***Official*** South Africa in Australia 2012

[howardj]

I do however see the selectors' point that for Adelaide they need a fifth bowler

Still, if Watson can't bowl, I would rather have him at first drop instead of Quiney, and maybe a Moises type at seven, behind Wade

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Prince EWS

Yep. If Watson isn't fit to bowl then he's not fit overall, and while he may be able to bat he'd risk injured it to a worse degree if he played. If a fit Watson decided to give up bowling he'd still be picked I imagine but they don't want to risk the whole package long-term for the possibility of half of it at half capacity right now.

THat makes sense, but that's not what the quotes from the horse's mouth in that article are saying

[Top_Cat]

Ah, you legal types. Another source of the same damn info with the same conjecture doesn't make it twice as strong evidence. This:

On the face of it, if Watson - who has scored 2328 Test runs at 37.55 - is OK to bat but not bowl it makes little sense to select Rob Quiney ahead of him solely because the Victorian is capable of taking up some of the bowling slack with his gentle, if accurate seamers.

Is based on the assumption that he's good to bat but not to bowl. I'm telling you, if you've done your calf, you can't run and usually not for a while because it's a **** injury. If you can't run, you can't bat or bowl and even if you can just bat, the chances of blowing it again are pretty high the first time you take it for a test drive on a quick single. That coupled with the fact he's an injury risk anyway, he simply can't play, especially with the Tests so close together.

EDIT: Fully fit, the selectors said in that article he'd been considered as a bat only, incidentally. So it's nothing to do with whether they reckon he's good enough to hold his place with the bat alone.

[Top_Cat]

Starc NSW's best with 4-fa against a relatively strong Victorian batting line-up.

HJ tasting so hard.

[Kylez]

So which Michael Clarke innings rates higher with CW?

Clarke's recent 259* at the Gabba or Clarke's 151 against South Africa at Cape Town.

[Daemon]

The 151 obv.

[Prince EWS]

Yeah no contest.

[Teja.]

The 259 was a relatively 'normal' 200+ knock, really. Good innings but not an all-timer, I reckon.

The 151 was one of the best I've seen.

[Spark]

The 151 is the kind of innings where it just becomes better and better the more you consider it.

The 259*, for mine, is more distinguished out of sheer bloody-mindedness, given that I don't think he was in that great nick for half of it (until he got to about 130). Gets points for being against Steyn et al at 3/40, obvs.

[uvelocity]

151 by streets considering the conditions, how well everybody else fared, and still establishing himself as skipper. a great tragedy it came in a loss

259* in much easier conditions, kallis, amla, hussey even cowan could have gone on to score just as many even if with much less magnificence. Extra points for 3/40 of course in the first test of the home summer.

329* in a win, at the SCG his best knock for mine even if the Indian bowling attack was dire.

[Spikey]

151* and then the 60 odd against SL.

[Daemon]

South Africa in Australia 2012-13 : South Africa batsmen easily distracted - Warner | Cricket News | Australia v South Africa | ESPN Cricinfo

"If the guy's in the fourth tier at the MCG and you see someone move, you're looking way too much and you're too distracted. The other day AB de Villiers played a ball when the sight-screen was still on the advertising board, so if he's just concentrating on the specifics of the bowler then that's fantastic. But someone is moving away because a guy is peaking his head behind the sight screen - if you're picking those little things up I think you're not watching the bowler hard enough."

Bit rich of Warner considering how focused and vigilant he was at his brief stay in the crease..

[vic_orthdox]

Smith, Amla and Kallis thanking him for the batting advice aws.

Between him and Maxwell, there's going to be some ... interesting things said at press conferences over the next few years.

[uvelocity]

rather read douchey quotes from dave than mark nicholas though

[Garson007]

That said, Smith's always been a bit of a knob when it comes to sight-screens.