first test of the aussie summer 23/24

[dardog]

I swear people just get bored of the team and, like little kids bored of a toy, just want a new one to play with.

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. We're on top of the world.

Our test team isn't a friggen development team, you play the best 11 you have every single game.

History has always shown losing a lump of great and quality test players can take years to rebuild into a semi-competitve side.
It is not the case of being sick of our current crop but we do need to start looking to the future, the answer isn't to stick your head in the sand.

 

[BGman]

Khawaja 36 (37 in a couple of weeks)
Warner 37
Labuschagne 29
Smith 34
Head 29
Marsh 32
Carey 32
Starc 33 (34 before end of the summer)
Cummins 30
Hazelwood 32 (33 in early Jan)

A real look of Dads Army about that lot. Still with age comes experience, so some bite left in the old dogs yet.

Michael Neser,

Not picked on form, rather a sentimental choice as he has had to carry the can as the best #4 bowler in the country for the last four/five years and given only two matches, both in '21 from memory.

 

[big_e]

Exactly 0% chance that David Warner gets dropped.

It's laughable to think otherwise.

 

[Cmarsh]

He did do his time and more, but I think Johnson’s point is more that he hasn’t really come out and given a proper explanation - he’s apologised and that’s fair enough but it wasn’t especially detailed, and while he copped his punishment, the scandal itself is the sort of thing that would ordinarily preclude you from a ticker tape parade and farewell tour with special treatment.

Oddly enough I have actually come to like the guy to some extent as I believe he has learned some humility as his career has gone on and he is aware of his place in the cricketing landscape

That's for the biography and the ch 7 spotlight special post retirement. If you're gonna air you're dirty laundry, you may as well make a dollar out of it.

 

[Tugga27]

Surprised the WA media (7West) aren't demanding Harley Reid open the batting.

Richardson stiff........

 

[BStaff17]

He did do his time and more, but I think Johnson’s point is more that he hasn’t really come out and given a proper explanation - he’s apologised and that’s fair enough but it wasn’t especially detailed, and while he copped his punishment, the scandal itself is the sort of thing that would ordinarily preclude you from a ticker tape parade and farewell tour with special treatment.

Oddly enough I have actually come to like the guy to some extent as I believe he has learned some humility as his career has gone on and he is aware of his place in the cricketing landscape

Mitchell Johnson should keep his mouth shut.

He called Pat Cummins gutless last year and how is that looking now.

He was as soft as butter as a player when the going got tough in the UK ashes multiple times. And was just as useless abroad like Warner was.

Outside of 1 summer against England and in South Africa 2013/14 did he really deliver to his potential on a consistent basis.

Ricky Ponting had to manage his arse for half his career when he was captain.

 

[big_e]

That's for the biography and the ch 7 spotlight special post retirement. If you're gonna air you're dirty laundry, you may as well make a dollar out of it.

If there's one thing David Warner doesn't need, it's more money.

It's been said a thousand times before, the Warner version of events has been spoken of from his team on several occasions. There's no more dirty laundry.

 

[The 747]

14 man squad for perth:

warner
khawaja
labuschagne
smith
head
marsh/green
carey
starc
cummins
lyon
hazlewood

boland
morris

Predictable squad is predictable.

I thought they might move on from Boland as I think the Poms showed everyone how to play him.

 

[Tugga27]

Mitch Marsh 35 Tests since 2014, career @27, 3 tons 4 /50s in 61 innings. How in any universe is that Test standard. Hopefully Greens superb 96 the other day will see him leapfrog this perennial dud for the First Test.

I'll go with that.

Wont happen as his former player selectors are a sentimental lot and have permitted him to call his own swan song match, Third Test in Sydney

Since you're so keen to use averages to fit your narrative, Green and Marsh both played 3 Ashes tests.
One averaged 50 and the other averaged 20.

Marsh is the incumbent and Green hasn't done enough to push him out.
That's pretty much the bottom line.

I rate Green a better player, but he's been out of form for a while now and like others
before him, he has to earn his way back in.

Moving one of the best number 3's in the world to open is just crazy talk.

 

[Tugga27]

If there's one thing David Warner doesn't need, it's more money.

It's been said a thousand times before, the Warner version of events has been spoken of from his team on several occasions. There's no more dirty laundry.

I can't wait for his book though.

 

[Gough]

That's for the biography and the ch 7 spotlight special post retirement. If you're gonna air you're dirty laundry, you may as well make a dollar out of it.

In light of recent events I'm not sure if appearing on a 7 Sunday night tell all is a great career move.

 

[PhatBoy]

Mitchell Johnson should keep his mouth shut.

He called Pat Cummins gutless last year and how is that looking now.

He was as soft as butter as a player when the going got tough in the UK ashes multiple times. And was just as useless abroad like Warner was.

Outside of 1 summer against England and in South Africa 2013/14 did he really deliver to his potential on a consistent basis.

Ricky Ponting had to manage his arse for half his career when he was captain.

He’s paid to write a column. Will be hard for him to do that if he doesn’t say anything.
He took over 300 test wickets and has a test century. You don’t do that if you are soft as butter.
His average away was 31 which, while unremarkable is perfectly acceptable.
He averaged 29 in the UAE, 25 in the West Indies, 25 in SA across 8 tests, 23 in NZ, and his two Ashes series yielded the ‘terrible’ return of 20 wickets at 32 and 15 wickets at 34.

If Nathan Lyon returned that everyone would say he broke even.

