***Official*** Super Series

[marc71178]

Well the ICC rankings are out, and it's finally happened.

Flintoff is ranked number 1 all rounder in the world.

He's also up to number 4 with the ball (behind McGrath, Warne and Murali)

 

[BoyBrumby]

Well the ICC rankings are out, and it's finally happened.

Flintoff is ranked number 1 all rounder in the world.

He's also up to number 4 with the ball (behind McGrath, Warne and Murali)

On current form I think the rankings have it spot on.

 

[aussie]

When will people understand that ODI and tests are two totally different games and you can look good in one and not the other? Case studies - Brett Lee, Michael Bevan! Just because Katich has looked good in the one dayers does not automatically mean he is going to bat well in a test match. Just look at Gilly on the recent Ashes tour. He stormed it up in the one dayers, but with a different approach to test cricket and the opposition being able to bowl different plans, lines etc he hardly made runs. It is like saying that Hussey is going to be a gun in test cricket because of what he has done at ODI level. The best guide to go by is his Pura Cup record which isn't all that flash.

ah well this is true, well maybe Katich has to watch it, hopefully Martyn is recalled in a hurry & are you sure Katich's pura cup record isn't all that flash???

 

[Mister Wright]

ah well this is true, well maybe Katich has to watch it, hopefully Martyn is recalled in a hurry & are you sure Katich's pura cup record isn't all that flash???

I was referring to Hussey's Pura Cup record. I think Katich has a brilliant Pura Cup record.

 

[Burpey]

I can't believe Katich is finding it so hard to adapt to the Test arena. Also, it's funny that there is hardly any pressure on Clarke seeing as he isn't doing any better than Kat IMO.

 

[SquidAU]

I can't believe Katich is finding it so hard to adapt to the Test arena. Also, it's funny that there is hardly any pressure on Clarke seeing as he isn't doing any better than Kat IMO.

I think the problems there is that Clarke is 24? so, the selectors wouldn't be worrying about his inability to make piles of runs yet. Katich, on the other hand, is 30? and has been in the team a bit longer than Clarke and is expected to make more runs that he really is.

Shame it's not true and Clarke should be on the chopping block just as much as Katich, but I think the thats how the selectors are thinking.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I can't believe Katich is finding it so hard to adapt to the Test arena. Also, it's funny that there is hardly any pressure on Clarke seeing as he isn't doing any better than Kat IMO.

I think we all know the real reason:

 

[social]

MacGill - proved the folly of selectors failure to pick him for at least 3 of the Ashes tests (what do you expect when one of the selectors is more tour guide/reality tv star than anything?)

Not sure he'd have turned it as much back in England, this SCG wicket seemed to be made of charcoal with bits flying everywhere.

Freddie - grounds are bigger here than the postage stamps youre used to playing on

Remind me again how many sixes he hit in this match?

a. Given that Warne took 40 wickets in the series, I think it's safe to say that the English batsmen would have been less comfortable facing MacGill than the tripe our seamers served up.

b. Remind me again how many runs he scored in the match and how he got out in each innings.

 

[social]

There's also something else relevant when it comes to the Vettori vs Kumble selection decision.

There was obviously (aside from the minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) a commitment for some kind of representation from each test playing country. (Otherwise, why not just send the whole English team? ) I think the Vettori selection was to ensure there was at least one KIwi representative, and I see nothing wrong with that. I think people who are really invested in the Vettori vs Kumble debate are in a way, missing the point.

The Boucher selection over Sangakkara is definitely inexplicable though.

Sunny Gavaskar denied this on Aus TV last night (Inside Cricket - Foxtel)

Also, whilst there was an argument for selecting Sangakarra, particularly after the event, their second choice wicket-keeper was McMullan from NZ as Kumar's keeping had been "poor" in recent times.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

To be fair to Katich, he still averages 36.60 against countries other than Zimbabwe. Whilst that may not be up to scratch for an Australian, it's not failure either.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I hate the whole thing about "Clarke being the next Australian captain so he can't be dropped" just because they think he's been the outstanding junior cricket-wise. Giving the captaincy to your best player (well, batsman) isn't always the thing to do - look at Ponting FFS!

