Australian Domestic Off Season 2018

[stephen]

Yeah fielding a batting team like that we were never likely to put enough runs on the board.

I'm more interested in the first class matches anyway.

 

[brockley]

Queensland has had a busy pre-season with a mix of intra-squad and state squad practice matches.

With many of their regular campaigners away with Australia A, coach Seccombe has turned to the ranks of Premier Cricket and Queensland youth squads to trial a number of promising players, including Sunshine Coast opener Angus Lovell, teenage Wynnum-Manly batsman Corey Hunter, reigning Peter Burge Medallist and Sunshine Coast captain Alecz Day, Sandgate-Redcliffe quick Brad Powell and former AFL draftee Jack Clayton.

Adelaide Advertiser.

Chris Lynn back from Carrabean Party early.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Yeah fielding a batting team like that we were never likely to put enough runs on the board.

I'm more interested in the first class matches anyway.

I'm really worried by the ODI selection trends we've been seeing lately for Aus, in that they seem obsessed with having 5-6 or even more genuine bowling options, leaving the side with incredibly weak batting.

The best ODI sides have been batting heavy. mid-00s Aus had specialist batsmen at no. 7 ffs (eg. Symonds, Clarke, Hussey), and made do with Symonds/Clarke/Lehmann etc, making up the 5th bowler.

IMO this is by far the superior option when compared to packing your side with medium-pace and spin-bowling all-rounders that leave you with a ****ing bowling all-rounder at no. 5 and 6. It just really, really worries me because it doesn't seem as though they're learning from it either.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Alecz Day is still kicking along? Wonder what our friends across the ditch think of that one

 

[brockley]

When is the test squad named?
After the 2 A games.
See Jhye Richardson not in the 4 day squad.
JLT Cup starts September 15,trials 2 take place,teams might not be named right up to the series starts.

 

[Spark]

I'm really worried by the ODI selection trends we've been seeing lately for Aus, in that they seem obsessed with having 5-6 or even more genuine bowling options, leaving the side with incredibly weak batting.

The best ODI sides have been batting heavy. mid-00s Aus had specialist batsmen at no. 7 ffs (eg. Symonds, Clarke, Hussey), and made do with Symonds/Clarke/Lehmann etc, making up the 5th bowler.

IMO this is by far the superior option when compared to packing your side with medium-pace and spin-bowling all-rounders that leave you with a ****ing bowling all-rounder at no. 5 and 6. It just really, really worries me because it doesn't seem as though they're learning from it either.

This dates back to well before the last WC imo, the balance of that side was actually very dubious and covered up totally by the fact that Watson and Maxwell were good enough as specialist bats and Starc meant we didn't need that many runs anyway.

 

[TheJediBrah]

WC 2015 side had plenty of batting though. As you said it was just a coincidence that a few of Aus' best ODI batsmen were also decent bowlers.

Warner
Finch
Smith
Clarke
Watson
Maxwell
Haddin
Faulkner
Johnson
Starc
Hazlewood

I don't mind having 6-7 bowling options as long as it doesn't impede on batting strength. It's the apparent focus on picking 5-6 bowlers first, then making the batting up around it that worries me. All-rounders from 5 down is not going to win Aus ODIs.

 

[stephen]

At the moment my world cup XI is:

Finch
Warner
Smith
Maxwell
Stoinis
Marsh/Marsh/Short
Carey
Agar
Starc
Cummins
Hazlewood

With Stanlake, Head, Zampa and Lyon on the bench as backups.

 

[Daemon]

At the moment my world cup XI is:

Finch
Warner
Smith
Maxwell
Stoinis
Marsh/Marsh/Short
Carey
Agar
Starc
Cummins
Hazlewood

With Stanlake, Head, Zampa and Lyon on the bench as backups.

I think I'd take K.Richardson over Stanlake. The latter's pretty dire in ODIs.

 

[stephen]

Obviously that's all subject to change. Renshaw is an outside chance of batting in the middle order. Stoinis needs to find some form, as does Warner. M Marsh needs to be fit. Maxwell needs to train smarter. Labaschagne is a chance for the middle order.

The only guaranteed spots right now are Finch, Smith, M Marsh (fitness pending), Starc and Cummins (fitness pending).

 

[vic_orthdox]

Faulkner's decline has hurt the team balance a lot.

 

[Spikey]

Where Jedi says "It's the apparent focus on picking 5-6 bowlers first" one would get the idea that they're picking, you know, 5-6 bowlers first. They're not. They're cramming the team with batting all-rounders which is a different thing altogether. Stonis and Head have bowled the fourth and sixth most balls for Australia since the start of 2017. They average over 60. That seems... not good. (Zampa is nested in between them, and averages over 50, the guy who seems to have been anointed his successor in Agar is at 59)

I reckon they'd be winning more games if they did just pick their 5 bowlers first..

(they'd also probably be more winning games if Starc, Haze etc were playing in more of them)

 

[TheJediBrah]

Where Jedi says "It's the apparent focus on picking 5-6 bowlers first" one would get the idea that they're picking, you know, 5-6 bowlers first. They're not. They're cramming the team with batting all-rounders which is a different thing altogether. Stonis and Head have bowled the fourth and sixth most balls for Australia since the start of 2017. They average over 60. That seems... not good. (Zampa is nested in between them, and averages over 50, the guy who seems to have been anointed his successor in Agar is at 59)

I reckon they'd be winning more games if they did just pick their 5 bowlers first..

(they'd also probably be more winning games if Starc, Haze etc were playing in more of them)

I may have been exaggerating. The batting depth in recent ODI teams since Warner/Smith bans have just looked so rank. I mean do you really need Agar when you've got Maxwell and Head? Wouldn't an extra batsman like a Khawaja add more? They never even use Maxwell's bowling lately. He was a damn effective ODI bowler when he was actually used.

Maxwell as a number 4 specialist batsman is just gross right now. Bowl him 6-8 overs a game and bat him at 5 or 6 and he's a useful player.

edit: definitely wouldn't mind a Callum Ferguson-type thrown in there.

 

[Starfighter]

Ferguson's being going great guns for Worcs this year, yet you just know he's nowhere near the selectors' thoughts.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Yeah, can't see it happening at all, I really hate how Ferguson was just thrown on the scrapheap after that Hobart test

 

[Starfighter]

Particularly when Maddinson got recalled to the T20 side based on no form whatsoever.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Or a state contract.

The decline in our team has a lot to do with Starc not playing/not being a force of nature when playing. He was almost worth a bowler and a half around the 2015 WC.

 

[brockley]

Players ofr UAE not 2 play UAE not to play JLT,training in Brisbane.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Looks like Patto has yet more injury problems, hip this time. They are still saying he is a possibility for the JLT cup but I highly doubt that. Depressing.

 

[Starfighter]

He should take up off-spin.