26-10-2010
you know what that means?
2 months today until boxing day!
...and only 1 month to go until the first test!
so with that in mind i thought i should move away from high fashion and get back onto this blogs actual subject; CRICKET.
smarmy bastard Jimbo Anderson is reportedly 75% fit and bowling again after being beaten around the ring in the now not-so-secret training camp in Bavaria.
Sustaining a cracked rip in a boxing session, Anderson is still completely in the mix for the first test stated African Andy#1 (Flower). If the recovery process takes longer than expected, i would imagine that the undisclosed perp (Chris Tremlett) may not get a look in until his extra height and bounce is required in Perth. This by way of having his wrist slapped for what is clearly a bad judgement call for hitting Jimbo in the body when the obvious target is his smirky bonce!
African Andy#1 has also seen the need to side step KP's PP performance back at home (SA) in what was meant to be his get-back-to-form trip playing for Kwazulu Natal Dolphins. In 2 knocks KP made 36 in the first and in the second, only required the scorer to put a dot and then a 0.
Now i'm not going to join the queue of people saying KP is D.O.A- i like his exciting style, but if he fails to find form it is a BIG psych advantage given how well he played over here last time.
Pistol Pete hey-diddle-diddle is pushing hard for a test recall after banging up his back in January.
He has steadily increased his work load with the Bushrangers and is now lined up for the Sri Lankan short form games. For mine, it is also good to see Haddin back in this squad, one made up entirely of Vic's and NSW players... not a little retrograde ACB?... i mean CA.
The Redbacks must be wincing a bit at the moment with Cosgrove getting his considerable weight behind his good eye and belting 159 for Tasmania against Victoria. Called a chronic boombar last year and asked to leave Sth Oz, Cosgrove's innings has kept the Tigers in the mix against a Bushrangers side that appears well on the way to continuing last seasons successes.
Australia's batting Lazarus Matt Haydos Hayden has come out publicly saying he sees a lot of himself in Phil Hughes. Fair point, but for mine the only way Hughes can cement his place back in the side is to show that he has the technique and mental edge this summer against the Poms. Found suss against the mind games more than the lifting balls last time in Blighty, Hughes must dominate the touring quicks on tracks that he should be familiar with, but will also allow the ball to get big on him more if the England bowler continue on with their theory.
Pup is adamant he is up to the challenge of a full dance card for the summer and that is the best way for him to get back in the runs. So who should we blame if his back goes again? Or should Cosgrove get Pups spot if that situation arises?
you have been informed.
stoph verismo
down the wicket
I think Australia should take something from the India tour. We have never really gone well there and we were one wicket away from a series draw. Even Waugh's invincibles got done there.
ReplyDeleteThe worry though is the tailenders. Ponting seems to have no plan for them. He seems content to have the bowlers try to get them out every ball rather than line and length until they make a mistake. Batsmen are stupid, they will get themselves out, tailenders are not even as smart as batsmen.
I tend not to worry who will play and who won't from the opposition. We will face who we face. Which "spinner" we play is an interesting one with no obvious solution. Haury has done his dash. No bags on day five decks on the sub-continent is poor at best. I have never been impressed with him, he can't even contain which is an offie's bread and butter. Maybe we sat stuff it, forget the full time spin and bring in Ronald for some batting insurance too. North and Clarke can roll it over if needed. Clarke does have a 6/9 against his name after all.....
I prefer Paine for the gloves, especially if we bring in Ronald. He's young and keen and as clean as Haddin at the least.
I look forward to a cracker of a series that will possibly crap all over the last two away ones from the breezy comfort of my kilt.
YAY CRICKET!!
yeah, i don't think the result in India was particularly insitful, still, there are some issues around much of the side- it doesn't feel like a "team" and there are too many question marks hovering over too many people.
ReplyDeletePonting i doubt has any plans at all...just the next ball.
damn right about who the opps pick- player info included here just as information... and because i like the fact that one pom punched another and cracked a rib... ah, "those Germans have a word for everything!"
Haurys lack of 2nd innings wickets all up everywhere will hang over him forever. I enjoyed his inclussion back last summer here, but it really must be time to intensively train the next group of spinners for national use- Warne, i'm looking at you to get off your poker arse and commit to developing the future. it is one thing to have a crack at Punter saying he can't set a field to a spinner, but if Haury DID set all of those field that have proved so useless to him, then that is another facet that up and comming turners need to learn, and Shane YOU are the one that must teach it.
indeed Yay for comfortable cricket viewing, and YAY for the GAME!
