Anyone for cricket?

[dee-luded 2,959]

is this the same watto they said couldnt/wouldnt bat at 6 ?

we do need to bolster the top 6

the poms were dreadful and still made inroads to our batting order

our last time at the bottom of the ladder happened because under pontings time we didnt feed a younger batsmen into the team while we were going ok

after smith has played 35-40 tests he will have experienced the normal run of outs and rain delays ,saved tests and etc.

then he can start to dominate the batting for us.

but in that time rogers,haddin,clarke will be near the end and we will start looking for the next batsman.

do it now ,pull the band aid off and feed in the next 80 test batsman

should have been, like we try to do in the afl, try to feed the young ones in at the appropriate times, to 'blood them'. in the right sort of games for their personalities. when the planets align, some will kill it from the start.

When a player needs a rest or is injured, or is a naughty boy, feed in a kid for a match or 2.

we are in 200% stronger position now, then a couple of years back when all the good players couldn't wait to get Out of the team... that cannot be a good thing, when things are so sick inside our better players want out.

& some are sacked for the inner sanctum rivalry.

Hussey prematurely retired, didn't like the vibe in the dressingroom. not fun anymore. that said a lot...

'boof' grabbed it by the proverbials, behind closed doors & squeezed it back into shape, until it hurt. now alls good again.

you think watto was a problem, but hussey wanted out early.... what a shock that came as, to all of us. no watto wasn't the problem, he was a victim of it. a symptom of a team breaking up. the leadership was carp back then..

[dee-luded 2,959]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/chris-rogers-explains-darren-lehmanns-impact-in-turning-australias-fortunes-around/story-fndpt0dy-1226799135132

Chris Rogers explains Darren Lehmann's impact in turning Australia's fortunes around

IT WAS the "watershed moment" according to Australia opening batsman Chris Rogers.

The day when Darren Lehmann helped the Australian team remember that playing cricket for a living was actually pretty reasonable fun.

Not long after Lehmann took over as coach from Mickey Arthur ahead of the 2013 Ashes series in England, he called a team meeting in Taunton to prepare for of the opening tour match against Somerset.

"He said, 'all right, someone put the stop watch on, this is half an hour. No meeting will ever go more than half an hour'," Rogers recalled.

Once 30 minutes had expired, Lehmann declared: "Right, we're going to the pub over the road; the skipper's buying."

Rogers said the drinkers in the pub were incredulous at the sight of the Australian squad sitting down to a beer, thinking "Is this for real?"

"I just think it was one of those moments where guys realised 'we can actually enjoy this'," Rogers told RSN radio.

"I could tell that at that moment the guys just seemed to relax, the weight was off their shoulders."

Rogers said Lehmann was instrumental in turning around Australia's fortunes, primarily because he had a plan and was clear about which players he wanted in the team.

He offered clear direction and honest feedback, and could be ruthless in his pursuit of excellence.

One example was to lay down the law to batsman David Warner after his late-night altercation with English batsman Joe Root. "He said, 'Right you've got one more chance, if you ruin this, that's it you're gone, but it's up to you'," Rogers said.

"From that point on Davey knew what the rules were and he's flourished."

Rogers said that ahead of the series in England he was uncertain about his standing in the team. "When there was a change of coach I wasn't sure if Darren Lehmann rated me to be honest," Rogers said. But Lehmann came to his Taunton hotel room and assured him he was certain to open the batting in the first Test at Trent Bridge.

Rogers said Lehmann had also introduced several initiatives to keep the mood light among the playing group. Before the first, third and fifth day of a Test match, someone is chosen to tell the "joke of the day" during warm-ups.

Another initiative was to ensure players did not disperse immediately after stumps. "He said 'Right, the bus is not leaving until an hour after the scheduled finish of play," Rogers said. "So you sit around and you have a chat ... and really there's the opportunity to be honest with each other, and that's been good."

Rogers said Lehmann's effort to keep players relaxed was crucial for him personally, because he had become so nervous throughout the Australian summer that he experienced "sleepless nights". At the training session the day before the Adelaide Test he was so anxious that he was "struggling to talk".

http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/chris-rogers-explains-darren-lehmanns-impact-in-turning-australias-fortunes-around/story-fndpt0dy-1226799135132

Edited January 10, 2014 by dee-luded

[Whispering_Jack 30,672]

History repeats in the women's ashes test. England scored 201 on the first day and had the Aussies struggling at one stage at 5/37 before recovering to take a first innings lead of 6 runs. Poms are at 3/18 at stumps.

