Rhino Richards

Careful on too many facts now! How could they fixture a Shield game near a Test? Brett Lee at 36 with flat trajectory would have been 130 kmh fodder in Adelaide (so long as he did not break down)

Peter George looked lamentable in Tasmania. I will go for Clinton McKay. Krejza leaked over 5 runs an over in Test Cricket when he last played. Its a deathknell. He went back to Shield level to develop and didnt. I dont rule him out in the future but I dont rule him in at the moment. Although they plucked Gavin Robertson from obscurity (but he was from NSW B) )

What specifically should they have done? Who should they have selected? And what guarantees that from the existing talent pool in Australian cricket over the past 12 months would have made a significant change to the situation? Put something of substance up WYL. It cant be that hard can it?

Fair changes. I am not sure who you would pick for Bollinger but I would certainly drop him. Dont agree about Krejza. Had a day when he numbers came up in India but has bowled poorly since then and struggles at Shield level now. He can certainly come back if he shows form but he is patchy atm. We didnt have a spinner pre Warne and this is more of the same. Agree. They could hide him and bat him at 5 knowing he probably never get a hit. The Ashes is already theirs physically and otherwise. Not that they would do this but they could draw the next 2 and get the same outcome.

So you want Australian cricket to bottom out and toss games for 3 years to get draft picks?? I dont think anyone is in agreement with you WYL because you cant articulate or substantiate a consistent, thoughtful and plausible point of view beyond sweeping generalisation and puffing your chest with statement that show you have a lack of understanding about what you are talking about. No one is happy with the result but I dont think the solutions are at all straightforward and there is not any goose to lay the golden egg. And has been pointed out, you have not despite being requested to do so put forward any plausible answers.

I think I see the fat lady now..... I am sure I saw her a couple of days ago as well. B) On a more serious note would you drop both North and Doherty for the Perth Test? What ever replacement spinner you pick then goes it alone in the spin department. Hate to say it but I am not comfortable with Smith... Hauritz?...That hurts.

The word is "naive". Given some of your past misunderstandings about the operations of cricket, its brave and some unsubstantiated claim on another poster. And again you have the pins into the selectors voodoo dolls over selections over the past 12 months (and not the four years you have tried to hide behind. Any chance you might document your address the selection of the 11 or the changes you would have made that would have changed this situation? You are very good at sticking the boots in to public figures often without substance, knowledge or accuracy but cant put up a plausible case or a sensible alternative arrangement.

You should definitely ask the fat lady for a rain dance then. B) Its definitely not looking good at all for the Aussies, Punter double ton or not.

Done. Barring weather delays we are odds on to be 1-0 down.

Doherty has 2/268 from his first two tests. 0/227 from his last 2 innings. That's hardly productive. He leaked 5 runs per over in Adelaide. While its hard to come on the back of your quicks who dont take wickets, he just doesnt have the variation atm to trouble batsman at this level. He must go. I would even plumb for Steve Smith at this point. I mean what have we got to lose!! Although we are 1-0 down, the difference is about 4-0 the way we are playing. Only Hussey, Haddin and Watson are performing. Harris has been the best of our bowlers. But all our quicks are honest 1st changes with no one leading the attack (Johnson's loss of form is hurting us very badly). We need to get Ponting and Clarke right. Haddin is apparently limping. Hughes to come in. Adelaide has been a disaster on the back of the finish of Brisbane. Its like the Ashes of 1989 except the shoe is on the other foot this time. Unless North hits a face saving innings, he is out. And I would think Bollinger might get dropped. He has not kicked on since last year and bowled really poorly in Adelaide Out: Katich (inj), Doherty/ North, Bollinger In: Hughes, Khawaja/ White, McKay/Cameron

I am not questioning it in the least. There is no doubt in my mind or others how little you know about it and how much you naively think you do know. Its embarrassingly obvious. You did well to dispel any uncertainty there. Now do you have that 11 requested or the selections?

Typical crap WYL. You have moved from 12 months to 4 years and then if someone challenges you, you feebly challenge them that they think the selectors are doing a good job. Doesnt come much more dumber than that. False pretence with no substance. Here is a couple of times you have focussed on the past 12 months and have stated that has always been your argument. So you have been asked to put up an 11 you would have selected by 45? I have asked what selections you would have made to change things. I have asked you to advise that for 12 months. You have welched everytime. Its hard to fault your arguments WYL. You dont hold a sound or supportable position on anything. Whether its debt or cricket you know little of either.

There is no evidence to suggest that the selectors only chose a side to win the series last summer. That's your self serving spin on it. And even if they did do that then I dont see how it could be an objective that is mutually exclusive from winning the Ashes. And throughout this process you have not come up with one plausible selection change that could have been reasonably expected to have had an impact on a side whose Captain and VC are not firing and their strike bowler has lost his mojo. And for the record the most important games are the Ashes. nothing in the world comes close to history, integrity and prestige. I think the Cricket Australia realises that.

Punter got a cracker from Anderson first up and was good enough to get a touch on it. Katich's run out was 80% Katich and 20% Watson. While Watson apparently did not call, surely an opening batsman knows to watch his partner at the other end for the split second opportunity to turn the strike. If he wants to watch the ball he may have his opportunity from the other side of the fence sooner than he thinks. Hopefully Doherty learns from his error. North is one fail away from being dropped. Slack shot at the wrong time. England shot Australia out for 245 on a belter and neither Broad or Finn bowled well and up to Hussey's dismissal, Australia had Swanns measure too. Anderson has been the pick of the bowlers throughout this series. Every spell has been a trump. Unless something strange happens, Australia could be batting again to stave off the innings defeat on day 4 about 250 to 300 runs behind. That after spending 2 days in 35C+ weather chasing the ball.

