The Ashes - Australia vs England 2010/11 Test Series.

[jerry springer]

There is also a fair few good prospects in each spot outside of that line up.

Openers.

Sean Marsh - Quality game, shots all round the game very compact technique. A good player who is hard to keep quiet. Like Hughes he is a guy who scores his runs quickly, but unlike Hughes he is a much more traditional batsmen. The only knock on him currently and probably the main reason he hasn't played test cricket before now is that he is much more tailored to one day cricket, he hasn't shown much of the mental application to make huge scores or runs in tough conditions.

Michael Hill - Hugely talanted youngster, yet to find his feet just yet at Shield cricket. Made 100 against the England 2nd bowling line up (which included Bresnan) is a guy with a really solid technique with shots all around the wicket who is willing to play to the conditions.

Maddison - Has only just broken into shield cricket but has started in great fashion. Is another really good batsmen to watch.

Middle order bats.

Fergie- Similar to Marsh, hard to keep down, scores all round the wicket, great batsmen to watch and pretty solid technique. Like Marsh is still suited more towards the shorter form. Hasn't shown the ability to really make huge scores or dig in on really dodgy decks.

Paine- I know he is our next keeper in waiting but the guy is talanted enough with the bat to play as a batsmen. He is a serious talent and possibly better then the guy who currently has the gig (which is saying something because Haddin has been fantastic)

Mitch Marsh - Huge strong unit, powerful and long hitter. Unphased at the crease. Again is one (similar to C White) who may end up having his game more geared towards T20 and ODI's which would be a shame. He has a huge future in all forms if groomed right.

White - Has been a lot of discussion on this on the boards already but he has great concentration and knows his game and plays too it. Has made 100 in a tour match whilst the likes of Usman failed. Both Tremlet and Bresnan played in that match and we have seen the form of Tremlet this tour. What makes it all the more impressive is that it was a last day deck. He is at the moment being niched as a short form player but Symonds had a pretty succesful career as a test batsmen and there are similarties between the two as players. He isn't very technically pleasing to watch but he knows his game and plays too it.

Lynn - Another guy who has really bolted on the scene. Has started his career at shield level with great success often on some pretty tough decks.

Finch - Most of us have seen the game of this guy in the short form. He is a fantastic player who has the potential to be a dominate middle order player. He hasn't been able to convert his short game form into the longer form but has the talent to do so.

Tom Cooper - Similar to Finchy, has made runs in the B grade international comps for the Netherlands and will probably play in the up coming world cup for them. Quality cricketer similar to Finch needs to knuckle down and take the time required to build innings in the long form.

Spinners

O'Keeffe - The main guy competiting with Smith's spot in the side, good all round cricketer

Quicks

Hazlewood - Really talanted young quick, solid tallish guy with a great action, hits the pitch hard, is quick and has a ton of upside.

Pattison - Similar to Hazlewood, fantastic action, seem bolt up, loads of room for improvement.

Starc - Another good up and coming quick. Similar pace and upside to the above too.

great write up can i indulge you in asking for the ages for the above listed?

in other news,good to see the selectors make the hard calls for the sydney test

 

[Coin_Toss]

Openers
S.Marsh is 27
Hill is 22
Maddinson is 19


Middle order
White is 27
Ferguson is 26
Paine is 26
Finch is 24
Cooper is 24
Lynn is 20
M.Marsh is 19


Spinners
O'Keefe is 25


Quicks
Pattinson is 20
Starc is 20
Hazlewood is 19

The blokes on this list are the future of Australian cricket and despite what everybody thinks we have a good foundation to build a team around. I'm really impressed with Maddinson and Lynn in particular, look out for them in aus colours down the line, and Pattinson will make his test debut in the next few years.

 

[jerry springer]

^^cheers for that^^

makes our future look a bit more promising,thats for sure.Can see us getting whipped 3-0 in next series but in 4 years winning the urn back

 

[Pera]

I can't believe everybody has Johnson in their starting 11. The guy is a flog of the highest order and has only ever swung the ball in South Africa and in Perth. Heck, even i could bloody swing the ball in South Africa on their beautiful green pitches.

He has one good game out of five and it somehow guarantees him a spot every match. Bowls short, full and wide and i'd love to see how many times he has gotten tail enders out. It would be nice percentage thats for sure.

My bowling attack looks like this for Sydney:
-Siddle
-George
-Hilfenhaus
-Beer

Obviously there is an injury cloud over Harris's head so if fit, he'll remain in the side at the expense of Hilfy. Here's hoping for at least a competitive test match.

 

[rose jam]

I can't help but laugh at the amount of victorian bias I hear with people pushing vic players in the side with this chip on their shoulder about NSW players in the Aus team.
People need to undestand 1 very important thing, "there is no combination of 11 players in Australia capable of beating England in a 5 test series".

