• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Current pecking order?

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Just in the India-Australia thread and there was some talk about the pecking order of the Australian fast bowlers.

What do you think the selectors current order is and what is your order?

Selectors
1 Brett Lee
2 Stuart Clark
3 Mitchell Johnson
4 Peter Siddle
5 Ashley Noffke
6 Doug Bollinger
7 Shaun Tait
8 Ben Hilfenhaus ***
9 Nathan Bracken
10 Brett Geeves
11 Steve Magoffin
12 Ryan Harris

*** In the other thread I had Hilfenhaus at 10, but remember they still picked him for the Windies tour originally after a bad year.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
As I said in the other thread, I don't see how you could argue that Noffke is ahead of Bollinger given Bollinger is currently on tour with the Australian Test team and Noffke's playing for Queensland.
 

Craig

World Traveller
I would have Bracken down near the bottom since he is considered an ODI specialist and not much as a Test bowler, so a lot would happen before they went back to Bracken for Tests.
 

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
As I said in the other thread, I don't see how you could argue that Noffke is ahead of Bollinger given Bollinger is currently on tour with the Australian Test team and Noffke's playing for Queensland.
A good way to get my post count up but..

I think the selectors didn't think Noffke would be so valuable on the Indian pitches and is still in the selectors minds.

The selectors picked Bollinger on tour in case Johnson didn't perform..

Bollinger may be on this tour but it doesn't appear as though the selectors are that confident he'll perform as he didn't even get a run in the tour game.
I guess I should have stated what the pecking order will be like in Australian conditions after this current tour is over.
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Haha yeah, I only just got home and this was the first thread I read before anything else. Massive Greigy right there.
 

Magrat Garlick

Global Moderator
Second guessing the Aussie selectors seems impossible at present. Will try though.

Lee
Clark
Johnson
Siddle
Clarke
Bollinger
Pattinson
Hilfenhaus
Harmison
Tait
Buddy
Johns
Bradman
Spofforth
Noffke

imo
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
No Warne or Gilchrist ahead of Noffke? Heard Hayden can send down some at close to 80kph.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Second guessing the Aussie selectors seems impossible at present.
Second-guessing selectors as a rule is very often impossible.

I'd say a rough order of calibre (not of current selectorial merit) would be:
Clark = Lee
Noffke
Tait

Then the "promising but so far had just 1 good season":
Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, Siddle.

Then the "promising but not really done much yet":
Johnson

I'm honestly struggling to see how Siddle (Bollinger to a lesser extent) got in this tour-party ahead of Noffke, never mind being about to make his Test debut. Siddle might perfectly possibly turn-out to be a damn good bowler, but we don't even know that yet, never mind whether he's any good already.

Wonder where Tait will slip back in if and when he returns to the game.
 

chaminda_00

Hall of Fame Member
1. Brett Lee
2. Stuart Clark
3. Doug Bollinger
4. Nathan Bracken
5. Mark Cameron
6. Mosies Henriques
7. Grant Lambert
8. Shane Watson
 

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Just in the India-Australia thread and there was some talk about the pecking order of the Australian fast bowlers.

What do you think the selectors current order is and what is your order?

Selectors
1 Brett Lee
2 Stuart Clark
3 Mitchell Johnson
4 Peter Siddle
5 Ashley Noffke
6 Doug Bollinger
7 Shaun Tait
8 Ben Hilfenhaus ***
9 Nathan Bracken
10 Brett Geeves
11 Steve Magoffin
12 Ryan Harris

*** In the other thread I had Hilfenhaus at 10, but remember they still picked him for the Windies tour originally after a bad year.
And now for my rankings.
1. Stuart Clark
2. Brett Lee
3. Ashley Noffke
4. Steve Magoffin
5. Ben Hilfenhaus
6. Mitchell Johson
7. Shaun Tait
8. Nathan Bracken
9. Doug Bollinger
10. Peter Siddle
11. Ryan Harris
12. Brett Geeves

Doubt many will agree with me, I just like the looks of both Magoffin and Hilfenhaus.

