Pace Bowlers Who Could Perform Better than Ricky Ponting With The Bat

[silentstriker]

bah you don't see Australian fans go missing just because we are losing, we just get really ****ty about it. And expect different.

That really has absolutely nothing to do with players and averages but......ok.

 

[marc71178]

bah you don't see Australian fans go missing just because we are losing

Yes, I distinctly remember some of the huge crowds of Australians during the latter stages of matches during the Ashes.

Didn't know day 5 was designated fancy dress over there and they chose to come as seats.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Yes, I distinctly remember some of the huge crowds of Australians during the latter stages of matches during the Ashes.

Didn't know day 5 was designated fancy dress over there and they chose to come as seats.

Yeah, was funny the way Bumble and Beefy kept going on about spot the Aussie on day 5 of tests.

 

[uvelocity]

Yes, I distinctly remember some of the huge crowds of Australians during the latter stages of matches during the Ashes.

Didn't know day 5 was designated fancy dress over there and they chose to come as seats.

Crowd numbers across the board are a bit of a worry here these days. I think you'll find weekday crowds will be low here again this summer and beyond. Disappointing fact of life. But our cricketers and cricket lovers don't abandon ship just because the going gets tough.

And yeah the Barmy Army is there through thick and thin blah blah but I think that's more to do with it being a good excuse for a piss up and lack of other options.

 

[silentstriker]

Ah right, the mass Indian retirement of players and exodus of fans during 80 years of being **** at Test cricket clearly proves your point. Just like something about Indian fans apparently proved your point that Aussie players don't care about averages.

 

[uvelocity]

You're really confusing me, but to summarise we don't care about averages. And crowd numbers are down in all forms of cricket, and will continue to do so due to wider issues in this country than the success or failure of the cricket team. They are also a lot less liked than previous teams (07 and prior).

But this is all off topic and I'm under no illusions of being able to show you any sense.

Fast bowler to average more than Ricky this summer - Copeland (picked after injuries to another 14 debutants)

 

[Jono]

uvelocity, I am not really understanding your point.

I don't think anyone said Australian fans in particular are front runners or anything. All countries have fans who will turn up more when they win than lose. Winning and success brings in more fans, that is a fact in every sport.

What are you suggesting though? That they are more loyal to their team than other fans?

 

[uvelocity]

Jono, in regard to this;

That Aussie culture 101 is as bs as the 'australianism' that's trotted out (interestingly only when they win and not when they're bundled out for 47). And I admire the Aussie sports culture and i wish India had some of that but lets not go overboard here.

I guess support is what silentstriker is referring to when deriding an entire culture? Becuase surely winning and losing is not "Australianism," rather skills based?

And if silentstriker maintains that "Australianism" exists only when not bundled out for 47, I'd beg to differ.

 

[Jono]

Nah you've got him all wrong.

Sometimes this term "Australianism" (or a similar variation) is used to state that when the chips are down, there is something unique about the Australian cricketer (in their culture, blood, whatever) that allows them to fight back and never say die.

SS thinks that is BS and is in fact insulting to great players. He believes (and he can speak for himself so I don't want to directly quote him) something along the lines of, Australia did well in their golden era a few years ago because they had awesome players with good discipline and a good first class system. Not because they had some magical never say die attitude that no other country had.

His point re: Australianism has nothing to do with supporters.

 

[benchmark00]

uvelocity, I am not really understanding your point.

I don't think anyone said Australian fans in particular are front runners or anything. All countries have fans who will turn up more when they win than lose. Winning and success brings in more fans, that is a fact in every sport.

What are you suggesting though? That they are more loyal to their team than other fans?

Nah, Richmond still get decent crowds.

 

[uvelocity]

fight back and never say die.

Ahh, ok. But I think this is a quality which does exist, but yeah not limited to Australians. And not all have it.

But I think it is a quality which was revered and celebrated here, and wouldn't be out of the question to suggest that Australians, including their cricketers, have been environmentally conditioned to have a never say die attitude.

I'd be inclined to say though that Australia is going soft and that the never say die attitude may in fact, be dying.

 

[Dan]

To answer the original question, Nathan Rimmington.

 

[Faisal1985]

shahid afridi

+1

 

[Jono]

Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav

 

[Midwinter]

The "Australians don't tolerate defeat" has been shown to be a furphy.

 

[Redbacks]

Australia did well in their golden era a few years ago because they had awesome players with good discipline and a good first class system. Not because they had some magical never say die attitude that no other country had.

Yes,

nothing annoys me more than fans claiming their team didn't show enough 'heart' or 'guts'. That's usually a problem during a single match when a team loses the plot but it can't explain a long period of success/failure.

If Warne and McGrath were able to get their mental state right very often then that's a skill/natural talent which helped them to be champion players. Siddle is proof so far that all the determination in the world still needs to be backed by skill for it to succeed.

 

[benchmark00]

Yes,

nothing annoys me more than fans claiming their team didn't show enough 'heart' or 'guts'. That's usually a problem during a single match when a team loses the plot but it can't explain a long period of success/failure.

If Warne and McGrath were able to get their mental state right very often then that's a skill/natural talent which helped them to be champion players. Siddle is proof so far that all the determination in the world still needs to be backed by skill for it to succeed.

There's no doubt that having great players around you will make you lift your own game mentally and make you walk a foot taller. As those players retired there's no doubt they took alot of confidence around the group with them.

 

[Jono]

Confidence is the key word there.

Australia came back from the dead (or near dead) a lot from 99-06 in both tests and ODIs because a lot of the time they just believed they weren't going to lose. Or they believed they were good enough to come back.

For some reason I think of this random ODI between Australia and NZ whenever I think of Australia's strength at winning even when they shouldn't.

Also the 2003 WC semi-final vs. Sri Lanka was a case of them just believing they could defend that total.

 

[howardj]

Of his past 17 innings, 11 have been 16 or under.

His past seven series averages have been 24, 24, 56, 16, 31, 17 and 33.

He is 37 years of age.

If he was a Pom, and they were clinging on to such a clapped-out, ageing, underperformer...we would be laughing

John Inverarity, put an end to this sad tale

 

[Ruckus]

Of his past 17 innings, 11 have been 16 or under.

His past seven series averages have been 24, 24, 56, 16, 31, 17 and 33.

He is 37 years of age.

If he was a Pom, and they were clinging on to such a clapped-out, ageing, underperformer...we would be laughing

John Inverarity, put an end to this sad tale

Wow, that is absolutely dire. But no, we can't replace him because there's nobody else banging the door down. I'm sorry but you don't need players to be doing that when his results have been that poor. In any case, you could always just pick a stop gap solution like David Hussey, and in a year or two the chances are someone else will come along. What's the point of letting him drag the team down for as long as possible? I see no benefits for the team, or him personally.