***Official*** NatWest Series/Challenge

[andyc]

Frankly, I think this would address a lot of problems. But it certainly won't be a reality.

1. Gilchrist (wait for him to fire, oh ye of little faith)
2. Clarke (plays like a genius in this position)
3. Katich (absorbs pressure if an early wicket falls)
4. Ponting (constantly under pressure after a quick wicket at 3)
5. Symonds (give him some time to play himself in)
6. Martyn (might give him some incentive to hurry up)
7. Hussey (stops the bleeding if there's a collapse)
8. Hogg
9. Lee
10. Gillespie
11. McGrath

no hayden? he seems to be in pretty good touch

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

no hayden? he seems to be in pretty good touch

Indeed.

McGrath, Lee, Gillespie, Hogg and Clarke/Symonds/Hussey should bowl the overs, Hayden and Gilchrist can open, with Ponting, Martyn, Symonds, Clarke and Hussey making up the batsmen. No reason to drop Hayden now at all, given he's been Australia's best batsman on the tour and had a good time in New Zealand as well.

 

[Crazy Sam]

i would actually prefer hussey up the order as his county cricket record is pretty good, but it won't happen.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah exactly, dropping Hayden makes no sense; as has been said, he's been the best tour batsman so far. As good as Katich is and as highly as I rate the guy, there's no room for him right now.

 

[tassietiger]

Hayden's looking prone for a big innings atm, and Gilchrist is always prone for one after a few bad scores. Leave them opening, Clarke has been doing a fine job where he is, and he tends to go a bit too agressively opening anyway. Let him pick up the pieces like he is. Katich deserves a run, but I suppose he always does. Symonds should probably be somewhere around 6-7 to play the Pietersen-like role which he is capable of. Putting him up the order more hasn't been too successful in the past. It would be unfair to drop Hussey, and Ponting will obviously stay, which leads me to the conclusion that maybe Martyn should have a rest. He's good in the tests, but he never seems to end up making a huge difference to the run rate. He may be able to stabilise a top-order collapse, but we have plenty in our team that can do that too, and we have shown it in our last couple of games that we can come back from incredibly bad starts to post a decent total.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Hoggard still has a good 2-3 years left

I would hope, at 28, he has far longer than that. England will be looking to get another 5-6 years out of him if they can. Look at how long Goughie lasted, and he's got a far more strenuous action than Hoggy.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Hayden's looking prone for a big innings atm, and Gilchrist is always prone for one after a few bad scores. Leave them opening, Clarke has been doing a fine job where he is, and he tends to go a bit too agressively opening anyway. Let him pick up the pieces like he is. Katich deserves a run, but I suppose he always does. Symonds should probably be somewhere around 6-7 to play the Pietersen-like role which he is capable of. Putting him up the order more hasn't been too successful in the past. It would be unfair to drop Hussey, and Ponting will obviously stay, which leads me to the conclusion that maybe Martyn should have a rest. He's good in the tests, but he never seems to end up making a huge difference to the run rate. He may be able to stabilise a top-order collapse, but we have plenty in our team that can do that too, and we have shown it in our last couple of games that we can come back from incredibly bad starts to post a decent total.

Symonds has played almost half his ODI innings at number 5, and averages 40 there. He averages 34 at number 6, and 20 at number 7, where he's never made a 50 in 19 innings. He's also played at number 4 a fair bit, and averages 45 there. I think it's fairly clear since he moved up the order he's become a better player.

Regarding Martyn, well he averages 48 this year in ODIs, so I can't see the logic in dropping him either. He's in good touch, he's a reliable, experienced player, he averages over 40 with a strike rate near 80, and he's never done anything wrong. Why drop him?

 

[Sylvester]

Ponting wont be moved and shouldn't
He is just fine at 3, our opening combo for now can stay no need to push the panic button. Martyn i dont really know in odis, he sometimes goes brillant other times can have a shocker. That is where hussey or clarke could come in dropping martyn all together.

Bowling drop Kaspa he isn't a odi bowling

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Martyn i dont really know in odis, he sometimes goes brillant other times can have a shocker. That is where hussey or clarke could come in dropping martyn all together.

