Any updates on NZ's tour of Oz later this year?

[Hurricane]

Thanks Gob I am going to do an analysis for ****s and giggles that will upset the purists

I will give each player a score out of ten. And try to avoid what I personally feel about each player in terms of aesthetics etc.

D Warner 9
S Marsh 2
S Smith 9
M Clarke 10
A Voges 5
M Marsh 4
P Neville ??? 5
M Johnson 8
M Starc 8
J Hazlewood 7
N Lyon 7 in Australian conditions

Total team score = 74

New Zealand

Latham 6
Guptil 3
Kane 9
Ross 7 on current form
Brendon 7
Corey or Neesham 5
BJ 7
Craig 4
Henry/Wagner 3
Southee 9
Boult 9

Total 69

 

[Gob]

Rogers is retiring after the Ashes, Haddin is a spent force and could retire after the Ashes, Johnson has been off the boil and has been rocks or diamonds alternately throughout his career, Clarkes back may very well give out, Harris is almost literally on his last legs.
What I am saying is the picture could be diametrically different post Ashes, whereas we have light duties and players recovering - a proper assessment of the comparative likely line-ups of both teams should take place after the Ashes concludes.

while its true that estraya for gabba would be quite different from estraya for cardiff, i dont necessarily think that would reduce the quality by great deal if not actually improving it. Of course i assume that mick clarke wont be among the ones that retire

 

[Flem274*]

I know this won't happen because he'll retire after another abject failure away from home in the upcoming Ashes, but my year would be made if Brad Haddin is the last man out spooning it to short cover for a single digit score giving NZ the series victory or clean sweep. Not sure whether I'd prefer it to be in an innings or single figure runs required victory.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

I see a certain J Ryder took Nevill's wicket the other day.

Well yeah, could NZ start a petition for Jesse's recall? How about a referendum?

I feel more strongly about Jesse Ryder playing this test series against Australia than changing a perfectly fine flag.

 

[Gob]

I see a certain J Ryder took Nevill's wicket the other day.

so what?

 

[Hurricane]

Rogers is retiring after the Ashes, Haddin is a spent force and could retire after the Ashes, Johnson has been off the boil and has been rocks or diamonds alternately throughout his career, Clarkes back may very well give out, Harris is almost literally on his last legs.
What I am saying is the picture could be diametrically different post Ashes, whereas we have light duties and players recovering - a proper assessment of the comparative likely line-ups of both teams should take place after the Ashes concludes.

For sure this is correct - but then there would be nothing to discuss atm.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

D Warner 9

Signature worthy.

You gave BJ a 7?

A 7?

 

[Flem274*]

This series could conceivably see the full series captaincy dayboos of the puppy and big daddy kane. both baz and clock may break any time.

how many tests did the puppy skipper lolstraya for against the worlds best fielding side again, just the one right?

 

[Hurricane]

I'm taking this in isolation and this is one thing I really dislike about your hopes and goals for players - they're always so middling.

35 is a very respectable average.

But yes you and I have always had it out over what goals to set for the team. I remember a heated debate where I wanted us to set our sights on being the world number 5 and then go from there (this is when we were ranked 8th in tests and 9th in ODIs) you wanted us to set a goal of number one and so did New Zealand cricket. I forget where the debate ended up but it lasted for a solid 45 minutes.

 

[Gob]

This series could conceivably see the full series captaincy dayboos of the puppy and big daddy kane. both baz and clock may break any time.

how many tests did the puppy skipper lolstraya for against the worlds best fielding side again, just the one right?

three

 

[Gob]

Signature worthy.

You gave BJ a 7?

A 7?

yeah should've given a 10

 

[Skyliner]

Thanks Gob I am going to do an analysis for ****s and giggles that will upset the purists

I will give each player a score out of ten. And try to avoid what I personally feel about each player in terms of aesthetics etc.

D Warner 9
S Marsh 2
S Smith 9
M Clarke 10
A Voges 5
M Marsh 4
P Neville ??? 5
M Johnson 8
M Starc 8
J Hazlewood 7
N Lyon 7 in Australian conditions

Total team score = 74

New Zealand

Latham 6
Guptil 3
Kane 9
Ross 7 on current form
Brendon 7
Corey or Neesham 5
BJ 7
Craig 4
Henry/Wagner 3
Southee 9
Boult 9

Total 69

it's close enough - on paper - particularly if Clarke was out of the mix. This is a guy with a degenerative back disorder who now has to go through a 5 test marathon. So saying he may not be there is not far fetched at all. He was down and out but got himself back for the WC and a pretty light tour of WI. The Ashes will be a cauldron, he'll be out in the field or at the crease for a very long time, and his back will go through the wringer. It's unavoidable.

 

[Hurricane]

Signature worthy.

You gave BJ a 7?

A 7?

I did say it was in the absence of what I personally feel about the player (warner)

 

[Skyliner]

Our batting all rounder Mark Craig got a 4 from the hard marking Hurricane. He averages 42 in test cricket after 10 tests.
Also a useful spin bowler who bowls us to victory on the last day, which the bespectacled one struggled to do for the bulk of his career.

