Woodchip
It's all about the bikes
Watching Ballance play in the England vs Scotland game during the CWC was the dullest thing I think I've ever done. He seems to lack any sort of fire in his belly. I'd have KP back in a shot as well.
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Micheal Clarke
- Thread starter pottert
- Start date
Tend to agree, but Voges isn't worth a place in the team, let alone as captain. I like Clarke, always honest but he looks totally shot at the moment.
As for KP, the egotistical to**er shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the team
I would agree with that but we know the Aussies will come back today with renewed energy. Let's hope we can hold out for the win. Don't normally like cricket that much but love the Ashes. And it doesn't really matter if you can't spell Michael
severnside gull
Well-known member
Lenny Rider
Well-known member
- Sep 15, 2010
- 5,434
After the "Prepare to get your f****** arm broken" line to Jimmy Anderson, Clarke had always set himself up for a huge fall, days like yesterday come very rarely, Germany 1 England 5, springs to mind, let's just enjoy it get the game won, and the Ashes regained, and then develop our side so we can retain them in 17-18.
vegster
Sanity Clause
- May 5, 2008
- 27,894
Yes, he's now lowering his average in readiness for the job.
nwgull
Well-known member
There's already no way that the Aussies can come back in this game, and they know it; they need at least 2.5 days to be lost to rain to not lose. I can see them being in real disarray on the field today.I would agree with that but we know the Aussies will come back today with renewed energy. Let's hope we can hold out for the win. Don't normally like cricket that much but love the Ashes. And it doesn't really matter if you can't spell Michael
Can't feel sorry for Clarke after that broken arm stuff to Jimmy Anderson. Sledging is fine but in that case the game was over - England were something like 250 behind and with only 1 wicket left in the game, so it was completely unnecessary.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,222
Same here. Really enjoyed listening to him on Sky (even more so when England have been on top). I think he's been a pretty astute summariser, fair, and has shown a decent sense of humour in the face of plenty of ribbing (like when Gary Pratt turned up, or Gower was having a dig about run outs).
One thing I was trying to recall: he was quite vociferous in his criticism of Clarke at times, and full of advice for him. Did Ponting win an Ashes series over here? I know he lost two, but can't remember if he was in charge (or Steve Waugh?) during their last victory in England?
alfredmizen
Banned
- Mar 11, 2015
- 6,342
same as gary neville in football, hated him as a player, think hes a great pundit.
Bold Seagull
strong and stable with me, or...
Apart from Smith who has successfully captained them to a home series victory when Clarke was injured, has captained the one day side, has impressed everyone including the dressing room when he undertook the role, and other than his last 3 innings, is still pretty much the no.1 batsmen in the world...
Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
I believe team spirit has a massive amount to do with where we are this series to date, KP is no longer a team player IMO and would cause too much disruption.
alfredmizen
Banned
- Mar 11, 2015
- 6,342
spot on, was he ever ?
Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
maybe not, although I must admit I do have a soft spot for him after witnessing his 100 in Sri Lanka two or three years ago
Is that true? Border was the best batsman in the side he captained. Ponting in his. Arguably Taylor was too when he was made captain. Steve Waugh was never the best anything in ability but he was rated number 1 test batsman at least once. Clarke at the time they picked him was also the best batsman in the team. It seems to me Australia pick the best batsman as the captain, if they picked the most tactically astute player Warne would have been captain, not Ponting.
Going forward Australia's real problem is they have no one coming through to replace what they have now, which is already pretty weak by Australia's standards. Rogers is retiring, Clarke is a busted flush, Voges is 35 and not good enough anyway. The Marsh's just are not good enough, if they were they would have cemented a place in this mediocre batting line up already, after that what is there? Of the top 5 batting averages in Sheffield Shield cricket last season three of them are over 30, two of those over 35. Their batting is going to be poor for the foreseeable future unless there are some quality young players that have not shown anything yet.
Just listened to Clarke's interview again. Yes, he fronted up but he made a lot of bullshit excuses. He was chippy with Maxwell about reasonable questions, yes you would expect him to be upset but that was a bit embarrassing at times. "You can ask the selectors"; "Toughest batting conditions we have seen for a long time"; "live by the sword, die by the sword" (about his dreadful shot to get out).
