***Official*** Australia A and New Zealand A in India

[adharcric]

That doesn't make him any better than Uthappa and Asnodkar, who have proven themselves for some time.

That's not my point. Jaydev Shah may be a quota pick who didn't deserve selection - if he scores runs here, I really couldn't care less.

 

[Smudge]

We won't get any action today

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Geeves is nippy and as you said has the ability to swing the ball but his accuracy sucks, he can produce some peachers in between a lot of hit-me balls, so if he can work on that he can be a real asset.

But.... there is no way he is better than Hilfenhaus, Hilfy is class no two ways about that, he can bowl long spells with very good accuracy and he too can swing the ball at a pretty good pace, in my book he is going to be the best Aussies fast bowler in the upcoming years.

How much have you seen of Geeves really? I know you guys get FR over there so you may have seen quite a bit, but tbh I disagree with your assessment of Geeves. His accuracy is pretty good, especially for someone who keeps the ball so full. Last season Hilfy was the one all over the shop.

 

[pup11]

How much have you seen of Geeves really? I know you guys get FR over there so you may have seen quite a bit, but tbh I disagree with your assessment of Geeves. His accuracy is pretty good, especially for someone who keeps the ball so full. Last season Hilfy was the one all over the shop.

That' because he was having an injury problem for most of the last season, anyways mate if my assessment of Geeves was that much off the mark, then how do you explain him not performing more consistently then he has.

 

[Arjun]

That's not my point. Jaydev Shah may be a quota pick who didn't deserve selection - if he scores runs here, I really couldn't care less.

Jaydev isn't any good- looking at his stats, and then those of Uthappa and Asnodkar, you get a hint. When Uthappa and Asnodkar are not scoring runs, they have a few problems they need to fix, or are out of form. When Shah isn't scoring runs, it's nothing ordinary. Nothing about him suggests he's a national prospect at any point of time, and there's nothing a team can gain from his presence. Uthappa and Asnodkar not scoring is frustrating, but that's no excuse to get in someone who's not likely to get any meaningful score, even if for instant results, especially when you have so many batsmen to choose from in this country.

 

[pup11]

Australia A innings (50 overs maximum) R M B 4s 6s SR
PJ Hughes b IK Pathan 11 26 24 1 0 45.83
L Ronchi c Saha b Nayar 52 55 41 7 2 126.82
DJ Hussey b YK Pathan 75 133 83 4 2 90.36
CL White c Saha b Chawla 50 64 60 1 3 83.33
MJ North b IK Pathan 6 12 9 0 0 66.66
AC Voges not out 55 75 46 3 2 119.56
GJ Bailey st Saha b Chawla 14 19 15 1 0 93.33
AA Noffke c Saha b Nayar 18 12 14 1 1 128.57
B Geeves not out 11 15 9 1 0 122.22
Extras (lb 5, w 5, nb 1) 11

Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 303 (6.06 runs per over)


Did not bat MA Cameron, SW Tait


Fall of wickets1-24 (Hughes, 6.2 ov), 2-77 (Ronchi, 12.4 ov), 3-171 (White, 30.4 ov), 4-192 (North, 33.1 ov), 5-213 (Hussey, 38.4 ov), 6-238 (Bailey, 43.2 ov), 7-269 (Noffke, 46.4 ov)



Bowling O M R W Econ
IK Pathan 10 1 57 2 5.70 (2w)
P Kumar 9 1 63 0 7.00 (1nb)
AM Nayar 10 0 74 2 7.40 (2w)
YK Pathan 10 0 45 1 4.50
PP Chawla 10 0 53 2 5.30 (1w)
SK Raina 1 0 6 0 6.00


Gun effort by all the Aussie A batsmen, Hussey has been simply awesome through the series and has been cut above the rest, Voges also finally making a few runs on this tour and it was about time too.

 

[duffer]

Relying on Nayar for 10 overs is not a good idea. Rate him as a batsman though.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

That' because he was having an injury problem for most of the last season, anyways mate if my assessment of Geeves was that much off the mark, then how do you explain him not performing more consistently then he has.

