Undervalued Cricketers

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The answer is simple; Martyn was filling in & probably would've been dropped anyway. Easy


Not for more than half a decade.


It’s not like he’d been a rank failure before that either. In a career almost entirely spent facing the West Indies and South Africa, plus a lone test against NZ in NZ, he’d scored 3 half centuries in 7 tests, and passed 30 in five of his 10 innings. I can’t see a circumstance - fill-in or not - in which he wouldn’t have been part of the middle order rotation that took place for the next six years involving Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Law, Lehmann, Ponting, Blewett, Elliott, and Bevan, if it weren’t for the ‘line through his name.’
 

Flogwater

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Not for more than half a decade.


It’s not like he’d been a rank failure before that either. In a career almost entirely spent facing the West Indies and South Africa, plus a lone test against NZ in NZ, he’d scored 3 half centuries in 7 tests, and passed 30 in five of his 10 innings. I can’t see a circumstance - fill-in or not - in which he wouldn’t have been part of the middle order rotation that took place for the next six years involving Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Law, Lehmann, Ponting, Blewett, Elliott, and Bevan, if it weren’t for the ‘line through his name.’

A Test debut in 1992-93 against Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and Patterson in full cry was a tough introduction.

In the 2nd innings of the 1992 Boxing Day Test against the Windies, Martyn made a gritty, unbeaten 50 out of the side's sub-200 score, in only his second Test. This fine effort seems to have been overshadowed by Warne's flipper and 7/52 to set up the win.

Martyn was filling in for Steve Waugh against South Africa in 1993-94, but he wasn't given the chances he probably deserved in the Test side over the next six years.
 

Pippen94

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A Test debut in 1992-93 against Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and Patterson in full cry was a tough introduction.

In the 2nd innings of the 1992 Boxing Day Test against the Windies, Martyn made a gritty, unbeaten 50 out of the side's sub-200 score, in only his second Test. This fine effort seems to have been overshadowed by Warne's flipper and 7/52 to set up the win.

Martyn was filling in for Steve Waugh against South Africa in 1993-94, but he wasn't given the chances he probably deserved in the Test side over the next six years.

Martyn averaged in fc;

94-95: 29
95-96: 36
96-97: 36
97-98: 42

Sometimes it's worth checking myths
 

Flogwater

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Martyn averaged in fc;

94-95: 29
95-96: 36
96-97: 36
97-98: 42

Sometimes it's worth checking myths

Thank you for looking this up.

I hope to look up his stats soon for 93-94 post-Sydney, and 98-99 and 99-00.

I'm not suggesting Martyn should have been a fixture in the side in 1994-2000. He seemed to deserve more of an opportunity in those years, especially after a middle-order spot opened up after Border retired. His previous Test appearances showed that he was capable.
 

DaRick

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A Test debut in 1992-93 against Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop and Patterson in full cry was a tough introduction.

In the 2nd innings of the 1992 Boxing Day Test against the Windies, Martyn made a gritty, unbeaten 50 out of the side's sub-200 score, in only his second Test. This fine effort seems to have been overshadowed by Warne's flipper and 7/52 to set up the win.

Martyn was filling in for Steve Waugh against South Africa in 1993-94, but he wasn't given the chances he probably deserved in the Test side over the next six years.

RE Martyn, he would certainly have been dropped for Steve Waugh after Sydney anyway, but the fact that the cricketing establishment apparently shunned him after that defeat demonstrates to me that they blamed him more than the others for that loss. Even Steve Waugh himself seemed to think that Martyn was scapegoated, judging by what he writes in his autobiography.

Being dropped under those particular circumstances, when cricket was all that you had known, and when you were still very young and still perfecting your own game, would have been like having your world turned upside down. That often takes a long time to get over, if you ever really get over it, and his performances below are not surprising in that context:

Martyn averaged in fc;

94-95: 29
95-96: 36
96-97: 36
97-98: 42

Sometimes it's worth checking myths

The decision by WA to thrust the captaincy on him, when he was 23 years old and still clearly in a very bad place, would have made things even worse.

That he came back from all of that to have a decorated Test career says much for his character, but you do wonder what could have been had he been dropped under more felicitous circumstances (or left alone to refine his game in the Shield).
 
RE Martyn, he would certainly have been dropped for Steve Waugh after Sydney anyway, but the fact that the cricketing establishment apparently shunned him after that defeat demonstrates to me that they blamed him more than the others for that loss. Even Steve Waugh himself seemed to think that Martyn was scapegoated, judging by what he writes in his autobiography.