His interpretation of Cummins’ captaincy doesn’t retrospectively become incorrect because of improvements in that captaincy. A column written in January 1989 saying ‘Steve Waugh is not a test standard batsman’ doesn’t become incorrect because he retired in 2004 averaging 50. When it was written he averaged 30.

Cummins’ captaincy has improved light years since last year. Johnson is paid to write a column. Whatever happened in his career doesn’t make what he’s said incorrect.

I’d say your appraisal is about as scattergun as his bowling was from time to time.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

MM for me.

Bailey pretty much saying it will be Marsh.

Men's selection panel chair George Bailey said the incumbents had "earnt the opportunity to start in our first home Test match" since an incredible winter for Australian cricket that saw them win the World Test Championship and successfully retain the Ashes in England.

Morris likely in for Starc by the sounds of things, Boland to come in for Melbourne would be my guess

 

[The 747]

Morris waterboy again

would rather him play for the PM 11 and actually play some cricket

A bit unfortunate that it's the first Test. If we win the first/second I reckon he's a show - has to get a Test this summer surely otherwise we have been carting him around like luggage all over the world for nothing.

Will have to rely on Mitch Marsh to draw a crowd in WA.

 

[Tugga27]

Morris likely in for Starc by the sounds of things, Boland to come in for Melbourne would be my guess

Really?

A gut feel or have you read something?

 

[Torz]

Really?

A gut feel or have you read something?

Apparently Starc might have a soft tissue issue.

 

[Gough]

More than anything it reinforces that Warner is still the most polarising figure in Australian cricket since Kim Hughes.

 

[big_e]

He’s paid to write a column. Will be hard for him to do that if he doesn’t say anything.
He took over 300 test wickets and has a test century. You don’t do that if you are soft as butter.
His average away was 31 which, while unremarkable is perfectly acceptable.
He averaged 29 in the UAE, 25 in the West Indies, 25 in SA across 8 tests, 23 in NZ, and his two Ashes series yielded the ‘terrible’ return of 20 wickets at 32 and 15 wickets at 34.

If Nathan Lyon returned that everyone would say he broke even.

His interpretation of Cummins’ captaincy doesn’t retrospectively become incorrect because of improvements in that captaincy. A column written in January 1989 saying ‘Steve Waugh is not a test standard batsman’ doesn’t become incorrect because he retired in 2004 averaging 50. When it was written he averaged 30.

Cummins’ captaincy has improved light years since last year. Johnson is paid to write a column. Whatever happened in his career doesn’t make what he’s said incorrect.

I’d say your appraisal is about as scattergun as his bowling was from time to time.

In Mitchell Johnson's first column after the World Cup final, he called for Pat Cummins to be replaced as Australian captain.

It's all well and good to say "he's paid to write a column", but we're entitled to criticise him when he writes absolute crap.

 

[1990crow]

More than anything it reinforces that Warner is still the most polarising figure in Australian cricket since Kim Hughes.

I don't think there would be too many people he's played alongside or against that truly love him as a person.
He seems like a true knob.

 

[PhatBoy]

In Mitchell Johnson's first column after the World Cup final, he called for Pat Cummins to be replaced as Australian captain.

It's all well and good to say "he's paid to write a column", but we're entitled to criticise him when he writes absolute crap.

Then criticise that - I was responding to the comment criticising him for his critique of Cummins’ captaincy almost two years ago.

 

[The 747]

I don't think there would be too many people he's played alongside or against that truly love him as a person.
He seems like a true knob.

I remember watching a long interview with Graeme Smith post 2018, had nice things to say about everyone and even that he loved the sledging from Australia and the fight in those games.

Had sympathy for Bancroft as a young kid, sympathy for Smith for the public pressure, then just said "But David Warner, he had it coming. He's had it coming for a long time (sic)".

 

[big_e]

Then criticise that - I was responding to the comment criticising him for his critique of Cummins’ captaincy almost two years ago.

He has criticised Cummins relentlessly ever since he was appointed. Can't find a positive thing to say even after his successes as captain.

It seems personal.

 

[The 747]

He has criticised Cummins relentlessly ever since he was appointed. Can't find a positive thing to say even after his successes as captain.

It seems personal.

He writes for a WA audience right? Cummins is the Eastern states guy who knifed WA legend Langer.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

Really?

A gut feel or have you read something?

Have heard he’s carrying a niggle, may still play but Morris is in as a strike bowling replacement. I’ve heard it’s a fair chance that Morris plays.

 

[PhatBoy]

He has criticised Cummins relentlessly ever since he was appointed. Can't find a positive thing to say even after his successes as captain.

It seems personal.

While some of the language he’s used has been a bit strong, I can really only find 3-4 things (from only a quick bit of research admittedly) that he’s brought up: the Langer sacking, his tactical nous once in India and once in England, and once more recently.

Considering he’s a cross-format captain, the criticism Cummins himself copped during those times in forums like this one and other media areas I don’t think that necessarily means it’s personal with Mitchell Johnson.

If you’re an Australian cricket commentator paid to write opinion pieces you’re going to be writing about Pat Cummins in all those instances and while I like Cummins and he is clearly a great guy, a great cricketer and a good leader, he wasn’t ‘born’ a decent captain. In fact at times he’s been a poor one and has warranted criticism.

If the author of those columns was Robert Craddock or Warwick Franks or Gideon Haigh or someone I don’t think it would appear they had a personal problem with Cummins I think it would appear like honest appraisal.