*Official* Fifth Test at the SCG

[pup11]

FFS... Phil Hughes is 21 year old bloke who has great potential, but if people are expecting him to come into an Ashes series out of nowhere and play like a Matty Hayden or Michael Slater, then that's not going to happen.
He is a bloke with a FC average in the high 50's and whether anyone likes it or not he is best opening batsman around. I would rather persist with him rather than trying out blokes like Marsh, Rogers or Jaques.

 

[vicleggie]

Swann at the moment is a better weapon than Harbhajan.

if i was a batsman, id be more scared about facing harbhajan on day 3/4/5. any day.

harbhajan just took 4/10 on a day 2 wicket against south africa- the pitch wasnt spinning,it wasnt bouncing, so he used that to his advantage. he's a master.

apart from his 5 in adelaide, i've been unimpressed with swann. greaaaat, he got clarke in melbourne- my grandmother could do that the form he is in.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

if i was a batsman, id be more scared about facing harbhajan on day 3/4/5. any day.

He was woeful against NZ... Except with the bat, that is.

 

[Furball]

if i was a batsman, id be more scared about facing harbhajan on day 3/4/5. any day.

harbhajan just took 4/10 on a day 2 wicket against south africa- the pitch wasnt spinning,it wasnt bouncing, so he used that to his advantage. he's a master.

apart from his 5 in adelaide, i've been unimpressed with swann. greaaaat, he got clarke in melbourne- my grandmother could do that the form he is in.

Go and look at how Harbhajan and Murali have done in Australia then reconsider Swann's series in that light.

 

[vicleggie]

He was woeful against NZ... Except with the bat, that is.

so was swann in perth.
just because you have a poor game doesn't make you ****
just think over the course of a reasonable period- harbhajan is the better bowler and will win you more matches.

swann is looking so good her because he's being compared to what we have: hauritz, doherty, beer etc.

 

[vicleggie]

Go and look at how Harbhajan and Murali have done in Australia then reconsider Swann's series in that light.

yep, bowling to hayden, langer, steve waugh, martyn, ponting when not batting like the rain man, during their streaks of 13 and 16 is exactly the same as bowling to the poorest aus team in 30 years.

and yep, bowling to aus for the last 10 years is the same as swann having bowled to them for about 18 months.

 

[vcs]

Swann > Harbhajan over the past year or so.

Harbhajan still a fair way ahead over the course of his career, but TBF to Swann he's just started out.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The Home of CricketArchive

Harbhajan Singh's bowling by test series.

Has been very poor since India toured New Zealand in 2009.

Even with his 4 - 10 against South Africa, he's still averaging over 30 in that series.

India's last tour of Australia, he averaged 61 (a series which Kumble averaged 34 in, btw). Considerably worse than Swann, though against a much more in-form batting unit. England haven't needed to rely on Swann in this series. He's bowled pretty well in my opinion.

 

[Jono]

One thing about Swann and Bhajji, they're both quite the characters.

[/obvious statement]

 

[vicleggie]

meh, lets see how swann goes for the next couple of years.

 

[vicleggie]

One thing about Swann and Bhajji, they're both quite the characters.

[/obvious statement]

yeh in that swann has a sense of humor and is loved by fans of the opposition side, but bajan is a moron who is hated by everyone except his teammates (Save sreesanth)

 

[Jono]

yeh in that swann has a sense of humor and is loved by fans of the opposition side, but bajan is a moron who is hated by everyone except his teammates (Save sreesanth)

I agree on the whole, but so many Australians on this forum seem to dislike Swann for some reason.

 

[JBH001]

I don't think Swann has bowled all that well, tbh. A little too quick through the air, IMO, although the way Huss has gone at him might also have something to do with his less than stellar performances thus far in Australia.

IIRC he was averaging 37 with a SR of 75+ coming into this test. Not woeful, but certainly not good, either.

 

[vicleggie]

I agree on the whole, but so many Australians on this forum seem to dislike Swann for some reason.

theyre not used to seeing a cricketer with a personality- see clarke, ponting, katich, johnson, ryan harris, hauritz.

bunch of drips. one of the great things about england is they play with flare and free spiritedness- dont have a conservative board breathing down their neck.
as opposed to the geeks who run aus cricket- sutherland, neilsen, hildich- a bunch of pathetic suits who would have no idea what a good time is

they were a bunch of idiots to symonds- a true character and spiritual leader of the team, they've instilled a mentality where u have to conform to a certain image to be in the team. and now its come to bite them in the **** because they're all bland, boring and lack freedom. idiots.

 

[pup11]

Think someone needs to show you a pitch map.

The gulf in the bowling department between these 2 sides far and away eclipses the gulf in the batting. Bowlers like Johnson and Siddle cant land 2 balls in an over on the same spot, even the reserve bowlers like Bresnan are coming in and bowling to set plans.

England haven't come up with any great bowling plans tbh, their bowlers have bowled a patient outside off line, knowing that the Australian batsmen would oblige sooner rather than later.
On the other hand Australian bowlers are totally different, likes of Siddle and Johnson bowl a load of tripe and every now and then bowl an unplayble delivery, with Hilfenhaus and Harris being the only bowlers to bowl with any discipline.
English batsmen have taken full advantage of this, they have been cautious against Hilfenhaus and Harris and then later feasted on Johnson and Siddle's bowling.The fact that Aussie bowlers didn't have many runs to play with through the series also hasn't helped their cause.

 

[Spark]

Bowled OK, has Swann. Bowled well - really well - in Adelaide, bowled **** in Brisbane, bowled so little in Perth that it barely rates a mention, and bowled OK in Melbourne. It averages out to about "OK". Brisbane aside, he's basically done the job required of him by Strauss.

 

[Ausage]

FFS... Phil Hughes is 21 year old bloke who has great potential, but if people are expecting him to come into an Ashes series out of nowhere and play like a Matty Hayden or Michael Slater, then that's not going to happen.
He is a bloke with a FC average in the high 50's and whether anyone likes it or not he is best opening batsman around. I would rather persist with him rather than trying out blokes like Marsh, Rogers or Jaques.

Completely AWTA.

 

[Ruckus]

FFS... Phil Hughes is 21 year old bloke who has great potential, but if people are expecting him to come into an Ashes series out of nowhere and play like a Matty Hayden or Michael Slater, then that's not going to happen.
He is a bloke with a FC average in the high 50's and whether anyone likes it or not he is best opening batsman around. I would rather persist with him rather than trying out blokes like Marsh, Rogers or Jaques.

Yeah I agree. I actually still think Hughes will be a star in the future. Let's look at at his short test career so far and it's pretty easy to see why his results haven't been that great:

-First few tests he was picked on good form and excelled against SA.
-Dropped after 3 bloody innings against England in the last Ashes series without getting a chance to redeem himself. Wouldn't have been good for his confidence.
-Brought back into the team on very short notice against Pak and the entire team was rolled for less than 127.
-Once again brought in on short notice to play against NZ. Performed ok.
-Brought back into the team in this Ashes series on the worst FC form of his career. Was also run-out when he had been looking his best.

The amount of time he has been shifted in and out of the team, you can't expect much more from him at this stage.

 

[vicleggie]

I don't think Swann has bowled all that well, tbh. A little too quick through the air, IMO, although the way Huss has gone at him might also have something to do with his less than stellar performances thus far in Australia.

IIRC he was averaging 37 with a SR of 75+ coming into this test. Not woeful, but certainly not good, either.

hes bowled ok, but i want to see him bowl more in the next 2 years or so.
its not just his performances against austrialia, but its more longevity in the game and his ability to be consistently quality. if hes still averaging 27 in 2 years and has 100 more wickets, hats off to him

 

[JBH001]

Jeez, vicleggie I think you are exaggerating more than a little.

The ironic thing is that, from what I saw (from start of play to Watson's dismissal), I don't think England bowled as well as they did in Adelaide and Melbourne. IMO, the Australian batsmen were trying too hard to show grit and application and all that and, at times, batted themselves, into a cul de sac of scorelessness. The pitch did a little and England bowled well (if not outstanding) but Australia may have been their own worst enemies at times in this innings. But I may be being a little hard on them, as it may be a case of damned if you are and damned if you aren't.

Anyway, dinner is done and it's back to Starcraft 2 for me.