I was going to reply to the same post you did, but instead I'll reply to yours - it'll be a far more pleasant write
.As you quite rightly point out, the Aussie selectors are not averse (as was suggested in what you replied to) to choosing the best batsman as Captain. But it's not as simple as looking at the history and saying "they picked the best batsman" all the time. The reality (and I speak as a somewhat deflated Aussie) is that the last few Australian captains were earmarked for the job before they'd even played their first tests - especially Clarke, who was groomed for the role while playing under-XX cricket for Australia. From memory Ponting was identified very early as well. Smith has definitely been on their radar for a while, and it's why he got the job when Clarke was injured (instead of Haddin).
You make a very good point about Warne. But that wasn't about batting ability, or tactical astuteness. It was about Warne's off-field transgressions making him unsuitable. Had he not made a few faux pas, he would likely have leapfrogged Ponting in the pecking order and been captain through much of the post-Waugh era.
Like you, I'm not sure what the future holds for Australian cricket. We're looking a bit thin on the batting front currently. We've got some good enough bowlers available at the moment, and a bit of depth there, assuming we keep the pacers fit. Batting wise ... Warner and Smith will both be around for a good long time to come, and probably be quality for the majority of their careers. Though it will be interesting to see how well Smith handles his first prolonged lean patch. He's already come out the other side of short one strongly, but overall even through his purple patch he's been suspect on older pitches: I looked at his numbers during his double ton and his average deteriorates steeply the older the pitch he has to bat on. Australia bat first and his average is Bradman-esque. Bat second and it's only at the level of a quality bat without being outstanding. Third and fourth innings it drops down even further - into the sort of territory that gets players dropped. Warner's always going to be hit and miss. It's the way he plays.
Beyond that ... I think Clarke's past his peak. He might stay on for one more series, but if he doesn't score runs again I think that'll be the end of him. Shaun Marsh just simply isn't test quality. Voges they waited too long: he should have played a few years back, and we might have got some quality runs out of him (instead of having guys like Khawaja in and out of the side). Speaking of Khawaja ... we might see him given another go, possibly in Rogers' slot. He's just been given the Queensland captaincy and is playing well for Australia A. Nevill is probably set as the keeper-batsman for a while now. I'm very disappointed that Mitchell Marsh was dropped for this test - he should have been given the rest of the series to establish once they decided they'd had enough of Watson. Beyond that, I've been in the UK long enough to be out of touch to be honest. Lynn (also playing for Aus A currently) looks like he's got a Shield average that could indicate ability.
Braggfan
In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
- May 12, 2014
- 1,835
Funnily enough I always preferred Ponting. I always thought he had a lot of class to give us credit for our wins when it would have been easier to make excuses. Clarke's a funny one, he's been a great player but I always get the impression there's a nasty side to him. The stories about how he stitched up Mike Hussey over his retirement bash, along with his fueds with Watson and Katich have been instrumental in dividing the Aussie dressing room at times.
Don't think that's true: Ponting was identified as a brilliant batsman but a player in danger of not fulfilling his promise - he certainly wasn't seen as a potential captain early on.
Australia are definitely keen to pick a team then pick a captain, something that England do (they didn't always, Brearley would never have made it as an Aussie captain) but it's not necessarily the best player Taylor and Steve Waugh were never the most technically gifted but they played hard - I think Waugh is the most mentally tough cricketer I've ever seen.
I agree that the cupboard's pretty bare for future batsmen - the bowling looks good but their batting is terrible
You may be right, actually. It took so long for Waugh to vacate that it feels like Ponting was identified early (as he had to wait so long once he was decided on as the next man). Reality is that Warne was probably ahead of him in the pecking order for a good long time, until he shot himself in the foot multiple times. We lost a potentially great captain in Warne (from both an Aussie perspective and a world cricket perspective). Warne had the attacking, creative mentality as a captain that's become the aspiration for any team in modern cricket, but had it a good many years ahead of the curve.
Clarke was definitely groomed from very early on, I remember hearing about it when he was originally selected for the Test team. Talk of him being a future captain and all that. Taylor and Waugh were both picked for being the sorts of guys who could rally the troops and lead by example when the going was tough ... and then also lead by example when the going was good. Both qualities that made them excellent batsmen across their careers, but wasn't actually their batting that got them the captaincy.
alfredmizen
Banned
- Mar 11, 2015
- 6,342
whats he supposed to have done ?