jolldo87]

Actually seeing as he is only averaging 28 with the bat and has not taken a wicket in Shield cricket this season you could say that White is lucky to be getting a game for Victoria at the moment......

Lets conveniently ignore his ton against England then.

 

[Daytripper]

Lets conveniently ignore his ton against England then.

Mate - it was England B basically and if you think they are going flat out in those tour matches then I've got a block of land to sell you.

The fact is in matches that count in the long form of the game, White has been very, very ordinary.

If you can't score runs at Shield level and can't take wickets, then I really don't know why anybody would seriously consider him for the Test side. As I said, he's probably lucky to be getting a game for Victoria at the moment.

 

[Jolldo87]

Mate - it was England B basically and if you think they are going flat out in those tour matches then I've got a block of land to sell you.

Tremlett and Bresnan are better than most bowlers White would face in the shield. The England B argument doesn't work.

You're telling me Tremlett, Bresnan and Shahzad who were all competing for a spot in the national side weren't going flat out? I'm sure they were all desperate to make an impression so they could play some part in the ashes.

The fact is in matches that count in the long form of the game, White has been very, very ordinary.

3 poor innings, 1 good one and a not out in the sheffield shield this season. Hardly very very ordinary. But i'm sure in your mind 3 failures cancel out 2 years of averaging near on 50.

If you can't score runs at Shield level and can't take wickets, then I really don't know why anybody would seriously consider him for the Test side. As I said, he's probably lucky to be getting a game for Victoria at the moment.

He's not lucky to get a game for Victoria, that's absolute crap.

 

[Daytripper]

Tremlett and Bresnan are better than most bowlers White would face in the shield. The England B argument doesn't work.

You're telling me Tremlett, Bresnan and Shahzad who were all competing for a spot in the national side weren't going flat out? I'm sure they were all desperate to make an impression so they could play some part in the ashes.

LOL - Most of the squad were hitting the Prahran nightclubs during that match. Tremlett did not take a wicket for the match and got promoted to the test team. Selectors would have already made up their minds about who was in and who was out.

3 poor innings, 1 good one and a not out in the sheffield shield this season. Hardly very very ordinary. But i'm sure in your mind 3 failures cancel out 2 years of averaging near on 50.

Current form is what counts.

He's not lucky to get a game for Victoria, that's absolute crap.

Possibly but if he keeps up this form then questions should be asked.

The idea of him playing test cricket for Australia at the moment is frankly laughable.

 

[roodav]

Cook was 2 years older at that stage and a year older on debut, I wouldn't expect him to be at a comparable level of performance. I used it as an example of how quickly a batsman can mature at that age.

More applicable to someone at Khawaja's stage of development than Smith's, but it was merely a rebuttal to people saying Smith is a spud just because he's not performing at 21. Even the best batsmen in the world (like Cook) take time to mature.


Competent by the standards of BigFooty is pretty good.

The thing is, he's not really being 'fast tracked' in any meaningful sense. There aren't really that many other contenders in terms of middle order batsmen right now, particularly ones that can roll the arm a bit. Duss? Wouldn't get a debut at his age no matter how well he played. North? Tried and failed. Marsh and Ferguson? Good but not exactly daylight ahead of Smith. Hill? Not enough first class experience.

He's getting preferential treatment due to his age and his bowling being useful, and as I said I think it's too early, but it's not as if there's guys screaming out to picked ahead of him.

Actually Cook made his test debut when he was about the same age as Smith was when he debuted (about 2 months in it) and he was still 21 when he toured Australia last time- he only just turned 26 on Christmas Day.

 

[Jolldo87]

LOL - Most of the squad were hitting the Prahran nightclubs during that match. Tremlett did not take a wicket for the match and got promoted to the test team. Selectors would have already made up their minds about who was in and who was out.

Current form is what counts.

Possibly but if he keeps up this form then questions should be asked.

The idea of him playing test cricket for Australia at the moment is frankly laughable.

Considering Hughes and Smith are playing for Australia the side is clearly not selected on form.

Not saying White should be in ahead of them, or he should be in there at all, just saying that he's a class player aa he's proved in the Sheffield Shield over a number of years. Deserves to be considered for selection at a minimum.

 

[Daytripper]

Deserves to be considered for selection at a minimum.

