Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

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Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;381969 said:
As has been mentioned time and time again it is all about timing

Hughes got picked because he is from NSW, there were senior players scoring just as many runs and still are but they have pissed someone off

But with Siddle, injuries struck to Bollinger and Nofke and a couple of others, Siddle had just come off a 9 wicket haul against the full strength NSW lineup on a pitch similar to Indian pitches and luck fell his way. But they stuck with him because he impressed everyone outside of QLD and NSW and most importantly he impressed the captain
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Your right there, but it doesn't mean there weren't better players around that have had a couple of seasons experience at least.

Technically Nofke wasn't injured at the exact time, but was rather just coming back from one ;).... and now once again he is the best bowler so far in the Sheffield Shield and not far from it in the FRC and came off a 50 the other night...

I wouldn't have done this myself, but even Bracken at the time of Siddle being picked, was averaging 23 as I have just researched and was just about to post, and he has a Test average of 40 after three games, two of them were decent, his first was a little wayward.

There were other choices out there when Clark was injured. Didn't have to go with the first one in the selectors faces.

Funnily enough Cutting has just come off an 8 wicket haul.... and I'm sure there is a spot sort of open... hahaha
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

But Clark got injured on tour, so of course the reserve pace bowler took his spot

It was all about luck, if it happened in Australia then they might have picked someone else, but Siddle had everything going for him to be picked as backup paceman in India

As for Bracken, haha, he was eliminated from the test pecking order a while ago, besides he is too much of a whinger ;)
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;381974 said:
But Clark got injured on tour, so of course the reserve pace bowler took his spot

It was all about luck, if it happened in Australia then they might have picked someone else, but Siddle had everything going for him to be picked as backup paceman in India

As for Bracken, haha, he was eliminated from the test pecking order a while ago, besides he is too much of a whinger ;)
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Siddle was lucky, yes, and has done well to make the most of it. Now get out of the road and let someone else in :p hahaha

And I was only using Bracken as an example because he was the first recognised Test level bowler on the list that was alphabetical. He still isn't that bad a bowler anyway, would have done just as well as Siddle has, if not better.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

But 12 months down the track and you have to ask if we will see Bracken again, would have been a wasted selection
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

He would have been injured anyway half way through, before Siddle.

I'm just thinking out loud.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Siddle has demonstrated the ability to get wickets against the best Australia has to put forward and the timing of the NSW (full strength) game was to his advantage. Bollinger did little for a couple of years and is now dominating the Shield. For all your unsubstantiated moaning about experience it could be argued (correctly) that these guys are closer to peaking and still not as good as Siddle.

Those to the far north need to accept that Nofke is good at two things but test at none. If you want to criticise Sidle’s bowling you really should offer up an alternative way to bowl and not "like McGrath" that is nonsense and you know it.:confused:

Anyway I am happy with Siddle and Bollinger fighting it out for one spot as Hilfenhouse is more important to the team than either of them. These two could really give us competition for spots in the bowling line up and will at least provide international standard (read not Nofke) bowling to test the next shield batting wonder against.
.:)
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Thumbs up;382030 said:
Siddle has demonstrated the ability to get wickets against the best Australia has to put forward and the timing of the NSW (full strength) game was to his advantage. Bollinger did little for a couple of years and is now dominating the Shield. For all your unsubstantiated moaning about experience it could be argued (correctly) that these guys are closer to peaking and still not as good as Siddle.

Those to the far north need to accept that Nofke is good at two things but test at none. If you want to criticise Sidle’s bowling you really should offer up an alternative way to bowl and not "like McGrath" that is nonsense and you know it.:confused:

Anyway I am happy with Siddle and Bollinger fighting it out for one spot as Hilfenhouse is more important to the team than either of them. These two could really give us competition for spots in the bowling line up and will at least provide international standard (read not Nofke) bowling to test the next shield batting wonder against.
.:)
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Domestic players that have a long career and not dropped soon after have two ways to start it. They either start in a mediocre fashion or they blast out of the blocks. Those that start slowly progressively get better, and it's just a matter of whether they get good enough for the international team within enough time before they reach their drop off point of about 35 where their skill can quite often start deteriorate and start to go too far by the time of 38ish. Whether they reach that level shows their extent of their skill.

Shaun Marsh is an example there, he averages 30 in the longer form, but over the past couple of seasons he has averaged way more and can be considered quite the one day batsman. He made that step up quickly enough to get there.

The thing with the ones that come explosively out, a la Siddle, usually demonstrates a one hit wonder or a more 'legendary' figure. Warne and McGrath both blasted their way into the side and did very well from the get go. And they kept going and going. There are others, though, that had that blast but it just petered out. Michael Slater, Andy Bichel, the list goes on. I would love if you could find some that blasted out but stayed in the Test side for a long time, but I struggle to do so. It's usually one way or the other.

