because if i don't say it, you don't know it!

watching the cricket show i found the Ricky Ponting interview interesting. I've been going for his throat a bit over the last 18 months- although i do recall asking why he can't step down as captain but remain in the team if he is making runs, what is overall a very unAustralian thing given captains retire or are 'not selected' sorry Bill!

in the interview he was very candid about his place in the side, what it meant to step down and his belief in himself to continue contributing. Most interesting were his thoughts regarding players 'knowing' when it was time to retire...and that he hasn't felt that yet, so he continues to train harder than ever.

Much is made about converting good scores into tonnes but i just don't buy into that. I didn't when Watson was making consistent scores over 50 and everyone said he NEEDS to go on. Why? i'll take a batsman that you can pencil in 60 runs -but no more- every innings over an uncertainty. And i feel the same about Ricky. He is nearly always good for 70 odd runs, well THAT is good enough! If the whole top order did that every time without a century you'd win every match! it is THAT simple. the "value" of 3 figures is purely a construct of the imagination and statistician.

so for mine Ponting can stay on in his current form, the bigger question is what we do about being a bowler short?
Clarkes bowling changes have been good, but his options are limited, and i believe will be shown up more against the batting quality of India. Obviously Watsons return is critical, but will that be enough? 3 seamers, and all rounder and Lyon?
Watsons return and the need for him to be able to send down 20 overs an innings MUST see Usi open and Watto in the lower middle order. Otherwise he will continue to spend more time on the physio table than the field and we can't afford that when we need his 60 odd runs an innings too.

so there you go, stoph verismo has spoken, so you are now better edjumacated!

2 A's and a B gives Watto 2nd AB

Surely Shane Watson was an unbackable favourite for last nights AB medal.
The Glams, glitterati and paparazzi were in effect turning up only to honour his terrific consistency, and to see who came 2nd.

Taking top votes in Test and ODI and runner up to D.Hussey in T20 it was too easy for Watto to back up last years win.

I suppose an advantage of being so favored is being able to prepare your acceptance speech. Watson certainly showed he had his achievements in perspective with his acknowledgment that, "...being able to stay on the field was its own reward."

Well done Watto, you were a light in the dark days of the Test summer, and fully deserve this accolade.

Let's get serious.

OK Boys, instead of picking apart the selectors after they have announced the team I thought I would take the chance to get shouted down (or not) and name my 12 for Brisbane.
Note:
Katich is picked if his thumb is ok, if not Jaques comes in.
No specialist spinner on this deck for me, White can handle 10 - 15 overs a day if needed.
If Bollinger is unfit McKay comes in.

1. Katich
2. Hughes
3. Clarke
4. Khawaja
5. Ponting (C)
6. Watson
7. White
8. Haddin
9. Siddle
10. Hilfenhaus
11. Bollinger

12. Smith

Lay down Aussie... or you smash my bouncer, here's another bouncer!

Who knows what i'm thinking?

Well, if it rhymes with, "Why would you constantly bowl short balls (many too slow or going down leg side or wide!) when they keep getting hit for boundaries?" you'd be spot on.

Now there are many fine deliveries that can be bowled in cricket and the bouncer is one of them. And, rubbish balls do get good batsmen out, but good balls are needed to get tailenders out. Malinga and Mathews last night proved that not enough thought is going into strategy within our bowling squad... and that clearly that part of the team will let their frustration override their focus on their task!

Siddle and Hastings just kept banging them in too short (it is bloody hard to slog a yorker to the boundary boys!) Jonno continued going too far across and away to the right handers- if you are going to negate the possibility of LBW, why not mix it up a little Mitch and come around the wicket?

Watson bowled a better line and length, but was still a tad short to allow the subtle movement he was getting to come into play, therefore, ineffective.

Smith was ridiculously under used particularly when the 2 right handers were taking a long handle to everyone else! If your back was sore too (like Marsh) what the hell is going on with our conditioning coaching?

Doherty... well, what a first few overs he had; he won us the game with his run out and 4/15... but wait a minute...

It is easy to be critical from the sidelines...so i will continue to be!
Pup, if Smith is landing them, bowl him (to r/h tailenders particularly!).

Hastings, what the hell are you even there for!??!!!??

We all know the score wasn't enough, so the batting squad needs to get a full length mirror too!

