***Official*** Top End Series

[Xuhaib]

Ali and Ahmed were in the preliminary squad so I think it's simply a case of ******** selectors.

Seriously man this is an awful awful attack. My interest in this series totally went off when i came to know that Jamshed and Anwar did not get picked and on top of that bowlers like Najaf Shah, Abdur Rauf and Riaz Afridi the consistent domestic performers got over looked.

Wasim Bari should be hanged for this sort of team selection .

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Haddin gets dropped, but reaches 50. 5/275 now, presumably approaching stumps.

Watson on 60* and Haddin on 51*. Partnership worth 109.

 

[adharcric]

The countdown to the ashes has begun.

Langer^, Hayden, Ponting, #4 Batsman, Hussey, #6 Batsman/Allrounder, Gilchrist, Lee, Warne, # 3rd Seamer/MacGill, McGrath^^

^ Jaques if Langer not fit
^^ Clark if McGrath not fit

There's your spots up for grabs for the Ashes.

Jaques, Cosgrove, Hodge, Watson, Tait are the 5 playing with a realistic shot at the undecided spots.

Watson batting and bowling well gives the selectors the MacGill fallback position which is important if McGrath doesn't make it up in time.

Agreed for the most part, but I don't think Cosgrove would debut in the Ashes as it's a rather big occasion. Besides, he's not exactly on fire in this tournament so far. The spot between Ponting and Hussey is a toss-up between Martyn, Clarke and Hodge for me. Watson should edge out Symonds for the all-rounder's position. McGrath is a certainty with Clark as cover. Then you have Warne, Lee and the 3rd seamer; that is a toss-up between Tait, Bracken, Gillespie (his batting is a factor as well) and Kasprowicz (at a wide-open level). I think Gillespie wins it unless Tait puts on a real show in this tourney.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

McGrath/Lee/Clark as an attack is certainly plausible, but I think the most likely thing right now would be McGrath/Lee/MacGill/Warne with Watson as cover. Clark or Gillespie would be the most likely pick if they want a third seamer, and given Clark's excellent performance in South Africa I doubt they'd be too worried about picking him along with McGrath. I don't think Tait, Bracken or Kasprowicz will play unless there's a terrible run of injuries. Gillespie will need to have a strong finish to the season with Yorkshire if he's going to put his name ahead of Clark, because he would certainly have dropped back a bit based on averaging 40+ for them so far.

The most likely side for the first test right now would be:

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Martyn
Hussey
Watson
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
McGrath
MacGill

Martyn could concievably be dropped based on his pre-Ashes performances if they aren't up to scratch, since he was already on the edge to start with, and Hodge has made a pretty strong claim in the Top End Series so far. It might come down to the Champions Trophy to see who plays out of Martyn, Clarke and Hodge, as strange as that sounds. The selectors have shown before that they will select based on ODIs if no test form is available to look at.

 

[NZTailender]

The countdown to the ashes has begun.

Langer^, Hayden, Ponting, #4 Batsman, Hussey, #6 Batsman/Allrounder, Gilchrist, Lee, Warne, # 3rd Seamer/MacGill, McGrath^^

^ Jaques if Langer not fit
^^ Clark if McGrath not fit

There's your spots up for grabs for the Ashes.

Jaques, Cosgrove, Hodge, Watson, Tait are the 5 playing with a realistic shot at the undecided spots.

Watson batting and bowling well gives the selectors the MacGill fallback position which is important if McGrath doesn't make it up in time.

Gillespie doesn't figure? One would think that Clark would also be automatic for 3rd seamers role and that other's like Tait or Gillespie would be vying for McGraths spot if he's not fit.

Number 6. Personally, I don't think Watson should be there yet. This obsession with trying to get our own Flintoff will backfire if we're not careful. The reason why Flintoff had such an impact in the Ashes was because he can contribute with both bat and ball if needed. He was the 5th bowling option, after 4 strong bowlers (Jones, Harmison, Hoggard and Giles). Jones is out for the ashes and Giles's is questionable(?). I feel that Flintoff will come into the role of either 3rd seamer or 2nd opening bowler, rather than 5th bowling option. Especially if he's the captain. Thus England's bowling attack is reduced from 5 strong bowlers from the Ashes compared to what they will probably field in Aus - 3 strong bowlers of Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff plus two newer players like Mahmood or Panesar. Form is also a question in regard to Hoggard and Harmison. I guess we'll have to wait and see how they perform vs Pakistan.
Anyway, we should be strengthening the batting, and not weakening it. A specialist batsman for number six is a must.

But who to make up those two roles of number 4 and number 6? Number 4 is really a choice between Martyn and Hodge. At this moment, I won't pick between either but it should be one of them as they have experience in this role and I can't think of any other number 4 batsmen to replace them.

Back to the number six batsman. It's either look forward or look back. Hand a batsman his first cap, like Cosgrove, use Jaques down the order instead of opening or go back to either Michael Clarke or Simon Katich. While I'd love Katich to be there ( ) he's far down the list I imagine so a sensible option would be Michael Clarke. In a way, it's still looking forward (as he's young) yet calling on his experience so far in test cricket. And if you want anyone to bowl part time, he's your man.

1. Hayden
2. Langer
3. Ponting
4. Hodge/Martyn
5. Hussey
6. Clarke
7. Gilchrist
8. Lee
9. Warne
10. Clark
11. McGrath

Reserves: Gillespie, Jaques, Cosgrove, Hodge/Martyn, Tait, MacGill (for Sydney).

My 2 cents...

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Whether or not Watson should be there, I think he will be. If McGrath is fit, they'll be looking to pick two spinners as much as possible as it is our safest option on most of the wickets in Australia. He's done very well so far in the Top End Series, and provided he gets through the Champions Trophy reasonably well and doesn't get injured, I think he'll play.

