robinjr
School Boy/Girl Captain
Andrew Flintoff and Mathew Hoggard ?Fair point. Remember, though, that was was against a broken Harmison, Saj Mahmood, Ashley Giles and Bad Jimmy (TM)
Andrew Flintoff and Mathew Hoggard ?Fair point. Remember, though, that was was against a broken Harmison, Saj Mahmood, Ashley Giles and Bad Jimmy (TM)
Were both okay in that series. Without them it'd have been like net practise for the Aussies.Andrew Flintoff and Mathew Hoggard ?
i'd have those two ahed of all the fastbowlers you have now.Were both okay in that series. Without them it'd have been like net practise for the Aussies.
Johnson and Hilf should both be gone IMO
I rate extremely low on the Clapo scale of Johnson Worship - I was one of his biggest detractors early in his Test career and maintained for quite a while that he had just been outrageously lucky. He never, to me, appears to be bowling particularly well. Even given all that though I still agree - he's proven, particularly in Australian conditions, that he can consistently take pretty cheap wickets and break key partnerships. At this stage I'd probably pick him for Adelaide (no Hilfenhaus), although if it came down to a straight choice between him and Dougey (I rate an 8.5 on a scale of 1 to Julian87) I'd take Dougey.
My main concern is that England have really done their homework on him. It's always appeared extremely obvious to me that if you look to leave the majority of Johnson's bowling as a right hander you can just wait for the leg stump trash, but after watching quality batsmen fish outside off against him for years, I just came to the conclusion that it wasn't that simple against express left arm over bowling. If Flower and Strauss have worked this out and developed a method to leave him successfully, it's possible he's been Iversoned. I think he's worth at least one more Test to bounce back though, given his track record.
Dropping him helps how? Surely saying "Forget about the last Test, you're our best bowler" is the biggest vote of confidence you could give him right now?Johnson is a confidence cricketer. And he has none right now.
Gets him out of the team.Dropping him helps how?
I was strictly speaking about how it helps Johnson and not the team. If confidence is so integral to him and you drop him now, you might as well say goodbye to his career.Gets him out of the team.
Not that I actually would drop Johnson, but it's not always about player management. If he's less likely to perform well in Adelaide or going forward in the rest of the series than Harris, then he shouldn't play. Dropping him wouldn't be about helping him - or not should it be - it'd be about helping the team. I don't think it would help the team, personally, but if it would then he shouldn't be selected again anyway just because it wouldn't help him.
Yeah, I don't think people necessarily mind that though.I was strictly speaking about how it helps Johnson and not the team. If confidence is so integral to him and you drop him now, you might as well say goodbye to his career.
Haha, O'Keefe's a better spinner than Doherty anyway. I promise.I'd drop Johnson for sure. It's a joke that you can have someone in the team bowling that badly when two out of Bollinger, Harris and Hilfenhaus are sitting it out. If you're worried about lower-order batting taking a hit, compromise with the quality of spinner you play.
Hilfenhaus is hardly a vastly superior option to Johnson for this series. If it were in England, sure. But it's not and he isn't.I'd drop Johnson for sure. It's a joke that you can have someone in the team bowling that badly when two out of Bollinger, Harris and Hilfenhaus are sitting it out. If you're worried about lower-order batting taking a hit, compromise with the quality of spinner you play.
I'd drop Johnson for sure. It's a joke that you can have someone in the team bowling that badly when two out of Bollinger, Harris and Hilfenhaus are sitting it out. If you're worried about lower-order batting taking a hit, compromise with the quality of spinner you play.