I really don't get that at all. Martyn's been incredibly consistent all through his ODI career, and has played almost 200 of them. Why's he dubious all of a sudden?

 

[marc71178]

Will you stop being unnecessarily harsh on Anderson? Remember to include the word "yet" with "not good enough" in future. For another couple of years, anyway.

Sorry, I meant at the current time he's not good enough, poor phrasing, but I'm fed up of the constant championing of someone who is nowhere near as good as other options.

 

[marc71178]

Who's more spine-less ? a team still in it's infancy trying to overcome all the negativity all around managing to beat the best team in the world, or a kid who does not have the gut's to fess-up to admit he was wrong and run's and hides from his friends from an "online Forum" ?

As the only one of the Harmison bashers who didn't disappear when proved spectacularly wrong, you can hardly call Langeveldt spine-less.

 

[marc71178]

It would be unfair to drop Hussey, and Ponting will obviously stay, which leads me to the conclusion that maybe Martyn should have a rest. He's good in the tests, but he never seems to end up making a huge difference to the run rate.

So you're saying he's too slow?

Every side needs an anchor type-role.

For me, Martyn does that job pretty much spot on.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Harmison hasn't yet proved himself. He had a spectacular bowling series and a decent statistical series. Otherwise he's been pretty mediocre. If he takes wickets against Australia, he may well reverse this thought.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

So you're saying he's too slow?

Every side needs an anchor type-role.

For me, Martyn does that job pretty much spot on.

Indeed, and a strike rate of 78 is hardly poor!

Besides, he can lift the rate when needed, as he's shown many times in the past. I can't see the logic in dropping him at all, for anybody. I'd say every team in the world would be glad to have him.

 

[luckyeddie]

Who's more spine-less ? a team still in it's infancy trying to overcome all the negativity all around managing to beat the best team in the world, or a kid who does not have the gut's to fess-up to admit he was wrong and run's and hides from his friends from an "online Forum" ?

I know what you mean, but it doesn't wash in Lang's case. He says things and sticks around to defend his corner, even when subsequently proved wrong - unlike some who consider that they've never been proved wrong (no names, no pack-drill, no first-chance averages).

 

[luckyeddie]

Harmison hasn't yet proved himself. He had a spectacular bowling series and a decent statistical series. Otherwise he's been pretty mediocre. If he takes wickets against Australia, he may well reverse this thought.

I doubt it - because then it'll be "Well, he's not played against Norway yet. Let's see how he goes against the fish-slappers - and then there's the small matter of the bone-dry dust-bowl of the Antarctican sub-continent......" etc etc etc.

 

[marc71178]

Indeed, and a strike rate of 78 is hardly poor!

Besides, he can lift the rate when needed, as he's shown many times in the past. I can't see the logic in dropping him at all, for anybody. I'd say every team in the world would be glad to have him.

I would say so.

It's a perception that he scores slow, but actually he just seems to quietly get his 30 or 40 runs and move the team on nicely!

 

[wpdavid]

I alway's admired the tenacity of Hoggard, How has he been performing this season ?

Not very well. But he did start poorly last summer, doing very little against NZ, before having a pretty successful series against WI, so I'm not losing sleep.

 

[Scallywag]

So you're saying he's too slow?

Every side needs an anchor type-role.

For me, Martyn does that job pretty much spot on.

Maybe it is time for Martyn to move over and let in someone younger.

Martyn has been very solid for Australia and deserves to stay but looking ahead the team needs to develop and get better.

Hussey and Katich have 4-6 years on Martyn and could possibly go on for another two WC's.

Hayden
Gilly
Ponting
Clarke
Katich
Hussey
Symonds
Hogg
Lee
Dizzy
McGrath

Hard decision but could be worth a try.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I doubt it - because then it'll be "Well, he's not played against Norway yet. Let's see how he goes against the fish-slappers - and then there's the small matter of the bone-dry dust-bowl of the Antarctican sub-continent......" etc etc etc.

You really think it's unreasonable to say Harmison is unproven though? He's only done well against the West Indies and New Zealand (and Bangladesh)... hardly a wide cross-section of international cricket, is it? If he had a good series in South Africa things might be different, but he was terrible there, so yes, Australia is a big test for him.