Rhino Richards

On the face of it you are right. However your last sentence says it all. Would they be trying to give Bolly a break before the Paki test in England and next season's big Ashes summer? Bolly has been at it hard for some months now.

It was too easy. He wasnt breaking up with his gf too was he????? B)

Great stuff Two Sheds. I always like an MFC victory but anything MFC could do would pale into insignificance to the victory you have achieved. Good luck and enjoy your future. Brilliant news.

If he was from NSW then he would be in. You're probably right there Nasher about the selector's radar. If he does not get another Test by the end of next summer while maintain good Shield form then he never will

You wouldn't say that if he was Tasmanian!! I like Smith but Hughes has to bide his time. It will come Its clear that Ponting does back his players, Clarke, North and Hauritz when it gets tough.

He has had one good knock on a flat deck with an ordinary attack that was already one down. He knows the requirement. Next time he will take his opportunities when they come. Good to see its competitive for some spots in the team. If Hussey goes I would prefer Smith or White to Hughes and move Clarke up.

Their "quick" bowlers are pedestrian without Bond and O'Brien. Even their own commentators think so.,,and that's a big admission for them. The conditions were fine. The batsman got themselves out not the bowlers.

You do. When you get a soft attack bowling at 125kmh you cash in. He did. And you Mr Hussey?????

I reckon Smith is ready notwithstanding White's claims. I cant think of a better test to debut him in. As for the Vics I forgot how much firepower they have out. Yikes. Its gonna be closer than I thought but Vics for mine.

I am not sure why Dermie needed to way in at all. I guess this low level schlock is what he does best. Given his personal history I dont why he should be saying anything or need to be some moral bastion. I dont care about either of them. I dont hold either in particular high stead at all. Dermie is a ditz as well... I am not sure Mrs Fev is so much a victim out of this but a quieter participant in the same pool of life as the others. Given Fevs notoriety and past behaviour she should be hardly blushing at this episode. If she was so appalled she would have left him after the B'low. Now back to the cricket.....Australia 2-0.

I have no sympathy for Lara. IMO she is a ditz and has been very poorly advised by Markson to speak to the WDay. She should not have had the shameful photo released and the AFL and the police should be exploring this further. I am not sure who is telling the truth and I dont care but Brereton's effort to weigh in was unnecessary and self serving from a boofhead who trolls the same smelly cesspool as Fevola. Of all people to make comments about infidelity!! My understanding is that Clarke and Bingle have been on the rocks for some time. This incident only hastened the inevitable. He should have done it sooner. He should put it behind him and get on with spanking the Kiwis. I trust he chooses more aptly for his partners in the future.

Agree with that. Absolutely. Some of the santimonious outcry on this issue in the media has been self serving and a tad hypocrtical. Not as tough as Lara Bingle. He has had it sooo easy compared to her. The AFL/media treatment and public humiliation of her is part of the appalling lowgrade morals of a free press. Agree Cant think of a position more hypocritical statement than an Australian cricketer saying dont sledge me over a personal incident? Hussey is the sort of person to keep away from the media. I am not for open slather on sledging either.

I reckon Steve Smith is a gun. I love it when the selectors unearth a player destined for bigger things.

I was thinking the same. If Clarke has ambitions of captaining Australia then he needs to straightened out any bingles off the field. She might look good off the arm but she really comes across as a celebrity dipstick. 1. Has an affair with Fevola - Ugh 2. Loses a prestige car stolen which mysteriously turns up in a nearby sidestreet and no police charges are laid. - Perfectly natural. 3. Has a bare shower scene photo released to the public (back to point 1) sells her story to a cheap woman's rag for $200k and then pleads being emotionally wrung out that her fiancee has to come back to Australia.-Puhleease!! Michael Clarke should have the guts and dump the baggage and get real about his future.

Agree. Watson was the ACB Cricketer and 1 day cricketer of the Year. Katich was the Test Player of the Year Award. Go figure

Absolutely agree. Just another hollow tournament. Shane Warne might be right that ODI may be restricted to once every four years. I think ODIs series of more than 3 games in Australia are too many and TV and live spectators are voting with their feet (or remotes). Agree. Australia has a commitment to play the major nations at Test Cricket on an agreed rotating basis. It was not too long ago when India was rarely touring Australia because of supposed lack of interest. Fancy that. It all goes in cycles. FWIW, I think the scheduling for this summer with two 3 match Test Series was right. A couple of T20s ...fine. But too many ODIs against tired beaten oppositions should be a lesson. Next year will be a big summer against the Poms. ACB are rightly promoting it now.

