Australian Cricket - Crisis, What Crisis ??

[laj]

It's not that I don't like Warner, but we seem to be obsessed with picking blokes who on their day belt the pill out of the park. But that is almost irrelevant for test cricket. Proponents of Warner and Smith will argue they score so quickly they take the games away from the opponent in a session or a day, yet our recent record suggests otherwise despite both of them having periods of heavy run scoring. That is because tests go for five days, and no matter how many runs you score quickly if you leave the opponent time and overs they will generally get  the better of you!

For traditional followers of cricket, no matter how many runs players like Smith and Warner make, it stabs at your heart because they often throw away their wicket and that has an effect on the team! We need blokes who will occupy the crease, I'd be looking at younger types who don't throw their wicket away like Handscomb, Harris and Dean.

The think is Warner and Smith average 50ish, 56 in Smith's case. They get them often when needed too. You need blokes who can score quickly, like Gilchrist, and others who like to occupy the crease. It balances a line up out. We do need more of the latter though. Funnily enough it's where Gillespie was valuable with the bat at no 9. He averaged facing 80 balls an innings, averaging about 19. Those 80 balls though allowed the likes of Gilchrist to tear an attack apart while Gillespie held up an end. Like to see that in more established batsmen so the like of Warner can attack with support with the fear of a collapse.