1st Test: Australia v Sri Lanka at Hobart Dec 14-18, 2012

[Twizzle]

HE doesn't seem to give a shit about the team, if he did he would drop down the order

he just wants to bat where he wants to bat

 

[AlwaysGreen]

I have a hunch the ego driven Watson will be begging Clarke to stay 3.

Will be filthy if Clarke allows it, it would be putrid.

FTR I would play Warner 3 and open with Hughes.

If I see Watson top 3, I will know Clarke has the man love controlling him, not his astute brain.

Clarkey and PJ Hughes are good mates as well.

If Watson moves down the order he won't be able to hog the DRS.

 

[Red&BlackBear]

A bit rich saying Law was a great batsman.

I rank my batsmen different to you I guess. His overall stats are great for a domestic batsmen and as far as history goes he was just that a great domestic batsmen who didn't get the opportunity to add to his 1 test appearance.

For the record I put those batsmen you named as master batsmen with Bradman obviously standing as the best.

 

[hineyrulz]

In the olden days anyone who averaged over 40 in test's was considered great, now since the 90's the mark ahs moved up to over 50. It just shows the delcine in bowling attacks around trhe world and the flatter pitches. Throw in bouncer laws, biggers bats and roped in fences it was only natural that averages would go up. If Viv or AB played today they would average around 60 no problem.

 

[Earl]

Great batsman = Viv Richards, Lara, Barrington. In an Australian sense it = Border, S Waugh, Ponting.

Not Stuart Law.

I didn't say he was great

I have a hunch the ego driven Watson will be begging Clarke to stay 3.

Will be filthy if Clarke allows it, it would be putrid.

FTR I would play Warner 3 and open with Hughes.

If I see Watson top 3, I will know Clarke has the man love controlling him, not his astute brain.

HE doesn't seem to give a shit about the team, if he did he would drop down the order

he just wants to bat where he wants to bat

Part of me beleives Shane Watson was meant to play for India

 

[AlwaysGreen]

In the olden days anyone who averaged over 40 in test's was considered great, now since the 90's the mark ahs moved up to over 50. It just shows the delcine in bowling attacks around trhe world and the flatter pitches. Throw in bouncer laws, biggers bats and roped in fences it was only natural that averages would go up. If Viv or AB played today they would average around 60 no problem.

Add in helmets and other protection. And the thickness and technological improvement in bats. Also the balls these days go through far tighter scrutiny and are rejected if they are not perfect.

 

[Horrie Is God]

Watson's batting record suggests that he is not a top line bat..

It's indicative of how bad a shape our batting stocks are that a guy like him can dictate where he wants to bat..

 

[BunniesMan]

Watson's batting record suggests that he is not a top line bat..

It's indicative of how bad a shape our batting stocks are that a guy like him can dictate where he wants to bat..

He dictates because he is VC and he is the all rounder we believe we cannot do without. If he didn't bowl he would have been dropped by now.

 

[Valheru]

Also PJH wasn't ready yet at the start of the SA series. Since then he's scored another 500+ 1st class runs. Now he is ready. Bringing him in at the start of the summer would have been too soon.

FMD you are a goose.

You have been whinging on the cricket forum nonstop for a year now about Hughes not being in the side and all of a sudden you are of the opinion that “this is perfect timing and he wasn’t ready prior to this”.

That will do me.

 

[BunniesMan]

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8576810

Watson confirmed at #4.

FMD you are a goose.

You have been whinging on the cricket forum nonstop for a year now about Hughes not being in the side and all of a sudden you are of the opinion that ?this is perfect timing and he wasn?t ready prior to this?.

That will do me.

I would have had him in for the 1st test of the summer because I never would have dropped him after the NZ series a year ago. In my view he did enough in Sri Lanka and South Africa to deserve to keep his spot despite his failure against NZ.

So given that I was arguing for him to be brought in ASAP. But I do think now is better than at the start of the summer. But the start of the summer was better than never.

 

[BunniesMan]

5 sleeps to go until the Test. The smell that is the dawn of a new era is in the air. Very exciting. Cannot wait.

 

[Earl]

I used to like Phil Hughes. Never in my life did I think i would want a young Australian batsmen to fail miserably. Thanks BM you merkinnugget

 

[The Joker]

5 sleeps to go until the Test. The smell that is the dawn of a new era is in the air. Very exciting. Cannot wait.

That's not the smell of a new era, it's the smell of your month old underwear

 

[hineyrulz]

5 sleeps to go until the Test. The smell that is the dawn of a new era is in the air. Very exciting. Cannot wait.

Thats the smell of your spunk stained screen after you heard the news Hughes was playing.

For the record I hope he hammers a hundred and goes on to play 100 plus tests.

