***Official*** Australia in India

[Laurrz]

Australians in general tend to be good players of spin if they are in already. Hayden often has the advantage of being on 40 odd by the time that the spinners come on. The problem that many have is coming in and facing spin, especially on subcontinent surfaces.

yea id have to agree with that

hmm if Jaques survives Malinga/Vaas/Fernando then he'll face Murali and will probably have little hope id say with the doosra trapping him LB perhaps... then Punter/Huss will have to face Murali first up!

 

[stephen]

**** hilfys good

effectively got two wickets there

Bring him on for the test matches!

 

[Perm]

Hayden is the best player of spin that Australia have, he plays his sweep shot very effectively and drives the full-pitched ball quite well. I haven't seen much of Jaques, does anybody know how good he is against spin? Ponting isn't anything special IMO, he can punish bad spin bowling but he's struggled against top quality bowlers. I rate Clarke quite highly, uses his feet tremendously while Hussey could be found out, but will punish anything short. Symonds and Gilchrist can both punish bad bowling, but Gilchrist in particular is weak against quality spinners.

To sum up: Murali is key

 

[Perm]

I have to feel sorry for Ben Hilfenhaus, goes all the way to India and travels around the countryside yet only gets to bowl four overs in a competitive game. He'll be a better player for the experience and exposure, but it would have been really good to see him play a couple of the ODIs.

 

[Perm]

Bring him on for the test matches!

Nah, he's still behind Tait and Johnson in the pecking order IMO.

 

[Prince EWS]

Nah, he's still behind Tait and Johnson in the pecking order IMO.

Stephen wants Brett Lee dropped for Hilfenhaus IIRC.

 

[Perm]

Stephen wants Brett Lee dropped for Hilfenhaus IIRC.

That could potentially cause a disaster. Australia fielding a bowling attack consisting of two debutants, a guy who has played 9 Tests, a 36 year old with half a crocked knee who hasn't played for 20 months and Andrew Symonds. Would be cringing.

 

[stephen]

That could potentially cause a disaster. Australia fielding a bowling attack consisting of two debutants, a guy who has played 9 Tests, a 36 year old with half a crocked knee who hasn't played for 20 months and Andrew Symonds. Would be cringing.

Which is pretty much what I do every time I see Brett Lee with the red ball in hand. Hilfenhaus is class. If I was a selector he would be playing ahead of Johnson and Lee.

Hilfenhaus took the most wickets last season, and 85% of them were batsmen 1-6 in the order. He has natural swing and is a real workhorse. It is only his mental game that I would have anything close to concerns about, but in the two international games he has played he's taken two wickets.

Binga has been a consistent underperformer after his start. He reverts back to bouncer-yorker mentality the second he gets a bit of stick. He has talent and speed but not enough bowling brains.

 

[stephen]

Nah, he's still behind Tait and Johnson in the pecking order IMO.

One thing that I dislike about Australian selection is this idea of a pecking order.

2005-06 Jaques should have played in the ODI team ahead of Katich.

Currently: Hodge should not be a part of the Aus team based on his performances.

Near future: Hilfenhaus should be ahead of both Tait and Johnson because he's the better bowler.

 

[Perm]

Which is pretty much what I do every time I see Brett Lee with the red ball in hand. Hilfenhaus is class. If I was a selector he would be playing ahead of Johnson and Lee.

Hilfenhaus took the most wickets last season, and 85% of them were batsmen 1-6 in the order. He has natural swing and is a real workhorse. It is only his mental game that I would have anything close to concerns about, but in the two international games he has played he's taken two wickets.

Binga has been a consistent underperformer after his start. He reverts back to bouncer-yorker mentality the second he gets a bit of stick. He has talent and speed but not enough bowling brains.

I see you're of like mind to Mr Wright, who can't stand the thought of Brett Lee bowling in Test cricket. Can't say I would have him ahead of either TBH, but I think Lee's place is reasonably secure because he adds a whole lot of experience to the attack. Johnson has been bowling well lately and has performed at international level, meaning he is ahead of Hilfenhaus.

Mitchell Johnson did pretty well in the 3 games he played too, picking up 12 wickets at a better average than Hilfenhaus. It's not really fair to compare the two based on last seasons Pura Cup performances though, given that Hilfenhaus had a whole season and Johnson only played in a few games. They both have their strong points but Johnson has a fair bit of backing from coaches and former players, and also has the added bonus of playing more games at an international level.

While Lee might not be that good as a Test bowler, he simply has to play because of circumstances surrounding the series. Australia's two leading bowlers have retired, and they don't have any seniors in the bowling attack to fill that void. To go in with the attack I mentioned earlier would be very foolish, and a risk I'm sure the selectors won't take.