[Whispering_Jack 30,672]

Davey Warner playing second fiddle in to Aaron Finch in an ODI.

I'd like to see that!

[MadAsHell 4,215]

Something that I'm following started on Monday which is the World Cup qualifying tournament for the final two spots available after Ireland & Afghanistan previously secured their births. Ten teams are competing in this contest which runs for about 3 weeks I think it is in New Zealand, which will see some pretty competative cricket being played.

The format is two groups of 5. You play everyone in your group, and the top three teams go through to the super 6's where you play the other groups top 3. After which the teams are ranked from 1-6 from the five games they've played against eachother with the top two teams gaining entry to the World Cup and also playing against eachother in the final for position of seeding.

There were some interesting results Day 1 by the way!

Netherlands v Uganda

Probably the tournament favourites kicked off proceedings against one of the outsiders Uganda. The African nation won the toss and elected to bat and got off to a great start with openning with pair Mukasa & Mutyagaba putting the favourites on the back foot by scoring at a good click at putting on over 50 for the openning partnership.

Uganda's momentum was halted hower in the 17th over when Mukasa was hit on the pads in front for 44 with the score on 76 to the part time off spin of former Western Australian Warriors batsman Michael Swart. This wicket proved to be the turning point of the match, as Uganda who put on 76 for the first wicket, only added a further 76 for the remaining 9. Dutch left arm orthodox spinner Michael Rippon proving to be the chief destroyer capturing 4 wickets as Uganda were all out for 152 in 46.1 overs.

The Netherlands run chase was never in any real serious doubt. Myburgh made a brisk 22 off only 12 deliveries and fell with the score on 27, but a 35 run partnership for the 2nd wicket and 85 run stand for the 3rd with half centuries to wicket keeper batsman Barresi and skipper Borren and the Netherlands keeping their run rate at over 5 an over saw them never challenged.

Uganda 152 (46.1 overs)

R. Mukasa 44 M. Rippon 4/15 (10)

A. Mutyagaba 36 M. Swart 2/28 (10)

L. Sematimba 15 M. Bukhari 2/30 (9)

Netherlands 3/155 (30.1 overs)

W. Barresi 61* D. Arinaitwe 1/26 (6)

P. Borren 50 C. Waiswa 1/27 (6)

S. Myburgh 22 F. Ochimi 1/34 (5)

Nepal v United Arab Emirates

An even money contest was expected in the match between the ever improving Nepal and the under achieving UAE, who have only ever made one previous world cup despite the money and facilities at hand that other associate nations would die for. Nepal won the toss and elected to field which looked to be a master stroke when Amjad Ali was run out for a duck in the first over leaving the UAE at 1/1.

Despite the early set back, the UAE skipper Khurram Khan coming in at number 3 decided that attack was the best form of defence as he played a run a ball innings before being adjudged lbw for 21 leaving UAE at 2/42 in the 8th over. And when openning batsman Salman Faris was dismissed for a more patient 35 when the score was on 81 after 17 overs the game was right in the ballance.

UAE batsman Shaiman Anwar & S Patil turned this tight contest into one way traffick however with a breath taking 145 run partnership which saw Anwar bring up the first century of the tournament at better then a run a ball. When he was finally dismissed for 109, the UAE were sitting at 4/226 with more then 10 overs up their sleeve.

Patil carried on his merry way with support from the middle to lower order which saw the UAE reach 8/297 after their 50 overs, a target that was always going to be a tough ask for Nepal on a wicket that was offering a bit of movement to the quicks, a known weakness of Nepal.

As expected Nepal found the going tough against the new ball in their run chase and by the time Malla was dismissed for 4, they found themselves 5/53 after 18 overs and out of the contest.

To Nepal's credit their middle to lower order worked hard to nearly bat out the full 50 overs thanks to a half century from Vesawkar who was well supported by Bhandari & Gauchan, but on the first ball of the 49th over Nepal were put out of their missery as UAE claimed a 102 run victory which will make other countries take notice for the rest of this tournament.

