***Official*** Australia in the West Indies 2015

[Red]

...

I'm not even going to bother.

Sorry to be a hassle
So you'd persist with Watson's mediocrity and inability to influence the outcome of a test and his clearly deteriorating ability?

 

[Spark]

Well I certainly wouldn't pick a frontline bowler in his place.

 

[adub]

Haze - just ****ing yes. This is the guy I was saying several years ago would come through as the best of the young quicks we had. Was starting to doubt it for a while until he started to click mid way through the 13/14 shield, but FFS this guy is gonna make a mess of batting line ups for a decade.

 

[Red]

Well I certainly wouldn't pick a frontline bowler in his place.

Even when we are losing nothing of note, but gaining something pretty dynamic?

I wouldn't say this if we had four McGraths or Walshs as our tail, but all our bowlers can really bat.

 

[Spark]

Even when we are losing nothing of note, but gaining something pretty dynamic?

I wouldn't say this if we had four McGraths or Walshs as our tail, but all our bowlers can really bat.

We're not, though? He's only going to be bowling 10 overs of tight, holding stuff max.

And all our bowlers can really bat for bowlers. An occasional 50 is great for a #9. Not a #6.

Just pick Mitch Marsh or Adam Voges or Moises Henriques or literally anyone vaguely competent with the bat who can send down a few.

 

[Skyliner]

WI cricket is really sliding into the abyss. Shai Hope is 21 years old, has played 13 first class matches, and is averaging 31.04 in first class cricket. Blackwood, Darren Bravo, Brathwaite, Dowrich...none of them average over 40 in FC cricket. Ramdin averages under 30 in FC cricket.
So the selection of Chandikra is logical, and I can't imagine that WI FC cricket is very strong anyway. They are playing on flat subcontinental type pitches. It could be very embarrassing for a team of this very limited standard once they get on fast bouncy Aus pitches in the summer.

 

[adub]

we could always just drop Lyon to play four quicks and bring in Maxwell [/thinkinglikeanaustralianselector]

The real problem is that we have to get the selections right. With Haze and Starc in super form then Rhino and MJ have to be selected on what they are going to do in mid 15, not what they did previously. I think Harris, Johnson, Hazlewood is still the most likely line up for the Ashes, but if neither of the old hands show much in the warm up they might be in a little bother if they follow that up with an indifferent display in the test.

 

[Spark]

we could always just drop Lyon to play four quicks and bring in Maxwell [/thinkinglikeanaustralianselector]

The real problem is that we have to get the selections right. With Haze and Starc in super form then Rhino and MJ have to be selected on what they are going to do in mid 15, not what they did previously. I think Harris, Johnson, Hazlewood is still the most likely line up for the Ashes, but if neither of the old hands show much in the warm up they might be in a little bother if they follow that up with an indifferent display in the test.

I agree with that except the bolded. Surely if your backup seamer(s) is also in great nick, it makes the marginally "wrong" selection much less wrong if at all wrong? And the selection pressure from below can only be a good thing for MJ and Harris (particularly Harris who seems to thrive on it)

 

[Spark]

WI cricket is really sliding into the abyss. Shai Hope is 21 years old, has played 13 first class matches, and is averaging 31.04 in first class cricket. Blackwood, Darren Bravo, Brathwaite, Dowrich...none of them average over 40 in FC cricket. Ramdin averages under 30 in FC cricket.
So the selection of Chandikra is logical, and I can't imagine that WI FC cricket is very strong anyway. They are playing on flat subcontinental type pitches. It could be very embarrassing for a team of this very limited standard once they get on fast bouncy Aus pitches in the summer.

Just because a pitch doesn't seam or bounce doesn't make it flat.

I actually one or two genuinely flat decks could be an alright thing in WI cricket (especially if they have a little bounce). Might get a few batsmen who know how to construct an innings that way.

