***Official*** NatWest Series/Challenge

[age_master]

Hussey is also the more mature batsman

 

[Mister Wright]

or not. Hussey wont bat any higher up the order and might get a game off too so its hard to say, he could easily come in and make another 20 or 30 not out too.

Pieterson if far more likley to bat every game for mine and his average will have more chance to go down.


lets also not forget Husseys record in English domestic cricket.

Batting lower down the order also gives you more chance to get out when you have to go the bash towards the end of the innings.

 

[Mister Wright]

Hussey is also the more mature batsman

Well thanks for stating the bleeding obvious - he's about 7 years older than KP and played many more first class matches.

 

[King_Ponting]

Pietersen better suited for the one day game and is a more aggresive batter than hussey. = Pietersen better one day batsman. However husseys temprement and ability to stay in makes him more suited to the 4 day game in which he opens the batting sometimes. =Hussey better (potential, i say that cause neither have played a test match) test batsman

 

[luckyeddie]

Who said anything about blazing away? 34 off 69 is Javed Omar territory, he should be able to score faster than that without too many risks.

Sorry, that's complete nonsense.

England desperately needed someone to play 'proper cricket' - and Solanki played that role pretty well under the circumstances, better than anyone else in the side by a long chalk. The early batters were 'pressured' out, strangled by as good an opening eight overs you will see in ODI's.

Lee to me was an utter revelation, on the mark right from the off (OK, the odd wild one, but that's always going to happen). McGrath was typical McGrath without the chuntering (a couple of knowing grins when he was setting the batsmen up, of course - absolutely brilliant, a joy to watch).

Most batters got themselves out playing silly shots brought about by PRESSURE (in big letters for Richard's benefit) - stop a batsman scoring in a limited-overs game and he will try to take risks in order to get the scoreboard moving. Really, it wouldn't have mattered if England had only got 20 in the first 15 overs - at least they would have still been in the contest. You cannot win a game with the bat inside 15 overs (ok, games against minnows aside) - but you can sure as heck go a long way towards losing one - and that's what we did.

Australia played as near as damnit perfect cricket, and much as I'm a harsh critic of Ricky Ponting at times...

<quack> never

...er, as I was saying (god, this schizophrenia kicks without warning), Ricky Ponting played it superbly on the field of play, twisting the screw tighter and tighter. If a bowler deserved 3 slips and a gulley, that's what he got - and that's how it should be - even had 6 inside the circle for a while after the 15th until Pietersen and Freddie looked as though they were threatening to break the stranglehold.

Well played Australia, well played Ponting. Game on.

 

[luckyeddie]

Hussey is also the more mature batsman

Maturity is all in the mind

<quack> and in the trousers

 

[King_Ponting]

Sorry, that's complete nonsense.

England desperately needed someone to play 'proper cricket' - and Solanki played that role pretty well under the circumstances, better than anyone else in the side by a long chalk. The early batters were 'pressured' out, strangled by as good an opening eight overs you will see in ODI's.

Lee to me was an utter revelation, on the mark right from the off (OK, the odd wild one, but that's always going to happen). McGrath was typical McGrath without the chuntering (a couple of knowing grins when he was setting the batsmen up, of course - absolutely brilliant, a joy to watch).

Most batters got themselves out playing silly shots brought about by PRESSURE (in big letters for Richard's benefit) - stop a batsman scoring in a limited-overs game and he will try to take risks in order to get the scoreboard moving. Really, it wouldn't have mattered if England had only got 20 in the first 15 overs - at least they would have still been in the contest. You cannot win a game with the bat inside 15 overs (ok, games against minnows aside) - but you can sure as heck go a long way towards losing one - and that's what we did.

Australia played as near as damnit perfect cricket, and much as I'm a harsh critic of Ricky Ponting at times...

<quack> never

...er, as I was saying (god, this schizophrenia kicks without warning), Ricky Ponting played it superbly on the field of play, twisting the screw tighter and tighter. If a bowler deserved 3 slips and a gulley, that's what he got - and that's how it should be - even had 6 inside the circle for a while after the 15th until Pietersen and Freddie looked as though they were threatening to break the stranglehold.