United Arab Emirates 8/297

S. Anwar 109 B. Regmi 3/43 (10)

S. Patil 74 J. Mukhiya 2/58 (8)

S. Faris 35 S. Gauchan 1/42 (10)

Nepal 195 (48.1 overs)

S. Vesawkar 54 K. Shazad 3/46 (10)

S. Gauchan 37* K. Khan 2/19 (5)

B. Bhandari 37 A. Guruge 2/25 (7)

Kenya v Papua New Guinea

The 2003 World Cup semi finalist Kenya were up against PNG, a country who have never made it this far in the World Cup qualifying process, so many would think this would be a walk in the park for Kenya, however Papua New Guinea who's three most recent coaches have been Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel & Stuart Law were always confident this was a winable game for them.

PNG won the toss and elected to field first and they gave themselves every opportunity of an upset win by not allowing Kenya to ever get away from them by continuing to take wickets throughout whenever the Kenyan's looked to put their foot down.

Kenyan batsman Collins Obuya made an impressive century and some late order hitting from Odoyo made sure Kenya would post a competative score of 9/249. But with only one partnership of over 50 through the innings and one of under 10, neither side was able to claim being completely on top of the contest. PNG quick Haoda was impressive with his sharpness claiming 4 wickets.

Things looked to change however when PNG openning batsman Ura was dismissed 4th ball of the run chase before PNG had put a run on the board and Kenya by how much? was the though of many at that point in time. However openning batsman Siaka and number three Vala had read a different script and turned the game on it's head with 154 run partnership for the second wicket at close to seven an over. Siaka was the main aggresor who made 103 off only 83 deliveries with 11 boundaries and four sixes.

When Siaka was dismissed Kenya would have given themselves a chance of running through the rest of the PNG line up, however Vala simply took up the aggresors role which also saw him bring up a ton and he was well supported by skipper Amini as Papua New Guinea cruised to an 8 wicket victory with 43 deliveries remaining turning the competition on it's head in the openning round.

Kenya 9/249

C. Obuya 106 R. Haoda 4/50 (9)

T. Odoyo 42 P. Raho 2/47 (10)

M. Ouma 24 M. Dai 1/19 (5)

Papua New Guinea 2/250 (42.5 overs)

A. Vala 105* N. Odhiambo 1/43 (10)

L. Siaka 103 S. Ngoche 1/49 (8.5)

C. Amini 28*

Hong Kong v Scotland

The close one of the openning round was out at Queenstown where Hong Kong and Scotland were to do battle. On paper Scotland were the favourites, however a string of poor results and internal issues have been haunting Scotland for some time, which saw a Australia/Darren Lehmann style situation in which Scotlands coach was sacked only weeks ago and Paul Collingwood appointed, which Scotland were no doubt hoping would have a similar effect to the one Lehmann's had with the Aussies.

Scotland won the toss and elected to field and had Hong Kong at 1/5 in the third over, however consecutive fifty run partnerships that openner Irfan Ahmed was involved in was setting a solid platform for Hong Kong. However the fall of Hong Kong's third wicket triggered a mid innings collapse of 3/31 in 5.1 overs to leave Hong Kong at 5/159 after 37.4 overs, no doubt leaving Scotland hopeful of wrapping the innings up for 200-220.

Hong Kong's middle order had other ideas however as B. Hayat & Tanwir Afzal put on the innings best partnership of 67 runs off only 58 balls which then left Aizaz Khan to get in on the act with Afzal. At the end of Hong Kong's 50 overs a score of 7/263 was on the board which would require an impressive chase by Scotland in order to avoid an early upset loss.

The run chase got off to a rocky start for Scotland when skipper Coetzer was dismissed in the fourth over and a steady loss of wickets for Scotland just when partnerships were building saw them slump to 4/71 after 16 overs and in serious trouble.

Number 4 batsman P. Mommsen & number 6 R. Taylor went about rebuilding the innings for Scotland with Mommsen taking the more cautious approach and Taylor looking to play his shots. However as the partnership reached 50, Taylor looked to play one aggresive shot to many and lost his wicket.

Mommsen looked to try and rescue the innings again but was having trouble finding willing partners and when Scottish bowler Sharif was dismissed for 9, it looked like Hong Kong would waltz to victory with Scotland at 8/172, needing 92 from 71 deliveries with only two wickets in hand.

