Group C - Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies

[pasag]

Heh, love the 'we're **** because we don't really care' attitude being used as an explanation here. If they don't care, maybe they should try and catch up with the rest of the world sometime soon because this format no matter what the haters say is going to be a big part of cricket's future for a long time. Ludicrous attitude for a so called powerhouse cricket nation to be taking.

Clearly most of us are very unhappy with it though.

 

[Top_Cat]

Heh, love the 'we're **** because we don't really care' attitude being used as an explanation here. If they don't care, maybe they should try and catch up with the rest of the world sometime soon because this format no matter what the haters say is going to be a big part of cricket's future for a long time. Ludicrous attitude for a so called powerhouse cricket nation to be taking.

Totally AWTA, spot on, etc. T20 doesn't need a strong Aus to succeed (clearly!) but Aus definitely needs to unlock the secret and get good at it.

Seriously, if there are any explanations which account for the squad Aus picked and the attitude of the batters last night, I'd like to hear it. The playing group, as a group of professionals, are too competitive to say that they don't care about being the best at something and we are talking about some class cricketers here. But the selection is unbelievable and tactics pretty agricultural. The WI have quite well evolved tactics for both bowling and batting whereas the Aussies looked like they were just having a bit of a slog. I'm not saying they didn't look like they were trying because they clearly were. More so they they didn't know what to do and haven't for a long time.

A huge part of it is not just selection in this tournament but domestically and the attitude towards IPL. In planning for the tournament, if this was the playing group the selectors wanted, there should have been a concerted effort to get them game time in either the Big Bash, IPL or both. They seriously looked clueless and a huge part of that is experience in T20. Clarke and Ponting, accomplished Test players, have looked for a while like they still haven't figured out their T20 games. So rather than getting them game time, probably due to their huge Test/ODI schedule, these guys have been rested when they should have been playing (assuming this was the likely squad) and the guys who should be playing and have recent form haven't been picked. One thing which definitely has not happened is that the best T20 cricketers available have been picked.

It's more an issue of planning and selection than anything else. That aspect of the preparation for this tournament has been diabolical. CA are guilty of not taking the format seriously enough.

 

[duffer]

Personally think the selectors just goofed. There was a heavy stench of the early T20 attitudes of just stacking your team with bats and all rounders to fill in the extra overs. As the IPL showed,relying on part time bowlers will hurt you far more than their extra batting ability will help you in the end. Don't think this has registered with some of the selectors.

 

[pasag]

Personally think the selectors just goofed. There was a heavy stench of the early T20 attitudes of just stacking your team with bats and all rounders to fill in the extra overs. As the IPL showed,relying on part time bowlers will hurt you far more than their extra batting ability will help you in the end. Don't think this has registered with some of the selectors.

As I posted before this says it all for me:

Andrew Hilditch, Australia's chairman of selectors, said the availability and fitness of seasoned international fast bowlers had left no room for Nannes. "He has obviously had some success at domestic level, and mounted a strong case for consideration in the original 30-man squad," Hilditch told Cricinfo. "But I think you have to compare apples with apples, and while his performances have been good at domestic level, we are fortunate enough at this time to have some very good international bowlers available, as we had hoped.

"We feel we have the right flexibility in our squad with the players we have. I have not really thought too much about (Nannes' move to Holland), to be honest."

 

[Top_Cat]

Personally think the selectors just goofed. There was a heavy stench of the early T20 attitudes of just stacking your team with bats and all rounders to fill in the extra overs. As the IPL showed,relying on part time bowlers will hurt you far more than their extra batting ability will help you in the end. Don't think this has registered with some of the selectors.

I think you're right again. The point is, though, that the other international teams have moved on from this and Aus haven't. T20 has been around for a couple of years now so some of that lack of mobility surely has to be willful. I bet some of the selectors say in private "No point in wasting good players in it, it'll be gone in a couple of years.". There's certainly no excuse for holding onto old attitudes. T20 really isn't all that new anymore.

