Australia's test side for the Ashes in Australia

[Riggins]

yeah, seemed bizarre to pick someone out of the blue, they smash a run a ball (iirc) 160 and then they're dropped for good. must be a complete ****wit.

 

[Cabinet96]

Didn't he struggle in grade last season? Or is that wrong?

 

[Uppercut]

Is it just me who thinks Hughes is even worse than Khawaja?

EDIT: Just read the thread. Evidently not.

 

[Spikey]

pews has summed that whole thing up a ouple of times. i'll let him quote on his own posts

yeah, seemed bizarre to pick someone out of the blue, they smash a run a ball (iirc) 160 and then they're dropped for good. must be a complete ****wit.

patterson only got a game 'cause a lot of options were unavailable (he wasnt even named in the original squad for that game, but was called in when Henriques joined the unavailable list) and he was basically the best performing grade player at that moment of time. i get the feeling they just didnt want to play him that much yet (he was still in the U19 team at the stage). so once the options returned he was dropped (but maybe he is just a dick they dont want to play). and last season he just did nothing for most of it. finished strongly iirc. had some injury problems maybe...?

 

[outbreak]

rogers
warner
hughes
clarke
bailey/doolan/voges/mcdonald
smith
haddin
pattinson
siddle
harris
lyon (o'keefe if lyon struggles but he'd bat higher)

 

[Riggins]

pews has summed that whole thing up a ouple of times. i'll let him quote on his own posts



patterson only got a game 'cause a lot of options were unavailable (he wasnt even named in the original squad for that game, but was called in when Henriques joined the unavailable list) and he was basically the best performing grade player at that moment of time. i get the feeling they just didnt want to play him that much yet (he was still in the U19 team at the stage). so once the options returned he was dropped (but maybe he is just a dick they dont want to play). and last season he just did nothing for most of it. finished strongly iirc. had some injury problems maybe...?

yea i get that. I knew he was never in their original plans, but when you do get the chance and make a massive ton surely that buys you one more game.

 

[Flametree]

Not sure why Smith appears so often in these lists. Worked hard etc etc good against spin etc etc but on bouncy wickets is he really one of Australia's top 6 batsmen?

Genuine question - is Wade not more likely to score runs than any of Hughes, Khawaja or Smith? If I were running the show I'd tell Wade to go back to state cricket and bat at three, forget about keeping, and see if he can stake a claim.

This is all immaterial of course. We're talking about a side to be picked by the Australian selectors - who decided in their infinite wisdom to play neither Harris nor Lyon for the first test of this series. Who just took 16 wickets between them in the last test.

 

[Tangles]

They didn't think Harris was fit is my only guess. And they don't rate Lyon by looking at his recent treatment. Dropped for Xman and Agar.

 

[GotSpin]

Clarke to 5. Warner and Rogers remain as openers. The rest of the top order doesn't matter. They won't score many runs wherever they bat

 

[benchmark00]

Interesting piece here, find myself agreeing with it all:

The Australian line up we see today is mentally fragile. The batting side of it at least. They’ve rode on the coat tails of Michael Clarke which breeds dependency, a batsman’s biggest curse. If Clarke fails, the team fails, seemingly unable to forge large partnerships without the skipper. Once Clarke is dismissed there is an intangible wave of self doubt that covers the others, they simply believe they can’t do it. Haddin’s mental strength is unquestionable, but he’s in the twilight of his career. Smith has shown a penchant for tougher runs than other new players, but he’s more the exception to the rule. They simply don’t put a premium price on their wicket.

You don’t need to have all the shots. If you do have all the shots, you shouldn’t play them all. Australia are breeding a culture of entertainment first, results second. It’s all well and good Darren Lehmann coming out and saying he wants his chargers to play their natural game and go out and take the game to the opposition, but he needs to look at what he’s working with. He doesn’t have a team with the ability he had. He doesn’t have a team that have made mountains of runs against all comers. He needs to start installing a culture of playing within yourself, and once you’ve established yourself, don’t let those standards slip.

The Trouble With Australia | Spreading the Ashes

 

[Spikey]

The return of that blogger is probably the 2nd greatest comeback in history

AFL 2001 Round 16 Essendon Vs North Melbourne - YouTube

 

[Furball]

It never fails to amuse me when people perfectly diagnose the malaise in Australia's batting then name a top 6 that includes Watson.

 

[91Jmay]

I don't see why Wade isn't given a go at the Oval. Nothing to lose is there.

 

[Riggins]

in place of haddin or as a bat?

 

[91Jmay]

As a bat, Haddin has been good.

 

[Riggins]

yeah maybe, i guess he couldn't do worse than the ****wits in there now, and he's in the squad. purely from a batting perspective there are some other blokes i would want to see given a go ahead of him, but they aren't in the squad. who knows what they'll do.

 

[benchmark00]

Yeah he could do worse.

Nothing to lose? How about a test match.

 

[NUFAN]

Wade is almost like Usman when it comes to handling spinners.

 

[Red]

Who would you guys say are Australia's best players of spin who aren't currently in the test side?

 

[Riggins]

One problem is that guys never face good spin in state cricket, or at least in any conditions that remotely suit spin bowling, so you often don't realise just how **** they are facing spin until they're actually playing internationals.

Guys like Hughes etc, who have looked terrible, survive fine in state cricket, and while they never look like dominating a spinner and get tied down, it's not a walking wicket.