Rhino Richards

Would you give Khawaja another go at 3 in the WI? Could not be worse than Marsh who has had a putrid series. I think Clarke is a better stroke player at 5.

I recall Ossy as a player who played foreward and back. Had the odd day out. I think of a Brad Miller type. Never a star. I would say Lynden Dunn is in the same boat as Osborne. Plays on the fringes. Has brainfades and cant cement a position as his own.

I have not done the Statsguru but is there no love for Vettori....Can bat a bit too!! Just because they put a Tasmanian captain of an Australian side.....

Bailey got sacked and has his reputation trashed. FMD. I am glad you are wanting to hold them accountable for their actions or inactions.....unlike for some From the courtesy of Old... Magarine or butter on both sides? LOL

Thought of that too! One of the worst examples of confusing hindsight with foresight. For every player with a troubled that turns out to be a Darling there are a trainwreck of examples that turn out to be a Fevola, Angwin or a Thorp. Player character is an important part of a players make up as a footballer. If he overcomes those personal hurdles to perform then well done. Some do succeed but many dont. As a result players with problem attitudes are a risk and are marked down in the drafting process. And we are only onw year into a career and we can link it to why we have been crud for 48 years. Wonderful. Nice slap at Bailey too. For a person who defended and overcooked his MFC performance and would welcome him back at MFC in the future you butter both sides of the bread implying that he did not have the guts to make a list decision (that incidently was not his to make, its Prendegast). And one thing in Bailey's favour he was not scared to cut the deadwood and to support the selection of youth. The issue with MFC is not the alleged "choirboys". We have recruited our share of ruff nuts, brawlers and tuff guys. We have also recruited a few problem cases. We just have not recruited talented footballers

I read a Cricinfo/Wisden write up where they name their Test side for 2011 and Ajmal was the spinner. A faire tribute. He has improved alot and the England Test is testimony to his improvement.

Its early days TU its early days. We are talking about a side that has question marks over the integrity of key individuals, teams and administrations for well over a decade. I am pleased with what they have done over the past 12 months because they have not blown themselves up with a scandal, a bribe or just plain cheating. They have achieved in the past 12 months what any other side would call a normal year at the office. For that we should be grateful. But lets not overcook it. The next Pakistani scandal is just around the corner.

Notwithstanding what they have done this series, i think at least one of Hussey or Ponting should retire and we start easing in one of the upcoming younger players for the WI tour. Both players have been grand servants to Australian cricket and deserve a fitting send off to celebrate their respective careers. I think Haddin will tour the WI and there is a fair chance that a stroke player like Haddin may indeed like Adelaide. I can remember some years ago he hit a cracking ton there

Here is there results in the past 12 months. Apart from the recent win against England, they shown little above what is expected from 5/6th ranked nation. Result, margin, toss, bat 1st/2nd, Against, Location, Date Pakistan won 10 wickets won 2nd v New Zealand Hamilton 7 Jan 2011 Pakistan draw - lost 2nd v New Zealand Wellington 15 Jan 2011 Pakistan lost 40 runs lost 2nd v West Indies Providence 12 May 2011 Pakistan won 196 runs won 1st v West Indies Basseterre 20 May 2011 Pakistan won 7 wickets won 2nd v Zimbabwe Bulawayo 1 Sep 2011 Pakistan draw - won 2nd v Sri Lanka Abu Dhabi 18 Oct 2011 Pakistan won 9 wickets lost 2nd v Sri Lanka Dubai (DSC) 26 Oct 2011 Pakistan draw - lost 2nd v Sri Lanka Sharjah 3 Nov 2011 Pakistan won inns & 184 runs won 2nd v Bangladesh Chittagong 9 Dec 2011 Pakistan won 7 wickets won 2nd v Bangladesh Dhaka 17 Dec 2011 Pakistan won 10 wickets lost 2nd v England Dubai (DSC) 17 Jan 2012 I think its too early to suggest they have ditched the unpredictability. Its been there for decades. Its a great win but they can just as easily fall in a heap. And there will always be concerns about their on field integrity. Off field they will always have problem with corruption, incompetence and nepotism. There is wealth of talented cricketers in Pakistan but no functional system to bring them through. Ajmal has come along in strides in 2011.

