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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Milhanna13 -
Quote from: LP – on
Quote from: Milhanna13 – on


As for "pace", the Saffies have made a joke of needing it on this pitch, it shows you how predictable and pedestrian our blokes look when the pitch or conditions aren't assisting, excluding Boland who has the hunger the rest basically go through the motions! They don't want to be there, they can earn 10x playing for 1/20th the time in India!

yep - that "dead" track and "flat" ball sure seemed to fire up a bit, when Rabada and Jansen were steaming in. 
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by LP -
Quote from: Milhanna13 – on
Slug will stay, though, as the quicks are getting old and Green is not bowling, so they need the back up.  It will be Green in for Madinson, and Renshaw moved to the top.... nothing surer.    I'd give Sammy Harper a go at openning - in good form, and wont back down - but they wont
I'm not sure Renshaw has opening in his make up anymore, all of them are suffering from degraded techniques resulting from too much flat track T20 and ODI play.

I think Webster's biggest problem is that Cummins has NFI how to use all-rounders, so he basically runs the regulars including himself into the ground without any forward planning for tomorrow or the next match. By the time he started bowling Webster Boland, Starc and Cummins were all cooked.

Then there is the issue of the NSWelshmen defending their turf, which is anything connected to the baggy green. The old joke about getting a baggy green in a brown paper bag every time you get a NSW cap isn't really a joke is it, and as @dodge points out now blokes won't let go when they are cooked. I don't blame them for not wanting to relinquish a spot for Boland, because he will replace them and probably should have years ago!
( PS; Warner is already out in force on social media offering up a bunch of NSW names as replacements. )

As for "pace", the Saffies have made a joke of needing it on this pitch, it shows you how predictable and pedestrian our blokes look when the pitch or conditions aren't assisting, excluding Boland who has the hunger the rest basically go through the motions! They don't want to be there, they can earn 10x playing for 1/20th the time in India!
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Milhanna13 -
Quote from: Professer E – on
Harry Hoekstra from Vic looks ok.  Pity theres no batting although I always thought McSweeney deserves another try in his preferred slot.
The NSW Cartel has been putrid this test...at all facets.
Beau Webster looks finished too.

Poor old Slug.   Not up to it against genuine pace and cant play spin.   Great against an average attack, though.

Between him and Maddinson,  how do you expect to compete when 2 of your 6 batters are just not good enough.

Slug will stay, though, as the quicks are getting old and Green is not bowling, so they need the back up.   It will be Green in for Madinson, and Renshaw moved to the top.... nothing surer.     I'd give Sammy Harper a go at openning - in good form, and wont back down - but they wont
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by Professer E -
Harry Hoekstra from Vic looks ok.  Pity theres no batting although I always thought McSweeney deserves another try in his preferred slot.
The NSW Cartel has been putrid this test...at all facets.
Beau Webster looks finished too.
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by dodge -
Pre 'professionalism' players could only go round for so long before they had to get a job.  Now the $ are good, they are going to player as long as they can.

Be nice to say this is a one-off, but it is an oft repeated pattern

Not much from the first couple of Sheffield Shield games to bring in...

There aren't many players that'd say 'Nah, I'm not up to it,  don't select me'. More the selectors fault for not rejuvenating the side and allowing players to determine when they will retire. By the time the current test bowlers retire, Neser, Richardson etc will be gone, so who will will be the pace bowlers?
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by crashlander -
We certainly don't seem to be able to bat very well. I'm afraid Maddinson looks to be a wrong step.
Konstas, on the other hand, appears to have settled a bit: mot playing too many weird shots. 100 from 167 ball todays.
Would he have done better than Maddinson? Another interesting question for our selectors to ponder.