Perhaps if the selectors stopped trying to win every series and went into proper list management instead of Michael Voss style list management we could have been in a better position today. We won't be good enough in 2 years no matter where we go from here.

Best way forward is Ponting to captain a very young side (Johnson and Clarke as only over 25's - yes Haddin and Hussey to go since they are not future) and a real message sent to the public about a rebuild with the aim to be competitive in 2 years and reclaim the ashes in 4.

 

[mattys123]

Staggered that there's been next to no mention of Clint Mackay in this thread.

He is exactly the type of bowler who has kicked our arse this summer (tall, lean, straight, young and quick), yet he wasn't even mentioned all summer by the so called "selectors".

Watched him tonight, and also watched Pattison closely, Patto has a few things he needs to work on, at the moment he's a limited overs bowler who needs more time to develop consistency at Shield level before he is even considered for test level.

But McKay would play for most test nations tomorrow, he is still relatively young, is now fit and injury free, and he has that little bit of "mongrel" about him that some of our current national bowlers seem to lack.

Oh yeah, and it was great to see the old bugger Harwood bowling well tonight, and as for Hodge and Finch, well, Australian selectors = .

 

[Optimax]

McKay is a limited overs player thats it

Doesn't swing the ball, limited seam movement, no huge amounts of bounce, isn't abnormally tall...

 

[mattys123]

McKay is a limited overs player thats it

Doesn't swing the ball, limited seam movement, no huge amounts of bounce, isn't abnormally tall...

Oh, so he's only 3 times the bowler Doug Bollinger has ever been then, ok.

 

[Optimax]

Oh, so he's only 3 times the bowler Doug Bollinger has ever been then, ok.

Bollinger was our best and leading wicket taker in 09

 

[Pera]

McKay had his chance last summer on a hard Perth wicket and showed very little. He relies very much on a consistent line and length and lots of slower balls in the shorter form of the game. He likes players coming at him and thats where the majority of his wickets come from.

In the Test arena he will be left alone with that probing line outside off stump and be punished when he is that tiny bit loose. I think you need to take those Victorian goggles off Matty!

 

[rose jam]

I think everyone needs to take the vic glasses off. Australia needs under 24's in the side. Pattinson should be the only one on the table from Vic, and the sooner we get Siddle out the better. Siddle is just a one delivery bowler and will have far more dry days than good ones, can't actually stand his bowling - dude learn to get some variety like a slower ball!

 

[Pera]

Then why do you have Johnson in your side? Johnson bowls a heap more shit than Siddle does and if there is a definition of 'one delivery bowler' then thats Johnson. That one delivery you ask?

Its called a pie.

 

[Quicky]

McKay is hardly young at 27.

Impressed with Khawaja today.

I think we will see Ponting down the order if he ever comes back into this side.

Interested in seeing how Beer goes because he really is a bit of an unknown quantity.

 

[mattys123]

I think everyone needs to take the vic glasses off. Australia needs under 24's in the side. Pattinson should be the only one on the table from Vic, and the sooner we get Siddle out the better. Siddle is just a one delivery bowler and will have far more dry days than good ones, can't actually stand his bowling - dude learn to get some variety like a slower ball!

Boy, are you going to have a bad few years watching cricket then, because if there's one bowler who's guaranteed to play more tests then any other of the next 2-3 seasons, it's Peter Siddle.

He lacks consistency, but he is improving, but compared to Johnson or Hilfy, or even Bollinger, Siddle's consistency is off the charts.

Siddle is the only real "strike" bowler we have in the test squad at the moment, Bollinger is a stable bowler who can go all day, and Mitch is almost finished, he performs once out of every 10 tests now.

Pattinson won't play a test for 2-3 years, trust me on that, he needs time, but once he gets that time, he will be good at international level (hard to predict greatness).

If you want me to take my Vic coloured glasses off, then I like the look of Starc from NSW, McDermott from QLD (like Pattinson needs a few years to develop) and I haven't given up on Shaun Tait for pure explosiveness in short spells, even at test level.

 

[Quicky]

I'd consider Johnson our only strike bowler. He may have had a bad period but he is definitely a player we need to perservere with at the moment.

Outside of the team Starc, Hazlewood and George are our best strike bowlers.

Siddle is more of a workhorse type. What I like most about Siddle is his temperament. It's something this team has lacked this series and a good reason why he should stay in the team. I think you are underselling him a bit Rose Jam but agree he could improve his variety.

 

[rose jam]

Then why do you have Johnson in your side? Johnson bowls a heap more shit than Siddle does and if there is a definition of 'one delivery bowler' then thats Johnson. That one delivery you ask?

.

