Cricket Season Thread

[Marshall_magic]

So I guess it's

Cowan
Warner
Marsh
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Haddin
Pattinson
Siddle
Hilfenhaus/Starc
Lyon

Still a decent quick short, but I do like the batting, hoping the old boys deliver.

 

[happy_tiger]

I can't believe the selectors excuse for not picking Harris

If they didn't think the 20/20 game was enough get him to do a 10 -15 over 3-4 hour sessions in front of the selectors and Docs and physios and see how he pulls up

Harris must be a far better option than Hilfy and must be worth the effort

Nice to see the changes at the top of the tree are working :crazy

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Harris could still be a surprise packet. Don't lose hope Happy…

 

[happy_tiger]

Harris could still be a surprise packet. Don't lose hope Happy…

I didn't realize that Sheensy is also a cricket selector CB

In that case anything could happen …..

What does Fitzy do Bat or bowl ??

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Harris could still be a surprise packet. Don't lose hope Happy…

I didn't realize that Sheensy is also a cricket selector CB

In that case anything could happen …..

What does Fitzy do Bat or bowl ??

What does that have to do with anything Happy?

 

[happy_tiger]

Harris could still be a surprise packet. Don't lose hope Happy…

I didn't realize that Sheensy is also a cricket selector CB

In that case anything could happen …..

What does Fitzy do Bat or bowl ??

What does that have to do with anything Happy?

I'm talking about last minute selection changes

Thought that was what you meant by Harris being a surprise packet for the Test Match

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I'm with you mate!

 

[Goose]

Im glad they have picked some blokes in form. Ed Cowen and Warner if they dont go on to be long term solutions are least in top form and present the best chance to do well in the short term, and perhaps may turn out to be long term options.
Im happy for them not to pick Harris until he is 100% fit, given the drama he has had over the last 18 monthe with injuries, better to be safe than sorry.
Hilfy is bowling well and has a heap of wickets in shield and when in form is top class. Id bring him in for Starx, who is yet to impress me.

Hughes and Usman had to go.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I thought Andy Raymond cracked the lamest jokes on fox sports, but i reckon Fleming has him covered. He seems to think of himself as a comedian, and his constant need to reference the AFL and the Hawks annoys the crap out of me. Talks out his nose as well

 

[Yossarian]

Im glad they have picked some blokes in form. Ed Cowen and Warner if they dont go on to be long term solutions are least in top form and present the best chance to do well in the short term, and perhaps may turn out to be long term options.
Im happy for them not to pick Harris until he is 100% fit, given the drama he has had over the last 18 monthe with injuries, better to be safe than sorry.
Hilfy is bowling well and has a heap of wickets in shield and when in form is top class. Id bring him in for Starx, who is yet to impress me.

Hughes and Usman had to go.

Agree with most of that but gee Hilfenhaus has had a LOT of chances. I think he's a bit like Johnson - you know there is a stack of potential somewhere but get frustrated he doesn't produce it enough. He's certainly not as bad as Mitch Johnson is on a regular basis but he is often ineffectual. He does have a beautiful outswinger when he's on song.

And there you have it - 3 Tasmanians potentially in the starting XI… And no Queenslanders!

 

[happy_tiger]

Im glad they have picked some blokes in form. Ed Cowen and Warner if they dont go on to be long term solutions are least in top form and present the best chance to do well in the short term, and perhaps may turn out to be long term options.
Im happy for them not to pick Harris until he is 100% fit, given the drama he has had over the last 18 monthe with injuries, better to be safe than sorry.
Hilfy is bowling well and has a heap of wickets in shield and when in form is top class. Id bring him in for Starx, who is yet to impress me.

Hughes and Usman had to go.

Agree with most of that but gee Hilfenhaus has had a LOT of chances. I think he's a bit like Johnson - you know there is a stack of potential somewhere but get frustrated he doesn't produce it enough. He's certainly not as bad as Mitch Johnson is on a regular basis but he is often ineffectual. He does have a beautiful outswinger when he's on song.

And there you have it - 3 Tasmanians potentially in the starting XI… And no Queenslanders!

Yoss my problem with Hilfy is if the pitch isn't doing much he is pretty much up and down and he doesn't have the pace or a good change up even if we can't get early wickets he could be cannon fodder for the likes of Laxman ,Tendulkar etc

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I have my doubts over the Indian batting line-up. I know they've had 1 of the best batting line-ups in the last 10-15 yrs, but they aren't young guyz anymore. I'll exclude Tendulkar, because he just seems to get better with age. Dravid has been in good form, but last time he was here realy struggled. Laxman is another one who i'm unsure about. He hasn't realy done much of late to get that excited about. Gambier and Kohli are untested in Aussie conditions so the jury is still out on them IMO. The only two Indian batsmen i have any confidence in are Tendulkar and Sehwag

 

[happy_tiger]