As long as he's batting well enough to justify his place, it's not a huge risk, and I think two spinners is Australia's strongest team in most conditions. As we've seen before, they'll only pick the two spinners with an all-rounder.

 

[Haddin]

Go Brad Haddin! I hope he doesn't get out, I wanna see him tommorow!

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Stumps then.

5/307, with Watson on 72* and Haddin on 68*, and the partnership at 141.

The spinners bowled 51 overs, so hopefully there's a bit for them in the pitch, and the Cullen's can do some damage tomorrow.

 

[adharcric]

For me ...

Langer, Hayden, Ponting*, Martyn/Hodge, Hussey, Gilchrist+, Watson, Warne, MacGill, McGrath, Lee
Reserves: Jacques, Clarke, Clark, Gillespie/Tait

 

[Great Birtannia]

Agreed for the most part, but I don't think Cosgrove would debut in the Ashes as it's a rather big occasion. Besides, he's not exactly on fire in this tournament so far.

One day form is irrelevant.

He has the runs on the board with his 05/06 Pura Cup season and his current form over in England. A 60 odd today won't hurt his chances.

 

[Great Birtannia]

Anyway, we should be strengthening the batting, and not weakening it. A specialist batsman for number six is a must.

Which would be why Watson comes in for Clarke.

Check the FC averages. Watson has Clarke covered.

When you limit it to Australian FC matches it is just embarassing. Watson's 42 to Clarke's 35.

 

[Great Birtannia]

For me ...

Langer, Hayden, Ponting*, Martyn/Hodge, Hussey, Gilchrist+, Watson, Warne, MacGill, McGrath, Lee
Reserves: Jacques, Clarke, Clark, Gillespie/Tait

I know the selectors pick Watson at 7 but it is a joke

He has a greater first class average than both Clarke and Symonds, who they put in at #6, yet they slot him into a spot where his batting style is not suited to.

 

[Xuhaib]

With this pace attack its no surprise that part time spinner Mohd Hafeez was the pick of the bowlers .

 

[Great Birtannia]

My main problem is that both Martyn and Clarke were dropped for not performing and recalled after doing NOTHING at FC level. Martyn averaged 26 ffs. Clarke played, I think, only the ONE FC game where he did score an unbeaten 200*. He didn't earn his original call up, he was selected on one day form, and then again they give him a golden ticket and again he fails. If he starts the Ashes we might as well give it away.

Sorry for the multi posts but it's too much of a pain to multi quote.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Which would be why Watson comes in for Clarke.

Check the FC averages. Watson has Clarke covered.

When you limit it to Australian FC matches it is just embarassing. Watson's 42 to Clarke's 35.

I don't think you can realistically claim that Watson is as accomplished as Clarke is right now with the bat, averages be damned. Watson has a great technique against pace bowling and his first class accomplishments are significant, but Clarke has several years of international experience in both forms of the game, and is a much better batsman than an average of 35 suggests. Watson has looked a bit out of his depth with the bat at times in international cricket, particularly against spin, and despite a number of opportunities (albeit not batting in ideal circumstances for a batsman of his style) he hasn't done a great deal.

Speaking as someone who is a big fan of Watson, he's simply not an equal replacement with the bat for Clarke, or Katich or anyone else who is likely to compete with him for the spot. He is however good enough to bat at number 6 in test cricket in the long term I think, and if he can also contribute in some way with the ball, even if it is just the odd wicket and some economical bowling otherwise, he will be a worthwhile choice over other batsmen who might be more likely to win games with the bat alone. Particularly as, fitness permitting, he has plenty of potential to improve.

 

[adharcric]

With this pace attack its no surprise that part time spinner Mohd Hafeez was the pick of the bowlers .

I think that was the case a few times during the BSNL Series as well ... pretty sad.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

My main problem is that both Martyn and Clarke were dropped for not performing and recalled after doing NOTHING at FC level. Martyn averaged 26 ffs. Clarke played, I think, only the ONE FC game where he did score an unbeaten 200*. He didn't earn his original call up, he was selected on one day form, and then again they give him a golden ticket and again he fails. If he starts the Ashes we might as well give it away.

Sorry for the multi posts but it's too much of a pain to multi quote.

Clarke was indeed selected on one day form and potential to begin with, but I don't see how you can say he has "failed again". He's only played two tests against Bangladesh, and it's a bit ridiculous to write him off on that alone. He had a better Ashes series than a few other Australian batsmen (Gilchrist, Katich, Martyn, and probably Hayden too), and then played well on those few opportunities he got in domestic cricket before his recall. He might not start the Ashes if they go for two spinners, but he should be in line to bat at 6 if they don't pick Watson, for mine. There's no point in giving a guy a recall only to have him play two matches and be dropped again.

 

[adharcric]

One day form is irrelevant.

He has the runs on the board with his 05/06 Pura Cup season and his current form over in England. A 60 odd today won't hurt his chances.

Yeah I forgot about that. Still, I don't see him making a debut in The Ashes.

 

[andyc]

Great recovery from these two from 5/166. Hopefully Watson can post a big score, cause I wouldn't really mind seeing him in the team over Clarke.

The following line up would be ideal for mine:

Langer
Hayden
Ponting
Hodge (preferably)/Martyn
Hussey
Watson
Gilchrist
Lee
Warne
MacGill/Clark
McGrath

That said, there are stronger batsmen in Australia than Watson (Jaques, Cosgrove), so if MacGill isn't playing (though he should), there's a strong case for one of them to come in instead.

 

[Natman20]

When was the NZ A vs IND A starting? I read that it was starting today in the schedule.