Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Top Contributors
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Not really that strange compared to the calls for Hughes to be rushed back in with no form and nothing to suggest he has overcome his obvious weakness

Hodge has amazing form and White has been pretty good himself for Australia this year, both would be improvements on Hussey or Watson
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

I'm not saying I disagree with you eddie, but you Victorians really are a strange bunch :p
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;376472 said:
Hodge has amazing form and White has been pretty good himself for Australia this year, both would be improvements on Hussey or Watson
Click to expand...

White over Watson or Hussey in the Test team atm is laughable eddie and I'm a massive fan of White :)
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Kram81;376492 said:
C.White in the the Test side? No, just no :)
Click to expand...

C.White in the test side. Yes, just yes:

Agressive bat we need at 5/6. Batting has matured remarkably in 12 mths.
Best slipper in Australia bar none.
Possibly the best fielder going around.
Potentially next test captain.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

courtjester;376554 said:
C.White in the test side. Yes, just yes:

Agressive bat we need at 5/6. Batting has matured remarkably in 12 mths.
Best slipper in Australia bar none.
Possibly the best fielder going around.
Potentially next test captain.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on the first and last points you make, but he is definitely not the best slipper and nowhere near the best fielder going around. I mean, even Clarke is better than him in the slips, which is a bit of an insult ;)

We need another Symonds/Gilly down the order at 5/6/7. Johnson is great there for that position, but not as consistent as you might like. Just someone the scores at about 80 S/R without going to crazy, unless provoked and scores 100 off 58 balls.

And he is definitely in a position for next captain.

There are two ways I am tempted to go here:

1. He is not ready yet, and exposing him now might ruin his career by giving him a bad reputation. Keep him to grow a bit more, then chuck him in if he can show that he is consistent enough over seasons for the big time. Hodge can fill in until the big guys get back, keeping in mind the team is a touch too young at the moment.

2. Get White in there early if the selectors truly think he will be there in years to come. Hope for the best and get him playing at 6 and begin to bring him up. Then, in a few years after he is in the side for that amount of time, Ponting retires and the selectors give him a shock captaincy similar to the Graeme Smith style (I think that's the story, anyway) and get a young 'un doing the job of an older bloke and get him captaining for years and years. That is if his batting is good enough anyway.

Just my thoughts.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Hard to take any of your post seriously if you can possibly claim the 2nd worst slip fielder in Australia (Behind Watson) is better than Australias best slip fielder

You would be the first and only person to ever put down his slip fielding
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;376580 said:
Hard to take any of your post seriously if you can possibly claim the 2nd worst slip fielder in Australia (Behind Watson) is better than Australias best slip fielder

You would be the first and only person to ever put down his slip fielding
Click to expand...

I am not putting his slip fielding down, not at all, but he is hardly Australia worth. I haven't seen him play as much as you have, but he is hardly a Border, Taylor, Warne, Hayden. The best slip fielders in Australia won't have a chance to get there because they aren't good at anything else.
Ponting and North would have to be the best these days, in that order.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

courtjester;376554 said:
C.White in the test side. Yes, just yes:

Agressive bat we need at 5/6. Batting has matured remarkably in 12 mths.
Best slipper in Australia bar none.
Possibly the best fielder going around.
Potentially next test captain.
Click to expand...

The best slipper and fielder? Even over Ponting?

Ponting is a superb slips fielder, and catchs just about everything that comes his way.

His also equally adapt close in for the spinners.

His ground fielding is truly elite as well, I have NEVER seen anyone hit the stumps as much as Ponting. Over the last few months he has run out a heap of batsmen, with direct hits.

Not tailenders that cant run to save themselves, but top order batsmen who have either taken him on, or have been backing up to far.

As far as im concerned Ponting has genuine claims to be our best ever all round fieldsmen.

Quick across the turf, great pair of hands, great aim, at slip or at short leg.

