***Official*** South Africa In Australia

[pasag]

Don't give me that. Yes I know Haddin is scoring a lot of runs ATM (and under pressure as well to his credit) and he has know proved to be Test class, but I thought Watson would still bat above him. Clearly I have no idea about cricket.

Watson's yet to prove he can bat well at Test level. I think he can but he's made a bit of a meal of it so far. Haddin on the other hand is on fire and at this stage should be given the opportunity to make as many runs as possible. That doesn't, however, mean that he should open nor does it mean Watson should stay at 7 once he proves himself at the level.

 

[aussie tragic]

Now if the Aussie team was picked on current form, maybe it would look like this:

1. Rogers
2. Hughes
3. Ponting
4. Katich
5. Clarke
6. Watson
7. Haddin
8. Johnson
9. Hauritz
10. Siddle
11. Hilfanhaus

12. Bollinger

 

[pup11]

Foot injury to keep Lee out for a month

Saying that the Aussies have had a torrid time of it would be a major understatement, in the matter of last few weeks they have lost two of their best bowlers (Lee and Clark) to injuries, first Clark was ruled out for the rest of the Aussie summer with an elbow injury and now Lee would most certainly be out for atleast a month, the surprising thing is Lee is still hoping that he could bowl in the 2 innings which is a both brave and stupid at the same time because it shows how passionate and committed he is towards his team and country but he can easily aggravate his injury by doing this.

 

[mikeW]

Hilfenhaus is the most ovverated player in Aus imo. I know i'll get hounded for this but bringing in someone like Dirk Nannes who has a real knack for taking wickets could be an option. Would probably go with the local in Bollinger though.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Hilfenhaus is the most ovverated player in Aus imo. I know i'll get hounded for this but bringing in someone like Dirk Nannes who has a real knack for taking wickets could be an option. Would probably go with the local in Bollinger though.

I like Nannes, has a lot about him IMO, but there's good reasons as to why he shouldn't be there. He's very prone to throwing them around everywhere (got taken off for three beamers earlier this season, for one) and he's too old to have a real future for Australia anyway. At least someone like Siddle has reasonable accuracy and a long future ahead of him.

Agreed about Hilf though. He swings the ball, but it's always away from the right hander and it swings right out of the hand, not late. Swing from the hand poses little challenge for top notch players.

 

[Matt79]

Would go with Bollinger or Hilfenhaus for Lee, Watson for Symonds and Hughes for Hayden tbh, barring a miraculous 100 from Hayden tomorrow.

 

[pup11]

Watson's yet to prove he can bat well at Test level. I think he can but he's made a bit of a meal of it so far. Haddin on the other hand is on fire and at this stage should be given the opportunity to make as many runs as possible. That doesn't, however, mean that he should open nor does it mean Watson should stay at 7 once he proves himself at the level.

No, Haddin should bat at 7 only, Watson whenever he gets a gig again would be under some pressure to perform with the bat, but why should he be put under further pressure by making him bat as low as 7.

I think one possible scenario is, that if Hayden fails and it comes down to him being dropped then Hussey should be made to open the innings with Katich, and then Clarke can bat at 4 and Watson can come in at 5, i know Hussey has batted so well at no.4 but if Hussey eventually opens the innings, it gives Australia more depth and stability with Watson coming into the side.

 

[Goughy]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24847796-23212,00.html

That site has the most pathetic articles ever - makes cricinfo look respectable.

Thats terrible.

 

[pasag]

No, Haddin should bat at 7 only, Watson whenever he gets a gig again would be under some pressure to perform with the bat, but why should he be put under further pressure by making him bat as low as 7.

I think one possible scenario is, that if Hayden fails and it comes down to him being dropped then Hussey should be made to open the innings with Katich, and then Clarke can bat at 4 and Watson can come in at 5, i know Hussey has batted so well at no.4 but if Hussey eventually opens the innings, it gives Australia more depth and stability with Watson coming into the side.

Clearly the best thing to do to a player not scoring runs, send him to open. Worked well for India. Watson has proved before that he can adapt his game lower down the order anyways, and it could be argued that there's less pressure batting at seven, so whilst Haddin is playing beautifully he should be batting above Watto, for now.

 

[Matt79]

No, Haddin should bat at 7 only, Watson whenever he gets a gig again would be under some pressure to perform with the bat, but why should he be put under further pressure by making him bat as low as 7.

