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tour match vs. england lions

watson made 95 off 85 sadly enough, continuing to persuade selectors he is the man, despite the fact he is not
hussey made 65 and continues to take the umpteenth chance to drag himself out of a slump
johnson (now averaging 32 in test cricket, yet we're still desperately looking for an all rounder) batted at six !
chris hartley (qld keeper) debuted.

lions were 0/23 after 9
 
Lee takes 3/36, to firm as Aus's 5th choice bowler.

Siddle 1/51 will get the nod.

I understand Hilf and Siddle have been ok. Siddles stats are boosted by a 5 fa cleaning the tail. But 1-1 with England through 4 tests is aiming well below what we should be aiming for. The fact that they have been decent isn't reflected in the results.

The selectors are morons. Dropping a 20 year old in a 'slump' 5 tests into a career still averaging over 50! Then not picking him for the tour game (undoubtedly for fear of him actually doing well and making them like like tits)

Now we have a situation where 2, and half the time 3 of our quick bowlers are solid first class bowlers. They wouldn't get a run in the England attack. The selectors are ok making the hard decision with a 20 year old kid who is actually having a pretty amazing start to his career, but are sticking by siddle, hilf and johnson for their 'effort'.

Bite the bullet and pick the guy who has 300 test wickets, and also the guy still ranked 4th on the ICC world bowling rankings.

Further, can you imagine another time in Aus cricket history where they would settle for an opener who scores the odd 50, not capable of a huge score, averages 19.76 when picked as the opener. Its quite rediculous. This guy has to have agood looking sister, because he is given more chances than anyone in Aus cricket history, and for a guy with mediocre talent, it is baffling.

I implore the selectors to pick a team resembling the following

Katich
Hughes
Ponting
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
Lee
Hauritz
Clark
Siddle/Hilfenhaus

I am ambiguous with Siddle/Hilfenhaus as that will depend on conditions. Siddle will get more out of a dead track, Hilf will get more with an up and down surface.

Honestly, Our batting is good enough to play 5 bowlers. Johnson is a good test number 7, Haddin is a good test number 6, North is firing, Clarke is No2 in the world, Ponting is Ponting, Katich is a gun, hughes has potential to destroy any attack, why on earth is watson in there, why on earth is Hussey still there???

The problem with the team is taking 20 wickets, well do the brave thing and pick the extra bowler. And also, stop pussy-footing around with triers, pick winners.
 
I agree with that for the most part... but Lee isn't going to be picked, Hilditch prefers the three-quicks-one-spinner over Clark, and I don't know how you can justify dropping Hilfenhaus, he's been the bowler of the series so far. While I agree it's a little head-scratching for someone who is/was a decent first-class bowler to be absolutely assured of a spot, but he's done exceptionally well.

Watson I totally agree on. I hate the fact he's doing well. Hopefully he'll fall in a hole soon enough and Hughes doesn't go the way of Casson. Funny to see that he can't buy a wicket with the ball.
 
I agree with that for the most part... but Lee isn't going to be picked, Hilditch prefers the three-quicks-one-spinner over Clark, and I don't know how you can justify dropping Hilfenhaus, he's been the bowler of the series so far. While I agree it's a little head-scratching for someone who is/was a decent first-class bowler to be absolutely assured of a spot, but he's done exceptionally well.

Watson I totally agree on. I hate the fact he's doing well. Hopefully he'll fall in a hole soon enough and Hughes doesn't go the way of Casson. Funny to see that he can't buy a wicket with the ball.

But since when is the way hilf is performing good enough?

He has been the best of a woeful bunch. It makes people like Bichel and Kasper look silly for not playing 100 tests.

He has performed well above expectations, but we have better players waiting for a spot. Think back to the late 90's/early 00's. MacGill was the second best spinner in the world. When he played with Warne, he out performed him. Unfortunately for him, Warne was better though, and we had to drop a leg spinner who averaged mid 20's. It was hard on the guy, but it was the right choice. Same with Hilfenhaus. He has done well, but he has only ever really beena fill in for the real test bowlers. Think about who he is keeping on the sidelines. Stuart Clark, ICC ranked 4th in the world with 90-odd woickets in 23 tests at 22.9 something. Brett Lee, over 300 test wickets.

