Australia V England 2nd test of the 2017/18 Ashes @Adelaide Oval

[damochandler]

Because it is equally as good a wicket for batsmen as it is bowlers

You get the best out of the wicket when you come in and whang it down. you can't do that with 7/8 over spells.

We will have hazelwood and lyon bowling upwind - we need someone to spell starc/cummins down wind.

a few leggies from smith isn't going to cut it

It’s probably why Maxwell will come in to do that. Don’t get fooled by because it’s the waca we have to play more quicks.

 

[Woody15]

If we think a deck is so flat that we need 4 quicks and lyon why don't we just pick an actual 5th bowler?

Half arsed allrounders always just leave us short on batting and with a bowler smith barely uses anyway, if we are going to go down that road lets at least make it somebody who can change the game with the ball instead of somebody who cant win us the game with bat or ball.

I agree. Not worth depleting our batting for a guy to roll his arm over with the aim of giving bowlers a rest.

That's the thing with allrounders. Unless they're good enough to be picked purely as a top 6 batsman, I don't think they're worth the risk vs potential reward.

 

[Carl Hooper]

I thought boof and the news outlets were trolling when i saw Mitch Marsh's name mentioned.. even as a west austrayan I can't even pretend to agree wit bringing back that crumb.

seriously, pat Cummins is better with the bat and smith bowling him for 4 overs an innings is really worth dropping a specialist batsman? the disrespect to Glen Maxwell smh...

and I hope khawaja gets done by Moeen in both innings

 

[BlueandGoldforever]

Simply not true. Four bowlers you can be baldy exposed at times, one gets injured or bowls badly you become very vulnerable.
You got 4 quality bowlers it's a popular team balance. Good all rounders are often rare. But claims it has always worked and it's just a set and forget settings for team selection is the height of cricket stupidity.

You are arguing we should pick an all-rounder for the sake of picking an all-rounder, which is ridiculous. For years we have persisted with guys like Watson, Mitch Marsh and even flirted with others because they can bat and bowl a bit, when they haven't been good enough in either category to warrant selection in the first place, let alone consistent selection. Mitch Marsh might make it at Test level but time will tell.

Have six specialist batsmen was what saved us in the first Test rather than someone in the above category who would have inevitably thrown away his wicket. There is no reason Smith, who made his debut as a leg-spinner, and in my opinion could easily average two wickets a Test match over the length of his career, couldn't be our fifth bowler.

Most batsmen around the world struggle to play leg spin and having a second spinner in my opinion is more worthwhile than a fourth seamer.

No one is advocating a 'set and forget' policy, I am arguing that six batsmen will stand Australia in a stronger position in Test matches than picking someone who is neither good enough with the bat or ball to be playing Test cricket.

There is no reason why we couldn't stick with the same line-up, form permitting, for the first four Tests, given the seven to eight day breaks in-between each Test match. Change for changesake is ridiculous and injuries occur in all sports. You can't pick a side on the off-chance someone may get injured in a match.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

You are arguing we should pick an all-rounder for the sake of picking an all-rounder, which is ridiculous. For years we have persisted with guys like Watson, Mitch Marsh and even flirted with others because they can bat and bowl a bit, when they haven't been good enough in either category to warrant selection in the first place, let alone consistent selection. Mitch Marsh might make it at Test level but time will tell.

Have six specialist batsmen was what saved us in the first Test rather than someone in the above category who would have inevitably thrown away his wicket. There is no reason Smith, who made his debut as a leg-spinner, and in my opinion could easily average two wickets a Test match over the length of his career, couldn't be our fifth bowler.

Most batsmen around the world struggle to play leg spin and having a second spinner in my opinion is more worthwhile than a fourth seamer.

No one is advocating a 'set and forget' policy, I am arguing that six batsmen will stand Australia in a stronger position in Test matches than picking someone who is neither good enough with the bat or ball to be playing Test cricket.

There is no reason why we couldn't stick with the same line-up, form permitting, for the first four Tests, given the seven to eight day breaks in-between each Test match. Change for changesake is ridiculous and injuries occur in all sports. You can't pick a side on the off-chance someone may get injured in a match.

I have no problems with Smith bowling as long as he doesn't take it too seriously. I want NOTHING to interfere with his productivity as a batsman. He's gold.

 

[GoodesStuff]

For all those coming to a d/n Test for the first time, don't fall for the rookie error of forgetting to bring a jacket or jumper for when the sun goes down, it can get cold.

The beer blanket by the final session helps.

 

[Badesumofu]

Yes, I saw it. My reference to the first test was about how poorly Ali bowled. I don't think I wrote it very clearly. I would play Khawaja again and if he fails against Ali again, then he is in trouble.

Ali was particularly bad in the second innings. He wasn't great in the first really, either. And yet Khawaja was still all at sea when facing him. That's what worries me, and I think a lot of others. If he can't handle Ali bowling badly then what happens when Ali bowls to his ability or England bring in another spinner?

 

[HBF]

Looks like a bit of rain forecast for Saturday. May get some cricket played in the final session.

 

[Caj]

Driving over from Vic this afternoon, super excited to get back to the Adelaide Oval after a 15 year gap

A few of the boys have pulled out of the trip so I have 4 spare tickets for Sunday if anyone is interested, pm me

 

[full on the fence]

You are arguing we should pick an all-rounder for the sake of picking an all-rounder, which is ridiculous. For years we have persisted with guys like Watson, Mitch Marsh and even flirted with others because they can bat and bowl a bit, when they haven't been good enough in either category to warrant selection in the first place, let alone consistent selection. Mitch Marsh might make it at Test level but time will tell.

