Boxing Day Test Teams?

Warney said:

my favourite part of the day was when stumps were called and the painful day of cricket was over...

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+1 to that. Steve Smith looked promosing with the ball a bit expensive but he troubled Strauss.

kingjack said:

+1 to that. Steve Smith looked promosing with the ball a bit expensive but he troubled Strauss.

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I wouldn't call Smith expensive, especially after watching Mitchell Johnson.

Well today was proof Perth was a fluke...

Hughes has got to go!!! Sorry walshy...

Awful performance by the Australians today.

Hopefully we can salvage some pride, but I think the Ashes are staying in England.

The worst days cricket in my life time! Oh well can't be any worse tomorrow! Glad I'm not paying for my tickets each day!

Wheeldude said:

Well today was proof Perth was a fluke...

Hughes has got to go!!! Sorry walshy...

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Nah, give him some faith, no one believes in him and at 22 opening in the boxing day test full ground. Ashes decider - this might make you a bit nervous.

and what's the excuse for the last test match Jack?

Warney said:

and what's the excuse for the last test match Jack?

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No excuse, every player has poor games.

walshy said:

Nah, give him some faith, no one believes in him and at 22 opening in the boxing day test full ground. Ashes decider - this might make you a bit nervous.

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Plus the 12 other failed innings. I say keep him for his confidence. Get his confidence rising then hopefully so will his runs.

Hope so, although you can't blame it all on Hughes, he scored the second most runs.

walshy said:

No excuse, every player has poor games.

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but do you play a 22 year old player who was out of form in Shield Cricket in such an important game? No! Experience is the key for THESE games.. Give him a go in the upcoming test series next year! That's his experience. Then by the next Ashes series he WILL be ready to go..

But who is scoring runs at opener in shield cricket? A few years ago we had a glut of openers scoring a gazillion runs in shield cricket and some of them couldn't get starts. How many huge seasons did it take before Hayden got a chance? Then got dropped and then came back.
Unfortunately Australia need an answer and Hughes has potential and Australia just may need to suck it up with him at the top of the order to get him more test match experience.
It's rough that the guy on standby for Ponting is Khawaja and exactly what has he done lately?

well Robinson and Davis have both made runs for WA, not sure about the other states though..

Cricket Records | Records | Sheffield Shield, 2010/11 | Most runs | ESPN Cricinfo

Usman Khwaja (598 @ 74.75, with 214 very early in the season) is currently the highest run scorer in the 2010-2011 Sheffield Shield season ahead of former South Australian and now Tasmanian Mark Cosgrove (510 @ 56.66) and Chris Lynn of Queensland (461 @ 51.22). Looking at the averages, the in form batsmen are probably those three and Andrew McDonald (although injured again has 372 @ 74.40), Shaun Marsh (414 @ 59.14), Nic Maddinson (365 @ 52.14) and amazingly Nathan Hauritz (only 332 @ 47.42 but 2 centuries very recently). Callum Ferguson (337 @ 48.14) and Will Robinson (430 @ 47.77) also probably deserve a mention.

I've got no idea why Shaun Marsh, just 27 and a semi-regular member of the ODI side, hasn't been considered (especially ahead of Steve Smith at 6 if Smith isn't going to bowl) as a possible opener (with Hughes clearly out of form) or even to replace Ponting at 3 (either push Ponting down the order or if he retires). That said, he was dominate in the first edition of the IPL and has hardly played T20I for Australia so who knows what reasoning the selectors use.

Lynn and Maddinson are both very young (Lynn 20 and Maddinson 19 5 days ago) and in their first full seasons of first class cricket but you have to remember that Ponting (Test debut days before his 21st birthday), Damien Martyn (just 21), Justin Langer (22) and Matthew Hayden (23) and even Michael Clarke (23 in a super strong side) were given the chance at Test level at relatively young age (admittedly Hayden was given a chance after Taylor missed a Test in South Africa and no other openers were on tour and Punter replaced an injured Steve Waugh), allowed to fail and return to the Sheffield Shield to fix the faults in their game before they returned to Test level (Although being the scape goat for the horrific collapse at the SCG against South Africa in 1994 sent Martyn into an amazing tailspin).