A truly magnificent fieldsmen who is in a class of his own.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

LIONS then DAYLIGHT;376591 said:
The best slipper and fielder? Even over Ponting?

Ponting is a superb slips fielder, and catchs just about everything that comes his way.

His also equally adapt close in for the spinners.

His ground fielding is truly elite as well, I have NEVER seen anyone hit the stumps as much as Ponting. Over the last few months he has run out a heap of batsmen, with direct hits.

Not tailenders that cant run to save themselves, but top order batsmen who have either taken him on, or have been backing up to far.

As far as im concerned Ponting has genuine claims to be our best ever all round fieldsmen.

Quick across the turf, great pair of hands, great aim, at slip or at short leg.

A truly magnificent fieldsmen who is in a class of his own.
Click to expand...

Agree absolutely. Ponting is amongst the greatest fielders I have seen:

Ponting
Jonty Rhodes
Vic Richards
AB Devilliers
Clive Lloyd
Mark Waugh
Andy Symonds

Michael Clarke was also a gun prior to his back problems.

Thing is Ponting is primarily a slipper now. And White is a gun ground fielder. I'm not saying he is as good as Ponting, just saying he is among the best around now.

And White is easily the best pure slipper in Australia, I reckon! :)
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

This is an issue I raised a little while ago but had no response.

Australia ran out of slip fielders and had to train up Clarke in that position. They went from best slip field to a pretty poor one in a matter of months.

Hussey is one of the best Gully fielders I have seen too, so it would be nice if he kept himself in the team... otherwise that's gully gone with nobody to fill it.

Who is the fourth slip in today's game? Not that any Aussie bowlers at the moment that keep getting selected will ever need them.

We have Clarke, Ponting, North, ???, Hussey.

Because that fourth slipper is fast about to become the third in this next series.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;376720 said:
That useless hack from QLD seems to find himself in slips more often than he should
Click to expand...

He has good and bad days... but unfortunately it's a bad day 70% of the time.

I remember the 5 catches he put down in the Sheffield Shield final last year. QLD would have been a chance of winning if he held on to them all!!!!!:mad:
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

The increased dominance of limited-overs games, with the importance attached to run restriction in the first instance, is diminishing the importance attached to slips and other types of close fielding. How often do you see a proper slips cordon, or silly fielders these days? Rarely, even in Test cricket.

If you look at the better fielders we've produced in recent years, they've overwhelmingly been of the middle-distance variety. Guys like Clarke, Symonds, etc - their big advantages are athleticism and an accurate throw. They get their wickets from batsmen trying to make runs, be it a mistimed drive or a runout.

I can't think of a single player who's come onto the national scene in the last decade who's been a genuine close fielder. Its pretty amazing when you look at the past - all our best fieldsmen used to play in those positions - the Waughs, Warne, Taylor, Boon, etc.

And it's not just us - who's the best slips fielder in world cricket at the moment? Probably Kallis, one of the old guard. And I'd struggle to name much competition for him, to be honest. Close fielding is a dying art.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Boris;376725 said:
He has good and bad days... but unfortunately it's a bad day 70% of the time.

I remember the 5 catches he put down in the Sheffield Shield final last year. QLD would have been a chance of winning if he held on to them all!!!!!:mad:
Click to expand...

Who are we talking about here ... Watson? Remind me please.

He is typical of the current breed of fielder, who are competent "around the ring" (for want of a better term), but don't really specialise in spots the national team would prefer them to. As Caesar says, we presently lack experts such as slips specialists or bat-pad fielders. The latter position is usually just filled in with whoever the most recent addition to the team is, it seems.

White is truly brilliant in slips, David Hussey is good there too. I can't speak for too many others as I haven't seen much other than whoever is in the Test team, and Ponting and North are the only ones I would labet competent in the cordon. Even so, they have let regulation chances through that should not be grassed. Ponting has to get rid of that squat-low fingers-up habit he falls into.