I think one possible scenario is, that if Hayden fails and it comes down to him being dropped then Hussey should be made to open the innings with Katich, and then Clarke can bat at 4 and Watson can come in at 5, i know Hussey has batted so well at no.4 but if Hussey eventually opens the innings, it gives Australia more depth and stability with Watson coming into the side.

Honestly can't ever see Hussey opening for Australia again. There are so many good options for openers at the moment in terms of Katich, Jaques, Rogers, Hughes, Marsh - why would we ever move Hussey out of what has become his accustomed and very successful spot in the middle order? Squeezing both Watson and Symonds into the team at the expense of screwing with our most consistent batsman is foolish, as is prioritizing having both 'all-rounders' in the team ahead of blooding a decent long term replacement for Hayden.

Hussey as opener - just let it go guys!

 

[pup11]

I like Nannes, has a lot about him IMO, but there's good reasons as to why he shouldn't be there. He's very prone to throwing them around everywhere (got taken off for three beamers earlier this season, for one) and he's too old to have a real future for Australia anyway. At least someone like Siddle has reasonable accuracy and a long future ahead of him.

Agreed about Hilf though. He swings the ball, but it's always away from the right hander and it swings right out of the hand, not late. Swing from the hand poses little challenge for top notch players.

Agree with what you said about Nannes, i really don't think him throwing em' around bit is too big a problem, as its something that can be worked upon, but as you said its his age that really goes against him getting a national call up.

As far as Hilfy' case is concerned, he is still picking wickets and doing well in the SS games, so his performances need to rewarded, i think in the absence of Lee, Hilfenhaus or Bollinger are the only two viable options atm, would love to see both of them in the XI for the SCG test, but since there is possibly only one spot available and considering Hilfenhaus was in the squad for the MCG test ahead of Bollinger, Hilfenhaus should replace Lee.

 

[Matt79]

Australia were very poor today. Admittedly its hard when you lose one of your specialists, and worse when another of your specialist bowlers is a grade-level hack fingerspinner, and your 'allrounder' is bowling like a 45-year old, but this was by far the flattest Aussie performance I've seen live, and the only thing I could recall to compare it to was Laxman's test in 01.

All credit to Duminy, classy and very patient knock - hope he stays in the team when Prince is available. With young guys like him, AB and Amla (and Smith too FFS!), SA's batting order looks the goods for a long time, and I was very happy to give him a long standing ovation as he walked off. Found it hard to be too excited about Steyn's knock - probably great if you were a SA fan or barracking for them in this match, but the guy looked like an action figure from the old 'Test Match' board game and scored so many runs through edges - not to mention being dropped ridiculously twice.

Today had a real smack of 'end of Empire' about it - I've said before that we'll remain a good team, but might lose the number 1 spot. I think in the dustbowls of India and then in Perth and today at the 'G we have lost that spot. Barring some miraculous turnaround tomorrow, I can't see how we can claim to be the best team in the world - I don't care whether the ICC ranking reflect that or not.

Fortunately, I do think there are some things that can be tried pretty much immediately that would improve the team. If Hayden can't find any runs this innings, or at the most at the SCG, he needs to go - sorry you've been an absolute champ, but its not as if you haven't been given lots of chances over the journey and in the end you are merely mortal. Love him to prove me wrong, but I can't see him ever scoring another 100 for Australia, no matter how long they persist. Having four fit bowlers would obviously help, and the bonus is with Lee's injury that at least they're likely to select someone in some kind of form, which poor Brett has not been for sometime now. I really don't know what we do about the spinner slot, it's a raffle between half-a-dozen equally unappealing options. McGain might be fit soon, but really, what evidence do we have that he'll be a better option, given the length of time and injuries since he was in his brief period of good form. Tempted to say leave a spinner out altogether, but the over-rates issue isn't going to go away. (As an aside they were actually +3 overs by 5:30 today! I suppose it helps when you don't have inconveniences like wickets falling!) I think today showed the value of having an allrounder who you actually back to bowl important spells - I know Watson hasn't done enough with the bat when he's been selected, but they seriously need to think about it with the untested bowling attack we're going to have - Ponting needs better options than Mike Hussey.

This series has made for enthralling viewing, and it will be interesting to see how they go, but as much as I like to see good cricket played, I do like to see the the Aussies winning, so hopefully they can turn it around tomorrow.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

As far as Hilfy' case is concerned, he is still picking wickets and doing well in the SS games, so his performances need to rewarded,

But Shield decks (especially in Hobart and Brisbane, where he's taken nearly all of his wickets this season) have been green as hell. Like I said, he swings it straight from the hand and whilst that's fine if there's a bit of juice in the deck (because it's likely to take some seam movement as well) and when the batting isn't as top quality as a test side. But it really isn't going to work on a 34 degree day on a flat wicket against arguably the best batting lineup in the world, which is what will greet him at the SCG.

