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Australia in South Africa (postponed) and in NZ SQUADs 2021

TIGER14

Bench
Messages
2,604
Warner
Pucovski
Labuschagne
Smith (c)
Paine (batsman only and his last chance to perform - without the pressure of captaincy or keeping)
Green
Carey (wk)
Starc
Lyon
Cummins
Hazlewood

I'd be tempted to replace Green with a 5th bowler though.

And I know SA isn't great for spin but I think you still need to have one in your side for some variety. I'd prefer Swepson to Lyon but I don't think it's the right series to bring him in just yet.
 
Messages
21,880
Warner
Pucovski
Labuschagne
Smith (c)
Paine (batsman only and his last chance to perform - without the pressure of captaincy or keeping)
Green
Carey (wk)
Starc
Lyon
Cummins
Hazlewood

I'd be tempted to replace Green with a 5th bowler though.

And I know SA isn't great for spin but I think you still need to have one in your side for some variety.


Paine as a batsmen?! What

He’s not in the top 20 batsmen in the country, let alone top 6.


Also don’t understand how anyone could pick Starc. He’s been awful against the best teams for a while now.
 

Zadar

Juniors
Messages
962
South Africa look like a pretty ordinary team these days, with no Steyn, AB, not sure where rabada is, they don’t have any fear factor in the batting line up.

somehow Australian have only beaten SA once in a series in about 12 years, I reckon Australia will win that series comfortably.
 

TIGER14

Bench
Messages
2,604
Paine as a batsmen?! What

He’s not in the top 20 batsmen in the country, let alone top 6.

He averaged 40 for the series, which was one of our best so it would be harsh to drop him entirely. I think he deserves one more chance purely as a batsman. But he should be nowhere near the captaincy or the gloves.
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
153,688
Jerk Nannes suggested Wade as the back up keeper, LMFAO!!!

And that merkin gets paid for his opinion.
 
Last edited:

Sphagnum

Coach
Messages
13,069
What the team will actually look like

Warner
Harris or Puck if fit
Labs
Smith
Wade
Green
Paine (c)
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazelwood

coach JL
Head burger flipper ranga McDonald
 

Bazal

Post Whore
Messages
103,011
What the team will actually look like

Warner
Harris or Puck if fit
Labs
Smith
Wade
Green
Paine (c)
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazelwood

coach JL
Head burger flipper ranga McDonald

Pretty much. Doubt we'll see wholesale changes until after the Test Championship.

I do think Wade will be dropped for Head, but that's about it. Maybe Richardson for Starc but I think Starc is likely to do well in SA, later in the season with some swinging conditions
 
Messages
21,880
Pretty much. Doubt we'll see wholesale changes until after the Test Championship.

I do think Wade will be dropped for Head, but that's about it. Maybe Richardson for Starc but I think Starc is likely to do well in SA, later in the season with some swinging conditions


I doubt Starc will be dropped, they have a massive hard on for him. But the last series was at the same time of year and he took 12 wickets @ 34.
 

Sphagnum

Coach
Messages
13,069
Starc needs a rest. So does Lyon. Wade should go and Harris and Warner to open with puck at 5
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
19,191
They aren't going to drop Nathan Lyon... probably ever so no use even discussing that point.

Paine needs to go but I can cop him staying for this one series given it is the first one back since sandpaper gate.

Pucovski in for Harris if fit. Starc needs to go but is there anyone decent to replace him who is fit?
 
Messages
21,880
They aren't going to drop Nathan Lyon... probably ever so no use even discussing that point.

Paine needs to go but I can cop him staying for this one series given it is the first one back since sandpaper gate.

Pucovski in for Harris if fit. Starc needs to go but is there anyone decent to replace him who is fit?


Neser is fit, Richardson is bowling in T20, not sure when Pattinson is ready.

Also no crowds in South Africa, so heckling won’t be an issue for the captain.
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
68,244
That's nearly the starting XI I would choose for the next test match.

Would really love to see the selectors make the tough decisions, but whether it will happen whilst Trevor Hohns is there remains to be seen.


I think JL has some say, and wont make tough changes IMO

I think his contract expires after India tour in 2022. He has made no secret he is gunning to win that series, which is laughable now considering what we dished up at home

If we are doing some big changes going forward ,maybe we start with a new coach?
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
68,244
Paine doesnt think he is going anywhere for now....


https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...failures-but-determined-to-soldier-on-1248489

315441.4.jpg


Australia's captain Tim Paine has no intention of resigning, even after giving a frank and unflattering assessment of how his team found themselves beaten by an injury-ravaged India side in the battle for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, capped with the first victory by a visiting team at the Gabba since 1988.

At 36, Paine said he was looking ahead to the forthcoming tour of South Africa and a bid to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship, but would not guarantee his tenure beyond that to next summer's home Ashes series.

Clearly rocked by consecutive day fives in which he was unable to marshal a strong bowling attack to deliver victory over Ajinkya Rahane's preternaturally resilient tourists, Paine said India had in truth won the majority of the key moments across all four Tests, cancelled out only by one crazy hour in Adelaide where they had been razed for 36.

"Even if you went right back to Adelaide, if it was with bat, ball or field, every time we had a chance to go ahead of the game we let it slip," Paine said. "It happened a little bit in Sydney with our fielding, and then yesterday a bit with our batting, we continually lost wickets when we were trying to put the foot down and couldn't quite get a partnership together. I thought every time India needed to do that or needed a wicket, someone managed to do it for them. I think they won the key moments.

"I just said then to JL [coach Justin Langer], we turned up in Sydney on day five and the Gabba on day five in as good a position as you would want to be in I reckon, and couldn't get the job done, so there's some things that we should've and could've done better, but at the same time I thought India, their batting group were amazing on both those day fives."

Asked whether Australia had been too determined simply to stick to their simple and trusted methods for bullying opponents with pace bowling and fast scoring in Australian conditions, as opposed to the more considered and fit-for-purpose approaches tried in recent away series in India and England, Paine wondered whether the pitches had aided his men as much as usual.

"Everyone's got a great plan for opposition, but India just managed to play better than us," he said. "They managed to get through our plans for longer than we managed to get through theirs, particularly in the key moments.

"I'm not sure whether [it was] the wickets with the lack of cricket they've had, but certainly Sydney didn't do as much as we thought it would do on day five. Even today I thought that wicket was really going to open up and there'd be cracks everywhere and balls would be flying, but it didn't happen as much as we thought it would. But India's batters turned up and wore it on the body and toughed it out and kept soldiering on and then took the game away from us late.

"They [India] guys came in and played their roles and that's what you expect of anyone. Whether they're big name players or not, I think they showed they've got some real depth and skill. They outplayed us, I don't think we took them lightly or thought we were going to roll them over. They're a very proud cricket country and they've got a huge population and a lot of skilful players to pick from and they played bloody well. They toughed it out, they were disciplined, and the guys who came in played a role."

As for questions about whether Australia might have considered looking more deeply into their bowling squad, Paine said that Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon had earned the right to expect inclusion whenever they are fit to play.

"Those four bowlers were ready to go, no doubt about that. Certainly they and I won't be using that as an excuse," he said. "This isn't the first time they've played a four-Test series...we're lucky we've got such durable fast bowlers. Had we held our catches in Sydney they wouldn't have had to bowl the overs they did have. I thought they did a tremendous job throughout the whole series, they created chances, I think we could've scored more runs and given them more scoreboard pressure at times.
 

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