***Official*** Australia in Sri Lanka

[Spikey]

Australia news: Tim Paine in doubt for start of season after breaking finger | Australia Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

Should follow in Copeland's steps and take up bowling imo. Spin obv. Could be in the team by boxing day

 

[adub]

Just on this strange new idea that you somehow have to be a specialist No. 6 that seems to have been invented in the last week - who was the last Australian batsman to debut batting at 3 or 4 before Khawaja?

Hint: If you'd been born that day you'd be eligible to vote and drink legally.

It's almost unheard of for batsmen to debut anywhere other than 6, or sometimes 5 unless they're openers (or filling in for an injured opener like Huss)

 

[Spark]

Yeah I can only think of openers and #6s.

 

[Spikey]

justin keep your eyes on the ball and it'll be fine langer innit

 

[Riggins]

an inanimate carbon rod would do a better job than either

got history though

 

[SamSawnoff]

an inanimate carbon rod would do a better job than either

It's already keeping wicket and trying to slog every ball it faces over the offside field.. That rod can't do everything.

 

[Howe_zat]

Just on this strange new idea that you somehow have to be a specialist No. 6 that seems to have been invented in the last week - who was the last Australian batsman to debut batting at 3 or 4 before Khawaja?

Hint: If you'd been born that day you'd be eligible to vote and drink legally.

It's almost unheard of for batsmen to debut anywhere other than 6, or sometimes 5 unless they're openers (or filling in for an injured opener like Huss)

It's a weird attitude, isn't it? England's entire middle order was shifted in order to debut Trott at no. 5, even though he didn't normally bat there and England had no intention of him batting there long term.

Pakistan, of course, defy convention big style by debuting their nos. 3 and 4, Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, in the same match. They then went on to debut Wahab Riaz at no. 3, just to mess with us.

 

[Spikey]

could be a good thread tbh. even sachin and bradman started down there

 

[adub]

justin keep your eyes on the ball and it'll be fine langer innit

he da man - batted 3.

The last Aussie to debut batting 4 was Kim Hughes.

 

[centurymaker]

found this pretty hilarious- waterboy

 

[Spark]

Does anyone have any idea what the SL attack will be? Herath will play, Mendis is likely, but beyond that I don't really have any idea. Welegedara + Lakmal? And surely they'll pick six specialist bats this time (Mathews being one of them)?

 

[Spark]

Youngsters being dropped isn't the end of the world. If they are good enough, they'll get back in the team. Most players get dropped at some point in their career. It doesn't automatically follow that it ****s them up. If it did, none of them would ever be seen again.

Yeah AWTA. Clarke got dropped in 05/6. Best thing that ever happened to him. Made a double hundred the next week. That's how you make your name as a cricketer.

 

[aussie tragic]

Just on this strange new idea that you somehow have to be a specialist No. 6 that seems to have been invented in the last week - who was the last Australian batsman to debut batting at 3 or 4 before Khawaja?

Interesting, so here are some examples of where the top Aussie run scorers debuted

Ponting - No. 5
Border - No. 6
S. Waugh - No. 6
M. Waugh - No. 6
Boon - No. 6
G. Chappell - No. 7
Bradman - No. 7
Harvey - No. 6
Walters - No. 6

only two exceptions (non opener)...I.Chappell and Langer debuted at No. 3

 

[Spikey]

gotta admit i'm having a lot of fun thinking of people and checking - thought for sure ian craig would have been at 4 but alas.

 

[adub]

Australia's highest runs scorers:

Ponting - debuted at 5 (S Law debuted same game at 6 - Ponting back to 6 next game)
Border - 6
S Waugh - 6
Hayden - Opener
M Waugh - 6
Langer - 3
Taylor - Opener
Boon - 6
G Chappell - 7
Bradman - 7
Harvey - 6
Gilchrist - 7
Walters - 6
I Chappell - 3
Slater - Opener
Lawry - Opener
Simpson - 6
Clarke - 6
Redpath - Opener
Hussey - Opener
Hughes - 4
Martyn - 5 (Border 6)
Healy - 8
Katich - 6
R Marsh - 7
Jones - 7
Morris - Opener
Clem Hill - yep even in 1896 we debuted our batmen at 6
Wood - Opener
Trumper - you guessed it 6
Warne - 10
McDonald - Opener
Hassett - 6
Miller - 4
Armstrong - 9
G Marsh - 3
Stackpole - 8
O'Neil - 4
Yallop - 3
McCabe - 6
Blewett - 6
Bardsley - opener (batted 6 in the 2nd innings)
Woodfull - dnb (batted 4 and 6 in his 2nd test)
Burge - 6
Syd Gregory - 6
Benaud - 7
McCartney - 7 (opened in 2nd innings)
Ponsford - 3 (5 in 2nd innings despite scoring a debut ton)
Cowper - 6

49 Australians who have scored more than 2000 test runs. 30 of them batted at 6 or lower on debut and 10 opened (Bardsley doing both). For 130+ years we've been sending our new batsmen in at 6 to get them acclimatised to test cricket, but now we can't push a guy back to 6 because he played his first test at 3?

 

[Spark]

Yeah it's laughably stupid. Unless you're rank terrible starting against spin, there's no reason you can't bat #6 if you can bat #3.

 

[SamSawnoff]

Yeah AWTA. Clarke got dropped in 05/6. Best thing that ever happened to him. Made a double hundred the next week. That's how you make your name as a cricketer.

If it does stuff them up, it just means they probably weren't tough enough for international cricket anyway.

I find it really weird that people seem to think a youngster being dropped will somehow lose all will to be good. If they love the sport and love competing, it should spur them on.

No-one in their sporting careers has ever had it easy the whole way through.

Well, I'm not sure about Mitch Marsh to be honest.

 

[Spikey]

i love how of the few guys on that list to actually start at 3/4 like half of them made their names as openers anyway (Ponsford, Marsh, Langer, Woodfull)



.....actually....USMAN TO OPENER

 

[adub]

Yes, pretty much if you want to make it as a 3 or 4 - start at 6.

 

[Prince EWS]

Two days out the question needs to be asked - Beer or Lyon?

From a winning-this-series point of view, definitely Lyon for me, and it's not even particularly close. I do worry that it might ruin him and get him canned prematurely though so it might almost be worth burning Beer here to get the best out of Lyon later.