Jesus you're really flogging the South African thing, do I sense fear or doubt? Certainly seems as though it's going to be a close call, but along with the South Africans we've got an Irishman you also need to worry about - Eoin Morgan, he's looking pretty much like the bloke that will more than replace Pieterson.
ReplyDeletenot really flogging it mate, i don't think it had been mentioned since your last comment. but given how well KP played last time here, and that Flower has made the point of mentioning that what happened in Natal shouldn't be taken into account as to where KP will be in this tour, i thought it news worth mentioning. which was all this post really was, a news report- all be it coloured in my normal ranting ways.
ReplyDeletein regard to fear or doubt; i would say that in my opinion, if KP found form, Ponting should fear that he doesn't have anything in his arsenal to negate his run scoring and remove him from the crease...but that will take form to forge that fear.
as for doubt; i'm a realist, i doubt australia can reclaim the ashes against an england side that looks like it has most of the boxes ticked. we look piecemeal at best and i have ZERO faith in punter as a captain.
i couldn't agree more about Morgan, and if he can continue to shine he has the potential to be a super star of the game; but time will tell that one.
one last point apropos sth african thing; stay tuned to DTW as the series starts, as we will unvailing our T-shirts that include comment regarding the sth african/england alliance. pix should be up of myself, lefty, nospmas and sledgey after day 3 of adelaide (when the road trip gets home.)
:-)
It's a pretty decent sized horse to flog MPA but in the end it is also irrelevant. The Aussies will play who walks out regardless of what nation they sprang from and the history books will show the same.
ReplyDeleteAustralia's one hope is it's massive potential for improvement. It's not like they are getting done playing at their best but having said that I think that "Blighty's" best, and I use that term loosely, is better than ours. It all comes down to who performs, and when.
Twenty three years without a series defeat is a big monkey to shake and so is a five zip flogging on their last nightmare here. Cricket is a game played mostly between the ears and this summer those ears will be filled with the sound of thousands of reminders of past failures. I expect somewhere close to 90,000 for the biggest day of the cricketing calendar.
it certainly will be the biggest day of the cricketing year. see new post.
ReplyDeleteThe inability to dismiss the tail has been a problem for Aus since Cardiff last year. It's not only in the last innings which is even scarier. You let 30 or 40 runs get added by the tail and they're runs you chase later in the test. Couple that with some pretty average 2nd innings batting and you're losing confidence very quickly.
ReplyDeleteFew Aus spinners have ever done well in India so I don't pay much attention to how Hauritz went there. Last summer he got a couple of 5 wicket hauls clearing up the tail so we know he can. My concern is that CA may give Smith a go but expect decent overs out of him which he isn't ready for. I agree that North is a bit better than a Hussey-type part-timer so maybe it's worth a gamble.
Morgan should become the best batsman in the English team. His technique is brilliant for a guy brought through limited overs cricket.
As a South Aussie and SACA member I am appalled and deserve compensation for decisions re lists for the Redbacks. Cosgrove is a great state batsman and being worried about his weight was the most short-sighted concern SACA have shown since they let Harris go to Qld. In the scorebook it never says what weight you were when you made a ton for gods sake. Klinger has had a shocking start with his batting and we're relying on guys like Christian to make the runs. SA will finish bottom of the shield table - let's see how many people care about 20/20 success when that happens!
It seems to me that we have missed a chance to re-invigorate the side prior to the Ashes and it's too important to blood young 'uns during it.
ReplyDeleteThere is much to be said about having a stable team going into an important series but I agree with Nospmas and reckon Payne should stay...if there isn't a decent spinner (Haury, no I am NOT looking at you) then rotten Ronny or Cam White would suit. Siddle bowled well today and although I dont llike his chances of playing in the first test, he will undoubtedly get his chance during the series.
North is on the edge and if he fails in the first test should be replaced.....does this mean he shouldn't be picked in the first place, being only one test away from being dropped?
Hussey should not be there right now.
Stoph: Ponting doesn't have any plans past the next ball??? sigh we are going to go through this again aren't we?
Fine, there should be questions asked but please DO NOT mention S. Waugh in the argument.
I am as always yours in Cricket.
Sledgey
Although this might be construed as Victorian bias I am all for dropping North and bringing in Cam White, who by the way should be Australia's 20/20 and one day captain. I don't think Clarke even warrants a spot in the 20/20 side.
ReplyDeleteHey Diddle Diddle has just finished a great innings bowling against the two heads and should slot back in for the first test. He has the angry eyes that the softies from Notubland find upsetting too.
yeah, White should be the short form Cap.
ReplyDeletenot sure if Hey Dids will make T1...hope so.