I agree. Deserves to be considered for selection for Victoria.

 

[ROSEMVP]

the poms were smashed by basically a 2nd 11 victorian team.

when was the last time victoria lost to a touring team. i think it was against the world 11 by 10 runs.

 

[ROSEMVP]

delete

 

[mattymac]

how does every thread about anyone between 2 and 10 in the aussie batting order turn into a cameron white wankfest?

 

[benny_cousins]

Current form is what counts.

Explain to me why Smith is playing then???

 

[Public Enemy No1]

Current form is what counts.

Explain to me why Smith is playing then???

A result of the NSW's propaganda machine

 

[Partridge]

A result of the NSW's propaganda machine

Hey, Smith's a great player. Just ask Taylor. Or Slater.

He may well turn into a decent player, and does look to have some talent. But right now looks far too raw, at this level anyway.

 

[Daytripper]

99 overs now and still no Smith.

 

[Tyberious Funk]

how does every thread about anyone between 2 and 10 in the aussie batting order turn into a cameron white wankfest?

Because of the high proportion of Victorians on this board. Basically, I don't know anyone OUTSIDE of Victoria that actually thinks he should be anywhere near the Test team.

 

[Tyberious Funk]

99 overs now and still no Smith.

Probably just as well... when he was finally handed the ball, he was shit.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Smith hidden in the batting order at 7 and hidden in the field and not bowling.

Whats the point?

 

[eddiesmith]

Mate - it was England B basically and if you think they are going flat out in those tour matches then I've got a block of land to sell you.

The fact is in matches that count in the long form of the game, White has been very, very ordinary.

If you can't score runs at Shield level and can't take wickets, then I really don't know why anybody would seriously consider him for the Test side. As I said, he's probably lucky to be getting a game for Victoria at the moment.

Do you mean the same England B that Hughes, Smith and Khawaja all made less runs against?

 

[Doodlesweaver]

I think there is, the thing its not reflected in their stats its in their technique. You need to be able to assess that, not just look at his figures. Like I said before Smith's defensive technique is horrible, very high backlift, playing away from his body head not getting in line with the ball. But he has a good eye. He can get away with just having a good eye in first class cricket, but he can't at test level. A lot of batsmen have had similar problems and not been able to make the transition.

IMHO the selectors are actually revealed to be incompetent by clearly not assessing his tecnhque before picking him as a No. 6.

Yep.

Technique seems to be a dirty word with the NSP. The main thing I hope is that Smith learns from this poor run and gets some help at tightening up his batting as I'm sure he has some genuine talent.

That shot to get out first innings looks more foul every time I see it.

 

[skipper kelly]

As much as I like seeing the young blokes get a game, I don't believe Smith is up to it just yet. Anyway we have the perfect #6 waiting in the wings when his little finger is better.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Whilst I think he needs to spend a bit more time at state level, I'm sure he will get more leeway than McDonald. For starters, he's a lot younger. Secondly, and more importantly, he's expected to be a batsman who bowls a bit of useful spin in a side with a spinning weakness.

McDonald when he was in the side was a bowling-focused allrounder. With Watson already providing an extra pace option his role was always a little superfluous, and therefore tenuous.

I think McDonald was hard done by. He was so laughed at for ages, but his bowling was very tight and he helped the other bowlers out no end by being so accurate. I've forgotten what it's like to have one reliable bowler as we don't have any. They all bowl wide shit, either together or separately, far too often to be able to work well as a team.

Even Hilfy who is praised for his accuracy doesn't make them play enough. They can leave an awful lot of his deliveries with impunity.

Considering how much they want to keep Johnson in the side, you think they'd have given McDonald more of a shot as Johnson seemed to operate best when he was in the bowling unit.

 

[IanG]

I think McDonald was hard done by. He was so laughed at for ages, but his bowling was very tight and he helped the other bowlers out no end by being so accurate. I've forgotten what it's like to have one reliable bowler as we don't have any. They all bowl wide shit, either together or separately, far too often to be able to work well as a team.

That SA tour with McDonald the side was the best balanced side in the last 3-4 years.

 

[QPower]

If Smith was not from NSW, he would not even be a fringe player. His selection was plainly ridiculous at the time it was announced.