***Official*** India in Australia

[biased indian]

if all our leadin bowlers are injured.i will say play with 8 batsmen plus..pathan kumble and harbhajan..atleast we can try to draw the games

 

[SJS]

if all our leadin bowlers are injured.i will say play with 8 batsmen plus..pathan kumble and harbhajan..atleast we can try to draw the games

Playing eight batsmen is no guarantee to winning a series but playing three bowlers is almost to make sure that you will not win it and that the opposition may score so many runs as to put your batsmen under constant pressure.

A team that goes with the intention of drawing the games often ends up losing them.

There have been many instances of teams wanting to hold on to a winning lead with no consideration for wanting to win, particularly in India Pakistan matches of 1950's and 60's but I dont recall even those 'dull dogs of cricket' resorting to playing with just three bowlers.

Of course the fact that you may actually bowl one or more of these bowlers to the ground and join the injured/unfit list never crossed my mind

 

[SJS]

If all your leading bowlers are injured, it is very unfortunate but it is also a chance to try out those who you are just not able to do otherwise. There may still be something to gain in a defeat in such a case - an idea of the true potential of your back up pool.

 

[biased indian]

wht ever be the reason..i am more than happy to check all the testings and logics to shelf

wht i am intrested is for our team to avoid a 4-0 white wash..all of you out here will have lot of reasons and logics.but for me i want to draw the first test be it 11 batsmen..and then we will play this as a 3 test series and may win it 3-0 or loose 3-0..but i want that MCG test to be drawn at any cost....if they can win it then the best new year gift any one could have given me

 

[archie mac]

Anyway after watching cricket for a few years, I have never seen Australia succeed when employing a four man pace attack with no spinners, and I hope they do not try it on what will be more than likely a flat track at the MCG

 

[pup11]

Anyway after watching cricket for a few years, I have never seen Australia succeed when employing a four man pace attack with no spinners, and I hope they do not try it on what will be more than likely a flat track at the MCG

Yeah if Australia goes in with a 4-pace on the re-laid MCG track which has been widely criticised as a dead life-less wicket then i would be madness.

 

[archie mac]

Yeah if Australia goes in with a 4-pace on the re-laid MCG track which has been widely criticised as a dead life-less wicket then i would be madness.

They were tipping it on the sports shows tonight, but surely not

 

[Craig]

If Bryce McGain gets picked, then for mine, surely it will be up there with the selection of Peter Taylor against the West Indies in the mid 80s (84/85 or 86/87 right?), was picked from nowhere and with half a dozen FC games and at 30 (IIRC) years of age.

I have a feeling a player will be picked from nowhere, and McGain might be the man.

 

[iamdavid]

If Bryce McGain gets picked, then for mine, surely it will be up there with the selection of Peter Taylor against the West Indies in the mid 80s (84/85 or 86/87 right?), was picked from nowhere and with half a dozen FC games and at 30 (IIRC) years of age.

I have a feeling a player will be picked from nowhere, and McGain might be the man.

Hogg is clearly ahead of him atm though (and fair enough) as Hilditch was singing Hogg's praises today..

For him to be selected in any of the tests against India he needs one of the following to happen-

- outstanding domestic form (rather than merely satisfactory as it is atm)
- injury to Hogg
- an absolutely horrible series against NZL for Hogg where he completely looses the plot.
- a the paceman looking out of answers against India's batsman and a spinner-friendly surface at either Adelaide or Sydney.

 

[Matt79]

What McGain has going for him is that he has his action well sorted and will hence be more likely to be able to produce his best under pressure, and he knows his game and how he is going to try to get wickets. That's not true of the two Cullens. He bowls deliveries that do enough to threaten good batsmen, which isn't true of Heal (hide me from Nath).

Hogg is ahead, but after Hogg there's almost literally no spinner doing anything to merit selection, other than McGain, who's form this year has been very very good. The fact that he's in his mid-30s is irrelevant - if he's in the form of his life, and that form is good enough to suggest he'd be competitive at the top level, then go for it, given that there are no younger options that are as good at the moment.

 

[Matt79]

Anyway after watching cricket for a few years, I have never seen Australia succeed when employing a four man pace attack with no spinners, and I hope they do not try it on what will be more than likely a flat track at the MCG

Yeah if Australia goes in with a 4-pace on the re-laid MCG track which has been widely criticised as a dead life-less wicket then i would be madness.

Agree with these points.

 

[howardj]

I concur.

As a general rule, you've got to have a spinner in your attack.

There are rare exceptions of course, but a drop-in MCG wicket is not one of them!

 

[Richard]

So, the options are:

Pick a spinner, who's overwhelmingly likely to get collared on a flat MCG pitch

or

Pick a seamer, who's possibly likely to get collared on a flat MCG pitch, but might just produce something special (eg, Tait).

I just cannot believe anyone is seriously advocating the former. Sure, Australia have never succeeded when going in with 4 seamers, but how often have they succeeded going in with a crap spinner?

 

[Matt79]

Neither McGain or Hogg are crap is the short answer to that. And they're more likely to produce something that Clark, Lee and Johnson can't. Like Alanis Morrisette said, its like having a draw full of spoons when all you want is a fork.

Typical misrepresentation of what others are saying as well...

 

[jeevan]

Neither McGain or Hogg are crap is the short answer to that. And they're more likely to produce something that Clark, Lee and Johnson can't. Like Alanis Morrisette said, its like having a draw full of spoons when all you want is a fork.

Typical misrepresentation of what others are saying as well...

Exact line from 'Ironic' is
"It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife"
But other than that nit what you and the others say make sense.
(great quote though).

 

[Richard]

Neither McGain or Hogg are crap is the short answer to that. And they're more likely to produce something that Clark, Lee and Johnson can't. Like Alanis Morrisette said, its like having a draw full of spoons when all you want is a fork.

Hmm, don't see the similarity at all TBH - a bowler is a bowler, all you ever want from a bowler is to take wickets and not concede runs.

I cannot see for a second that Hogg can do something Clark can't, for instance. Nor do I find it remotely inconceivable that, were Hogg or McGain to be picked, they'd turn-out crap. Not saying they will, but that there's plenty of evidence to suggest they might.

 

[Matt79]

Hogg can bowl a wrong'un for a start. And a Flipper.

 

[Richard]

Well, yeah, but Clark can bowl off-cutters and leg-cutters on a good length. If you can do that, there's little else you need.

Look, I see the point that you could argue that Hogg > Tait or Johnson. But I honestly don't see him doing more damage than either of the two seamers, under almost any could-reasonably-be-expected circumstances.

 

[archie mac]

Exact line from 'Ironic' is
"It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife"
But other than that nit what you and the others say make sense.
(great quote though).

But how is that Ironic?

Only if she discovered the next day that she could have in fact used a spoon would that be ironic

 

[Burgey]

Well, yeah, but Clark can bowl off-cutters and leg-cutters on a good length. If you can do that, there's little else you need.

Look, I see the point that you could argue that Hogg > Tait or Johnson. But I honestly don't see him doing more damage than either of the two seamers, under almost any could-reasonably-be-expected circumstances.

I wonder if they'll play Tait and Hogg, leaving out Johnson.

If Hogg plays, they get the left arm variety with their spinner, rather than their quicks.

Don't think they will for Melbourne or Sydney, but I'd certatinly like to see Tait in action in a Test at Perth.