 

[Evermind]

Australia were very poor today. Admittedly its hard when you lose one of your specialists, and worse when another of your specialist bowlers is a grade-level hack fingerspinner, and your 'allrounder' is bowling like a 45-year old, but this was by far the flattest Aussie performance I've seen live, and the only thing I could recall to compare it to was Laxman's test in 01.

All credit to Duminy, classy and very patient knock - hope he stays in the team when Prince is available. With young guys like him, AB and Amla (and Smith too FFS!), SA's batting order looks the goods for a long time, and I was very happy to give him a long standing ovation as he walked off. Found it hard to be too excited about Steyn's knock - probably great if you were a SA fan or barracking for them in this match, but the guy looked like an action figure from the old 'Test Match' board game and scored so many runs through edges - not to mention being dropped ridiculously twice.

Today had a real smack of 'end of Empire' about it - I've said before that we'll remain a good team, but might lose the number 1 spot. I think in the dustbowls of India and then in Perth and today at the 'G we have lost that spot. Barring some miraculous turnaround tomorrow, I can't see how we can claim to be the best team in the world - I don't care whether the ICC ranking reflect that or not.

Fortunately, I do think there are some things that can be tried pretty much immediately that would improve the team. If Hayden can't find any runs this innings, or at the most at the SCG, he needs to go - sorry you've been an absolute champ, but its not as if you haven't been given lots of chances over the journey and in the end you are merely mortal. Love him to prove me wrong, but I can't see him ever scoring another 100 for Australia, no matter how long they persist. Having four fit bowlers would obviously help, and the bonus is with Lee's injury that at least they're likely to select someone in some kind of form, which poor Brett has not been for sometime now. I really don't know what we do about the spinner slot, it's a raffle between half-a-dozen equally unappealing options. McGain might be fit soon, but really, what evidence do we have that he'll be a better option, given the length of time and injuries since he was in his brief period of good form. Tempted to say leave a spinner out altogether, but the over-rates issue isn't going to go away. (As an aside they were actually +3 overs by 5:30 today! I suppose it helps when you don't have inconveniences like wickets falling!) I think today showed the value of having an allrounder who you actually back to bowl important spells - I know Watson hasn't done enough with the bat when he's been selected, but they seriously need to think about it with the untested bowling attack we're going to have - Ponting needs better options than Mike Hussey.

This series has made for enthralling viewing, and it will be interesting to see how they go, but as much as I like to see good cricket played, I do like to see the the Aussies winning, so hopefully they can turn it around tomorrow.

Good post.

 

[pup11]

But Shield decks (especially in Hobart and Brisbane, where he's taken nearly all of his wickets this season) have been green as hell. Like I said, he swings it straight from the hand and whilst that's fine if there's a bit of juice in the deck (because it's likely to take some seam movement as well) and when the batting isn't as top quality as a test side. But it really isn't going to work on a 34 degree day on a flat wicket against arguably the best batting lineup in the world.

Its not like this is the first time in a season he has taken wickets, in 06-07 season he was bowling like a workhorse and picking wickets at will for the Tassies (which eventually led to the back problems he had last season), he picked 60 odd wickets in that season for the Tassies in FC cricket, now that is really an impressive effort, and though outswing is his main weapon, but he has also got a sharp inducker, he gets the old ball to reverse too, and he bowls a very consistent line too back it all up, i have been very impressed with Hilfy for a long time and i think he has done enough to break into the test team.

 

[pup11]

Australia were very poor today. Admittedly its hard when you lose one of your specialists, and worse when another of your specialist bowlers is a grade-level hack fingerspinner, and your 'allrounder' is bowling like a 45-year old, but this was by far the flattest Aussie performance I've seen live, and the only thing I could recall to compare it to was Laxman's test in 01.

All credit to Duminy, classy and very patient knock - hope he stays in the team when Prince is available. With young guys like him, AB and Amla (and Smith too FFS!), SA's batting order looks the goods for a long time, and I was very happy to give him a long standing ovation as he walked off. Found it hard to be too excited about Steyn's knock - probably great if you were a SA fan or barracking for them in this match, but the guy looked like an action figure from the old 'Test Match' board game and scored so many runs through edges - not to mention being dropped ridiculously twice.

