*Official* Third Test at the WACA

[TumTum]

But surely he will give Ponting some control....

No one so far this series, well.. bar Siddle tbf has done that...

Siddle has been terrible.

 

[Joao]

Siddle has been terrible.

Agreed. As soon as the pitch didn't offer anything (Bris 2nd, Adelaide) his length dropped back and he stopped threatening. I have seen him bowl good twice that I can recall. The Gabba 1st innings and Leeds last year. Both times pitching it up on wickets doing a little bit.

He is rubbish the rest of the time.

 

[Joao]

Just read my local paper's back page and apparently our resident cricket "expert" thinks the following selection wise for the WACA:

- Johnson and Hilf back in
- Steve smith to play as leg spinning all-rounder (bat at 8)
and the icing on everyone here's cake I'm sure...
- Marcus North is too good of a player not to turn his form around so he should stay - I agree

Expert? ****ing clown maybe.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Just read my local paper's back page and apparently our resident cricket "expert" thinks the following selection wise for the WACA:

- Johnson and Hilf back in
- Steve smith to play as leg spinning all-rounder (bat at 8)
and the icing on everyone here's cake I'm sure...
- Marcus North is too good of a player not to turn his form around so he should stay - I agree

Expert? ****ing clown maybe.

So who comes in for Katich then or did the expert ignore his injury?

 

[Joao]

So who comes in for Katich then or did the expert ignore his injury?

Well he said that batting is not a big problem, we just need 20 wickets. Nevermind that we got cleaned up for less that 600 runs over two innings in Adelaide - so I expect he probably wants Hauritz to open on the back of his shield century or something equally as stupid.

 

[Son Of Coco]

But surely he will give Ponting some control....

No one so far this series, well.. bar Siddle tbf has done that...

We're good enough that we don't have to worry about silly little things like control mate...as we've shown through the first two tests.

 

[Ruckus]

Johnson Ordered To Rest

The inner sanctum is at it again. Don't play cricket and get your form back. God no. Take a rest, and have no centre wicket practice between getting dropped after Brisbane and being recalled for Perth.

Why do they listen to these geniuses for and their stupid theories? The same group of guys who have presided over us falling from 1st to 5th.

So wait a second...it sounds as though Harris is out with an injury (which just adds to Australia's woes) and Bollinger is not likely to be picked (according to that article at least). So that leaves a mismanaged Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Hauritz (sound familiar?). What makes them think reverting back to the same boring, inneffective attack is going to improve our chances of getting 20 wickets? The attack we had for the previous game, while largely not on song, has a far greater potential to take wickets than Siddle, Hilf and Johnson. Why not pick one of the sub-25 average bowlers we have, in Copeland and Cameron, who are in excellent form and show far greater potential than any of our other current bowlers? I just don't get the rationale of the selectors..."Ok, so we have a do or die situation in the upcoming match, so lets pick the same bowlers who let England get to 517/1." **** **** **** **** **** ****.

 

[howardj]

If Johnson plays at the WACA, its game over. England 2-0. This isn't the WACA Ambrose took 7-1 on and even if it was Johnson can't hit the same place twice (on purpose) to expoit it.

He bowls gash for 5+ tests before this series (if you ask me I don't think he was particularly good at any point before that either, **** knows how he got 8 South Africans out in one innings), then bowls more top draw gash at Brisbane and finally gets dropped. Then an underdone Doug and toothless Siddle (1st innings Brisbane aside) bowl some really ordinary stuff at Adelaide and without playing a match Johnson is the go-to-guy to get us back on track??? WTF!!!
That's like pegging your test batting hopes on Afridi. Sure he might score 150 from 90 balls but more than likely he'll be out for <15.
Johnson might bowl a miraculous spell and get 5 blokes out for 2 runs without actually bowling more than 2 good balls but more than likely he will get slapped around for 4 an over and get the occasional leg side keeper catch.

The WACA is a road, like all Australian test pitches. If it's not and there is a bit of spice in it, play Stuart Clark. I know Siddle took 5 at Leeds (it was Leeds wasn't it) but it was the last 5 wickets after Clark had removed the top order. For me, Clark > than all currently eligable test bowlers especially if there is something in the pitch.

And those who lump Hilfenhaus in with Johnson after Brisbane, my hat stays on. I am aware that he never takes bags but he was reasonably effective in India and just bowled a little wide in Brisbane. He didn't bowl innacurate dross for 8 tests in a row and shouldn't be treated as such.

Johnson has to go away, learn how to bowl and produce some results consistantly in FC cricket. He's too old to be picked on potential and the rest of the team too **** to carry him until he suddenly clicks for one innings and rips through teams. We need all hands on deck, every innings, not once every 10.

BOTTOM LINE - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT PICK JOHNSON ANYTIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE

\Rant - sorry everyone.

That's been building for years.

Look mate, I agree with most of that. But the fact is, we need to take 20 wickets in Perth and Johnson, for all his faults, is one of the few heavy duty wicket takers that we have. Furthermore, he is somebody who can come back into form quickly.

At the moment he is certainly bowling no worse than his nadir at Lords in 2009. After that Lords Test he turned this around and averaged a fantastic 25 (with the ball) for the remainder of the series. As I say, he can turn it around quickly. And, guess what, we don't have a lot of other heavy duty alternatives.

Now, I agree, he should be playing some FC cricket this weekend and last week, however to not pick him for Perth when we must take 20 wickets and he is one of our only strike bowlers, and has the capacity to turn things around quickly, would in my view be a mistake.

