4th Ashes Test, Boxing Day @ the MCG

[ElectricEelMan]

I Misjudged the pitch.
Our 98 came down to:

a) Awful batting
b) Really good bowling
c) Ideal bowling conditions (noticed all the Australian wickets happened in gloom while the English batted mostly in sunshine)

Their 0/150 odd came down to:

a) Good batting
b) Woeful bowling, on the most part
c) Inept skippering
d) Much better batting conditions

Like the look S Smith's bowling. He took the edge 2 or 3 times and only after the third time did Ponting put another slips fieldsmen in there. Typical Ponting and one of the reasons I don't think much of him as captain. He is too reactionary.

Ashes are gone.
Unless England lose them. Australia can really do nothing to win them back. We have to rely on England choking from here on in. And I doubt that happens.

At least with a loss there will be a major inquiry and MASSIVE changes are going to be made from the administration of the team down to the makeup.

There is even a chance Ponting will be forced to retire - if he doesn't voluntarily retires that is. I doubt he will be dropped. Just told to go out on 'his terms'.

 

[JJ]

Pontings averaged 40 over 4 years now. This year he's averaged alot worse. His career average has dropped about 7 runs in that time as well. The guy is an all time great, no doubt, but even greats have to finish at some point. Ponting is just about done.

Clarkes been rubbish but has been better than ponting. Smith shouldnt be in the side yet, buts been better than ponting in the last two tests. Watson, Haddin, Hussey all comfortably better than Ponting.

It's sad but it happens. 1 ton in his last twenty tests I think. 36 years old. It's time to say thanks for the memories.

Yes, but Hussey had been worse - where would you be without him now... look at the dismissals, and the approach taken - Hughes, Clarke nand Smith have all been much worse than Ponting.

Maybe Ponting just needs to swallow his pride and drop down the order a little - no shame in that... dunno if you have a #3 in waiting (I know you'll all say Khawaja, but you're the same people who've been trumpeting Hughes and Smith, so I'll reserve my jugdment) - Hussey could do it atm... Ponting at 5 or 6 is going to offer much more than Clarke or Smith...

But even if you can score runs, you can't bowl a team out

:loL: at "ideal bowling conditions" for the Poms... clouds come an go in tests - Australia should not have capitulated like that - Hughes, Clarke, Smith and Haddin's dismissals were pathetic - they gave their wickets away... Watson's was marginally better, Ponting got a very good ball, and was out to what's always been his weakness early - he pushes out very hard, and Hussey was undone by a brilliant sequence of deliveries

 

[Mr Saab]

Phil Hughes should stick to grade cricket......he tried to talk himself up with that "80" he made in the tour game and now he looks like a tool.

 

[Twizzle]

oh no, we suck again

 

[ozbash]

;-)

'God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save the Queen'

signed Ozbash
honarary Barmey Kiwi

 

[Front-Rower]

I Misjudged the pitch.
Our 98 came down to:

a) Awful batting
b) Really good bowling
c) Ideal bowling conditions (noticed all the Australian wickets happened in gloom while the English batted mostly in sunshine)

Their 0/150 odd came down to:

a) Good batting
b) Woeful bowling, on the most part
c) Inept skippering
d) Much better batting conditions

Like the look S Smith's bowling. He took the edge 2 or 3 times and only after the third time did Ponting put another slips fieldsmen in there. Typical Ponting and one of the reasons I don't think much of him as captain. He is too reactionary.

Ashes are gone.
Unless England lose them. Australia can really do nothing to win them back. We have to rely on England choking from here on in. And I doubt that happens.

At least with a loss there will be a major inquiry and MASSIVE changes are going to be made from the administration of the team down to the makeup.

There is even a chance Ponting will be forced to retire - if he doesn't voluntarily retires that is. I doubt he will be dropped. Just told to go out on 'his terms'.

Agree 100%.

The part I have highlighted in bold is typical of not only how our captain goes about field placements etc on the field but the entire selection process of the Australian cricket team.

I can't believe that we are so desperate that we are picking blokes out of first class cricket on the basis of 12 or so good innings. The reason we were so good in the previous era was the fact that most of the team had 12 or so consistent seasons of Australian first class cricket and county cricket combined. By the time some of these guys became greats they were matured seasoned cricketers. Just look at Langer, Hayden and Martyn who all struggled in the test arena early and were dropped but matured in time in first class cricket to become some of the best cricketers of their time.

These days it's all about who is paying the most money in the T20 format and the player who can score with a strike rate at above a run a ball. It will kill test cricket as we know it if it hasn't already.

 

[yappy]

There aren't guys like Langer, Hayden and Martyn in the Shield - simple as that. If there were guys 28-30 with +50 averages and 10,000 fc runs available they'd be in the team. Jaques and Hussey are the only guys not in the side with that sort of record and both are probably too old to be anything more than stop gap measures and Jaques is in a worse trot that Hughes. We just have to suck it up. The guys in their mid to late 20s if they were ever going to be any good would have shown something by now - they haven't. We have little choice than to do what we did in the 80s - pick the best young guys and give them the time to come good. We'll lose more than we win for a few years, but they'll get there. The alternative is to do what England did for 15 years - keep chopping and changing between bog ordinary triers and has-beens. It's the price we have to pay for the decade of dominance. It's someone else's turn now.

