*Official* Australia in decline thread

[Redbacks]

the "House" from Tasmania looks a good bowler with the ability to swing the ball. Don't forget the posibility of Shaun Tait coming back into the frey.

Hopefully Cosgrove gets cut loose by the SACA. If he goes East i'm sure he will get the reality check he needs. Loose some weight and he has potential to play for Australia.
What about all the guys who were making runs for WA - Voges, Marsh, North etc

 

[Richard]

On the subject of WA: have there ever been so many left-handers in a squad? Hussey, Marsh, Rogers, Langer, North, Ervine, Pomersbach, Gilchrist, Hogg. And even tailenders Edmundson, Gillies, Heal and Magoffin. How extraordinary.

 

[Redbacks]

That's very odd, obviously the WACA development coach was a left hander? Bouny wicket traditionally in WA if that in anyway favours Left Handers

SA have gone the other way, we have managed a team with 11 tailenders for a few years now

 

[roseboy64]

Next ODI is against the West Indies in the WI is it not?

 

[western_warrior]

Hussey... needs to stop bitching and just open
Hayden...
Ponting...
Clarke...
Symonds...
Haddin/ Ronchi... lets not just pencil in Haddins name he needs to perform
Voges/ Hodge/ North... need a rock in place of hussey
Hopes/ Noffke... i would prefer Noffke, better with the ball...
Lee
Johnson
Bracken

 

[Precambrian]

What about the Test team? all the discusion here seems to be in the ODI direction. Hayden cannot continue bullying on forever, and Brad Haddin is unproven in Gilly's absence which is HUGE. And there is that big threat of no spinner available.

Beleive me, the Pakistani (if that tour happens) and Indian curators are certainly going to bake the pitch to saw dust if they see Australia coming into the Chennai Test without a specialist spinner. I think the first priority hence is to develop a good WRIST spinner.

 

[silentstriker]

What about the Test team? all the discusion here seems to be in the ODI direction. Hayden cannot continue bullying on forever, and Brad Haddin is unproven in Gilly's absence which is HUGE. And there is that big threat of no spinner available.

Beleive me, the Pakistani (if that tour happens) and Indian curators are certainly going to bake the pitch to saw dust if they see Australia coming into the Chennai Test without a specialist spinner. I think the first priority hence is to develop a good WRIST spinner.

Clarke to bowl 50 overs, take 30 wickets and be Man of the Series? And I don't think its a big deal - Warne has never been all that good in India and Australia have won despite that.

 

[Precambrian]

Clarke to bowl 50 overs, take 30 wickets and be Man of the Series? And I don't think its a big deal - Warne has never been all that good in India and Australia have won despite that.

Clarke is a finger spinner. and Warne did pretty well last time around (also helped by the fact that SRT wasnt around for 2 of the 3 played). This series is a huge challenge for the Aussies.

 

[Richard]

Next ODI is against the West Indies in the WI is it not?

So it is, if I'm right in presuming there are no scheduled ODIs in Pakistan.

 

[Richard]

Hussey... needs to stop bitching and just open

Hussey has always stated he'd prefer to open has he not? It's been those responsible for selection who've had him down the order.

 

[Goughy]

You know my opinion on that: bowling well and turning-out poor figures is little use. There has never been a good player without good statistics. .

Interesting, as your standard defense of Sidebottom in Tests is that he is an unlucky bowler

 

[Richard]

What about the Test team? all the discusion here seems to be in the ODI direction. Hayden cannot continue bullying on forever, and Brad Haddin is unproven in Gilly's absence which is HUGE. And there is that big threat of no spinner available.

Beleive me, the Pakistani (if that tour happens) and Indian curators are certainly going to bake the pitch to saw dust if they see Australia coming into the Chennai Test without a specialist spinner. I think the first priority hence is to develop a good WRIST spinner.

Clarke to bowl 50 overs, take 30 wickets and be Man of the Series? And I don't think its a big deal - Warne has never been all that good in India and Australia have won despite that.

Clarke is a finger spinner. and Warne did pretty well last time around (also helped by the fact that SRT wasnt around for 2 of the 3 played). This series is a huge challenge for the Aussies.