Being dropped under those particular circumstances, when cricket was all that you had known, and when you were still very young and still perfecting your own game, would have been like having your world turned upside down. That often takes a long time to get over, if you ever really get over it, and his performances below are not surprising in that context:



The decision by WA to thrust the captaincy on him, when he was 23 years old and still clearly in a very bad place, would have made things even worse.

That he came back from all of that to have a decorated Test career says much for his character, but you do wonder what could have been had he been dropped under more felicitous circumstances (or left alone to refine his game in the Shield).


It wasn't the 'cricketing establishing' it was just AB.
 

DaRick

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It wasn't the 'cricketing establishing' it was just AB.

Any direct proof?

In an interview that I read a very long time ago, he referred vaguely to the cricketing establishment. Maybe it was the selectors, I'm not sure.

Would AB's opinion have been of any relevance after that summer, anyway?
 
Any direct proof?

In an interview that I read a very long time ago, he referred vaguely to the cricketing establishment. Maybe it was the selectors, I'm not sure.

Would AB's opinion have been of any relevance after that summer, anyway?

AB was one of his key supporters. DM always speaks highly of him.
For whatever reason AB held that loss against him.

No direct proof just what I have heard, from someone who would know.
 

BStaff17

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Does anyone reckon Mr cricket mike Husssy is still undervalued for his career he averaged over 50 in test cricket and 48 in ODI cricket.

You could say we never really had anyone who had replaced him in the number 6 position for a good half a dozen years after he retired.

He was probably after bevan the best innings finisher for us in the last 20 years for ODI's and his ability to adapt to the situation.

Even look at T20 wc semi final in 2010 when he send sajeed ajaml basically to cuba with a thunderous assault to win the match.

Between all 3 formats t20, test match or 50 over Hussey excelled in all formats that was very hard to do even for the batsman now
 

STFU Donnie

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He was treated exactly how he should have been for that sh*t show.

An interesting discussion we have here. Let's go to the video:




As to the other batspersons:

Slater - bowled by a superb leg-cutter by FdV.
Boon - brilliantly caught by Kirsten in close, off FdV.
May (nightwatchman) - missed a straight one first up and was plumb LBW to FdV.
Taylor - caught behind from a superb off-cutter (leg-cutter to him) by FdV.
Border - shouldered arms to AD and was bowled. The replay suggests it straightened down the line, but was far too close to leave.
Waugh (Mark) - LBW to a brutal yorker from AD.
Healy - bowled through the gate by one that nipped back from FdV.
Warne - run out by a direct hit from Cronje. Anything but a direct hit and he would have been safe.
Martyn - well, enough has been said already. Terrible shot in the circumstances. Caught at cover - he basically scooped it straight to Hudson, off AD.
McGrath - c & b by FdV.

Of the other batters, only Border deserves criticism; all of the the others were done by some absolutely top-shelf bowling and fielding.

My own opinion as to Martyn's treatment: He deserved to be dropped, but six years on the outer was plainly excessive.
 
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An interesting discussion we have here. Let's go to the video:




As to the other batspersons:

Slater - bowled by a superb leg-cutter by FdV.
Boon - brilliantly caught by Kirsten in close, off FdV.
May (nightwatchman) - missed a straight one first up and was plumb LBW to FdV.
Taylor - caught behind from a superb off-cutter (leg-cutter to him) by FdV.
Border - shouldered arms to AD and was bowled. The replay suggests it straightened down the line, but was far too close to leave.
Waugh (Mark) - LBW to a brutal yorker from AD.
Healy - bowled through the gate by one that nipped back from FdV.
Warne - run out by a direct hit from Cronje. Anything but a direct hit and he would have been safe.
Martyn - well, enough has been said already. Terrible shot in the circumstances. Caught at cover - he basically scooped it straight to Hudson, off AD.
McGrath - c & b by FdV.

Of the other batters, only Border deserves criticism; all of the the others were done by some absolutely top-shelf bowling and fielding.

My own opinion as to Martyn's treatment: He deserved to be dropped, but six years on the outer was plainly excessive.

Best bowling I ever saw Fannie do. Bowled like a man inspired on that day.
He also the man the was onto Bancroft in South Africa, quicker than anyone else.
 