Magoffin is an underrated bowler, he's now played almost 50 first class matches and his average is under 28, so he is very good. I don't see him often at all in 4 Day matches, but still rate him highly. I predicted him before the season to be the Shield leading wicket taker this year, started off well. :)

The Hilf did have a bad year last year, but was injured a lot and I loved him in 2006/07. Started this season well also.
 

inbox24

International Debutant
To be honest the selectors have gotten the Test pecking order wrong. This is what it should be:

1. Clark
2. Lee
3. Bollinger
4. Siddle
5. Hilfenhaus
6. Noffke
7. Bracken
8. Tait
9. Johnson

Johnson's wickets in this test have mainly been due to bad bowling. Bracken is on the decline as a one day bowler too so he ranks low. Really feel that Bollinger's form is being wasted at the moment.
 

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
Inbox, you know Bracken is now ranked the World's best ODI bowler.

This is for Tests btw.
 

sanga1337

U19 Captain
My pecking order:

1) Lee
2) Clark
3) Bracken
4) Johnson
5) Bollinger
6) Noffke
7) Siddle
8) Tait
9) Hilfy
10) Geeves

Rate Bracken quite highly. Should easily be in the test squad if he's not in the test team. Can't see how someone with such a good ODI record cannot even be considered for the test matches.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
To be honest the selectors have gotten the Test pecking order wrong. This is what it should be:

1. Clark
2. Lee
3. Bollinger
4. Siddle
5. Hilfenhaus
6. Noffke
How on Earth is Noffke below all that lot when none of them (that's Bollinger, Siddle and Hilfenhaus obviously) have even strung 2 good seasons together?
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
You know, having just checked back on the figures, Siddle has in fact been picked for the Test squad on the back of 6 First-Class games. Because that's all he played last season, and in the 3 previous games he was very poor.

6 games is funnily enough the exact same number of games Darren Pattinson had played in 2008 prior to his Test selection. :confused:
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
How on Earth is Noffke below all that lot when none of them (that's Bollinger, Siddle and Hilfenhaus obviously) have even strung 2 good seasons together?
Doug Bollinger
2002-03 - 13 wickets @ 59.07
2003-04 - 1 wicket @ 87.00
2004-05 - 2 wickets @ 102.00
2005-06 - 10 wickets @ 58.70
2006-07 - 37 wickets @ 28.37
2007-08 - 45 wickets @ 15.44


One good season and one excellent season, consecutively, from where I sit. I think you underestimate how hard it is to take 37 wickets @ 28 in Australian First Class cricket TBH - the standard of the batting and the state of the pitches certainly make that a "good season", albeit not an excellent one as such.

It's not the sort of thing that screams out "proven long-term First Class performer" or anything, as some people seem to think, but I don't think it's that different from what Noffke has done of late, really.

Ashley Noffke
1999-00 - 6 wickets @ 17.50
2000-01 - 15 wickets @ 35.15
2001-02 - 29 wickets @ 28.46
2002-03 - 41 wickets @ 22.65

2003-04 - 15 wickets @ 51.33
2004-05 - 23 wickets @ 37.91
2005-06 - 17 wickets @ 30.94
2006-07 - 30 wickets @ 24.30
2007-08 - 51 wickets @ 19.03


He's been good in the last two seasons - like Bollinger - but not exactly better than him. He barely played in 2005-06 as he was on the outer from horrible showings in the previous two seasons.. you have to go back to 2001-02 and 2002-03 before to find another patch where he's done well in consecutive seasons.

I can definitely see the statisitcal argument for why Noffke should be ahead of Bollinger in the pecking order, but I don't think it's a complete disgrace that he isn't. There's a lot of ability and promise amongst the Australian quicks but as I showed in the other thread when I posted these stats the first time, there hasn't really been anyone put their hand up and consisently do it for three seasons in a row. Even two has been a rarity and the suggestion that Noffke has been "banging the door down" is a bit exaggerated given the relatively small period he has been performing well consistently for. I agree that he should be ahead of Siddle and Hilfenhaus based on his domestic exploits but he doesn't demand selection as much as people seem to think, particularly as a specialist bowler.
 

Top