1st Test Australia v West Indies Jan 17-21 1000hrs @ the Adelaide Oval

[Adelaide Hawk]

People hate hearing this, but with almost zero exceptions a batsman who is hit in the head played the ball badly and/or took his eyes off it.

Khawaja today, Smith at Lords, any number of times Langer was hit or Pucovski more recently, and Hughes in 2014.

It is a symptom of an error, and being hit repeatedly is a symptom of a poor technique.

There are very few examples of pure bad luck.

Agreed. Since the introduction of the helmet, we are seeing far more cases of batsmen being struck because they are taking their eye off the ball. Khawaja showed us all precisely what NOT to do when confronted by a short ball that suddenly gets big.

I was hit twice when I was batting, and both times it was 100% my fault for taking my eye off the ball and hoping it would miss me.

Ian Chappell told a funny story, I think the bowler was Lennie Pascoe, the batsman was Viv Richards. Pascoe peppered Viv with a number of short balls and umpire Max O'Connell stepped in to warn Pascoe about excessive short balls. Next thing you hear Viv at the strikers end, "No, don't stop him Max!!!!"

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I am not kidding, but perhaps just seeing what others think.

All I can say is, you're definitely not a pace bowler. The bouncer is actually not the dangerous ball, it's the one just short of a length that gets big on a batsman. He is caught is on the crease unable to move his feet. A bouncer per se will either be hooked or pulled or pass through to the keeper.

You simply cannot take the bouncer out of cricket because batsmen are unable to play it. It is there for a reason.

 

[Cameron_Jezza]

All I can say is, you're definitely not a pace bowler. The bouncer is actually not the dangerous ball, it's the one just short of a length that gets big on a batsman. He is caught is on the crease unable to move his feet. A bouncer per se will either be hooked or pulled or pass through to the keeper.

You simply cannot take the bouncer out of cricket because batsmen are unable to play it. It is there for a reason.

I am actually, have been hit in head once as a kid, hit people a couple of times bowling.
I am surprised players get hit as much now, they need to use their bat's more.

 

[big_e]

So pick players for the test team based on bbl form ??? Why isn’t the shield strong ? Looks good to me

Because the shield is the best domestic comp in the world and has been for years for nurturing and picking players for the test team

Better bowlers? . okay then you obviously don’t rate boland nesser Murphy Sutherland Richardson Morris Paris Johnson Perry bird they all play shield and are very good cricketers

Starc Cummins hazelwood Lyon are arguably the best bowling attack we have had and guess what they played shield cricket

Ask the test players what shield cricket means to them

Cameron Bancroft's last Shield century came against Nathan McAndrew, Harry Conway, Ben Manenti and Wes Agar. Good, honest trundlers but a long, long way short of a test quality attack.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I am actually, have been hit in head once as a kid, hit people a couple of times bowling.
I am surprised players get hit as much now, they need to use their bat's more.

Okay, so what do you do when bowling to batsmen very strong on the front foot and are driving you all around the park? What tactic do you use to push them onto the back foot and keep them in two minds? Batsmen don't need to use their bat more, they need to watch the ball more and learn the art of leaving.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Cameron Bancroft's last Shield century came against Nathan McAndrew, Harry Conway, Ben Manenti and Wes Agar. Good, honest trundlers but a long, long way short of a test quality attack.

Trouble is, with today's scheduling, when do Sheffield Shield batsmen ever get the opportunity to face Test bowlers? This is the fear I have for the future of our Test team, there is two big a gap now between Test and Shield.

 

[big_e]

Trouble is, with today's scheduling, when do Sheffield Shield batsmen ever get the opportunity to face Test bowlers? This is the fear I have for the future of our Test team, there is two big a gap now between Test and Shield.

Same with all test teams, though.

This is why the A tours/games have such importance.

 

[Soggy2112]

So pick players for the test team based on bbl form ??? Why isn’t the shield strong ? Looks good to me

I’m not saying not to include Shield performances in your thinking, however when you look at their whole body of work including county, tour games etc, Renshaw has performed marginally better.

