Awesome. DTW is back, and Boxing Day is just around the corner. It's what we wait for from the final siren of the oval ball game. There has been the disappointment of missing Brisvegas for various reasons but every cloud has a silver lining. Had we ventured up QLD we would have missed a whole day play, much like Boxing Day of a couple back...
The last series posed more questions than it answered. Some of which I will list below.
1. Why was Hughes protected from SA and Quiney thrown to the wolves? He now gets to plunder junk runs against a T20 side dabbling in test cricket. He will get found out in the Old Dart and although he has worked on his technique I think when things get hard he will revert to carelessness to bail him out.
2. Why does Clarke continue to bat at five when his country needs him at three? Australia were three for not many so often he came in when a number three would anyway. This series is perfect for Clarke to cut his teeth at three and make it his. He doesn't bowl enough to use the Steve Waugh example and lets not forget Steve had his brother doing OK to justify it. When Clarke sent Ponting to four it should have been so he himself could bat at three.
3. Is Mitch Johnson back? The selectors bumped a few others to make room, has he been given the green light? He bowled well in Perth but was hardly deadly. I like the guy and would love to see him prosper but the other Mitch is better off with the opportunity at this stage.
4. Should Nathan Lyon say something to Warnie regarding his disrespect for all spinners in the country? Lyon is the quickest to fifty wickets of any offie and Warne makes out he would be a walk up start. Apparently he is bowling better than he has since he retired. I can only guess he retired because his bowling was going downhill so why would we want to step back six years?
5. Will Dave Warner make the fastest double tonne ever against SL? It's on the cards. I hope it's in Melbourne on day one.
And so these are my queries on the current state of Australian cricket. Certainly not all encompassing but nevertheless intriguing. I look forward to seeing most of you on the holiest of holy days. Lefty, get your phone set up for video chat as I will stream the first ball for you so you will see what we see.
if i was Lyon i'd just ignore Warne; he was the greatest, and wrongly denied the leadership, but he just looks like a skinny fatcat cashing in on T20 and getting belted for the coin (0/40+ off 2!).
ReplyDeletethe prospect of Warner doing that is nom nom nom- lip smaking, but i think unlikely as i think he is determined to show that he has the temperament for Test, and will only turn it on when the opportunity arises. then again, i've been wrong before.
Jonno/Starc- it should be Starc... but by golly gee you get a lot from Jonno: a sensation fielder, a competant bat, and bloody hell he can be exciting with the ball...but at a cost, and i think that is when is the risk with him, he is at his best when he is a hairs breath from being at his worst. Still, i like the improvement he made to his release position- more over the top, will prevent a lot of his wild sprays, but lessen the chances of slips catches.
surely it goes without saying that if you clock up SOOO many doubles in a year (and not out ones at that!) YOU are the #3, PERIOD!
i have zero time for Hughes, so no comment