***Official*** Australia in New Zealand 2016

[Zinzan]

Along with Smith's adept field placement couple with some outstanding fielding, it can feel impossible to score runs at times.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Did anyone else see that the Voges no-ball "bowled" delivery on day 1 should have been given as 4 byes as well as the no-ball but the runs were never given?

Australia were absolutely robbed.

 

[Dan]

He's been Test captain for how long? Give him some time to develop.

Oh of course, and I imagine he will. But calling him better than Clarke at this stage in his captaincy career is an utterly ridiculous assertion, if we're speaking tactically.

 

[Dan]

Along with Smith's adept field placement couple with some outstanding fielding, it can feel impossible to score runs at times.

Especially when Guptill and Anderson play with such hard hands and in such predictable ways. The field placement and fielding has done nothing to stop KW from starting his innings off at a decent pace.

 

[91Jmay]

Australia v New Zealand Test series: Darren Lehmann calls for square leg umpire to make no-ball calls

i sure hope lehmann has somehow been misquoted because this is the dumbest thing i've ever heard

I hear for the next BBL the lucky KFC family of the day get to call no balls from the stands.

 

[Jord]

Especially when Guptill and Anderson play with such hard hands and in such predictable ways. The field placement and fielding has done nothing to stop KW from starting his innings off at a decent pace.

I think you overrate Clarke as a captain. I always thought he was average tactically and highly poor in motivation and man management. The only series Clarke won that I recall came down to individual brilliance in the side rather than any shrewd tactics.

 

[Gnske]

I think you overrate Clarke as a captain. I always thought he was average tactically and highly poor in motivation and man management. The only series Clarke won that I recall came down to individual brilliance in the side rather than any shrewd tactics.

Then either your memory is poor, or finally someone on this board knows less about cricket than I do.

 

[Jord]

Let me add to that by saying with Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris in the side, backed up by guys like Siddle, Pattinson, Cummins and Lyon; you don't need to be a Michael Brearley level captain to get results. I think the same sort of stigma attached to Steve Waugh around him having the best side, rather than being the best captain could be levelled at Clarke. Clarke was highly dependent on Johnson being amazing during the bulk of his captaincy, I don't recall him marshalling a pretty raw bowling attack like the one Smith has at the moment.

 

[Jord]

Then either your memory is poor, or finally someone on this board knows less about cricket than I do.

Potentially so But I'd also point out that most Australian cricketers loathed Clarke as a captain and never felt he was a natural leader. I just don't remember anything he did that stood out to me in the same way that some of Jayawardene and his captaincy did, Jayawardene was a great tactician and came up with some great plays with an understrength team.

Arguably I think Taylor and possibly Fleming are the last two guys you would say were amazing tactically. Vaughan was a combination of great man management and good tactics, Jayawardene didn't do the job long enough despite looking great tactically, McCullum is all about man management, Graeme Smith was similar to Vaughan.

 

[Spark]

You are probably the first person I've ever heard to call Clarke an average tactical captain.

Not withstanding the fact that Clarke often had to field a weaker team than what Smith has now (seriously, look at what we put up in 2012 and 2013), it's silly to separate him having Johnson and Harris from the way he used Johnson in particular, which was totally different to how Ponting had (ineffectually) used him in the past.

Johnson also wasn't "amazing" during the bulk of his captaincy. Johnson was amazing for six months in 2013-4. Clarke was captain from 2011 to 2015.

 

[Gob]

Let me add to that by saying with Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris in the side, backed up by guys like Siddle, Pattinson, Cummins and Lyon; you don't need to be a Michael Brearley level captain to get results. I think the same sort of stigma attached to Steve Waugh around him having the best side, rather than being the best captain could be levelled at Clarke. Clarke was highly dependent on Johnson being amazing during the bulk of his captaincy, I don't recall him marshalling a pretty raw bowling attack like the one Smith has at the moment.

Don't think Smith's attack is raw tbh. They may not have played as many games as Johnson but Hazlewood and Pattinson are quality while he has the experience of Siddle and Lyon not to mention a genuinely wicket taking 5th bowler

 

[Dan]

Don't forget that Clarke made Michael Hussey a strike bowler. WAFG.

 

[Prince EWS]

Clarke was awesome in terms of field placings and bowling changes. There are many other aspects of captaincy and I happen to think he was ordinary at best at most of them, but if you're talking tactics then those two things will make up a large fraction of it, surely.

