130-135 is plenty quick enough if you've got the control to go with it & are either hitting the seam, or getting late swing. As we've seen in the past, our batsmen have very little idea on how to play the moving ball...no matter what speed its delivered at !
As for rules on short pitched bowling leading to poor technique in recent years.....I'd go even further back to the development of protective equipment (helmet really). Batsmen are quite prepared to wear a knock on the scone these days as they know (mostly) they're going to be protected. This has led to a lot of players having very little idea of how to counter attack, or even evade the bouncer. I'm certainly not suggesting that helmets are a bad thing, they had to happen, but we see less & less players who are great instinct players of the short ball (the likes of Ponting).
Pattinson in for Hazelwood...no brainer. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that is what will happen.
I have a fear that our historical misguided obsession with all-rounders (or basically, blokes who can't bat or bowl properly !) could rear it's ugly head again.
But this risk avoidance is a modern trend, a sort of a shell-shock reaction to the Phil Hughes events.
The older forum members will remember the hellish days of dodgy West Indian or even flaky Adelaide oval pitches that behaved like this. I didn't see Sir Garfield, Sir Vivian, Sir Ian or Sir Richie pull up stumps and head home when the pitch got a bit dodgy even in that pre-helmet era!
We'd laugh loudly as the Indian top order was demolished by Thompson and Lillee at the height of their fast bowling powers. Even louder at Tony Grieg, pre and post helmet!
We also winced when our top order was battered & then demolished by Holding, Garner, Croft & Roberts etc, etc.....& marvelled at innings the likes of Kim Hughes Boxing Day test 1981 counter attacking against the odds !
yeah....I am slightly of the opinion that batsmen are rather too pampered these days....the MCG pitch was routinely poor through much of the 80s.
I don't know. Obviously Smith will be out to get some runs this summer :-)
I am not so sure of the bowlers....I think Cummins looked like he needed a rest in that last test...I would be giving Patto a run in at least 1 or two of these. And I see today the selectors are talking about two spinners for Sydney ! Geez, its not as if thee's any others worth picking. Marnus and Smith can take up the slack surely.
Fair point, I just get annoyed at watching non competitive cricket and like my test cricket played with some edge to it. Hopefully NZ will give us some competition and we can sort out the team for the real stuff vs the heavyweight teams. Interesting that some are calling for WA wonder boy Cam Green to be included in the test squad vs NZ.
I think the NZers will certainly give us some competition.....Kane Williamson & the like on boring flat drop in pitches...we may struggle to bowl them out.
We may be relying on an artificial result from the first pink ball test if we manage to score favourable evening bowling conditions....although their swing bowlers will be hoping for the same !
Add my well wishes to this Lods.....ha, yeah the old site had it's moments.....there were a few all out barneys among some from what i remember.
thanks for the amazing work......quite frankly it is pretty much this forum & the people on it that has kept my interest maintained & invested in the Club in recent years.
Good innings but the opposition are about the worst going around and for me its devalued, the Pakis are more interested in shaking hands and patting Warner on the back than getting him out....its just not competitive test cricket and we shouldnt be playing them in the Aus summer. 6/89.....they have to be kidding rocking up and producing the crap they have, their bowling is bad enough but their batting is horrendous...Babar aside its just rubbish. Maybe we got spoilt with the ashes but its getting to the stage where test cricket might have to be played in divisions where the better teams play each other and the minnows have to qualify to get into the higher division.
Need to be careful with that.....couple of years ago we might have slid down into the 2nd division !
I miss the 9 commentators.....well some of them. Draft in Mark Nicholas, Tubby Taylor & Mel Jones to go with Ponting, Alison Mitchell & Isa Guah & that's a decent team for mine. Tim Lane is actually a better radio (ball by ball) commentator I think.
By the way……getting very sick of seeing ads from Channel 7 proclaiming itself as “the home of cricket”….with that doyen of Cricket commentators Bwuce Mceveny……..
Just because you throw a whole heap of Fox backed money around & buy the rights to something that has been on another channel for 30 years doesn’t make you “the home of cricket”
Especially, when you refuse to show most of the matches involving the national side !!!!! & their coverage last year was sh1t….just like their AFL coverage.
Thanks for the update DJ, reckon those bad press stories forced FCJ to fix the car......Wranglers....you know my opinion on Jeep's Wouldnt buy a Holden either, more atrocious after sales support, they were good but not anymore, ditto for Ford. The Roller did well to get close to the line, EH I can believe but the P76??...like to check that car out, cant be original??
The P76 is (I reckon) a bit unfairly maligned, was a pretty decent car really....just produced & marketed at completely the wrong time as the world was going through the 70s oil crisis & also British Leyland was in free fall with more strikes than work going on. Had a decent motor & was enormously roomy !
Paine must go - his decision to bowl cost us the Test match and the Series win.
That's a little simplistic, in reality...dropping a truckload of catches, appalling batting, useless umpiring (we got shafted all series) & our reviewing of those useless umpiring decisions cost us the win.
and, equally, with all those points above against us, I'm not sure batting first would have made a sceric of difference.
Agree with most except the last bit. If CA are serious there will be a lot of changes, not least the selectors. Greg Chappel is done.
Warner should be too.
We need 2 x openers. Burns is 1. Stick with him. Renshaw should be given a chance Purcovski at 5 - Not many blokes have the patience these days to make BIG scores Patterson at 6 Carey at 7
Significantly improved batting line up.
Yep, I'm pretty much in agreement with that side Jon...Burns really hasn't done much wrong & should be given at least as much of a run as Harris (who just doesn't have the technique). Warner, should be done & dusted.
I really liked the look of Renshaw...but he just needs to score some RUNS !
Pucowski, yes, get him in for the home series....I think Wade has done enough to get a gig first home test.
And as a proud Tassie supporter....Painey needs to hand over the gloves & get Carey in sooner rather than later (ie, well before the next Ashes series !). of course, that does come with it's own problem of captaincy. But Australia has always had the tradition of picking your best side & then selecting the captain......England were always known for picking blokes with poor test records just for their captaincy. (Denness, Brearley etc)
Fast Bowlers.....Core group of Cummins, Hazelwood Richardson, Pattinson.........bit of a distance then Starc.
Not sure where Marsh fits into this if at all. If Carey is keeper the batting lookes stronger, so soemone like Marsh could be carried....not my ideal scenario though.
Lets face it, we retained the Ashes with 1 batsman & two bowlers.....POMS are in real trouble....particularly when broad & anderson are gone.