Bad choice of words on my part. Paine has had a chance to prove himself and has done so which at advantage to Wade who still remains an unknown at Test level. Wade could be very good at Test level but we dont know. From the little Paine has shown we do know that. Both Paine and Wade have good claims for Haddin's spot. Paine's injury is a cruel blow in timing. The impact of Roger Woolley on Tasmanian cricket was substantial.

My understanding is that there was never a deal "on the table" for another 2 years of Bailey from the MFC Board. And a professional club does not need to act vindictively on its employee who act honesty but fail to achieve the success required. Fair assessment of the situation. Stynes can still do that in an ex officio role. The role of Club President is probably the most important role in the Club. Stynes has done some wonderful things for the Club. However last year the extent of Stynes challenges lead him to step aside. As a consequence of his illness he was unable to perform his duties and areas that were under his direct control had become dysfunctional and as Fan had pointed out at Board level decisions were being made haphazardly. MFC had to call in a "saviour" Lyon to clean up things up. Now what has been done in the past six months has been impressive in a number of areas. We need to tkae advantage of this progress. I am concerned that incumbent President who has had a momentary reprieve from the grips of his health battles is in no better poistion to fulfill his role than he was before. I think its empathetic to his and Clubs situation that his health and the future of the Club is given due consideration. Edit: I just saw timD's post. Excellent effort Tim. You nailed it.

What i said has been in the public domain for over two years. I cant see why it cant be referred to in the relevance of the discussion about leading the Club. Valid question timD indeed. Totally agree. I think Garry has done well in the six months in a job which had significant power without the accountability and ongoing influence.

The reality of the situation is that he is a terminally ill man with advanced secondary cancer throughout his body. He is on borrowed time and is lucky to have got this far. Your sycophatic hoopla on Stynes would make a North Korean propaganda director blush with embarrassment.

What he said. Thanks for the reports to all.

McLardy has been a long term MFC supporter.

The word "yet" is missing at the end. A Brad Haddin moment!!

So explain to me why we have to get a "saviour" to fix up the past 12 months? If anything his medical condition has detoriated and is lucky to be seeing past Christmas. We need to move beyond idolatry and grasp a bit of reality. I trust the Board has.

i think the issue in Paine's favour is that he is capable at Test level where as Wade is not. But you are right I would not mind either player. Thanks for the stats.

Only read Garfield! Thats a pretty good around about way of describing it. So as the temporary heart and soul of the Club he was doing more than being Football Director. Glad we got that one settled. Unfortunately I dont think Jimmy has much say in this outcome. Stynes stepped aside six months ago because of his terrible health and he could not cope with the job. It would appear he has been given additional time to live to be with the real strength and purpose.... his direct family. He should spend this valuable time with them. He has made a wonderful contribution to MFC but I think he should step aside for his own and the Club's future progress.

I only look at the pictures in the Hun. Oops on the Healy role. Good as a director I think we have a gap now in the President's role given Stynes health. I may have been thinking out loud on the Presidents role. Given what Stynes has been through and still dealing with I would be surprised if he can continue effectively in the role. His past 12 months in the role have been compromised by his health. If he did step down I cant believe he would not seek to be involved.

Well done Garry and thank you for the rescue package over the past six months. I am trying to work out who Garry "rescued" us from and if he was the "knight in shining armour" what does that say about those he replaced. I think Greg Healy sounds like a good choice for President. I dont think there are any others. While an ailing Stynes will remain in the background he has more important issues than returning as President. And its does seem somewhat murky with Garry and Jim having ex officio roles at the Club. I trust the new President will be given full reigns and support by the Board.

....so long as Haddin is not injured or gets an extended bout of the yips with the gloves.

I think Haddin is on the nose longer term. i dont think he has burnt up all his credits yet. But a cricket tragic friend of mine who is walking encyclopedia on the sport has told me that Paine's injury is not recovering as expected and he wont be ready for the Windies tour. There is no clear date when he will be ready to resume playing. The info is not gold but generally reliable. If that is the case then Wade could be the second keeper for the Windies tour. If they dont take one there at the start then Wade should be on stand by for injury/form etc. By the sounds of it Paine has missed so much cricket so far with more to come that he will be best preparing for the next summer. Another injury within our top 25 cricketers.

I think that makes sense as Siddle has played right through the SA, NZ and India series. i think we have had enough examples of bowlers breaking down to be prudent in this area....particularly with the WI tour on the cards. I think its great experience for Starc in Adelaide. Happy with the move if Conn is correct.

Yeah its the risk of the niggles becoming with twinges and the stresses.