**Official** Tour Matches

[GIMH]

It was only two weeks ago that he got dropped tbf

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

He was dropped over a month ago. Probably been in the nets every day since.

Time a foreign concept to you, it seems.

 

[TT Boy]

Joe Sayers? Should have been an England Invitational XI.

 

[age_master]

Hilfy out for Hauritz would be the only change I'd make to the bowling. Can't see them dropping any of the quicks from Leeds to make room for Lee so it's pointless playing him vs the Lions. Johnson and Siddle need to just keep on bowling.

I doubt that Hilfy is going anywhere for the next couple of tests. Whether or not Lee is in selectors minds at all for the next test isn't the only reason that he is playing this game, the more match practice he gets before the ODIs and T20s the better. Agree about Johnson but Siddle needs to learn how to bowl better if he wants to play lots of test cricket.

 

[Matt79]

I doubt that Hilfy is going anywhere for the next couple of tests. Whether or not Lee is in selectors minds at all for the next test isn't the only reason that he is playing this game, the more match practice he gets before the ODIs and T20s the better. Agree about Johnson but Siddle needs to learn how to bowl better if he wants to play lots of test cricket.

Was saying rest Hilfy for this tour match, not drop him for the Oval tbh. Siddle's bowling has got better as he's got more work into him. And saying he needs to bowl better if he wants a long career is silly when his averaging <30 and falling having played tests against India (away), SA (home and away) and England (away). He's made a fine start to his career against good opposition and already looks to have what's required. He's got a home summer vs Pakistan and WIs coming up - he'll be averaging close to 25 by the end of those series.

And I don't care about the ODIs or the T20 - the only focus for this tour match should be the fifth test IMO.

 

[inbox24]

Dropping Hilfenhaus for the Oval test would truly be ridiculous. Selectors are saying that Johnson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus are the future, which is true but then to ditch Clark and Lee?

Bowlers like Johnson and Siddle only know how to ride on the success of others, without the 'facilitators' like Clark and Hilfenhaus they are nothing. Neither of them can hold up an end and build pressure consistently (through test series) and generally produce wickets through batsmen error.

 

[Matt79]

Change the record inbox.

 

[inbox24]

Truth will always be truth. No point saying the earth is not round just because everyone else says it's square.

 

[Matt79]

Equally saying "the truth is that the world is square but I'm the only one who sees it" two million times doesn't make you right either.

 

[Jamee999]

Dropping Johnson at this point would be odd.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Truth will always be truth. No point saying the earth is not round just because everyone else says it's square.

The Earth isn't round tbh.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Dropping Johnson at this point would be odd.

Yes it would! Stick with a player when he's playing very poorly and then drop him when he finally shows signs of improvement. Sounds like something Andrew HIlditch would do. He won't go for the 5th test, he's just taken a 5 for.

 

[Pigeon]

Johnson has been too expensive an experiment to be pulled the plug of in such a hurry.

 

[Matt79]

Johnson has been too expensive an experiment to be pulled the plug of in such a hurry.

That's true. That MOTS performance against SA has left him with a significant debt to repay. Hang on, what?

He had one shocking test and two poor ones either side of it. Hardly likes he's, oh I don't know, Steve Harmison or Stuar Broad.

 

[Son Of Coco]

That's true. That MOTS performance against SA has left him with a significant debt to repay. Hang on, what?

He had one shocking test and two poor ones either side of it. Hardly likes he's, oh I don't know, Steve Harmison or Stuar Broad.

Was going to reply to him too, then I remembered who he was suspected of being.

Broad bowled well in the last test, but it's funny how his poor form has been played down in some areas. Sure, he has an improved average this year. But he's played against the West Indies at home when they seemed to be indifferent to the idea of actually playing the game. He's shown glimpses of being a good cricketer, but he's not that yet. Saying he's done well in the past year is similar to saying how well Ravi Bopara was going after he dominated the Windies. He turned out to be a gem.

Broad is an average cricketer at the moment. When he works out whether he wants to be a fire-breathing ladyboy who attempts to get in niggling contest with the batsman or someone who gets it on a good length and causes some problems he'll be a much improved bowler. He'll choose the latter if he doesn't want to get smacked around a bit by the better teams.

 

[age_master]

Was saying rest Hilfy for this tour match, not drop him for the Oval tbh. Siddle's bowling has got better as he's got more work into him. And saying he needs to bowl better if he wants a long career is silly when his averaging <30 and falling having played tests against India (away), SA (home and away) and England (away).

Averaged 44 in India tbh. He had a good series in SA and has been pretty rubbish most of the time in England, his average is only any good because of 1 spell inwhich he cleaned up Englands long tail.

 

[Matt79]

Averaged 44 in one test against the best batting line up in the world on an utterly flat deck, as part of a dysfunctional bowling attack in his debut aged 23 iirc. Hardly representative circumstances to judge him, other than to note he kept trying and didn't drop his head. And despite that, his overall record remains decent - if you take it out he's already averaging in the mid 20s.

Would disagree that he's been rubbish for most of the tour. He's been disappointly inconsistent at times but has also regularly bowled good bursts as well - and as we've gone on, he's improved.

 

[aussie]

Johnson bowled very well in IND, ran in @ 90mph in blazing sun on some flat decks. He was the only AUS bowling that looked like penetrative until Krejza played. That series was sort of stepping stone for him.

 

[Top_Cat]

Johnson bowled very well in IND, ran in @ 90mph in blazing sun on some flat decks. He was the only AUS bowling that looked like penetrative until Krejza played. That series was sort of stepping stone for him.

Batsmen just got themselves out chasing wide ones if you believe some around here.

 

[GIMH]

Was going to reply to him too, then I remembered who he was suspected of being.

Broad bowled well in the last test, but it's funny how his poor form has been played down in some areas. Sure, he has an improved average this year. But he's played against the West Indies at home when they seemed to be indifferent to the idea of actually playing the game. He's shown glimpses of being a good cricket, but he's not that yet. Saying he's done well in the past year is similar to saying how well Ravi Bopara was going after he dominated the Windies. He turned out to be a gem.

Broad is an average cricketer at the moment. When he works out whether he wants to be a fire-breathing ladyboy who attempts to get in niggling contest with the batsman or someone who gets it on a good length and causes some problems he'll be a much improved bowler. He'll choose the latter if he doesn't want to get smacked around a bit by the better teams.

He's lowered his career average in this series as well actually. Broad pretty much had a mare at Cardiff, and bowled some good stuff amongst a lot of dross at Lord's. As the Edgbaston Test progressed, he found his line and bowled well - sure, we can point to the game being dead when he started to bowl his best stuff of the series, but I also think he was buoyed by having batted well. And then he carried on a Headingley where he was the pick of our bowlers by a mile. He obviously hasn't bowled any spells as good as Johnson's in the last Test, but at the same time at his worst he was nowhere near as bad as Johnson was at Lord's.

People can keep talking about how Broad is this and that, but I've watched most of the Tests he's played and he's improved so much it's not funny. He's well worth his place in our team and before long nobody will be talking about his average.