Ohhh-straya (Australian ICC 2008 story)

[Robertinho]

The year is 2008. Tim Nielsen is given the boot after a psychic glances into the future and foresees heavy losses against strong Indian and South African units. Robertinho Dela Cruz is given the important job of rebuilding the once-invincible powerhouse that is the Australian cricket side.

Tim Nielsen: didn't see that coming

First up: a tour of the sunny Caribbean. More to come.

 

[Robertinho]

The Australian squad for the West Indies tour was announced today and the message was clear: youth is the flavour of the month.

Old hands Langer, Gillespie and Macgill were shown the door to make way for some exciting young talent, with the likes of Western Australian batting dynamo Luke Pomersbach and Victorian speedster Peter Siddle joining the ranks. Despite the youth injection the probable starting eleven still maintains a familiar post-McGrath/Warne look, with the likes of Hayden, Hussey, Clarke, Lee and Clark all pencilled in. Ricky Ponting also retains the captaincy.

The big talking point was, as mentioned, the inclusion of the following new faces:

Luke Pomersbach - 23 years old [specialist batsman]
LHB, LM
At 23 years of age Luke has plenty ahead of him in terms of development and it is expected that he will one day lead the Australian batting attack and perhaps even captain the side. In first-class cricket he has managed 856 runs at a healthy average of 47, with 2 centuries to his name, and in one-day cricket has scored 270 runs at 24, a figure which he will no doubt hope to improve. Aggressive and a superb player of pace bowling, he is going to be suited to the bouncy Caribbean tracks and depending on form could make his Test debut. He is best suited to either opening the batting or coming in at number three.

Luke Butterworth - 24 years old [bowling allrounder]
LHB, RM
Yet another Luke, this one is hoped by many to be the elusive allrounder that Australia has long been searching for. Just 24 years old and with only 13 first-class and 33 one-day matches under his belt, Luke has barely tapped into his own talent and despite showing signs still has plenty of work to do to make it on the international stage. In the longer form of the game he averages 28 with the bat and 30 with the ball, and in the shorter version averages 16 and 33 respectively. Extremely unlikely to play any Tests given he is behind Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson in the all-rounder stakes, his spot on the tour is largely for developmental purposes.

Benjamin Hilfenhaus - 25 years old [specialist fast bowler]
RHB, RFM
Long talked about as a potential member of the Australian seam attack, Ben has ironically struggled with inconsistency consistently throughout his career. On one hand capable of taking his career best figures of 7/58, he is also just as likely to be totally ineffective with the ball and wicketless. The seamer-friendly West Indian pitches are considered a fantastic chance for Ben to hone his art and he could very well find a spot in the side.

Peter Siddle - 23 years old [specialist fast bowler]
RHB, RFM
Siddle exploded onto the domestic scene last year with an impressive haul of 24 wickets at 16.50 in the Sheffield Shield. These efforts did not escape the notice of the Australian selectors and he has been earmarked for a bright future. Troubling batsman with his pace and bounce, Siddle joins an impressive group of young fast bowlers all looking to fill the huge void left by the departures of McGrath and Gillespie over recent years and he will have many opportunities to do so.

Shaun Tait - 25 years old [specialist fast bowler]
RHB, RF
Possibly the fastest bowler in Australia Tait has been known around the traps since his rather unspectacular debut in the 2005 Ashes series. A classic 'slinger' Tait can generate good pace and can move the ball when he is on song. A very raw prospect at this moment he will spend time developing greater levels of consistency before he is unleashed on the big stage.

Mark Cameron - 27 years old [specialist fast bowler]
RHB, RF
You could say Mark Cameron has only recently come in from the wilderness. Forced to contend with the likes of Doug Bollinger, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken at New South Wales his performances are often forgotten. But the selectors have clearly seen potential and chosen the fast bowler to take advantage of the Caribbean wickets. As with many of the young bowlers he has a chance of playing in the Tests but it is a fairly slim one.

With only one spinner in Andrew Symonds, the squad is heavy on pace-bowling options to capitalise on what should be very bowler-friendly decks.

The tour kicks off with a three-day friendly against Guyana, with some new faces selected:

1. P Jaques
2. M Hayden
3. L Pomersbach
4. M Clarke (c)
5. S Katich
6. S Watson
7. B Haddin (wk)
8. M Johnson
9. P Siddle
10. B Hilfenhaus
11. M Cameron

 

[Robertinho]

Three day friendly vs Guyana

After a batting scare in the 1st innings, the Australian XI flexed it's bowling muscle in the second innings to overwhelm Guyana and storm to a 7-wicket victory in the lead-up to the opening Test match.

Having lost the toss on a bowling wicket and been sent in to bowl, the Australians took a while to get started, allowing the home side to build a solid foundation, reaching 1/113, a figure for which Ramnaresh Sarwan was largely responsible, the local hero scoring 73 before nicking one behind to Haddin off the bowling of Hilfenhaus. But after the Australians managed to break through the top three, wickets fell regularly and no other batsmen passed 50, but perhaps not regularly enough as Guyana managed to post 299 from their 99.2 overs, Sarwan top-scoring with his 73 and Johnson (3/61) and Hilfenhaus (2/45) the pick of the bowlers.

Guyana 299ao from 99.2 overs
Sarwan 73
Johnson 3/61
Hilfenhaus 2/45

In reply the Australians went about their batting very cautiously after Jaques (33), Hayden (23) and Pomersbach (22) all failed to capitalise on their starts and the visitors slumped to 3/87. The worst was yet to come, however, with none of the top order managing to post a score above 35. Things went awry very quickly and in quick time the Australians were languishing at 8/173. Mitchell Johnson (61*) and Ben Hilfenhaus (55) came to the rescue for the Aussies however, piling on 88 runs in their 9th-wicket partnership and taking them to within 2 runs of the Guyana total, Australia eventually all out for 297.