S.Waugh will be left out Sledgey, no point putting the greatest aus Cap in the muddy water.
Some might say Klinger has been found wanting now after his brilliant past; i think he may be heartbroken and wondering what he had to do to get a spot. didn't he have something like 960 runs before xmas?
if i was CA (clearly i am not) i'd hold out this season on Smith and get him working a bit harder for NSW, then WHEN Punter decides that having lost the Ashes again it is time to bow out, get Smith in under a Cap that understands spin.
Are you declaring Eng the Ashes victors, Stoph? Or are you referring to 2013 when Katich, Hussey and Ponting will bat in wheelchairs?
ReplyDeleteJust like Hughes will benefit from extended time playing for NSW, so too will Smith. I hope CA don't wreck this guy!
I just can't get behind White as a test player. He bats low for Vic and for a reason. I watched him destroy India's attack in the 2nd ODI but that's what he's good for. He's not a test number 6 for a crisis; nor is North in my view.
I love how Siddle goes about his business and the Aus wickets will suit his style but really Hilf, Johnson and Bolly are a lock-in I reckon. Out of the 3 Bolly is the only one needing to watch his back for Harris and Siddle. It's good to have a few bowlers to pick from. God knows there aren't many spinners.
Mt Lofty B grade are chasing 191 this Sat after bowling Happy Valley out the previous weekend. We're 0/12 after facing 11 overs last week. With some rain around it will be an interesting day's cricket and your truly will undoubtedly have some captaining headaches.
I just heard from "News of the World" that you guys got rolled for 57????? what???? bad lick brother, back to the nets hey!
ReplyDeleteYep, another woeful performance with the bat. Weird sort of day where we lost 15 wickets with probably only 4 of them being stupid shots where guys threw their wickets away.
ReplyDeletei am Lefty.
ReplyDeleteit is like volcanic bile in my throat as i say it, but we are going to lose for these reasons:
aus is not a cohesive unit- there are no "teams within the team".
we lack self belief
we are too sentimental and refuse to cast off the dead-wood.
Ponting is a world class batsman, but only a reactive captain- by the time he reacts, the horse has bolted!
eng have most bases covered in team positions
a desire to win over here
self belief
knowledge that aus are at best in turmoil, at worst disfunctional and disgrunted with many facets of team structure and support
As much as it pains me to say Stoph I fear you are right. Things would have to go so right for us to wrest back the urn and with all things considered that would actually be a bad thing for Australian cricket in the long run, if the selectors choose to stick with their current policies.
ReplyDeleteAs horrifically grotesque as it may sound Australian cricket needs the ignominy of losing a home series to the Old Dart to wake up and smell the java. The days of Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer and such who basically picked the side for you are gone and must be replaced by planning and forethought. The selectors must now tour full time with the side and actually watch all forms of the game including the lower tier stuff to gain a well balanced view before settling on the final side.
Some players lose the ability to play the game before they lose their passion for it. The time has come to wield the axe that has been sheathed for so long due to our legends standing down before their powers waned. Others are not granted that luxury. Sometimes it is just ability, and ability is fleeting. The golden era of Australian cricket where all it touched was gold has been replaced by the mere mortal realisation that gold is a luxury and victories are not a foregone conclusion. They must be planned for fastidiously and toiled for until the last ball is bowled.
Our super heroes are gone, leaving the mortals to play the game that looked so easy for more than a decade. The playing field has been evened and the entire world comes stalking for Baggy Green blood. Can the selectors do what is needed to keep them at bay?
I understand where you're both coming from but can't agree with you. Strauss has looked ordinary against left arm quicks, Cook is a hack - period, KP is, well, we all know how KP is at the moment, Broad is hot and cold, Anderson needs swinging conditions to be really effective. There's no doubt Eng will be very tough to beat but they can be beaten.
ReplyDeleteIn my view it may be home-ground advantage that gets Aus over the line but over the line I think we'll stumble. It may well prove to be one of the ugliest Ashes for a while with more attrition than expression but I think it's anyone's in theory and will come down to key moments like in Eng last year. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if we got done, I must say, but the Aus lineup is good enough to do the job me thinks.
By the way, Nossie you're writing is getting more and more eloquent - are you taking lessons bro?
If anything will get us over the line it will surely be the home soil factor Lefty. More for our batsmen than anything. Using our balls rather than the swing king Duke will help enormously too.
ReplyDeleteIt will be a cracker of a series that I think will be a shot in the arm for test cricket in this country.
And cheers for the compliment Lefty. My writing fluctuates between eloquent and effluent depending on my mood. No lessons just a lifetime of reading others work.