I never said he hasn't been inaccurate in the past, but last season he was pretty damn good. TBF I don't rate Hilfy anywhere as high as others. He's had one good season among a few mediocre ones. The same could be said for Geeves but he's got more about him as far as I'm concerned.

In any case, will agree to disagree as I'm not one for Richard-like player debates.

 

[brockley]

Huge win for us india A out for 147.
Not only to win but thrash india A whp i think is the best A side in the world is huge for our boys.
All the A squad knocking on the door for higher honours.
3/4 of the indian A squad are in the indian one day team so its a high achievement by our boys.
Notable tours from dave hussey,phillip hughes luke ronchi,cam white shaun tait and ashley noffke,all should be in IPL next year if they are not already.
Already heard today gloucestershire chasing ashley noffke.

 

[Arjun]

What does India gain from this? Not much, I'd say. Sometimes, I wonder, are they playing for places in the Indian team or for a win? Maybe, being younger, these folks are not liable for this question.

• Yusuf Pathan averaged 67.50 striking over 100 with the bat, but his bowling average was a fat 45.5 with a strike rate of 0.8 wickets a match. Tough call, given the lack of long-term bowling ability among any top Indian batsman. He can be the Samit Patel or Chris Gayle for this team.
• Irfan had a bad series, especially with one match. He had a bowling average of 44 and a batting average of 18, though he batted a lot lower.
• Praveen Kumar had no batting opportunities, when he could use some, being the only bowler who can bat, who's a regular in the national team. He did well with the ball otherwise, but in the final.
• Piyush Chawla was the only bowler to average under 30 and was one of the top batsmen. He's a find, but would you give him another go? He may easily replace an out-of-form Irfan.
• Badrinath did well but was called on to fill in for Sachin in another event. Big mistake, as the team struggled without him.
• All of these batsmen struggled against extra pace of Shaun Tait.
• Nothing else to gain here, with no remarkable figures.

 

[brockley]

Arjun can you do a similar summary of the aussie players those that stood out and those who didn't.
Thankyou

 

[Arjun]

Arjun can you do a similar summary of the aussie players those that stood out and those who didn't.
Thankyou

I'll have to rely on stats and match reports for this. NEO Sports, who were covering this series, switched off from here to focus on the Irani Trophy finals, and didn't have a backup crew here.

• Shaun Tait was the key here. Against two batting lineups that are fragile against pace (even most strong batting lineups are), he stood out easily, bowling several unplayable deliveries. Maybe consistency needs to be improved, but he still has an impact.
• Ashley Noffke was tight with the ball, getting a little movement and using his height to good effect. He played the role of a less aggressive, more accurate counter quite well to the explosive Tait.
• Cameron White was unspectacular, and may be no more than part-time quality with the ball, but the runs he scores will be useful.
• The spinners were unimpressive, and the very same batting lineups that struggled against Tate and Noffke were a lot more relieved facing them.
• Running between the wickets of all the Australian batsmen was quite good.

That's all I can put together from what I have seen. I couldn't watch the last two matches. Anyway, even NEO Sports isn't perfect. We may even miss the FC matches against New Zealand A as well, once the Australia series begins, as they're also likely to cover the tour match.

 

[Arjun]

I can remember the performances of the New Zealand team a lot better.

• Jeetan Patel, one of the more experienced players here, was good in patches, and weak in some. He bowled well until some batsmen got used to him, and then could hit him for big shots easily.
• Mark Gillespie bowled fast, while not as fast as Tait, and got some movement as well.
• Neil Broom was in good touch with the bat, and batted intelligently through the series.
• Peter Fulton was a little stodgy, but used his massive frame to good effect to hit some big shots, and he too batted smartly to put together some big scores.
• Martin Guptill wasn't in the same kind of form in that tournament held earlier in Australia.
• They looked a little clueless against spinner Chawla, the best among those they faced.