Australia 297ao from 119.4 overs
Johnson 61*
Hilfenhaus 55
Permaul 4/101

What followed was quite remarkable. In stark contrast to the confident batting performance in the first innings, Guyana lost both of their openers in the first three overs, both falling to Siddle, and from there never recovered. In just 24 overs some aggressive bowling from the Australians helped by a crumbling pitch saw the home side dismissed for an embarrassing 73 runs, with all the bowlers enjoying a share of the wickets, Hilfenhaus adding to his 2 first innings wickets and half-century with figures of 4/19, whilst Johnson and Siddle also took 2 wickets apiece.

Guyana 73ao from 24.2 overs
Hilfenhaus 4/19
Siddle 2/16
Johnson 2/23

The Australians made tough work of the run chase, struggling to 3/76 thanks largely to a dominant 55 not out from Phil Jaques that secured the 7 wicket victory. It was hardly a dominant performance with the bat but the Australians will be particularly pleased with their bowling, especially in the 2nd innings.

Australia 3/76 from 27.3 overs
Jaques 55*
Sarwan 2/25

Australia wins by 7 wickets

MotM went to Ben Hilfenhaus who had an impressive all round game, scoring a timely 55 and finishing the match with figures of 6/64, putting him in good stead for the 1st test.

 

[Robertinho]

Side named for 1st Test

The eleven for the opening Test was chosen today with few surprises. Australia will head into the game with a side that is quite different to the one seen against Guyana, with the likes of Ponting, Hussey, Clark and Lee brought back in. A noticeable absence however is Simon Katich, who has been omitted in favour of Phil Jaques after his impressive unbeaten half-century in the 2nd innings of the friendly. Tasmanian Ben Hilfenhaus was given the nod for the 4th bowler's spot after his demolition job against Guyana.

1. M Hayden
2. P Jaques
3. R Ponting (c)
4. M Hussey
5. M Clarke
6. A Symonds
7. B Haddin (wk)
8. M Johnson
9. B Lee
10. S Clark
11. B Hilfenhaus

 

[inbox24]

Pick Cam White and give him technique for bowling. Then bat him defensively for the first few tests in his career - goes on to average 45-50 with the bat and mid thirties with ball.

 

[Robertinho]

1st Test versus West Indies

The home side won the toss and elected to bat a wicket that looked like it was going to be hard to bat on. Chris Gayle and Devon Smith got the locals off to a quick start, bringing up the 50 in just twelve overs. The pair soon settled and reached lunch with both wickets in tact, the Windies looking comfortable with 105 runs for no loss of wickets. However straight after the break Lee struck, bowling Gayle for a fine 58. Soon after, Chanderpaul copped a Lee bouncer to the chest and had to retire hurt, but to their credit the home side remained unflustered and Sarwan picked up where he left off and set about making an innings. He and Smith were fantastic in their 133 run partnership, their strokeplay putting their side in a commanding position at 2/239 when Clark finally broke through and removed Smith for a fine 101. Sarwan had little support from here and played a lone hand, but still managed to finish with a rapid 152 from 207 balls, his innings instrumental in setting up the impressive total of 389 all out, Clark and Lee both taking 3 wickets each.

West Indies 389 all out
Sarwan 152
Smith 101
Lee 3/92
Clark 3/125

It was groundhog day for the Australians as they were saved in the end by some fantastic batting from the tail, and a composed innings from a man by the name of Brad Haddin. Although not totally hopeless the Australian top order was again shaky, and despite solid contributions from Hayden (53), Ponting (38) and Clarke (48), it produced very few runs and once again the tourists found themselves languishing at 6/192. Here, however, Haddin and Johnson combined in an immense 125-run stand to get the Aussies within striking distance. Unfortunately Haddin fell just 4 runs shy of his century, falling to a good caught & bowled from Emrit. However Johnson stayed firm and batted confidently with Lee and Clark and made a solid 58, taking the total once again 2 runs short of the opposition's first innings score with 387.

Australia 387ao from 150.5 overs
Haddin 96
Johnson 58
Sammy 5/123

With rain delays shortening the match, the Australians wasted no time getting stuck into the West Indian batting line up. Some sharp fielding from Clarke saw Gayle run out for 6 and then Clark and Lee took the top 5 wickets between them to condemn the Windies to a paltry 178 all out. Sarwan once again stood tall with a swash-buckling 60, and Lee (3/39), Clark (2/35) and Johnson (2/53) all bowled well.

West Indies 178ao from 55.3 overs
Sarwan 60
Lee 3/39
Clark 2/35
Johnson 2/53

The loss of 7 & 1/2 hours due to rain didn't help the Australians in their run chase, leaving them with just 26 overs to chase 181 runs for victory. They certainly went for it but unfortunately probably needed just a few more overs. Hayden led the charge with an aggressive 47 and was joined by Hussey (39), but ultimately runs were too hard to come by on a 5th day pitch and the tourists finished the day at 8/153, 28 runs shy of their target. Sammy topped off a wonderful game with a handy 3-wicket haul.

Australia 8/153 from 26 overs
Hayden 47
Hussey 39
Sammy 3/49

Match drawn

MotM went to Sarwan for his attacking innings of 152 and 60.

All in all the Australians will leave this game feeling a little hard done by. Their top order just couldn't perform and they were up against it after leaking 389 runs in the first innings. However their 1st batting effort and 2nd bowling effort were impressive and if they can replicate such feats they will be hard to stop.

 

[Jakester1288]

Will we see more?

Nice start.