 

[duffer]

I think you're right again. The point is, though, that the other international teams have moved on from this and Aus haven't. T20 has been around for a couple of years now so some of that lack of mobility surely has to be willful. I bet some of the selectors say in private "No point in wasting good players in it, it'll be gone in a couple of years.". There's certainly no excuse for holding onto old attitudes. T20 really isn't all that new anymore.

Well I think if they were holding players back then they might as well have gone whole hog and blooded a lot of younger/fringe guys that might be useful in ODI's and T20's in the future like India did last time. The fact that Ponting, Clarke, Hussey and co were all included makes it look like they were taking it seriously. No need for the facade imo.

Would just prefer to think they stuffed up rather than taking the piss at a major ICC tournament. Would make me feel a tad better about it all.

 

[social]

Tbh, I just dont think that they understand it nor are they paying it the respect that it deserves e.g. with the exception of Warner, the hierarchy's thinking on selection for T20 has been incredibly blinkered

 

[Noble One]

They just don't give a crap. Using this as a warm-up for the Ashes, in my view.

Picking some players who actually did well in the domestic T20 comp might help. Leaving out one of the best performed T20 players in the world (Hodge) was a harbinger of not only that he's not in Test contention in England but that they have no major interest in winning the whole thing.

I mean, just look at the squad; most of them barely played T20 for their states last season nor IPL. How on Earth would anyone expect them to dominate against international teams? Both Ponting and Clarke have no place in a championship winning T20 side and they're the captain and vice. Couple that with bowlers who've been injured and barely bowled for state or country in the past year (Watson and Lee) and picking blokes out of form (Bracken) or under-performing in the format (Hopes) and last night's result comes as absolutely no surprise. If this was the best Australia had, fine. But there are blokes out there better suited to T20 who aren't in the side that should be.

This squad was clearly, in my view, picked for reasons other than winning the tournament. Aus have been guilty in the past of picking teams to prepare for future tournaments (they didn't pick their best ICC Champion's Trophy team for the first couple) so they have form in this area too. Until they take it seriously, they'll keep getting hammered.

Perfectly sums up my thoughts entirely.

The Australian selectors regard this format of the game as a joke. A simple hurdle to pass on the way towards the Ashes. Squad selection is simply flat out poor, even if Australia won, it would only be hiding the incompetency’s within the side.

Selectors please note; pick a side that gives you the best chance of scoring a big total. Clarke, Ponting and Haddin as your middle-order really only suggests 150-160 is a sufficient total.

Ponting is in need of captaincy experience at a level other than for Australia. His handling of Lee last night was poor. Lee was obviously bowling a bad length, not swinging the ball, and getting smashed by Gayle, that 3rd over he bowled destroyed any Australian chances. The better captains at T20 have shown the guts to take the premier strike bowler out of the attack after 1 bad over. Try something different; and yet the selectors have left him with the option of a badly out of form Bracken, the inadequate Hopes and the returning injured Watson.

I don't really believe Australia is anywhere near turning the corner in this format. A serious mentality change from selectors right through to captain are required before we start to see consistent results.

 

[Smith]

Oz will go out in round 1

They've picked a test side (supplemented by a few ringers) who'll have their eyes firmly set upon the Ashes and will will be gone before they knows what hit them

Wow.

 

[Smith]

Ha, d'oh. CW's fav cripple goes.

Should be a tee off between him and Fred Flintoff.

Elated much at the brilliance of Gayle. He walked his talk. Indeedy. Should SL somehow defeat WI, it could be curtains for Australia.

 

[pasag]

At the same time, for all we've done wrong (and I have posted on it extensively), the groups really are quite unfair. I'm not one to usually complain and don't think we would have gotten too far regardless, but all SA have to do to qualify is beat Scotland and they're in. India have a joke of an easy group as well.

 

[shivfan]

Has Gayle really underachieved at test level?

Warner's also good at this form of the game but do people think he might average over forty at test level?

Remember Gayle's footwork is limited to non-existent at times and playing on pitches where the ball moves around and with fields that are set for wicket-taking is a bit different than the super hit and giggle format of the game.

Why do people extrapolate?

