Should Brett Lee be selected for the Ashes?

[Johnners]

How the tide has turned.

Haha, was just thinking the same thing.

 

[pup11]

How the tide has turned.

Thank you mate, I surely had that coming, but seriously, I hadn't seen Krezja bowl much before the Indian tour, but to his credit he used the Indian conditions quite well and proved lot of his crictics wrong, and despite all his shortcomings, he showed some qualities of a good spin bowler on that tour, but as a finger spinner, he has next to no hope of doing well on the Aussie tracks, so I really don't see him as much of an option on Australian pitches.

Though when playing outside Australia, especially in places like the sub-continent or England, West Indies, he has a very good chance of doing well in such places, because the dry and rough pitches there would suit his style of bowling, therefore given the current state of the Aussie spin ranks, I would prefer Krezja being picked for most of the away tours.

 

[Prince EWS]

he has next to no hope of doing well on the Aussie tracks, so I really don't see him as much of an option on Australian pitches.

Though when playing outside Australia, especially in places like the sub-continent or England, West Indies, he has a very good chance of doing well in such places, because the dry and rough pitches there would suit his style of bowling, therefore given the current state of the Aussie spin ranks, I would prefer Krezja being picked for most of the away tours.

So... exactly what I said when he was picked to tour to India, and what you basically called me an idiot for maintaining after that tour game?

Interesting.

 

[Burgey]

Watson injured again FFS. Someone stick a fork in the ****, it's just ridiculous.

 

[four_or_six]

Poor Watto.

I wonder sometimes if the selectors are taking the piss out of him? From what I saw at the T20, he was clearly not ready to bowl, and yet there he was in the game, bowling.

 

[Top_Cat]

Poor Watto.

I wonder sometimes if the selectors are taking the piss out of him? From what I saw at the T20, he was clearly not ready to bowl, and yet there he was in the game, bowling.

I know I have a dig at Watto's injured cuticles as much as anyone so this line made me laugh;

"I pulled up a little bit stiff from training yesterday so I sat out today's training," Watson said.

Aussie commentators used to mercilessly take the piss out of players in years gone by who'd pull out with 'general body soreness' (heartelage strain, tbh).

Seriously, I do hope he comes good. Stop him from bowling!

 

[four_or_six]

I know I have a dig at Watto's injured cuticles as much as anyone so this line made me laugh;

"I pulled up a little bit stiff from training yesterday so I sat out today's training," Watson said.

Aussie commentators used to mercilessly take the piss out of players in years gone by who'd pull out with 'general body soreness' (heartelage strain, tbh).

Seriously, I do hope he comes good. Stop him from bowling!

Would he actually stop bowling, though? Would take an immense amount of guts to turn round and say "Thanks for the fifteen years of support through bowling, but I'm going to give it up and never do it again because it'll be better for me."

 

[social]

Would he actually stop bowling, though? Would take an immense amount of guts to turn round and say "Thanks for the fifteen years of support through bowling, but I'm going to give it up and never do it again because it'll be better for me."

Or alternatively, "I can be an all-rounder and spend more time on the physio couch than the field or play solely as a bat and be available everyday until I hang up the boots."

 

[Top_Cat]

Would he actually stop bowling, though? Would take an immense amount of guts to turn round and say "Thanks for the fifteen years of support through bowling, but I'm going to give it up and never do it again because it'll be better for me."

Yes and no. If it means he's on the park, it's not just better for him but better for the team so I doubt they'd have much of a problem with it. Surely bowling coaches wouldn't be that precious.

Anyway, I was being facetious. Do think he needs to bowl less, though.

 

[four_or_six]

Yes and no. If it means he's on the park, it's not just better for him but better for the team so I doubt they'd have much of a problem with it. Surely bowling coaches wouldn't be that precious.

Anyway, I was being facetious. Do think he needs to bowl less, though.

Yep, agreed. I don't mean that the coaches would have a problem, just that he would feel like he was letting them down.

I just think as they've picked him as an all-rounder for this tour, it's a bit early. If they picked him as a batsman, fine, but they specifically stated when they announced the team it was as an all-rounder. I would have thought it should have either been as a batsman for the Ashes tour, or as an all-rounder for the A-team.

Anyway, give it until the 2011 WC and Ashes tour, get to 30 years old, then flick the bowling. That's what I reckon he'll do.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yep, agreed. I don't mean that the coaches would have a problem, just that he would feel like he was letting them down.

I just think as they've picked him as an all-rounder for this tour, it's a bit early. If they picked him as a batsman, fine, but they specifically stated when they announced the team it was as an all-rounder. I would have thought it should have either been as a batsman for the Ashes tour, or as an all-rounder for the A-team.

Anyway, give it until the 2011 WC and Ashes tour, get to 30 years old, then flick the bowling. That's what I reckon he'll do.

