The Australian cricket non-official thread!

I had 2/7 and was short on Smith by 89 runs.

I feel so flat though, everything that was good about us in tests 1-3 seemed to disappear. Playing for spin instead of playing the line, moving our feet, catching and patience!!

Several players can hold their heads high, long tour in trying conditions, both physically and mentally. Maybe fatigue set in?

So close yet so far but being so close to one of the great under dog performances feels so empty, like we lost 4-0.

At least this holds this young squad in good stead for future series.
 
The contributions of Warner (193 runs @ 24.23), Renshaw (232 @ 29), Shaun Marsh (151 @ 18.88) and Handscomb (198 @ 28.29) probably leave us with more questions than answers in my opinion.

If even one of those players had mirrored the consistency of KL Rahul, I believe we'd be looking at an Australian series victory. It is "Smithy or bust" and the worry will come when either form, injury or mental fatigue affects the skipper. Glenn Maxwell's second coming as a Test batsman is promising - however if Smith refuses to trust Maxwell's bowling, then he may as well bat at No. 5.

Oh, and here's an idea - let your No. 6 batting all-rounder a. be of at least MEDIUM pace and b. give the poor bastard a fair go with the ball!!
 
Matty76 said:
Oh, and here's an idea - let your No. 6 batting all-rounder a. be of at least MEDIUM pace and b. give the poor bastard a fair go with the ball!!
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Or stick with khawaja that did not too much wrong in the Australian summer season of test at 3. Push smith back to 4 and then pick either maxwell or Shaun marsh
 
Keatoboy said:
So I decided to try my hand at something I've been interested in a while last night.. sports writing! Here's my first article for The Roar. Feel free to let me know what you think! Cheers :)

http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/03/30/smith-vs-kohli-clashing-captains-contrasting-styles/
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Geez I dunno....you blokes in the media!! :-)

You need a nickname now - "Crash" Bond doesn't roll off the tongue so get your thinking cap on!

Your command of the English language and your sentence construction makes for easy reading! I like how you replied to the critics in the comments section too.
 
Matty76 said:
Geez I dunno....you blokes in the media!! :)

You need a nickname now - "Crash" Bond doesn't roll off the tongue so get your thinking cap on!

Your command of the English language and your sentence construction makes for easy reading! I like how you replied to the critics in the comments section too.
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Well I won't be replying to them anymore!! Some of the nonsense is too stupid to waste my time on!
 
I've been coaxed out of retirement [I did have a bit of a sulk too] but as the summer ends and the cricket kits get put away for footy season (well...there's always County Cricket, but I'm too old for that!), I'd just like to say that 1-2 result in India is stunningly good. To think where we were as a team in Hobart, the Aussies are certainly getting it together. There's still those collapses but seeing India lose by 300+ runs is something you don't see often in India. We certainly squandered the second test IMHO and saved the third. To be alive going in to the 4th test 1-1 was wonderful. That we lost is a bit of a LOL as 2/3 of results suited Australia.

And yes...I'll even give M Wade some credit. I still think he has his 'moments' but he certainly muscled up. Keeping was adequate, tough conditions and I thought he'd fail spectacularly, but he didn't.

I don't want to sound like I'm turning my attention to someone else, but D Warner's overseas record really is a worry. I think I read it's 33 or something, 28 if you take his South African century out. Unless it's a road, he just can't play spin, swing or movement.

Am loving Renshaw and Handscomb...they just need a little more maturity and I'm sure they'll be solid behind Smithy. Still 2 bats short IMHO. Maxwell's ton was great but I dunno why they didn't bowl him more. Starc and Hazlewood are out and out stars and it was a beautiful sight to see P Cummins tearing in. Wow! Five years inbetween tests but he hadn't missed a beat. The Ashes will be great if those three paceman and Pattinson are all fit and firing.
 
Welcome back mate - your input has been missed.

I think your summary of the series is spot on - it is interesting to see that the heat is definitely coming for David Warner. Kerry O'Keefe is of the view that it is a technical flaw that is at the corner of Warner's overseas struggles - one that he will find very difficult to change on wickets that don't possess "true" bounce like in Australia. He also added that we can't on one hand delight in the good and then condemn the bad with Warner's batting. That said, I'm not entirely sure how beneficial it is for young Renshaw's development to bat with such a risk taker as an opener.

The County Championship will soon be getting underway - Australians playing this year include George Bailey (Hampshire), Adam Voges (Middlesex), Aaron Finch (Surrey), Peter Handscomb (Yorkshire), Cameron Bancroft/Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire), Mark Cosgrove/Clint McKay (Leicestershire), Peter Siddle (Nottinghamshire) and John Hastings (Worcestershire). Its always a good competition to follow, due to the remarkable comebacks and collapses that so often feature.
 
