***Official*** Super Series

[dinu23]

1. Most lethal bowler Ive ever seen - Thomson 74 - 76

2. Best bowler - Imran

3. Best contemporary - McGrath

4. Best spinner - Warne

5. Best wicket taker - Murali

Respect - 1 - 4.

Change your opinion on 1 - 4, but the fact remains the same.

50% of the cricketing world respects Murali, the other 50% totally disregards him.

how did u come to the conclusion 50% respect murali and 50% don't.
the only people who don't respect him are those who fear Murali will overtake their poor little drug taking leg spinner shane warne.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I wonder what the Abc commentators expected Harmison to do when there's no movement or bounce... spin the ball a foot?

Anyway sounds like Harmison was a bit unlucky to only take one wicket according to the number of plays and misses in the CricInfo commentary, hopefully he can polish the tail off with the new ball on day 2.

There should have been movement though. The pitch today was the greenest I've seen in a test match in Australia in... I honestly don't even know. Probably a decade. It had a visible green tinge, and big clumps of live grass, and both Harmison and Flintoff swung the new ball significantly. Harmison could have had more than one wicket in his first five overs in the morning session, but after that he was extremely poor.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I'm not a fan of the new chucking regulations at all. I think they're an utter joke, and make a mockery of the original rule and what it was meant to keep out of the game. However, you can't blame Murali for it really. He bowls the way he knows how to bowl, and does so extremely well, and he's allowed to do so... that's all there is to it. My personal opinion is that he is marginally behind Warne among all spin bowlers I've ever seen, and whether or not his action is suspect doesn't really diminish his quality as a bowler at all.

However, I understand the point about enjoying seeing him out of the wickets in Australia again, as I consider him slightly overrated on those pitches which do not offer assistance for spin bowlers, at least compared to a particular "poor little drug taking leg spinner" who has to play half his matches on them. Compare him to any other spinner in the world though, and he's miles ahead regardless of the surface.

 

[greg]

There should have been movement though. The pitch today was the greenest I've seen in a test match in Australia in... I honestly don't even know. Probably a decade. It had a visible green tinge, and big clumps of live grass, and both Harmison and Flintoff swung the new ball significantly. Harmison could have had more than one wicket in his first five overs in the morning session, but after that he was extremely poor.

But this all stems from the team selection. The whole point about the England bowling attack is that they all have their roles and can be used by Vaughan according to the needs of the match situation. No way would Harmison have been bowling 3/4 hr after lunch after bowling 9 overs in the morning if he had been playing for England. And Flintoff would not have been 'wasted' on the new ball.

Bear in mind this is also Harmison's first bowl since the Oval. I would say he did pretty well!

 

[BoyBrumby]

I saw the extended highlights this afternoon (BST, obv) & it did look as if Harmy & (especially) Fred were bowling a little too short generally. They both looked to be bowling a bit within themselves too, judging by the speed gun. I didn't see more than a couple of balls above 140kmh (which my calculator tells me is 87mph in old money!). I guess that's understandable given they're (effectively) a two-man pace attack.

There was a fair bit of movement first thing but, judging by the highlights, it didn't seem to last much beyond the first half dozen overs. Harmy's ball to Langer was a jaffa tho; think it would've been good enough for pretty much anyone.

Hayden didn't look that fluent again til he was well past fifty (think he was on about 20-ish when Punter went), but he's sticking in there & is showing he has enough about him to adapt his game. Gilly looks to be in prime nick again tho, class permanent & all that!

Be interesting to see what happens with the new ball tomorrow. Does seem pretty tame fayre after The Ashes tho.

 

[greg]

I saw the extended highlights this afternoon (BST, obv) & it did look as if Harmy & (especially) Fred were bowling a little too short generally. They both looked to be bowling a bit within themselves too, judging by the speed gun. I didn't see more than a couple of balls above 140kmh (which my calculator tells me is 87mph in old money!). I guess that's understandable given they're (effectively) a two-man pace attack.

There was a fair bit of movement first thing but, judging by the highlights, it didn't seem to last much beyond the first half dozen overs. Harmy's ball to Langer was a jaffa tho; think it would've been good enough for pretty much anyone.

Hayden didn't look that fluent again til he was well past fifty (think he was on about 20-ish when Punter went), but he's sticking in there & is showing he has enough about him to adapt his game. Gilly looks to be in prime nick again tho, class permanent & all that!

Be interesting to see what happens with the new ball tomorrow. Does seem pretty tame fayre after The Ashes tho.

Good point about them bowling within themselves as well - presumably both because of the match situation and, frankly, because they don't want to push themselves too hard with a tour of Pakistan coming up.

 

[marc71178]

And the naked eye bio mechanic specialists are back.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Good point about them bowling within themselves as well - presumably both because of the match situation and, frankly, because they don't want to push themselves too hard with a tour of Pakistan coming up.

I find this rather ludicrous myself. If Harmison didn't want to push himself, why was he throwing himself headlong into the boundary rope to save a run and hurting his shoulder in the process? Why would he even show up? They're certainly out of form, struggling with the different conditions, not reversing the ball and getting played a lot better... but bowlers don't go out there and say "okay, I'm going to bowl 5kph slower today since I have a tour of Pakistan in a month", and even if they did it wouldn't help ward off injury.

 

[greg]

I find this rather ludicrous myself. If Harmison didn't want to push himself, why was he throwing himself headlong into the boundary rope to save a run and hurting his shoulder in the process? Why would he even show up? They're certainly out of form, struggling with the different conditions, not reversing the ball and getting played a lot better... but bowlers don't go out there and say "okay, I'm going to bowl 5kph slower today since I have a tour of Pakistan in a month", and even if they did it wouldn't help ward off injury.