Maybe he was picked as an 'all-rounder' to get him on the tour? If it was said publicly that he was picked as a bat, plenty of questions would have been asked in light of his deer-in-the-headlights batting in India and fairly ordinary season for QLD in the longer form.

 

[pup11]

Yes and no. If it means he's on the park, it's not just better for him but better for the team so I doubt they'd have much of a problem with it. Surely bowling coaches wouldn't be that precious.

Anyway, I was being facetious. Do think he needs to bowl less, though.

Yeah it would make sense if he gives up bowling, but his stocks are likely to fall rapidly if he does so, and I guess he too knows that, he has been the blue-eyed boy of the selectors, just because from a very young age, he was always considered to be that genuine all-rounder Australia always wanted.

This is the only reason why, they have been so supportive and patient with him over the years, despite him going down with one injury after the other, so its very unlikely he would give up on bowling.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah it would make sense if he gives up bowling, but his stocks are likely to fall rapidly if he does so, and I guess he too knows that, he has been the blue-eyed boy of the selectors, just because from a very young age, he was always considered to be that genuine all-rounder Australia always wanted.

This is the only reason why, they have been so supportive and patient with him over the years, despite him going down with one injury after the other, so its very unlikely he would give up on bowling.

Yeah, absolutely agree. Deep down, even the most ardent Watto supporters know that if he was to say tomorrow he's no longer going to bowl, his batting would come under a lot of scrutiny and his FC record looked at with a greater degree of cynicism. Mainly because in his Test batting so far, he hasn't looked much like a bloke who averages near 50 in FC cricket. He's sneaked into a lot of people's starting XI's because of the promise that he can/might bowl. I don't think there'd be many people left batting him at 6 in the Test side if he said he wasn't going to bowl.

 

[four_or_six]

Yeah, absolutely agree. Deep down, even the most ardent Watto supporters know that if he was to say tomorrow he's no longer going to bowl, his batting would come under a lot of scrutiny and his FC record looked at with a greater degree of cynicism. Mainly because in his Test batting so far, he hasn't looked much like a bloke who averages near 50 in FC cricket. He's sneaked into a lot of people's starting XI's because of the promise that he can/might bowl. I don't think there'd be many people left batting him at 6 in the Test side if he said he wasn't going to bowl.

Yep, that's definitely the case with tests. Although it could easily be argued that he could hold down an ODI/T20 place. So it really comes down to does he want to give up on the dream of playing tests for the next couple of years and go back and try to score stacks of runs for NSW so that he's in the frame when Ponting/Hussey/Katich go.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yep, that's definitely the case with tests. Although it could easily be argued that he could hold down an ODI/T20 place. So it really comes down to does he want to give up on the dream of playing tests for the next couple of years and go back and try to score stacks of runs for NSW so that he's in the frame when Ponting/Hussey/Katich go.

TBH, if he can stay on the park, I'd say he's bloody close to a long run at a Test spot even now. He's already keeping Hodge out, no mean feat.

 

[four_or_six]

TBH, if he can stay on the park, I'd say he's bloody close to a long run at a Test spot even now. He's already keeping Hodge out, no mean feat.

Hmm... Cameron White has been keeping Hodge out of the limited overs teams.

 

[Top_Cat]

Hmm... Cameron White has been keeping Hodge out of the limited overs teams.

Haha, I'll pay that.

Would really love to know which selector's daughter Hodge knocked-up. His treatment, especially with LOI's has been, well, baffling.

 

[pup11]

Haha, I'll pay that.

Would really love to know which selector's daughter Hodge knocked-up. His treatment, especially with LOI's has been, well, baffling.

I think Hodge being overlooked time and again is not due to any cricketing reason imo, there was some talk, that many blokes in the Australian side and team-management aren't big fans of his attitude, and that could possibly be the only reason why he is being treated like this.

Hodge too hasn't done himself any favours by time and again shooting his mouth off, expressing his displeasure towards the selectors publicly, though he is very much entitled to feel bad about neglected everytime by the selectors, but still rubbing the selectors the wrong way is never a wise move.

 

[tooextracool]

You obviously havent seen much of Bollinger or recent Sydney tests

I dont claim to have seen much of Bollinger, I mentioned that the only time I've seen him was in his only test. Going on that performance, he looked hopelessly below test class.

As far as Sydney is concerned, in all the international games played there in the last few years, its followed a very similar pattern: the new ball has almost always swung prodigiously even though the pitch has remained relatively flat throughout before taking turn as the days wear on. RP Singh moved the ball prodigiously during his new ball spell a couple of years ago, much the same with Steyn, Bollinger and heck even Johnson last year.

This is of course the same ground where a bowler as mediocre as Nathan Bracken has made a FC career out of terrorizing opposition batters.

 

[Burgey]

Lee's in the first warm-up game apparently, with Johnson being rested.

Interesting, as I get the impression Johnson bowls his best with plenty of work under his belt (). Not sure if Clark is playing as well.