 

[Mr Angry]

"It's taken me a few days to get my head around that, but it means I can bowl a few more overs.
"In the last Test match, I know Michael (Clarke) in the second innings was a bit hesitant to bowl me a few times towards the latter part of their innings, just to give me the chance to be as fresh as I could going into bat.
"The ultimate is to be able to contribute with both bat and ball throughout the whole Test match and not be held back.
"Batting at four will give me that extra time to freshen up."

LINK
f**king ego driven idiot. Well six would be even better ya farging moron, but your ego will not allow it.

Someone told him there is no "I" in "team", he replied, no but I can make a "Me" after all, it is all about me.

66 test innings 2X100s 18X50s.

Yet in this guys head he is a top 3 batter. bwwwhhahahaha, nothing screams 6 like his actual record. You ain't Jaques, Sachin, Ricky you toss pot.

 

[Earl]

f**k knows how he summoned the energy to knockup his missus, probably pulled a hammy doing that too.

 

[undertaker]

LINK
f**king ego driven idiot. Well six would be even better ya farging moron, but your ego will not allow it.

Someone told him there is no "I" in "team", he replied, no but I can make a "Me" after all, it is all about me.

66 test innings 2X100s 18X50s.

Yet in this guys head he is a top 3 batter. bwwwhhahahaha, nothing screams 6 like his actual record. You ain't Jaques, Sachin, Ricky you toss pot.

It's the attitude of players like Watson, Johnson, Clarke (before he was captain, although he has cleaned up his puncing act a lot over the last two years) etc. that have made the fans feel detached from the side and have turned a lot of long-term Australian fans from the game, unlike 10+ years ago where the fans had an affinity for the side. This is also one of the main reasons why crowds and popularity for the game have slowly decreased in Australia over the past decade (there was an article about this a couple of years ago). Remember the days when the WACA/Adelaide Oval/Gabba/Bellerive/SCG always sold out whenever Australia played ODIs there, and when the MCG regularly got 70k+? And with tests, unless the Poms are playing, only the MCG and SCG get good crowds.

Now, it's all about their big fat paycheques, how many magazines they can pose in, how many endorsements they can get etc. It's all about them and bugger all about the fans that have made the game what it is. Players like Watson, with the attitude he has, would've never got a look in if Allan Border was captain. Watson thinks he's a top 3 batsman when in reality he should count himself very lucky just to be in the side, given his recent form with both bat and ball. An average of 36.92 for a #3 batsman in today's "flat track bully" era is disgraceful (I know many will be quick to point out that Mike Atherton only averaged 37.70 in 115 tests, but he played against far superior bowlers on non-flat pitches, as well as producing several match-saving innings which Watson could only dream of)

 

[The Joker]

"It's taken me a few days to get my head around that"

Getting his head around 4 coming after 3?

 

[BunniesMan]

About this idea that money has f**ked up some of our cricketers. I agree entirely. Watson is at the start of the list. But one who isn't that is Phil Hughes. He didn't take part in last years BBL to concentrate full time on working on his technique. That's a lot of money he knocked back to make Tests his priority.

Clarke is the same with not playing in the IPL regularly.

These are the sorts of people we want in our Test team.

I used to like Phil Hughes. Never in my life did I think i would want a young Australian batsmen to fail miserably. Thanks BM you merkinnugget

What an idiot. So because you don't like me you're hoping a cricketer in the baggy green fails just because I'm a fan? That is so stupid on so many levels.

Just the fact that you allow me to influence your opinion is embarassing.

FYI, no opinion you or anyone else on LU has had has ever made me more or less likely to support someone or something.

Any patriotic Aussie is hopeing Hughes smashes Sri Lanka and India and then leads us to double Ashes series wins and becomes an automatic selection in the team for the next decade.

Thats the smell of your spunk stained screen after you heard the news Hughes was playing.

For the record I hope he hammers a hundred and goes on to play 100 plus tests.

This is the right attitude.

Getting his head around 4 coming after 3?

:lol:
They talk about the Vice President being a heartbeat away from the presidency. It's terrifying to think Watson is a heartbeat or injury away from the Test captaincy.

 

[madunit]

I think your all into the Johnson hate so far you can't see his actual talent, when he is firing that is and the ball swings

Siddle and Hilfy give it everything but they are not that great, infact in any other era we don't wouldn't have heard a word about them, neither of them would even make shield cricket if they were transported through time

Johnson and Siddle are two of the most talented bowlers Australia has seen in a long time.

However they are also two of our dumbest bowlers of all time. Their stupidity swallows their talent whole. Johnson still hasn't learnt how to bowl with a higher arm, how to keep the seam upright, how to pitch the ball up, how to bowl a good line and how to bowl to set fields and plans.

Siddle has a penchant for trying every ball faster than the last with no regard for line, length, field, batsmen strength's or weaknesses etc. Its just mindless stupidity and is a large reason as to why people hate on both of them so damn much.

It's because we've all seen and know the potential, but they aren't performing to even 25% of that potential.

In saying that, Siddle is better than Johnson. and when both are bowling like braindead morons, sadly, Hilfenhaus is better than both of them.