Official Cricket 12/13 Thread

[Axver]

Hahaha, well played.

Funnily enough, I noticed a bunch of comments today - I think it was reader comments shared on Cricinfo's live commentary but it might've been elsewhere - expressing the opposite opinion, that Wade is a poor keeper and a liability heading into this year's big series' against England and India. I was going to raise the topic here. He seems competent enough to me, but he's no Gilchrist.

 

[cobl04]

He's been pretty poor all summer. I always try to be positive but he's dropped not only catches but normal balls, missed stumpings, kept up to the stumps to medium pacers and struggled, Bill Lawry commented today that he was "ball watching" when he should have gone for the catch Clarke took to dismiss Jayawardene, which Ian Chappell, a former slipper, agreed with.

I think he should stay on, though he's got some work to do with the gloves. But as Martin Blake pointed out on Twitter today Rod Marsh was called "iron gloves" at one point.

 

[Axver]

I didn't hate Haddin as much as most Kiwi fans have since 2009, but it seems to me his time is rapidly passing and Wade needs to be worked in. I admittedly don't know what other options there are, though.

 

[cobl04]

Why do Kiwis hate him?

His batting and age conspired against him I think.

Tim Paine is next in line. He's already played Test cricket I think but got injured. He'll get another chance.

 

[dan_smee]

I think the selectors definitely dropped the ball with Wade. It matters not one bit that he scored a ton yesterday - Gilchrist he is not, and we need to stop looking for his 2nd coming.

The priority is totally wrong, we need to pick a wicket keeper who can bat, not the other way around. Wade's glovework has been amateurish, and his missed stumpings and catches made the series against South Africa more difficult than it needed to be, and against England in the Ashes, we can't afford those mistakes.

The selectors should have kept Haddin on for this summer, and told Nevill, Wade and Paine that they had this summer to push their own case based on glovework, and then batting. I don't think anyone doubts that all three could handle batting 7 in the test team, so it should be purely on glovework - a field in which Nevill is light-years ahead of the other two.

The biggest shame is that Wade is going to be retained based on his batting, but a few hundreds here and there (and some woefully soft dismissals too) will be enough to keep him. Unfortunately, dropping A Cook, or missing a stumping against K Pietersen could cost the series (just like not stumping H Amla and dropping F du Plessis cost the Adelaide test). The odd score of 30+ doesn't make up for those errors. His batting should irrelevant, as we should be picking the best bat of the keepers with acceptable standards of performance. Wade is not one of those.

 

[dan_smee]

Why do Kiwis hate him?

His batting and age conspired against him I think.

Tim Paine is next in line. He's already played Test cricket I think but got injured. He'll get another chance.

Paine isn't as good as Nevill. And Nevill is a Victorian, so you guys should be happy.

 

[Axver]

Why do Kiwis hate him?

Because of that time his gloves disturbed the bails when Kiwi batsman Neil Broom was "bowled".

I see the ODI squad has been announced, with two omissions that startled me - Hussey's been dumped and Warner rested. I guess I can understand the Huss omission to make way for younger talent, but he's clearly not out of form yet and I wonder if this decision would have been made had he not announced his retirement? The Warner call just baffles me. One of the most explosive batsmen in the world and you don't pick him? He's good at Tests, but the shorter forms of the game suit him even better. Are Australia just being cocky that they can roll Sri Lanka without Warner? Because the Sri Lankans aren't quite as incompetent at the shorter forms of the game as they currently are at Tests.

 

[dan_smee]

Because of that time his gloves disturbed the bails when Kiwi batsman Neil Broom was "bowled".

I see the ODI squad has been announced, with two omissions that startled me - Hussey's been dumped and Warner rested. I guess I can understand the Huss omission to make way for younger talent, but he's clearly not out of form yet and I wonder if this decision would have been made had he not announced his retirement? The Warner call just baffles me. One of the most explosive batsmen in the world and you don't pick him? He's good at Tests, but the shorter forms of the game suit him even better. Are Australia just being cocky that they can roll Sri Lanka without Warner? Because the Sri Lankans aren't quite as incompetent at the shorter forms of the game as they currently are at Tests.

They like to rest players who play all three forms of the game. Warner has been playing year round for a couple of seasons, a few weeks off will suit him.

I love Hughes and Finch in that team. Easily the best two bats in short format cricket this season in Australia. Hughes, Finch opening or Hughes, Haddin with Finch at 3 is potentially explosive.

