Player ratings thread

[morgieb]

Warner 3 - one OK start that he didn't kick on with, one failure
Harris 4 - two starts that he failed to kick on with. Two dropped catches to compound that, one that was difficult and basically irrelevant, one that was much easier and might've proved crucial.
Labuschange 4 - similar to Harris without the drops. Still I've seen worse 20-odd's.
Smith 7 - didn't kick on with his innings but the first innings 60 was key towards getting Australia towards a strong first innings score and overall batted way better than I've seen from him in a while. Handy bowling too.
Khawaja 10 - what a return. If he doesn't get picked for Hobart it's a disgrace.
Green 7 - probably his worst game with the ball so far this series, but still took key wickets. Good knock second innings though the hindsight critics will point to him for taking a bit too long when quick runs was needed.
Carey 1 - ouch. Few runs, and a number of key clangers with the gloves.
Cummins 6 - brace in the second innings blew the game open but before that looked pretty limp. Seems in need of a rest.
Starc 5 - like Cummins, looked a bit tired and seemed to have problems with his ankles. Would've done better with more luck, though.
Lyon 6 - England did get after him with some success but still took wickets, and bowled pretty well (especially to lefties) in the second dig. Not his best work, though.
Boland 9 - well, he showed up those who thought Melbourne was a fluke! With the rest of the attack a bit flat he was outstanding.

Hameed 1 - kindest thing I can say is that he hung around a bit. But he looks shot of all confidence and really has to go.
Crawley 7 - very crafty knock second innings. Still don't think he's the full product but he did well.
Malan 1 - probably not as bad as Hameed, but still did nothing of significance. Series has turned for the worst after a pretty good start.
Root 3 - still looks like he wants to attack too much and looks vulnerable on the front foot. Needs to turn it around.
Stokes 7 - given his injury, he did a very fine job with the bat. Did require a fair bit of luck, but I guess you still need to capitalise on it whereas a number of English bats didn't.
Bairstow 10 - wow. I know he's had some great Test knocks in the past, but this was genuinely unexpected. We'll wait and see whether it's a one-off or a genuine turn of the corner, but it's saved his Test career.
Buttler 2 - the memories of the near reaguard at Adelaide are fading hard. Again has to go.
Wood 6 - seemed a very Wood game with the ball in that he showed some genuine hostility but wasn't all that effective at getting the batsman out. Very important cameo with the bat, though.
Leach 6 - finally started to regain some confidence in the second innings and actually looked fairly threatening at times. Also played an important role in saving the Test.
Broad 7 - England's best bowler first innings, and like Leach played a significant role saving the Test.
Anderson 4 - I suppose he kept things tight, but didn't bowl a threatening enough length. Not good enough.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Anderson 4 - I suppose he kept things tight, but didn't bowl a threatening enough length. Not good enough.

So strange this has been a persistent and legitimate criticism of Anderson's this tour. You'd imagine he'd be the last guy to be carried away with bowling short of length on Australian pitches.

 

[Line and Length]

Labuschange 4 - similar to Harris without the drops. Still I've seen worse 20-odd's.

I'd deduct a point for his ridiculous appeals.

 

[Gnske]

Warner: 0 - Seriously? You old fraud
Harris: 10 - Bent his knee into several crisp drives. Defeated by deliveries that would have got even Bradman out.
Labuschagne: 0 - Wood will end his career the same way Wagner ended Smith's
Smith: 5 - Jammed a wicket and almost looked like getting into form
Khawaja: 7 - Came in when Harris had blunted the attack.
Green: 4 - Still thinking about Hilton Cartwright
Carey: 0 - Still thinking about Tim Paine
Cummins: 10 - Sending out Carey to die may be his best work yet.
Starc: 3 - Deserves to be DROPPED for a rest.
Boland: 9 - A god so accurate he could bowl a long hop at a pair of Roswell Grey woman breasts orbiting Mars.
Lyon 0 - Still thinking about Mitch Swepson

Hameed: 7.5 - Racism will see him rested. Confidence from Silverwood will see him hit double figures in addition to blunting the Australian attack
Crawley: 9.5 - A 10 is deserved, but fell 5 runs short of the promised century (aggregate)
Malan: 0 - Needs to be RESTED
Root: 0 - Notice he never talks to Hameed in the field.
Stokes: 7 - Batted with his guts torn and still looked as threatening as he did in Bristol.
Bairstow: 10 - Genius, like Khawaja has missed too many tests.
Buttler: 0 - Will be replaced with a slightly younger version. Deservedly so.
Wood: 5 - Would get a 10 if he could pitch it up.
Broad: 10 - Saved the match and England.
Anderson: 0 - Clouds everywhere and was a limp penis. Rest him.
Leach: 2 - What can you even say about English spin?