I also think there are judgement calls that need to be made on who has the ability to go up a level. This is subjective so people aren’t going to be happy, but the reality is some players are simply really good first class players but not good enough for the level above, while there are other players who perform better when they go up a level. Travis Head averages less in first class cricket than Test cricket, and his shield performances the last two years have been underwhelming, yet he’s arguably been our best Test and ODI batter in that period.

When Bancroft has previously played test cricket his habit of planting his front foot across the stumps has got him in trouble. When I have seen him bat he doesn’t seemed to have fixed that, I obviously haven’t seen him bat anywhere near as much as the selectors but it’s possible that’s where the judgement is coming from. In my opinion Renshaw is technically set up better.

 

[western royboy]

I am actually, have been hit in head once as a kid, hit people a couple of times bowling.
I am surprised players get hit as much now, they need to use their bat's more.

Bottom line - you haven’t been taught properly - seen more blokes hit in recent years than ever before - I’ve been playing for far too long (40 years) and played at
a reasonable level for a few years and still playing at an ok standard now. I’ve been hit 3 times in 40 years.

 

[Silver Tongue]

I am not kidding, but perhaps just seeing what others think.

Bowlers need something in their armoury surely ... otherwise simply set up a bowling machine .

 

[PhatBoy]

You can mitigate danger but you can’t remove it, if you do it makes the sport no longer a sport it just makes it a game and no one cares about it anymore.

I’ve been hit and I’ve hit, and it’s one of the fascinating aspects of the game and it’s a brutal reality but a captivating one and the sport wouldn’t be what it is without it

 

[PhatBoy]

As it stands my last acts as a cricketer (I’m sure I will come out of retirement to play a father son grade with my son when he’s ready in 1-2 seasons) will be:

- with the ball I was captaining our side of mainly young guys and I desperately didn’t want to bowl but we simply needed to take wickets and I was the one guy capable of bowling quick enough to hurry these two guys up who were starting to pick on our kids (it’s a grade where you have to have 4 under 18s, 4 adults, and 3 others of either). There’s an unspoken rule that you don’t tee off on kids but this guy that I f***ing hate was basically bullying our kids so I came on to bowl. He charged my first two balls and missed them. He did it a third time. Fair to say it was somewhat shorter than he expected and hit him right on the badge. I got him next ball.

- when we batted I made it to 30-odd and the same c**t bounced me and I absolutely flushed a pull shot but square leg plucked a one hander.

So as it stands my last two acts as a cricketer rest on the short ball for good and bad reasons and I wouldn’t have it any other way

 

[Gethelred]

I think bouncers almost need to be confined to the past. The game needs to become a bit safer in my ( probably controversial) view.

Bouncers are not the problem. The problem is a failure to enforce the two bouncers per over rule and exceedingly poor techniques to the well directed short ball courtesy of batters learning to prop forward due to being raised wearing helmets.

If you get a minute, have a look at Shane Watson's technique from side on; there's more than a few clips on youtube. What you'll see is this behemoth of a bloke whose stance is hunched over leaning forward and whose first movement is forward, onto that front foot hard. Compare that to someone like Allan Border - who also has footage online - who is quite upright at the crease with bat aloft, who would stride forward or back on length. Border could duck and weave to avoid a ball because he was upright; he could go forwards or backwards to prevent the ball hitting him.

Batters today are taught to come forward and lean back onto the front foot pull rather than to stay upright and come forward. It makes sense because a) turf pitches at low levels aren't the bouncy, healthy decks we get at prem or shield level, and b) most quicks aren't actually taught how to bowl a bouncer properly anyway, thinking it's got to be at someone's head.

A bouncer is at the heart or the throat. For a bouncer to work, you need the batter fully aware that you just tried to kill them; it's not enough to just bowl on the body, to try and hit you. Only then can their fear affect their foot movement.

You can play a hook to a good bouncer if you've ever had to practice against someone who bowled one, but the technique required to do so requires you to be more upright than most techniques you see these days. Most test players can't even really play a proper hook, because they don't have to.

