Australia - the aftermath of the Ashes

[Teja.]

The big question is whether Malinga will play, In current form he is probably very close to or as good as Zaheer/Anderson now, IMHO. He was awesome against India in SL when we went there last year. Worst part is he can completely negates the pitch. Has a very good bouncer and probably the best yorker in the world and isn't afraid to pitch it up and is extremely accurate when he does so most times. Can get appreciable reverse too. I hope Malinga didn't play against WI because SL wanted to wrap him in cotton before the WC and they'll let him play tests after the WC.

Randiv is an big talent; albeit a bit inconsistent. Any spinner who can take 9 wickets in a game against the current Indian batting line-up has to be very good.

 

[Prince EWS]

Randiv's just not being picked at the moment. He's behind Mendis and Herath in the Test pecking order and he strangely didn't even make the World Cup squad.

 

[Teja.]

Randiv's just not being picked at the moment. He's behind Mendis and Herath in the Test pecking order and he strangely didn't even make the World Cup squad.

BCCI IMO.

z

 

[robinjr]

Last time we won 3 zip down there didn't we...That was Warne's return series aswell as Punter's first as test captain.Good times...

 

[vic_orthdox]

Down in every game after the first innings, weren't we?

 

[robinjr]

Down in every game after the first innings, weren't we?

yep.160 odd in the 1st test 90 odd in the 2nd i think...Not so much in the 3rd

 

[marc71178]

The big question is whether Malinga will play, In current form he is probably very close to or as good as Zaheer/Anderson now, IMHO.

2 games in 3 years is not enough to determine anybody's form.

 

[Furball]

I must say I did back Hughes to get a ton in one of the 3 tests, thought he might step up. But none of the younger players stepped up at all, maybe Siddle. Hussey and Watson and Haddin you would back to do something in the series given their experience. Picking Usman was a sound move, picking Doherty and Beer was flat out stupid. Clarke and Punter obviously hurt us badly, Katich out injured hurt too. Starting to think Watson might not be the right opener either.

Bit harsh on Siddle who was outstanding in Melbourne, hardly his fault that none of the other bowlers bothered to show up.

 

[Teja.]

2 games in 3 years is not enough to determine anybody's form.

Yeah, said it based on seeing him in the ODIs and those games, He was absolute cracker tbf and those games were only last year. Yeah he might be turn out to be erratic and bad but I highly doubt that's the case.

 

[marc71178]

I'd say it's more likely he's too liable to break down to play Tests. He's like a more extreme version of Zaheer.

 

[stephen]

Love watching him bowl with his action. Always amazes me that the ball ends up in front of him, let alone on the pitch.

 

[howardj]

Love when the print guys have a lash

He is right though about their defiance.

 

[howardj]

What are peoples' thoughts on Phil Hughes?

I remember one of our spies, Vic_Orthdox, saying that apparently he is very detached from the team. He strikes me as somebody who is very defiant and someone who is not quite as stable or sensible as a Khawaja or Smith. It certainly hit me for six when news emerged of him speaking at a Shane Warne Foundation gala breakfast on Boxing day morning.

Then there are the technical issues in his game.

All in all, I think he needs a long spell back in the Shield ranks to sort his head and his game out.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I think he was really trying to sort his footwork out in the last couple of tests but stepping away to leg to open up his favoured off side is so ingrained he struggled.

I guess there are two schools of thought: try to alter his technique to make the best use of his (amazing) eye but possibly compromise his instinctive stroke play in so doing or to leave well alone and take the rough with the smooth.

 

[Burgey]

What are peoples' thoughts on Phil Hughes?

I remember one of our spies, Vic_Orthdox, saying that apparently he is very detached from the team. He strikes me as somebody who is very defiant and someone who is not quite as stable or sensible as a Khawaja or Smith. It certainly hit me for six when news emerged of him speaking at a Shane Warne Foundation gala breakfast on Boxing day morning.

Then there are the technical issues in his game.

All in all, I think he needs a long spell back in the Shield ranks to sort his head and his game out.

I'm not so sure about this, really. he's still only a kid remember, and comes from a pretty quiet sort of background. Sometimes shyness can be construed as aloofness.

Plus it wouldn't be doing his head any good with the way he's been treated. I wonder if he thinks most every test he plays could well be his last for a long time.

Sure he has technical issues though. How he got to test level without being able to score on the leg side is kind of beyond me really. It's that more than a weakness to the short ball that perplexes me. As Brumbers said, it was encouraging to see him somewhat correcting his footwork in the last two test, but that sort of thing takes ages, and test cricket is a hell of a place to try and correct it.

If he can get to the point where he's able to work balls away that are pitched at his body, even his hip, he'll nullify that line of attack pretty quickly.

I wouldn't be disheartened to see him do so back in Shield cricket though.

 

[Top_Cat]

Also, the bloke can't buy a run in Shield cricket right now and didn't look too fresh the other night in the T20 against WA. He's woefully out of form on top of having well-known technical issues to sort.

A back-foot problem like Hughes' is incredibly hard to correct, you have to essentially rebuild your physical and mental responses to all types of bowling and blokes like Mike Atherton have claimed he never truly fixed his own issues there. It's also such a subtle problem that only really good bowlers can exploit it and make it look like a gaping hole in his game. So let's not pretend he just needs a season of runs for NSW and it'll be gone. It'll take years.

 

[Spark]

Well he's 22 - years are the one thing he has plenty of.

 

[Top_Cat]

What is it with the NSW system producing gimpy techniques? Hughes, Jaques and Smith, even Katman's is more crab-like than when he was playing for WA.

Come to Adelaide, the blokes here will school you on how to at least look good.

 

[Furball]

Also, the bloke can't buy a run in Shield cricket right now and didn't look too fresh the other night in the T20 against WA. He's woefully out of form on top of having well-known technical issues to sort.

A back-foot problem like Hughes' is incredibly hard to correct, you have to essentially rebuild your physical and mental responses to all types of bowling and blokes like Mike Atherton have claimed he never truly fixed his own issues there. It's also such a subtle problem that only really good bowlers can exploit it and make it look like a gaping hole in his game. So let's not pretend he just needs a season of runs for NSW and it'll be gone. It'll take years.

I made this point the other day - Hughes averages 62 when you remove his performances against England in Tests and has a pretty good domestic FC average. His technique has only really gotten him into trouble against England, who have had a good, disciplined bowling attack who have been able to exploit this weakness. If he left his game the way it is, he'd probably continue his woes against England, but no-one else seems to have worked out away of consistently getting him out.

 

[Spark]

What is it with the NSW system producing gimpy techniques? Hughes, Jaques and Smith, even Katman's is more crab-like than when he was playing for WA.

Come to Adelaide, the blokes here will school you on how to at least look good.

Clarke, Khawaja