Well, Gayle's shot selection has improved since he became captain. Before he was captain, his Test batting average was about 38. Since he became captain, his Test batting average is about 47.

That does seem to suggest that the added responsibility has led to an improvment in his approach to batting....

 

[Smith]

Australia's NRR should be -2.4.
They'll have to beat Sri Lanka by a fair bit to have a chance of going through.

They need to beat SL and hope WI beat SL too, then the RRs won't count. I reckon Australia will do that, and storm into the finals. They have had poor starts in almost all the World cups, but rallied on when needed. They are champs not for nothing.

 

[Smith]

At the same time, for all we've done wrong (and I have posted on it extensively), the groups really are quite unfair. I'm not one to usually complain and don't think we would have gotten too far regardless, but all SA have to do to qualify is beat Scotland and they're in. India have a joke of an easy group as well.

Fully agree. However the groupings were based on results in last T20, and I don't think that is really unfair. SA too were at the receiving end of such rules when they lost just one match in the Super 8 and was out of the tournament for good. Adds to the uncertainty though and that nothing can be taken for granted.

 

[duffer]

At the same time, for all we've done wrong (and I have posted on it extensively), the groups really are quite unfair. I'm not one to usually complain and don't think we would have gotten too far regardless, but all SA have to do to qualify is beat Scotland and they're in. India have a joke of an easy group as well.

Well the Banga's outperformed the Windies in the last tournament so they should be seeded higher imo. Just bad luck imo. Every major tournament will have a stacked group somewhere.

 

[pasag]

Well the Banga's outperformed the Windies in the last tournament so they should be seeded higher imo. Just bad luck imo. Every major tournament will have a stacked group somewhere.

Yeah I know, and there's nothing that can be done about it, but still...

 

[Smith]

Heh, love the 'we're **** because we don't really care' attitude being used as an explanation here. If they don't care, maybe they should try and catch up with the rest of the world sometime soon because this format no matter what the haters say is going to be a big part of cricket's future for a long time. Ludicrous attitude for a so called powerhouse cricket nation to be taking.

100% agree. I have no idea how the same people drum up ODIs and yet rubbish T20. For me, there is no huge difference between the two formats. Sour grapes obviously.

I might be stating the obvious. But since his debut match, Ponting has hardly set the T20I world on fire, has he not? I cannot fathom the reason for the selection of Clarke either. And Hopes too. Really perplexing.

 

[alternative]

@ Ponting and Co.

 

[four_or_six]

So, was my first ever chance to watch Australia live yesterday... and the atmosphere was something else. A good number of WI fans, lots of England fans quite happy to cheer against Australia, and a spattering of NZers who were orchestrating the whole lot into a something quite fun!

As is always the way when you get excited that you're finally going to see someone, they get out for a duck! So that was a shame that I didn't get to see Watto batting. But it was great to see him bowling. He didn't look that sharp but his action looked nice and fluent. It was also interesting in the warm-up that he was the first one out there bowling, and the last one to leave, so it looks like he's really working at things. The thing that was impressive though was that unlike Johnson and Lee, who just appeared to be wanging it down as fast as possible without any thought, Watson and Hopes looked like they were at least using their brains.

Anyway, the whole experience was brilliant. I can't wait for my next match on Friday!

 

[GIMH]

So, was my first ever chance to watch Australia live yesterday... and the atmosphere was somthing else. A good number of WI fans, lots of England fans quite happy to cheer for Australia, and a spattering of NZers who were orchestrating the whole lot into a something quite fun!

As is always the way when you get excited that you're finally going to see someone, they get out for a duck! So that was a shame that I didn't get to see Watto batting. But it was great to see him bowling. He didn't look that sharp but his action looked nice and fluent. It was also interesting in the warm-up that he was the first one out there bowling, and the last one to leave, so it looks like he's really working at things. The thing that was impressive though was that unlike Johnson and Lee, who just appeared to be wanging it down as fast as possible without any thought, Watson and Hopes looked like they were at least using their brains.

Anyway, the whole experience was brilliant. I can't wait for my next match on Friday!

Should be ****ing deported