I said Doherty won us the game, and without a doubt he opened the double doors, not by getting Sangakarra out (he got himself out, even though it was a good ball), but by getting the other wickets that pushed Sangakarra into that mindset that produced such a shot. For mine, Kumar looks very complete (again) this season and will be difficult to contain- i doubt he'll throw it away like that in the next 2 games!

I thought the plan was to get a couple of wins under the belt to build momentum before the cricket season started... when you give away a game like that, i'd imagine Australia just put ALL of the pressure back on themselves for the rest of the season!
Does Australia need a repeat of the Montreal Olympics (no success) to revamp every facet of its cricketing structure? I hate losing, but if it takes a summer of no joy to shake things up, so be it, because last night SUCKED!

stoph verismo
down the wicket


p.s Congrats Malinga on your best ODI score. you had fun, took us on, and won...a good night out.

Haury, stay where you are!

What a crushing and resounding win to the NSW team last night... w-w-w-well, d-d-d-done; sorry hard to say for someone that lives in the state that last (aus) season had the best cricket team in the country. i say best not because we only one the format that counts, but because the Vics were in everything at the end, and so should be considered the best team over-all. But that was last year, and counts for diddly now!
And last night, it counted for less as they were out played at every level.

Stand out point for mine last night was N. Hauritz, and Kats faith in having him bowl at the other end of the opening bowling pair.
Others finished with better figures, but Haury had done the job in his first 2 overs by taking out the opening batsmen for ducks. You could almost hear Kat thinking, "thank you Nathan, you've crushed their spirit, the others will take it from here mate!" We all know Haury is very effective at slowing things right down and creating excellent pressure for his bowling partner, will he finally get the chance to work through a series without fear of drinks carrying- unlikely as it is he would bowl in Perth! Let's hope he continues and gives a bit to the Indians for the up coming ODI series.

Bret Lee must have thought he was staring in 'A Christmas Carol', because he was tighter than Scrooges purse strings! (4-O, 1-M, 2/15). Although Moises Henriques might like that title too- 3-O, 0-O, 3/11! If in the future Watson is kept as an opener- on performance i see no reason why not- we may be looking at the new national all-rounder.

finally, with the NSW openers (Hughes and Werner) taking on everything- and coming up trumps- the selection process for other formats retains its intrigue with the youngsters getting up some momentum, and showing their desire for representation.

(Cameron) White wash on the cards

I've had a bit of a ridiculous schedule of late, so there is no way i've been able to (or really wanted to) stay up for the ODI's against, but i have caught most of the replays; a better option at the moment. Watching last night some things became obvious.

The few things that have stood out are:
The different crowds at the ODI's compared to the tests. At the tests there is crowd applause for good cricket, regardless of the country. At these games you can hear the tumble weeds rolling down a road three blocks away when Aus get a wicket. While this is not particularly unusual anywhere in the world, i don't think i've ever heard such silence! It seems all of the Aussies in London left when the GEC kicked in!

England's fielding has been sub-par, and the replay last night highlighted this and made me think the result could have been somewhat different. Dropped catches -yeah, you Bresnan, what a sitter!- and Anderson's TWO failed run outs; not close calls- missed opportunities!

Of course there is the poor batting throughout the order too- apart from their imports (nice reverse sweep Morgan). Do Australia have any plan for Strauss?

On the flip side, Aus are looking solid. White should fight Punter for the #3 spot as it gives him even more time to create a big innings without having to belt it out of the park further down the line up. Can Ponting be persuaded to come in at 4? He must feel happy stepping back in at 3-0 up!

Talk on cricinfo is of the possibility of a 7-0 whitewash (or White-wash, if he stays at 3!). Who cares, one more, get the series, and then if we clean up, reflect further on what a waste 7 games is. It will be one more nail in the English 50 over game if Australia win the next game/series, no one turns up for the last three games and the ECB end up in deficit for the series!


Finally, i think most of us here -certainly myself- have had to eat a large slab of humble pie (with cockles and eel) in regard to Watson. Not only is he staying fit, but he is bowling efficiently, getting wickets and appears to be playing with a lot of heart: maybe too much as he looks totally gutted and on the verge of tears when hit for four! Maybe transferring his batting poker face (deals well with a bowlers lip and rot) over to his bowling.

stoph verismo
down the wicket

Hughes blues

Hughes out, Watson in!
It is only an unofficial report, but there it is.

