3rd ASHES TEST: Australia v England at Perth, Dec 16-20 2010

[TheParraboy]

One more test win to the poms and the ashes are lost again
There is a serious threat both MCG and SCG test could be deal rubbers

If we keep the same side (Katich excluded) then we deserve a belting

Id say Notch will come back into the side. At least if he is on song he can be lethal with bat or ball. If he isnt who cares, we are a rabble anyway might as well play with fire,close our eyes and hope he can be destructive


Hughes
Watson
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Khawaja
Haddin
Johnson
Okeefe
Harris
Siddle/Dougy/Hilfy

 

[Twizzle]

no Notch ffs

Dougy and Harris are our two best in first class cricket, no point in replacing them

I also dont think we can assume it will be a typical WACA pitch, we seem to have roads every where atm

 

[aussies1st]

Posted my side in the other thread, what I see the selectors doing

Hughes
Watson
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
North (Can see them using the don't want 2 new batsmen excuse)
Johnson
Harris
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

 

[yappy]

Dougy wasn't as good as I'd hoped but you can't be cutting him after one bad innings. Johnson bowled pies for 18 months ffs. Had Hussey held what was nothing more than a training drill catch on Saturday morning Dougy has 2-not many and the Poms are feeling a little bit of heat. Who knows where that could have led. After that half the time Ponting had a 7-2 field to him. How the f**k does any left arm bowler attack the stumps with a 7-2 field? Of course he went for runs. He still has the best test bowling average and strike rate and should be there along with Harris. Siddle's first innings at Brisbane should be enough to retain his spot also.

Adelaide is a road day 2/3 so the pace men should be spared any retribution. Doherty though is on shaky ground. I said before the first test he'd be lucky to be the 3rd best left arm ortho in the county after SOK and Pup and nothing he's done changes that opinion. Bit tough that he has only got to bowl on belters against good players in rare form, but sh*t happens. He can always tell his grandkids about that magic fortnight when he was a Test cricketer. So the question is do we replace him with a spinner? If it were up to me SOK would have been in the side since Brisbane anyway, but since he can't even get a game in front of Moises f**king Henriques in the shield he isn't going to play in Perth. I don't see much point in bring back Hauritz either. He'll be steady, but he isn't going to win a test for us against this England side. So why not pick our best four bowlers even if none of them are spinners (especially) at Perth - So I'd call Copeland up as the 4th quick both as a reward for form and with an eye to the long term. No to Hilf (sorry mate, but as good as you are you don't get wickets) and no to Notch (a couple of hours in the nets is no where near penance enough for the sh*te you've dished up for too long. For Melbourne if either Siddle or Dougy don't perform in Perth then you'd look at a spinner like Hauritz or O'Keefe to replace them. It's a long tail but we need 20 wickets more than we need 20 runs from a no. 8.

North, sorry son. Really felt you'd be a great 6 for us, but I didn't mean averaging 6. Up you come Steve Smith. I know there's been talk of moving Haddin up to 6 and batting Smith at 7. I say Smith has to earn his spot as a top 6 batsman and his leggies are just a bonus. No better time than the present to find out if he can cut it as a test bat.

Hughes is a simple selection for Katich who I think should have played his last test and Watson, Punter, Pup and Huss remain unchanged (for the time being). I don't think we want to get into the old English habit of changing half the team every test, but the eyes should definitely be on identifying replacements for Ponting and Hussey in the next 6-18 months.

Hughes
Watson
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Smith
Haddin
Harris
Siddle
Copeland
Bollinger

 

[TheParraboy]

With dougy, i dont want him cut either. But its a fitness thing, not sure he has been right since india. bowling 125-128km after his first 15 overs is a huge worry, harris and siddle kept up their pace throughout, Dougy was just easy pickings, might as well had mcdonald in the side bowling. We cant afford for him to be doing that again. If he is back to peak fitness he will be the first chosen, has some work to do till perth

 

[eagles4eva]

Lets see the selectors finally show some balls and make some decisons

1st, North Must go...

