*Official* Fifth Test at the SCG

[Spark]

Lol but it's not just that is it.

He also bowled 41 overs for less than 100 runs, building and creating pressure, taking 5 wickets. No way would our reduced attack been able to win there with someone of his quality imo.

I just can't fathom how we would have been able to succeed here without him. But I shouldn't expect you to agree, I know how much Australians love to go on about finger spinners in Australia.

I'd said that the criticism of Swann is probably harsh and he did win you the match at Adelaide.

What I dispute is that he was indispensible to the win at Adelaide.

 

[Redbacks]

No problem, blaming the selectors or captains is just taking your frustrations out at the wrong people.

Fish rots from the head down

Exhibit A: the selection policy of spin bowlers.

 

[Ruckus]

Please cancel the Allan Border Medal for this year

Losing to India, drawing with minows Pakistan and getting pantsed by the Poms in our own fortress!

How hollow, macabre and self-mocking will that gala event be!!!

No doubt Mark Nicholas will come up with some vacuous speech to gloss over the massive failings of the team: "In a tightly fought contest Australia showed characteristic spirit and fight eventually succumbing to some competent English cricket. Mitchell Johnson was at his magnificent best, annihilating the English batsmen. Ricky Ponting showed great courage and battled on with a badly broken finger in one of the all-time great knocks etc. etc."

 

[howardj]

No problem, blaming the selectors or captains is just taking your frustrations out at the wrong people.

This is what I posted yesterday in the 'Coaching - Australia v England' thread


And having said all that, the Poms do in this particular series have the better players. That;s all the more reason why we need to get off field stuff like coaching and selection right. These things need to reduce the gap, not exacerbate it.

It's a package mate, we have to get these things right to cover up the gap that's emerging in playing talent between us and the rest.

 

[vicleggie]

For ****s sake, can you guys please stop bitching about the selectors or the captains. We lost because we were crap in batting, bowling and fielding. A cricket team is not an empire, nobody reigns it.

rubbish.
without flower england wouldn't have had the excellent planning and preparation it had. Without his discipline and sternness.
While Andy Flower is ruthless in his pursuit of results, neilsen is a 'mate' to his team , and continually makes excuses for them.

Also, while the England selectors have brilliantly been plotting their army for this assualt, for the past year, Hildich and his band of merry moronic ****s has *****footed around, without any semblance of a plan.

Great teams don't just appear. It's a process. A process that England has mastered, and Australia has avoided in this series.

 

[vicleggie]

Fish rots from the head down

Exhibit A: the selection policy of spin bowlers.

this.

 

[TumTum]

This is what I posted yesterday in the 'Coaching - Australia v England' thread


And having said all that, the Poms do in this particular series have the better players. That;s all the more reason why we need to get off field stuff like coaching and selection right. These things need to reduce the gap, not exacerbate it.

It's a package mate, we have to get these things right to cover up the gap that's emerging in playing talent between us and the rest.

You can't win all the time, just because this bunch got it's arse kicked just now doesn't mean we should start dropping and replacing players.

This is what fans are getting worked up about, we no longer are winning like we used too but yet the mentality is still the same. Time to change that mentality and be patient and take the bad with the good.

 

[Jacknife]

Loved the interview Colly just gave, what a top bloke.

 

[vicleggie]

Anderson not impressed with that shot. He looks a little tired, tbh; probably emotional and physical.

What a *****.

 

[Redbacks]

You can't win all the time, just because this bunch got it's arse kicked just now doesn't mean we should start dropping and replacing players.

This is what fans are getting worked up about, we no longer are winning like we used too but yet the mentality is still the same. Time to change that mentality and be patient and take the bad with the good.

We have just lost by an innings at home 3 times in 4 matches. If thinking that this is dire is over expectation, then I'm guilty as charged.

 

[Spark]

You can't win all the time, just because this bunch got it's arse kicked just now doesn't mean we should start dropping and replacing players.

This is what fans are getting worked up about, we no longer are winning like we used too but yet the mentality is still the same. Time to change that mentality and be patient and take the bad with the good.

Here's the thing though. If you had asked all of us what our major concerns would be during this series, they would be:

- Batsmen who struggle against the ball moving off the straight and leading to collapses which lead to consistently below-par scores
- Bowlers who struggle to keep a consistent line and length and cannot built any pressure

Whilst no one thought it would be quite be this bad I think, the writing was on the wall to a degree. Things like keeping North in the side for so long (then dumping him mid-series), keeping Hauritz right until the morning of the match, the general revolving door with the spinners, playing Clarke in Brisbane where he wasn't fit and giving his confidence a fearful hammering wasting all the form he'd been building steadily in the weeks leading up etc. etc. etc.

 

[hazsa19]

Loved the interview Colly just gave, what a top bloke.

I wish he hadn't retired now

 

[flibbertyjibber]

rubbish.
without flower england wouldn't have had the excellent planning and preparation it had. Without his discipline and sternness.
While Andy Flower is ruthless in his pursuit of results, neilsen is a 'mate' to his team , and continually makes excuses for them.

Also, while the England selectors have brilliantly been plotting their army for this assualt, for the past year, Hildich and his band of merry moronic ****s has *****footed around, without any semblance of a plan.

Great teams don't just appear. It's a process. A process that England has mastered, and Australia has avoided in this series.

AWTA

We are still improving too which is an important detail that needs remembering. We are a far better side now than the one that drew in SA 12 months ago and much of that is down to Flower and Strauss being diligent in everything they do.

England have a squad at present that can all do a job as and when required, yes Collingwood needs replacing now and more importantly we need a slip fielder to the spinner but we are still a relatively young side with many years ahead of them. Australia have an ageing batting line up and don't appear to have any plans with the bowling. Khawaja is a promising find though and has to remain in the side now. Should have been in at Brisbane though.

 

[GotSpin]

What a shocking series. The executions need to start at the top of the tree.

 

[Spark]

Ageing? In this particular lineup the only 30+ men in the top six are Haddin and Hussey.

I'm not looking for a bloodbath, I don't want to see careers ended and destroyed for the sake of it. But we need to work out what the hell has gone wrong and where we need to go from here.

And we need to do it soon. You thought 2010 was nasty? Look at what's in store for 2011...

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Ageing? In this particular lineup the only 30+ men in the top six are Haddin and Hussey.

I was meaning the start of the series, if Ponting and Katich hadn't got injured they would both still be playing here. The replacements don't look to be there at present do they?

 

[howardj]

You can't win all the time, just because this bunch got it's arse kicked just now doesn't mean we should start dropping and replacing players.

This is what fans are getting worked up about, we no longer are winning like we used too but yet the mentality is still the same. Time to change that mentality and be patient and take the bad with the good.

YOu can't win all the time, but this mob should not be losing by an innings three times in a five match series.

Some standards, please.

 

[GIMH]

Loved the interview Colly just gave, what a top bloke.

What did he have to say?

 

[hazsa19]

7 hours of Ashes of demolition in the middle of the night.

Now for a bit of Sachin Tendulker vs Steyn to keep me going please.

 

[Spark]

I was meaning the start of the series, if Ponting and Katich hadn't got injured they would both still be playing here. The replacements don't look to be there at present do they?

Oh yeah at the start of the series with Ponting, Hussey, Katich, Haddin, North we definitely had an old lineup (Clarke and Watson being the only men under 30 in the top 7)

How quickly things can change though.