MadForIt
Refugee
Eng battered Windies in 3 days lol
Now ECB has to refund 20,000 tickets for the saturday
Now ECB has to refund 20,000 tickets for the saturday
You're nothing if not optimisticHodge better at least make the touring party or I'll struggle to support Australia properly. Hopefully Clarke or Katich will lose form so Hodgey can get back in the side. Hussey has been quite ordinary for a while now. Drop him and give Hodge a test or two.
Dont underestimate Onions, you Aussies are dicing with trouble
And Ravi Bopara is the new Ian Bell....(few good scores, gets lucky, cocky, really he is shit)
I have to show some bravado here as realistically england are a steaming pile of pooh
If they somehow perform a miracle and win, they wont win a test until 2013 as they will still be celebrating (just like in bewteen 2005-2009)
My Ashes prediction - Eng 1 Aus 3
New bowlers often succeed against us... but then we work them out and they can't buy a wicket in the next test.
I also completely retract any concerns/complaints/blahblahblah/etc I had about Hughes
Siddle could be the destroyer. Mitch Johnson can't do it alone. If Siddle fires, Aussies should romp it home, cause of two gun pacemen.
I'd like to see McGain tour cause he's a Vic, but Aussies only viable spin options are to bring Warnie or MacGill out of retirement, otherwise play four quicks. North is a good enough part-time spinner and hes originally from Melbs anyway, so he's cool.
Hodge better at least make the touring party or I'll struggle to support Australia properly. Hopefully Clarke or Katich will lose form so Hodgey can get back in the side. Hussey has been quite ordinary for a while now. Drop him and give Hodge a test or two.
Thing about Lee, I'd want him to get back to full strength but his form before his injury was questionable. With his bowlong style and the pressue it puts on his body, he might be in decline, seemingly prematurely. A shame, but there is a hige question mark as to whether he is capable of having the same impact in a test match. Clark's deserves his spot, but I don't like him, so I don't want him in the team.
One Day Cricket is irrelevant today (take that recent tournament against Pakistan in Dubai - pointless exercise) and will be scarcely played in a decade's time. Dunno how you can say Hodge was good enough in previous eras (ie. Ashes '05) when he is still as brilliant as he has been all decade, and now with retirements to guns like Langer and co, and form questionable for players like Hussey, it is ridiculous to suggest that Hodge isn't a viable and reliable option to enter the Australian batting order. He might not have the flash of a Gilly or a Punter, or the "long-term" prospect that is selector's love-child Clarke, but he will stack on the runs, rest assured.
I like Jacques, but he is only proven as an opener and will only get a look in if Hughes or Katich lose form or get injured, which is certainly possible. Hughes has flashed in the pan quite spectacularly, but there's just as much chance he'll go through a rough patch. So many younger do after they've debuted (Ponting, Hayden, Clarke, Langer, Martyn).
SymondS has fallen out of favour and probably won't be given much consideration by selectors anymore. Which is cool, I'm over him, he's never been a reliable test contributor.
Hughes is still younger than any of those guys were. He also has had a much greater effect at test and first-class level. How you can call a guy that is still closer to 20 than 21 that has scored 100's in each of his first three county matches, Youngest ever to score 2 hundreds in a test, in only his second test, a flash in the pan is beyond me. He will obviously go through rough patches, but to even hint at suggesting Hodge should replace him is laughable.
Hodge's problem isn't flash either. He simply isn't as good, reliable, consistant or ruthless as Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Hayden, Langer, Hughes etc. It's as clear as day that he simply isn't as good an option as any of those guys were.
Jaques will play before Hodge, because If they needed another bat, and Jaques was in form (scored a 100 in his last test innings btw), Katich would bat 4. He isn't an opener, he just grabbed the opportunity he deserved to recieve.