Well played Australia, well played Ponting. Game on.

Sits back an appluads.................

 

[Mister Wright]

Maturity is all in the mind

<quack> and in the trousers

LOL! Made my day...

 

[tooextracool]

We doing first-chance catch averages now?

just pointing out what he does on one of his better days.

 

[Mister Wright]

What does everyone think the Australian team will be for the match against Bangladesh on Saturday night?

Kasprowicz in to give McGrath a rest
Clarke is still in doubt for the game, maybe Martyn to rest and Hussey or Watson to go up the order?
Haddin in for Gilchrist, but I'm sure Gilchrist will want another innings.

Or will Australia go full strength trying to get another win on the board.

Maybe?

Hayden
Gilchrist
Ponting
Katich
Symonds
Hussey
Watson
Hogg
Lee
Gillespie
Kasprowicz

 

[tooextracool]

Wonder why Shaun Pollock didn't pick up on that weakness in the recent series?
I'd have thought he was one of the best in-swingers to left-handers in the world. Something to do with pace I reckon which would be good because he can sort that out but technique might be something to be worried about. Form?

i've been wondering the exact same thing. its amazing really, ATM it really looks like all you have to do it pitch it up to him and get it to straighten and he wont last long.
as it stands i cant see him scoring a run this summer unless he makes serious serious improvements in a very short period of time, and i really doubt it has anything to do with form, given that he just came off a fairly big score against bangladesh. its not a small chink in his armour either, he seems incapable of playing straight.
as far as tresco is concerned, well i think the last 2 games have confirmed everything i needed to know about him. he quite clearly hasnt made any sort of changes to his game and his still by and large the same FTB that he was in the last ashes series. he didnt play a single ball convincingly yesterday, nether did strauss for that matter, and you really wonder if your openers cant see out the new ball in an ODI game, how in the hell are they going to score runs in a test match?
personally i think we've found our place for pietersen in the ashes side, drop tresco, bump vaughan up and get pietersen in the side. and i'd hope butcher is fit and in form, because i'd think we'd be making frantic calls for him by the time we reach the 3rd test. rob key wouldnt be a bad bet either.

 

[King_Ponting]

Yeh i probably agree with your order there cept i think that the aussies will put symonds 4 hussey 5 and katich 6. Wouldnt be too suprised if ponting gave Watson alot of responsibilty with the ball this match to try and get him in some knid of form for the final.

 

[Mister Wright]

i've been wondering the exact same thing. its amazing really, ATM it really looks like all you have to do it pitch it up to him and get it to straighten and he wont last long.
as it stands i cant see him scoring a run this summer unless he makes serious serious improvements in a very short period of time, and i really doubt it has anything to do with form, given that he just came off a fairly big score against bangladesh. its not a small chink in his armour either, he seems incapable of playing straight.
as far as tresco is concerned, well i think the last 2 games have confirmed everything i needed to know about him. he quite clearly hasnt made any sort of changes to his game and his still by and large the same FTB that he was in the last ashes series. he didnt play a single ball convincingly yesterday, nether did strauss for that matter, and you really wonder if your openers cant see out the new ball in an ODI game, how in the hell are they going to score runs in a test match?
personally i think we've found our place for pietersen in the ashes side, drop tresco, bump vaughan up and get pietersen in the side. and i'd hope butcher is fit and in form, because i'd think we'd be making frantic calls for him by the time we reach the 3rd test. rob key wouldnt be a bad bet either.

While I agree the side would be more evenly balanced with Trescothick out and Vaughan opening, but do you really think the English selectors will drop the vice-captain, especially before a test is played?