Now I'm not saying that Lynn and Maddinson should be in the Test XI and Hussey and Ponting pushed out to sea on a barge, but I'd like to see the young talent this nation has given the chance; the selectors have taken a strong step in the right direction by replacing North not with David Hussey or even Cameron White but by replacing him with a young all-rounder who could play for Australia for the next 10-12 years. Ditto for the Hughes in for Katich selection, although he is horribly out of form at the moment (hopefully the selectors have told him he is in the Test XI for the next 10 tests irregardless of what he scores to help him with his confidence).

PS: Quick mention re Robinson, Ferguson and Cosgrove; Robinson turned 30 today but has only played 23 first class games, all since late 2008. While that shows he's a fixture in the WA shield XI, it also shows he's a late bloomer who the Test selectors will probably ignore unless he strings 2 or 3 really good seasons together (he averages sub 40s for his career so far) and even then because he'll be 32-33 probably ignore him on age (at least I hope). As Michael Klinger will attest too, Cosgrove will probably need to string together a few good seasons as well, but more importantly, show he has the professionalism to not eat constantly during winter as his frame would indicate he does. Ferguson I think was earmarked for North's spot, but not playing a spinner (which covers Hauritz non-selection, which grows more and more confusing every day, as well) in the XI means they need Smith's spin more (especially with Clarke's back still bothering him and Katich out) than they need the few extra runs that Ferguson could get... although today's sub 100 total would argue otherwise.

I would like to know what sort of criteria the selectors use when picking players. Well, I would like to know what criteria the current panel uses, anyway.

The make-up of the Australian team used to, in general, reflect the characteristics of the nation. We could relate to the blokes who represented us. The old school, personality and performance-wise, are being swept aside and replaced by the self-absorbed, flashy Gen-Y brigade. You used to hear Australian players say of a team-mate "He is great in the trenches, really dependable".

I feel sad for players like Andrew McDonald, David Hussey, Michael Klinger, Cameron White and George Bailey. Solid, dependable, hardened cricketers, who may never get an opportunity at Test level either at all, or again.

"The Fish will always start to rot at the head first" and old saying but a true one. The last thing Australian Cricket needs now is to start getting rid of young players batsmen and bowlers alike, the damage is done so keep playing the youngsters and let them evolve. The first place to point the finger if you will is at the Administration and work down. Why pick on Hughes and Smith etc when blokes like Clarke and Ponting have an Ashes batting average equivelent to a collingwood supporters IQ. Does that mean axe the oldies and play all youngsters no, because then the youngsters will have no experience to draw on, but drop one or two senior players and the rest of the teams butt cheeks would be clenched so tight they wouldn't be able to sh.. water..the egos would vanish faster than it would take to bowl them out.

I have nothing against players such as Phil Hughes, Steve Smith, Xavier Doherty etc, but remember the time when it was "harder to get in to the team than out of it"?. I just think that the selectors have handed out caps to blokes that either a) are not in form b) are a completely left-field selection or c) are flashy and unproven over a decent period even at Shield level.

I still think Watson shouldn't open.

Put him at Number 6 and make him an all rounder. Yes he gets good scores but most have been in the 50s. Only like 2 hundreds.

Then put in two real openers to start. drop Ponting from being Captain and put him batting in 4th (like Tendulkar that helped him in his old age has what 7centuries this season? This allows him to enjoy batting with no pressure as captain and with a softer ball).

Put Usman Khwaja in 3rd.

1. & 2. Katich or Hughes or Cosgrove.

3. Kwaja
4. Ponting
5. M Hussey
6. Watson
7. Hadden or Paine (when Hadden is ready to retire or out of form)

then bowlers. we really need to find a genuine spinner. Krajzia was our best option at the time but he has lost form after being dropped from AUS team. So mentally he is like Shaun Tait who quit for a while.

There are still 4 days of cricket left! We are now bowling in the same sort of conditions england were bowling to us in and already we have 2 wickets! If we can roll them for say 250, and then get favourable batting conditions like england got yesterday arvo then anything is possible. As for the team we need to stick with people, we can't just keep chopping and changing and as australians we should stand behind our team instead of bagging them all the time!
Have to give the england bowlers full credit, 45overs of bowling and they bowled one short ball, seeing their pitch map this morning they basically bowled every ball in that same corridor where McGrath always bowled and look what happened!

I will always support whoever represents Australia. However, I just don't believe that the selectors are giving us a fair crack at it.