Matty76 said:
Welcome back mate - your input has been missed.

I think your summary of the series is spot on - it is interesting to see that the heat is definitely coming for David Warner. Kerry O'Keefe is of the view that it is a technical flaw that is at the corner of Warner's overseas struggles - one that he will find very difficult to change on wickets that don't possess "true" bounce like in Australia. He also added that we can't on one hand delight in the good and then condemn the bad with Warner's batting. That said, I'm not entirely sure how beneficial it is for young Renshaw's development to bat with such a risk taker as an opener.

The County Championship will soon be getting underway - Australians playing this year include George Bailey (Hampshire), Adam Voges (Middlesex), Aaron Finch (Surrey), Peter Handscomb (Yorkshire), Cameron Bancroft/Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire), Mark Cosgrove/Clint McKay (Leicestershire), Peter Siddle (Nottinghamshire) and John Hastings (Worcestershire). Its always a good competition to follow, due to the remarkable comebacks and collapses that so often feature.
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Don't forget Travis Head has re-signed for Yorkshire for the T20 comp!! :)
 
James Pattinson has played a starring role for Nottinghamshire in their opening match of the 2017 county season. He took 3/55 in Leicestershire's first innings, hit 89 not out to rescue Notts from 7/167, then took 5/29 in the second innings! I will try to update you all with how the Australian players go in the championship matches on a weekly basis :-)

In other news, Steve O'Keefe must surely now be on his last warning, following his horror incident at the Steve Waugh Medal night. I think it was netballer Sharni Layton on Sports Sunday (Channel Nine) this morning who said quite rightly that in other professions, his contract would have been terminated immediately.
 
Happy Easter everyone! Here's a picture of the Easter GOAT :goat:


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I feel a bit like Richie during a rain delay on one of the 12th Man albums ("in desperate attempt to stop you all switching over to the golf..:-) ), but thought that as there is bugger all international action to speak of, that we should nevertheless keep things moving here!!

Below are three statements - I won't say what side of the fence I am on until perhaps this time next week - and I hope that you might reply with an opinion on them. Looking for either "agree" and a reason, or "disagree" and a reason. I guess the main rule is: don't argue with other members :-)

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.
 
Matty76 said:
I feel a bit like Richie during a rain delay on one of the 12th Man albums ("in desperate attempt to stop you all switching over to the golf..:) ), but thought that as there is bugger all international action to speak of, that we should nevertheless keep things moving here!!

Below are three statements - I won't say what side of the fence I am on until perhaps this time next week - and I hope that you might reply with an opinion on them. Looking for either "agree" and a reason, or "disagree" and a reason. I guess the main rule is: don't argue with other members :)

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.
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1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

Enticing, but too physically demanding on players. Couple that with the struggle we see players have switching between formats and our first XI could suffer.

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

I like Hawk-Eye but it definitely could use some fine tuning.

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.

Interesting! I think most teams abide by it at its core, but players are evolving the 'spirit of cricket' in to something with more entertainment value (intimidation etc)

Great idea Matt! :)
 
Matty76 said:
I feel a bit like Richie during a rain delay on one of the 12th Man albums ("in desperate attempt to stop you all switching over to the golf..:) ), but thought that as there is bugger all international action to speak of, that we should nevertheless keep things moving here!!

Below are three statements - I won't say what side of the fence I am on until perhaps this time next week - and I hope that you might reply with an opinion on them. Looking for either "agree" and a reason, or "disagree" and a reason. I guess the main rule is: don't argue with other members :)

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.
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Good questions, it'll be very interesting to read everyone's responses.

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

Disagree. I think it's pretty good as it is - no need to interfere with the international season, and I think with the players' workloads being so high these days adding Big Bash to their schedule wouldn't be a great idea. And the quality of play isn't exactly poor right now as it is.

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

Disagree. Hawkeye has led to a lot more eventual correct decisions than there would have been without it. Is it perfect? Probably not, but how many big controversies has it really led to? DRS with Hawkeye is significantly better than DRS without Hawkeye for mine.

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.

Disagree on both parts. The Spirit of Cricket is the most important part of the game for mine, and it's disappointing for mine that more people don't take it more seriously. New Zealand are pretty close to embodying it, I reckon. However off the top of my head I can't think of another country who really consistently plays within the Spirit of Cricket, sadly.
 
Well, never let it be said that I am short.....of an opinion! :-)

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

In retrospect, it's probably not as big a problem as I thought when I posed the question. Warner, Smith, Lyon and Starc are the players who would most likely have minimal involvement in the Big Bash when it coincides with home Test matches (next season's Ashes, for example). Given their importance, it's not a bad thing I guess!

