***Official*** Australia in Sri Lanka

[pup11]

How many times has Watson's team-mates seen him get of to a blazing start only to throw it away after scoring a 50, I'm sorry but at the top of the order you just can't keep doing that.

 

[BlazeDragon]

How many times has Watson's team-mates seen him get of to a blazing start only to throw it away after scoring a 50, I'm sorry but at the top of the order you just can't keep doing that.

I am sorry but you can't expect Watson to do everything. Its usually he gets a off a blazing start then they start losing wickets like school children.

 

[SamSawnoff]

Forget about Mendis every decent spinner would be queueing to bowl to the current crop of Australian batsmen, when we disgrace spin bowlers playing in our domestic circuit not only are we losing the opportunity to develop new spin talent, but we are also robbing a whole generation of young Australian batsmen a chance to develop their games against spin and we are starting to see the results of that at the international level now.

It's true. I have no idea where the young Aussie batsmen are going to learn to play spin unless they book themselves a gig somewhere else or they are just naturally gifted against it (and I haven't seen one that is). Even in England, they'll face a better variety and quality of slow bowlers than they will in Aus.

Mind you, I don't know where that leaves David Hussey as he's pretty mediocre against spin even at his age.

 

[MW1304]

How many times has Watson's team-mates seen him get of to a blazing start only to throw it away after scoring a 50, I'm sorry but at the top of the order you just can't keep doing that.

It's a problem in Tests, yes, but you couldn't complain if he kept getting 25 ball 50s in T20. Not much of a problem for him in ODI's either, weirdly. Can remember a few massive hundreds in the last year or two.

 

[robelinda]

August 1- Do they even have three spinners???? Bit light on quality spin I reckon, we'll see how Mendis is handled by our guys, first time we've faced him in a test, could be harsh, if they even pick Mendis, element of surprise....

But yes AUSSIE FAIL!

 

[Nate]

 

[Jono]

Mendis WAG

 

[Top_Cat]

Australia beaten by spin? Say it isn't so.

As some of us have been saying for a while now, all the debates in the world about the bowling unit are somewhat irrelevant when the batting is sub-par. Just about every Australian loss in the last three years has been on the back of a batting collapse, either early in the game giving the bowlers nothing to bowl at or after putting themselves in a commanding position. It doesn't help that the selectors have backed a generation of mental glassjaws but players in all three of Australia's sides have fairly serious technical problems against anyone who moves the ball off the straight.

EDIT: Just watching the highlights, wow, Smith and Haddin weren't even in the same postcode as the deliveries which castled them.

 

[robelinda]

Tell it man, tell it.

 

[SamSawnoff]

Mendis WAG

How badly do you think the Sris want to win the Onedayers? They could try saving Mendis for the tests instead of giving Punter, Huss and Clarke a look at him. He does seem to get worked out fairly quickly so it might not be worth sending him out for the ODI series.

Though it would be depressingly worth it to watch Marsh and David Hussey making continual donkeys of themselves.

 

[BlazeDragon]

Watson looks like he is not bothered by spin at all. In fact it almost seems like he prefers it.

Now if only he would stop getting carried away playing shots all the time.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah but that's the problem; Watson's woeful against spin if he's not trying to land it 20 rows back. Absolute deer-in-the-headlights.

 

[stephen]

Let's go back to the interesting discussion about Johnson.

What I find strange about Johnson is how wildly his skill swings. One day he makes Wasim Akram look ordinary and then the next day he makes Pathan look like Malcolm Marshall. I definitely think that he cannot be dropped, but I also think that he needs reliable bowlers around him to bring out his best.

I'd certainly be happy for Bollinger to be in the mix for the test side, but I think the selectors probably feel that he's on the wrong side of 30 in a team with another quick also on the wrong side of 30. Truly I can't see him playing much more test cricket, which is a great shame. He, like Hauritz certainly has not deserved the treatment that he has received. But what is new from the selectors?

The selectors are like Storm Financial. They're great when there's a bull market and everything is peachy, but the second things look bad everything goes to hell.

 

[BlazeDragon]

I can see Bollinger come in for Siddle if he fails in this series.

The bowler I thought had the most potential was Clint McKay. Its a damn shame that he didn't get a contract. In a lot of ways it was more surprising to me than Katich.

 

[howardj]

It was so embarrassing that Greg Chappell came out with a quote saying they had always intended to rest him for Adelaide. (as an aside that was also the moment the scales fell from my eyes and I realised Chappell was at least a much a fool as Hilditch and not the saviour I had hoped for)..

Yep, everyone on here mentioned it at the time. It was like he was saying:

"but no, we are not agreeing with the general public and the media that the guy should be dropped. Rather, we always had a cunning plan to give him a rest in just the 2nd test match of a series that we've purportedly been preparing for for the best part of two years"

Chappell's remark just sums up the sheer defiance, and the "we know best" attitude of CA in general.

Well, if you've fallen to 5th in the world, do you really know best?

Anyway, onto the ODIs now...

 

[GotSpin]

Yawn 2020. Wake me up when we starting losing the test series

 

[Burgey]

I did have a chuckle hearing one bowler took a six fer in four overs. Is that the first time Australia has played him I wonder?

Anyways, one might hope Clarke, Ponting and Hussey are better players of spin than the slog and forget brigade.

Still, what T_C says is right. The batting has been appalling in recent years. So much relies on Ponting - even in the halcyon days, when he made runs we won. Time for some others to step it up. Not holding my breath though.

 

[Top_Cat]

I did have a chuckle hearing one bowler took a six fer in four overs. Is that the first time Australia has played him I wonder?

Nope (lolPonting). Mind you they smashed him here.

 

[Jayzamann]

This game glossed me by. I didn't remember it was on, nor did I really care that I missed it.

Was also not surprised that Australia lost. I'm actually starting to get used to it...

 

[Burgey]

Nope (lolPonting). Mind you they smashed him here.

It seems to be his way, doesn't it? He takes apart teams early then they get used to the carrom ball.