Enter Scottish spinner R. Haq who may have mistaken this One Day Match with a Test Match at the rate he was scoring, however he was staying in which allowed Mommsen who was still at the crease to finally tee off and launch one final assault for Scotland. Mommsen & Haq put on over 50 for the 9th wicket which was Scotlands best for the innings and saw Mommsen bring up his century, however almost immediatley after he did this Haq's defensive reign came to an end when he was dismissed for 14 leaving Scotland needing 40 runs off 19 balls for the last wicket.

Number 11 I. Wardlaw did what he needed to do and scored a single off every delivery he faced allowing Mommsen to continue his one man show. However unfortunatly for Scottish fans, Mommsen chasing another big shot was caught in the deep for 118 off the bowling of N. Ahmed who claimed his fourth wicket allowing Hong Kong to capture a tense 17 run victory.

Hong Kong 7/263

I. Ahmed 75 I. Wardlaw 3/57 (10)

T. Afzal 42 M. Machan 2/37 (8)

M. Chapman 36 R. Haq 1/45 (10)

Scotland 246 (48.4 overs)

P. Mommsen 118 N. Ahmed 4/37 (9.4)

M. Machan 34 H. Amjad 3/53 (9)

R. Taylor 28 A. Khan 1/33 (6)

On Wednesday round two gets underway with Namibia playing their first match against the tournament favourites Netherlands and Canada who have made the last three world cups play against the impressive UAE who have not made it to a World Cup since 1996. Papua New Guinea have a chance to build on their impressive early win taking on the poorly performed Uganda on Thursday while Nepal & Scotland will both be desperate for a win in their clash. Hong Kong & Kenya have the byes this round.

Standings so far.

GROUP A

United Arab Emirates

Hong Kong

Canada

Scotland

Nepal

GROUP B

Netherland

Papua New Guinea

Namibia

Kenya

Uganda

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,809]

Great article by Chris Cordner in the Age today ,criticizing the Australian Test team for their sledging and general behaviour.

I agree with him that we can beat the English without this boorish larrikinism.

In fact, I think sledging increases the steely resolve of the opposition ,usually.

Let's pretend we're nice guys to Steyn, Morkel, Philander etc. They won't have the broken morale the Englishmen displayed when things started going against them for a change.

[dee-luded 2,959]

political correctness took over @ melbourne after crashing in Norm Smiths chips for him. we've been successful & all too happy ever since.

BeWare what you all wish for, especially when trying to create a false culture, from that of what we all truly are.

lets stop punching in boxing matches as well, they can slap, but No punching.

[Rolling Stone 158]

James Faulkner - never in doubt.

[daisycutter 29,738]

poms [censored] defeat from jaws of victory

lol - sn@atch is banned

Edited January 17, 2014 by daisycutter

[dee-luded 2,959]

like faulkner. he's a part of our future.

I like what I see from this guy.

[Whispering_Jack 30,672]

I like what I see from this guy.

I know he did it in the white ball game and that doesn't necessarily translate into test success but last night's effort must strengthen Faulkner's claims for South Africa. I think he should be right there for the next time that Watson's calf or hammy inevitably twinges of strains.

[Whispering_Jack 30,672]

A great interview from Crash Craddock in the Herald Sun - How Ashes star Mitchell Johnson bounced back to become an Ashes hero

Lessons there for every sport including AFL.

[dee-luded 2,959]

I know he did it in the white ball game and that doesn't necessarily translate into test success but last night's effort must strengthen Faulkner's claims for South Africa. I think he should be right there for the next time that Watson's calf or hammy inevitably twinges of strains.

For sure.

but I think we are witnessing his readiness to approach the next level. from there we'll see. he may star, or he may take some time to settle in.

again I would have Watto as opener & place Warner @ 3... & eventually, possibly Smith at 4, with Clark sliding down the order. When a top opener comes along, start them down the order to settle them, then switch with Watto.

[Macca 17,034]

Phil Hughes in line for another recall to Test squad for tour of South Africa

According to Malcolm Conn ...