Have six specialist batsmen was what saved us in the first Test rather than someone in the above category who would have inevitably thrown away his wicket. There is no reason Smith, who made his debut as a leg-spinner, and in my opinion could easily average two wickets a Test match over the length of his career, couldn't be our fifth bowler.

Most batsmen around the world struggle to play leg spin and having a second spinner in my opinion is more worthwhile than a fourth seamer.

No one is advocating a 'set and forget' policy, I am arguing that six batsmen will stand Australia in a stronger position in Test matches than picking someone who is neither good enough with the bat or ball to be playing Test cricket.

There is no reason why we couldn't stick with the same line-up, form permitting, for the first four Tests, given the seven to eight day breaks in-between each Test match. Change for changesake is ridiculous and injuries occur in all sports. You can't pick a side on the off-chance someone may get injured in a match.

What would we give to have Watson in our team at the moment, he could bat at 5 or 6, and would probably be our 3rd best batsman, and bowl 10 - 15 very handy overs per innings..

 

[frankrizzo]

Looks like a bit of rain forecast for Saturday. May get some cricket played in the final session.

Looks like it will be cool and overcast for large chunks of the game.

england certainly can't have any complaints about conditions on this tour, the rain before the Gabba test gave them a comfortable surface in brisbane and overcast cool with a pink ball at Adelaide is perfect for them as well.

 

[SherbertLemon]

What would we give to have Watson in our team at the moment, he could bat at 5 or 6, and would probably be our 3rd best batsman, and bowl 10 - 15 very handy overs per innings..

....lol

He was a shit bat. Averaged 35 and could never convert his 50's into a big score.

Could bowl, but how about we pick somebody who can actually bat?

If they can roll the arm over fine, but with our batting fragility Watson would be a complete liability.

 

[full on the fence]

....lol

He was a shit bat. Averaged 35 and could never convert his 50's into a big score.

Could bowl, but how about we pick somebody who can actually bat?

If they can roll the arm over fine, but with our batting fragility Watson would be a complete liability.

What was Freddy Flintoffs average with the bat ?

 

[OhhhhhCyril]

Looking at the forecast, flying over tomorrow gonna be raining all bloddy day, and early showers Saturday and Sunday .. not happy

 

[full on the fence]

Probably the top 5 allrounders and there batting everages
1 – Sobers (93 Tests) – 8032 runs at 57.78.
2 – Kallis (166) – 13289 at 55.37.
3 – Miller (55) – 2958 at 36.97.
4 – Ashwin (42) – 1749 at 34.96
5 – Botham (102) – 5200 at 34.03,
I may have missed someone, these are probably the top allrounders ever (Ashwin probably lucky)and batted in the top 6 only 2 had a better batting average than mid 30's...Just saying we were a bit harsh on Watson

7 – Flintoff (79) – 3845 at 31.77

 

[Woody15]

Imran Khan averaged close to 40 I believe

edit: 37.68

 

[BACCS]

Looks like a bit of rain forecast for Saturday. May get some cricket played in the final session.

Yeah it won’t rain, it’s Adelaide. Meant to be 10-20mm today and hasn’t been a drop yet. Less than 1mm forecast anyway if it does ie **** all.

 

[full on the fence]

Imran Khan averaged close to 40 I believe

edit: 37.68

Yeah wasnt sure how much he batted in the top 6 if he did would be right up there

 

[frankrizzo]

Imran Khan averaged close to 40 I believe

edit: 37.68

Peak of his career was insane as well, between 1980 and 1988 he averaged 17 with the ball and 40 with the bat.

In his last couple of years his bowling tapered off but he then averaged over 70 with the bat.

 

[dogs105]

What was Freddy Flintoffs average with the bat ?

Freddy wouldn't be our 3rd best bat either.

 

[dogs105]

Yeah it won’t rain, it’s Adelaide. Meant to be 10-20mm today and hasn’t been a drop yet. Less than 1mm forecast anyway if it does ie **** all.

Will piss down this afternoon. Flood warnings are out.

 

[dogs105]

Dan Vettori:

Vettori matured into a useful lower-order batsman, having scored 4,000 Test runs, including six centuries (110 against Pakistan in 2011, 134 against Pakistan 2009, 140 against Sri Lanka 2009, 138* against Pakistanin 2003, 127 against Zimbabwe in 2005 and 118 against India in 2009) as well as 23 half-centuries. Although it took Vettori 47 Tests to score his first 1,000 runs at an average of 17.24, the second thousand took him just 22 Tests at a rate of 42.52 per innings.

 

[dogs105]

Interesting from Wikipedia:

In Test cricket, only three all-rounders have batting averages that are 20 greater than their bowling average over their entire careers: Garfield Sobers, Jacques Kallis and Wally Hammond. However, some other players have achieved such a differential over significant parts of their careers, such as Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Shane Watson.

 

[Doashuey]

Yep Watto copped way more shit than he should of. No doubt he could be frustrating, falling in his 90s countless times and getting that front pad in the way more than he should have. But he was a bloody good player. There is always a whipping boy and he was it. His body let him down a fair bit and he would have probably had even better bowling figures had it not been the case. He was our best test bat there for a couple of years and won the AB medal for cricketer of the year. Those that throw shit on him like to dismiss all he has done to blend in with the noisy crowd of haters.

I wasn't his biggest fan but I'll give him his dues.

 

[BACCS]

Will piss down this afternoon. Flood warnings are out.

Won’t affect the cricket though, all done by Saturday morning at the latest.