Australian Discussion (Final Squad Announced Post #82)

[Spark]

I actually think Ferguson should be able to fill Hussey's shoes quite well. Making a completely unnoticed run-a-ball 50 with no risk is something that he's done a few times as well.

 

[Prince EWS]

I actually think Ferguson should be able to fill Hussey's shoes quite well. Making a completely unnoticed run-a-ball 50 with no risk is something that he's done a few times as well.

Indeed. He can't hit out as well as Hussey but he's the perfect replacement for that role you're speaking of. Marsh is a slower starter and more vulnerable early but really can go big later; I don't mind out of the two, really. Voges lies somewhere between and I wouldn't have minded him either given he can bowl some spin (would've preferred him in Dave Hussey's place, really).

 

[Burgey]

Doherty's injured. O'Keefe's actually injured too, but I'm not sure if he would've been back in time.

Marsh would probably have been okay too apparently. I guess the selectors just lost patience with all the injury concerns and decided to just pick fit blokes so we could get on with things. Not a bad call when you consider Marsh and O'Keefe aren't conclusively better than Ferguson and Krejza anyway (in fact, not at all IMO, in one day cricket).

Yeah they're good points. If we're going to rely on pace so much, I wonder if Krezja will play much anyway. At least he turns them I guess.

 

[social]

I'm not that fussed about the loss of Hussey

The guy suffered an horrible injury and the chances of him being 100% fit were about nil IMO

Also, Australia needs to start rebuilding its batting at some time and the sooner we start giving some of the younger players extended runs in the team the better

Krezja is obviously a punt but he looks to be the most talented spinner in Oz by some distance so I'm not that fussed about Hauritz missing out either

Anyway, as Burgey correctly pointed out, at least the final may be interesting for more than about 10 overs this time

 

[pup11]

#Haddin
#Watson
#Ponting
#Clarke
#White
#Dussey
#Smith
#Johnson
#Krezja
#Lee
#Tait
#Hastings
#Paine
#Ferguson
#Bollinger

Now when one looks at that squad it becomes pretty clear that the selectors meant business when they picked this lot, apart from Paine pretty much every other player in the squad has got an attacking style of play. Not sure would have been saying the same for Clarke 10 days ago but it seems like he too has decided attack is best way to go forward.

As I said during the time of selection of the intial 15 man squad, that this team is either gonna destroy others or just self-destruct on its own but whatever they do there won't be any half measures to it and I guess sub-continent is probably the one place where such a risk might actually come good.

I agree with PEWS that Krezja might do well with his attacking style of bowling in the sub-continent, but I surely hope they don't ask him crub his natural instincts and play a holding role which is something that's most likely to result in him bowling flat long-hops.

 

[Prince EWS]

#Haddin
#Watson
#Ponting
#Clarke
#White
#Dussey
#Smith
#Johnson
#Krezja
#Lee
#Tait
#Hastings
#Paine
#Ferguson
#Bollinger

Now when one looks at that squad it becomes pretty clear that the selectors meant business when they picked this lot, apart from Paine pretty much every other player in the squad has got an attacking style of play. Not sure would have been saying the same for Clarke 10 days ago but it seems like he too has decided attack is best way to go forward.

As I said during the time of selection of the intial 15 man squad, that this team is either gonna destroy others or just self-destruct on its own but whatever they do there won't be any half measures to it and I guess sub-continent is probably the one place where such a risk might actually come good.

I agree with PEWS that Krezja might do well with his attacking style of bowling in the sub-continent, but I surely hope they don't ask him crub his natural instincts and play a holding role which is something that's most likely to result in him bowling flat long-hops.

Clarke won't bat like that unless Australia are chasing a big score IMO. His role has been to achor, and it still will be. I don't agree with it but that's what it is.

 

[pup11]

Clarke won't bat like that unless Australia are chasing a big score IMO. His role has been to achor, and it still will be. I don't agree with it but that's what it is.

