Australian Cricket - Crisis, What Crisis ??

[LP]

Not necessarily if the track is turning against a team with terrific spinners.

What we are seeing is the folly of selecting cross bat hacks who regularly belt the suitcase out of long suffering bowlers on flat track 20/20 or 50 over decks, but can't grind out an innings on a turning test track!

[laj]

What we are seeing is the folly of selecting cross bat hacks who regularly belt the suitcase out of long suffering bowlers on flat track 20/20 or 50 over decks, but can't grind out an innings on a turning test track!

Never going to be good enough anyway on the sub continent. We never get to practice on them. Hence we have no clue how to bat on them. Good reason why we didn't beat India for 35 years in India and couldn't beat the Pakis away for years either. Only way is to have a world class spinner so they don't produce turning dustbowls. No coincidence we won on the sub continent when we had Warne, even then India was hard work.

Remember, those countries have huge trouble outside of the sub continent adapting to bouncier greener pitches that swing and seams, probably barring the Pakis. Pakis had it right producing fast, swinging, reverse swing speedsters to go with their spinners. Allowed them to perform away from the sub continent.

[crashlander]

One of the issues with test cricket is that Australia have been #1 and maybe again soon. Amazing. It makes me wonder if test cricket actually is the main type of cricket in the world.

For ages we have had serious structural problems and yet nothing seems to happen about it.
[1] Batting: we are flat track bullies. Given a flat deck we can flog any attack on the planet. But where are there flat decks? At home? Maybe.
Seriously, our guys do not bat with the idea of building an innings. It is nice to flog an opposition attack, but only if you can pull it off, and we cannot. Managing to bat from behind? You have to be kidding.
[2] Spin bowling: Our incumbent off spinner may have the best numbers of any off spinner in Australian history, but that says something in itself. Aussies have traditionally used leg spinners, yet we have few and none that make a mark. What are we doing wrong? Not preparing pitches that wear. Drop in pitches last.
And do we do enough to promote or train our spinners? Do we do anything? We need to find spinning talent and get the used to bowling in ALL conditions. Especially subcontinental conditions, where they are likely to be required.
[3] Preparation: do we actually do any? Doesn't appear to be the case. You would think that before a tour to ANYWHERE that you would train under those conditions. And play a few warm-up matches. Yet few sides play any more than 1 or 2 warm up matches any more, no matter where they go. That, to me, makes a decent preparation more important, especially for a 'professional' team.
[4] Talent: where are our young cricketers? Something must seriously be done about this. There are a LOT of sports looking for talent now and cricket has to do something to get the talent it requires. They do not have the restrictions that there are in football, yet we do not seem to attract real competitors. Nice one day players, maybe, but not serious, competitive test cricketers.

[LP]

First ever 5 game series whitewash.

Selection Rubbish
Captain Rubbish
Fielding Rubbish
All Rounders Rubbish

Team Rubbish

[JonHenry]

First ever 5 game series whitewash.

Selection Rubbish
Captain Rubbish
Fielding Rubbish
All Rounders Rubbish

Team Rubbish

The bowling wasn't great either  ;D

[LP]

The bowling wasn't great either  ;D

I deliberately omitted the bowling because someone would claim I'm anti-NSW! :

[crashlander]

Nothing quite like it from Australia before. And LP hit some targets: lots of rubbish.
There were a few positives, but consistency of performance, x-factor, team selection and our bowling attack were not among them. A lot of thinking needs to be done before the test series starts, and that is only a few weeks away.

[malo]

Nothing quite like it from Australia before. And LP hit some targets: lots of rubbish.
There were a few positives, but consistency of performance, x-factor, team selection and our bowling attack were not among them. A lot of thinking needs to be done before the test series starts, and that is only a few weeks away.

1 Shield game before the 1st Test......1 !

pathetic.  And we've got to get our entire bowling attack up & running again in 1 shield game.

[laj]

You send a 3rd string team of bowlers into a series you get the results you got. Still, more important Hazelwood and Starc prepared for the Test Series. Hopefully we don't prepare flat tracks again this year. Not only are we sick of them it does the team no good when they have to travel.

Didn't expect to win on the sub-continent. Everyone else gets flogged 3-0 over there these days too. England beaten 3-0 by the Pakis, South Africa and New Zealand beaten 3-0 by India, and I assume England will suffer the same fate. It's not just us. By contrast sub-continent sides get flogged when they get out of Asia bar Pakistan. India and Sri Lanka useless outside the sub continent. Ashwin is the all time superstar at home but terrible away. Unless you have real world class spinners the sub-continent pitches will be doctored. You have no way of preparing as we can't simulate those conditions here.

[malo]

You send a 3rd string team of bowlers into a series you get the results you got. Still, more important Hazelwood and Starc prepared for the Test Series. Hopefully we don't prepare flat tracks again this year. Not only are we sick of them it does the team no good when they have to travel.

First test in Perth, don't know could have some bounce, although that's been sorely missing in recent years......2nd test down my way at Bellerive......but the way things are going here recently it'll be the greenest pitch this side of NZ...if it actually stops raining !!!!