 

[Joao]

So wait a second...it sounds as though Harris is out with an injury (which just adds to Australia's woes) and Bollinger is not likely to be picked (according to that article at least). So that leaves a mismanaged Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Hauritz (sound familiar?). What makes them think reverting back to the same boring, inneffective attack is going to improve our chances of getting 20 wickets? The attack we had for the previous game, while largely not on song, has a far greater potential to take wickets than Siddle, Hilf and Johnson. Why not pick one of the sub-25 average bowlers we have, in Copeland and Cameron, who are in excellent form and show far greater potential than any of our other current bowlers? I just don't get the rationale of the selectors..."Ok, so we have a do or die situation in the upcoming match, so lets pick the same bowlers who let England get to 517/1." **** **** **** **** **** ****.

I hear you.

Is this what England went through the last 20 years or did they just pick the best players and they sucked? I could deal with the latter.

 

[Ruckus]

Look mate, I agree with most of that. But the fact is, we need to take 20 wickets in Perth and Johnson, for all his faults, is one of the few heavy duty wicket takers that we have. Furthermore, he is somebody who can come back into form quickly.

At the moment he is certainly bowling no worse than his nadir at Lords in 2009. After that Lords Test he turned this around and averaged a fantastic 25 (with the ball) for the remainder of the series. As I say, he can turn it around quickly. And, guess what, we don't have a lot of other heavy duty alternatives.

Now, I agree, he should be playing some FC cricket this weekend and last week, however to not pick him for Perth when we must take 20 wickets and he is one of our only strike bowlers, and has the capacity to turn things around quickly, would in my view be a mistake.

I would actually be all for bringing Johnson back for the WACA, because his pace would be of good value there. However, now that it seems he is not even being given any match time before-hand the decision seems ludicrous. Seriously, he is going to come straight back into test cricket after playing in the nets? wtf?

 

[Son Of Coco]

His pace is of no value there if we can't guarantee he'll put it in good areas. If he's going to, then it will be very valuable. Who's prepared to throw money on him hitting the right areas regularly?

 

[howardj]

I would actually be all for bringing Johnson back for the WACA, because his pace would be of good value there. However, now that it seems he is not even being given any match time before-hand the decision seems ludicrous. Seriously, he is going to come straight back into test cricket after playing in the nets? wtf?

It is madness.

Agree Re Siddle too.

I would be reluctant to have him and Johnson in the same attack for Perth.

For mine

Johnson
Harris
Hilfenhorse
Hauritz
Smith
Watson

Not perfect by any means, but you only have what you have.

 

[Ruckus]

His pace is of no value there if we can't guarantee he'll put it in good areas. If he's going to, then it will be very valuable. Who's prepared to throw money on him hitting the right areas regularly?

Yeah exactly, which is why giving him no match time completely defeats the purpose of bringing him back.

I hear you.

Is this what England went through the last 20 years or did they just pick the best players and they sucked? I could deal with the latter.

That's why this is so annoying...it isn't like the situation England were in at all. We have a lot of potentially much better players out there, yet we aren't even considering them.

 

[stephen]

This is what I think the selectors will chose for the next test:

Hughes
Watson
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
North
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Harris
Siddle

I think Hilfenhaus will only be brought back if Harris is unfit. I can't see Bollinger getting another game over Johnson. Picking North again would be just stupid enough for the selectors to continue with.

I am torn between two teams. I like both:

Jaques
Hughes
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Harris
Bollinger


and

Hughes
Watson
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Khawaja
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Harris
Bollinger

If Johnson is going to perform anywhere it's at the WACA.

The advantage of the first batting lineup is that it provides a very strong middle order at the possible expense of less form at the top, while the second batting lineup is really looking to the future. The first batting lineup also helps relieve pressure on Watson's injury-prone body.

 

[howardj]

I think it more comes down to how long Watson bats and how many overs he bowls, rather than where he bats in the order. I don't think it will relieve stress on his body by batting him in a different position. He is best at opener, and with Katich gone probably forever, we need him there.

 

[stephen]

Good news everybody!

Harris fit to play third Test | Fox Sports

btw Howie, I disagree, I think that batting #4 is the optimal position for Watto regardless of injury concerns but given he has a bowling workload I think it is even more important.

 

[howardj]

I reckon he likes starting against the new ball. Reckon he'd fancy starting against Swan?

Great news RE Harris. He's not a messiah, but geez I reckon he's at least a guy he can keep a lid on things (as shown with his 2 for 78 in Adelaide).

A rare commodity these days.

 

[Mike5181]

Good news everybody!

Harris fit to play third Test | Fox Sports

btw Howie, I disagree, I think that batting #4 is the optimal position for Watto regardless of injury concerns but given he has a bowling workload I think it is even more important.

Why does everyone keep going on about moving Watson down to the middle order? People are like he needs to convert 50s and save energy for bowling etc etc but you are forgetting about the rest of the batsmen that would be affected by this. Ponting is struggling and putting a rookie as an opener ahead of him would likely expose him early on. Yeah GOOD IDEA lol. The same goes for Clarke as well and Hussey only just regained form.

Your best bet is to bring in Hughes for Katich and Khuwaja for North. This is the only way really, so you can't add more new guys into the frame after this especially for a guy that is a proven opener.

 

[simmy]

Siddle has been terrible.

Yeah I know, but he is still your best bowler.

 

[howardj]

ouch