What do you reckon?
Can Hughes rebound? Sure he is young enough, that is not what i mean, but how will this affect his confidence given his form leading in... until England publicly announced they had him "sor'ed", and then proved it.

Further more, can Watson get through the 5 days? A rhetorical question as i know most of think he can't.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25856440-601,00.html

tour match musings

What is wrong with this picture?
Obviously the first problem is Johnson, great last summer -time for a rest from the side and some work with the skills coach. Period! Don't muck around with this CA, Do it NOW!


1st innings:
Hughes 10
Watson 84

SR Clark 14 overs 2 m 2 for 45
MG Johnson 7 overs 0m 0 for 42
SR Watson 5 overs 0m 2 for 20

2nd innings:

batting good

PJ Hughes 68
AB McDonald 75
SR Watson 50
GA Manou† 59


SR Clark 9 overs 1 m 2 for 29
MG Johnson 11.1 overs 1 m 1 for 65
SR Watson 10 overs 3 m 1 for 34
AB McDonald 11 overs 5 m 4 for 15

Good to see Hughes get his head together for the 2nd knock; we know he is a real talent, but it is a worry that he has let the focus on him affect his game.

A good "shoot out" between Watson and Ronnie.
Watson: aggregate- 3 for 54, and 134 runs
Ronnie: aggregate- 4 for 38, 107 runs

While these are just the basic stats, makes for 'interesting' contemplation, don't you think? And some extra decisions for the selectors.

Funnily, i heard a rumour yesterday that there was some talk from the selectors that Siddle may be overlooked to get Clark back in, as they don't want 2 of the same.
How stupid would that be? To me they are quite different bowlers with very different roles. And if Siddle was to be dropped at the moment, i would suggest some serious email bombing of CA... i know i will be!

stoph verismo
down the wicket

got something to say?

SLEDGING
A dirty word to some, a tactical element to others; and it is back in the media.

S.Watson has come out and called for this part of Australia's game -that has fizzled out of general use almost as fast as player integrity- to come back to the fore.
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=840865

But will it have an effect if used in the next test when it will be seen as so obviously a contrivance?
If Australia just walk out and start up being lippy, won't it just come across as a big put on to build up their own confidence?

It was one thing for CA to state (to the team) that players must be seen as role models; it is another to limit the teams ability to win. I'm not condoning a "win at all costs" attitude, i think everyone here will appreciate my sense of sportsmanship, but until talking to the opposition becomes outlawed, what is wrong with getting in to some ones head?

There are already rules to safeguard against racial vilification (although clearly only to be used against, not for Aussies!), so if a player can say something that is not vulgar, what is the problem?

The rest of the worlds whinging about Australia past use of sledging is quite frankly pathetic!
As the request was, 'make sure you know where the line is' from CA, what would be the issue in reminding Freddy that his bung knee is the result of having to carry his over sized ego? Or suggest to KP that he made a good decision moving to Blighty for a game as he would still be lucky to get a spot in RSA behind Prince and Duminy. Onions and onions make the rest of England cry... etc.

Until there are laws preventing on field verbal gamesmanship (let's hope this is NEVER the case), open slather i say!
That being said, if i was playing in the next test, i'd just ease into it just so as not to look like we needed it.

stoph verismo
down the wicket

It's elementary dear Watson

How many chances does Andrew Symonds get, or warrant?
After not setting the world on fire playing for Queensland he was brought straight back into the bosom of the 1st 11. The reason given? He was in good form last time he played for Australia...
Never mind that he was averaging in the mid teens with the bat and had only taken 1 wicket in several games.
His batting in the 2 tests against New Zulland were no improvement, neither was his bowling.
Bottom line: He took a couple of nice catches, thats about it.

What was Watson doing during this time?
Other than gnashing his teeth and trying to grow dredlocks?
Most recently he was quietly taking 7/69 against a South Australian side including Younis Khan, (match figures 8/120) and scoring 81 in the 2nd innings.
Nuff said.

It may seem that I am "Symonds bashing" again but I do love to see him play... and reckon that he is one of the top 2 or 3 all-rounders in the world when he is in top form.
Rather, if anything, I am "CA bashing" why?
The Australian side would be a better, more polished, in form, resourceful side with Shane Watson as the All Rounder.

Ponsford.