Australia (A) tour to of Zimbabwe & South Africa

[War]

Well the boring Zimbabwe part of the tour is out & the real deal start with the 1st (A) test vs the proteas 2moro.

These tests vs S Africa (A) with regards to the batsmen has added importance with the Ashes going on too.

Of course David Warner needs runs, but impressive batting efforts from S Marsh & Doolan can certainly help their cases ahead of the Old Trafford test i'd say.

Strange the G Bailey & Ferguson weren't considered for these tours, the more you think about it.

 

[aussie1st]

I can't see what logic they have used to overlook him, if it was form from last season then fair enough but then Finch shouldn't be anywhere near the side let alone captain.

 

[War]

Ye exactly, Finch is not a test match option. He is still trying to convince he is ODI/T20 quality for AUS. Same thing could be said about Maxwell.

 

[War]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/630760.html

Impressive response by Warner so far. Big 193 vs a pretty solid S Africa (A) attack that has two bowlers who took 7 wicket hauls (De Lange & Abbott) on their test debuts.

He is almost assured a place at Old Trafford now.

 

[angryangy]

It's very tempting to slot him in at 4. There was a bit of banter about him nicking a sharp good length ball to slip, but with a bit of help from the openers he might not get too many of those early on. England have Pietersen at 4 and nobody says it's a bad idea because he'd be a bit reckless against a shiny new red ball.

 

[zeustrojanstark]

A brilliant and a very aggressive innings from David Warner.I see him open in Old Trafford for sure!

 

[sifter132]

It's very tempting to slot him in at 4. There was a bit of banter about him nicking a sharp good length ball to slip, but with a bit of help from the openers he might not get too many of those early on. England have Pietersen at 4 and nobody says it's a bad idea because he'd be a bit reckless against a shiny new red ball.

I agree. Very tempting. Big question would be how he'd go vs Swann. I guess just as well as the other lefties...

 

[War]

South Africa A v Australia A, 1st unofficial Test, Pretoria, 2nd day Report : Dean Elgar's ton boosts his Test hopes | Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

Apparently the pitch is a road, so this should temper the scope of Warner's knock a bit.

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It's very tempting to slot him in at 4. There was a bit of banter about him nicking a sharp good length ball to slip, but with a bit of help from the openers he might not get too many of those early on. England have Pietersen at 4 and nobody says it's a bad idea because he'd be a bit reckless against a shiny new red ball.

I think he is likely to bat @ # 6 to be honest.

 

[sifter132]

^I think he will be at #6, it's just a matter of what pieces move where. Rogers, Khawaja and Clarke would most likely be locked in. 2 of Watson, Hughes and Smith would play, with Warner at #6. To me Hughes would be way better up top than starting vs Swann in the middle, while Smith's bowling might be needed at Old Trafford. Watson might be the odd man out! Hughes and Smith could ensure that with a score or 2 vs Sussex.

 

[Cricketman]

Why is Warner become a middle order batsman in the first place? The answer seems clear to me, bring him back to open the innings and slot Watson in at 6. Simple...

Warner
Rogers
Khawajha
Clarke
Smith
Watson
Haddin
Siddle
Bird
Starc
Harris
Lyon

note...no Agar!

Clarke batting outside beloved number 5 tho...

 

[zeustrojanstark]

Why is Warner become a middle order batsman in the first place? The answer seems clear to me, bring him back to open the innings and slot Watson in at 6. Simple...

Warner
Rogers
Khawajha
Clarke
Smith
Watson
Haddin
Siddle
Bird
Starc
Harris
Lyon

note...no Agar!

Clarke batting outside beloved number 5 tho...

Playing Watto that down does not make much sense because Watto cant play even an average spinner,i dont think he can even tackle Swann for one over.Watto's power is against fast bowlers,ofcourse he has that LBW weakness since 2008-2009.But he can score quickly and with ease too.If you notice the past two tests,you can see that his strike rate was very good for a test match.

 

[aussie1st]

Apparently the pitch is a road, so this should temper the scope of Warner's knock a bit.

Pretty obvious once Maxwell got his 100 that it was one. Any bowler going well will certainly move up in the peaking order though.

 

[sifter132]

Why is Warner become a middle order batsman in the first place? The answer seems clear to me, bring him back to open the innings and slot Watson in at 6. Simple...

Because the selectors in their wisdom have picked a buttload of top order players: Cowan, Hughes, Khawaja, Warner, Rogers, Watson - all prefer opening or #3. Only Clarke and Smith are natural middle order players. And Smith wasn't even in the original squad!

So someone has to go down the order, and since Watson has been through a rough patch since moving away from opening, it was decided to shift him back up and try someone else down lower. Warner and Hughes got that chance. Khawaja has played down lower too.

Playing Watto that down does not make much sense because Watto cant play even an average spinner,i dont think he can even tackle Swann for one over.Watto's power is against fast bowlers,ofcourse he has that LBW weakness since 2008-2009.But he can score quickly and with ease too.If you notice the past two tests,you can see that his strike rate was very good for a test match.

Watson isn't smooth starting vs spin, but he can handle it decently once he's in. The left handers are even worse vs Swann than Watson, but there isn't much choice - no middle order players in the squad!

 

[midgetwars]

Wait, so from what i'm gathering is that Hughes, Watson, Rogers, Warner, Cowan have their highest averages opening...

 

[cricketmad09]

I'm not happy that Finch declared as soon as he did. Obviously the pitch was a road, but the main thing is our batsmen need to learn how to play big innings. Maxwell was 155no why not let him continue batting and see if he can make a double century?