Stuart MacGill announces his retirement

[Son Of Coco]

He's just had an operation to correct a crippling disease

So he cant bowl as well anymore and has opted out - big deal

Need I remind you that he was Oz's best spinner FOR YEARS and hardly ever got picked
Who is worse?

MacGill retiring when he's lost it or Warne crying to the media when he justifiably get dropped?

You mean second best surely.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Huh?

You said he was lax, I countered by saying his weight problems were due to a ****house training regimen employed by an idiot coach
As for playing for himself, how go you figure that?

Who also made him eat I presume?

 

[Son Of Coco]

Exactly - so don't pick Casson. He's useless, and I'm willing to say he's exceptionally unlikely ever to be a state-standard bowler, never mind international.

If Australia are to remotely countenance the possibility of not playing four seamers, they need to get McGain in now. But preferable, of course, would be to simply pick Noffke now. Interested to see how he'll fare if so.

You would never have picked Warne or McGrath either on that basis Richard.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I also seem to recall in 2005 Australia played a half decent leggie who had a half decent series yet we won - I doubt Peter Moores et al will be worrying about the spin attack this time

haha, yeah you won because at that stage you had a decent bowling attack yourself. I think Peter Moores et al need to worry about finding some batsmen and bowlers before the worry too much about anything else. Unless, of course, dining out against some lower ranked teams will have England pumped for another big series until reality sets in.

This is not going to be like the '66 World Cup is it? In fifty years there'll be a voice echoing around your local pub saying 'We won in '05 against a pretty decent spinner...I think we're a red hot chance of winning this Ashes series'.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Lol at the Aussies freaking out about not having a top spinner. Welcome to our world for years

Maybe we could get Giles out of retirement and you could borrow him?

We're short a number 9 batsman

 

[Top_Cat]

You would never have picked Warne or McGrath either on that basis Richard.

Warne, sure. He was a pick on potential. McGrath, despite having only played 8 FC matches, took plenty of wickets in those matches and deserved a go.

Still, they do need to take a punt on someone. I thought the selectors wimped-out by picking MacGill and Hogg; like with Warne, maybe it's time to take a bit of a risk. Even Warne took a while to pay off.

 

[Richard]

You would never have picked Warne or McGrath either on that basis Richard.

Because Warne and McGrath defied a trend does not mean many others will.

I'm fairly sure had Warne and McGrath been left a while they'd have forced their way in via the standard means before all that long.

 

[Jono]

This is not going to be like the '66 World Cup is it? In fifty years there'll be a voice echoing around your local pub saying 'We won in '05 against a pretty decent spinner...I think we're a red hot chance of winning this Ashes series'.

I think it may well be the new WC 66.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Because Warne and McGrath defied a trend does not mean many others will.

I'm fairly sure had Warne and McGrath been left a while they'd have forced their way in via the standard means before all that long.

It doesn't mean they won't either.

 

[Richard]

But given that most don't, would it not be better to not hope for Casson to do what most don't rather than hope for him to do so?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

After being fined his entire match fee for over-sleeping I wouldn't blame him for getting the next plane home tbh. Unless he'd done it before, and been warned, it seems an appalling over-reaction.

The most important thing here is obvious that his teammates didn't wake him up. Either that or they didn't notice he was missing.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I just found out that de Silva averages 47 against Aussies with 167 in Brisbane as his best. The source

In his early career he was suspect against spin, and that's why Warne, Kumble, Raju, Chauhan and Waugh kept him getting out. But by 1996-8 he had developed his play so much he played Warne well on spinning surfaces of SL, and manhandled Kumble, when India played in SL. De Silva averages 38.6 in Australia as well. So better get your facts right.

If you're checking your facts and comparing his record against Warne and McGrath it'd best be based on the time period they were actually playing.

 

[Son Of Coco]

But given that most don't, would it not be better to not hope for Casson to do what most don't rather than hope for him to do so?

I think it'd be better to give him a chance and see what happens, rather than assume something might happen because it either has or hasn't happened before.

This sounds suspiciously like the the advice I give for asking girls out. Replacing the he with a she of course.

 

[Richard]

I think it'd be better to give him a chance and see what happens, rather than assume something might happen because it either has or hasn't happened before.

Wouldn't it be better to give someone a chance who had performed at the domestic level (ie, Ashley Noffke), and hope for a more common pattern to be followed, though?

This sounds suspiciously like the the advice I give for asking girls out. Replacing the he with a she of course.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Wouldn't it be better to give someone a chance who had performed at the domestic level (ie, Ashley Noffke), and hope for a more common pattern to be followed, though?

It depends on what's required, last time I looked Noffke wasn't great at legspin. Then again, some would say the same about Casson. The problem is every legspinner that comes through for at least the next few years will be compared to Warne and they have no chance of being as good. Casson could make a fair fist of being as good as MacGill in his last 4 tests though.

 

[Richard]

But if you've got the choice between a crap wristspinner and a decent seamer, why on Earth would you go for the former? Why would the latter not always be required?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

It depends on what's required, last time I looked Noffke wasn't great at legspin. Then again, some would say the same about Casson. The problem is every legspinner that comes through for at least the next few years will be compared to Warne and they have no chance of being as good. Casson could make a fair fist of being as good as MacGill in his last 4 tests though.

I wouldn't rule out another Warne being unearthed. It's not like he arrived on the Australian scene with Pietersenesque trumpets. I mean, who could have predicted that Gatting ball? And don't say Terry Jenner.

 

[Richard]

Honestly, Warne was nowhere near as poor as Casson has been so far in his pre-Test-call-up

And remember too, Warne was woeful for his first 18 months of Test cricket too.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I never said it would be Casson, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone cropped up out of nowhere to be a spin hero for Australia.

 

[Son Of Coco]

But if you've got the choice between a crap wristspinner and a decent seamer, why on Earth would you go for the former? Why would the latter not always be required?

Maybe he'll perform better in the test arena. This is not England Richard, we like to take some risks here in Australia Why play four seamers on a dead track. There's no guarantee Noffke will perform either.