Siddle may be the exception and I could very well just be picking on pointless history here, but is Siddle the next great bowler or will he have to retire being a domestic player that almost lived his dream?

I'm not saying drop him because of some speculation I have, I'm saying keep him in the side. But I will only begin to like him as a player until he proves to me he is not a one hit wonder, he can adapt and keep improving. So far he has been on a downhill slope, getting worse and worse.

And I wouldn't put Nofke in the team for what it's worth, he has reached his age limit. I'm just still a little annoyed from back when Clark, Johnson and Bracken were fighting for a Test spot and he wasn't included despite going on more tours as the drinks man and consistently performing way better than all three of them domestically and in tour matches for Australia.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Boris;381962 said:
Let me tell you know, up here in Queensland there are few that like him. I'm about one of his biggest fans around here. If you go down to the pub or the golf club and he comes on for his every over there are murmurs and people turn away from the screen, sometimes the drunks boo him. Every over there is a mistake of some sort and we shake our heads. From my experience with him so far that is not what I like to see with international cricketers. May be different down south, but up here we struggle to see why he is there, especially considering there have been Queensland bowlers who have spent the same amount of time domestically and have similar records, yet I would laugh my head off if they got picked - and they are from my home state.
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Queenslanders are notoriously like that. I have no doubt your mates at the bar are completely partial and have made their minds up as a group that Siddle's no good, regardless of what he does.

He has a head that looks ready for battle, so I agree it might be hard to love him if he's not yours. But you guys have a huge chip on your shoulder when it comes to southern states. NSW products you will accept (League buddies, etc.), Victorians never.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Sober Symonds;382218 said:
Queenslanders are notoriously like that. I have no doubt your mates at the bar are completely partial and have made their minds up as a group that Siddle's no good, regardless of what he does.

He has a head that looks ready for battle, so I agree it might be hard to love him if he's not yours. But you guys have a huge chip on your shoulder when it comes to southern states. NSW products you will accept (League buddies, etc.), Victorians never.
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That's very true, but we accept some bowlers right off the shelves if they are completely devastating our line ups at home, and Siddle hasn't been exactly making the back page of our papers for knocking over the Bulls when he was in form domestically.

To me he is in the 'Watson' category of guys who can play but I could never like personally.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Fair enough, I can't argue with a personal opinion formed on the guy.

It's much harder for a southerner (especially a Vic) to impress you guys though. I know from experience when working interstate with a couple Queenslanders. After we got to know eachother a bit, one remarked along the lines of, "You know, you're not a bad bloke after all. I didn't think I would say that about a Victorian." He wasn't joking about it either, he was genuinely surprised that anyone from outside his state could be normal or likeable. (Mind you, he was from Nth Q!)

I give that example in order to point out a preconceived idea you guys have, not to pump up my own tyres (He could have been horribly mistaken;))

Anyway, good to see Siddle put in solidly and get at least a couple of wickets.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Well the hatrid of Southerners hasn't formed from nothing. Have you seen how you people drive down there? For heavens sake stop tailgating! :D

Looking at Siddle's performance though from that match, it might look good but he was the worst of the bowlers who bowled consistently too short.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Well if any QLDer could drive properly we wouldnt be tailgating, they just hand out licences in cereal boxes up there dont they?

Too many bloody QLDers on the road down here these days
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

There is no doubt that Siddle hasn't probably developed as we would have hoped after his performances this time last year and in the return series against South Africa, where IMO, he was our best bowler.

His work in the Ashes was hot and cold, apparently he struggled with the Duke ball and had trouble gripping it.

Once Hilfenhaus is fully fit Siddle's position could come under some pressure, on ABC radio they were discussing the same thing today, and all agreed that Siddle is in the gun on current form once all bowlers are 100% fit.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Thank goodness Mitch Johnson is a good WA boy and not tainted by you eastern Staters.
Ay.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

eddiesmith;382347 said:
Well if any QLDer could drive properly we wouldnt be tailgating, they just hand out licences in cereal boxes up there dont they?

Too many bloody QLDers on the road down here these days
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I have to say that I have put Brisbane and the Gold Coast outside of the State of Queensland for the most part because of the amount of southerners up here. 20% of the population is now made up of you people. Breeding like rabbits too.

Have you ever noticed that Victorians speed up when they are behind you but then slow down when they are in front?

:p

bushie;382352 said:
Thank goodness Mitch Johnson is a good WA boy and not tainted by you eastern Staters.
Ay.
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NEVER!
hahahaha

Although if it were any state I would let him go to WA. A very nice team and state you have.
 
Re: Australian Test XI - Selection Thread

Boris;382356 said:
NEVER!
hahahaha

Although if it were any state I would let him go to WA. A very nice team and state you have.
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Too bloody nice if you ask me. They need to geta bit of mongrel in them and then we might win a Shield again.
Don't mind Queensland at all either. It is only us two and the NT that can really be considered human.;)
 
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