Test Cricket 2019

[Pushka]

At the start of the series I was quite happy with Paine as (C), but now, today is not soon enough for him to be replaced...

(I'm still furious about that ridiculous wasted review in previous Test)

Forgive him now?

Shock Ashes call changed everything

Australia has retained the Ashes urn with a 185-run win in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

www.news.com.au

“Despite taking the second new ball not long beforehand, it was at this point captain Tim Paine threw the ball to part-time leg-spinner Marnus Labuschagne. Premier spinner Nathan Lyon was struggling to break the partnership but Paine’s decision to trust the part-timer worked wonders.”

 

[nickfromeastryde]

He wasn't strong enough to handle the personalities in the team then and may not be now so would probably not give him back the captaincy. Not sure however that we should be heaping all the blame on him, the culture and moral compass of the team had been heading south for many years with many of our most revered players leading the charge.

I do feel this has gone on much too long. A number of other captains and players have been caught up in ball tampering situations though perhaps not as severe as using sandpaper in plain sight. They all received minimal or no punishment and have been able to continue their careers without the vitriol directed at particularly Steve Smith (who it is generally accepted was not involved in the actual ball tampering itself). Our players were only handed one or two game suspensions by the ICB but Australian officials decided to come down much harder and it is these actions that have created the firestorm that the players find themselves in.

I would love to see a day when all this is put behind us and we can just focus on what a wonderful player Steve Smith is.

 

[nickfromeastryde]

I might also add, England's hero Ben Stokes charged only with affray and thus being cleared who probably should have been charged with assault. One victim knocked unconscious and the other left with a broken eye socket but it seems all that has been forgotten and free to continue his cricket career with none of the hostility shown to Smith and co. Currently England vice captain and apparently a push to replace Root with him if not for the fifth test sometime in the near future.

All a matter of perspective however I know which set of events I find the most distasteful.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Ben Stokes (....) who probably should have been charged with

LOL.

 

[Hvr]

Should Steve Smith be reappointed Australian Cricket Captain? And if YES when?

No, he shouldn't even be in the team. his behaviour was disgraceful and in any other role he would have been barred forever.

But with the ethics of a banker he says oops, sorry (I was caught), I'll do some fake penance and come back pretending I'm good. Forget my bad behavior, it didn't really matter.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

his behaviour was disgraceful

You’re sure you have the right guy?

As a strategy for dropping Warner it sounds good.

 

[Cossie]

Have a read about some of the stuff that "beefy" allegedly did and yet he still became a knight.

Allegedly denied smoking cannabis when it was illegal in NZ, then admitted to it later, copped a 2 month ban, not to mention his being charged with assault several times.

 

[Pushka]

No, he shouldn't even be in the team. his behaviour was disgraceful and in any other role he would have been barred forever.

But with the ethics of a banker he says oops, sorry (I was caught), I'll do some fake penance and come back pretending I'm good. Forget my bad behavior, it didn't really matter.

What Warner did was dreadful; got a rookie to do his dirty work because he didn’t have the guts to do so himself. Smith lacked the strength and maturity to stop him and never realised the gravity of what they were trying to do with sandpaper. Even the press conference after the match was ridiculous as they joked their way through it. Lehman should never have allowed them to attend that press conference alone and if he had attended and injected a sense of gravity and shame them maybe the world might be more forgiving as they’ve been with countless other cricketer misdemeanours. And Bancroft was just a junior trying to make his way amongst the so called senior members of the team. Cricketers don’t tamper with the ball without other team members, eg the bowlers, knowing about it. Smith should never be appointed captain again and Warner should not be picked again but he was. He should never have got his wife and kids involved. And he has failed. Maybe that’s his karma.

 

[Cossie]

We went through all this 12 months ago, they have been penalised, done their time, moved on, surely it's time for us to move on as well.

As for the original question, there isn't really anyone else to take over at the moment imo. Maybe Wade, none of the batsmen are guaranteed to keep their spots.

