Spikey
Request Your Custom Title Now!
there's been a lotta talk about bailey perhaps filling the leadership gap in this group, but picking Callum Ferguson would have achieved the same thing
-
Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
*Official* First Test at The Gabba
- Thread starter Furball
- Start date
Ruckus
International Captain
yeah it's such a broken record. I'm not even angry when I read about it anymore...the repetitiveness of it all has just made me apathetic. As has been said many times in the past, there's isn't much good that can come out of selecting Johnson now. If he fails, he fails, and probably will bring the team down too. If he succeeds, we might win the Ashes, but then he'll be a main member of the squad again, and will inevitably revert back to being absolute dross at some point. Plus the selectors will feel vindicated on a decision that's, let's be honest, is a total gamble and has no real substance behind it.
Burgey
Request Your Custom Title Now!
A regular Tom Jones, this ****
Crazy Sam
International 12th Man
in fairness he has more first class centuries than bailey this summer....
GotSpin
Hall of Fame Member
I've never felt to so less enthused for an ashes series as this one. The return of Johnson actually makes me feel depressed when looking over the team sheet. I always thought, yeah our batting is a shambles, but at least Johnson wasn't near the team flinging them all over the shop
Last edited:
MW1304
Cricketer Of The Year
flibbertyjibber
Request Your Custom Title Now!
Serious point, who takes the new ball with Harris?
In the past Siddle has been seen as an older ball operator and Johnson is too wayward to trust with it. Be interesting to see who gets it.
In the past Siddle has been seen as an older ball operator and Johnson is too wayward to trust with it. Be interesting to see who gets it.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
It could well have been Watson if he was properly fit to bowl. No idea how much he's going to bowl now though.
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
Yeah he is completely fit. Harris bowled 44 overs in the Shield match which finished about 5 days ago.
I would be very surprised if Johnson isn't taking the new ball. I think he will operate in shortish bursts and will be taken off quite quickly if/when leaking lots of runs. I am quite interested in the Johnson vs Carberry battle and I think that is someone who I think MJ might be able to exploit a bit. I can't see him troubling Cook much though.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
As much as I think Johnson is a terrible selection, if he bowls some way decently then I think he'll trouble Bell too.
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
I hope so but what exactly are you expecting Johnson to do to Bell, get him gloving a rising ball? That's what I expect against Carberry, maybe a catch to Haddin or bat pad.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Well Johnson could get Carberry with a rising ball without bowling particularly well at all, but where I think he might have Bell in trouble is his iffy off stump judgement if he does bowl decently. Wagner (a very similar bowler to Johnson) really troubled Bell across the back-to-back series - he bowled to him in seven innings and managed to get him in three, including a caught behind and a slips catch, and there were numerous plays and misses throughout.
As I said before in the Bell thread, he's very much a player you want to bowl corridor to, but fractionally shorter than to most blokes. He's excellent on the drive, even to balls many would nick having a drive at, but his awareness of when to defend and when to leave is suspect, and unlike most batsmen he will follow the ball if it does a bit from a length. Wagner really zoned in on this by bowling back of a length and angling the ball across Bell from left arm over, and I think Bell adjusted his shot selection a bit for the Ashes to be more attacking against balls bowled in that area to avoid having to make a defend/leave decision.
Johnson at his best - and by this I do not mean near-mythical Johnson who rocks up with a match-winning spell once every 4 or 5 years amongst crap, but the Johnson who was actually a reasonably consistent and valuable member of a bowling unit for a while - really revelled in that sort of stuff. The amount of high calibre batsmen he'd get out where he just looked "lucky" as the batsman drove or defended at a wide ball because of the angle, the trajectory and the weird under-cut he put on the ball was amazing. That Johnson, one who's probably long gone now in search of the spearheaded match-winner or whatever he wants to be, was the perfect bowler to bowl to Ian Bell. No surprises that Johnson has actually dismissed Bell more times in Test cricket than any other bowler in the history of the game.
I'd love to think this was a main reason for selecting Johnson, but it's more than likely just a dice roll, which will more than likely come up snake eyes.
Last edited:
Cabinet96
Hall of Fame Member
Nah, it's cause he bowled a few fast deliveries in ODI's.
Johnson's action means he's a massive liability to left handers if he's not getting swing. Siddle on the other hand, may cause Cook problems by pitching it up and hitting the corridor. Siddle should open for that reason.
Johnson's action means he's a massive liability to left handers if he's not getting swing. Siddle on the other hand, may cause Cook problems by pitching it up and hitting the corridor. Siddle should open for that reason.
Tangles
International Vice-Captain
I figured we were looking at a narrow loss without MJ in the team. Now I'm just going to hope that he gets such a pasting at the Gabba that he's dropped. He needs to be bowling at his worst so he gets the boot as soon as one of the injured crowd is fit again.
Problem is if he has a shocker it going to put a lot of pressure on Harris. Lyon and Siddle can cope with bowling a lot but I don't want our best bowler getting crocked because MJ is spraying 4 balls. Wonder if Harris will rethink the scary Johnson quote after he sees the condition of the new ball?
Problem is if he has a shocker it going to put a lot of pressure on Harris. Lyon and Siddle can cope with bowling a lot but I don't want our best bowler getting crocked because MJ is spraying 4 balls. Wonder if Harris will rethink the scary Johnson quote after he sees the condition of the new ball?