 

[tooextracool]

Interesting to see how Flintoff will do, coming in so early. Hopefully they can get KP in soon as well so they can bowl at him without fear of being hit to all parts from the outset.

im sorry, but what in the hell was ponting thinking when he took lee off ater 4 overs?
you'd think that he would have tried to get pietersen in ASAP and test his technique against the new ball(which it seems england are trying desperately to shield him from).
as far as lee's bowling is concerned, yes it was brilliant, and he managed to maintain his accuracy for pretty much the entire game. if he bowls like this more often in test matches he'd be a fine bowler.

 

[Mister Wright]

im sorry, but what in the hell was ponting thinking when he took lee off ater 4 overs?
you'd think that he would have tried to get pietersen in ASAP and test his technique against the new ball(which it seems england are trying desperately to shield him from).
as far as lee's bowling is concerned, yes it was brilliant, and he managed to maintain his accuracy for pretty much the entire game. if he bowls like this more often in test matches he'd be a fine bowler.

Lee didn't bowl more than 4 overs because the Austrailans consider him to not be as effective when he bowls longer spells, they want to give him shorter spells.

 

[tooextracool]

While I agree the side would be more evenly balanced with Trescothick out and Vaughan opening, but do you really think the English selectors will drop the vice-captain, especially before a test is played?

look the england selectors wouldnt drop trescothick, even if he averaged 0.000001 for all 5 tests this summer. i mean when a batsman still gets out to the same ball hes been getting out for the last 2 ashes series, its signal's something, but im sure the england selectors wouldnt pick it up. and i can almost guarantee you that if thorpe scores a 10 & a 20 in the first test, he'd be dropped for pietersen.

 

[King_Ponting]

Nah i disagree. i think ponting took lee off and brought on the two out of form bowlers in watson and gillespie to get the two aforementioned bowlers in form, whilst the batsman were new and had to consolidate and play defensively in order to make some inroads to australia's total. Ponting did much the same in the latter stages of the england innings when he persisted with watson even though he was going at 7 per over.

 

[wpdavid]

Well, at least this evening proved that England aren't invincible and that Australia actually are capable of winning at least the odd game.

I thought we looked a bit less sharp than we have in our recent games, and Australia sharper than in theirs.

if so, then things are as they should be - the sides are evenly enough matched that it's going to be down to which side is playing nearest to its potential on the day.

And as aussie says, good to see that the never-say-die spirit is alive and well.

Cheers,

Mike

I would think we'll usually be competitive when we're bowling but usually not when we're batting this summer.

 

[luckyeddie]

look the england selectors wouldnt drop trescothick, even if he averaged 0.000001 for all 5 tests this summer. i mean when a batsman still gets out to the same ball hes been getting out for the last 2 ashes series, its signal's something, but im sure the england selectors wouldnt pick it up. and i can almost guarantee you that if thorpe scores a 10 & a 20 in the first test, he'd be dropped for pietersen.

Ah, TEC, master of the understatement as ever.

 

[tooextracool]

Good riddance Vaugh... err I mean Solanki. At least there's a small chance with Pietersen - no chance with Solanki.

you know, i really cant believe all the solanki bashing in this thread.
its really strange, but the moment we lost our first wicket, and england looked clueless against mcgrath and lee, the 2 players who i thought were good enough if they applied themselves to survive against this bowling were solanki and flintoff.
i've known tresco's technique to be rubbish when the ball is moving around, strauss has looked poor all summer against the in swinger, and collingwood's technique isnt very good either.
solanki may not have scored too many runs, but he batted like a test batsman, if he hadnt played than innings england would have been all out for less than a 100. yes so he could have kicked on with the scoring a bit earlier than he did, but it doesnt matter he still did far better than the rest of the top order did. solanki's biggest problem at the international level, is that like flintoff he bats like a complete dumba** far too often.
as far as flintoff is concerned, i think he confirmed everything i've always said about him. he has as good a technique as anyone else in the world today, i doubt he played and missed a single ball, most of his defensive shots were right off the mid of the bat. its a pity really, because if he bats like this for all his career, he'd quite comfortably be one of the best batters of this era. unfortunately the fact is that for more than half of his test career, he's got himself out playing a stupid shot, instead of the bowler getting him out.