 

[Gethelred]

As it stands my last acts as a cricketer (I’m sure I will come out of retirement to play a father son grade with my son when he’s ready in 1-2 seasons) will be:

- with the ball I was captaining our side of mainly young guys and I desperately didn’t want to bowl but we simply needed to take wickets and I was the one guy capable of bowling quick enough to hurry these two guys up who were starting to pick on our kids (it’s a grade where you have to have 4 under 18s, 4 adults, and 3 others of either). There’s an unspoken rule that you don’t tee off on kids but this guy that I f***ing hate was basically bullying our kids so I came on to bowl. He charged my first two balls and missed them. He did it a third time. Fair to say it was somewhat shorter than he expected and hit him right on the badge. I got him next ball.

- when we batted I made it to 30-odd and the same c**t bounced me and I absolutely flushed a pull shot but square leg plucked a one hander.

So as it stands my last two acts as a cricketer rest on the short ball for good and bad reasons and I wouldn’t have it any other way

I got hit a week ago. Played in rain on a synthetic deck in a one dayer, bowler drops one short and the ****er doesn't just bounce it skidded through and got me halfway through my hook.

Helmets are such wonderful things. Got me just above the visor, got off strike.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Geoff Lawson has his say on the wicket and a lot will agree with him.

Adelaide Test shows AFL footy and drop-in pitches have a lot to answer for

The Adelaide Test pitch was a graphic illustration of how football changes cricket.

www.theage.com.au

 

[The 747]

Geoff Lawson has his say on the wicket and a lot will agree with him.

Adelaide Test shows AFL footy and drop-in pitches have a lot to answer for

The Adelaide Test pitch was a graphic illustration of how football changes cricket.

www.theage.com.au

Feels like this article is missing a key paragraph. TL;DR the pitch was different to the usual - but since we have had D/N Tests there for a while what is usual?

A few years back it was drop in pitches are dead pitches, now it is drop in pitches are minefields, which is what I think the missing paragraph should say.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Feels like this article is missing a key paragraph. TL;DR the pitch was different to the usual - but since we have had D/N Tests there for a while what is usual?

A few years back it was drop in pitches are dead pitches, now it is drop in pitches are minefields, which is what I think the missing paragraph should say.

Why the need for drop in wickets?
If footballers are frightened of grazing their knees perhaps they should look for another profession.

 

[The 747]

Why the need for drop in wickets?
If footballers are frightened of grazing their knees perhaps they should look for another profession.

What brings in more money, cricket or football?

 

[sherb]

Cameron Bancroft's last Shield century came against Nathan McAndrew, Harry Conway, Ben Manenti and Wes Agar. Good, honest trundlers but a long, long way short of a test quality attack.

He can only score runs against attacks he is presented with.

 

[Aussie in exile]

What brings in more money, cricket or football?

Never answer a question with question. It's not good English, so answer the question I asked.

What brings in more money, cricket or football?

Never answer a question with a question. Its bad English

 

[The 747]

Never answer a question with question. It's not good English, so answer the question I asked.

Never answer a question with a question. Its bad English

Don't lecture me champ.

Also don't ask a very basic question when the answer is common knowledge and it also is answered in the first part of the article you posted.

An uneven centre square is problematic for football, and football brings in the revenue that pays for the stadiums.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Don't lecture me champ.

Also don't ask a very basic question when the answer is common knowledge and it also is answered in the first part of the article you posted.

An uneven centre square is problematic for football, and football brings in the revenue that pays for the stadiums.

Just answer the question then champ then i wont have to lecture you. Its that simple.
Footballers used to cope years ago so why cant they now?

 

[The 747]

Just answer the question then champ then i wont have to lecture you. Its that simple.
Footballers used to cope years ago so why cant they now?

I answered the question buddy.

Football brings in more money now, which has paid for stadium upgrades.

Now if before you ask anymore basic questions pls consult the internet.

 

[Aussie in exile]

I answered the question buddy.

Football brings in more money now, which has paid for stadium upgrades.

Now if before you ask anymore basic questions pls consult the internet.

But you haven't dude have you.

 

[The 747]

But you haven't dude have you.