***Official*** West Indies tour of Australia, Jan–Feb 2024

[Spark]

Yeah and he was actually still batting to a high standard about a year before he actually retired. Then his body sort of just disintegrated, in a way that was actually quite hard to watch. Somehow still managed to make a Test hundred during that period though, which is low key up there with anything else he achieved.

 

[Daemon]

Clarke kinda had an AB de Villiers-esque career.

Was a very good batsman, but had it ~easy in a good lineup and winning side for the longest time, played on plenty of 00s flat tracks and chugged along as a tier 2 kinda good batsman, until he randomly turned godlike for a while before retiring early.

 

[SteveNZ]

Anyone have any insight into why a lot of the media is pushing the "Bancroft unlucky/being treated unfairly" narrative so hard?

You'd think he was averaging 100 in Test cricket before getting dropped last time and 200 in the Shield by the way some are spinning it

Everything nowadays is for clicks. They can sell the Bancroft is unlucky line and even tie it to Cape Town 2018, as if a grudge is somehow still held...even though Bancroft played in the Ashes almost immediately after his ban. I bet a lot of dolts who follow cricket loosely in Australia think this. It's conveniently left out that he couldn't score Aussie A runs against a pretty average NZ attack

Also, in a slightly more reasoned way, I think people want to believe in their domestic competitions. You like to think if someone dominates the Shield for a reasonably extended period of time that, like the 90s/00s you can take it to the bank that they'll succeed a step up. Unfortunately that isn't true basically anywhere in the world now.

 

[Qlder]

Cam Green dropped for poor performance, scores 96 in a shield match and 46 in PM XI (took no wkts in either match) but rushed back in as Aussie #4

What could go wrong with such biased selection (let's move a player averaging 61 at #4 to accommodate Green selection)

 

[TheJediBrah]

Cam Green dropped for poor performance, scores 96 in a shield match and 46 in PM XI (took no wkts in either match) but rushed back in as Aussie #4

What could go wrong with such biased selection (let's move a player averaging 61 at #4 to accommodate Green selection)

The selectors are biased towards better players? How horrible

 

[Spark]

Sounds to me like Green has a recent Shield average of 96 tbh. Why should anyone else even be worth mentioning?

 

[Qlder]

Sounds to me like Green has a recent Shield average of 96 tbh. Why should anyone else even be worth mentioning?

Well Renshaw has a recent PM XI average of 318.00?

 

[TheJediBrah]

Sells clicks I guess? There was a large contingency of 40 yo Facebook dads with hilux profile pictures that got pissy when Langer was thrown out and have been vocal against Cummins a fair few times (captain woke stuff with alinta a great example. I'm seeing the same demographic posting the "Bowlers are mad at Bancroft" or "Do shield runs even matter" stuff now. Think platforms like fox are just pandering to there typical audience.

It's funny seeing people getting so worked up over this when renshaw had this exact thing happen in 2018 with finch in the test team. Feel like there's a qld centric "CA have a conspiracy against renshaw after he **** his pants in india" style argument waiting to be made.

Qlder demonstrating this very well

 

[Spark]

Well Renshaw has a recent PM XI average of 318.00?

Yeah but Green didn't walk out with his side in trouble and miss a bog ordinary off break by half a foot first ball. So he has that in his favour.

 

[Nintendo]

Well Renshaw has a recent PM XI average of 318.00?

This is much better. If your gonna ragepost for reaction's atleast keep your gimmick in line with your username.

 

[Spark]

For what it's worth if forced to pick from the three I'd have picked Renshaw too (my post was more about the "only recent Shield form matters, literally nothing else" crowd). But he hasn't demonstrated that he's in the best six batsmen in the country and, like, is that not the whole point of the exercise?

 

[SteveNZ]

Qlder demonstrating this very well

Stop being mischievous

 

[Ashes81]

Whilst promoting Smith to open may be the best option in the short term, at some point the Aussies are going to have to blood a replacement not only for Warner but also Khawaja.

Surely the time to do that would be now. The selectors have known for ages that Warner was going to retire so have had plenty of time to consider all options.

If you're going to promote someone up the order, I'm surprised Labuschagne wasn't given the job - presumably he wasn't keen to do it.

It would also make it easier to replace Khawaja if Labuschagne was cemented in as the other opener.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Promoting Smith to open is such an arse decision. What are you trying to achieve? He's a gun at 4. Leave him be imo. Would actually think dropping him down to 5 might be a better move for himself and the team. Could potentially get Green and Hardie in the same XI and plan long-term from there

 

[Beamer]

I don't want to be a doomer but 8/251 in a day against that attack on Karen Rolton Oval of all places is, like, borderline not FC standard. That's ****ing shocking.

According to the commentators, it wasn't a typical surface for the venue, with the ball stopping, inconsistent bounce and turning a fair amount on day one. It's a drop-in from the Adelaide Oval, not the usual surface.

Still, the broad point still stands, especially as there were dreadful shots to short balls from Athanaze, Mckenzie and Da Silva.

 

[Spark]

According to the commentators, it wasn't a typical surface for the venue, with the ball stopping, inconsistent bounce and turning a fair amount on day one. It's a drop-in from the Adelaide Oval, not the usual surface.

Still, the broad point still stands, especially as there were dreadful shots to short balls from Athanaze, Mckenzie and Da Silva.

That does mitigate it tbf because usually that's a ground where 500 is par.

 

[Beamer]

That does mitigate it tbf because usually that's a ground where 500 is par.

Think 350 would be a fair score to expect on the surface from what they were saying on comms and what I saw on the stream. The spinner got a lot of turn. Either way, substandard from our lot and some of the shots were awful.

Lets see how we bowl. Motie should be very tough to handle on that wicket, but on tours of Australia things don't tend to work like that so CA XI will probably rack up 400 plus.

 

[Owzat]

Promoting Smith to open is such an arse decision. What are you trying to achieve? He's a gun at 4. Leave him be imo. Would actually think dropping him down to 5 might be a better move for himself and the team. Could potentially get Green and Hardie in the same XI and plan long-term from there

I suppose might be a bit like putting Root to open would have been a solution before Crawley and Duckett seemed to rise enough to negate any need. If Smith fares better opening, and no reason any good batsman shouldn't be able to open, than a newb who basically increases the risk of being 10/1 or 10/2 then may prove worthwhile.

is anyone's guess if runs scored would be better newb opening and Smith #5 than vice versa, I have to assume there is no shoe in replacement opener or they'd have just selected/promoted him

 

[Ashes81]

If the top 3 is Smith, Khawaja and Labuschagne then the middle order looks as weak as I've seen it for a long time.

Green, Marsh, Head and Carey can all be dangerous but as an opposition bowler, I'd really fancy ripping through that.

In the great pantheon of Aussie middle orders, that one would be a long way down the list.

 

[Gob]

If the top 3 is Smith, Khawaja and Labuschagne then the middle order looks as weak as I've seen it for a long time.

Green, Marsh, Head and Carey can all be dangerous but as an opposition bowler, I'd really fancy ripping through that.

In the great pantheon of Aussie middle orders, that one would be a long way down the list.

Head and Marsh at 5 and 6 is perfectly fine. Green at 4 is what I'm sceptical of