gbatman
Member
How we lost the Ashes & How to fix it.
How we lost the Ashes
Captaincy
I have always been a bit critical of Ponting but I thought his captancy was great. His fields were good, his bowlers bowled attacking and his fields were attacking, it's just that his players and his selectors let him down.
Bowling
Hilfenhaus bowled the best he ever has. He bowled full for once which is what you must do to swing the ball. He bowled with fairly good accuracy appart from a couple of poor spells, he was great. He just lacks the bit of variation in his bowling such as a straight ball and maybe even an inswinger. He did his job.
Johnson
As of yet he has never performed anywhere near his potential. His problems were nothing to do with his personal life, his problems were to do with a combinations of the English conditions and the way the ball leaves his hand.
Basically if you bowl pace and you can't get it (the seam) up you shouldn't be playing cricket in England. Perhaps his low arm action is his problem?
Johnson should have never played in England, he bowls off cutters and relies on his pace, bounce and occasional cut off the wicket to get wickets. At this level on those wickets it's a waste, you must be able to get the seam upright.
He shouldn not have played in England.
Siddle
Really deserved more wickets than he got. He has that aggression that most of our bowlers, especially Lee lack. He bowls a fairly good inswinger but doesn't bowl it enough. He's a seam bowler and their is not a great deal of seam movement off the english wickets like there is in Australis and South Africa. He needs to learn more tricks like a slower ball and to work on his swingers but his pace, bounce and aggression were tops. On seaming wickets like in Australia he's going to be very dangerous. He just lacks accuracy especially late in his spell when he's tired but that's something to work on for him.
Clark
Great when there is swing or seam movement but when there's not he's no good to us as he lacks a yard of pace and is not threatening when banging it in short of a length. Will be a good bowler in Australia but not in England where seam movement is minimal and it doesn't always swing. Shouldn't have played there.
Hauritz
Bowled ok without starring. Is not expected to take bags of wickets, but is expected to get 2-4 wickets and bowl tight and I thought he did that. He doesn't really turn it enough to be played on all wickets but the last test he should have played, for sure.
North
More than a handy all rounder, to me looks a better bowler than Graeme Swann. Doesn't turn it a great lot but is an allrounder and contributed a lot for a part time offspinner.
Batting
Ponting
Hasn't got a lot of cricket left in him and should only be playing test cricket. Contributed ok but his best is well past him and we will be looking to replace him very soon.
Clarke
Batted very well throughout the series appart from the last test where he threw his wicket away. Likes wickets that don't give extra bounce.
Hussey
He was finished when we played India in India, is that 5 test series of bad form? To me this spells he's finished and should have gone when Hayden did.
Watson
Finally not injured, touch wood, has batted well but keeps making handy runs without getting his score up around the 100 mark. Is he lacking fitness and getting tired around the 40-50 mark and going out? Wouldn't suprise me with the shocking run he's had with injuries.
Hughes
Very unlucky, had a terrific record leading up to that and the selectors showed little faith in dropping him. I think they listened to too much of the B.S. in the media. There were batsmen going worse than him and they appear un-droppable. He should have retained his place. Even if it ment putting him down the oarder.
North
Very hit and miss, not really reliable but may improve, he made up for things with some good scores though.
Haddin
Lucky he can bat because he can't keep.
The Squad
The squad was rubbish and didn't include our best players. It didn't include the right players.
The selectors
This is not the only series they have cost us!
They cost us the last ashes and many many test matches and series leading up to this loss!
Previously when we had a "dream team" a retarded monkey could have picked a side and it would have won. Now they have been tested and selecting the team means something and they are failing miserably.
Hilditch, the chairman of selectors was not even in England. Merve Hughes was. Teams don't make big dumb pacemen captains, why make them selectors?
How to Fix the Problem
Selectors
Sack the whole selection panell. The way Hilditch got emotional when he finally showed Hayden the door suggests that he, along with the others are far to close to the players to be able to make decisions about them.
We need to get a group of people together who have made a living out of analysing/studying players, getting inside opposition players heads and understanding and reading the game very well. Aswell as picking harder nosed individuals.
My selection panell would be:
Chairman: Steve Waugh - one of Australias most successful leaders, understands the game well and must know how to read players and conditions has he made a career of it as captain and was very successful at that.
Shane Warne - Shane Warne is to cricket what Steven Hawking is to physics. He's a cricket genious. He understands players, the game and the conditions of the game very well. He's got a great cricket brain. Getting him to commit to the job might be an issue.
Dennis Lillie - Not just one of our most gifted bowlers but one of our smartest bowlers. Understood all the aspects of bowling pace, not to mention being a very very good judge/coach of fast bowling.
Damien Martyn - comes accross as an intelligent person and was a very talented batsmen and fieldsman.
