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Summer of Cricket thread

I was astonished that England tried to score so quickly when they had 3 and 1/2 days to win it. Often they were scoring at 6-8 runs per over.
 
My team for Sydney.

Head
Konstas ( good recent Shield form, Weathers is struggling on lively pitches)
Labu ( all round fielding gets him in)
Smith
Green (young, despite struggling with bat, and has done well with the ball in short spells)
Carey
Webster (diverse skill set, proven pressure player in Tests to date)
Neser ( has done really well in recent Tests)
Starc
Rocky (Murphy good, but Rocky has out-bowled him recently)
Richardson ( again young player in his 20s, bowled well in Melb)

Barrel misses out, as he is rested, or Starc is rested.

4 players selected for the future and aged in their 20s - Green, Konstas, Rocky/Murph, Richardson.

McSweeney only averaging 30 in Shield.

Top Shield batter, Ward, is playing 3 too. Has had to bat on tough Tassie pitch.

Renshaw batting well ATM, but has struggled for 7 years. Looked long term prospect.
 
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Decentric said:
My team for Sydney.

Head
Konstas ( good recent Shield form, Weathers is struggling on lively pitches)
Labu ( all round fielding gets him in)
Smith
Green (young, despite struggling with bat, and has done well with the ball in short spells)
Carey
Webster (diverse skill set, proven pressure player in Tests to date)
Neser ( has done really well in recent Tests)
Starc
Rocky (Murphy good, but Rocky has out-bowled him recently)
Richardson ( again young player in his 20s, bowled well in Melb)

Barrel misses out, as he is rested, or Starc is rested.

4 players selected for the future and aged in their 20s - Green, Konstas, Rocky/Murph, Richardson.

McSweeney only averaging 30 in Shield.

Top Shield batter, Ward, is playing 3 too. Has had to bat on tough Tassie pitch.

Renshaw batting well ATM, but has struggled for 7 years. Looked long term prospect.
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Green has taken 3 wickets all series at an average of 52. In some games, he has bowled 1 or 2 overs only, and he didn't even bowl yesterday. I'd hardly call that "well". If he can't contribute regularly with the ball, then he has no spot in the team. He is brought in as an all-rounder, so if he can only do one job, he shouldn't be in the side.

As much as I love Marnus, you can't just pick specialist fielders. I know Ussie if 40, but he has proven himself when called upon. He batted well in Adelaide, steadied us in the 1st innings in Melbourne. Can't give leniency to others but then not allow him the same.
 
Decentric said:
I was astonished that England tried to score so quickly when they had 3 and 1/2 days to win it. Often they were scoring at 6-8 runs per over.
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I think they decided that if they batted conservatively they were more likely to get out before reaching the target. Batting the way they did was a bit of a gamble, but it ended up giving them enough runs in between losing wickets.
 
Keeper66 said:
I think they decided that if they batted conservatively they were more likely to get out before reaching the target. Batting the way they did was a bit of a gamble, but it ended up giving them enough runs in between losing wickets.
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It certainly worked for England - this time.

Fair play to them!
 
zimbos05 said:
Green has taken 3 wickets all series at an average of 52. In some games, he has bowled 1 or 2 overs only, and he didn't even bowl yesterday. I'd hardly call that "well". If he can't contribute regularly with the ball, then he has no spot in the team. He is brought in as an all-rounder, so if he can only do one job, he shouldn't be in the side.

As much as I love Marnus, you can't just pick specialist fielders. I know Ussie if 40, but he has proven himself when called upon. He batted well in Adelaide, steadied us in the 1st innings in Melbourne. Can't give leniency to others but then not allow him the same.
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I've got some series figures here and it has been very low scoring, so Green's batting should be seen in context.

Head - 4 matches - 437 runs - 55 average - no NOs.
Carey - 4 matches - 291 runs - 49 average - no NOs.
Smith - 3 matches - 136 runs - 45 average - 3 NOs.
Usman - 3 matches - 153 runs - 31 average - 1 NO.
Starc - 4 matches - 151 runs - 30 average - 1 NO.
Labu - 4 matches - 174 runs - 25 average - 1 NO.
Inglis - 2 matches - 65 runs - 21 average - no NOs.
Weatherald - 4 matches -146 runs - 21 average - 1 NO
Green - 4 matches - 112 runs - 19 average - no NOs.

Poms
Root - 4 matches - 234 runs - 33 average - 1 NO.
Brook - 4 matches - 232 runs - 33 average - 1 NO.
Crawley - 4 matches - 256 runs - 32 average - no NOs.
Jacks - 3 matches - 118 runs - 24 average - no NOs.

So specialist Aussie batters, Labu, Inglis and Weathers, have batted virtually no better than Green - ostensibly an all rounder. Green has bowled balls exceeding 140 kph too.

How Webster, averaging 35 with the bat and 23 with the ball, playing in 7 Tests this year, has been replaced, is astonishing?
 
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I've been reading in the cricket media, that it is a 3 way race between Matt Kuhnemann, left arm finger spin, and Murphy and Rocky, both right arm finger spin, for the spin berth in Sydney.

Matt K plays for my home state, but has only played 2 Shield games, and taken only 4 wickets. In the last Shield game, he was in Brisbane, preparing for the Brisbane Heat. Surely he doesn't deserve consideration?