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

Whether it is cricket, tennis, AFL, NRL or soccer, I do not support decision-making technology which offers an educated guess of what might happen. The Hawk-Eye creator has admitted that it is not 100% accurate, and the in-built "umpire's call" rule is in direct contradiction with the actual LBW law itself. Snicko, hot spot and the tram line/ball tracking tools are excellent, but I can't cop a "prediction" which shows an off-spinner clipping the outside corner of a leg bail!! :-)

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.

From the days of WG Grace - "they've paid to watch ME bat, not YOU bowl" - cheating and the game of cricket have gone hand in hand. I have maintained on this forum for a while that the ICC have been (until now) gutless and irresponsible in regards to on field conduct, supporting umpires and punishing poor player behaviour.

The "Spirit of Cricket" sounds lovely, but I do not know of one international team who does not either a. appeal excessively, b. aggressively appeal for dismissals that they know are not out or c. sledge opponents.

The Australian "Spirit of Cricket" preamble followed the spiteful 2003 tour of the West Indies (McGrath/Sarwan etc) and in my opinion was purely a PR stunt designed to "prove" that the national team was attempting to change its behaviour.
 
Matty76 said:
Well, never let it be said that I am short.....of an opinion! :)

1. The Big Bash should be held in a window of its own, whereby ALL Australian players are available for selection by the various franchises.

In retrospect, it's probably not as big a problem as I thought when I posed the question. Warner, Smith, Lyon and Starc are the players who would most likely have minimal involvement in the Big Bash when it coincides with home Test matches (next season's Ashes, for example). Given their importance, it's not a bad thing I guess!

2. The Decision Review System should NOT use Hawk-Eye for its deliberations as it provides a "guesstimate" only and does not use exact science.

Whether it is cricket, tennis, AFL, NRL or soccer, I do not support decision-making technology which offers an educated guess of what might happen. The Hawk-Eye creator has admitted that it is not 100% accurate, and the in-built "umpire's call" rule is in direct contradiction with the actual LBW law itself. Snicko, hot spot and the tram line/ball tracking tools are excellent, but I can't cop a "prediction" which shows an off-spinner clipping the outside corner of a leg bail!! :)

3. The "Spirit of Cricket" is largely a politically-correct farce which no current international team abides by.

From the days of WG Grace - "they've paid to watch ME bat, not YOU bowl" - cheating and the game of cricket have gone hand in hand. I have maintained on this forum for a while that the ICC have been (until now) gutless and irresponsible in regards to on field conduct, supporting umpires and punishing poor player behaviour.

The "Spirit of Cricket" sounds lovely, but I do not know of one international team who does not either a. appeal excessively, b. aggressively appeal for dismissals that they know are not out or c. sledge opponents.

The Australian "Spirit of Cricket" preamble followed the spiteful 2003 tour of the West Indies (McGrath/Sarwan etc) and in my opinion was purely a PR stunt designed to "prove" that the national team was attempting to change its behaviour.
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Interesting, some food for thought! On Hawkeye - I feel it's one of those things where it'll lead to a string of correct decisions and then there's a controversial one where there's a ton of debate and criticism, and people forget all the good it's done. Kind of like it never has any credits in the bank. One thing that is for sure is we're going to be debating this for a fair while longer!

With regards to the Spirit of Cricket, do you think that there should be a greater emphasis on it in international cricket? For example, should there be an incentive to abide by it? How about a system where after each match the umpires rate the teams on their conduct and the team with the best rating after each year gets a financial reward?
 
I reckon it should be incorporated into deciding the world rankings at the end of each year mate! Each type of penalty handed down during the calendar year could be weighted and result in a points deduction, series by series or match by match. I also think that repeatedly fining players a percentage of their match fee is outdated and it is why I like the way the AFL do it with the "carry over" points system.

If you get fair dinkum with one player, the rest will fall in to line fairly quickly!
 
Matty76 said:
I reckon it should be incorporated into deciding the world rankings at the end of each year mate! Each type of penalty handed down during the calendar year could be weighted and result in a points deduction, series by series or match by match. I also think that repeatedly fining players a percentage of their match fee is outdated and it is why I like the way the AFL do it with the "carry over" points system.

If you get fair dinkum with one player, the rest will fall in to line fairly quickly!
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I really like those ideas too - there's clearly ways the ICC could deal with it, so let's hope they get serious about it soon.
 
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Okie dokie! Time for round chew...
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1. Mark Taylor has been Australia's greatest Test captain since the retirement of Allan Border in 1994, and his legacy remains criminally undervalued.

2. In the modern "batsman-friendly" era, a Test average of 60+ is the actual mark of greatness, instead of an average of 50+.

3. Australia will not win a Test series in England or India for at least another twenty years.
 
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