Well they will certainly deliberately bowl within themselves, for whatever reason. Forget Pakistan if you like, the simple fact that they were the only two pace bowlers in the team is enough reason.

And just as an aside, compare Flintoff's reaction to taking Ponting's wicket to what he would have done during the Ashes. He's just not fired up in the same way, and you can see it. This isn't trying to take away from Australia's performance, but i for one am content that it'll be a different story if we have a full strength team in 14 months.

Re: Harmison's fielding: well why do you think England are so keen to employ substitutes?

 

[BoyBrumby]

I find this rather ludicrous myself. If Harmison didn't want to push himself, why was he throwing himself headlong into the boundary rope to save a run and hurting his shoulder in the process? Why would he even show up? They're certainly out of form, struggling with the different conditions, not reversing the ball and getting played a lot better... but bowlers don't go out there and say "okay, I'm going to bowl 5kph slower today since I have a tour of Pakistan in a month", and even if they did it wouldn't help ward off injury.

I see your point, but given the match situation (no back up seam-wise & Sydney being fair bit warmer than London/Manchester/Nottingham/Birmingham) I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they aren't going to charge in at full pelt for every ball of the day. I'm not suggesting they aren't deliberately giving of their best, more that they're conserving energy for long spells ahead.

No hint of reverse for Fred tho, that's true. The commentators kept mention the "lush outfield" to explain it's absence, but I can't help but notice that Fred doesn't reverse it at all when Jonah's not in the team. Just an observation....

As to why Harmy turned up, well it's £ isn't it? He gave an interview before the Super Test where he said "this is the job I have". Seems to be how the regards it.

 

[greg]

I see your point, but given the match situation (no back up seam-wise & Sydney being fair bit warmer than London/Manchester/Nottingham/Birmingham) I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they aren't going to charge in at full pelt for every ball of the day. I'm not suggesting they aren't deliberately giving of their best, more that they're conserving energy for long spells ahead.

No hint of reverse for Fred tho, that's true. The commentators kept mention the "lush outfield" to explain it's absence, but I can't help but notice that Fred doesn't reverse it at all when Jonah's not in the team. Just an observation....

As to why Harmy turned up, well it's £ isn't it? He gave an interview before the Super Test where he said "this is the job I have". Seems to be how the regards it.

Well England could do without it, if Vaughan's observations about Harmy giving the game up once he has enough for a comfortable retirement are true

 

[chalky]

"This is a nice challenge, but when you look down at your shirt, that badge isn't there."
Try as he might, Steve Harmison just can't get worked up about the Super Test

I think that pretty much sums it all up really.

 

[greg]

"This is a nice challenge, but when you look down at your shirt, that badge isn't there."
Try as he might, Steve Harmison just can't get worked up about the Super Test

I think that pretty much sums it all up really.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/image/217470.html
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/image/217468.html
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/image/217470.html
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/image/215278.html

 

[Deja moo]

"This is a nice challenge, but when you look down at your shirt, that badge isn't there."
Try as he might, Steve Harmison just can't get worked up about the Super Test

I think that pretty much sums it all up really.

Whatever happened to the love of the game ? He might as well enlist in the army if patriotism is all hes looking for.

 

[Deja moo]

No hint of reverse for Fred tho, that's true. The commentators kept mention the "lush outfield" to explain it's absence, but I can't help but notice that Fred doesn't reverse it at all when Jonah's not in the team. Just an observation....
.

lol..he couldnt expect Kallis to "work" on the ball for him, could he ?

 

[Natman20]

Because I don't like the balance of the bowling attack. Surely you're not claiming Pollock isn't a World-class player?

Of course not. He was good in his time but I don't really think he should be in the World Xi because his performances havnt been spectacular of late really. IMO a lot of the World XI are 'has beens.' They should have chosen the team on the people that are playing well now. Shoiab Acktar I don't think has played in awhile so why should he be chosen? etc.

 

[JASON]

Warney doesn't look like lasting against these two spinners.

Which is why I am surprised Smith decided take the new ball, when a few more overs with the spinners may have got him a few more quick wickets.

 

[JASON]

This World XI is not a real world XI because -

1 the number 1 batsman in the World is not here (Sachin)

2 the next best keeper after Gilly who should be keeping is not here and the guy in the Team has already fumbled and missed at least 2-3 catches off spinners, not to mention the number of times he struggles to pick the spinners from where he stands .

3 The Top 4 spinners in the World are certainly not here, because the 3rd and 4th best spinners have not been picked for the World XI and they are back in India !!

4 The balance of this Team struggles due to picking an extra batsman to bolster the batting to compensate for the keeper.

This Test should not last more than 4 days , particularly when Warne and Macgill get going on Day 3 and 4 as the pitch takes more turn (or even on Day 2).

 

[social]

"This is a nice challenge, but when you look down at your shirt, that badge isn't there."
Try as he might, Steve Harmison just can't get worked up about the Super Test

I think that pretty much sums it all up really.

All in all, his performance is pretty much in line with what he has been producing for the last 18 months and, as such, there's no evidence of a lack of motivation.

He rarely threatened to run through the Aussies in the Ashes and it was the same yesterday.

 

[Mister Wright]

im not sure whether you're being sarcastic, or you actually believe that ponting and langer are great players.

It was sarcasm.