 

[howardj]

I hate the whole thing about "Clarke being the next Australian captain so he can't be dropped" just because they think he's been the outstanding junior cricket-wise. Giving the captaincy to your best player (well, batsman) isn't always the thing to do - look at Ponting FFS!

Exactly. Ponting was only ever really ear-marked throughout his junior days as he was regarded as the best player. It's now happening with Clarke - he's the most developed player of his generation, so he is being ear-marked as the next captain, yet nobody seems to care that he's never captained a FC team. Giving the captaincy to your best player is how things are done in school cricket, not the way things should be done at this level.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Exactly. Ponting was only ever really ear-marked throughout his junior days as he was regarded as the best player. It's now happening with Clarke - he's the most developed player of his generation, so he is being ear-marked as the next captain, yet nobody seems to care that he's never captained a FC team. Giving the captaincy to your best player is how things are done in school cricket, not the way things should be done at this level.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Clarke didn't even captain Australia at U/19 level. Klinger definently skippered him at one stage, Clarke might have played another year of U/19s though.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I hate the whole thing about "Clarke being the next Australian captain so he can't be dropped" just because they think he's been the outstanding junior cricket-wise. Giving the captaincy to your best player (well, batsman) isn't always the thing to do - look at Ponting FFS!

Seems to me like if he can keep his place in the side, Katich would make a decent captain - doesn't seem the type to let his batting be affected, seems to think well about the game, doesn't say stupid stuff in the media, and has something of the Steve Waugh about his attitude, if not his batting ability.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Seems to me like if he can keep his place in the side, Katich would make a decent captain - doesn't seem the type to let his batting be affected, seems to think well about the game, doesn't say stupid stuff in the media, and has something of the Steve Waugh about his attitude, if not his batting ability.

Aye. But the captaincy can change some people. Ganguly has said far more stupid things to the media as captain than he did before. His character overall seems to have changed.

 

[sqwerty]

Sunny Gavaskar denied this on Aus TV last night (Inside Cricket - Foxtel)

Also, whilst there was an argument for selecting Sangakarra, particularly after the event, their second choice wicket-keeper was McMullan from NZ as Kumar's keeping had been "poor" in recent times.

Are you trying say McMillan with a kiwi accent?

.....or do you mean McCullum?

 

[social]

Are you trying say McMillan with a kiwi accent?

.....or do you mean McCullum?

Whatever.

Kiwi keeper was second choice not Kumar

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Another point in favour of Clarke is his ODI performance which has been world class so far throughout his career. He's played 50 odd games now, and averages mid 40s, which is very, very good.

It's true enough that the forms are different, but the selectors do tend to take both into account in some way or another when making selection decisions. Lee forced his way back into the side in the back of great ODI form. Symonds got a look in at the test team in Sri Lanka because he dominated Muralitharan in the ODIs. Clarke moved ahead of Hodge in the pecking order for the test team when Ponting was injured because he had been a solid member of the ODI team for a year. That's the way it works. If Clarke was a dismal failure in tests he would of course be dropped there regardless of his ODI performances, but the fact is that he's not been a dismal failure. He averages 40 odd, and was one of the better Austalian batsmen in the Ashes series. He's done enough so far to keep his place without excelling, just as Katich has. Katich however had a poor Ashes series and isn't a regular member of the ODI team (although he may become one with Hayden's retirement), plus he's 30, so he's under more pressure.

 

[JASON]

Whatever.

Kiwi keeper was second choice not Kumar

So the selectors came and told you did they ?

How did you make that out (that Sangakkara was not the second choice , but Mc Cullum ) ?

Its one thing to say thats your opinion , but another thing to imply that it was the selector's view point. An attempt at misrepresenting perhaps .

 

[howardj]

So the selectors came and told you did they ?

How did you make that out (that Sangakkara was not the second choice , but Mc Cullum ) ?

Because McCullum was retained in the wider 15 man squad, but Sangky was not.