South Africa in Australia Dec 2008-Jan 2009

[ZexyZahid]

At some time, people wanted Johnson to go away, but he comes back strongly. The same thing will be with Lee. After getting such an amount of wickets he won't be dropped that easily. I would like to see Watson have a game.

And some good or bad news. He can guide Australia and take the best out of them during the decline.

Nielsen wins two-year contract extension
Cricinfo - Nielsen wins two-year contract extension

 

[aussie1st]

Thing with Johnson is hes young and isn't losing his pace. Similar to Gillespie you just don't suddenly get back your pace which Lee has lost lately. Hes dropped about 5km/h which has made his less threatening and this coupled with his lack of swing is really putting pressure on him.

 

[McLOVIN]

GG in great form! any cricketer would dream to be in his shoes atm

 

[Mr.Cricket]

My team for BD test :

Hayden
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Watson
Haddin
Lee
Johnson
Hauritz
Hilfenhaus

Few thoughts......

1) I think Hayden is still good enough to do well at this level. Jacques is the next in line and it makes sense to keep Hayden in the team till Jaques recovers from his injury. No need to show him the door just yet.

2) The talk of dropping Lee is a knee jerk reaction IMO. He was steady in the WACA test , pretty unlucky not to get few more wickets. Even if hes not taking too many wickets we can depend on him bowling in good areas and keeping the pressure from one end. He is still the spearhead in our bowling attack.

3) Its pretty stupid to drop Krejza for Hauritz. Atleast Krejza can take wickets and thats exactly what we need atm. Selectors need to stick with one spinner , all this chopping and changing will not help anybody. I like to see a leggie in there , we should give Mcgain a chance when fit.

4) I like to see Watson play at 6 (unlikely). He will provide that extra bowling option but please don't play him as a specialist bowler. The MCG pitch should help his case.

5) Don't think Siddle is quite ready yet but he will play lot of cricket for Australia in the future.

6) Good to see Hilfenhaus get a run , the guy is an exciting prospect. I don't know if his domestic form warrants selection over guys like Magoffin and Bollinger. But its still a step in the right direction.

8) The media is after Ponting again , just like after every Aussie loss. They should just give it a break.

9) The series is not over yet. Its still 1-0 and we can still win the series. We didn't play all that well in WACA and we still seriously tested them. If we play to our full potential we can beat them.




10) We will smash them in the next match.

 

[stefan]

8) The media is after Ponting again , just like after every Aussie loss. They should just give it a break.

9) The series is not over yet. Its still 1-0 and we can still win the series. We didn't play all that well in WACA and we still seriously tested them. If we play to our full potential we can beat them.




10) We will smash them in the next match.

8. This time he doesn't have warne and mcgrath to help him recover.

9. Neither did we. Steyn,Morkel and McKenzie can all 3 play a lot better than did in this test.

10. We will see. If SA plays to our potential I don't see this bowling attack having enough to bowl us out twice.

 

[angryangy]

It's a bit silly to say that one side could play to their potential; so could the other side. So if South Africa play to their potential and Australia don't, it will be good for South Africa? Duh!

 

[karnog]

I think he meant if Australia get their act together then they can win the game. Or at least i thought he did. I would drop Lee now and let him regain confidence through the pura cup. Its the only way for him to bowl himself to form. Get him to South Africa and let him run rampage. Then he's ready for the Ashes. At the same time they can test a few players as opposed to going to South Africa without Lee and Clark. But meh i think Lee is going the Gillespie route.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Australia have shown a consistent decrease in their quality of cricket ever since Mcgrath and Warne have called it a day. But I still think they have skills and temprament to keep their No. 1 spot. Brett Lee has a still a lot to offer and it will be very insane to drop him for lack of form that all great bowlers and batsmen go through. Johnson is already looking to be the next great left arm bowler after incomparable Akram. I think Australia should play Watson. The guys deserves the place. Siddle struggled hard in the last match. He has got pace but needs to learn to swing the ball if he wants to get wickets. Watson can fill in the shoes of third seamer easily. Ponting needs to use Symonds' off spin more in test matches and he must also show tenacity and be innovative like his predecessors. I think Australia will bounce back in next test but it mostly depends upon what team they select and how ponting handles his bowlers.

 

[angryangy]

The thing with Lee is that while bowlers do slow down as they get older, they also typically get better at the outswinger over time. For some things you can claim he's old and past it, but he's also not doing things that he should still be able to.

On another front, it seems like Watson may well be in contention for the number 6/7 spot. The injury to Symonds that prevented him bowling last match is still being assessed day by day. That said, for a Boxing Day Test, I expect Symonds' batting alone to be given great consideration, as it may not be a pitch where 5 bowlers are needed. Bringing Watson into the side might also be a blow for Hilfenhaus' chances and a boon for Hauritz.

 

[IloveGilly]

When you're in a Cricket elite nation like Australia, you have to consistently perform. When Ponting was out of form, people were even talking about him being dropped, which was so ridiculous. We've seen Lee, Clarke, Hayden, Katich all dropped before.

 

[venom2011]

Johnson is already looking to be the next great left arm bowler after incomparable Akram.

Not possible. He doesn't really swing it, never mind swinging it both ways, and bowls a few too many bad deliveries. He will suffer some punishment on harder surfaces where his cutters will be less threatening. He does have a knack of getting wickets at the moment though.

 

[karnog]

Johnson is held back by his lack of swing as venom2011 says. But i disagree with bowling bad deliveries. He's becoming more consistent and its going to get better. All he needs to do is develop swing and he can be a very dangerous bowler. But at the same time he does buy a few wickets. I don't think he'll be anything special (ie Akram) but he'll be an excellent player (sort of like Langer, Gillespie and Martyn were for Australia).

 

[aussie_ben91]

Not possible. He doesn't really swing it, never mind swinging it both ways, and bowls a few too many bad deliveries. He will suffer some punishment on harder surfaces where his cutters will be less threatening. He does have a knack of getting wickets at the moment though.

I've seen Johnson reverse swing it.

In his 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, he had Kumar Sangakkara plumb in the second innings but it wasn't given out and Sangakkara went onto score 190 odd.

 

[venom2011]

So just that one time then?

Im sure he can swing at certain times, but he doesn't swing it naturally.

 

[manee]

I've seen Johnson reverse swing it.

Indeed, gets a fair bit of reverse swing occasionally. Tends to get more reverse swing than conventional swing, tbh - one of the mysteries of swing, I guess.