Today had a real smack of 'end of Empire' about it - I've said before that we'll remain a good team, but might lose the number 1 spot. I think in the dustbowls of India and then in Perth and today at the 'G we have lost that spot. Barring some miraculous turnaround tomorrow, I can't see how we can claim to be the best team in the world - I don't care whether the ICC ranking reflect that or not.

Fortunately, I do think there are some things that can be tried pretty much immediately that would improve the team. If Hayden can't find any runs this innings, or at the most at the SCG, he needs to go - sorry you've been an absolute champ, but its not as if you haven't been given lots of chances over the journey and in the end you are merely mortal. Love him to prove me wrong, but I can't see him ever scoring another 100 for Australia, no matter how long they persist. Having four fit bowlers would obviously help, and the bonus is with Lee's injury that at least they're likely to select someone in some kind of form, which poor Brett has not been for sometime now. I really don't know what we do about the spinner slot, it's a raffle between half-a-dozen equally unappealing options. McGain might be fit soon, but really, what evidence do we have that he'll be a better option, given the length of time and injuries since he was in his brief period of good form. Tempted to say leave a spinner out altogether, but the over-rates issue isn't going to go away. (As an aside they were actually +3 overs by 5:30 today! I suppose it helps when you don't have inconveniences like wickets falling!) I think today showed the value of having an allrounder who you actually back to bowl important spells - I know Watson hasn't done enough with the bat when he's been selected, but they seriously need to think about it with the untested bowling attack we're going to have - Ponting needs better options than Mike Hussey.

This series has made for enthralling viewing, and it will be interesting to see how they go, but as much as I like to see good cricket played, I do like to see the the Aussies winning, so hopefully they can turn it around tomorrow.

Very good post mate, and some very good points made.

Anyways coming back to the game, do you really expect Aussies to turn this around, because despite being an optimistic Aussie fan i can't see how Australia can win from here, we already trail by 60 runs, so in a best case scenario if the Aussies score around 350 runs tomorrow for the loss of 5 wickets, then still going into day 5, they would have only 290 runs to play with, and given the fact that Ponting has just seen a target of 414 being conquered by the same Saffie side and in the 2nd innings he could be a bowler short with Lee' injury, so one can pretty much rule out any possibility of a bold declaration from Ponting, so atm the game seems to be heading towards a tame draw, with South Africans having an outside chance of winning the game if they bowl Australia out cheaply tomorrow.

If Aussies can win from here it would be SCG test vs India last year all over again, but sadly Bucknor isn't there this time around....

 

[Matt79]

Very good post mate, and some very good points made.

Anyways coming back to the game, do you really expect Aussies to turn this around, because despite being an optimistic Aussie fan i can't see how Australia can win from here, we already trail by 60 runs, so in a best case scenario if the Aussies score around 350 runs tomorrow for the loss of 5 wickets, then still going into day 5, they would have only 290 runs to play with, and given the fact that Ponting has just seen a target of 414 being conquered by the same Saffie side and in the 2nd innings he could be a bowler short with Lee' injury, so one can pretty much rule out any possibility of a bold declaration from Ponting, so atm the game seems to be heading towards a tame draw, with South Africans having an outside chance of winning the game if they bowl Australia out cheaply tomorrow.

If Aussies can win from here it would be SCG test vs India last year all over again, but sadly Bucknor isn't there this time around....

Take a draw from here tbh, if it means we reassert some authority. Then square the series in Sydney, and retain the silverwear ahead of going over to RSA....

 

[susudear]

Rule out any chance for Aussies

1. 60-odd deficit which would take atleast 75% of morning session to wipe out.

2. Fear of losing even after posting a 400+ target.

3. Bad form of Hayden and Hussay and cannot be expected to go mach from the beginning.

4. No Lee means Aussie bowling stocks have dipped by atleast 50%.

The best possible scenario for Australia is to somehow score a big one, say like 500 odd with one or two of the out-of-form guys work themselves back into form. There is no way they can win this test match.

 

[Uppercut]

Steyn's knock hasn't got much credit here. I thought it was really ballsy. It's not his job to bail out the batsmen as well as taking five in the first innings but he stuck around a long time despite being pretty badly roughed up. It'll be fun when Siddle and Johnson come out to bat...

 

[Jono]

Ponting's field settings to Steyn were ridiculous.

If you look at Dale's batting chart, there were no runs square of the wicket. Yet he had fielders protecting the square boundaries.

How a guy can be such a **** tactician so often, yet a brilliant batsman, is beyond me. I know they don't go hand in hand, but to be so awesome at one aspect and so piss poor at another is amazing.