Nah.. even in the Brisbane ODI he came out all guns blazing and his SR eventually only slumped once we lost wickets in a cluster, I think Clarke himself has realised that he is neither helping himself or the team by getting stuck the way he does during most of his knocks and if his last two knocks are anything to go by he is making a conscious decision to correct that.

As for what you said regarding Ferguson, I completly agree with that but I think Hussey's loss isn't just limited to his batting ability which is something his brother or Ferguson might make up for, but Mussey's mental toughness and the ability to perform under pressure is unmatched and that's one aspect of his game we are likely to miss big time in a tournament of this magnitude.

 

[Spark]

It depends what we mean by "bat like that" tbh. If "like that" means pushing the ball into gaps, running hard, stealing twos and minimizing dots, then there's no reason he shouldn't be able to do that in the future.

If, on the other hand, we mean him stepping across and flicking sixes over square leg, yeah that's more a one-off.

 

[TumTum]

Think we'll only win the final by about 90 now he's out.

Agree with all the posts above.

 

[marc71178]

Hauritz's ommission is an even bigger surprise as he was confident that he would be good enough to play as early as in the practice games, and eventhough on the face of it Hauritz might not seem like much of a loss but I think he along with Watto would have been perfect foil to the likes of Tait, Johnson and Lee.

Now... the thought of Krezja, Lee, Tait and Johnson all having a bad day at the same time is something that's always gonna keep me worried through the length of the tourney.

So 4 of the 5 bowlers remain the same and you're now worried about 3 of them having bad days at the same time?

Is Hauritz some sort of super-shrink who can calm Tait, Lee and Johnson down and get them bowling well all the time or are you going completely over the top here?

 

[Noble One]

I don't buy into this hype that Clarke has turned into an aggressive batsman again. He played one great innings on arguably the flattest wicket ever seen in this country. He will rarely have the opportunity or confidence in the wicket to turn a length delivery pitching a foot outside off through square leg like he was last week.

I still believe he is more than worthy of a spot in the XI, but I don't believe he is back to his best just yet.

As for the inclusions today. I think the selectors got things right. Ferguson has been given games over the years with a view for the 2011 World Cup and it was only through injury that he didn't grab a spot earlier. Crayfish was the only decent spinner remaining. He has form for Tasmania and as already mentioned should suit the SC. Adds enough with the bat and in the field to make up for the extra runs may concede. I didn't like how the selectors carried players with injuries in the Ashes, so I'm pleased they have shown some balls this time. I don't care if Hauritz can send a few deliveries down, or says he is right, if the coaching staff and medico don't think he looks right then he shouldn't be in the squad.

 

[howardj]

Mussey - massive, massive blow to our chances.

 

[Spark]

I don't buy into this hype that Clarke has turned into an aggressive batsman again. He played one great innings on arguably the flattest wicket ever seen in this country. He will rarely have the opportunity or confidence in the wicket to turn a length delivery pitching a foot outside off through square leg like he was last week.

He does that a fair bit actually. Not often, of course, but it is actually a stroke he's quite good at. He likes flicking wide balls over midwicket as well in a similar vein.

Mostly the main issue with Clarke is not this stuff about being "aggressive" or seeking to hit boundaries. It's about the number of dot balls he plays.

White is actually even worse in this regard but his outstanding hitting ability has covered that up for a while. Now that he's slightly out of nick and not timing it well enough to hit fours consistently he looks poor.

 

[blahblahblah]

they have lost one big big big back bone in form of hussey .. sad to hear about it really

 

[pup11]

So 4 of the 5 bowlers remain the same and you're now worried about 3 of them having bad days at the same time?

Is Hauritz some sort of super-shrink who can calm Tait, Lee and Johnson down and get them bowling well all the time or are you going completely over the top here?

I guess you will have to look into Hauritz's record in India in the ODI format to understand why not having him in the side is a big blow.