I have my doubts over the Indian batting line-up. I know they've had 1 of the best batting line-ups in the last 10-15 yrs, but they aren't young guyz anymore. I'll exclude Tendulkar, because he just seems to get better with age. Dravid has been in good form, but last time he was here realy struggled. Laxman is another one who i'm unsure about. He hasn't realy done much of late to get that excited about. Gambier and Kohli are untested in Aussie conditions so the jury is still out on them IMO. The only two Indian batsmen i have any confidence in are Tendulkar and Sehwag

GNR Laxman seems to save his best for us
I reckon his batting average against Australia would be almost double his average against other nations

 

[Yossarian]

Im glad they have picked some blokes in form. Ed Cowen and Warner if they dont go on to be long term solutions are least in top form and present the best chance to do well in the short term, and perhaps may turn out to be long term options.
Im happy for them not to pick Harris until he is 100% fit, given the drama he has had over the last 18 monthe with injuries, better to be safe than sorry.
Hilfy is bowling well and has a heap of wickets in shield and when in form is top class. Id bring him in for Starx, who is yet to impress me.

Hughes and Usman had to go.

Agree with most of that but gee Hilfenhaus has had a LOT of chances. I think he's a bit like Johnson - you know there is a stack of potential somewhere but get frustrated he doesn't produce it enough. He's certainly not as bad as Mitch Johnson is on a regular basis but he is often ineffectual. He does have a beautiful outswinger when he's on song.

And there you have it - 3 Tasmanians potentially in the starting XI… And no Queenslanders!

Yoss my problem with Hilfy is if the pitch isn't doing much he is pretty much up and down and he doesn't have the pace or a good change up even if we can't get early wickets he could be cannon fodder for the likes of Laxman ,Tendulkar etc

Yeah I'd agree with that, When he can get the ball swinging he looks like Terry Alderman but when it doesn't move he becomes an ATM for run-hungry batsmen to make withdrawals from.

 

[happy_tiger]

Actually Yoss I think he is a better bowler when he can get it to move off the deck a bit

When he does manage to get it to swing it is from the hand and usually not late which is far more dangerous

 

[Yossarian]

Actually Yoss I think he is a better bowler when he can get it to move off the deck a bit

When he does manage to get it to swing it is from the hand and usually not late which is far more dangerous

I'd say his bigger issue is when he swings the ball his control is lacking. As much as it us nice to see the curve of the ball, if doesn't really help when he pitches a metre outside off.

 

[Bazzinator]

with dan christian basically guaranteed a spot after the comments of clarke and arthur that playing an all rounder is like having 12 players we will have a minimum of 4 right armed bolwers. starc adds that variety that will be needed for this series i believe. hilfenhaus has had many chances and really hasnt produced the goods on to many occasions. but his ability to land the ball on the spot ball after ball from what i remember is a good thing to have. doubt we can play both siddle and hilfenhaus in the same team again though and siddle should get the spot.

i dont see why they are pushing marsh so hard to prove his fitness if he isn't going to play anyway. like i said christian has a spot, warner and cowan will open, ponting hussey and clarke will fill the middle order. unless ponting is hurt more than what we know after being hit on the finger then let him rest up and get him ready for once watson comes back in replacing cowan and christian respectively

 

[happy_tiger]

Actually Yoss I think he is a better bowler when he can get it to move off the deck a bit

When he does manage to get it to swing it is from the hand and usually not late which is far more dangerous

I'd say his bigger issue is when he swings the ball his control is lacking. As much as it us nice to see the curve of the ball, if doesn't really help when he pitches a metre outside off.

Being a swing bowler at Hilfenhaus pace shouldn't worry any top class batsman and the Indians have a few of them

No doubt after saying that he will probably get 6 for in an innings at 10 plus for the match and get the MOM award

 

[Yossarian]

I wouldn't have thought the Indians would be losing sleep about having to face up to Dan Christian with an old ball. Having an all-rounder is ok if you have someone like Watson or Kallis but you'd think they would have learnt their lesson about trying to shoe-horn people in just because they can bat and bowl a bit (Steve Smith? Andrew McDonald?). If he's considered one of the best 6 batsmen in the country - all well and good. But if he's just getting picked because he can also bowl, that's a mistake. England spent years picking guys who average below 40 with the bat and above 30 with the ball. On their day they look like a good idea but overall they just seem to reduce your batting strength with minor but disproportional imporvements to the bowling. Personally I'd rather (for this test)

Warner
Cowan
Marsh
Clarke
Ponting
Hussey
Haddin
Siddle
Pattinson
Starc
Lyon

 

[Yossarian]

Actually Yoss I think he is a better bowler when he can get it to move off the deck a bit

When he does manage to get it to swing it is from the hand and usually not late which is far more dangerous

I'd say his bigger issue is when he swings the ball his control is lacking. As much as it us nice to see the curve of the ball, if doesn't really help when he pitches a metre outside off.

Being a swing bowler at Hilfenhaus pace shouldn't worry any top class batsman and the Indians have a few of them

No doubt after saying that he will probably get 6 for in an innings at 10 plus for the match and get the MOM award

Swing (and seam) bowling at any decent pace can be effective but it requires control. Alderman and McGrath were able to swing and seam (respectively) the ball to good effect because their control was superb. Alderman's most dangerous ball was the one that went straight on and got the LBW.