There are still some good slippers around the globe, though many have only recently retired. Fleming, Lara, Flintoff ... Love, Elliott. AB De V, Strauss, Smith & Dravid are okay.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Caesar;376826 said:
The increased dominance of limited-overs games, with the importance attached to run restriction in the first instance, is diminishing the importance attached to slips and other types of close fielding. How often do you see a proper slips cordon, or silly fielders these days? Rarely, even in Test cricket.

If you look at the better fielders we've produced in recent years, they've overwhelmingly been of the middle-distance variety. Guys like Clarke, Symonds, etc - their big advantages are athleticism and an accurate throw. They get their wickets from batsmen trying to make runs, be it a mistimed drive or a runout.

I can't think of a single player who's come onto the national scene in the last decade who's been a genuine close fielder. Its pretty amazing when you look at the past - all our best fieldsmen used to play in those positions - the Waughs, Warne, Taylor, Boon, etc.

And it's not just us - who's the best slips fielder in world cricket at the moment? Probably Kallis, one of the old guard. And I'd struggle to name much competition for him, to be honest. Close fielding is a dying art.
Click to expand...

Sober Symonds;376861 said:
Who are we talking about here ... Watson? Remind me please.

He is typical of the current breed of fielder, who are competent "around the ring" (for want of a better term), but don't really specialise in spots the national team would prefer them to. As Caesar says, we presently lack experts such as slips specialists or bat-pad fielders. The latter position is usually just filled in with whoever the most recent addition to the team is, it seems.

White is truly brilliant in slips, David Hussey is good there too. I can't speak for too many others as I haven't seen much other than whoever is in the Test team, and Ponting and North are the only ones I would labet competent in the cordon. Even so, they have let regulation chances through that should not be grassed. Ponting has to get rid of that squat-low fingers-up habit he falls into.

There are still some good slippers around the globe, though many have only recently retired. Fleming, Lara, Flintoff ... Love, Elliott. AB De V, Strauss, Smith & Dravid are okay.
Click to expand...

Yes, we were talking about Watson

These two posts seem to be quite contradictory yet quite similar.

I understand and agree with your point, Caesar, and the same with you SS.

Those fielders you name Sober Symonds are outstanding in the slips compared to other fielders around them, but what Caeser is saying is that close in fielders are a dying trade. If you were to compare that list of fine fielders to some close in fielders of many years ago, you will find they aren't as good.

Fielding these days concentrates on inner ring fielding in one dayers. This sort of fielding is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. Way better athleticism then any other sport, even baseball. The run outs are sensational and everything as a whole are amazing. Having Hussey, Clarke, Ponting and Symonds on the offside in an ODI pretty much means the bowler's over is going for less than three runs.

But because of the focus on that style fielding, I too think that the in close fielding has diminished a little. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen, because my favourite position of all is the slips, but having good fielders in the covers can make something out of nothing and players like Symonds have take spectacular diving catches in unorthodox Test fielding positions because of it, it brings around its own techniques.

I would like to see slipping ability taken into account and have a slip cordon properly assumed and trained for.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Ricky Ponting is indeed a gun in the slips, only someone as good as Ricky Ponting could have dropped that sitter off Johnson today :D
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;377493 said:
Ricky Ponting is indeed a gun in the slips, only someone as good as Ricky Ponting could have dropped that sitter off Johnson today :D
Click to expand...

How ironic, the guy we are saying is the best fielder ever drops a sitter and the guy we are saying should never step into the slip cordon takes two rippers.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Hey eddie, nice to see Siddle is getting into bowling averages above even that of Lee's!

The only bowler to not have any effect on the Windies in an absolute thrashing.

Surely Clark has to have a go at Adelaide. Wouldn't want any other bowler bowling for you on such a road.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Ponting's not our best slipsman ever ... not even close. Watson's not our worst. He just has a bigger confidence issue than most, and it can be ill-afforded in that position. Good on him though, we need whoever we can get doing it well in there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top