The Cricket Thread

[i_amtrunks]

Will QLD even get to bat?

Aussie Women cannot make WC Final

In Men's news, Siddle is struggling still, which would make him the prime candidate to be dropped for McGain for this third test.

It does leave us a genuine quick short. Hilfenhaus and Johnson to open, with McDonald and McGain to be the work horses. Otherwise we have to bring in Bollinger who was very unwell or Geeves who was a backup for a backup player.

South Africa dropping Morne Morkel is the smartest thing they have done all series, but putting Prince in to open when he is one of the best middle order batsmen in the world is ridiculous. Kallis will be captain in name only.

[i_amtrunks]

Dismal weekend for cricket.

The Aussie Womens team were beaten into 4th spot by India in a rain affected match against India. Australia were outplayed by India twice this series, after wiping the floor with them when India visited late last year.

In the 3rd Test against South Africa, not even Johnson's debut century could make the South Africans bat again. Australia have their first innings loss in over a decade.
Johnson topped scored with a better than a run a ball 123, his highest first class score, thanks to a fighting 68 from MacDonald who has finally shown why he was selected as an all-rounder in the first place.
The Aussies were terrible in the top order, Hussey looks like a rabbit in a spotlight at the moment, Steyn has his number. Haddin, is consistently scoring runs, but has not been able to stick around with the tail in the manner Gilchrist used to. It seems that if one of the top three score runs, Australia does well, but once we are relying on Clarke, Hussey and Haddin we are in trouble.

The McGain experiment is over, give him some trial games in England, but if he cannot improve his woeful stats from the trail game and 3rd test (18 overs, no wicket for 149 runs, at over 8.2 runs an over) he does not deserve a run. I may be being a little harsh, perhaps his stats would look far better had he had a chance to bowl again in the final innings. Johnson bowled 39 overs, and still did not go for that many runs.

It's amazing how losing North affected the team balance, yet had North been fine, we would have been a bowler short, wonder how many South Africa would have put on us then...

[Fungal Infection]

As far as I see it, we were a bowler short even without North - McGain was absolutely woeful. Harsh, but to concede so many runs like that in so few overs, I'm sorry to say, his test career is dead. The search for a spinner continues......

[STL]

Good win to SA but I think the young team had a lot to do with the lack of focus for the last game. Really enjoyed watching the highlights of AB. Good player. But more importantly, England looms and I can't wait.

McGain's figures were shocking btu I think we're still yet to see his best. He has had too little match practice since coming back from injury. A few one dayers and 3 Shield games hardly counts. His biggest problem is age tho and we are looking to the future. Problem is, none of the spinners are standing up at the moment either.

Siddle was brilliant with the ball. Those are some seriously crazy figures and it wasn't as if he was bowling a foot outside the offstump. He was making the batsman play but was extremely unlucky to get more wickets.

While I agree that Johnson is the leader of the attack now but too often he doesn't do it consistently enough. I guess though that the team is young (generally) and still in development.

Interesting development with the IPL too.

[i_amtrunks]

Interesting development with the IPL too.

Let's hope it goes to England, that will benefit us all the more.

[i_amtrunks]

David Hussey needs to stop running everyone out.

South Africa dominated the Aussies in the two 2020 matches, lets hope Australia are at least competitive in the 50 over format, Ponting and Clarke look determined to join Hussey in the slump departments.

[STL]

Yeah Clarke looked pretty woeful in the replays. Grinding out an innings, he realises its 20-20 cricket, right?

Thought the draw between India /NZ was quite uninspiring. Really, India never tried to push on with it and go for a win. With that mentality, they'll never be respected as a team. Looks of good individual players but as a team, they have no passion or hunger.

[i_amtrunks]

Thought the draw between India /NZ was quite uninspiring. Really, India never tried to push on with it and go for a win. With that mentality, they'll never be respected as a team. Looks of good individual players but as a team, they have no passion or hunger.

It's a national mindset that India has had for over 4 decades.

Nice to see the Kiwi's in amongst the runs as well, I am against having pitches especially doctored (like what India and Pakistan are well known for), but with India's record in New Zealand, they were a bit silly making such flat dead wickets.

bet Sharma and the Indian pace attack cannot wait to get back to the bouncy fast pitches of South Africa and Australia (since the West Indies have been putting up concrete slab wickets).

[STL]

M. Hussey strikes back

But he did this last time in the one day series too. Found his form only to be a liability in our tour of South Africa so I'm really not sure what we should do about him. I'm really 50-50 on the Huss. He's a great player but recently hasn;t been able to back it up in the highest form of the game.

The most interesting bit was Hauritz. Could this spell the entry of him into the Australian test side? I'd like to think not but with our selectors u never know

[i_amtrunks]

The most interesting bit was Hauritz. Could this spell the entry of him into the Australian test side? I'd like to think not but with our selectors u never know

If McGain gets belted in the tour matches, and we need a specialist spinner Hauritz is the first pick, so him doing well in the ODI's cannot hurt his chances.

Hussey does well when his brther does not run him out.