Can't see them changing after the last test, even more so if they win the next one.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Probably one for the humour thread, but Mitch Marsh is back for the deciding test of the series (only a dead rubber in the Ashes sense).

 

[Pushka]

Probably one for the humour thread, but Mitch Marsh is back for the deciding test of the series (only a dead rubber in the Ashes sense).

And adding to the ‘humour’ they dropped the player that’s third in the batting statistics this series.

 

[cjd600]

Mitchell is only there to take some bowling miles from the proper players, on a flat Oval deck.
Couldnt drop Marnus or SS....maybe Wade got a bit lucky,although had that Lords century in the bank.
Assume it's a temporary horses for courses thing, which will be remedied Test 1 in the domestic summer.

Or maybe Mitch is being snuck back in to take over as skipper in the summer

 

[rock86]

Assume it's a temporary horses for courses thing, which will be remedied Test 1 in the domestic summer.

You just know though that's not what will happen, he'll play the 1st Australian Test match.

For some reason our selectors think that a 31 test match sample size isn't big enough to show that MMarsh is an abject failure at Test level, the whole 'allure' of an all-rounder seems to make them overlook his hack worthy test performances where his batting/bowling averages are the inverse of where they should be.

If they want an all-rounder, why not give Neser a go? He's is a much better bowler then MMarsh, and he's also had a better batting average then MMarsh over the past couple of shield seasons (averaged 43.72 with the bat in 2018/19)!

 

[Cossie]

I thought it was only a matter of time before one or both were recalled, once in the "inner circle" it's very hard to get out! Wade is in an unfortunate situation, I guess if the series had been lost then he might have got the wicket keepers job and captain as he can bat a bit. Is he a genuine batsman, dunno?

 

[cjd600]

You just know though that's not what will happen, he'll play the 1st Australian Test match.

For some reason our selectors think that a 31 test match sample size isn't big enough to show that MMarsh is an abject failure at Test level, the whole 'allure' of an all-rounder seems to make them overlook his hack worthy test performances where his batting/bowling averages are the inverse of where they should be.

Time will tell. They definitely have a very soft spot for MM.
This one time, he got a big ton against ENG at the WACA.

 

[rock86]

This one time, he got a big ton against ENG at the WACA.

You just know that is the selectors train of thought isn't it, "this one time he did this" so surely he can reproduce it again and again - ah computer says no, that was definitely just an anomaly to his umpteenth failures in the Test arena.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

I reckon Starc’s a better all rounder than Mitch Marsh:

10.20am The rumours from The Oval are that Mitchell Starc misses out, which feels like the right choice on balance. Peter Siddle to partner Hazlewood and coughmins ...

 

[cjd600]

Mitch "The Destroyer" Marsh

 

[rock86]

Mitch "The Destroyer" Marsh

What's that old saying, " one swallow doesn't make a summer". Good on MMarsh though for showing something with the ball at test level, it was actually some great swing bowling.

But remember he’s been brought in as an all-rounder and to bat at 6, so a massive part of his job is also to make decent runs. He's done one part of his job (partly as there's still a 2nd innings), now he needs to do the other - especially batting at 6 - then a small humble pie will be eaten for this test (but not on his future until he can prove it isn't a form outlier).

 

[cjd600]

What's that old saying, " one swallow doesn't make a summer". Good on MMarsh though for showing something with the ball at test level, it was actually some great swing bowling.

But remember he’s been brought in as an all-rounder and to bat at 6, so a massive part of his job is also to make decent runs. He's done one part of his job (partly as there's still a 2nd innings), now he needs to do the other - especially batting at 6 - then a small humble pie will be eaten for this test (but not on his future until he can prove it isn't a form outlier).

Relax....nothing said there not already known.....was just sayin'
Lucky we had that swallow, the other swallows coiuldn't catch and elected to bowl first...must've still been on the happy juice after Old Trafford.