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*Official* Australia in India 2010

Teja.

Global Moderator
Also, Sreesanth, most likely, will play the next game. I'm delighted. Favourite cricketer of all-time. Just so electric.
 

bagapath

International Captain
in these cynical ****ed up times when cricketers are taking money to bowl no-balls, when they deliberately miss catches and sometimes tap the wicket to signal the start of spread bet for a maiden over etc etc, it was so nice to see the faces of the australian cricketers after today's match. mitchell johnson looked like he had not an ounce of blood left in his face; ponting looked like a man whose house had been burgled while he was out on a holiday; everyone looked like they wanted to win and hated the fact that india managed to sneak in somehow. in the days of sharjah racket spreading its wings in world cricket, one man - allan border - stood between corruption and australian cricketers. if ricky continues to be the role model for his team and leaves a fighting unit behind when he retires - like border did - he will also be remembered as a legend forever.
 

vcs

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in these cynical ****ed up times when cricketers are taking money to bowl no-balls, when they deliberately miss catches and sometimes tap the wicket to signal the start of spread bet for a maiden over etc etc, it was so nice to see the faces of the australian cricketers after today's match. mitchell johnson looked like he had not an ounce of blood left in his face; ponting looked like a man whose house had been burgled while he was out on a holiday; everyone looked like they wanted to win and hated the fact that india managed to sneak in somehow. in the days of sharjah racket spreading its wings in world cricket, one man - allan border - stood between corruption and australian cricketers. if ricky continues to be the role model for his team and leaves a fighting unit behind when he retires - like border did - he will also be remembered as a legend forever.
Great post. I don't like to admit it but I find myself cheering for Australia most of the time when India aren't playing because of the spirit, attitude and the respect they have for the game. That transcends the quality of players they are putting out at any given time.

I have to ask about the Sharjah bit though.. is there anything specific you're referring to there? Was there something dodgy going on in Sharjah matches?
 

bagapath

International Captain
I have to ask about the Sharjah bit though.. is there anything specific you're referring to there? Was there something dodgy going on in Sharjah matches?
There were enough rumors even back then that created a lot of smoke. Events of later years proved that there really was fire behind all the smoke. All the match fixing problems of later years could be traced back to indian bookies, indian criminals like shakeel, dawood and people like salim malik, asif iqbal and, later, azharuddin and ajay sharma. it was established that they were introduced to one another in sharjah. and bookies found that to be the best place to operate out of. the second level organizers were involved in match fixing and betting. players deliberately underperformed in those tournaments for illegal money etc etc. sigh.... the circa 2000 CBI report on match fixing is a boring but a pretty useful document.
 

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
If Dravid makes it to SA, and Pujara impresses in the next test, we could see a three way shoot out between Pujara, Raina and Yuvraj tbh.
Can we stop using the Y word when it comes to test selection already? How many failures does it take to cast him off for good? He reached that status years ago.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Well i dont think their is much i can say ATS, that the already generally erudite CW community hasn't already mentioned.

Just will say that when my teams loses matches like this i am not a good sports & i am EXTREMELY pissed about this defeat just like after Kolkatta & Chennai 01, Antigua 03, Jo'Burg 06 for AUS & Multan 05, CT Final 04 for ENG etc. I wouldn't be accepting this as great test match for anothert couple years.

I'm very proud of the way the AUS quicks bowled in this test. I said before this series started that they key for them taking 20 IND wickets was them getting reverse-swing. But they still managed to basically almost take 20 wickets, without getting much/if any reverse-swing with the old ball - but with good line-and-lenght bowling along with exposing INDs historical weakness againts short pitched. Such a performances argues well long term in their development as the fast-bowling unit, for future tests on flat wickets.

Hopefully also the majority of the AUS posters accept than Haurtiz has to be dropped for the next test & long-term.
 
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howardj

International Coach
No way. North is a lost cause, even if he gets a 100, it will just mean there will be another 10 failed performances until his next one. I say pick Smith for the second test. There are no guarantees he will perform well, but who really cares? The series at best will be a draw, the Indians have already retained the trophy, and Aus are 4th in the test rankings. The way I see it, we have nothing really to lose and should be making most of the opportunity to experiment before the ashes.
Yep, these are the times when selectors earn their keep - identifying talent despite the lack of a long track record. Smith has huge upside. He's 22, averages 50+ with the bat in FC cricket, can land big turning leggies on the spot, and is a great field. What if we abandoned Warne early doors because he didn't have a track record? Identify the young, talented guys and (particularly when the team is not going so well anyway) stick with them.

I don't blame North - he's only replicating in Test cricket what he's always produced in FC cricket. That is, a sub-standard average, bolstered by the odd big score every eight or so innings. There is no upside to a guy who is on the wrong side of 30, averages in the 30s in Tests, and in the low 40s in FC cricket.
 

outbreak

First Class Debutant
I'm happy the aussies are trying out some younger players in the ODI's. Looking forward to seeing how starc and pattinson go and watching warner in the one day format. I'm really hoping they chop and change for the next test. North and Hauritz need to be looked at and evaluated. Why have Hauritz if North is giong to be preffered over him? Why have North if his bowling isn't anything special and his batting has been woeful? It almost looks like they are making do with who they have in the side rather then picking a new side to fill in their gaps. One of those 2 should be dropped for the next match to make way for smith. I would have also dropped Hauritz for the one dayers and called up Doherty or Bailey or someone else to get a look in before the ashes in case Hauritz continues to fail.
 

outbreak

First Class Debutant
id rate smith to get a couple because he doesn't get the turn as much as it looks like he should. After afew games people will work him out but he could have the unexpected facotr
 

Spark

Global Moderator
Honestly, if Hauritz plays - and I think he will - and North is dropped I'd pick Hughes before Smith. With Clarke and Katich in the side you have plenty of part-time options that are definitely capable of taking a few surprise wickets. And Hughes, I think, will enjoy the Indian conditions.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Honestly, if Hauritz plays - and I think he will - and North is dropped I'd pick Hughes before Smith. With Clarke and Katich in the side you have plenty of part-time options that are definitely capable of taking a few surprise wickets. And Hughes, I think, will enjoy the Indian conditions.
Yeah, but the big question about Hughes is what we do with the rest of the batting order. All our best batsmen who aren't in the eleven are openers - which is I suppose what happens when both your opening batsmen are converted middle order players. Watson definitely shouldn't bat below four and I'd really much prefer Katich not to either. That means Clarke has to bat five and I really doubt the selectors would do that as they'd see it as a step backwards in his progression, as such.

Do we just stick Hughes in at six? Would he actually be a better middle order batsman than Smith, even ignoring bowling?

Ideally Khawaja, Bailey or White would actually be on tour so we could pick our next best middle order bat...
 

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