And with the Haddin/Brrom incident, anyone who has kept wicket before knows that the premium gloves have thick cup shaped inserts in the fingers to prevent breakages, but it means you can't feel anything with them. The Broom incident was unsavoury, but I don't believe there was malice. The ball hit the stumps anyway, so it is a cop out technicality for it to be given not out, and it was only marginally before the ball hit that the stumps were broken - I don't think Haddin genuinely knew he broke the stumps early.

 

[intedomine]

Whenever I think of Tony Grieg, I always remember "I wonder if she's been flown in"

Will miss his voice on the cricket... Taylor and Healy are horrid to listen to.

Boxing Day Test started on Xmas Eve a few times, even as recent as the late 90s if I can recall correctly. One of those modern "traditions" like the Collingwood vs Essendon Anzac Day thing.

 

[Axver]

Well well well, Wade's complete failure to effect a run-out of Herath just then will give plenty of fuel to his detractors.

As for Haddin/Broom, I was just looking at Cricinfo's live commentary of that game to see the reaction at the time, and I see somebody pointed out it should've been a no ball anyway according to the laws of cricket, since Haddin was not fully behind the stumps. Anyway, yeah, the reason I've never had the vitriol for Haddin other Kiwi supporters do is because I didn't think there was a malice in the incident either.

 

[Axver]

Boxing Day Test started on Xmas Eve a few times, even as recent as the late 90s if I can recall correctly. One of those modern "traditions" like the Collingwood vs Essendon Anzac Day thing.

According to the table over on Wikipedia, the Boxing Day Test has started annually on Boxing Day every year since 1980, except for 1984, 1988, and 1994.

 

[cobl04]

Keepers did used to be picked on keeping ability, but Gilchrist changed all that.

For the better at first...

 

[Axver]

Australia needs 141 to win. Commentators keep referencing South Africa successfully defending 117 to win in 1994, but this should be a formality for Australia.

Send out Huss first! Give the man a bat! (Seriously, hope a few wickets fall so that he gets the chance to hit the winning runs.)

 

[Axver]

Cowan almost runs himself out again, and then Warner's out first ball! Maybe we'll see Huss bat yet. Come on Sri Lanka!

 

[Axver]

Must've overlooked it earlier, but I just noticed now that Steve fucking Smith is in the ODI squad. Huss gets dropped but Smith makes it? Madness. What the hell are the selectors thinking?

Oh, and surely Cowan's Test days are very numbered? Looks very wayward today.

 

[Axver]

And that's it for Huss. Johnson didn't want to hit the winning run but Hussey was already halfway down the pitch! In the interview with Mark Nicholas afterwards he said that he would like to be remembered as a team man, and that final run was the definition of it, not letting the winning single go to waste just so that he might hit it later.

Damn I'll miss Hussey. Definitely the Aussie player of the last few years that I like(d) the most.

 

[cobl04]

Richie said it best - "doesn't matter at all that he didn't hit the winning runs, he's always been a team player".

I'll miss him a lot.

 

[cobl04]

As much as I'm not a big fan of T20 I have enjoyed being able to sit on the couch and watch the Big Bash every night.

 

[Axver]

I might've paid attention to something other than the Samuels/Warne feud if it were, y'know, on telly.

 

[Axver]

Phil Hughes just became the first Aussie to score a century on ODI debut. Nicely done. What I've seen of his innings, he's been in good touch. Hughes and Bailey have a strong partnership going right now.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

The pocket rocket.

I quite like Phil.

 

[Axver]

Hussey the Younger bludgeoned Sri Lanka off the final over there, racing to 60 not out off just 34.

Sri Lanka will struggle to score 306, I expect.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Hussey the Younger is still probably like 36 years old. I swear he's been around for ages.

 

[Axver]

Think he's 35.

And oh god, what a slow start by Sri Lanka thus far. 1/8. Dear me.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I remember when they were good and didn't lose all the time.

 

[Axver]

Three run outs, two in consecutive balls! Fuck me Sri Lanka. Got to feel for Thirimanne, going for a diamond duck.

 

[cobl04]

James Pattinson took 2/21 off eight overs for Dandenong. I just spoke to him then, said he got through unhurt and his next move is dependent on Cricket Australia.

 

[Axver]

Two terrible bits of cricket news today:

South Africa declares for 525 and New Zealand's 6/47 at stumps fucking hell.

Steve motherfucking Smith in for the far more talented Khawaja.

 

[cobl04]

Century for Faf though, huge fan of him.

Even that Elgar bloke got a century hahaha

 

[Axver]

What the hell is happening to Australia today? 2/12 after seven overs! Both soft dismissals, and the batting has been tedious, wary, and completely lacking any spark.

Come on Sri Lanka come on!