*Official* 2nd Test at Lord's

[Tangles]

Clarke is a worry. Hasn't batted long since his injury despite some opportunity to do so. Seems intent on scoring quickly rather than just setting up for a long one.

 

[Tangles]

Didn't finish my thought. Clarke needs to stand up because 5-7 is where the recent problems have all been.

 

[weldone]

Clarke is a worry. Hasn't batted long since his injury despite some opportunity to do so. Seems intent on scoring quickly rather than just setting up for a long one.

It seems to me that he is also worried that his back problems may recur if he stays for too long (e.g. 2/3-sessions). He's trying for those quickfire 1.5-session hundreds that won't severly tire/injure him.

 

[91Jmay]

They're also dumber than bowlers...despite popular opinion to the contrary.

This doesn't have much to do with changing the order, but I think it has a fair bit to do with them not adapting.

It's also because bowlers have repeated chances to make mistakes during a game and still come through. Batsmen have very little chance so it's harsh to drop them as quickly.

 

[Furball]

Oh yeah fair point. 4 out of 6 is not bad though, probably more than most touring sides.

Only Rogers has spent a significant amount of time playing County stuff though hasn't he?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Speaking of horses for courses a shock bowler like Johnson tends not to be suited to England but 2nd dig he actually seemed to be able to swing the ball at will. His poor match figures are a departure from the norm in England where he's bowled utter ****e. He had one of those games where he wasn't dreadful but at the same time didn't particularly look threatening either. He could still be of use this series.

Yeah I think I said elsewhere that I think he was quite good in the second innings. But he'll still be more dangerous when there's more pace and bounce etc of course. Starc is a bowler who I think will have a devastating tour of England at some point in his career if he stays generally injury free and continues to develop. Really high ceiling in those conditions. But yeah on the whole I think English conditions are fine for most seamers, more of a learning curve for batsmen.

 

[wpdavid]

Pretty much all your 90s guys spent seasons playing County Cricket didn't they? The only notable Aussie bats I can think of in the last 10 years have been Hussey, who played 1 series in the midst of a really bad form slump, and Hughes, and we'll never know how he might have turned out. Even the likes of Ponting actually don't have that great a record in England.

Obvs it's not a huge deal, but you just got me wondering how many of the golden generation actually played much CC.

I don't remember Taylor or Marsh playing over here before they hammered our attack in 1989. Nor Boon, although he did play in 1985 before upping his game in 1989 and 1993. I suppose Border played (maybe for Essex). Did Steve Waugh play for Somerset for a while? And Mark Waugh at Essex for a while? I didn't think it was that many seasons, but I could be wrong. Did Martyn play any CC? I'm pretty sure Gilchrist didn't, but he was a genius tbf. I don't remember Slater playing in the CC either. Nor Ponting until he was relatively old. Even Blewett had some major innings in 1997, I think, but I don't recall him playing a lot of CC. Now it's quite possible I've forgotten some obvious cases, and it may well be I've completely forgotten about some of these guys playing for years in the CC, so be nice to me if my memory's playing up.

 

[Tangles]

Only Rogers has spent a significant amount of time playing County stuff though hasn't he?

Thought Voges had a bit iirc.

 

[wpdavid]

Thought Voges had a bit iirc.

Middlesex, I think.

 

[Furball]

Obvs it's not a huge deal, but you just got me wondering how many of the golden generation actually played much CC.

I don't remember Taylor or Marsh playing over here before they hammered our attack in 1989. Nor Boon, although he did play in 1985 before upping his game in 1989 and 1993. I suppose Border played (maybe for Essex). Did Steve Waugh play for Somerset for a while? And Mark Waugh at Essex for a while? I didn't think it was that many seasons, but I could be wrong. Did Martyn play any CC? I'm pretty sure Gilchrist didn't, but he was a genius tbf. I don't remember Slater playing in the CC either. Nor Ponting until he was relatively old. Even Blewett had some major innings in 1997, I think, but I don't recall him playing a lot of CC. Now it's quite possible I've forgotten some obvious cases, and it may well be I've completely forgotten about some of these guys playing for years in the CC, so be nice to me if my memory's playing up.

Maybe it's the 'didn't play as much as they could have' players like Lehmann, Law etc that I'm thinking of.

 

[Tangles]

Hampshire and Notts also listed. Looks like Middlesex was as recent as May. Scores of 57, 4, 29 and 72 at Lords in April/May.

 

[grecian]

Mark Waugh played loads for Essex didn't he? Think Border advised him to go there, but that was a long time ago.

 

[wpdavid]

Mark Waugh played loads for Essex didn't he? Think Border advised him to go there, but that was a long time ago.

Quite possibly. I don't know whether it was before he made his first Ashes tour in 1993 though.

 

[grecian]

Quite possibly. I don't know whether it was before he made his first Ashes tour in 1993 though.

Pretty sure it was, maybe late 80s. Could have been during the Afghanistan stage.

The fact is it was pretty well known that many overseas player came here and improved themselves. I'm certain it wasn't really the quality of the County Championship, I think a lot of it was just the volume of games they had to play back then toughened 'em up or broke them. Even one season was dozens of games.

There was less International cricket then, so this was a great thing to get game-time.

I'm not sure it's the same now, I feel with all the various competitions in the World it's hard to commit to a full season of County cricket.

Voges and Rogers only really played because they were nowhere near the International set-up for awhile.

As with everything just so hard to compare across generations.

 

[Furball]

Smith is an example of someone who could have played a decent amount of County Cricket between 2011 and 2013. Australia's schedule also allows their guys to play full seasons in England on occasion.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Surely the talk of playing Cummins is misinformation of some sort. They could not possibly be that ****ing stupid.

 

[Furball]

Surely the talk of playing Cummins is misinformation of some sort. They could not possibly be that ****ing stupid.

They've stuck with Watson for 4 and a half years, they're obviously not that intelligent.

 

[weldone]

They've stuck with Watson for 4 and a half years, they're obviously not that intelligent.

Tbf Mitchell Marsh really developed to become close to test standard only recently, and before that there were not many genuine options apart from maybe Moises Henriques for a period.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I think this explains why Shane Watson has been nigh on undroppable for several years:

Shane Watson ? ?I Have Photos Of The Cricket Selectors Dumping Body Of Dead Hooker.? |

 

[Furball]

Tbf Mitchell Marsh really developed to become close to test standard only recently, and before that there were not many genuine options apart from maybe Moises Henriques for a period.

Not relevant. Watson is one of, if not the worst batsmen to have played the number of Tests he has.