 

[Deleted member 10972]

There aren't guys like Langer, Hayden and Martyn in the Shield - simple as that. If there were guys 28-30 with +50 averages and 10,000 fc runs available they'd be in the team. Jaques and Hussey are the only guys not in the side with that sort of record and both are probably too old to be anything more than stop gap measures and Jaques is in a worse trot that Hughes. We just have to suck it up. The guys in their mid to late 20s if they were ever going to be any good would have shown something by now - they haven't. We have little choice than to do what we did in the 80s - pick the best young guys and give them the time to come good. We'll lose more than we win for a few years, but they'll get there. The alternative is to do what England did for 15 years - keep chopping and changing between bog ordinary triers and has-beens. It's the price we have to pay for the decade of dominance. It's someone else's turn now.

David Hussey, Chris Rogers?

 

[yappy]

Rogers isn't playing - been injured all year. I mentioned Hussey, but he's 33. What is the point? We'll just be back here again in 2 years time. He should have been selected 3 years ago, but it's too late now.

 

[Collingwood Storm]

Siddle pick of the bowlers again.

 

[Red Bear]

Yes, but Hussey had been worse - where would you be without him now... look at the dismissals, and the approach taken - Hughes, Clarke nand Smith have all been much worse than Ponting.

Maybe Ponting just needs to swallow his pride and drop down the order a little - no shame in that... dunno if you have a #3 in waiting (I know you'll all say Khawaja, but you're the same people who've been trumpeting Hughes and Smith, so I'll reserve my jugdment) - Hussey could do it atm... Ponting at 5 or 6 is going to offer much more than Clarke or Smith...

But even if you can score runs, you can't bowl a team out

:loL: at "ideal bowling conditions" for the Poms... clouds come an go in tests - Australia should not have capitulated like that - Hughes, Clarke, Smith and Haddin's dismissals were pathetic - they gave their wickets away... Watson's was marginally better, Ponting got a very good ball, and was out to what's always been his weakness early - he pushes out very hard, and Hussey was undone by a brilliant sequence of deliveries

Who knows how we'd have been had Hussey been replaced when he probably should've (post09 ashes). Or if North had been dropped after the home summer last year? If we'd actually picked players a while back and got some test cricket into them BEFORE the ashes series. By the time it comes to the series you are pretty much stuck with what you have, and when it fails (as it mostly have) you are stuffed. Averaging 35 over 30 odd tests is no acceptable, and just cos Hussey came good after a multitude of tests doesnt mean we should carry player for that length of time.

Re Ponting - thats his whole issue. He doesnt swallow his pride. He's too stubborn a character. Thats why he still goes out hooking, still goes out agressive and just gets out. He doesnt have that foresight to think OK I cant play these shots early, i've lost that fraction of speed in reflexes and what i used to swallow up and spit to the boundary. The one time he made runs in the past 18 months he got dropped first ball playing the hook shot. After that chance he reigned his game in and played defensively for a while, yet since then he hasnt. He doesnt play himself in, he still tries to play like the Ponting of 6 years ago, and if he's going to keep doing that I'd rather he retired, because he isnt helping the team and it's just a bit sad watching the shdow of a great player.


Khawaja has scored similar amounts of runs to Hughes and Smith, but is a much more traditional bat. It's only One day cricket, against south australia, but have a look at this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzQ0if2dxs4

 

[Red Bear]

Siddle pick of the bowlers again.

What, for the first time since Brisbane first innings?

 

[TheParraboy]

Siddle the magnificent

 

[Collingwood Storm]

What, for the first time since Brisbane first innings?

The only bowler to perform well in more than 1 test.

 

[ElectricEelMan]

The only bowler to perform well in more than 1 test.

Yet he has been crap all other tests

He needs more consistency. Way more consistency.

 

[Red Bear]

Yeah good innings, 4 innings of rubbish, good innings isnt ideal.

And Harris bowled well in both Adelaide and Perth

 

[JJ]

Aust lost without Siddle

Think the main problem is too many from NSW

 

[Timbo]

Re Ponting - thats his whole issue. He doesnt swallow his pride. He's too stubborn a character. Thats why he still goes out hooking, still goes out agressive and just gets out. He doesnt have that foresight to think OK I cant play these shots early, i've lost that fraction of speed in reflexes and what i used to swallow up and spit to the boundary. The one time he made runs in the past 18 months he got dropped first ball playing the hook shot. After that chance he reigned his game in and played defensively for a while, yet since then he hasnt. He doesnt play himself in, he still tries to play like the Ponting of 6 years ago, and if he's going to keep doing that I'd rather he retired, because he isnt helping the team and it's just a bit sad watching the shdow of a great player.

Exactly.

I always thought the mark of Steve Waugh's greatness was his ability to recognize and compensate for flaws, such as his hookshot. When he started getting out to it, he put it away.

Ponting is just a clown who refuses to accept that he isn't the man he used to be. A tap on the shoulder is the best thing for Australian cricket.

 

[TheParraboy]

Siddle needs consistancy?

Gee what do our top order need batting on roads in this series? 5 lives each? :crazy:

 

[hineyrulz]

Amazing Siddle starts bowing a decent length for the first time since Brisbane and he picks up a few wickets :crazy: