***Official*** Australia in South Africa

[LongHopCassidy]

Yeah, it's the right side and as long as they go with Julian's XI there won't be any complaints from me. I'd probably rather a better bat than McDonald, but you can't argue with the extra bowling he brings to a side that's struggled to take 20 wickets regularly over the past year.

I don't buy the idea that an extra part timer will mean Australia takes 20 wickets instead of 15. If four frontliners can't get them out, what's to say McDonald can? If bowler fatigue is the issue, there's a veritable production line of middle-order batsmen who can bowl a bit while the frontliners rest. As it stands, the 6 position's still a liability for Australia.

 

[pasag]

I don't buy the idea that an extra part timer will mean Australia takes 20 wickets instead of 15. If four frontliners can't get them out, what's to say McDonald can? If bowler fatigue is the issue, there's a veritable production line of middle-order batsmen who can bowl a bit while the frontliners rest. As it stands, the 6 position's still a liability for Australia.

Whilst I'm firmly against playing 5 bowlers in general you can't afford to have ineffective part-timers coming on and draining all the pressure built up. It's how SA were so good with Kallis against us and part of the reason we could never break away. Clarke as a bowler has been useless for a while now and whilst we may not take 20 wickets with a fifth bowler, it certainly helps.

 

[oldmancraigy]

I don't buy the idea that an extra part timer will mean Australia takes 20 wickets instead of 15. If four frontliners can't get them out, what's to say McDonald can? If bowler fatigue is the issue, there's a veritable production line of middle-order batsmen who can bowl a bit while the frontliners rest. As it stands, the 6 position's still a liability for Australia.

The problem here is that you're suggesting McDonald flat out can't bowl.

He doesn't look "deadly" when he trundles in, but for some reason he just keeps getting wickets at every form of the game.
You're talking about a guy who has taken over 100 first class wickets at a strike rate of 60 and average 29. Those aren't "imposing" numbers - but they're hardly mediocre.

He can move the ball at medium pace - and has taken test wickets already on a pitch that refused the ball any swing (his main weapon).

Let's give him a chance before writing him off altogether?

 

[Precambrian]

Interesting quote here from the CA website in reference to Phil Hughes:



That's interesting. Mainly because he didn't win State Player of the Year. You'd expect better from CA's own site.

That's plain ridiculous.

 

[howardj]

Haha, the black-listing of Victorian cricketers, even if they're now playing for someone else, continues unabated!

Loving it too.

Hate Vics, except Warney.

Nice capital city though.

 

[pasag]

Seems like our bowlers get a free ride, but the batsmen have no hope in hell.

 

[inbox24]

To make the best of a mixed selection we should pick:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
McGain
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

McDonald doesn't have enough with both bat and ball (from looking at him FC cricket) to secure a spot compared to North who's better with the bat and adds a handy spin option. Don't know why they ignored David Hussey who's better than North with the bat.

If Johnson is out of form, or in usual spraying fashion, give Bollinger his spot, a proper swing bowler.

 

[pasag]

To make the best of a mixed selection we should pick:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
McGain
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

McDonald doesn't have enough with both bat and ball (from looking at him FC cricket) to secure a spot compared to North who's better with the bat and adds a handy spin option. Don't know why they ignored David Hussey who's better than North with the bat.

If Johnson is out of form, or in usual spraying fashion, give Bollinger his spot, a proper swing bowler.

Close to the worst possible side from the squad, would also have 4 debutantes in the same match, something that probably hasn't happened to an Australian team in a very long time.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

I'd go pretty safe and only debut Hughes and McGain. Would rather North in ahead of McDonald, but can't see it happening.

 

[pasag]

Has any Test squad seen anything like this in recent times:

Ricky Ponting - 128 Tests
Michael Clarke - 44 Tests
Simon Katich - 35 Tests
Michael Hussey - 34 Tests
Mitchell Johnson - 18 Tests
Brad Haddin - 12 Tests
Nathan Hauritz - 4 Tests
Peter Siddle - 4 Test
Doug Bollinger - 1 Test
Andrew McDonald - 1 Test
Bryce McGain - 0 Tests
Ben Hilfenhaus - 0 Tests
Marcus North - 0 Tests
Phillip Hughes - 0 Tests

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Peter Siddle - 1 Test

 

[Precambrian]

That's an awesome jaypeegee.

 

[pasag]

The amount of Tests he should have played so far, ftr.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

The amount of Tests he should have played so far, ftr.

Not jewish enough imho.

 

[pasag]

Not jewish enough imho.

Jack to confirm.

 

[Precambrian]

Has any Test squad seen anything like this in recent times:

Ricky Ponting - 128 Tests
Michael Clarke - 44 Tests
Simon Katich - 35 Tests
Michael Hussey - 34 Tests
Mitchell Johnson - 18 Tests
Brad Haddin - 12 Tests
Nathan Hauritz - 4 Tests
Peter Siddle - 4 Test
Doug Bollinger - 1 Test
Andrew McDonald - 1 Test
Bryce McGain - 0 Tests
Ben Hilfenhaus - 0 Tests
Marcus North - 0 Tests
Phillip Hughes - 0 Tests

NZ team Vs England 1st Test, 2008. Looks even worse.

 

[Julian87]

In test history only Gilchrist, Sangakkara, Stewart, Lindsay, Parks, Waite have displayed the solidity to bat in the top 6 consistently with great success & solidity.

Haddin falls in the group of with the likes of Dhoni, Boucher, Dujon, Alexander, Knott, Engineer (although he opened) are good batsman but weren't/cant good enough to bat higher than 7 over a long period of time.
.

Come on. Gilchrist batted 7 for the entirity of his career because of such a dominant and rarely changed, besides retirement, middle order. Stewart was a backstop and Sangakarra has become solely a batsman in test cricket because of his workload.

You then lump Haddin in with blokes who, to me, are recognised as great keepers, not all so much keeper/batsmen. Haddin is definitely the latter, I am not saying he is Gilchrist or Sangakarra and he hasn't been brillient in tests thus far (but really, if he was 6 years younger, he'd be hailed as the next best thing just on test performances thus far). I don't think you can use Haddin's test career as a marker as yet as it is in its true infancy. But if you knew ANYTHING about shield cricket, you'd realise your bolded statement is an absolute crock of ****.

 

[Julian87]

I don't buy the idea that an extra part timer will mean Australia takes 20 wickets instead of 15. If four frontliners can't get them out, what's to say McDonald can? If bowler fatigue is the issue, there's a veritable production line of middle-order batsmen who can bowl a bit while the frontliners rest. As it stands, the 6 position's still a liability for Australia.

While I am not a huge fan of Andrew McDonald, his bowling is better than just part time stuff IMO. His seam up medium pace adds a lot to an oft one dimensional Australian pace attack.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Bowling isn't our only problem, though. We were saved more than once or twice against RSA because the tail wagged hard. McDonald seems like a selection which tries to address our bowling problems, but does little to address the issues with our batting lineup.

 

[Julian87]

The problem here is that you're suggesting McDonald flat out can't bowl.

He doesn't look "deadly" when he trundles in, but for some reason he just keeps getting wickets at every form of the game.
You're talking about a guy who has taken over 100 first class wickets at a strike rate of 60 and average 29. Those aren't "imposing" numbers - but they're hardly mediocre.

He can move the ball at medium pace - and has taken test wickets already on a pitch that refused the ball any swing (his main weapon).

Let's give him a chance before writing him off altogether?

I agree. You also have to remember that for the majority of his FC career, he has had to bowl on roads bar the Gabba, in one of the stronger eras of batting in Australia's history. Blokes like Katich, Hussey, North, Watson, Lehmann, Jaques, Rogers etc etc have played a lot of shield cricket in McDonald's time.

To make the best of a mixed selection we should pick:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
McGain
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

McDonald doesn't have enough with both bat and ball (from looking at him FC cricket) to secure a spot compared to North who's better with the bat and adds a handy spin option. Don't know why they ignored David Hussey who's better than North with the bat.

If Johnson is out of form, or in usual spraying fashion, give Bollinger his spot, a proper swing bowler.

Terrible balance. On South African pitches, picking only three seamers who can bowl more than five overs in an innings, is IMO, asking for trouble. Bollinger deserves a spot ahead of Hilfenhaus as well.

Close to the worst possible side from the squad, would also have 4 debutantes in the same match, something that probably hasn't happened to an Australian team in a very long time.

Agreed.