The Unpopular Opinions Thread

[Flem274*]

this is meant to be the unpopular opinions thread not the unpopular debates thread

do discuss lame india v aus players somewhere else.

 

[honestbharani]

So you mean that is an unpopular opinion there you just voiced, Flem?

 

[andruid]

All our(my) opinions are popular.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Aussie pitches are supposed to be roads, what did Mitch do against us in 2018-19?

I don't think he even played. Not sure though I didn't really watch any of that summer

 

[Starfighter]

I don't think he even played. Not sure though I didn't really watch any of that summer

Played at Melbourne. His performance is well measured by its memorability (I had to look it up as I didn't remember).

 

[TheJediBrah]

Played at Melbourne. His performance is well measured by its memorability (I had to look it up as I didn't remember).

Only thing I remember about the Melbourne game was hearing about Peter Siddle (inexplicably selected despite being about the 158th best bowler in the country) unsurprisingly being terrible and dropping catches

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Nah Siddle was 12th man in the game where he grassed a few, couldn't catch syphilis in a Kazakhstani brothel that game

And I call bs on the 158th best claim, which brings me quite neatly onto my next point

Sheffield Shield bowling stocks are seriously overrated right now

 

[NotMcKenzie]

And I call bs on the 158th best claim

Agreed: seems much too high.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Agreed: seems much too high.

Yes I know the post was clearly hyperbole. But the broader point I still disagree with.

Hence why I am saying our domestic bowling depth is overrated

 

[stephen]

It's either our domestic bowlers are all very good or or domestic batsmen are awful.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Our stock of domestic batsman aren't too flash, but that isn't an unpopular opinion, more a largely accepted fact.


To elaborate on my point, do you think Tremain or Boland would get a game over some combination of Reiffel, Fleming, Inness, Saker and Harvey? I highly doubt it. Neser over Bichel, Kasprowicz and Dale, wouldn't go that way either. Spin isn't a dissimilar either, behind Warnie there was McGill, May, Hogg, McIntyre and at a stretch Jackson and Freedman. Will take then over all modern domestic spinners except SOK

The only state that can claim to have an unequivocally better attack than they did 20-25 years ago is Tasmania. About 50/50 for my local lads probably. Everybody else, no way

 

[Kirkut]

The secret to playing spin bowling is hitting it on the full so it doesn't spin. Just bat 4 yards out of your crease. Surprised more players haven't figured that out.

And that is where the tricky part begins, because the ball can dip at anytime and land on a relatively shorter length than you expect it to.

 

[Kirkut]

Dravid wasn't exactly a model for playing spin. Warne had most success against him of all Indian batsmen and he also tended to york himself against finger spinners.

He played Swann at his peak the best though. Swann was not a huge turner of the ball but had an excellent flight and drift for an off spinner, Dravid played him mostly on backfoot throughout the series.

 

[Kirkut]

#youreoverthinkingthisbigtime

I was actually more comfortable against a medium pacer than a spin bowler.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Our stock of domestic batsman aren't too flash, but that isn't an unpopular opinion, more a largely accepted fact.


To elaborate on my point, do you think Tremain or Boland would get a game over some combination of Reiffel, Fleming, Inness, Saker and Harvey? I highly doubt it. Neser over Bichel, Kasprowicz and Dale, wouldn't go that way either. Spin isn't a dissimilar either, behind Warnie there was McGill, May, Hogg, McIntyre and at a stretch Jackson and Freedman. Will take then over all modern domestic spinners except SOK

The only state that can claim to have an unequivocally better attack than they did 20-25 years ago is Tasmania. About 50/50 for my local lads probably. Everybody else, no way

think you might be overrating the likes of Jackson and Freedman there a bit lol

 

[Burgey]

I was actually more comfortable against a medium pacer than a spin bowler.

Sure, that’s fair because medium pacer is usually mediocre. Not fast enough to hurry you up and not so slow as to cloud your decision making. They can suck on damp decks which hold up though

 

[Prince EWS]

Our stock of domestic batsman aren't too flash, but that isn't an unpopular opinion, more a largely accepted fact.


To elaborate on my point, do you think Tremain or Boland would get a game over some combination of Reiffel, Fleming, Inness, Saker and Harvey? I highly doubt it. Neser over Bichel, Kasprowicz and Dale, wouldn't go that way either. Spin isn't a dissimilar either, behind Warnie there was McGill, May, Hogg, McIntyre and at a stretch Jackson and Freedman. Will take then over all modern domestic spinners except SOK

The only state that can claim to have an unequivocally better attack than they did 20-25 years ago is Tasmania. About 50/50 for my local lads probably. Everybody else, no way

I agree with pretty much all this (except maybe the part about the spinners), but I still don't really think the bowling depth is over-rated. I guess my perception of where people rate it exactly is different to yours, as opposed to having a different view on the quality of them. I think people by and large recognise that Australia's domestic fast bowling depth is:
a) better than its better depth
b) very good by world standards
c) still not as good as it was in the late 90s/early 00s

I think that late 90s/early 00s period was a bit of an aberration as opposed to something people should be overly concerned about not being replicated. The rise of domestic T20 leagues as a viable way to make it as a professional cricketer has weakened the standard of domestic FC cricket in general too -- not just in the obvious way of player availability, but in that some players decide to focus on developing different skills to make a living now, instead of just slugging it out trying to become a Dale or Perren standard Shield cricketer.

 

[stephen]

I think there's a bit of rose- tinted glasses going on here. Bird is around the same level as Bichel, Neser is a small step down (but not by much). Behrendorff is probably as good as any of the 90s Queensland quicks.

In fact I think Dale wasn't much chop at international level. He was too slow (probably mid 120s - Copeland-like). Sure we don't have McGrath (though we do have Cummins), but IMO Australia's backup quicks are better than the 90s/ early 00s crowd. Starc is way better than Lee, Hazlewood is better than Gillespie, Pattinson is better than Bichel/Kasper.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think there's a bit of rose- tinted glasses going on here. Bird is around the same level as Bichel, Neser is a small step down (but not by much). Behrendorff is probably as good as any of the 90s Queensland quicks.

In fact I think Dale wasn't much chop at international level. He was too slow (probably mid 120s - Copeland-like). Sure we don't have McGrath (though we do have Cummins), but IMO Australia's backup quicks are better than the 90s/ early 00s crowd. Starc is way better than Lee, Hazlewood is better than Gillespie, Pattinson is better than Bichel/Kasper.

don't agree with this one

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I think there's a bit of rose- tinted glasses going on here. Bird is around the same level as Bichel, Neser is a small step down (but not by much). Behrendorff is probably as good as any of the 90s Queensland quicks

I cannot agree at all, it isn't even especially close. Dorff is a bit of an outlier though, definitely think he has more to like about him than the guys who do dominate the Shield wickets list, but with his back being completely screwed he's unlikely to play much if any red ball cricket again. Bird is pretty good, you are probably right in that I was judging him a bit too harshly on the basis of that Boxing Day Ashes test, but definitely still a tier below Bichel.



Don't see how I'm the one wearing rose tinted glasses at all. You rated Luke Feldman and he's pretty dreadful, so yeah I can't agree with you there