 

[Perm]

One thing that I dislike about Australian selection is this idea of a pecking order.

2005-06 Jaques should have played in the ODI team ahead of Katich.

Currently: Hodge should not be a part of the Aus team based on his performances.

Near future: Hilfenhaus should be ahead of both Tait and Johnson because he's the better bowler.

You dislike that some players are better than others and are ranked as such?

 

[stephen]

You dislike that some players are better than others and are ranked as such?

I dislike the fact that there is a clear pecking order which is stuck to by selectors regardless of form or ability. With the exception of Clarke and Tait in 2005 (who should not have been picked then), the selectors have gone with whoever is next in the pecking order (rather than previous form). Jaques should have played ahead of Katich in the 05/06 OD season unquestionably. Haddin should have been ahead of Hodge for the whole tour of India. Hilfenhaus should be ahead of both Tait and Johnson based on domestic performance. Johnson has done well in recent times, but there is no evidence that Hilf wouldn't have done better (see his results in the warm up games).

 

[Laurrz]

Hayden is the best player of spin that Australia have, he plays his sweep shot very effectively and drives the full-pitched ball quite well. I haven't seen much of Jaques, does anybody know how good he is against spin? Ponting isn't anything special IMO, he can punish bad spin bowling but he's struggled against top quality bowlers. I rate Clarke quite highly, uses his feet tremendously while Hussey could be found out, but will punish anything short. Symonds and Gilchrist can both punish bad bowling, but Gilchrist in particular is weak against quality spinners.

To sum up: Murali is key

actually Ponting is pretty good vs Kumble and i think stats wise is the best batsman against Murali in tests

its only a Harbhajan dustbowl thing i recn

 

[vic_orthdox]

Ponting isn't anything special IMO, he can punish bad spin bowling but he's struggled against top quality bowlers.

Ponting is an awesome player of spin in Australia. And a pretty good player of spin everywhere else. I think he has a bad wrap about how he plays spin due to his record in India. Obviously he's struggled there, but everywhere else when he's faced spin he's done pretty well. Definitely an above average player of spin bowling.

but Gilchrist in particular is weak against quality spinners.

Gilchrist I think is a prime example of what I was talking about before. He's a guy who you bowl spin to early on because you're a big chance of getting him - but once he's in, he smokes spinners everywhere.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Another thing to be taken into account is that Hilfenhaus had such a wonderful year, and played half of his games in Tasmania - not exactly a fast bowler's haven.

 

[pup11]

Yeah i have lot of respect for Hilfy he is all class and as it has been said already he is a hard working and mentally tough bloke who comes from a humble background and there is hunger and passion in him to succeed at the this level.

 

[Eclipse]

Hayden is the best player of spin that Australia have, he plays his sweep shot very effectively and drives the full-pitched ball quite well. I haven't seen much of Jaques, does anybody know how good he is against spin? Ponting isn't anything special IMO, he can punish bad spin bowling but he's struggled against top quality bowlers. I rate Clarke quite highly, uses his feet tremendously while Hussey could be found out, but will punish anything short. Symonds and Gilchrist can both punish bad bowling, but Gilchrist in particular is weak against quality spinners.

To sum up: Murali is key

Ponting is statisticaly the best batsman against Muril, Gilchrist has absolutly no worries with spinners once he is set.

 

[Perm]

I dislike the fact that there is a clear pecking order which is stuck to by selectors regardless of form or ability. With the exception of Clarke and Tait in 2005 (who should not have been picked then), the selectors have gone with whoever is next in the pecking order (rather than previous form). Jaques should have played ahead of Katich in the 05/06 OD season unquestionably. Haddin should have been ahead of Hodge for the whole tour of India. Hilfenhaus should be ahead of both Tait and Johnson based on domestic performance. Johnson has done well in recent times, but there is no evidence that Hilf wouldn't have done better (see his results in the warm up games).

Class is permanent. Form is temporary.

 

[Perm]

actually Ponting is pretty good vs Kumble and i think stats wise is the best batsman against Murali in tests

Ponting is statisticaly the best batsman against Muril, Gilchrist has absolutly no worries with spinners once he is set.

Ponting has only been dismissed by Muralitharan once in Test cricket. That doesn't prove an awful lot TBH.

 

[Perm]

Gilchrist I think is a prime example of what I was talking about before. He's a guy who you bowl spin to early on because you're a big chance of getting him - but once he's in, he smokes spinners everywhere.

Yup, totally agree.