Team for the 1st test Australia vs Sri lanka (Hobart)

(Log in to remove this ad.)

iluvparis

Premium Platinum
Joined
Apr 1, 2005
Posts
25,866
Likes
17,618
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Calgary Flames, Man Utd
I think people are forgetting how valuable Watson can be with the bat.

Once he is back in with some continuity and clarity of position he'll be in our top few bats again.
No - we are remebering how average he has been with the bat over the last 18 months. He is barely test quality with the bat outside a brief period and it is a joke that he bats any higher than 6.
 

Carbine Chaos

Jubilant Masto
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Posts
47,003
Likes
53,419
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Everton, Delhi, Perth
No - we are remebering how average he has been with the bat over the last 18 months. He is barely test quality with the bat outside a brief period and it is a joke that he bats any higher than 6.
I want Watson at 6 as well, purely because his bowling is so valuable.

But he is easily Test quality with the bat. Whether or not he uses this talent all the time is the debatable aspect...
 

holybishop

Club Legend
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Posts
2,081
Likes
1,363
Location
Perth
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
GC Suns, Western Warriors/Scorchers
The only reason I'd keep Watson is because of his bowling. He's a genuine wicket taker, he even has more 5-for's than hundreds, and the selectors have made it clear he needs to bowl to keep his spot in the side. Watson's ideal position would be 6 because it would allow him to bowl effectively while reducing how much it compromises his batting, but Clarke is near useless anywhere other than 5 and moving Hussey from 6 considering his age and questionable form before the SA tests could be fatal to his good form.
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Posts
2,091
Likes
101
Location
fire station
AFL Club
Collingwood
Thread starter #107
clarke has got a sore back and was told to rest from the BB this weekend, hastings as well.

hazlewood has got a sore foot (not sure how he didnt even play) and will be out of action for 4 weeks.
 

amer

Norm Smith Medallist
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Posts
6,967
Likes
1,992
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Holy Ghost's big o
Warner
Cowan
Hughes
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Wade
Siddle
Cutting
Starc
Lyon

Quiney isn't good enough, we are wasting our time with old bastards and blokes who can't make runs against good attacks when they actually give a shit. Doolan and Hughes are the best performed players domestically, and it's understandable that Khawaja's name is being thrown around because of his ability against a backdrop of zero domestic talent. Pick the best one and persist until an outcome is clear. Rinse, repeat. It's not up to us. They should know how to bloody identify the best available batsman.

We need to get past this pattern of selecting blokes who don't have anything about them and who haven't done what is required to put it together. I call it the baffling ****** pattern. Doherty was one of the all time worst selections. Why did Andrew Symonds play injured against South Africa a few years back? How did Marcus North stay in the side for so long? Why has Ben Hilfenhaus, for all his talent, been given so many chances when he clearly doesn't do what is required to put his game together? Low arm, no variation, bullshit. He was a far better bowler at 23. Injuries or what, it doesn't matter. Not doing what is required, move him on. And how the hell did Hastings get a cap when there is nothing in his bowling to say he'll make it at test level? This worries the hell out of me, it says our selectors aren't looking at cricketers, they're looking at numbers.

Cutting is performing with bat and ball and is a better cricketer than Hastings. He's not in the same class as Pattinson or Cummins but is decent. Should play, probably won't. Can't wait to see Hilfenhaus take another dashing couple of 4fers, go to India and get absolutely walloped all over the ground. We'll sit there watching the urn remain in England and wish those half a dozen tests had been put into a bloke who could actually provide cover at this level.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Posts
1,199
Likes
490
Location
at the track
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Cleveland Browns
Warner
Cowan
Hughes
Clarke-Has to move up hes one of the best in the world!
Hussey-till he retires then Usman
Watson-would be happy with him to ave an average of 35-40 here with bowling average under 30
Wade
Siddle
Starc
Bird
Lyon
 

Zach Package

Kyle Langfourd
Joined
Sep 21, 2012
Posts
23,589
Likes
31,768
Location
Parish, Francis
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Piggy Smith, SFG, Heat, Raiders
I'd run with this

Warner
Cowan

Lock and load these two, they haven't really had that big opening stanza yet this summer, but they compliment each other really well, and I don't like change for the sake of change. Warner may never be as consistent as we want, but like a Jayasuria, sehwag or McCullum, he can pop a teams bubble very quickly and can take a game away from you before you know it. Cowan is pretty much the perfect foil, he's got an interesting technique, but he makes it work for him, and loves the scrap (something you can't really say about the rest of the top 7)

Doolan
Clarke
Hussey
Watson
Wade

I think the selectors will pick Hughes (which I'm fine with to be honest) but I'd go doolan here for a number of reasons.
He's in ripping form (so is Hughes).
Right handed bat (pick Hughes and you get 5 lefties in the top 7, which is pretty ridiculous).
He's a natural no. 3 (to be honest it's not a big deal, but if you add Hughes to the mix you then have essentially 4 opening bats)
The other big change in there is Watson to 6, which I think maximizes his potential as a bowler (when he builds some fitness) and also as a batsmen. For me he hasn't found a method for the top order in test matches, it's all well and good for the one day game, but even when he was in form, I think he still struggles with picking his spots and pacing his innings. Add to that what Ian Chappell said about his modes of dismissal and I think there's also a minor technical issue there also (he does tend to lunge forward a lot). I think he'd benefit hugely from the older ball, and he plays spin decently well as well which is always a quality you want in your no. 6.

