England in Australia

[brad352]

Do you mean watson is a better batsman than clarke and phil you got to be joking he would not hold down his place as a regular batsman in any good international side let alone australia.

He's a better batsman than Michael Clarke, yes- and any other international side would've had him batting 4 a year ago

 

[Iron-Haggis]

Well Watson has to wait for Martyn to retire, before he has a chance at batting number 4. If Watson is fit to play I believe as a bowler he should only be used as a part time option. Give him a couple of overs before a lunch or tea break, or to try and break a partnership. As a batsmen I think he is ready for Test cricket, but as a bowler not even close.

Clarke really needs to play more first class cricket. Potentially Clarke will make a great Test batsmen, but as far as I'm concerned you need to prove it with runs in first class cricket.

If Giles gets picked for the Test before Panesar all I can say as an Australian is thank you. Fletcher seems to be putting his own personal wants ahead of what is best for the English team. Jones ahead of Read. Giles ahead of Panesar. Both stupid choices.

 

[cricketmad09]

Yes, little sign of an England assault directed at Tait so far. Test selection aside, it's surprising he's so far down the pecking order for the ODI team. He should get at least one game this summer, if for no other reason than seeing two 150+ kph bowlers open the attack.

I agree. I reakon he is a better one day player than 4 day. Stats back me up. Averages 21 in List A. 27 in FC.

 

[Gunner786]

that tait wicket of strauss was brilliant

havent seen a swinging lbw yorker like that for ages by an aussie bowler

it was exactly how mohd sami got strauss twice in karachi odi and one of the tests which gives a hint or 2 on planning against strauss

 

[Bilal91]

good batting by England here...great knocks by bell and collingwood and pietersen also getting in with some runs...looking good for England...COME ON FREDDIE (lol)...

 

[Sureshot]

Such a shame about Watson. He didn't look too bad when he left the field though, he was still jogging around, so I'm hopeful he will still take his place. If there's any doubt I don't think they'll play him because the allrounder roll is going to be more important from tests 3-5. I think we have enough firepower to get the job done in Brisbane - Warnie is going to operate non-stop at one end for the second innings, we just have to hope that 3 quicks is enough to get the job done in the first innings.

Tait's ball to get Strauss was a ripper. That guy is a monster....he pulls out magic, unplayable balls more than any paceman i've ever seen. But still a bit too inconsistent to think that he can keep it tidy enough to not leak runs in a huge first test. I still want Clark in there hitting the seam - although Johnson was pretty tidy against one heck of a Gilchrist onslaught so I don't think we'd be at a loss if he played.

I so want Symmo in for Watson if he's out - Clarke may be in good form, but Symmo is the type of player who could destroy Harmison's confidence to the point where he'll be joining Tresco back in England. I'd back him to produce this time around.

So Panesar is playing in the first test I take it? He seems pretty innocuous in Aussie conditions so far, his only wickets coming from batsmen going the slog.

I think the man who helped make Warne who he is, said Monty is bowling too fast, not getting enough flight and loop. He gets both when in rythym.

 

[aussie1st]

Yes, little sign of an England assault directed at Tait so far. Test selection aside, it's surprising he's so far down the pecking order for the ODI team. He should get at least one game this summer, if for no other reason than seeing two 150+ kph bowlers open the attack.

Injury is why hes so far down the list, he would have played in the last VB series but injury prevented that and then it took a bit longer than expected for him to recover from it. He should however be picked in the up and coming VB series as having a devastating bowler like him will come in real handy.

 

[Cricket_god]

He's a better batsman than Michael Clarke, yes- and any other international side would've had him batting 4 a year ago

After This Series We will see

 

[angryangy]

I think the man who helped make Warne who he is, said Monty is bowling too fast, not getting enough flight and loop. He gets both when in rythym.

That's probably all it is. To get the most out of a bouncy wicket, most will slow off a bit (spinners who bowl really fast, like Kumble or O'Reilly, seem to work on another plane entirely), give the ball time to turn and bounce properly. For example, some time ago, Jenner and Warne decided that 75 kph was Warne's optimal speed on the Adelaide Oval.

 

[Sureshot]

Well another wicket last night with some help from Jimmys superb catch. He got the player out (Elliot) when he was trying to attack.

Saj, GoJo and Fred in the runs this morning, Jimmy bowled economically also.

Wednesday night here we come.

 

[BigCrickNan]

Mahmood a cert for the first test probably because he sloggeda lucky 41. A good performance overall for a warm up hoggy in some form and the middle/lower order all getting runs.

 

[evertonfan]

About time Jones chipped in with a few runs as well. Nice to see Jimmy taking a great catch; His fielding is really underestimated.

 

[Kal-El]

Mahmood a cert for the first test probably because he sloggeda lucky 41.

So a bowler who couldn't manage to take a wicket in a tour game is a certainty to play because he made a few runs?

Logical selection that.

 

[evertonfan]

So a bowler who couldn't manage to take a wicket in a tour game is a certainty to play because he made a few runs?

Logical selection that.

Are you aware that England's coach Duncan Fletcher has an obsession with multi-dimensional players? Although I think Anderson is a shoe-in for Brisbane, I wouldn't write off Fletcher playing Mahmood instead just because he can bat.

 

[Simbazz]

I think todays proformance by Mahmood will get him above Anderson on the pecking order......

All this multi-dimensional crap worries me, OK to be an international cricket player you have to be pretty good, but pretty good in your area, Batting or Bowling, or WicketKeeping....

Now the WKing should be good, such as GOJo but the batting in my opinion is also important, as it leaves a long tail, which Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka dont have. This helps them in ODI's as they can bat most up to at least 9 or 10....

But they have that, and England dont, Fletcher should pick a player on how he does in his chosen area, be it batting well or bowling well. Fielding is now an important part of the game, but it shouldnt hold a play back, such as Monty, because we all want Monty in the team for his bowling, not his fielding, its just a bonus if you have the skill of Colly.