Darren Lehmann - Already a selector, and keeping him does mean a full clean out wont be achieved but he was a smart cricketer and had a good brain for the job. Keeping one of the old panell might be a good idea as some of their ideas might be worth carrying on to the next group. He would be the one I'd keep.
Bowling
The current bowling coach only got the job because he helped England cheat their way to victory in '05. Since he arrived Brett Lee no longer swings the ball, our bowlers have lost their variation and the ones coming through lack it. He has failed at fixing Mitchell Johnson, he has not improved our bowlers.
I would like to see Glenn McGrath or Damien Fleming come in, if not as a sole coach but as an assistant perhaps. These two were not just very gifted but they were smart bowlers who bowled with variation and skill. Something our attack lacks.
Dennis Lillie would be a good option for this aswell.
Our Squad for england should have been:
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Hughes
Watson
North
Ferguson
Marsh
Haddin
Katich
Wade
Clark
Krejza
Huaritz
Hilfenhaus
Bollinger
Siddle
Johnson
Lee
Our Team in the Final test, and probably all tests should have been:
1. Katich - Saw off the old ball and made ok runs.
2. Watson - saw off the new ball and made ok runs.
3. Ponting - Battling.
4. Hughes - If bounce worries him, let him face the old ball.
5. Clarke - great form, good player of spin.
6. North - Handy all-rounder and 2nd spinner.
7. Haddin - Bats well enough.
8. Hauritz - should have played, no doubt.
9. Siddle - Bowled well.
10. Bollinger - Left arm bowler with height, swing, bounce and accuracy.
11. Hilfenhaus - bowled goos swing with good accuracy.
12. Johnson
Bollinger could have won us the series. Left arm swing bowler bowling to two opening left arm openers would have made the difference. Great left arm right arm combination with Hilfenhaus/Bollinger with their swing and accuracy.
Bowling plan:
Hilfenhaus and Bolling to open. Gives us great diversity.
One of them to have a short spell and give it to Siddle first change while it's still hard and sharped seamed.
Hauritz and North to bowl in tandem and bowl long spells of spin, choking the runs and pressuring the batsmen to playing risky shots. Spin at both ends on a dry track is far better than spin at one end. It allows pressure, it forces the batsmen to play shots against the spinner as they arent able to wait for the paceman at the other end to score off when it's turning.
How we lost the Ashes
Captaincy
I have always been a bit critical of Ponting but I thought his captancy was great. His fields were good, his bowlers bowled attacking and his fields were attacking, it's just that his players and his selectors let him down.
Bowling
Hilfenhaus bowled the best he ever has. He bowled full for once which is what you must do to swing the ball. He bowled with fairly good accuracy appart from a couple of poor spells, he was great. He just lacks the bit of variation in his bowling such as a straight ball and maybe even an inswinger. He did his job.
Johnson
As of yet he has never performed anywhere near his potential. His problems were nothing to do with his personal life, his problems were to do with a combinations of the English conditions and the way the ball leaves his hand.
Basically if you bowl pace and you can't get it (the seam) up you shouldn't be playing cricket in England. Perhaps his low arm action is his problem?
Johnson should have never played in England, he bowls off cutters and relies on his pace, bounce and occasional cut off the wicket to get wickets. At this level on those wickets it's a waste, you must be able to get the seam upright.
He shouldn not have played in England.
Siddle
Really deserved more wickets than he got. He has that aggression that most of our bowlers, especially Lee lack. He bowls a fairly good inswinger but doesn't bowl it enough. He's a seam bowler and their is not a great deal of seam movement off the english wickets like there is in Australis and South Africa. He needs to learn more tricks like a slower ball and to work on his swingers but his pace, bounce and aggression were tops. On seaming wickets like in Australia he's going to be very dangerous. He just lacks accuracy especially late in his spell when he's tired but that's something to work on for him.
Clark
Great when there is swing or seam movement but when there's not he's no good to us as he lacks a yard of pace and is not threatening when banging it in short of a length. Will be a good bowler in Australia but not in England where seam movement is minimal and it doesn't always swing. Shouldn't have played there.
Hauritz
Bowled ok without starring. Is not expected to take bags of wickets, but is expected to get 2-4 wickets and bowl tight and I thought he did that. He doesn't really turn it enough to be played on all wickets but the last test he should have played, for sure.
North
More than a handy all rounder, to me looks a better bowler than Graeme Swann. Doesn't turn it a great lot but is an allrounder and contributed a lot for a part time offspinner.
Batting
Ponting
Hasn't got a lot of cricket left in him and should only be playing test cricket. Contributed ok but his best is well past him and we will be looking to replace him very soon.
Clarke
Batted very well throughout the series appart from the last test where he threw his wicket away. Likes wickets that don't give extra bounce.
Hussey
He was finished when we played India in India, is that 5 test series of bad form? To me this spells he's finished and should have gone when Hayden did.
