Test XI Selection Thread

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Clarke to bat at 3, or will they put Khawaja first drop? I assume Marsh will bat 6.

Warner had a good Aus A tour. If he ends up playing (due to injury to someone), I think he'd do pretty well.
 
raze said:
Clarke to bat at 3, or will they put Khawaja first drop? I assume Marsh will bat 6.

Warner had a good Aus A tour. If he ends up playing (due to injury to someone), I think he'd do pretty well.
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Warners first class figures are flattered by those he achieved against a sub standard Zimbabwe team. I realise that Warner will not likely start but how could they possibly take him over on standby for a test match, are the rest of Australia's prospective test batsmen on annual leave?. He does not have the technique and should never play test cricket...ever. I like his attitude, he's as tough as nails and seems to be a team player but a test batsman, come on!! Presumably based on his average of 36 in Australia in the 4 day format (not including the very misleading Zimbabwe figures which beefed up his stats to a 53 avg).

Khawaja to bat at 3, Marsh at 6 despite this being an ideal time to try him at the top and drop Watson down to 6 where he could further influence matches and would also allow us to play 2nd spinner which is one of the reasons why he "should" be so valuable. It will be interesting to see what sort of a deck they come up with.
 
Jimmy Olson said:
Warners first class figures are flattered by those he achieved against a sub standard Zimbabwe team. I realise that Warner will not likely start but how could they possibly take him over on standby for a test match, are the rest of Australia's prospective test batsmen on annual leave?. He does not have the technique and should never play test cricket...ever. I like his attitude, he's as tough as nails and seems to be a team player but a test batsman, come on!! Presumably based on his average of 36 in Australia in the 4 day format (not including the very misleading Zimbabwe figures which beefed up his stats to a 53 avg).

Khawaja to bat at 3, Marsh at 6 despite this being an ideal time to try him at the top and drop Watson down to 6 where he could further influence matches and would also allow us to play 2nd spinner which is one of the reasons why he "should" be so valuable. It will be interesting to see what sort of a deck they come up with.
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If they were to drop Watson down the order, it should have been for Katich to slot back into opener. He shouldn't have been dropped in the first place.
 
Jimmy Olson said:
No argument from me on that El-Capitano
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You guys really don't get it do you. Kattich was coming to the end no argument but there was a couple of good seasons left in him. The reason he was shafted was that incident back when we last plastered the POMS and he and captain PUP had a little run in. I have no doubt that the dislike for Clarke went deep and Clarke's need to rid himself of a decenter important. Sport is still politics, he isn't the first to be shafted and won't be the last.
 
nairbe said:
You guys really don't get it do you. Kattich was coming to the end no argument but there was a couple of good seasons left in him. The reason he was shafted was that incident back when we last plastered the POMS and he and captain PUP had a little run in. I have no doubt that the dislike for Clarke went deep and Clarke's need to rid himself of a decenter important. Sport is still politics, he isn't the first to be shafted and won't be the last.
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I don't doubt no matter how much they deny it, that that had something to do with it.

However, with the state of Australian cricket at the moment, we need all of the top class players we have at the moment, in the team. And, Katich is one of the few top class players we have. Clarke should have bitten the bullet, and put up with him for a couple more seasons to ensure he gets the best possible team on the park to get some wins. ;)
 
Agreed el-capitano, but people are small and it will always happen. The team they are forming now has hope but injury and form will play its role. My hope is that they will hold firm with the core and see the tough times through to a better time. Saw Lyon bowling and thought he showed the pluck i have not seen since ROO (Bruce Yardley) was bowling back in the eighties, hope he gets a real good go.
 
Knowing the selectors (or previous selection policy) he'll get dropped for the next six years.
 
Please let's hope the selection WOW's have found a new path with hopefully Geoff Marsh. The second test is of real interest now, to see if it was just conditions went our way or if there is some real backbone creeping in. Good luck to Marsh, tough job coming in at 3 for one game, all to loose nothing to gain really.
 
nairbe said:
You guys really don't get it do you. Kattich was coming to the end no argument but there was a couple of good seasons left in him. The reason he was shafted was that incident back when we last plastered the POMS and he and captain PUP had a little run in. I have no doubt that the dislike for Clarke went deep and Clarke's need to rid himself of a decenter important. Sport is still politics, he isn't the first to be shafted and won't be the last.
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I am sure you are right about the "incident" Nairbe and that Kat got shafted as a result but as the skipper (ElCapitano) said we just could have used Kat's toughness and resolve even if just for another 12 months. Still, we have to move on to the next generation sometime and give them time to establish themselves but there is still a couple of bad eggs in this squad who will hold us back for a little while. Speaking of bad eggs, next job for Pup is to get Haddin to move up 2 steps or better still, discard the spanner.
 
I have supported Haddin previously, but I actually think now is the time to let him go and bring in a young keeper for the home series. While we still have Ponting and Hussey as senior members of the side to support Clarke's captaincy it's time to bring in either Paine or Wade to freshen us up in the field.
 
Sri Lanka all out 173, don't know you will get many changes out of them at the moment. Let's see how we go with the bat. could be an odd pitch again.
 
I hope Punter has got a shock over someone doing so well at 3. He might take more care with his wicket now.

Next match will throw up some interesting things. SSC should be another flat deck so Ussie and Hughes have to score.
 
I like the look of the batting order out there today but would swap Hughes for Khawaja at the top of the order. Hughes' technique doesn't stand up to scrutiny at the top level. Khawaja has the technique and temperament to make a go of opening imo.
 
Hughes has now gone 10 Test innings without passing 50. Therefore, the selectors have now officially given him more chances than they gave Matthew Hayden who had 8000+ test runs to his name. Does this strike anyone else as strange?

@Kram81 I agree entirely, Hughes can punish the sub-standard bowling found in Australian domestic cricket at the moment, butwill always be found out by decent bowlers. Khawaja would be a preferable option as opener, and I possibly Marsh will be even better. I'd put S.M. opening with the view to developing Khawaja at 6 then moving up, eventually to 3.
 
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