Rhino Richards

A fair summary indeed. My word a bit of cloud cover after we pass 300 would be good. We need all the help we can get. Siddle and Harris are proven performers. We need Johnson to fire.....even for just a short withering burst. Another positive is that Swann had 0-80 off 23 overs......Good. This guy was damaging on the last Ashes tour out here. If he gets going then its going to be hard for us. I trust the curators dont produce a dust bowl at any time this summer. Full marks to Stuart Broad. Bowled beautifully and had his line right. Could be quite a handful if also gets his batting right. And we know he doesnt walk.

Agree and given how flimsy our top six has been isnt important that you can extend your batting with a Ashes record keeper that can make valuable runs when the going is tough. He has done this a number of times in the past and is proven tough campaigner in these situations. He had another bold innings in tough times in the last Ashes series. One innings does not make a summer but its a sure good way to start and amply validates why the Australia selectors go for an in form keeper who can bat is a tough competitor and provides experience and leadership (yes that word).

Thank God we have an Ashes record holding keeper who can bat.

Away from the low brow elements...... Matthew Wade has been fined and suspended for one shield match for pitch tampering. Eek as Captain of Victoria and an aspiring Test player, that is not a good look. The gap between Paine and Wade just widened.

Titan is right you should shove it. He still has an Ashes record and pizzant efforts to deride him are petty and puerile.

Marsh was first selected in Tests in front of Brian Taber, a renowned better keeper but worse bat. Marsh did go onto to become a great keeper Marsh hit 92 not out in his fourth test and was the first Australian keeper to hit a century in Tests. And you conveniently forgot Ian Healy in nit picking.....

Ah......having a keeper that can bat has been in vogue.....since ahhh....... Rod Marsh.

Aside from Doolan, all the others have black marks against their name. Hughes two fold. The clock is against North. Others dont excite. Lets hope we dont have to rely on them.

And you are pushing for Wade??? Ugh. That might be eye opening for some.

Backstop?? Seem to remember he set an Ashes record somewhere....... http://sports.ndtv.com/the-ashes-2013/news/212980-the-ashes-australias-brad-haddin-sets-new-wicketkeeping-record Oh yes of course....... The Ashes keeping for this series is Haddin's to lose. Wade can do all he likes but if Haddin is in that sort of form then Wade should be contemplating his future chances post Ashes. I would have thought that a fit Tim Paine with a bit of form is the heir apparent and would be called up if Haddin stumbles.

Not unless he was Shane Watson.......

I think the optimism for the home series is evaporating somewhat from the welter of injuries to our quicks. The bowling attack that includes Johnson, Hilfenhaus and Siddle is Groundhog Day from back to last home series and we know what happened there. The absence of Cummins, Starc, Pattinson and Bird has made the stocks look very thin. Australia A has confirmed that. And despite Watsons hope, doing a hamstring at 32 us not usually a 3 week recovery especially if there is potential for him to bowl. And Clarke and Harris are being nursed along. They have Hazlewood as back up for Harris for the 2nd Test. I have a feeling that what cards we have in our hands are going to spread very thin in the series

Once again facts dont back you up. Watson has played 46 Tests and batted 85 times. He avrages 36 and has got past ninety only seven times. He hasgone onto 100 or more only 3 times. Aside from his last Ashes Test 176, he has not hit a score over 90 since Dec 2010. A stellar career of underachievement for a player who has been given so many opportunities to shine.

Agree. The evidence is there. A technically flawed batsman whose front pad thrusts in all forms of the game are embarrassing. If he could deal with that problem there is no reason why he could not prosper in all forms of the game.

India is besotted with 20/20 yet still manages a production of batsman adept at both forms of the game. You are using the lack of temperament of one batsman as the "proof" that 20/20 is culprit when it's a crutch. I have mentioned a number of cricketers who a technically flawed players when they reach the top echelons and it's nothing to do with concentration. It's ineptitude of technique. You can just watch a Cowan a Hughes or a Watson with leaden foot and angled bat seem at loss when they Achilles heel is probed and probed until they fall. It's a Chinese water torture.

He bats like that at club level before 20/20 and Tests. It's the nature of the beast. And he's a five star goose off the field which does not help.. And based on your comment about Warner at Club level, should he have played Tests before club cricket?? The problem affecting our batsman is that they are not technically good enough there are enough examples of players who aren't playing considerable 20/20 and just have not made the grade because they are flawed batsman. Hughes Cowan are just two examples.

Yes you can see the players telling Bailey to take it easy. Harris is battling a virus. The good part is he has got through the day.

It's ominous with Cook finding touch soon before the first test. The curator must have taken a kick because the pitch was bowler friendly last year. The positive out of today's play is that none of today's bowlers should feature in the current Ashes series.....barring injury. None of them were on my radar. As for Ahmed he will have his day and Lyon is just a Test by Test proposition.

Agree. Warner is no No 3. Wrong. Warner has played like that since club days. And he played 20/20 before he played Test cricket. And he has batted like he has always batted.

You left out Philip Hughes in the cant group. I have a terrible feeling he might get the nod if Watson is not fit.

Can he bat at No 3? Wickets are not an issue. Just the runs. if they want leg spin they will use Smith. Rogers Warner ??? Smith Clarke Bailey Its a smokey but would need loads of runs to rub out the failures of last year. And by the time he does that, Watson might be fit again.......then he might not also...

That is the unresolved risk with Watson. If that indeed happens then the monkey on his back starts itching. This is his last Test series to make a name for himself. If he fails in this series his International career will involve coloured clothing and a white ball.

Third quick is an issue - gulp it might be Mitch J - no no no Doug Bollinger....pleasee! Macca- England 2015 - Clarke, Watson, Haddin, Rogers, Harris and Johnson retired. Lyon surpassed. And Cummins.....will commence light training after breaking down again.. Titan - Anderson's swing may worry in Brisbane but not so much in other Tests. More worried about Broad Tremlett who hit the pitch harder.......and Swann.

IMO Test top 6 will be Rogers Warner Watson Smith Clarke Bailey with Haddin as keeper. Lyon will be the spinner and the fast bowlers will be Harris, Siddle and due to injury possibly Johnson (no fan of that). But with Starc, Pattinson, Cummins out its a possibility

Ahmed has put his name up there but will have to back his performance with further wickets. Lyon needs to take wickets often to survive the selectors. He does not seem to have their confidence and seems to be picked as the best option at the time. I think Bailey was etched for No 6 in the Test side before the last ODI. His powerful innings the other night makes him a certainty IMO. If he bats competently in the Ashes series and plays right through I reckon he is odds to captain Australia post ashes. Win or lose the Ashes I think Clarkes back is so bad he will retire as captain and player at the end of the series.