 

[hineyrulz]

I wouldn't be suprised if sh*tchell in for Doherty is the only change :crazy:

 

[Matt23]

f**k off Marcus North :arrow:

 

[Batman Returns]

Marcs North > Ricky Ponting.

North is contributing more than the runt from Tasmania at the moment. At least North can bowl. Ponting just stands around looking grim before his inevitable first innings failure. It's sad to see once great players sticking around til they are over the hill and just can't cut the mustard anymore. Ponting is 36 and just not up to it.

 

[Batman Returns]

Why does Ponting continue to be selected?? This under-achiever has managed only 1 century in his last 16 test matches. Pathetic.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Lol @ the sheep f**ker, just doesn't give it up.

 

[JJ]

He's one of the finest players of this generation... perhaps past his best, but people were saying that about Tendulkar not long ago...

wouldn't surprise me if Ponting bounces back soon

Clarke's very overrated imo, I wasn't as impressed as the sychophants with his second innings effort, and the pathetic carry on at the dismissal

Won't be surprised if North is retained, and Hughes will likely come in, but I'd imagine he'll continue to be hit and miss.... you can average 50 in many ways...

Hussey looks solid as a rock again, bizarre given how ordinary he's been for so long

And, the bowlers are simply ordinary (partly because of the wickets) bit there is nothing among Bollinger, Harris, Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Siddle, Doherty, Hauritz or anyone else mentioned to cause the English much anxiety

Sorry ladies, but this is going to be a prolonged period of ordinariness for the Australian cricket team... but test cricket will be much more exciting with closer series

 

[Batman Returns]

North won't take the captaincy of Ponting at the moment I guess. Although he is performing marginally better than Ponting, the selectors will probably wait a bit yet.

 

[JJ]

captain in waiting though, and terrific gutsy innings - really showed the character of him, if only they had XI Marcus North's

 

[Batman Returns]

Pontings average 23.33 in this series.

I never thought I'd see the day when the pass mark for an Australian batsman was an average of 23.33....used to be it was mid 40's and above. Geez Australian cricket has fallen away; they've literally slipped into the abyss.

What the hell happened?????????????? Thrashed by an innings and 70 runs by the pom's!!!! Who would have though it aye.

 

[mozza91]

Yeah he's no Hamish Marshall that's for sure.

 

[JJ]

Yeah he's no Hamish Marshall that's for sure.

Ponting? :lol:

No, but Marshall's brief test career compares pretty well with Marcus North's - but although he hasn't really reached the heights Marshall did, North's character, and leadership ability is critical in an Australian team devoid of both...

 

[Batman Returns]

Yes, Hamish Marshall averaged 44.83 against Australia, with a top score against them of 146.

Q. Ponting's average in this series? A. 23.33

 

[Batman Returns]

Ponting? :lol:

No, but Marshall's brief test career compares pretty well with Marcus North's - but although he hasn't really reached the heights Marshall did, North's character, and leadership ability is critical in an Australian team devoid of both...

That's right JJ.....Australian's may rush to replace North, but when the guys coming in the like of X Doherty; is it the right move? Of course not.
And if the next cab off the rank was X Doherty, logically the guys further down the pecking order are even worse than him. Oh dear. When we say Australia has fallen into the abyss, these indisputable facts are the proof.

The answer is clear: stick with Marcus North. There's no-one in Australia better than him. It's a proven fact.

 

[Didgi]

That's right JJ.....Australian's may rush to replace North, but when the guys coming in the like of X Doherty; is it the right move? Of course not.
And if the next cab off the rank was X Doherty, logically the guys further down the pecking order are even worse than him. Oh dear. When we say Australia has fallen into the abyss, these indisputable facts are the proof.

The answer is clear: stick with Marcus North. There's no-one in Australia better than him. It's a proven fact.