Australian Cricket - Crisis, What Crisis ??

[ElwoodBlues1]

They certainly won't play him in the first couple of tests.....if they find themselves 2 down early on, or having to win the last test they might give him a go.

I'll be very interested to see how the Aussies go at Ali.  He's been allowed to get off very easy for a modest spinner in the past.  They need to target him the way they did Graham Swann last time.  Make it harder for the Poms to keep selecting him for his batting......which will be very useful for them.

Ali doesnt look much of a bowler but continues to baffle me how many players get out to him, doesnt spin the ball or bowl with much flight but players seem to want to take him on
and give their wickets away. I think he will get some treatment here in Aus and be a non event as a bowler, however as a batsman he is underrated and very dangerous coming in at 7 or 8.
We have bowled poorly to him in the past with little planning, he has opened for England so he cannot be treated as a lower order mug, he can play the quicks and score quickly as he doesnt mind throwing the bat. 

[LP]

Ali doesnt look much of a bowler but continues to baffle me how many players get out to him, doesnt spin the ball or bowl with much flight but players seem to want to take him on

He varies pace very well, his main weapon is variation in pace and bounce with no obvious tells in his action. One ball holds up, the next one skids, the batsmen lose confidence and they stop scoring runs against him. If they were smart they would just safely farm him for 3 runs an over with very little effort but the modern guys want to hit boundaries, but I think they play too much 20/20 and want to block 5 balls then hit a boundary!

[crashlander]

I think Khawaja's  problems over on the sub-continent were as much to do with the variable lack of bounce as anything. He is a strong square of the wicket player and Aussie square of the wicket players always struggle over there, the sub-continent players tend to be far more wristy and can deal with late ball movement far better.

In fairness to anyone, the wickets that the games were played on in that sub-continent series were no even suitable for under age cricket let alone test matches. If a school offered that sort of wicket locally the game would be canceled due to OH&S concerns.

Once upon a time it was understandable that some subcontinental pitches were less than perfect. Conditions were fairly primitive. Now there isn't an excuse. New technologies have made wicket preparation far less an art and far more a science. There simply is no good reason for the variation in pitches. They are prepared over there to be spin friendly. Simple as that.

[LP]

They are prepared over there to be spin friendly. Simple as that.

If it was only that it wouldn't be a problem, some of those pitches were crumbling, corrugated and pot-holed cement dust roads placed in the middle of a lush green oval! You could find a better pitch on the mud flats in Western Port Bay at low tide!

But our gutless media and the specialist commentators wouldn't bite the BCCI hand that feeds them by offering such public feedback. Hard evidence that money corrupts I suppose!

[LP]

Langer, really? ??? ??? :o

Does this means cricket is institutionalised?

[malo]

Langer, really? ??? ??? :o

Does this means cricket is institutionalised?

He's a yes man......I hope he surprises me, but I won't hold my breath.  gee I wish Ponting had been free to take on the role.

[LP]

He's a yes man......I hope he surprises me, but I won't hold my breath.  gee I wish Ponting had been free to take on the role.

I would have preferred Jason Gillespie, but he probably doesn't fit the family!

[flyboy77]

Wouldn't exactly say he's a yes man. I can say he is a very disciplined individual who sets very high standards....but yeah, he's hardy a 'fresh start' - which is what I would have preferred to see (eg Dizzy).

[capcom]

Time shall tell ... his press conference was repetitive and from script.  His shot at McGrath was uncalled for IMO

[deags]

I never saw it, what did he say re McGrath?