In Australia's last series win over in India he bowled excellently during the middle overs, he didn't have many wickets to show for that but his economy rate was around 4 which is excellent for a spinner on small Indian grounds.

 

[pup11]

I don't buy into this hype that Clarke has turned into an aggressive batsman again. He played one great innings on arguably the flattest wicket ever seen in this country. He will rarely have the opportunity or confidence in the wicket to turn a length delivery pitching a foot outside off through square leg like he was last week.

I still believe he is more than worthy of a spot in the XI, but I don't believe he is back to his best just yet.

Aggression is Clarke's natural instinct as far as his batting is concerned its only that in the last 2 years he had gone into his shell and decided to shun most of his shots inorder to be more consistent but that obviously did him no real good.

In his last two knocks he came out and played his shots and most importantly showed a positive intent now that's all he needs to everytime he comes out to bat, he has got all the ability a batsman can wish for and in the end its just upto him to ensure that he backs that ability everytime he goes out to bat.

EDIT: Btw... why is everyone making it sound like both Hussey and Hauritz have been dropped because they are no chance to play, both had made it pretty clear that they would be ok for the worldcup but the selectors just didn't show any faith in him.

In particular I feel bad for Hussey as he was doing everything in his powers to ensure speedy recovery, and lets say if the selectors are trying to say that they won't take injured players to the worldcup then Ponting, Smith, Paine and Haddin shouldn't be going to the worldcup either.

 

[marc71178]

I guess you will have to look into Hauritz's record in India in the ODI format to understand why not having him in the side is a big blow.

In Australia's last series win over in India he bowled excellently during the middle overs, he didn't have many wickets to show for that but his economy rate was around 4 which is excellent for a spinner on small Indian grounds.

Yes, but how does that suddenly mean all the loose cannons are going to not spray it all over the place if he's playing?

 

[Spark]

Aggression is Clarke's natural instinct as far as his batting is concerned its only that in the last 2 years he had gone into his shell and decided to shun most of his shots inorder to be more consistent but that obviously did him no real good.

In his last two knocks he came out and played his shots and most importantly showed a positive intent now that's all he needs to everytime he comes out to bat, he has got all the ability a batsman can wish for and in the end its just upto him to ensure that he backs that ability everytime he goes out to bat.

EDIT: Btw... why is everyone making it sound like both Hussey and Hauritz have been dropped because they are no chance to play, both had made it pretty clear that they would be ok for the worldcup but the selectors just didn't show any faith in him.

In particular I feel bad for Hussey as he was doing everything in his powers to ensure speedy recovery, and lets say if the selectors are trying to say that they won't take injured players to the worldcup then Ponting, Smith, Paine and Haddin shouldn't be going to the worldcup either.

Nah, they had a scan today on Hussey and they found it was worse than they actually thought.

And I think most people had more or less written Hauritz off fairly early on, it looked a nasty, nasty injury.

 

[pup11]

Nah, they had a scan today on Hussey and they found it was worse than they actually thought.

And I think most people had more or less written Hauritz off fairly early on, it looked a nasty, nasty injury.

Australian news: Michael Hussey disappointed at World Cup scratching | Cricket News | ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 | ESPN Cricinfo

Now... Mike Hussey is not some green horn he has been playing cricket for a long time and he probably knows his body inside out by now, so if he is confident that he would be alright for the 2nd or 3rd game then why not take that punt..??

 

[Ausage]

I can understand his frustration tbh. Hussey is a good enough player for them to be selecting a squad that takes his possible absence into account. If they selected Ferguson instead of Paine they could have brought a 70% fit Mike Hussey in the hope that he regained fitness in time for the final matches. If he doesn't make it Ferguson ends up as a like for like replacement and we're back where we will likely be anyway. It's risky, but Hussey is worth it for mine.

Instead they picked 2 specialist wicket keepers I would be frustrated as well.