Watson
Finally not injured, touch wood, has batted well but keeps making handy runs without getting his score up around the 100 mark. Is he lacking fitness and getting tired around the 40-50 mark and going out? Wouldn't suprise me with the shocking run he's had with injuries.
Hughes
Very unlucky, had a terrific record leading up to that and the selectors showed little faith in dropping him. I think they listened to too much of the B.S. in the media. There were batsmen going worse than him and they appear un-droppable. He should have retained his place. Even if it ment putting him down the oarder.
North
Very hit and miss, not really reliable but may improve, he made up for things with some good scores though.
Haddin
Lucky he can bat because he can't keep.
The Squad
The squad was rubbish and didn't include our best players. It didn't include the right players.
The selectors
This is not the only series they have cost us!
They cost us the last ashes and many many test matches and series leading up to this loss!
Previously when we had a "dream team" a retarded monkey could have picked a side and it would have won. Now they have been tested and selecting the team means something and they are failing miserably.
Hilditch, the chairman of selectors was not even in England. Merve Hughes was. Teams don't make big dumb pacemen captains, why make them selectors?
How to Fix the Problem
Selectors
Sack the whole selection panell. The way Hilditch got emotional when he finally showed Hayden the door suggests that he, along with the others are far to close to the players to be able to make decisions about them.
We need to get a group of people together who have made a living out of analysing/studying players, getting inside opposition players heads and understanding and reading the game very well. Aswell as picking harder nosed individuals.
My selection panell would be:
Chairman: Steve Waugh - one of Australias most successful leaders, understands the game well and must know how to read players and conditions has he made a career of it as captain and was very successful at that.
Shane Warne - Shane Warne is to cricket what Steven Hawking is to physics. He's a cricket genious. He understands players, the game and the conditions of the game very well. He's got a great cricket brain. Getting him to commit to the job might be an issue.
Dennis Lillie - Not just one of our most gifted bowlers but one of our smartest bowlers. Understood all the aspects of bowling pace, not to mention being a very very good judge/coach of fast bowling.
Damien Martyn - comes accross as an intelligent person and was a very talented batsmen and fieldsman.
Darren Lehmann - Already a selector, and keeping him does mean a full clean out wont be achieved but he was a smart cricketer and had a good brain for the job. Keeping one of the old panell might be a good idea as some of their ideas might be worth carrying on to the next group. He would be the one I'd keep.
Bowling
The current bowling coach only got the job because he helped England cheat their way to victory in '05. Since he arrived Brett Lee no longer swings the ball, our bowlers have lost their variation and the ones coming through lack it. He has failed at fixing Mitchell Johnson, he has not improved our bowlers.
I would like to see Glenn McGrath or Damien Fleming come in, if not as a sole coach but as an assistant perhaps. These two were not just very gifted but they were smart bowlers who bowled with variation and skill. Something our attack lacks.
Dennis Lillie would be a good option for this aswell.
Our Squad for england should have been:
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Hughes
Watson
North
Ferguson
Marsh
Haddin
Katich
Wade
Clark
Krejza
Huaritz
Hilfenhaus
Bollinger
Siddle
Johnson
Lee
Our Team in the Final test, and probably all tests should have been:
1. Katich - Saw off the old ball and made ok runs.
2. Watson - saw off the new ball and made ok runs.
3. Ponting - Battling.
4. Hughes - If bounce worries him, let him face the old ball.
5. Clarke - great form, good player of spin.
6. North - Handy all-rounder and 2nd spinner.
7. Haddin - Bats well enough.
8. Hauritz - should have played, no doubt.
9. Siddle - Bowled well.
10. Bollinger - Left arm bowler with height, swing, bounce and accuracy.
11. Hilfenhaus - bowled goos swing with good accuracy.
12. Johnson
Bollinger could have won us the series. Left arm swing bowler bowling to two opening left arm openers would have made the difference. Great left arm right arm combination with Hilfenhaus/Bollinger with their swing and accuracy.
Bowling plan:
Hilfenhaus and Bolling to open. Gives us great diversity.
One of them to have a short spell and give it to Siddle first change while it's still hard and sharped seamed.
Hauritz and North to bowl in tandem and bowl long spells of spin, choking the runs and pressuring the batsmen to playing risky shots. Spin at both ends on a dry track is far better than spin at one end. It allows pressure, it forces the batsmen to play shots against the spinner as they arent able to wait for the paceman at the other end to score off when it's turning.
but i think Johnson has copped alot of (undeserved crap) because of this lack of form in England. He has been our best bowler for the last 18 months and all that was wrong was his wrist in the wrong position. Is the bowling coach to blame? quite likely, but these things cant just be changed overnight. If a player starts having difficulty, it is hard to change back to their previous way. By the time the 5th test started, I reckon he has it all covered now. He'll do us proud in the ODI's, it's just unfortunate that he didn't fire in the Test series