Siddle
Cutting
Starc
Lyon
Siddle is a no brainer, starc was our best player in Perth, and Lyon is esconsed so there's one spot there up for grabs.
The selectors could stick with Johnson, but frankly I didn't think he deserved to play in Perth, and this is the 11 blokes I think can do the job in Hobart.
Therefore I've gone with Cutting here, he's bowling (and batting) very well at the moment, he's aggressive, and I reckon he (along with starc) he could really unsettle the Sri Lankans with some short stuff.

Not relevant to this test, but this time next year I hope guys like Burns, Maddinson, Keath, McDermott, Faulkner and Patterson are really starting to kick the door down, and guys like Hughes, Henriques, Bird, hazlewood and Cummins can continue to put up big numbers.

Apologies for what ended up being fairly rant-ish
 

demon21

Club Legend
Joined
Oct 24, 2003
Posts
2,071
Likes
611
Location
Tasmania
AFL Club
Melbourne
Other Teams
melbourne/Chargers
Warner
Cowan
Hughes
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Wade
Siddle
Cutting
Starc
Lyon

Quiney isn't good enough, we are wasting our time with old bastards and blokes who can't make runs against good attacks when they actually give a shit. Doolan and Hughes are the best performed players domestically, and it's understandable that Khawaja's name is being thrown around because of his ability against a backdrop of zero domestic talent. Pick the best one and persist until an outcome is clear. Rinse, repeat. It's not up to us. They should know how to bloody identify the best available batsman.

We need to get past this pattern of selecting blokes who don't have anything about them and who haven't done what is required to put it together. I call it the baffling ****** pattern. Doherty was one of the all time worst selections. Why did Andrew Symonds play injured against South Africa a few years back? How did Marcus North stay in the side for so long? Why has Ben Hilfenhaus, for all his talent, been given so many chances when he clearly doesn't do what is required to put his game together? Low arm, no variation, bullshit. He was a far better bowler at 23. Injuries or what, it doesn't matter. Not doing what is required, move him on. And how the hell did Hastings get a cap when there is nothing in his bowling to say he'll make it at test level? This worries the hell out of me, it says our selectors aren't looking at cricketers, they're looking at numbers.

Cutting is performing with bat and ball and is a better cricketer than Hastings. He's not in the same class as Pattinson or Cummins but is decent. Should play, probably won't. Can't wait to see Hilfenhaus take another dashing couple of 4fers, go to India and get absolutely walloped all over the ground. We'll sit there watching the urn remain in England and wish those half a dozen tests had been put into a bloke who could actually provide cover at this level.
Since Hilf has been back in the Aus team he has taking 40 odd wickets at an Avg of under 22 and u dont think that is good enough and should be moved on, No doubt he had a few poor test matches but i dont think we should put a line through him.

I think if Aus are to beat Eng in Eng Hilf could play a massive part with his swing plus he keeps it tight if not getting wickets.
 
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Posts
10,933
Likes
1,657
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
So Hazlewood and Hastings are injured?

What's wrong with our bowlers?
It's almost comical proportions now.

Have to wonder how paranoid the CA physios have become though. Any soreness, even stuff that doesn't show up in scans, earns them a stint on the sidelines. They'll miss a month with a broken finger nail soon.
 

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
It's almost comical proportions now.

Have to wonder how paranoid the CA physios have become though. Any soreness, even stuff that doesn't show up in scans, earns them a stint on the sidelines. They'll miss a month with a broken finger nail soon.
I'm amazed Hazlewood has broken down from bowling in the nets.
 

maxy87

Club Legend
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Posts
1,316
Likes
739
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Hussey is in the twilight of his career. 6 is a good spot for him as he is still useful there and brings experience. As I have said in other threads, the new guy will have to come in at 3 and be exposed to what should be the standard they face for a good 5-7 years at least. The issue is whether the selectors will keep the faith if they start slowly. Our new top order bat will benefit from an extended run without fear of being thrown out straight away. Alastair Cook for example was persevered with despite rocky form from a young age and look at him now. If we are to build a side that will be competitive wherever we play this needs to happen. Even Quiney at 30 odd could give 4-5 of solid service if that's they way the go for Hobart. Just five them an extended run
 
Joined
Sep 12, 2012
Posts
511
Likes
174
Location
Melbourne
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Liverpool
Warner - can't understand why people want him sent down the order
Cowan - still have question about him but willing to give another go, definitely running out of chances
Hughes - is scoring runs and has taken on board comments about why he was dropped and lost his contract. Age on his side and could also replace Cowan if he continues to struggle
Hussey - we're not making the most of him at 6
Clarke - regardless of the calls plays his best cricket at 5 so leave him there
Watson - not that I want him in the team at all but they will pick him.
Wade -
Starc - did enough in Perth to get another go
Siddle -
Lyon -
Hilfenhaus - home pitch and conditions in Hobart will suit a lot more than Adelaide.
---
Bird - 12th man
Uhh, don't want to alarm you but Cowan had a better series than Warner did.
 
Top Bottom