***Official Australia in South Africa***

[aussie]

Still over 3 an over against one of the more conservative batting line-ups around.

well for an express bowler regarless of how conservative the batting line-up may be i'd say that fairly good, even when Akhtar who bowled superbly againts england had an economy rate of 3.5..

 

[aussie]

Just jokin' man. I think, as you do, that he has made sizeable strides this summer. His big test will come, though, when he plays against a group of batsmen who will attack him consistently - eg Vaughan, Pietersen, Flintoff. Under attack, he is prone to try too many things and revert back to bowling two lengths- full or short.

yea and what bothers me a bit is that he'll have to wait until the ashes to really face that treat, by then hopefully he keeps his head & doesn't bowl two-lenghts.

 

[marc71178]

well for an express bowler regarless of how conservative the batting line-up may be i'd say that fairly good, even when Akhtar who bowled superbly againts england had an economy rate of 3.5..

But he was also taking wickets.

 

[vettori fan]

my one day team would be
phil jaques
adam gilchrist
ricky ponting
mike hussey
andrew symonds
shane watson
simon katich
brett lee
jason gillespie
nathan bracken
stuart macgill

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

But he was also taking wickets.

When you argue with someone about cricket, do you actually try and construct two cohesive points at all?

Last post, you're saying that Lee's economy rate wasn't good enough, so aussie points out that it is in fact pretty good for a bowler of Lee's style, and now you're saying he wasn't taking wickets. When I point out that only Nel and Warne (14) managed more wickets than Lee (13) in the series, are you going to go back to the economy rate?

 

[kwigibo]

my one day team would be
phil jaques
adam gilchrist
ricky ponting
mike hussey
andrew symonds
shane watson
simon katich
brett lee
jason gillespie
nathan bracken
stuart macgill

Did Michael Clarke do something wrong?

 

[social]

Just jokin' man. I think, as you do, that he has made sizeable strides this summer. His big test will come, though, when he plays against a group of batsmen who will attack him consistently - eg Vaughan, Pietersen, Flintoff. Under attack, he is prone to try too many things and revert back to bowling two lengths- full or short.

The English are hardly the litmus test for world's bowlers.

Lee bowled a lot of crap during the Ashes and was dealt with accordingly.

 

[bugssy]

my one day team would be
phil jaques
adam gilchrist
ricky ponting
mike hussey
andrew symonds
shane watson
simon katich
brett lee
jason gillespie
nathan bracken
stuart macgill

why would u bat katich so low. he need sto be at the top. him and gilchrist work well for each other.and m clarke would be a very uinlucky person to miss out. i agree that jacques should be there but who do u leave out.........i wouldnt have gillespe in there either as clark and bracken i think have earned there stripes over the sumemr so.......and hogg would be tehre instead of watson.....

 

[marc71178]

When you argue with someone about cricket, do you actually try and construct two cohesive points at all?

Last post, you're saying that Lee's economy rate wasn't good enough, so aussie points out that it is in fact pretty good for a bowler of Lee's style, and now you're saying he wasn't taking wickets. When I point out that only Nel and Warne (14) managed more wickets than Lee (13) in the series, are you going to go back to the economy rate?

Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, in spite of the fact that Akhtar was taking wickets at a strike-rate more than full 3 overs less should I?

And of course Akhtar took more wickets in many less overs - but that's not got anything to do with anything has it?

Maybe we should stop all debate and just have a theread "Brett Lee is the best" where everybody pays homage to him.

 

[mikeW]

Warne adds Harwood to list of SA contenders

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/238237.html

He hasnt been the only one either, dont be surprised if hes selected.

 

[adharcric]

my one day team would be
phil jaques
adam gilchrist
ricky ponting
mike hussey
andrew symonds
shane watson
simon katich
brett lee
jason gillespie
nathan bracken
stuart macgill

Jacques should be the option in the long term, but has Katich done so poorly that the selectors would drop him, especially after Gilchrist voted for him as the opener?

Watson hasn't done much to prove that he should be in the team, while Clarke has been doing well in the middle-order in ODIs.

If Gillespie makes the test team and performs well in the tests, he can be considered for a one-day recall. Otherwise, Stuart Clark has done well in his opportunities and should be in line as the 3rd seamer in the absence of McGrath.

MacGill for the one-day side is absurd, Hogg has done well and can bat well.

Btw, when does the supersub rule die?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, in spite of the fact that Akhtar was taking wickets at a strike-rate more than full 3 overs less should I?

And of course Akhtar took more wickets in many less overs - but that's not got anything to do with anything has it?

Maybe we should stop all debate and just have a theread "Brett Lee is the best" where everybody pays homage to him.

Err, obviously Akhtar took wickets more regularly than Lee did in those particular series, which is why he had a better average. The point is that there was nothing at all wrong with Lee's economy rate against South Africa, and when someone pointed that out you responded by claiming that Lee wasn't taking wickets, when he obviously was given that he was one of the leading wicket takers in the series.

 

[marc71178]

Over 3 against a defensive side is still a very high economy rate.

And he wasn't taking the wickets quickly enough to get that good an average out of the series.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Over 3 against a defensive side is still a very high economy rate.

And he wasn't taking the wickets quickly enough to get that good an average out of the series.

3 isn't a "very high" economy rate for a bowler of Lee's style at all. If you look at what other bowlers of his pace like Shoaib manage, 3 is quite low. In fact, even for guys like Harmison and Ntini that are a fair clip slower, 3 isn't poor by any means. Nobody is expecting Lee to be a metronome, but the point is that he was not being expensive at any point this summer, which flies in the face of the claim that he was "back to his Ashes form".

 

[Langeveldt]

My XI for the first test

1) Smith
2) de Villiers
3) Rudolph
4) Kallis
5) Gibbs
6) Boucher
7) McKenzie/Prince
8) Pollock
9) Langeveldt
10) Ntini
11) Nel

Despite a fine hundred in the last series, I think it might take another one to convince me that Prince has the technique required for a test career.. McKenzie has been very good this season as captain of Gauteng, theyd have to fight for a spot in my SA team..

 

[Neil Pickup]

Prince has just been made vice-captain. He's not gonna miss out.

 

[Pratters]

That is good news.

 

[Langeveldt]

Prince has just been made vice-captain. He's not gonna miss out.

and I'm not a national selector.. your point?!

 

[howardj]

The English are hardly the litmus test for world's bowlers.

.

never said they were

merely that a few of their batsmen are quite attacking, which presents a challenge for lee's new-found discipline when they joust later this year.

 

[age_master]

my one day team would be
phil jaques
adam gilchrist
ricky ponting
mike hussey
andrew symonds
shane watson
simon katich
brett lee
jason gillespie
nathan bracken
stuart macgill

i would have

A Gilchrist
P Jaques
R Ponting
D Martyn
A Symonds
M Clarke
M Hussey
B Hogg
B Lee
J Gillespie
N Bracken