***Official*** Australia in Sri Lanka

[centurymaker]

WOW WOW
According to the stats in this article, being a leftie gives you a pretty significant advantage...

from now on I will rate the right handed batsmen more highly.

 

[Howe_zat]

WOW WOW
According to the stats in this article, being a leftie gives you a pretty significant advantage...

from now on I will rate the right handed batsmen more highly.

 

[centurymaker]

The Numbers Game: The left-hand advantage in Sri Lanka | Regulars | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo
oops
LOL forgot to post the link

 

[centurymaker]

numbers since 1980 show that for all batsmen in overseas Tests, right-handers score 33.83 runs per dismissals while left-handers manage 37.82 (for batsmen in the top seven only).

4 run difference just there

so basically if a rightie is averaging 50, an equivalent leftie is expected to avg 56. (probably has something to do with most bowlers not finding it easy to bowl them)

massive difference!!

My rating and love for right-handed batsmen has gone up!

 

[NUFAN]

As a right hand opening bat, I could have told you that it's tougher batting with the right hand!

I've been thinking recently, what exactly does Mike Hussey have to do to be considered in the Ponting, Border, SWaugh league? He averages higher than all 3 now and has definitely shown his ability to perform in a crisis. Obviously he's going to end up playing less matches overall than the 3 Aussie greats..

 

[Himannv]

Very impressed with Hussey. Played exceptionally well in some difficult conditions and some of his performances probably decided the series in the end.

 

[robelinda]

As a right hand opening bat, I could have told you that it's tougher batting with the right hand!

I've been thinking recently, what exactly does Mike Hussey have to do to be considered in the Ponting, Border, SWaugh league? He averages higher than all 3 now and has definitely shown his ability to perform in a crisis. Obviously he's going to end up playing less matches overall than the 3 Aussie greats..

His away average is dismal compared to his home average, he averages way below par in almost every country except India and Sri Lanka.

 

[Spark]

Yeah basically. If he has a good tour of SA then maybe.

 

[Furball]

His performances have been too hot and cold as well, he's either been Bradmanesque or he's been mediocre.

 

[NUFAN]

His performances have been too hot and cold as well, he's either been Bradmanesque or he's been mediocre.

You could say a similar thing with Steve Waugh and to a lesser extent Ricky Ponting too.

It's just that Hussey has had his career in a different order or he hasn't been excused for debuting before he was ready or continuing on for too long.

Waugh was obviously mediocre for a long time, before becoming Bradmanesque, while you said it yourself Ponting would have 0 Test centuries in the last 2 years if a fielder who is currently suspended for match fixing didn't drop him on nought.

I always find it interesting what further boxes a batsman needs to check before being ranked as high as greats with a similar average. I completely accept Robelinda's reasoning that he needs to do more away from home, hopefully he has an excellent 2 Tests in South Africa.

 

[Ruckus]

Yes, sure. But when you comment on how people have been saying "he is on the verge of scoring runs" they aren't doing so blindly assuming he is bound to score but that he actually has looked good on the crease many times. As you say though, there comes a point where wasting starts is itself a problem.

I think when someone has been out of form for so long like Ponting, it is actually pretty reasonable to be skeptical if they do happen to get a few hundreds on the trot. Because they have had SO many chances to make some runs, some time or another it is kind of inevitable they will succeed again to some degree (even if just by luck and nothing else). That's why I reckon to be able to tell if a batsman is truely back in form, they need to score a lot of runs and over a relatively long period of time. When Hussey scored a few tons in the Ashes I was pretty skeptical he was back to being a solid, reliable batsman, but since he has backed it up so well in this series I'm starting to be persuaded he still has what it takes (I'm not fully convinced yet mind you, a good, or even reasonable, series in SA will probably do the trick though). Not that this means a great deal, but it kind of shows how much Ponting has fallen: to get back to where he used to be and the other great batsman of this era are now (averaging at least 55) he would have to score 10 hundreds in a row...

 

[Furball]

You could say a similar thing with Steve Waugh and to a lesser extent Ricky Ponting too.

It's just that Hussey has had his career in a different order or he hasn't been excused for debuting before he was ready or continuing on for too long.

Waugh was obviously mediocre for a long time, before becoming Bradmanesque, while you said it yourself Ponting would have 0 Test centuries in the last 2 years if a fielder who is currently suspended for match fixing didn't drop him on nought.

I always find it interesting what further boxes a batsman needs to check before being ranked as high as greats with a similar average. I completely accept Robelinda's reasoning that he needs to do more away from home, hopefully he has an excellent 2 Tests in South Africa.

True, what I meant was that Ponting and Waugh had also had extended periods of excellence, whereas Hussey had a terrific start, a mediocre 2nd half of his career and has had an amazing last 2 series. He's also mostly been a failure whenever he's hopped on a plane and left Australia.

 

[adub]

I think when someone has been out of form for so long like Ponting, it is actually pretty reasonable to be skeptical if they do happen to get a few hundreds on the trot. Because they have had SO many chances to make some runs, some time or another it is kind of inevitable they will succeed again to some degree (even if just by luck and nothing else). That's why I reckon to be able to tell if a batsman is truely back in form, they need to score a lot of runs and over a relatively long period of time. When Hussey scored a few tons in the Ashes I was pretty skeptical he was back to being a solid, reliable batsman, but since he has backed it up so well in this series I'm starting to be persuaded he still has what it takes (I'm not fully convinced yet mind you, a good, or even reasonable, series in SA will probably do the trick though). Not that this means a great deal, but it kind of shows how much Ponting has fallen: to get back to where he used to be and the other great batsman of this era are now (averaging at least 55) he would have to score 10 hundreds in a row...

Agree with all of that. Hussey has secured his spot for the summer, but if he doesn't make runs against SA,NZ and/or India then the questions will be asked again. Punter cannot rely on a ton out of the blue and then back to 20s and 30s. He has to get back to consistently averaging say 45+ each series or his paper's are gonna get stamped.

 

[adub]

True, what I meant was that Ponting and Waugh had also had extended periods of excellence, whereas Hussey had a terrific start, a mediocre 2nd half of his career and has had an amazing last 2 series. He's also mostly been a failure whenever he's hopped on a plane and left Australia.

Which is a bit strange considering his county record. Agree he needs some big away series to be considered really top shelf. SL was as good as you can expect though, so a 200+ run series in SA will get him closer to being considered a great.