The Australian top order doom and gloom thread

[NUFAN]

Dave Hussey would be a nice little stopgap to keep the young fellas' sense of entitlement in check. Make them fight it out for another season.

I would hate this move tbh. Really think it's in Australias best interest to select a young batsman now and encourage him.

Agree with ***** btw about batsman in Dom cricket. We should be considering an average of 40 as a good season.

 

[NUFAN]

Possible replacements (in very rough pecking order)
-Usman Khawaja
-Phil Hughes
-George Bailey
-Alex Doolan
-Stephen Smith
-Rob Quiney
-Shaun Marsh
-Haddin?
-Henriques?


What the **** do we do?

CA would be well advised to introduce an A tour EVERY off season IMO. A country like Bangladesh are screaming for more competitive first class cricket so it would be an excellent opportunity to get our future Australian prospects an opportunity to play in foreign conditions. Reckon its win-win for Oz and Bang cricket.

-Usman Khawaja - Has test material written all over him. His calmness at the crease in a team prone to collapse is a big tick. Was asked to improve his rotation of the strike which was a fair call, I don't think he's changed his style that match. His 65 in South Africa was an excellent knock.

-Phil Hughes - Too good for Shield attacks, Hughes is difficult to gauge as he could do anything for Australia. Obvious weakness is nicking early, another less talked about weakness is his ability in the field. Sort of meanders about and doesn't look confident. Has just turned 24 so he still has plenty of time on his side. Sounds like I'm being harsh, but really no idea how he will go back in the national setup.

-George Bailey - I felt like he would be an ideal replacement for Ponting on retirement but I'm not really sure now. He has all the shots in the book and looks to bat in a positive manner. Playing ODI and T20 for Australia will likely see him not get as many opportunities for his state as other candidates so if he was to get chosen it would be a bit of a surprise. Reckon Bailey's best chance of getting a Test match is through an injury to Clarke or Hussey.

-Alex Doolan - Quite an elegant bat, similar to Martin Love. It would be a bold move to select him soon for Australia having just 5 first class centuries to his name, but you would think he is now starting to hit his straps. Batted behind McDonald and Smith in the A team which to me suggests he still needs a few more performances to be considered.

-Stephen Smith - Not a top order bat currently but he is still just 23 and is definitely improving with the bat. Not a serious suggestion yet.

-Rob Quiney - A pair at Adelaide isn't going to help a new bats cause, but someone like Atapattu rised above a terrible start so its not impossible. I don't think the Australian public would be happy with the only change being Quiney for Ponting, but personally I don't think he should be too far from selection. Hopefully he gets selected in our OD and T20 teams as he is suited to both formats. CA would wish Khawaja and Hughes were as good as Quiney is in the field.

-Shaun Marsh - No real chance to play Test Cricket again, can force his way back into the Australian setup in the shorter formats though.

-Haddin - If Wade had a short term injuru you would think Haddin would come back into the team, but can't see any other way, even if Wade continued to keep terribly, we'd probably bring in 'captain' Paine.

-Henriques - Starting to hit his straps and should get a call up in the shorter formats this summer for sure. Currently suffering from Watson batting at 3, if Watson was batting at 6 and suffered an injury again, Henriques would be right in contention.

I would like to add..

-Joe Burns - Such a strong off side player, a terrific driver and cutter of the ball. QLD don't need to be messing him around by making him open like last Shield game. Without doubt too soon, but should without doubt be selected on more A tours and is a good prospect once he learns to leave the ball or play a little more defensively to good balls.



Current players
Ed Cowan - serviceable and will get a decent run at test cricket through this rebuilding phase. Will be doing well if he has a career as successful as Matthew Elliott..

David Warner - Keep him in the team for sure. Not always terrific, but he is a stayer in the current setup.

Shane Watson - I'm getting sick of our best shorter format in Test Cricket. I don't hate his bowling, but he just isn't the most ball aware batsman which is a problem for a top order bat. Terrible against spin doesn't really help him either. Not a good long term option IMO.

Mike Hussey - Looks like he will be around for a good while longer yet, I hope he is flexible enough to move around the order to help bring in the best options for our team, pretty sure he would be.

No point mentioning Clarke, oops too late.


Against SL
Its a battle between Hughes and Khawaja and its difficult to pick a winner. I probably favour Khawaja as since we are prone to collapses I believe he would be the most assured batsman and ideally he'd come in at 3 with Watson at 4.

 

[AlanJLegend]

^^Awesome post.