 

[morgieb]

Warner 6 - started off well with two 90's, then tailed off quite badly especially when facing Broad. Seemed below par in the latter Tests and you have to wonder if he's near the cliff.
Harris 5 - not great, but while the 70 at Melbourne may have had some fortune it proved to be a very crucial knock in the end and made a couple of other starts. Still the right call to drop him, but he's not as far off it as I thought earlier in the series.
Labuschagne 7 - similar to Warner, but managed a ton and a couple of starts later in the series. Not his best series by a long stretch but you'd take it as far as down series go.
Smith 6 - weird series. There were times he looked prepared to dominate but got out after getting a start, which is very un-Smithlike. In the end, a pretty indifferent series. At least I feel like his best might be closer to fruition than what it looked for large parts of the last two years.
Head 8 - you have to take two match defining tons in any series. A couple of other decent starts too. Any doubts about him have to be close to answered now.
Green 8 - scary that he's only 22. His batting was looking worrying for much of the series, but turned it around with a genuinely excellent Test with the bat at Hobart. And his bowling was insane. Always seemed able to pick up key wickets and his spell at Hobart turned the game when England looked like they might've had a sniff.
Carey 4 - started off promisingly-ish, but struggled quite badly in some of the later Tests. Did manage a key start in Hobart but even that required a fair bit of luck, and his keeping had a really serious technical flaw that lead to a number of let-offs. Will probably get more Tests but remained far from convincing.
Cummins 8 - as always world-class. Did bowl a couple of tired spells but otherwise as good as ever. And captained quite well, with only one real mistake costing.
Starc 8 - still kind of patchy but unlike some other series had a number of genuine searing spells to go with it, and a bit of bad luck with catches. Also managed some key cameos with the bat.
Lyon 8 - took a bit more of a back seat role with the seamers dominating, but still bowled well when he had the chance. Key spells at Brisbane and Adelaide proved very important.
Hazlewood 7 - bowled a great spell on the first morning, then basically disappeared because of injury. It says a lot about Australia's bowling depth and England's batting that his absence was barely felt.
Richardson 8 - did have one bad spell on Day 3 but otherwise bowled very well. Crazy to think he's probably not even first reverse in Australia's pace bowling stocks.
Neser 6 - was solid. Kept it tight. But overshadowed by the rest of the attack. Unlike.....
Boland 10 - where the **** did he come from? Such a simple MO, yet such a fruitful one. Close to unhittable and never looked far away from a big bag. Jury remains out as to whether he can keep it up, but even if he doesn't he'll always have this series to fall back on.
Khawaja 8 - was sublime at Sydney, with two really important tons to force his way back into the starting XI. Not as good in Hobart but did get some good deliveries.

Burns 2 - managed a couple of starts, but for the most part was very bad. Game looked a bit of a mess and you never felt like he'd hurt you.
Hameed 1 - just looked completely shot. Even when let-off you got another chance very soon afterwards. It's going to be a long time before we see him again.
Malan 5 - another batsman to start off well but fade away. Didn't look comfortable against Lyon and failed to pass 25 in any of the last three Tests. Probably time to move on.
Root 6 - England's best batsman, which says a lot. Though in fairness I bet he would've done better in a different batting lineup. Did manage some glittering starts, but the Aussie quicks did work out his technical flaw comfortably and he often seemed a bit too compulsive with getting bat on ball. Captaincy wasn't great but probably exaggerated in terms of badness - he just didn't have the cattle.
Stokes 3 - probably shouldn't have toured. He did have one good Test in Sydney to force a draw, but otherwise looked short of confidence or fitness with the bat. And while he tried hard with the ball, he looked well short of rhythm there as well.
Pope 1 - yikes. His batting looked promising at Brisbane, but got worse as the series went on and some of the shots he played were utterly offensive for a Test-level batsman.
Buttler 3 - one tough knock at Adelaide, but very little else. Plenty of errors with the gloves too.
Woakes 3 - batted well, I guess. But his bowling was largely ineffective and was often easy runs for Australia. Shouldn't play away from England if we're fair dinkum.
Robinson 7 - pretty solid. Never really looked ridiculously dangerous but generally pretty consistent and never really bowled badly when fit.
Wood 7 - apart from second innings Hobart I never really felt like he'd take a big haul and even then there was a bit of luck, but did have genuine hostility and Australia never really looked especially comfortable against him.
Leach 3 - career was nearly ruined at Brisbane. Improved a bit as the series went on but still looked like the weak link in the English attack for much of the series.
Broad 7 - struggled at Adelaide, but bowled very well in the last two Tests and reignited his battle with Warner in the best way possible. Seems to thrive on being the attack leader.
Anderson 6 - great spell in Melbourne, but even that required very favourable conditions. Elsewhere bowled a bit too short and never really looked like a massive threat.
Crawley 5 - still plenty to learn and I worry about his game in seaming conditions, but did at least look like he could take it to Australia and the 77 was a genuinely "stand up and notice" knock. One to watch.
Bairstow 8 - fantastic knock at Sydney, probably career saving. Looked much more comfortable with the bat than most of his counterparts and seemed fairly difficult to dismiss.
Billings 4 - not the worst debut I've seen, and at least seemed to be good for a rev-up. But I don't think he's up to Test standard.

 

[Shady Slim]

not just as the general of the Hameed Defense Force, and because you put such great effort into compiling these it's a bit dog to criticise as i don't also make a similar list of my own but you can't call burns a two when you factor in his genuinely pathetic efforts in the field

sometimes it was hard to watch he just looked like he didn't care the entire time

 

[Victor Ian]

I reckon Burns gets 2 points for going out with flowing locks. At least he tried to change something in his game.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

All the England team get 10/10 for having the cheek to turn up.
All the Australians get 3/10 for having the gall to celebrate.