The Test team has been discussed millions of times before, and it's ODIs that have been the most recent concern, hence the discussion here.

Pakistan would be brainless to prepare turners for Australia, seam, not spin, has always been Pakistan's strength. And Pakistan's current seam attack is easily more potent than Australia's. But if we get some nice green, bouncy surfaces, it should be a nice low-scoring series.

As regards the India tour, India really should win that series. Provided their team stays injury-free, provided we get the turning surfaces we should (no idiots deliberately sabotaging the national team's prospects by preparing green seamers because they don't get on with the president this time ) and given more general coherancy than last time (which was a shambles in so many ways) there shouldn't be much Australia can do to change that. They can pick their best team, they can prepare perfectly, India should still have the better side in their conditions.

 

[Richard]

Interesting, as your standard defense of Sidebottom in Tests is that he is an unlucky bowler

If Sidebottom's Test career ended tomorrow it'd not be a good one. There's no two ways about that. But he has been unlucky. I don't think Nath was saying Noffke had been unlucky with dropped catches \ play-and-misses, was simply saying that he'd bowled well despite average figures.

And I don't see any reason to believe Sidebottom's misfortune will be ongoing, especially with Prior out of the side.

 

[NUFAN]

On the subject of WA: have there ever been so many left-handers in a squad? Hussey, Marsh, Rogers, Langer, North, Voges, Ervine, Pomersbach, Gilchrist, Hogg. And even tailenders Edmundson, Gillies, Heal and Magoffin. How extraordinary.

Heaps of lefties, but Voges is right handed!

 

[Richard]

How exceedingly odd. What on Earth gave me the impression he was a left-hander? Can only imagine it's his left-arm bowling.

 

[Nate]

1. Watson
2. Katich
3. Ponting
4. Clarke
5. D. Hussey
6. Hussey
7. Haddin
8. Lee
9. Johnson
10. Bracken
11. Heal

IMHO.

Word.

You know my opinion on that: bowling well and turning-out poor figures is little use. There has never been a good player without good statistics. If Noffke bowls well and is expensive without taking wickets in his ODI career, no-one will be very happy.

Never knew you were that adament about it tbh. Strongly disagree obvs. Point being that in OD Cricket, when he hasn't taken wickets, he's always conceeded few runs.

If Sidebottom's Test career ended tomorrow it'd not be a good one. There's no two ways about that. But he has been unlucky. I don't think Nath was saying Noffke had been unlucky with dropped catches \ play-and-misses, was simply saying that he'd bowled well despite average figures.

Are there many other ways you can bowl well without being unlucky? Often with Noffers, the pressure has built upon a batsman and they're forced to go for a big shot eventually. The number of edges flown around the place with these shots are plentiful.

 

[Richard]

Never knew you were that adament about it tbh. Strongly disagree obvs. Point being that in OD Cricket, when he hasn't taken wickets, he's always conceeded few runs.

Well TBH, it doesn't quite seem that way to me. Added to the fact that, compared to many, he just hasn't bowled that many overs. And has he bowled at the end?

Are there many other ways you can bowl well without being unlucky? Often with Noffers, the pressure has built upon a batsman and they're forced to go for a big shot eventually. The number of edges flown around the place with these shots are plentiful.

Well given you're not one to bull****, I'll believe you. Still think I'd prefer someone who has actually bowled well with luck, rather than without it, though. Am somewhat surprised you'd drop Johnson, who has taken insanely good figures in ODIs of late, in favour of Noffke who's bowled well without luck in domestic cricket.

 

[Nate]

Yeah, but I rate Heal, so who cares about my opinion right?

 

[itduzz]

India can win all the ODIs against Australia for all i care, if they cant perform in the big arena then too bad.

Only flaw in the test team is a lack of a good spinner, but we have an unbelievable pace attack so its not that big of a deal.

the unbelievable pace attack was hammererd on the fastest & Aus favourite ground at Perth.

 

[frey]

The Rebuilding of the Australian Team

the unbelievable pace attack was hammererd on the fastest & Aus favourite ground at Perth.

Nevertheless, the Australian pace attack is the envy of all cricket nations. I cannot see that status changing for many years.