 

[NZTailender]

Likes his bullet points, does Arjun.

 

[pup11]

I'll have to rely on stats and match reports for this. NEO Sports, who were covering this series, switched off from here to focus on the Irani Trophy finals, and didn't have a backup crew here.

• Shaun Tait was the key here. Against two batting lineups that are fragile against pace (even most strong batting lineups are), he stood out easily, bowling several unplayable deliveries. Maybe consistency needs to be improved, but he still has an impact.
• Ashley Noffke was tight with the ball, getting a little movement and using his height to good effect. He played the role of a less aggressive, more accurate counter quite well to the explosive Tait.
• Cameron White was unspectacular, and may be no more than part-time quality with the ball, but the runs he scores will be useful.
• The spinners were unimpressive, and the very same batting lineups that struggled against Tate and Noffke were a lot more relieved facing them.
• Running between the wickets of all the Australian batsmen was quite good.

That's all I can put together from what I have seen. I couldn't watch the last two matches. Anyway, even NEO Sports isn't perfect. We may even miss the FC matches against New Zealand A as well, once the Australia series begins, as they're also likely to cover the tour match.

I think Hussey and Ronchi' names should also be mentioned, Huss was the mainstay of the Aussie batting virtually through the series holding the innings together and Ronchi was the impact player who blasted the new ball all over the park inflicting momentum early on in the innings, and from whatever i saw of him his keeping was also top class in the initial games.

As far as White' bowling is concerned, one can't deny the fact that there is a definite improvement there since the Bangladesh series itself, but he has looked even better in this series, and one reason for that could be that the Indian tracks are more receptive to his style of bowling, so if he keeps on working on his bowling like this, there is good chance he might play a similar role to what Symonds does in the Odi side in the future.

 

[Arjun]

I think Hussey and Ronchi' names should also be mentioned, Huss was the mainstay of the Aussie batting virtually through the series holding the innings together and Ronchi was the impact player who blasted the new ball all over the park inflicting momentum early on in the innings, and from whatever i saw of him his keeping was also top class in the initial games.

As far as White' bowling is concerned, one can't deny the fact that there is a definite improvement there since the Bangladesh series itself, but he has looked even better in this series, and one reason for that could be that the Indian tracks are more receptive to his style of bowling, so if he keeps on working on his bowling like this, there is good chance he might play a similar role to what Symonds does in the Odi side in the future.

Agree about Hussey, but I missed those matches after NEO stopped showing this series. The stats tell the same story. As for Ronchi, I've heard elsewhere that he isn't that special with the bat, and scores only on flat decks. His wicketkeeping, though, was quite good, or at least it was in the IPL.

 

[pup11]

Agree about Hussey, but I missed those matches after NEO stopped showing this series. The stats tell the same story. As for Ronchi, I've heard elsewhere that he isn't that special with the bat, and scores only on flat decks. His wicketkeeping, though, was quite good, or at least it was in the IPL.

IMO, Ronchi is a pretty exciting player to have in your team, he is an ultra-aggressive player so consistency won't be his strong point, but he has the capability to destroy bowling attacks and set the tone for an innings at the top of the order, his batting in the longer form of the game needs further improvement but in limited overs cricket he is very a handy batsman to have at the top of the order.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

"Needs improvement"?

**** needs to learn the difference between 50 over cricket and 4 day cricket. Bats exactly the same in both.

 

[pup11]

"Needs improvement"?

**** needs to learn the difference between 50 over cricket and 4 day cricket. Bats exactly the same in both.

Tbh i was putting that mildly, Ronchi has got all the shots and he is a clean striker of the ball, but the way he throws away his innings most of the times playing a ridiculous shot really pisses me off, he needs to learn how to build an innings and be patient in 4 day game, and somebody like Moody should work with him on this.

 

[Xuhaib]

"Needs improvement"?

**** needs to learn the difference between 50 over cricket and 4 day cricket. Bats exactly the same in both.

Gilly did too.