 

[Gob]

it's close enough - on paper - particularly if Clarke was out of the mix. This is a guy with a degenerative back disorder who now has to go through a 5 test marathon. So saying he may not be there is not far fetched at all. He was down and out but got himself back for the WC and a pretty light tour of WI. The Ashes will be a cauldron, he'll be out in the field or at the crease for a very long time, and his back will go through the wringer. It's unavoidable.

wait do you prefer to play an aust team without micheal clarke?

 

[Skyliner]

wait do you prefer to play an aust team without micheal clarke?

Is this a trick question?
Out of 22 players he's the only one worthy of a perfect 10.

 

[Hurricane]

Our batting all rounder Mark Craig got a 4 from the hard marking Hurricane. He averages 42 in test cricket after 10 tests.
Also a useful spin bowler who bowls us to victory on the last day, which the bespectacled one struggled to do for the bulk of his career.

This is my review of Mark Craig. His batting is yet to be battle hardened and in the first test at Lords he suffered from nerves and basically needed to HTFU

His bowling has lots of potential with emphasis on the word potential. If he can survive in the team for another two years then he could become as good as John Bracewell maybe. I liked the post in here that he created the Cook lbw even though Kane got the wicket. The difference between the revs they were putting on the ball was a real compliment to craig.

What I find troubling about Craig and the reason why I said he is about two years away from really establishing himself is that he seems to lack a coherent and consistent game plan of how to structure each over. He is the opposite of Bishen Bedi in that regard, and I take it as a negative about his bowling that he said his best spell in the UAE came about because he didn't care and wasn't putting any thought into his deliveries. Apparently the more he thinks about it the moment the worse he gets, which speaks to the learning cycle is he on at the moment.

It took Benaud what 5 years to learn his craft, it will take Craig a number of years before he reaches his potential. When he fully reaches that point I expect he will score a 7 and be a solid "strong performer for us". I think to keep himself in the side until he makes that grade your points about his batting strengths are important. He will need to contribute with the bat so that his overall value proposition is a strong one.

 

[Skyliner]

This is my review of Mark Craig. His batting is yet to be battle hardened and in the first test at Lords he suffered from nerves and basically needed to HTFU

His bowling has lots of potential with emphasis on the word potential. If he can survive in the team for another two years then he could become as good as John Bracewell maybe. I liked the post in here that he created the Cook lbw even though Kane got the wicket. The difference between the revs they were putting on the ball was a real compliment to craig.

What I find troubling about Craig and the reason why I said he is about two years away from really establishing himself is that he seems to lack a coherent and consistent game plan of how to structure each over. He is the opposite of Bishen Bedi in that regard, and I take it as a negative about his bowling that he said his best spell in the UAE came about because he didn't care and wasn't putting any thought into his deliveries. Apparently the more he thinks about it the moment the worse he gets, which speaks to the learning cycle is he on at the moment.

It took Benaud what 5 years to learn his craft, it will take Craig a number of years before he reaches his potential. When he fully reaches that point I expect he will score a 7 and be a solid "strong performer for us". I think to keep himself in the side until he makes that grade your points about his batting strengths are important. He will need to contribute with the bat so that his overall value proposition is a strong one.

Ok, 4 is probably fair then, though a compromise at 5 would get us to 70 points.
I think you giving Henry a 3 could cause the real controversy here.

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

This is my review of Mark Craig. His batting is yet to be battle hardened and in the first test at Lords he suffered from nerves and basically needed to HTFU

His bowling has lots of potential with emphasis on the word potential. If he can survive in the team for another two years then he could become as good as John Bracewell maybe. I liked the post in here that he created the Cook lbw even though Kane got the wicket. The difference between the revs they were putting on the ball was a real compliment to craig.

What I find troubling about Craig and the reason why I said he is about two years away from really establishing himself is that he seems to lack a coherent and consistent game plan of how to structure each over. He is the opposite of Bishen Bedi in that regard, and I take it as a negative about his bowling that he said his best spell in the UAE came about because he didn't care and wasn't putting any thought into his deliveries. Apparently the more he thinks about it the moment the worse he gets, which speaks to the learning cycle is he on at the moment.

It took Benaud what 5 years to learn his craft, it will take Craig a number of years before he reaches his potential. When he fully reaches that point I expect he will score a 7 and be a solid "strong performer for us". I think to keep himself in the side until he makes that grade your points about his batting strengths are important. He will need to contribute with the bat so that his overall value proposition is a strong one.

He has John Bracewell equalled already doesn't he? Striking wickets at 67 and 4 per test, as against Bracewell 2.5 per test at 82.3 strike rate. The issue is economy where Bracewell has him beat hands down. But Craig is doubling Bracewell's output with the bat. I imagine that Craig just needs to tighten up the free hits.

3 of Bracewell's final four years were shocking in terms of bowling average. Did he forget his craft instead of applying learned knowledge?

 

[CaptainGrumpy]

Ok, 4 is probably fair then, though a compromise at 5 would get us to 70 points.
I think you giving Henry a 3 could cause the real controversy here.

Henry getting a 3 is fair. Hazlewood only got a 7. Corey getting a 5 seems a bit too high if Craig is a 4.