Alex Doolan was the early favourite to change the "Unchangeables" for next month's three-Test series as Australia looks to bolster its top order batting against the most highly ranked pace attack in the world. However, growing concerns about Doolan's modest performances this season has left Hughes squarely in the frame to be part of the touring squad when it is announced on Monday.

The plan is introduce another top order player at number three and move incumbent Shane Watson down to number six as the all-rounder in place of Bailey.

LIKELY SQUAD: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Phil Hughes, Michael Clarke ©, Steve Smith, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner, George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson.

[jazza 1,323]

watto=was slotted to play at 6 many years ago

he came out and made the statement "its top 3 for me i get to nervy to sit in the sheds"

it was suggested he play at 6 to save his body after a bowling spell

once again watto got what watto wanted.

the man is soft and cant handle top order pressure

thats the reason we play at least 7 bats

top order was still a mess against the 3rd rate poms

[titan_uranus 25,043]

Squad for SA has been announced, and contrary to today's reports, there's no Phil Hughes. Whilst Bailey has been dropped, the replacements are Doolan and Shaun Marsh, which is very surprising and a little silly I'd have thought. They seem to have gone with Marsh based on his limited overs form, which as usual is great. But that's what they did with Bailey, picking him because of the India ODIs, and we know how that turned out.

I suppose Doolan will get the nod and bat at 3, to put Watson where he belongs at 6.

Phil Hughes in line for another recall to Test squad for tour of South Africa

According to Malcolm Conn ...

He gets things wrong so often. I remember him getting another selection issue wrong in the lead-up to the Ashes.

[jazza 1,323]

marsh selection ,bit different to bailey

marsh got into some [smoking] trouble and injury

told to earn his place back in shield cricket and pay his penance

so ,4 day form has been ok and proven,unlike bailey who was all odi form

[Arrow 1,257]

Really annoys me to see Marsh playing ahead of Khawaja. Bloke gets 3 chances playing under Mickey Arthur, has excellent technique but clearly had no guidance and leadership when over in England. Our biggest mistake of years gone by is not blooding young future players when the team was going well, it's hard to grow when your team is getting hammered which we found out, now we have a chance to put in two guys who can play 8 years for the country and we're wasting it.

I love Lehmann but I hope he doesn't get obsessed with number 1 ranking within a few weeks. With our countries talent we should never have to 'rebuild', it takes big decisions from above and I hope he has the nuts.

[Macca 17,034]

Squad for SA has been announced, and contrary to today's reports, there's no Phil Hughes. Whilst Bailey has been dropped, the replacements are Doolan and Shaun Marsh, which is very surprising and a little silly I'd have thought. They seem to have gone with Marsh based on his limited overs form, which as usual is great. But that's what they did with Bailey, picking him because of the India ODIs, and we know how that turned out.

I suppose Doolan will get the nod and bat at 3, to put Watson where he belongs at 6.

He gets things wrong so often. I remember him getting another selection issue wrong in the lead-up to the Ashes.

Sometimes one or 2 of the cricket journalists might get the inside word but Malcolm Conn has definitely got this one wrong. However, I believe he was the journalist who broke the news that Alex Doolan was on standby for the Sydney Test against England.

Looking back, the original squad selections of Warner, Cummins and Pattinson (at different times) has first come to light through the media. Of course, cricket journalists do get their speculative squads wrong - more often than they'd like to admit. They're far more likely to get it right with "certain" individuals within those squads.

... anyway, Hughes needs to have a sustained run at Shield level and I wouldn't have taken him to South Africa regardless - too early for a recall IMO (although I thought the selectors might pick him because of his Shield form)

In the past, Hughes' technical issues have been shown up against quality test bowling (both pace and spin) However, I wouldn't write him off as he's still young enough to improve. I just wonder how he's going to be tested properly (to iron out his deficiencies) Shield attacks don't have too many Dale Steyn or Ravi Ashwin types. There are other young players like Silk, Maddinson and Burns who might get their chance before Hughes is possibly recalled.

The Marsh selection is a bit of a left field one. There seems to be a bit of a policy towards picking more seasoned players (specifically batsmen, although our 3 current quicks are also very experienced) Marsh went off the boil after originally looking to be a decent prospect. He's got some talent and technically, he's not too bad - his temperament might be the issue. I'd like to see him do well.