Murphy has taken 10 wickets for Vic, and Rocky 20 for WA including having to play at Bellerive and home games at WACA, grounds where the ball doesn't spin much.

The way that Seven market the BBL one would think the Ashes Tests are some sort of precursor warm ups for these BBL games. Many in the general public see these well marketed white ball cricketers, many who don't even play red ball FC cricket, as the next cabs off the rank for Test selection.
 
Decentric said:
I've been reading in the cricket media, that it is a 3 way race between Matt Kuhnemann, left arm finger spin, and Murphy and Rocky, both right arm finger spin, for the spin berth in Sydney.

Matt K plays for my home state, but has only played 2 Shield games, and taken only 4 wickets. In the last Shield game, he was in Brisbane, preparing for the Brisbane Heat. Surely he doesn't deserve consideration?

Murphy has taken 10 wickets for Vic, and Rocky 20 for WA including having to play at Bellerive and home games at WACA, grounds where the ball doesn't spin much.

The way that Seven market the BBL one would think the Ashes Tests are some sort of precursor warm ups for these BBL games. Many in the general public see these well marketed white ball cricketers, many who don't even play red ball FC cricket, as the next cabs off the rank for Test selection.
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I think it's easy to forget, definitely is very often for me, that there is a large percentage of 'cricket followers' that only tune in to what is exactly going on with players performances etc for the 8 weeks or so in summer when the cricket is on. Outside of that and especially what is going on in the Shield, barely anyone actually pays attention.
 
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Decentric said:
I've got some series figures here and it has been very low scoring, so Green's batting should be seen in context.

Head - 4 matches - 437 runs - 55 average - no NOs.
Carey - 4 matches - 291 runs - 49 average - no NOs.
Smith - 3 matches - 136 runs - 45 average - 3 NOs.
Usman - 3 matches - 153 runs - 31 average - 1 NO.
Starc - 4 matches - 151 runs - 30 average - 1 NO.
Labu - 4 matches - 174 runs - 25 average - 1 NO.
Inglis - 2 matches - 65 runs - 21 average - no NOs.
Weatherald - 4 matches -146 runs - 21 average - 1 NO
Green - 4 matches - 112 runs - 19 average - no NOs.

Poms
Root - 4 matches - 234 runs - 33 average - 1 NO.
Brook - 4 matches - 232 runs - 33 average - 1 NO.
Crawley - 4 matches - 256 runs - 32 average - no NOs.
Jacks - 3 matches - 118 runs - 24 average - no NOs.

So specialist Aussie batters, Labu, Inglis and Weathers, have batted virtually no better than Green - ostensibly an all rounder. Green has bowled balls exceeding 140 kph too.

How Webster, averaging 35 with the bat and 23 with the ball, playing in 7 Tests this year, has been replaced, is astonishing?
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You're not really making Greens case here. He has the worst average of them all. Has done nothing with the ball, so why does he deserve to keep his spot?

Whilst he Marnus, Inglis and Weatherald are not much better, does not mean that Green keeps his spot. He may have bowled a few balls over 140kph, but we have enough bowlers who can do that whilst taking wickets and applying pressure. No point bowling that speed if you don't do anything with the ball, or barely bowl.
 
So I was hearing in the car Greg Chappel had done a article on the boxing test farce lasting 2days.
All the links are fire walled.
In brief batters have lost the art.
Other quotes mentioned by o the era we have all jumped the gun blaming the curator.
It was a typical shield wicket.
Maybe GC is right.
All this pyjama cricket is effecting the younger batters.
Richie ?
 
LFC said:
So I was hearing in the car Greg Chappel had done a article on the boxing test farce lasting 2days.
All the links are fire walled.
In brief batters have lost the art.
Other quotes mentioned by o the era we have all jumped the gun blaming the curator.
It was a typical shield wicket.
Maybe GC is right.
All this pyjama cricket is effecting the younger batters.
Richie ?
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Mmm I would love to have a read if anyone can paste past the paywall??
www.smh.com.au

Bradman and co. knew toughness was part of Test cricket. Do today’s players?

Few of the players involved in the Boxing Day Test put their body on the line, gesturing, laughing and cursing as they departed as if the surface was unplayable. It was appalling.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au

I would say there is no doubt that with the emergence of T20 and short form cricket that not only has the skill of being able to 'dig in' left the game, but more importantly the mentality and mindset to even consider sticking out the tough batting conditions simply is no longer instilled. I mean at a grassroots level there are MANY park cricket leagues in Aus that don't even have any two day cricket!
 
Decentric said:
Phenomenal!
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Good, only 5w per Test. Prob his best season for many a yr tho. I wont rate him as even our best ever strike bowler let alone the world best, for one reason, his inconsistency. No great has ever released the pressure on a batting side by leaking runs the way he has and still does. He is another that should retire while on top.
 
rebelliousfeminist974 said:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...st-pitch-icc-verdict-unsatisfactory/106185382

The ICC have officially rated the MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Test as unsatisfactory, with the wicket deemed the worst in the world for any Test in almost two years. It also means that the MCG will receive one demerit point.
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Well deserved too. MCG Trust boss and Aussie cricket captain can support Matt Page all they like , but betting CA head honchos aint as his pitch has cost them some $10m in loss revenue from gate takings they have to refund..
 
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