You have yet to put one plausible change to the side in the last 12 months that the selectors should have undertaken despite repeating being asked to do so. The selectors have chosen the sides on the basis of who they believe would be the best side to take on the Ashes. You need to prepare 12 to 18 months out. The only bright ideas you have put is the sacking of Hussey (288 at 144. Good one) and the selection of Smith over Hauritz (bizarre). How can the selectors properly plan for the next 12 months when 4 of the mainstays of the side....Ponting, Clarke Johnson, Hify are not performing. You cant cover that sort of underperformance. And part of the issue is that the players that could potentially replace them are not stepping up when it counts. There is no certainty that "punting on youth" would have had us in any better position today. Cricketers are not "made" in 12 months as Smith for Australia and Anderson, Cook and Broad would attest for England.

A good typical Adeliade pitch. There is no excuses for this start. Its on the players shoulders. Hope Watson and Hussey can turn things around.

I am not too sure why people are claiming the game was a great contest: 1. 22 wickets fell for over 1500 runs. Only 2 wickets in the past 3 days. The result was inevitable. Brisbane is arguably the best track in Australia but the curator has let us down here. Its a dud. We now move to batting decks of Adelaide and Perth. Not good. 2. There are questions about both attacks but I would rather England's than Australia. Commentators bemoaned that Collingwood was not Test Class on day 3 as a bowler becasue he had no penetration. Well Australia had 4 Collingwoods bowling on the last two days. 3. England made an emphatic statement over the last 2 days. A number of Australian bowlers viewd as being keys to the series are likely to be out of the team by the 3rd Test. 4. Australia will struggle to win a Test and the Ashes will stay in old Blighty.

No just lack a capable 4th innings bowler since Warne retired to commentary botox...I mean box. B)

England have made an awesome statement over the past 2 days. They have smashed Australia and neutered its attack.

Unbelievable!! The toss had nothing to do with it! England won it and batted badly. Under normal circumstances, Australia's first innings lead of 221 on a Brisbane wicket should have been enough. If you check the records, the side that has the highest score at the end of first innings in an Ashes Test has usually gone onto win. Hindsight does not obviously weaken the Australian position. England have put on a masterly display of batting which should psychologically belt the Australians. And their effort in the 2nd innings had little to do with the toss.

Nasher, Hilfy, Siddle and Johnson looked like first change bowlers out of form. Hilfy looked ordinary on the flat track. Take away his first over where he got Strauss, he has not measured up too well. Heats on him. Johnson deceives through pace and at times bounce. He is bowling at around 141-142kph. At his best he is 150kph. He looks ordinary and his place in Adelaide on a belter must be in doubt. I'll cut Doherty some slack in his first Test and having to back up when your pace bowlers are toothless. Johnson should have taken that catch (Geez Strauss was lucky. Aaarrghh. Only joking about the lucky). On a belter in Adelaide I would think North and Johnson may be out. If Bollinger is fit for the game then he plays. I would bring in Khawaja. Clarke would have to be in doubt with his back. Only thing saving North. In retrospect, aside from the hat trick burst from Siddle the bowlers have struggled. Unless something changes dramatically the urn is in Englands hands.

I'll repeat... Thanks for substantiating my assessment. Not that it needed it.

I was worried about Strauss but WOW what a performance by he and Cook. On the alternative side, with the exception at times of Siddle, our attack looked very pedestrian and loose on a good batting strip. England are back in this series and psychological the heat is back on Australia. It will probably be a draw this Test but the battle lines are well and truly drawn. To a win a Test you need to take 20 wickets....Australia has some real concerns with Hilfy, Johnson and Watson (too wide today). I thought we lacked a capable 4th innings bowler. Add the 3rd innings.

You called him a list clogger in October and backed it up when challenged about. You're so full of it that for a sensible person it would be embarrassing. He played a great knock yesterday and all you can say is he was lucky so many times you sound like a scratched record. You cant even recognise the skill and character of the knock. Running out of pins again. Stauss and Cook played great knocks today but both had their share of good fortune. Hussey is the same age as Katich and a year younger than Ponting. All three more than hold their spots ahead of younger teammates. Its laughable you talk about character...Hussey has shown over his career he has got it by the bucketload. And he is the 5th highest batting average of any Australian. How is that a basis for retirement?? BTW, the issue was not that he was not lucky. Its what he did in the situation where the luck occurred and context of the match. That where the test of character. You cant even give due recognition. Even for you Basil, your line on Hussey's knock is incredibly small minded.

Very good post Nasher. Tactically the Australians have played well today and late yesterday. They have picked off Swan, exposed the frailty of England having only 4 bowlers. The monkey is on Strauss, Its silly to claim Hussey was out for lbw when the umpire did not give and England inexplicably did not have any referrals left having wasted one in particular on day 2 on a silly over excited assessment of an earlier Lbw. That's Strauss's fault. They got the rub of the green. And Test cricket is full of those days. Its also a test of character and Hussey certainly has that despite some of the churlish and small minded criticism that abounds. However, for mine, England are not down and out. In days of old they would have fallen to pieces and they would have looked a rabble. They kept at it in tough conditions. Anderson bowled well (better than 4 years ago), Broad and Finn will be better for the experience. Swann has some thinking to do. Unlike past series, I am not counting them out. Whatever the outcome, what will the selectors do with Johnson, North and Clarke for that matter? If Clarke goes injured, North might get a reprieve. Hmm 1st session today again critical. Australia must get wickets. Mitchell Johnson its time to stand up.