Changes for the first test V West Indies

[Spanghertron]

For Queensland in Shield cricket yes. However he just has flaws that good bowlers will expose. My personal view is I like him at number 5.

I'm willing to give him a decent run at opener. People might have doubts on whether his technique is good enough to open but he opens the batting at the gabba which apart from the previous two test is a great wicket to bowl on. It normally generates pace, plenty of bounce and movement(very humid). It's not generally a pitch that batsmen solely dominant on.
Burns averages over 40 in both first class and test ( 3-50 ,1-100 in 10 innings inc a 1 40+ as well) cricket too. Cowan aside not many other openers playing ss can boast his first class average over numerous seasons.
Im not sold on him yet but compared to what the other options are and his form (fairly good) im at least going to give him the summer(NZ tour as well) before i pass judgement . Unless he has a disastrous series against WI.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I'm willing to give him a decent run at opener. People might have doubts on whether his technique is good enough to open but he opens the batting at the gabba which apart from the previous two test is a great wicket to bowl on. It normally generates pace, plenty of bounce and movement(very humid). It's not generally a pitch that batsmen solely dominant on.
Burns averages over 40 in both first class and test ( 3-50 ,1-100 in 10 innings inc a 1 40+ as well) cricket too. Cowan aside not many other openers playing ss can boast his first class average over numerous seasons.
Im not sold on him yet but compared to what the other options are and his form (fairly good) im at least going to give him the summer(NZ tour as well) before i pass judgement . Unless he has a disastrous series against WI.

My concern is where he scores his runs- behind point and behind square. Also plays away from his body a lot so opens himself up for a nick to slips especially early. I would rather him drive the ball between mid off and mid on rather than be looking to score between cover point and gully. It is way too risky for an opener to have that scoring zone.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Ferguson. Had to be selected, his numbers are too good to ignore. Instead they stick with Marsh.

Numbers better than Klinger? I'd suggest not.

 

[Damon_3388]

My XI for Hobart:

Joe Burns
David Warner
Steve Smith (C)
Callum Ferguson (averaging 50.19 over his last 30 Shield innings)
Adam Voges
George Bailey (2nd on the Shield run table ATM, could be 1st by the end of the current round, in better form than ever before)
Peter Nevill (+)
James Pattinson
Josh Hazlewood
Nathan Lyon
Jackson Bird (1st on the Shield wicket table ATM)

Doubt we're going to need a fifth bowler or express pace against the Windies. I'd just back that line-up in for all three Tests against them, no matter what happens.

 

[Hellgood]

Numbers better than Klinger? I'd suggest not.

And then Marsh's recent Shield record is just as good IIRC.

 

[PaddyO]

Yes; Clarke was broken down, underdone and in pretty average form. He should have been nowhere near the World Cup but he wanted to win the Cup on home soil. It was extremely selfish, led to a further split between him and the selectors because he wanted the final word on his own fitness.

It's fortunate things worked out, really.

Dont rate his innings in the final?

 

[PaddyO]

if anything, it was the drama almost threatening to overshadow our preparations that really soured me on Clarke and made me a 'Clarke basher'. Got the feeling he thought he was bigger than the team and was prepared to destabilise the team for his own reasons.

Nah, he batted well in the final and his captaincy was spot on as always.

 

[Underdog]

My XI for Hobart:

Joe Burns
David Warner
Steve Smith (C)
Callum Ferguson (averaging 50.19 over his last 30 Shield innings)
Adam Voges
George Bailey (2nd on the Shield run table ATM, could be 1st by the end of the current round, in better form than ever before)
Peter Nevill (+)
James Pattinson
Josh Hazlewood
Nathan Lyon
Jackson Bird (1st on the Shield wicket table ATM)

Doubt we're going to need a fifth bowler or express pace against the Windies. I'd just back that line-up in for all three Tests against them, no matter what happens.

With an underdone Pattinson and the suspect fitness of Hazlewood, we're going to play an all rounder regardless of the Windies batting strength.

 

[JackOutback]

Nah, he batted well in the final and his captaincy was spot on as always.

He batted well in the final, no doubt about it, but it was one of only two decent innings, if I recall correctly. And I still don't think he should have been there. Carrying an injured player through the opening rounds in the hope he will be ok is not good team management. The fact that the situation caused a dramatic split with selectors only makes it worse. I saw it as selfish; he wanted to captain Australia to a World Cup win on home soil and he wasn't going to let anything, like injury or form, get in his way.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

He batted well in the final, no doubt about it, but it was one of only two decent innings, if I recall correctly. And I still don't think he should have been there. Carrying an injured player through the opening rounds in the hope he will be ok is not good team management. The fact that the situation caused a dramatic split with selectors only makes it worse. I saw it as selfish; he wanted to captain Australia to a World Cup win on home soil and he wasn't going to let anything, like injury or form, get in his way.

Not as if anyone else was banging the door down. Bailey sure wasn't. I'm far from Clarke's biggest fan and him playing the Ashes in England was ridiculous, but in the WC he was fine. You have to remember in half the games he barely got a hit. He failed in NZ...every batsmen did though. However he contributed in most other games, and his captaincy was outstanding. If someone was belting hundreds after hundreds and putting pressure on Clarke, sure, but that wasn't the case.