An interesting discussion we have here. Let's go to the video:




As to the other batspersons:

Slater - bowled by a superb leg-cutter by FdV.
Boon - brilliantly caught by Kirsten in close, off FdV.
May (nightwatchman) - missed a straight one first up and was plumb LBW to FdV.
Taylor - caught behind from a superb off-cutter (leg-cutter to him) by FdV.
Border - shouldered arms to AD and was bowled. The replay suggests it straightened down the line, but was far too close to leave.
Waugh (Mark) - LBW to a brutal yorker from AD.
Healy - bowled through the gate by one that nipped back from FdV.
Warne - run out by a direct hit from Cronje. Anything but a direct hit and he would have been safe.
Martyn - well, enough has been said already. Terrible shot in the circumstances. Caught at cover - he basically scooped it straight to Hudson, off AD.
McGrath - c & b by FdV.

Of the other batters, only Border deserves criticism; all of the the others were done by some absolutely top-shelf bowling and fielding.

My own opinion as to Martyn's treatment: He deserved to be dropped, but six years on the outer was plainly excessive.


Out, caught at cover, used to be the greatest sin in cricket, at all levels.
 

Flogwater

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An interesting discussion we have here. Let's go to the video:




As to the other batspersons:

Slater - bowled by a superb leg-cutter by FdV.
Boon - brilliantly caught by Kirsten in close, off FdV.
May (nightwatchman) - missed a straight one first up and was plumb LBW to FdV.
Taylor - caught behind from a superb off-cutter (leg-cutter to him) by FdV.
Border - shouldered arms to AD and was bowled. The replay suggests it straightened down the line, but was far too close to leave.
Waugh (Mark) - LBW to a brutal yorker from AD.
Healy - bowled through the gate by one that nipped back from FdV.
Warne - run out by a direct hit from Cronje. Anything but a direct hit and he would have been safe.
Martyn - well, enough has been said already. Terrible shot in the circumstances. Caught at cover - he basically scooped it straight to Hudson, off AD.
McGrath - c & b by FdV.

Of the other batters, only Border deserves criticism; all of the the others were done by some absolutely top-shelf bowling and fielding.

My own opinion as to Martyn's treatment: He deserved to be dropped, but six years on the outer was plainly excessive.


Ted Danson bowled superbly in the second innings.
 

Scratchy05

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Kim Garth. Hopefully australia capitalises on her recent performances and picks her against England.
 
Kim Garth. Hopefully australia capitalises on her recent performances and picks her against England.

She probably has another year or two before she qualifies. Last played for Ireland in 2019
 
Shaun Marsh in the short form game. Remember thinking he was stiff not to even make the 2015 WC squad.
Great call.
He played way too many tests and way too few odis. Always felt selectors found ways TO include S.Marsh in the Test team and ways NOT to include him in the ODI line-up. Was invaluable in the top order as he would build an innings well. Stats show an impressive 2773 @40.78 with 7 centuries in those he played.

For non-Aussies, Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh. Essentially, one of the best openers of the past decade. Has nearly 5000 test runs at 40 [averages 35+ against everyone except RSA] and closing in on 8000 odi runs at 37. Amongst openers, Dave Warner and Alastair Cook are the only contemporary examples of those with better numbers in Tests [Elgar and Latham similar numbers].
 
May 5, 2016
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Great call.
He played way too many tests and way too few odis. Always felt selectors found ways TO include S.Marsh in the Test team and ways NOT to include him in the ODI line-up. Was invaluable in the top order as he would build an innings well. Stats show an impressive 2773 @40.78 with 7 centuries in those he played.

For non-Aussies, Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh. Essentially, one of the best openers of the past decade. Has nearly 5000 test runs at 40 [averages 35+ against everyone except RSA] and closing in on 8000 odi runs at 37. Amongst openers, Dave Warner and Alastair Cook are the only contemporary examples of those with better numbers in Tests [Elgar and Latham similar numbers].


Whatever else he does Iqbal will always be the first Bangladeshi batsman to show that they could make runs away from Asia. Hit two sparkling centuries in England if I recall and they were as good as anything over there from a visiting batsman in recent years
 
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Andrew McDonald, I'm not sure if he played in a loss, we were average then as well. He didn't do that well with the bat from memory but his bowling was always tidy and he could hold up an end. Was rapt when he played Test cricket, he's a Victorian...
 
Andrew McDonald, I'm not sure if he played in a loss, we were average then as well. He didn't do that well with the bat from memory but his bowling was always tidy and he could hold up an end. Was rapt when he played Test cricket, he's a Victorian...
His first Test was the Katich/Clarke dust up Test and when someone apologised to him for it he said that being Victorian seeing this sort of behaviour in the sheds wasn't all that unusual to him.
 
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