I agree that Quiney shouldn't be too far from selection. Getting a pair is never a good look, but it was one of those situations where he was not really around long enough for us to tell whether he can actually bat or not. Considering his value in the field and supposedly in the change room I think he deserves another chance. That being said, it could equally be argued that he's had his chance and that Bailey should be next in line.

It's a shame that Marsh will probably never play tests again. The fact that he scored an epic ton on debut then looked as though he had never batted before against a hapless Indian bowling attack suggests his problems are more mental than physical. He too his suffering from the 'if you blow your chance you're back to the end of the line' policy we seem to have going.

I both agree/and disagree with your points about Watson. Having him as a bowling option is INCREDIBLY valuable in tests, however it is no good if he is going to get injured all the time. In a perfect world Watto would be dominating the shorter formats (playing til the 2019 ODI WC) and somebody else would be playing tests, but the truth is he is in our top 6 batsmen and we cannot really replace him with anybody right now.

As for Ponting's replacement, I can't see it being anybody other than Khawaja or Hughes. I would definitely go with Hughes; I can't really put my finger on exactly why, and I know his weaknesses are well known. But I get the feeling that sometime in the next decade he is going to become a colossus and score an absolute mountain of runs and is worth persisting with.

 

[social]

Watson is Australia's biggest problem as his failure to convert starts simply puts pressure on everybody else

How he remains an automatic selection is a mystery to me

 

[Burgey]

They should pick Doolan.

 

[howardj]

Usman
Hughes
Watson
Clarke
Warner
Hussey

 

[robelinda]

Hughes, how many more tests do we give him? Even if he plays the SL tests, is he likely to succeed in India? Maybe he deserves a chance, I wouldnt back quiney or doolan to succeed in India. No matter how England goes in India you just know India turn it on when Australia tours, been a LONG time since we won a test there. I am worried, a lot. 2013 could be a disaster, our bowling attack is questionable, we have nine away tests.

 

[AlanJLegend]

I think we really have to stick we Hughes. It's not like he was a temporary replacement like Quiney who didn't take his chance and won't get another one, he is part of the future of Australian cricket. I honestly feel that in time he will become like Matthew Hayden, and pillage mountains of runs at the top of the order.

The important thing for me is that regardless of who we pick to replace Ponting (be it Hughes, Khawaja or Bailey/Quiney/etc.) they get an extended stay, and not dumped after one series.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah, plenty of time for Hughes, shouldn't be written off any time soon. A bloke who's working his way through fairly extensive technical changes will be in and out for a while but he knows how to score big runs, that's for sure.

 

[Spark]

Hughes would do well in India IMO. Looked good against spin in SL.

 

[Spikey]

Who will take Punter's spot?

yeah maxwell probably remains a smokie.

 

[howardj]

Hughes would have been accommodated / persisted with to a greater degree in the glory days (1999-20007)

It's just that when he's tanked, the team has been under the pump (Ashes 2009 and Ashes 2010), so the selectors have been more ruthless or skittish if you will

 

[Spikey]

maxwell over a bunch of questionable picks wouldn't be anymore stupid than dumping david hussey for him right on the eve of the world t20 cup tbf

 

[robelinda]

Hughes would have been accommodated / persisted with to a greater degree in the glory days (1999-20007)

It's just that when he's tanked, the team has been under the pump (Ashes 2009 and Ashes 2010), so the selectors have been more ruthless or skittish if you will

hence im thinking with a possible hammering in India and a possible Hughes slump, whether he will be persisted with *again*, for the 3rd time. We dont have a very good history of giving him a long run at tests, and the last time we did he made Martin look like Ambrose.

 

[howardj]

If Usman is to have a future for Australia, I see it as an opener. He certainly has the technique to do it, and let's not forget that two of our most successful openers in recent years (Langer and Katich) did not open for much of their State careers, so the move can be succesfully made if your game suits.

Additionally, Usman doesn't have the gears to his game to bat 4-6, and the number three spot should be occupied by a heavy duty, rounded, experienced head (such as Watson)

 

[Top_Cat]

That and he's always opened, only batted down the order upon playing FC cricket.

 

[howardj]

Yeah, with Ponting's retirement, I would like to see the panel start with a clean sheet, and have a look at our best batting order going forward. Everything should be open to debate. Is Cowan a banker? Should Warner be down the order? Is Usman suited to opening? Should Clarke move up? Shoud new guys get groomed at six or first drop (as is currently the case)?

 

[morgieb]

Am I the only one that sees both Hughes and Khawaja getting picked?

 

[Spikey]

Am I the only

Yes you are. morgieb - a new hope

 

[howardj]

Am I the only one that sees both Hughes and Khawaja getting picked?

No, as per my order above, you are in good, learned company