 

[JackOutback]

My XI for Hobart:

Joe Burns
David Warner
Steve Smith (C)
Callum Ferguson (averaging 50.19 over his last 30 Shield innings)
Adam Voges
George Bailey (2nd on the Shield run table ATM, could be 1st by the end of the current round, in better form than ever before)
Peter Nevill (+)
James Pattinson
Josh Hazlewood
Nathan Lyon
Jackson Bird (1st on the Shield wicket table ATM)

Doubt we're going to need a fifth bowler or express pace against the Windies. I'd just back that line-up in for all three Tests against them, no matter what happens.

I don't mind this, but I agree they aren't going to drop an all rounder with questions over Patto's fitness (they also aren't going to drop S.Marsh after essentially winning us the Test, hence we have the team we have). But I wouldn't object to Bailey up to four, Voges five, M.Marsh at six, with Bird in for Siddle/Coulter-Nile.

 

[The_Reaper]

What's the point of bringing in Ferguson when Khawaja is the first choice?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

What's the point of bringing in Ferguson when Khawaja is the first choice?

Could be worse, could be bringing Bailey back I guess. Not that either are realistic anyway.

 

[bird_man]

With an underdone Pattinson and the suspect fitness of Hazlewood, we're going to play an all rounder regardless of the Windies batting strength.

This seems to be the only argument Marsh has left. Hopefully we can go into the second test with 4 fit bowlers so we can just go back to having 6 batsmen in our top 6.

 

[western royboy]

This seems to be the only argument Marsh has left. Hopefully we can go into the second test with 4 fit bowlers so we can just go back to having 6 batsmen in our top 6.

The Rod Marsh recipe is all rounder at 6 and bowlers at 140kpm + - it's not going to change

 

[JackOutback]

The Rod Marsh recipe is all rounder at 6 and bowlers at 140kpm + - it's not going to change

I might be more inclined to accept the 140km/h edict if our second best bowler in history didn't regularly bowl under 140.

It's such a nonsense idea, you pick your best bowlers, and that's it.

 

[Underdog]

I might be more inclined to accept the 140km/h edict if our second best bowler in history didn't regularly bowl under 140.

It's such a nonsense idea, you pick your best bowlers, and that's it.

In fairness, we have Siddle bowling at a pretty nonthreatening pace. It's about having a balance. It looks like the selectors want 2 x fast strike bowlers, 1 x holding bowler, 1 x spin bowler and 1 x all rounder.

 

[Bucking Beads]

The Rod Marsh recipe is all rounder at 6 and bowlers at 140kpm + - it's not going to change

The sooner Rod is gone the better.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

My concern is where he scores his runs- behind point and behind square. Also plays away from his body a lot so opens himself up for a nick to slips especially early. I would rather him drive the ball between mid off and mid on rather than be looking to score between cover point and gully. It is way too risky for an opener to have that scoring zone.

For the first five years of his career, that's pretty much where Cook scored his runs.

 

[Hellgood]

For the first five years of his career, that's pretty much where Cook scored his runs.

I don't think that's fair. He's always possessed a nice straight drive and nudge through the covers.

 

[PaddyO]

He batted well in the final, no doubt about it, but it was one of only two decent innings, if I recall correctly. And I still don't think he should have been there. Carrying an injured player through the opening rounds in the hope he will be ok is not good team management. The fact that the situation caused a dramatic split with selectors only makes it worse. I saw it as selfish; he wanted to captain Australia to a World Cup win on home soil and he wasn't going to let anything, like injury or form, get in his way.

12, DNB, 68, 47, 8, 10, 74.

Three decent middle over scores all at a good clip. Pretty much what you'd expect from an ODI batsman over six hits I'd have thought.

And why wouldn't he want to captain Australia to a WC victory? You or I would both want to if we were in his position.

 

[Slax]

Honestly after seeing the West Indies in the warm up match it doesn't matter, this will be 3-0 white wash where no test will go to the fifth day and will probably be lucky to go to 4 days (might if Australia bat first and score 700)

 

[JackOutback]

12, DNB, 68, 47, 8, 10, 74.

Three decent middle over scores all at a good clip. Pretty much what you'd expect from an ODI batsman over six hits I'd have thought.

And why wouldn't he want to captain Australia to a WC victory? You or I would both want to if we were in his position.

Of course he would want to captain Australia on home soil, but the Australian cricket team and captaincy is not a charity. In this case, he put his interests above the team's interests, which is why I started to sour on him; before that, I was pretty ambivalent about him, neither for or against. Personally, I don't think he had earnt his spot in the team, reputation notwithstanding, and the selectors should have made a tougher call. He had already come back early in the Test series so he could be the one captaining them in the first match after Phil Hughes' death, and he reinjured himself. As I said, it was more good fortune than good management that it didn't backfire.

Also, bear in mind, one of those decent scores came against Scotland.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

West Indies are a joke. Time to pad your stats boys. Hey its about time we ****ing got an easy test series to pad stats. The indian scum do it every second match.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

I don't think that's fair. He's always possessed a nice straight drive and nudge through the covers.

One of the biggest changes in Cook's game in the past few years is that he has learnt to drive acceptably. Can sometimes look quite fragile on the front foot but he has incorporated that into his game and it wasn't much in evidence in his early careeer.

He was almost completely a back foot player in his early years. I've probably watched more of him than most Aus players. Always been a bit of a fan due to his obduracy but he was a far more limited player early on.