Australian Cricket - Crisis, What Crisis ??

[crashlander]

I sit back and wonder what this summer will bring.
We have a crowded summer, as usual, but we are ordinary and the Poms are not much different. So the chance of really top class cricket is not overly high.
Then we have Aussie pitches and Aussie balls: designed to last 5 days, perhaps, but designed for batsmen to make runs. The ball doesn't move much after the initial spell with the new ball.
Our bowling attack looks reasonable, but spin is still our distinct weakness. Lyon has done everything asked of him and is the best performed finger spinner for Australia, but he isn't a Shane Warne.
We look for up and coming spinners and see their figures being aweful. Not surprising: drop in pitches don't spin as much as they used to do. So batsmen can hot through the line of the ball and ruin a spinner's figures fairly easily.

Same old problems: lack of batting depth and batting consistency, flat pitches and lack of truely world class spinners. Same old lack of solutions.

[LP]

I sit back and wonder what this summer will bring.
We have a crowded summer, as usual, but we are ordinary and the Poms are not much different. So the chance of really top class cricket is not overly high.
Then we have Aussie pitches and Aussie balls: designed to last 5 days, perhaps, but designed for batsmen to make runs. The ball doesn't move much after the initial spell with the new ball.

It may well be that the two evenly match below average teams bring a close contest though.

Our bowling attack looks reasonable, but spin is still our distinct weakness. Lyon has done everything asked of him and is the best performed finger spinner for Australia, but he isn't a Shane Warne.

We look for up and coming spinners and see their figures being aweful. Not surprising: drop in pitches don't spin as much as they used to do. So batsmen can hot through the line of the ball and ruin a spinner's figures fairly easily.

Same old problems: lack of batting depth and batting consistency, flat pitches and lack of truely world class spinners. Same old lack of solutions.

I think it's unfair to compare Lyon to Warne, or any spin bowler to Warne. Lyon is first class, elite by any standard and would be even better if he had a captain who knew what he was doing!

[Professer E]

Bancroft was close to a cap last summer and I reckon might go very close again.  Surely can't go with Hughes or Jake Lehman, either of those selections reeks of nepotism.  Maxwell seems to be on the nose and isn't making enough runs either.

[flyboy77]

S. Marsh
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
2, 91 West Aust v NSW Sydney 4 Nov 2017 FC
63, 11 West Aust v Tasmania Perth 26 Oct 2017 FC
32 West Aust v South Aust Hobart 21 Oct 2017 LA
- West Aust v CA XI Sydney 17 Oct 2017 LA
29 West Aust v South Aust Sydney 15 Oct 2017 LA
69 West Aust v Queensland Sydney 11 Oct 2017 LA
62 West Aust v Tasmania Perth 7 Oct 2017 LA
88 West Aust v Victoria Perth 1 Oct 2017 LA
132* West Aust v NSW Perth 29 Sep 2017 LA
78, 125* Yorkshire v Surrey The Oval 12 Sep 2017 FC

C. Bancroft

Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
2c/0s, 76*, 1c/0s, 86 West Aust v NSW Sydney 4 Nov 2017 FC
18, 17 West Aust v Tasmania Perth 26 Oct 2017 FC
2c/0s, 76 West Aust v South Aust Hobart 21 Oct 2017 LA
1c/0s West Aust v CA XI Sydney 17 Oct 2017 LA
0c/0s, 0 West Aust v South Aust Sydney 15 Oct 2017 LA
73, 2c/0s West Aust v Queensland Sydney 11 Oct 2017 LA
2c/1s, 29* West Aust v Tasmania Perth 7 Oct 2017 LA
59, 2c/0s West Aust v Victoria Perth 1 Oct 2017 LA
28, 1c/0s West Aust v NSW Perth 29 Sep 2017 LA
206*, 72 Gloucs v Kent Bristol 12 Sep 2017 FC

[crashlander]

It may well be that the two evenly match below average teams bring a close contest though.

I think it's unfair to compare Lyon to Warne, or any spin bowler to Warne. Lyon is first class, elite by any standard and would be even better if he had a captain who knew what he was doing!

Indeed Lyon is statistically the best offie we've ever had. But offies have rarely prospered in Australia. Most batsmen see them as their next source of runs. Statistically even the best offies have had lousy times in Australia. Left hand finger spinners have been more successful and Australia has played more of them. Leggies have traditionally been the spinners of choice: Warne and co were merely the latest. They have had a lot of success. Alas we seem to be pretty short of leggies at the moment.

[DJC]

Cricket Australia has decided that Josh Hazlewood only needs one Shield game as preparation for the Test series.  He will be training under CA's fitness gurus rather than actually playing the game.

What are the chances of him (a) breaking down or (b) bowling ineffectively?

[LP]

Indeed Lyon is statistically the best offie we've ever had. But offies have rarely prospered in Australia. Most batsmen see them as their next source of runs. Statistically even the best offies have had lousy times in Australia. Left hand finger spinners have been more successful and Australia has played more of them. Leggies have traditionally been the spinners of choice: Warne and co were merely the latest. They have had a lot of success. Alas we seem to be pretty short of leggies at the moment.

I agree, but I think that says more about the captaincy and use of the bowler rather than the bowler them-self.

[malo]

Cricket Australia has decided that Josh Hazlewood only needs one Shield game as preparation for the Test series.  He will be training under CA's fitness gurus rather than actually playing the game.

What are the chances of him (a) breaking down or (b) bowling ineffectively?

Unbelievable.....the only thing that gets your body fit for fast bowling is....wait for it....bowling.

These physios & "fitness" hangers on have absolutely no idea of the fitness requirements of a fast bowler, it is unlike just about any other sport & is making the body try to do something that is completely foreign to it.

You cannot kid glove fast bowlers.  They will break without hard match fitness.

[LP]

You cannot kid glove fast bowlers.  They will break without hard match fitness.

There is complete paranoia that someone will sue because of a stress related back condition.

But I was at a cricket night not so long ago with Thommo and Merv and they seemed physically about right for guys their age and weight.

Can you imagine a coach or captain telling Thommo or Merv they can't bowl any more because they had their monthly allocation of overs?

When I was young you bowled as many overs as possible, or that you were physically capable of bowling. That was how you got wickets and perfected deliveries. Of course I was 6' as a 17 year old and I'm 4'11" now, but what's that got to do with it? :o

[malo]

There is complete paranoia that someone will sue because of a stress related back condition.

But I was at a cricket night not so long ago with Thommo and Merv and they seemed physically about right for guys their age and weight.

Can you imagine a coach or captain telling Thommo or Merv they can't bowl any more because they had their monthly allocation of overs?

When I was young you bowled as many overs as possible, or that you were physically capable of bowling. That was how you got wickets and perfected deliveries. Of course I was 6' as a 17 year old and I'm 4'11" now, but what's that got to do with it? :o

haha.....yeah, I still have the odd complaint every year or so from my back these days as a reminder to what I used to make it do every summer week in week out for over 15 years  !!

But seriously, the bowling restrictions on junior fast bowlers are just ridiculous.  I'm not saying that 16 year olds should be bowling 10 over spells & 30 overs in a day, but make the restrictions sensible.  Otherwise what happens when these underage bowlers who've only ever bowled 4 overs at a time & a small maximum amount for day suddenly get into senior ranks....where there are no bowling restrictions ?  Their bodys are just not prepared.  And that's when they get injured.