Darrin said:
Thats where there appears to be a problem at the top of the order, thats why. There appears to me that they are not willing to put him elsewhere because in there opinion there is no room. He does have as good a technique as anyone else, there is no reason why it can't work. All this rubbish about having issues on the back foot is exactly that, rubbish. Why did they select front-foot players like Papps, vincent, cumming and astle likes to plod forward as well. There is always inconsistencies with john-rules for some and different ones for others.
my main gripe is that the players are not being given an equal opportunity to perform where they are most familiar - not only are they having to adjust to the higher level, but also being asked to fix a position that the more experienced players have been unable to do so...........
IMO the problems at the top of the order are NOT any more serious than the problems in the middle order over this decade, although the current 6-4 split offers a better balance & depth.............
yes the loss of early wickets at the top does expose the middle early, but it does NOT signal a batting collapse in the middle & lower orders such as has been the case in almost EVERY series this decade...............
it's not just a case of having more batsmen, but also having the right balance & skills - IMO the likes of Styris, Astle & McMillan = 1 position in a 5-5 split, 2 at max in a 6-4 split depending on where they are in the lineup..........too many of our so called 'aggressive' batsmen are 'converted' LO lower order bowling 'allrounders'.........
a final note on the Fulton Opening option - if Flem can't do the job and he's supposedly our best batsman at this level, then why the hell should we require / expect it of another middle order batsman with no experience at this level - Fulton has scored his runs in the middle order - even if he has had to come in early this season..............
IMO it's a conspiracy to discredit the top middle order performers in domestic cricket by making them Open to get into the side, and then discard them when it doesn't work........(Vincent, Sinclair, Fulton???), thus leaving the door open for Macca as the only 'proven & viable' option in the middle order....................as rediculous as it sounds I shan't think otherwise until I see the 'senior' players in the middle order being asked to move out of their 'comfort zone' and put their 'experience' to the test..........Macca & Astle primarily........and I'd NOT consider McCullum as an option until he controls his shot selection better................
I wonder if its age catching up !! 
!!