Nice to see Bird get picked as well as Pattinson. All 3 tests in South Africa are back to back (played over 22 days) so we'll need our back-up quicks to be able to step up to the plate.

Here's the "actual" squad ...

Australian squad for tour of South Africa: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke ©, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Doolan, Brad Haddin (vc), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, James Faulkner, Jackson Bird, James Pattinson.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Squad for SA has been announced, and contrary to today's reports, there's no Phil Hughes. Whilst Bailey has been dropped, the replacements are Doolan and Shaun Marsh, which is very surprising and a little silly I'd have thought. They seem to have gone with Marsh based on his limited overs form, which as usual is great.

But that's what they did with Bailey, picking him because of the India ODIs, and we know how that turned out.

I suppose Doolan will get the nod and bat at 3, to put Watson where he belongs at 6.

He gets things wrong so often. I remember him getting another selection issue wrong in the lead-up to the Ashes.

how things turned out? we won the ashes 5 Nil... thats how they turned out.

Bailey was obviously in the team from the start of our Ashes campaign, for More then just his batting. competitiveness, maturity, & leadership??? I'd say that job is done now, as the team is well on the way to resurrection.

so now is the right time to slowly bring in the next generation group.

[jazza 1,323]

Really annoys me to see Marsh playing ahead of Khawaja. Bloke gets 3 chances playing under Mickey Arthur, has excellent technique but clearly had no guidance and leadership when over in England. Our biggest mistake of years gone by is not blooding young future players when the team was going well, it's hard to grow when your team is getting hammered which we found out, now we have a chance to put in two guys who can play 8 years for the country and we're wasting it.

I love Lehmann but I hope he doesn't get obsessed with number 1 ranking within a few weeks. With our countries talent we should never have to 'rebuild', it takes big decisions from above and I hope he has the nuts.

wrote about this also

smith needs his 35 tests to become entrenched in all facets of tests

by the time that happens,haddin,clarke.watto,rogers are over the hill

we need to feed in another batsmen now

kulwaja,looked like he could bat for long periods but was dropped 3 times out of a team that still doesnt have a reliable top 6

and hasnt for about 5 years

[dee-luded 2,959]

Edited March 6, 2014 by dee-luded

[Biffen 12,947]

Hughes and Khawaja have had a their chances but didn't take them.

Marsh has not had a shot at it .

The NSW batsmen will get another chance ,as they always do.

[DeeSpencer 26,082]

Hughes and Khawaja have had a their chances but didn't take them.

Marsh has not had a shot at it .

The NSW batsmen will get another chance ,as they always do.

Marsh not had a shot? He's 30, played 7 tests. Has a shield average of only 35 and only 31 this year. Plenty of off field troubles as well. Marsh is selected because they want him to succeed not because he's earned it or shown any signs that he will. I really hope they play Doolan or Faulkner ahead of Marsh.

The one positive of this squad at least is that by including 2 back up number 3's and a buck up all rounder the writing is well and truly on the wall for Watson.

The Chris Rogers dream wont last for ever either I guess so within 12 months we could need an opener (?Marsh), number 3 (Doolan/Hughes) and have Faulkner in at 6.

The other surprise is that they aren't taking Wade on this tour. They seem keen to avoid the question of who the next keeper is even though I think Wade has done enough to still have that spot.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Marsh not had a shot? He's 30, played 7 tests. Has a shield average of only 35 and only 31 this year. Plenty of off field troubles as well. Marsh is selected because they want him to succeed not because he's earned it or shown any signs that he will. I really hope they play Doolan or Faulkner ahead of Marsh.

The one positive of this squad at least is that by including 2 back up number 3's and a buck up all rounder the writing is well and truly on the wall for Watson.

The Chris Rogers dream wont last for ever either I guess so within 12 months we could need an opener (?Marsh), number 3 (Doolan/Hughes) and have Faulkner in at 6.

The other surprise is that they aren't taking Wade on this tour. They seem keen to avoid the question of who the next keeper is even though I think Wade has done enough to still have that spot.

I wonder if the prime consideration to get into the team is to have a real tough fighting qualities & grit first up & then skills following the prime requisite?

to get the fight & tenacity up in the team, & to get winning into a habit, you have to have fighters first, & when the toughness, grit & winning are in-bedded into the Unit, then add more class, slowly.