 

[adub]

I'm not banking on the Pomgolians rolling over at home. If for eg. MJ is not effective but not terribad but he's playing in front of Starc who's brought his white ball game to the red ball contest then it could be the difference between a win and a draw/loss. It's obviously not 'oh pitch looks dry let's drop Harris and Haze for Siddle and Fawad' kinda desperate, but timing easing out an old hand who has done the job in the past for a new boi who is going to do a better job now is always tricky.

FTR as I've said previously Harris, MJ, Haze is the quicks I'd go with and expect to be picked, but now that Starc looks like he has finally learnt how to take wickets with the first new ball consistently it does pose a really serious question.

Don't even want to think about how they'll handle the situation if Patto, Cumins, Haze and Starc are all fit and firing next Summer. Good problem for us, bad problem for everyone else.

 

[adub]

I fear we might be hanging onto Rad too long for eg. But, England is the one team he can usually go to town with the bat on so maybe it will prove ok. Love me some Rad, but I think SuperNev is the man for today.

 

[weldone]

Don't see how we can conclude that Starc is now better than Johnson in test matches on the basis of the small difference against a piss-poor WI top order in 2 matches. Come on!

 

[adub]

I'm not, which should be obvious what what I've written. I'm merely positing that it is a risk and one that is going to get larger not smaller. Starc is improving and where he could end up is a pretty high bar. Johnson has surprised me before so I won't write him off, but at his age the chances of him even returning to close to the destroyer of 13/14 are reducing. The day will come when the call has to be made. I don't think we're there yet, but I admit I might be wrong about that. It would be easy for the selectors to say, 'yeah Johnson did it before we pick him', but that's lazy selection. Getting that call right is what they earn their cash for. Any fool can make the easy calls. Getting this one right is the real challenge (and yes they sure got it right and I got it wrong over MJ for the last Ashes, so lets see what they come up with).

 

[Antihippy]

Thing is the most likely scenario would be replacing Harris with starc after he retires. I don't think it's going to be a Johnson or starc scenario.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Nah, I'm not picking Johnson with all guys fit.

Think Mark Waugh commented towards the end of the day that Starc is arguably the best bowler in the world, red or white ball. Now, I don't agree with that statement, but think it's interesting from a selector's point of view - to be saying that. And for me, it probably is a choice between the two of them.

 

[Antihippy]

I wouldn't pick starc if they're all fit. You already have your probing line and length swing bowlers with harris and haze. I still believe that a shock bowler is better for a balanced attack, and starc is still better as a swing bowler.

 

[Gnske]

WI cricket is really sliding into the abyss. Shai Hope is 21 years old, has played 13 first class matches, and is averaging 31.04 in first class cricket. Blackwood, Darren Bravo, Brathwaite, Dowrich...none of them average over 40 in FC cricket. Ramdin averages under 30 in FC cricket.
So the selection of Chandikra is logical, and I can't imagine that WI FC cricket is very strong anyway. They are playing on flat subcontinental type pitches. It could be very embarrassing for a team of this very limited standard once they get on fast bouncy Aus pitches in the summer.

It isn't sliding into the Abyss, it is the abyss, the door was already shut and locked with a very nice and rare key. Discarding Chanderpaul the way it happened was akin to throwing that key into the Marianas trench.

 

[nevermind]

Bit surprised about the declaration, Smith would have totally got another ton.

 

[Tangles]

For me it is an MJ vs Starc discussion. If Harris is fit he is a lock and 1st picked. Haze is next in on form and what he brings with height and that probing line and length. Will be lethal in England. I wrote of MJ last Ashes so I won't do that again but Starc is looking better right now. I'd give MJ the 1st test to see how it goes. If he can't crank the pace anymore then he's no longer the shock weapon he was. Hopefully he's bottling the pace for the Ashes.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Think Mark Waugh commented towards the end of the day that Starc is arguably the best bowler in the world, red or white ball. Now, I don't agree with that statement

Junior's not that far off the mark tbh

Starc is indisputably the best limited overs bowler in the world