406 replies to this topic

[williamjm]

The Winged Shadow, on 18 November 2012 - 05:03 PM, said:

I am not too unhappy. It being England and all. Gives Australia some hope for the Ashes

I'm not sure the English batsmen being vulnerable to high-quality spin bowling will really be very relevant in the Ashes.

[The Winged Shadow]

You're right. Thanks for dashing my hopes.

I haven't watched much of SA vs Aus games, so not sure how the Aussie quicks are shoring up. One can only hope they don't suck.

[Jeor]

Quote

not sure how the Aussie quicks are shoring up. One can only hope they don't suck.

Too bad...the Aussie attack is composed of green rookies and journeymen pacemen who wouldn't have made it into a second string team ten years ago. I don't think Siddle, Pattinson, Hilfy, Starc and co are going to really cut it against England.

England had a chance to save their match but they needed runs out of Broad, Swann and Bresnan after they had a lead.

[Paxter]

williamjm, on 18 November 2012 - 08:45 PM, said:

I'm not sure the English batsmen being vulnerable to high-quality spin bowling will really be very relevant in the Ashes.

Burn! Don't worry TWS, BillyJ isn't that mean in real life (as far as I can remember anyway!!).

ETA: And yeah, was pretty gutted by Bangladesh's collapse - so disheartening after seeing them rack up their highest ever test score earlier in the match . Also, the Black Caps seem to be hitting new lows at every turn. They now have only one batsman in their team averaging over 35.

So, will Watson play as a specialist batsman in Adelaide? Personally I think he should, but indications seem to be otherwise.

Edited by Paxter, 19 November 2012 - 06:45 PM.

[The Winged Shadow]

I don't know why they are so against him playing as a batsmen. He is a moster with the bat, with excellent batting average.

[Paxter]

The Winged Shadow, on 19 November 2012 - 06:27 PM, said:

I don't know why they are so against him playing as a batsmen. He is a moster with the bat, with excellent batting average.

37.54 isn't exactly "excellent", but yeah, it's better than Quiney's 9.

Edited by Paxter, 19 November 2012 - 07:14 PM.

[The Winged Shadow]

Paxter, on 19 November 2012 - 06:44 PM, said:

37.54 isn't exactly "excellent", but yeah, that's better than Quiney's 9.

well, that average does include his time when he was a bowling allrounder. His average in recent times are much more impressive I think. But I may be mixing up test with ODIs.

[Paxter]

The Winged Shadow, on 19 November 2012 - 06:47 PM, said:

well, that average does include his time when he was a bowling allrounder. His average in recent times are much more impressive I think. But I may be mixing up test with ODIs.

Nah, you must be thinking about limited overs. In 2011 he averaged 24 in tests; this year he's averaging 32. His last test century was just over two years ago.

[Jeor]

Yeah, Watson's a much better ODI batsman than a Test one. Still serviceable as a Test batsman (said through gritted teeth) but not the force he is in the shorter formats of the game.

I'm not sure if it's worth playing him as a batsman if he can't bowl. That suggests he'd be carrying some sort of niggle into the match and that he's not fully fit, and we don't exactly want to start the Watson Is A Walking Injury monster up again by rushing him back too soon. See what Quiney's made of and give him another chance to make a score.

[Hereward]

Whatever happened to Khawaja? Last time I paid any attention, he was being hailed as the best thing since sliced bread after scoring 30 or 40 against England. Is he injured?

[sh_wulff]

Jeor, on 20 November 2012 - 03:00 AM, said:

Yeah, Watson's a much better ODI batsman than a Test one. Still serviceable as a Test batsman (said through gritted teeth) but not the force he is in the shorter formats of the game.

I'm not sure if it's worth playing him as a batsman if he can't bowl. That suggests he'd be carrying some sort of niggle into the match and that he's not fully fit, and we don't exactly want to start the Watson Is A Walking Injury monster up again by rushing him back too soon. See what Quiney's made of and give him another chance to make a score.

I agree about Watto being overrated in tests especially- I read" "it figures"on Cricinfo and his statistics ain't that great and in addition his averages are inflated cos when he's absent injured those aren't added to the number of innings in the denominator. ( i know that's not how averages are calculated- however when one has as much time off due to injury they should be.