 

[Skyliner]

David White is a lucking punt. By that he mean that it was a bit of a punt by NZ Cricket to instal him as CEO, but they were hoping for a bit of luck after the abject performance of Justin Vaughn in the role.

This lucking punt David White reduced a 3.test series against Australia to 2 tests, as he still has a hard-on for the Crapple Hadlee Cup, a failed concept that has been brought up from the crypt and placed on life support. He had all the NZ test players on a strict diet of ODI's leading up to the tests, and he ensured that the likes of Adam Voges and Nathan Lyon had a lovely first class game in NZ conditions prior to the first test. He obviously forgot which nations cricket board he is CEO of. What a lucking punt he is!

 

[Jord]

Guess I'm in the minority of people who think Clarke ultimately benefitted from the right team at the right time and even then witnessed a decline in the rankings for Australia. I think he was an amazing talent with the bat and possibly a little underrated at times, but I just don't recall him being an astute or tactically aware captain. I'll have to take your guys words for it but I still say he had a far better side to work with than most captains could dream of.

 

[Spark]

Guess I'm in the minority of people who think Clarke ultimately benefitted from the right team at the right time and even then witnessed a decline in the rankings for Australia. I think he was an amazing talent with the bat and possibly a little underrated at times, but I just don't recall him being an astute or tactically aware captain. I'll have to take your guys words for it but I still say he had a far better side to work with than most captains could dream of.

Nah this is just plain wrong. He had to work with easily the weakest Australian side in the last 30 years, that it became good is testament to his skill at marshalling that attack.

 

[Jord]

I really don't see how Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon can be considered weaker than say Peter Siddle, Josh Hazelwood, Jackson Bird and Nathan Lyon. Australia lived and died on Mitchell Johnson terrorising opponents. Clarke can't take credit tactically for the fact that Johnson was basically unplayable for two seasons, it really didn't matter where the fielders were in those spells.

But agree to disagree I guess; like I say I seem to be in the minority in my thoughts here so I'll stop defending them

 

[SteveNZ]

David White is a lucking punt. By that he mean that it was a bit of a punt by NZ Cricket to instal him as CEO, but they were hoping for a bit of luck after the abject performance of Justin Vaughn in the role.

This lucking punt David White reduced a 3.test series against Australia to 2 tests, as he still has a hard-on for the Crapple Hadlee Cup, a failed concept that has been brought up from the crypt and placed on life support. He had all the NZ test players on a strict diet of ODI's leading up to the tests, and he ensured that the likes of Adam Voges and Nathan Lyon had a lovely first class game in NZ conditions prior to the first test. He obviously forgot which nations cricket board he is CEO of. What a lucking punt he is!

The 3 Tests to 2 thing, yeah that's not something any of us are fond of. Nor David White.

But the Crapple Hadlee series? Seriously? A failed concept? That's pretty hysterical. It was a great concept when it was first introduced, it was sorely missed as a regular series against our traditional rivals when it wasn't there, then what in the Lord's name would you want out of a series more than what was produced in those 3 ODIs? Don't we have a serious rivalry now that both nations look forward to, and creates the sort of fervour that we've read about through the media and on here the last month, sold out in Hamilton a week early, drew good crowds in Wellington/Auckland too...I hope you don't get anyone agreeing with you there. I'm not particularly a 50-over fan but all three glued me.

 

[Spark]

I really don't see how Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon can be considered weaker than say Peter Siddle, Josh Hazelwood, Jackson Bird and Nathan Lyon. Australia lived and died on Mitchell Johnson terrorising opponents. Clarke can't take credit tactically for the fact that Johnson was basically unplayable for two seasons, it really didn't matter where the fielders were in those spells.

But agree to disagree I guess; like I say I seem to be in the minority in my thoughts here so I'll stop defending them

Well, he can. It was Clarke who decided to use him like the equivalent of a cannon in the first place, bowling him in four-over spells with targeted plans to each batsmen etc etc. Very different to how Ponting used him, for example.

And, again, it's silly to say that Clarke had a gun attack based on a six-month period of god-mode. Particularly given that no other captain has had any success in containing run rates on Australian pitches in the last five years, which was Clarke's true gift.

 

[Shady Slim]

yeah this was definitely poor planning in terms of the ODIs.

i feel that maybe we should have had three tests here in Aus, four ODIs, then three more tests in NZ, then three more one dayers, all of the ODIs counting for the ODI trophy.