vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
Bird's capable of getting that little bit of late swing from back of a length without really trying to bowl big "outies"; and hit the seam enough to create some doubt; just like a Reiffel.
Mohammad Asif disagrees ftr.Have heard/seen lots of people say Bird and/or Siddle are ideally suited to England. They're not. The conditions don't suit them particularly.
Is it knee jerking to say our whole top 4 are ****?God, so much knee jerking.
Asif, who averaged 28 in England (and it jumps to 32 in England against England) despite averaging 18 in South Africa and 24 overall in his career. Quite.Mohammad Asif disagrees ftr.
Will be quoted out of context for the rest of your CW existence.I prefer the gherkin
1.When will people realise Watson isn"t a good option for the opening role.He has a very poor conversion rate.Need to go back to basics and stop being funky
Clarke needs to move up to four
Watson needs to open
Only pick guys who are good enough to make the team in at least one discipline
Don't go rolling the Doherty dice
Pick more Queenslanders (ha)
We need a keeper who can take the tough chances
Prefers the gherkin to the doughnut.Will be quoted out of context for the rest of your CW existence.
Watson averages 10 more runs per innings than Cowan as an opener. I know people are pissed off with Watson, but you need to be dispassionate with these things.Hughes, Watson, Maxwell and Doherty should not be in the team. I'd like to see Bailey and O'Keefe get a run. Really stumped as to why Maxwell is so popular with the selectors compared to O'Keefe for tests. Maxwell can bash it but he's got poor technique and can't bowl much better then D-Hussey did. Hughes only performed well this summer as it was in Australia against poor bowling line ups. Of course he will struggle at any other time.
I'd like to see them try something like
Cowen
Warner
Khawaja
Clarke
Bailey
Wade
Henriques
O'keefe
Starc
Pattinson
Bird
Long tail but at least they can bat right down to pattinson, In spinning conditions like India I'd drop Henriques for Lyon
Will be quoted out of context for the rest of your CW existence.
you love meSo hopefully only for the next week or so.
While I agree in part with what you say (fergo should get a go i agree) my problem with Smith is the same as with Hughes. Hughes got his runs in conditions that are perfect for him but can't bat when we need him to. Smith's technique was still horrible last time I saw it. Unless that's changed he can't bat number 6 for us and his bowling isn't good enough to warrant having him bat any lower. While looking at averages is good I think they should also be looking at the conditions they are getting runs in and failing in as well.Watson averages 10 more runs per innings than Cowan as an opener. I know people are pissed off with Watson, but you need to be dispassionate with these things.
Steve Smith has a better FC average than both Bailey and Cowan, and has two Test match half centuries
Wade should not be at six, as batting is our weak point
Like your attack though
Going forward, for the Ashes, I'd like to see something like:
Usman
Watson
Clarke
Warner
Ferguson*
Smith
Wade
O'Keefe
Pattinson
Bird/Starc/Siddle
Harris
* Has at least made a really good fist of international cricket, and in FC cricekt averages no lower than journeymen such as Bailey and Cowan
Totally true, what is annoying me lately though is that we are blooding young players then dropping them if they have flaws, however we are then re calling the same players even though they haven't fixed their flaws and don't seem to be having any help working on this. In the past it seemed CA would identify issues players had and work with them in domestic cricket before re calling them. Now everything is handled like the players are babies and constructive criticism doesn't seem to be given.Cool yeah, at least with Smith there is some pedigree there - he has five FC centuries, 14 half centuries, two Test half centuries, a FC average over 40, and the good thing is at 23 years of age there is time and scope for improvement. By contrast, with Cowan and Bailey, those guys are 30 odd years of age; and have probably developed as much as they are going to. It's not youth for youth's sake, it's just that much younger players are more likely to improve, to develop, as they move forward than guys who are already 30 years of age.