And to answer Billy J Khawaja is learning to improve in the field cos apparently he doesn't try hard

Edited by sh_wulff, 20 November 2012 - 04:51 AM.

[Paxter]

Hereward, on 20 November 2012 - 04:42 AM, said:

Whatever happened to Khawaja? Last time I paid any attention, he was being hailed as the best thing since sliced bread after scoring 30 or 40 against England. Is he injured?

No, not injured, just out of favour after registering just one 50 in 11 test innings. As wulffie pointed out, his lacklustre efforts in the field haven't helped his cause either, together with a perceived weakness against spin. I hope he comes back into the fold though, he's very pleasing to watch and seems to have the temperment for test cricket. Would have definitely preferred him to the (unfortunately Victorian) Bob Quiney.

ETA: Worth mentioning that Khawaja has over 300 domestic runs in his last four innings, so he's definitely knocking on the door again...

Edited by Paxter, 20 November 2012 - 05:11 PM.

[williamjm]

Jeor, on 20 November 2012 - 03:00 AM, said:

Yeah, Watson's a much better ODI batsman than a Test one. Still serviceable as a Test batsman (said through gritted teeth) but not the force he is in the shorter formats of the game.

Are they still persisting with him as a Test opener? I know he didn't do too badly as a makeshift opener when there was a lack of other alternatives, but the middle order always seemed like the natural place for him to bat in Tests.

[Paxter]

williamjm, on 20 November 2012 - 03:28 PM, said:

Are they still persisting with him as a Test opener? I know he didn't do too badly as a makeshift opener when there was a lack of other alternatives, but the middle order always seemed like the natural place for him to bat in Tests.

With Warner and Cowan seemingly confirmed as the incumbent openers, Watson is now at first drop. Unusual batting position for an all-rounder really, will be interesting to see how it goes (if and when he can actually get on the park).

For Adelaide at least, it will be Quiney at 3.

[The Winged Shadow]

Bangladesh's No.10 is saving the day. The top order collapsed early 5-98, followed by brief resistance from Mushi and Nasir, followed by another bit of collapse 8-193. The No.10 so far (debutant Abul Hasan) is the highest scorer at the moment with 76 runs (95+ strike rate), forming a 120 run partnership so far with Mahmudullah. He certainly looks more confident and technically capable than the Bangladesh top order batsmen, hitting boundaries and front foot blocking like a pro

Edit: Abul Hasan (no.10) makes a 100. 3rd ever apparently. Great fightback by the Tigers 365/8. Pretty respectable total and one that should provide a significantly better fighting chance.

Edited by The Winged Shadow, 21 November 2012 - 06:04 AM.

[Paxter]

Not a bad debut!!

Can't wait for the Adelaide test tomorrow. From an SA perspective I'm a little nervous as their bowlers didn't perform at all at the 'Gabba, but should be absorbing stuff regardless .

[sh_wulff]

I reckon the WI vs Bangladesh game is more exciting Pax- but I am willing to be surprised

[Paxter]

Kallis injured . Was a great first session though - some excellent bowling and a good innings from Warner.

[The Winged Shadow]

sh_wulff, on 21 November 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

I reckon the WI vs Bangladesh game is more exciting Pax- but I am willing to be surprised

Hehe it is more exciting because it is so damn unpredictable, and full of surprises. Sepcially for a Bangaldesh supporter! As you know you will probably not win, but during the match there are plenty of spark that gives you some hope that, maybe, just this one time, they will be able to bring the match home. But it rarely happens and the fans go hungry

Aussies are in trouble with 3 quick quickets gone. SA might also be in trouble with Kallis injured. Anyone watching this live? Any clue how bad the injury is?

[Paxter]

The Winged Shadow, on 21 November 2012 - 09:13 PM, said:

Aussies are in trouble with 3 quick quickets gone. SA might also be in trouble with Kallis injured. Anyone watching this live? Any clue how bad the injury is?

Injury didn't look too bad (just pulled up sore halfway through his run-up), but he went off almost immediately and was nowhere to be seen afterwards. It's a massive blow given that he was by far the pick of the bowlers in the first session - even if he bats it's still like losing a specialist for the entire game.