We have played two of the bottom teams in the competition. The West Indies actually show for the first time in about 15 years that they are putting together some reasonable cricketers behind Gayle. Go on them. Cricket needs the calypso nature. Pakistan despite having a couple of promising youngster, Mohammed Asif and Yousuf as a batsman were a rabble from the 3rd day of the Sydney Test onwards. I could not think of a more uninteresting outfit to see. Batsman who cant build an innings, cant run between wickets, cant field at all and a keeper that cant catch. And that just the problems on the field. Australians love their cricket. They love competition and a fight to win. Despite a couple of spirited sessions, Australia has not been fully challenged. But that should not take anything away from some of the great performers this summer. Spectators are not that stupid (well the ones that dont run on the ground). The Pakistan ODI games were very predictable with some ordinary performances from a team that had lost what little mojo they started the tour with. I sometimes think ODI has suffered from too many meaningless and forgetable ODI games over so many years. The format is predictable and tired. T20 has only magnified the shortcomings. A triangle series would not help. Could you think of anything more boring than WI vs Pakis? As a lover of Test cricket, I still see a place for ODI and T20. However all 3 forms must be carefully managed to ensure no spectator fatigue. Personally I think T20 is a great way to attract supporters of Test cricket in the longer term who would not otherwise have made the transition directly.

Carp. Lose a couple of wickets earlier, when you bat first and you have no momentum. 20/20 is all about runs runs and more runs. Its about creating momentum with the bat and maintaining it. When you win the toss why wouldn't you bat and set the momentum? Equally if you dont win the toss, you still got the same 20 overs in the same conditions to bat. Its a shoot out. I noticed the Vis losing the toss the other day to Tassie did not hurt them. Brilliant analogy. Little has been amusing so far. I think he is more dug down than the Beaconsfield miners. And with less chance of rescue too.

More than they would hit a big score.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh Test performances would prove otherwise

They would not be a bad bowling attack then. I think the whole issue is that you may not get 20 wickets because you dont set the opposition enough runs. And in most cases, WYL, when a team wins the toss they bat.... Why? Jason Krejza's noteworthy effort in India in 2008 was a case of an ordinary bowler having a good day or should I say Test out.

Can you name a Test team that has had sustained success over a 2 year period where they have not had at Least one batsman who average 50+? The evidence would suggest not Over the past 35 to 40 years, Test Cricket has been dominated by Australia, West Indies and then Australia. They both possessed fantastic bowling attacks but also intimidating and commanding batsmen over that period. These great sides prove hands down that you need both to be a great side without one being more important than the other. I can name a number of teams who had a great attack but crumbled for success because they could not chase or set runs with class batsman. Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the 1990's And in limited over ODI and 20/20 its totally about runs and batting so much its not funny. The fielding and the bowlers have been absolutely neutered out of the game (as they are in Tests) in the flashy show for runs. I would always go with a masterful batting line up and a competent tight bowling attack in these fixtures. I have seen some bowlers at Test level who were very pedestrian work out a successful ODI career because of the one sided blunted nature of the game. Possibly WA in the 1980s. Former Aust Wicketkeeper Tim Zoehrer was a very handy leggie and played and bowled for WA. I think he even took a 5 for somewhere amongst that. I dont think he ever bowled for Australia though. I might be wrong on that. Mark Boucher

So you thought the 2nd Test was a classic but you did not enjoy Hussey's effort! Yup. After Hussey was dropped early three times, he was solid on a 4 and 5 day wicket. So Hussey was wobbly but no shots Siddle was solid for three hours. Gotcha. I can only suggest you gathered little from the Ashes Tour then. So being bowled out for 127 on the first day of a Test and being 200 runs behind is not pressure!! If you had a little more nous you would have worked out that next years Ashes will be played at all the Test venues (bar Hobart.) It should have been illuminating to a sharper mind about the capabilities of the Australian XI on Ashes Test venues We had Siddle, Johnson, North,Hauritz, Haddin, Hughes, Watson, Bollinger and Hilfenhaus all with under 2 years or 25 Test experience. We had a very inexperienced team this summer with 9 junior players. This was countered by Punter, Katich, Hussey and Clarke. Many of the aforementioned were still be blooded. Which other players were you expecting to come in?

And who bats 3 WYL better than Ponting? Who would be better than Punter at the moment? Careful think about this one. B) Dont apologise WYL for what you cant see. Its been a difficult summer for you to assess the Australian XI. Obviously very difficult. Who would you replace him with on current respective form that would be better leading into the Ashes? And he did show some sterling qualities in that knock that you alone cant see. Nothing new WYL. And as he has scored a century in his second last test. But you missed that. And you do want to smash the Poms dont you?

Thirty years of following cricket....wasted! The number of times being dropped is irrelevant. Both Australia and Hussey made the most of opportunities and won. Of course Australia won it. They took advantage of an opponents weakness. It happens all the time. Its called Test cricket. When the game was there to be won on day 3 and 4, Asif was pedestrian and was toyed with by a tailender. Of course Hussey's knock changed the game. It won the match. The keeper was neither here nor there after he dropped Hussey early. You have proved that. And who do we have to replace him at 4 within 12 months and 4 tests?? If you had your way the your axe grinding would cut Ponting as well. And you want to smash the Poms!!