***Official** Malaysia Tri-Series

[FaaipDeOiad]

So superb lines that he gave up 6 wides in 9 overs?

Bit of a silly post. I'm guessing you didn't see the game? McGrath bowled 4 wides in his opening over, and one each in the 2nd and 3rd. Despite that, he bowled spells of 4-0-15-0 and 5-0-15-1. Along with the 6 wides, he also had 4 runs conceded from Ponting overthrows, so he effectively went for 20 off the bat in 9 overs. That's pretty damn impressive for a guy who hadn't played in 7 months, when a fairly economical bowler like Bracken went for 43 off 5, and Johnson went for 39 off 4.

He did bowl superb lines, and it's quite amazing that he avoided the boundaries that were being hit off everyone else.

 

[Jono]

Clarke was also responsible for 2 overthrows off McGrath I believe.

 

[Burgey]

So superb lines that he gave up 6 wides in 9 overs?

Actually, 4 of those wides were in his 1st over after 10 months off. In that 1st over his 1st ball moved about 4" off the deck and beat the batsman, then he bowled a few wides, but as the game went on he bowled really well with the control of old. His action looked good and is so simple not much can go wrong.

I look forward to the England supporters saying he's washed up and isn't quick enough, while at the same time heartily supporting Hoggard who bowls the same pace but needs an impending thunderstorm to get the ball to move at all.

He still hit the right areas, mostly at about 80mph and got movement off the deck when few others did anywhere near as much. In other words, he's still Glenn McGrath.

Johnson's an intersting bowler. Very raw but quite sharp - they say he's lost a fair bit of pace since his back went, I wouldn't have liked to have faced him pre-injury. Whether he can step up is a different issue, but although he got towelled up he took 2 crucial wickets for the side.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

McGrath was so much better that any other bowler in the match that it was almost comical - really a case of a man amongst boys

BTW, 4 of those wides came from one delivery

Surely he wasn't THAT much better than Bradshaw.

 

[marc71178]

McGrath was so much better that any other bowler in the match that it was almost comical - really a case of a man amongst boys

I only asked how good his line was if in the space of 9 overs, he delivered 6 wides (both leg and off), suggests that the radar wasn't at its usual level to me (and if that had been someone like Harmison with a 10 ball opening over there'd have been a lot of comments on here about it...)

BTW, 4 of those wides came from one delivery

I think you mean 4 of those wides came in one over...

 

[adharcric]

I think you mean 4 of those wides came in one over...

What part of "came from one delivery" do you not understand? Besides, watch the game before throwing around random commentary.

 

[social]

What part of "came from one delivery" do you not understand? Besides, watch the game before throwing around random commentary.

No, it was my mistake - McGrath did bowl 4 wide deliveries in his first over.

 

[social]

I only asked how good his line was if in the space of 9 overs, he delivered 6 wides (both leg and off), suggests that the radar wasn't at its usual level to me (and if that had been someone like Harmison with a 10 ball opening over there'd have been a lot of comments on here about it...)




I think you mean 4 of those wides came in one over...

McGrath definitely felt his way in his first spell.

Second spell was superb

 

[social]

Surely he wasn't THAT much better than Bradshaw.

Different situations.

Bradshaw bowled tightly without being overly threatening against batsmen consolidating in the main.

McGrath was tight and penetrative against batsmen going ballistic.

 

[adharcric]

No, it was my mistake - McGrath did bowl 4 wide deliveries in his first over.

In which case I'd like to apologize to Marc for my verbal abuse. Look what you did social ...

 

[Alysum]

gee another bad image of Ponting's captaincy....bring back Tugga!

 

[archie mac]

Surely he wasn't THAT much better than Bradshaw.

I watched every delivery and thought McGrath a class above the rest, but having said that Bradshaw showed quite a bit, and it will be interesting to see how he goes in their next game against India

 

[roseboy64]

Absolutely shocked when I heard it. Oh dear dear dear...............

 

[Rajeev]

Youtube - Ponting at his best

 

[howardj]

Get Katich out of there - 30 odd off 60 balls! My argument is that most domestic openers in Australia could get the team off to a solid, steady start. My question is, why do Australia need solid, steady and slow starts when someone like Brett Lee is batting at number nine, and when we won the last two World Cups without a 'solid starter' like Katich?

To win the World Cup, on the smallish grounds and flat wickets of the Carribean, teams will need fire for 50 overs, not mess around trying to get off to 'solid' starts. I mean, if carnage happens in the first 10 overs, like Lee at the Gabba against South Africa last summer (along with Mike Hussey) chances are our lower-order can pull us out of trouble.

 

[Victrinox]

which indian players do you guys think will perform well in the next match. I havnt seen india play for a while.... No coverage in little old Manurewa..... (no sky)

Thanx

 

[adharcric]

What should the composition of the Indian lineup look like tomorrow? Dravid and Tendulkar will likely open the batting. Pathan should come in early to bring a left-hander into the equation, while Sehwag and Kaif will bolster the middle-order at 4 and 5. Considering that the West Indies left out Samuels and that Cullen only bowled two overs, I get the feeling that the tracks in Malaysia aren't that great for spinners. Powar and Harbhajan are still among the best spinners in the world and two strong points in our team, so we should back them perhaps for this match. Still, not totally sure if we should go with a 3-2, 3-1 or 4-1 combination (pace-spin).

Dravid
Tendulkar
Pathan
Sehwag
Kaif
Raina/Mongia
Dhoni
Powar
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Patel

I'm a huge fan of Raina, but I think we need to give Mongia a shot here and see just how far he's come as a batsman as well as a bowler. If he's really good enough to bowl 6-7 overs against top-quality opposition on a regular basis, that really changes the complexion of our team and means we might not need five specialist bowlers (especially since Yuvraj and Sehwag are both solid part-timers and Tendulkar is back). On another note, I'm afraid for our bowling attack without Sreesanth for some reason, so Munaf better step it up and Pathan better get back to his one-day best.

 

[pug]

Powar and Harbhajan are still among the best spinners in the world and two strong points in our team, so we should back them perhaps for this match. Still, not totally sure if we should go with a 3-2, 3-1 or 4-1 combination (pace-spin).

Dravid
Tendulkar
Pathan
Sehwag
Kaif
Raina/Mongia
Dhoni
Powar
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Patel

I'd rather it be Kaif/Mongia. Raina has shown greater promise in his short career than either of the other two. And from what I've seen of him, I don't really like Mongia much but if he performs well as an all-rounder, as he's being hyped, it would be great for the team.

I also sense a certain deficiency in the pace bowling department. Patel-Agarkar-Pathan is a very scary combo considering that AA and Pathan are very moody bowlers and can bowl either really well or really crap. Harbhajan and Powar lend solid spin options to Dravid, but is it being overdone? I mean, Mongia, Sehwag and Tendulkar can all bowl a bit too. Bolstering the pace department might be a good idea, but then again quantity can hardly make up for quality when bowlers are concerned. Perhaps with Yuvraj's return Powar can be dropped for a match to see how it goes.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Youtube - Ponting at his best

What is his problem ffs. Wonderful batsman but a right ****.

 

[andyc]

Agreed. It's not as if the umpire's actually going to recall his decision, anyway.