The guy is a very talented bat. But he is this era's Darren lehman. Has a huge cult following that think he is capable of much more than he is. Tears State attacks to shreds, but that is where his talent peaks. He had one big test innings. But he only averages 40 in his 7 or so tests, and that includes a not out 200... His brilliant innings are few and far between at the highest level. He is much better than David Hussey, I will give you that. He looks like he is playing 5th grade in Ballarat
Aye, one big innings, and he was dropped almost immediately after that. Selectors didn't like him.
you should come and play for wyndhamvale mate.I will say one thing about Graham Onions. I play first grade cricket in Newcastle. Graham Onions came out a tthe end of last season as a star signing for a club side in the Newcastle competition, Stockton. (Bearing in mind Newcastle first grade is about Sydney 3rd grade equivalent, from there you go, 2nd, 1st, then into NSW City/Country teams, then NSW 2nd XI, then the NSW 1st class side) So Newcastle first grade is approx 7 steps removed from 1st class cricket. Onions was awful and he got pumped in his 2 games games straight. including 0/60 against a mid-table Merewether side.
After his 200, which was in his 3rd test while filling in for Clarke he scored: 7, 24, 6, 27* and then was dropped for Damien Martyn (who I admit I would like in the team even less the Simple Brad.)
Fact of the matter is, Jason Gillespie also scored a test 200* but noone is claiming he should be in there as a bat. Hodge was a fill in for Langer in the first instance, then Clark, then Martyn. He had much better batsmen in front of him, and as a 34 year old now, he isn't exactly a prospect for the future
Hodge's last test, this time last year, was against the Windies and he scored 27 and 67. Reasonable scores.
He was filling in for Clarke against Sth AfricA in 05/06, because the selectors realised at that time that they were insane playing their lovechild who hadn't done anything since his debut test in India (he was therefore playing for NSW), and was a waste of space. Meanwhile, Hodge was the best bat in country after Ponting. Well overdue for a spot in the side.
Gillespie scored his 200 against Bangers, Hodge scored his double ton against South Africa. Their bowling attacks aren't really comparable.
Hodge is the same age as Hussey, yet Hussey isn't deemed past it, despite his atrocious test form of late.
Fact of the matter: selectors don't like Hodge for some reason. It's Jamie Siddons all over again. just at least Hodge got to play a test.
Characters are quickly dissipating... we've just had South Africa who were about as entertaining as Kevin Rudd, and the players of ours who actually get speak are about as interesting and unrestrained as John Hewson.
Phil Hughes was on Sky in uk and said it would be 5-0 to Aus but he was joking
He hasnt scored enough runs yet to get away with those kind of comments
Its kicking off in england between Chris Gayle and Strauss though
Strauss said Gayle was disrespectful to test cricket for turning up 2 days before lords test (he got 0 & 28)
Gayle hit back saying he could not care less if Test Cricket died and as he is a quality slogger it suits him fine if Twenty20 is the main form of cricket as he will survive AND that Strauss is only worried about test cricket as he cant hack limited overs cricket!
Should be a ref and gloves ready for the toss tomorrow morning
Ponting is a fantastic batsman, but he is also a cock and an awful captain yes. Hopefully Haddin stays in the mould of Gilly and speaks freely.Kudos on th John Hewson call. Ponting thinks being a character is curling his lip over and getting shirty when things don't go his way. He is a cock, and an awful captain. Haddin at least has character. Probably not been there long enough to make any sweeping statements though.
If test cricket died then I would never pay attention to cricket ever again. By absolute miles THE form of the sport.Phil Hughes was on Sky in uk and said it would be 5-0 to Aus but he was joking
He hasnt scored enough runs yet to get away with those kind of comments
Its kicking off in england between Chris Gayle and Strauss though
Strauss said Gayle was disrespectful to test cricket for turning up 2 days before lords test (he got 0 & 28)
Gayle hit back saying he could not care less if Test Cricket died and as he is a quality slogger it suits him fine if Twenty20 is the main form of cricket as he will survive AND that Strauss is only worried about test cricket as he cant hack limited overs cricket!
Should be a ref and gloves ready for the toss tomorrow morning
I'm very confident we'll still win. Ian Botham the dickhead seems to think our bowling line-up is weak.
Oh, and I agree about Hodgey. I still don't get the fascination with having an allrounder. Surely Johnson's proved enough with the bat.
I like...
Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
North
Haddin
Johnson
Lee
Siddle
Clark
.