Siddle is as good as he's going to be and that's a one ball bowler.
I call for one senior batter and one senior bowler to help the under 24's for the next few years before the new captain emerges from that group, possibly Tim Paine (he might be 26 so maybe not).
So I pick Clarke and Johnson, Clarke because I have a bit of faith in him that he'll get the runs back as soon as stops pretending he can play the short game, and Johnson because I like watching him play, and basically that's good enough in the current way the team is at.
So team going forward should be

Hughes
New opener (captaincy potential)
Kawaja
Clarke
New batter (captaincy potential)
Smith
Pain (unless there is a younger option)
Johnson
New spinner
Starc
Pattinson/McDermott


That team will get smashed for 2 years but with a few ins and outs as we try and find the good ones should come good for the Ashes in 4 years which is about as long as it's going to take to get them back.

 

[Pera]

I call for one senior batter and one senior bowler to help the under 24's for the next few years before the new captain emerges from that group, possibly Tim Paine (he might be 26 so maybe not).

I totally disagree with this point. The rest of your post provided a few nice points but they cant just throw in 6-7 U24's in one side when they are clearly not ready, nor proven at state level.

The Australian selectors have gone wrong in that they aren't playing the BEST players in form at the current time at domestic level. When they have, they have reaped the benefits (i.e. to a small extent Khawaja).

The selectors need to play the best players that are performing at domestic level at the moment. Steve Smith hasn't set the world on fire at domestic level in the 4 day game but was chosen to play in the #6 spot because he is young and played some one day cricket.

The likes of George, D. Hussey, A. McDonald, Faulkner, Hauritz, C. White should all be getting a crack ahead of many in the test side at the moment. They aren't U24, but you would still get your 80+ test matches out of them.

 

[jerry springer]

for anyone listening to the ABC and watching it on 9,how bad is the delay.....Up to 40 seconds at some stages

 

[jerry springer]

Micheal beer supports collingwood according to ABC

he now has my support

 

[mattys123]

Micheal beer supports collingwood according to ABC

he now has my support

He already had mine, simply because he is a Victorian (couldn't get a game ahead of McGain, Holland etc so he moved to WA).

 

[jerry springer]

the way this pitch is going we are a fair chance of winning this game

might of been a masterstroke of Clarke to bat first

 

[Paddywhackers]

That makes two collingwood supporters in the team, Beer and Siddle.

 

[mattys123]

That makes two collingwood supporters in the team, Beer and Siddle.

3 in the series if you count Paul Collingwood (cmon, with a name like that you have to support us, even if you are a pom).

Strange morning so far too, a lot of close decisions, at least both Clarke sit was not out and Hughes asked the umpire to refer the catch, unlike Prior in Melbourne who caught a half volley and claimed it was out straight off.

 

[shawthing09]

Thanks Coin for filling in the ages there. I agree with you on Lynn and Maddison. The pair of them have come in and fit in at state level straight away, and in a season where most batsmen have struggled to cope with green tops they have been two of the picks of the shield.

I'd consider Johnson our only strike bowler. He may have had a bad period but he is definitely a player we need to perservere with at the moment.

Outside of the team Starc, Hazlewood and George are our best strike bowlers.

Siddle is more of a workhorse type. What I like most about Siddle is his temperament. It's something this team has lacked this series and a good reason why he should stay in the team. I think you are underselling him a bit Rose Jam but agree he could improve his variety.

Agree with you on the bowling assesments. Siddle isn't a strike bowler and won't be but he is your genuine work horse bowler. Now to do that more consistantly he needs to be more patient and controlled with his lines and lengths. He is however the best of the Hilfy, Doug and Siddle trio and should be persisted with. He can get life out of a placid deck and has good reverse swing and is a guy who seems to learn quickly.

Pattison is a good type but has a lot of similarities to Siddle actually. His natural length is a bit fuller and he can get more movement in the air with a new ball but it's not like they are majorly different.

On the other quicks mentioned. McKay is a short form specialist, is a less sexy verision of Siddle. Tait has shown that he doesn't want to do the work to try and turn himself into a long form bowler, far happier to run in and bowl bouncer yorker or mystery ball. McDermott he is young and has plenty of time on his side but it's going to take a long time for him to be anywhere near ready to compete at international level, I doubt it will ever happen.

On Beer I must say I had no idea what to expect but I didn't expect too much. As such I have largely been talking as though I thought Smith was our best spin option. I am extremely happy with Beer, I reckon there is a lot to work with, he is a genuine old fashion spin bowler and has really troubled Cook in particular. Imagine how different the series may have been if we had a guy who Cook genuinely struggled against / feared.

 

[shawthing09]

the way this pitch is going we are a fair chance of winning this game

might of been a masterstroke of Clarke to bat first

Please let's avoid crediting Clarke with any kind of masterstroke. The difference between he and Pointing is that Pointing has been coming in at 1< 30 and facing a new ball out of form.

Clarke has tried so hard to emulate Ricky in the hope of being the next captain of Australia that he has learnt how to stop scoring runs off him too. They spoke about it yesterday Clarke's average batting at 4 in the first innings is 13 that is a damning statistic.