Man of the Series?

[Nnanden]

Pathetic arguement IMO. Clark is not showy and gets the job done quietly. Without him taking key wickets, other bowlers wouldn`t be able to turn matches around. Every single innings he has bowled well.

[Prince EWS]

Geraint Jones easily...




















Seriously though, Ponting. Clark has been very consistent in picking up key wickets but he hasn't really turned up with a match-winning bowling display. That is possibly because of the strength of the other bowlers around him or even the fact that he rarely gets to bowl to the tail, but it is worth noting IMO. Ponting has been inconsistent but his innings on Day 1 of the Brisbane test really set the tone for the rest of the series and he really seemed ultra-determined to win the Ashes back off his own bat - and basically did so. I've also been quite impressed with his captaincy - something I have actually been quite critical of in the past, even when Australia have won easily.

[Jono]

Clark, its conceivable Ponting won't get a knock in the 2nd innings, and even if he does, if its 15-25*, it's fairly irrelevant.

Clark's been very good every test, and excellent on batting tracks, surely that has to be taken into account vs. Ponting's mountain of runs, as good as he has been.

[The Sean]

I don't think Warney's out of the running yet, particularly given the emotion surrounding his farewell, and if he picks up all or most of the 5 wickets to fall today. Especially considering he's also made useful runs in these past two Tests, and that his series figures, while not particularly outstanding as a whole, have included several important and match-turning spells.

Still Clark at this stage for me though, just ahead of Punter, with Warney the dark horse for late charge tomorrow morning.

[sideshowtim]

Ponting has played 3 vital innings in the series. Without him we certainly wouldn't have won Adelaide, the GABBA would've been a bit harder and same goes for Perth.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Originally Posted by The Sean

I don't think Warney's out of the running yet, particularly given the emotion surrounding his farewell, and if he picks up all or most of the 5 wickets to fall today. Especially considering he's also made useful runs in these past two Tests, and that his series figures, while not particularly outstanding as a whole, have included several important and match-turning spells.

Warne averages almost 30 with the ball in this series. Clark averages well under 20. Warne has to bowl out of his skin tomorrow to deservedly steal the Man of the Series award from Clark.

[BoyBrumby]

Punter for mine. The captaincy seals it.

The series was all about the first three tests; Melbourne & Sydney have been glorified baggy-green laps of honour for Langer & the other two.

[PhoenixFire]

Clark, Australia would have won without Ponting's batting and captaincy, but not Clark's bowling.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

Punter for mine. The captaincy seals it.

Something to be said for Stuart Clark counting Bell, Collingwood (thrice), Strauss (thrice), Cook and Mahmood (twice) among his 16 wickets in the first 3 Tests.

Warne, Lee and clumsy running stole the second Test from under England. And for all the brilliance of Ponting in the first Test, it was England's first innings where it was truly lost. A batting performance worthy of as good a batting surface was needed. Clark and McGrath were the catalysts for the England collapse then. The third Test saw England lose the game more with the bat than Australia won it with their batting.

Overall, I'd say the Man of the Series needs to go to a bowler in the context of the series. And Stuart Clark has been the talisman.

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

The series was all about the first three tests; Melbourne & Sydney have been glorified baggy-green laps of honour for Langer & the other two.

Beautifully stated.

[Tomm NCCC]

Stuey Clark, I have loved watching him bowl, hasnt bowled a bad one this series, and he has been electryfying

[age_master]

Unless Clark does something particularly special this morning i would say Ponting will edge him out for MOTS

[Johnners]

Originally Posted by FaaipDeOiad

Ponting and Clark are very close with Ponting perhaps shading it for mine, though it does depend a little bit on what happens tomorrow. There's still a chance for either one of them to put in a good performance.

Anyway, as I said in the 5th test thread the other day, Clark has been absolutely remarkable and has bowled well in every match, but generally the match defining spells have come from other bowlers. Clark's been a rock and taken plenty of key wickets, but it was Warne who turned the game in Adelaide and Melbourne and McGrath in Brisbane. Clark's not really dominated with the ball at any point to quite the extent that Ponting did with the bat across the first two tests. Obviously though, Clark has been good in every match while Ponting did nothing of note in Melbourne in his one chance.

If Australia are set a decent chase of 100+ tomorrow, I have a feeling that Ponting might take control and take Australia to the win, which will probably seal the MoTS award for him. If Clark grabs a few tomorrow and it ends quickly he might take it though. It's that close.

What he said

[Matt79]

Clark, just over Ponting. Ponting was on a different planet from the other 21 players during the first three tests, but has come back to the field in the last two, while Clark has just continued to dominate. He's covered the extent to which McGrath and Lee have failed to consistently fire, or to put it another way, he's been the premier bowler in the side, with the others all reduced to supporting roles...

[pasag]

Ponting will get it I reckon, but like others here, imo, Clark is man of the series.

[Slow Love™]

I'm going for Clark. It's been an absolute pleasure watching him bowl, and in a series where the pacers certainly haven't set the world on fire. Doesn't seem to care about the conditions, and his figures, though excellent, really don't tell the whole story as to how often he's beaten the bat, but most importantly of all, he's frequently made batsmen that looked quite set instantly look uncomfortable. And has thought out his opponents extremely well.

He pushed one down the legside yesterday, and the commentators (and myself) were struggling to remember him being off target like that more than two or three times through the series. Has been on just about every spell. Can't really fathom why he hasn't run through the opposition (of the pacers, only McGrath did, from memory in the first test) because he definitely hasn't deteriorated as innings have gone on. Perhaps Warne and Lee have had more cracks at the tail? He's been an amazing find though, and has just been incredibly consistent through the entire series.