I feel bad for him, but seriously, it's not under 14's where you baby people for their effort. It is Test fucking cricket, and you pick your BEST team
 
Can't argue with that. I'm just saying it would be impossible and not right to drop him, is all.

Something that bemuses me is that five, ten years ago with Warne at his peak there was never any question whether he would play or not. Wouldn't have mattered if they were playing on asphalt, he'd be first picked.

Now, it depends on the conditions whether our "frontline" spinner plays or not.
 
^ ahah, well our frontline spinner isnt really a spinner. Honestly though, I would put more XI against the selectors XI, and I bet we'd win by an innings and 200 runs.

Dan's XI

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
Lee
Hauritz (Casson if he wasn't struggling in park cricket in Darwin atm)
Clark
Hilfenhaus

vs

Shitcunt's XI

Watson (Ha!)
Katich
Ponting
Hussey (Ha!)
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

Addition of Hughes, Lee and Clark makes my team shit on the other team that has Watson, Hussey and Siddle in their places
 
mad's entitled to post whatever he wants... we were fucking hopeless, though this is smelliest pitch since a mediocre spinner in jim laker took 19 wickets all those years ago.
 
Come on, that was a top 5 classic collapse

Broad was hardly Curtly Ambrose out there

Problem is, i would not be surprised if england are all out for about 95

Still not over
 
it would make sense the way this series has been going for Hussey to score 250+ and win it for Aus
 
It's a ridiculous chase. Australia can't win it. I just hope it doesn't end in a draw.
 
EASY, EASY, EASY, EASY!!!!

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Serves them fucking right, garbage garbage performance from everyone from the selectors to the captain. I don't blame the shit players selected because they cant help it if they arent the best cricketers around, id play if they picked me, and i bet im close now!

Ponting HAS to retire from captaincy. He is no good. We HAVE to appoint a full-time selector who doesnt have a 'NSW clear-out' agenda. We HAVE to bring back players like Hughes and Lee.

Shame on the Aussie administration.

And Madforit, I understand you're excited, but I mean SOME of those comments are fairly racist. I can take ribbing and banter and all that, but you've crossed a line there. We are all apparently prisoners to a past we never agreed with.
 
Your lot just got smashed by Sri Lanka Ax I wouldn't get too chirpy... :wink:

Serves them fucking right, garbage garbage performance from everyone from the selectors to the captain. I don't blame the shit players selected because they cant help it if they arent the best cricketers around, id play if they picked me, and i bet im close now!

Ponting HAS to retire from captaincy. He is no good. We HAVE to appoint a full-time selector who doesnt have a 'NSW clear-out' agenda. We HAVE to bring back players like Hughes and Lee.

Shame on the Aussie administration.

And Madforit, I understand you're excited, but I mean SOME of those comments are fairly racist. I can take ribbing and banter and all that, but you've crossed a line there. We are all apparently prisoners to a past we never agreed with.
I was waiting for this :D

:up: Ponting can't die happy now... knowing that he is only the second person to lead Australia to two Ashes losses in England and the first in over a century. He's already said he wants to pay until he's 38 so he can have a chance of winning in England.

And we dish out as good as we cop mate. Though most of those are pretty tired. Our insults evolve, they've been clinging on to convicts for 300 odd years now.


England didn't win the Ashes, mind. We lost them. The reasons?

1) Not being able to bowl out England's tail at Cardiff in a test we fucking dominated (Hauritz in particular. Warne would have wrapped that up in minutes)
2) Poor batting, mostly evident in that test.
3) Selection blunders, namely Hussey, who made a pointless ton and is only there because there's no alternative, and the Clark/Lee/Siddle/Hauritz crap.
4) Poor bowling. Watson is meant to be an "all-rounder" but was useless with the ball. Johnson was poor until late in the third test. No pressure built at crucial stages.
5) Poor captaincy, like I need to go into it.
6) Flintoff's spell at Lord's
7) Broad's spell at The Oval. Two bowlers who did little else in the series.

You break that down we lost the Ashes because: we couldn't bowl them out in Cardiff, Flintoff at Lord's and Broad at the Oval.
 
^ agreed.

Look, I agree we do give as good as we get, and I mentioned in the post that that was the case, but the bashing aboriginals stuff is not on
 
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