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Worrying times ahead for Australian Test Cricket IMO, who have we got to come in, we are an aging side >

Steve Smith 36
Travis Head 31
Mitchell Starc 34
Marnus Labuschagne 30
Mitchell Marsh 33
Josh Hazlewood 33
Alex Carey 33
Pat Cummins 31
Usman Khawaja 37
Nathan Lyon 37

I don't see any Test Standard batsmen ready to step up from Shield cricket.

The next best bowlers are aging as well, Scott Boland 35 and Michael Neser 34.
 
M Malice said:
Worrying times ahead for Australian Test Cricket IMO, who have we got to come in, we are an aging side >

Steve Smith 36
Travis Head 31
Mitchell Starc 34
Marnus Labuschagne 30
Mitchell Marsh 33
Josh Hazlewood 33
Alex Carey 33
Pat Cummins 31
Usman Khawaja 37
Nathan Lyon 37

I don't see any Test Standard batsmen ready to step up from Shield cricket.

The next best bowlers are aging as well, Scott Boland 35 and Michael Neser 34.
Click to expand...
Must admit I've lost interest. This mess has all started with players, coaches and administrators treating certain games as being more important than others.

I don't care whether a game goes for 5 days or 3 hours. If you pull on the colours, play like you give a stuff. If you are exhausted from having played too much cricket, or don't have the "bandwidth", whatever the excuse is, that's fine: don't play. Pick somebody else who will give a stuff.

This whole attitude started at the T20 World Cup we hosted here in Australia in 2022. Our (so-called) gun team went through the motions for 5 games, got flogged by NZ, luckily got washed out vs England cos we'd have lost that too, and unconvincing wins over like Afghanistan, Ireland and Sri Lanka. All our performances were full of lacklustre fielding and atrocious running between wickets: things that don't actually require talent to get right, only effort and being alert. It's like pressure in footy in that sense.

We missed the semis and deserved to - it was actually a relief we didn't have to watch them embarrass us any more.

Right now the Wallabies are on tour in the UK. Their matches are essentially friendlies. But you can bet your bottom dollar once they step foot out on the field they aren't treating it that way.

Why do we tolerate this "picking and choosing" from our cricketers? Now that attitude has bled into our test cricket. After 3 years of picking and choosing it looks like it's become hard for them to tell when to pick and when to choose.

This is an Indian team that just got stitched up 3-0 by New Zealand. In India.

Really feel for some of our former greats, particularly a bloke like Allan Border, who got so much more out of a considerably less talented group of players, for so much longer.

Wear the colours, pull on the coat of arms, play like it means something. It ain't complicated.
 

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M Malice said:
Worrying times ahead for Australian Test Cricket IMO, who have we got to come in, we are an aging side >

Steve Smith 36
Travis Head 31
Mitchell Starc 34
Marnus Labuschagne 30
Mitchell Marsh 33
Josh Hazlewood 33
Alex Carey 33
Pat Cummins 31
Usman Khawaja 37
Nathan Lyon 37

I don't see any Test Standard batsmen ready to step up from Shield cricket.

The next best bowlers are aging as well, Scott Boland 35 and Michael Neser 34.
Click to expand...

Agree, the selectors should be blooding some younger players. Smith in particular looks finished, tell Khawaja this is his last series no matter what and bring in a new fast bowler or two.

Grasshopper17 I also agree, only been looking at the scores in this game myself. Players look very comfortable and won't voluntarily retire because of the money. Also, bad juju for moving the first test from the Gabba.
 
Grasshopper17 said:
Must admit I've lost interest. This mess has all started with players, coaches and administrators treating certain games as being more important than others.

I don't care whether a game goes for 5 days or 3 hours. If you pull on the colours, play like you give a stuff. If you are exhausted from having played too much cricket, or don't have the "bandwidth", whatever the excuse is, that's fine: don't play. Pick somebody else who will give a stuff.

This whole attitude started at the T20 World Cup we hosted here in Australia in 2022. Our (so-called) gun team went through the motions for 5 games, got flogged by NZ, luckily got washed out vs England cos we'd have lost that too, and unconvincing wins over like Afghanistan, Ireland and Sri Lanka. All our performances were full of lacklustre fielding and atrocious running between wickets: things that don't actually require talent to get right, only effort and being alert. It's like pressure in footy in that sense.

We missed the semis and deserved to - it was actually a relief we didn't have to watch them embarrass us any more.

Right now the Wallabies are on tour in the UK. Their matches are essentially friendlies. But you can bet your bottom dollar once they step foot out on the field they aren't treating it that way.

Why do we tolerate this "picking and choosing" from our cricketers? Now that attitude has bled into our test cricket. After 3 years of picking and choosing it looks like it's become hard for them to tell when to pick and when to choose.

This is an Indian team that just got stitched up 3-0 by New Zealand. In India.

Really feel for some of our former greats, particularly a bloke like Allan Border, who got so much more out of a considerably less talented group of players, for so much longer.

Wear the colours, pull on the coat of arms, play like it means something. It ain't complicated.
Click to expand...
MSB ROYS said:
Agree, the selectors should be blooding some younger players. Smith in particular looks finished, tell Khawaja this is his last series no matter what and bring in a new fast bowler or two.

Grasshopper17 I also agree, only been looking at the scores in this game myself. Players look very comfortable and won't voluntarily retire because of the money. Also, bad juju for moving the first test from the Gabba.
Click to expand...
Yes, I used to be fanatical about Test Cricket back in the era of Lillee, Thommo, Chappell's, Marsh, Walters, Mallett etc, watched every ball for all 5 days.

Now while still interested I don't watch it with anywhere near the passion I used to and certainly not even one entire day.

The batting is a huge problem, even McSweeney only averages 38.16 after 67 innings in first class cricket.

Back in the day guys like Martin Love with a first class average of 49.85 with 45 hundreds could hardly get a look in in Test Cricket(5 Tests)... Jamie Siddons 44.91/35 hundreds never played a Test, Michael Di Venuto 45.90/60 hundreds also never played Test cricket, ditto David Hussey 52.50/45 hundreds.

Matthew Hayden made mountains of runs in Shield cricket before getting a 2nd shot.
________________________________________

Bring on footy season and our magnificent Lions so I can show some passion and enthusiasm.
 
Last edited:
M Malice said:
I forgot probably the best ever Australian batsman to never play Test Cricket or a 1 Test wonder.

Stuart Law played 1 Test and scored 54n.o.

First class record- Games 367, Runs 27,080, Average 50.52, Highest score 263 with 78 Centuries & 128 fifties. :eek:
Click to expand...
Reckon Brad Hodge wouldn't be too far behind either, perhaps on runs scored he would be though, that's a crazy amount of runs lol.
 
Cousin Jed said:
T20 cricket has destroyed Australian cricket. We will struggle to win a test the next few years
Click to expand...
Well if you listen to Pat Cummins
“We are still the number 1 test team in the World”.

And you put up a performance like that?🤔
 

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