Rhino Richards

Isn't up to the Captain to bowl him? You can only take wickets if you are given the ball to bowl? Just dealing in the facts....... 17 wickets in India 14 wickets against NZ. 12 wickets so far against SA BTW, I reckon Siddle has the making of a good fast bowler.

I was thinking the 80's against NZ. I think if Symonds fails today then Sydney might be his last Test.....if he get another one.

SK - 8/10 (6) since india (batted well but yet to make a big score) . Agree MH - 1/10 (8) since india, unlikely to see sydney.Agree RP - 5/10 (10) struggled since india. Just made a ton in the first innings but has struggled otherwise. Captaincy has been suspect. MC - 6/10 (8) given his wicket away too often since india, showed a bit on the 1st day MCG. Scores over the past twelve months would suggest he has performed credibly. AS - 2/10 (7) as above, no impact with ball. Agree but a harsh rating number. Has not bowled that much so unlikely to have impact MH - 2/10 (9) out of sorts. If AS is a 2 then Hussey hardly gets a 1! BH - 7/10 (5) serviceable. Once finding his feet he has been outstanding with bat and gloves. If he continues this form he could almost cover Gilly. BL - 1/10 (8) has struggled, maybe injured since before india? He is accountable for his performances. At 33 and injured, I think it might be over for him MJ - 6/10 (6) one great spell and has not had the impact outside of this. Leading wicket taker in India, leading wicket taker against NZ, Leading wicket taker against SA..... NH - 3/10 (4) taken a few but no real impact. Limited to containment and wont tear through batting line ups. PS - 3/10 (4) no impact in perth but better in melbourne. Third test at 24 and he has broken through. Good future.

Absolutely agree. The fifth day in Perth may have been the shot across the bow, yesterday was the direct hit. I think there are issues running from top to bottom from selectors, captaincy and players. Twelve months ago there was some hope that the post Warne - McGrath- Langer -Gilly era could be managed successfully. Hayden, Ponting, Hussey lead the batting and Symonds was there to monster the advantage. Lee backed by Clarke bolstered the attack. Its unravelled quickly and for some sportsman quicker than they or their fans imagined. In regard to a couple of players: Hayden - he either makes a big score today (a big 100) and retires at Sydney or is finished after this test. Hughes/Klinger may get a look in for the Sydney test. Lee- Stress fractures in the foot are not good and not easy to overcome. Either way he is out of the Test side. Injury makes it less severe than being dropped. I think it might be the end for Lee. Bring in the bowler the selectors believes will ultimately do well in the Ashes. Either Bollinger or Hilfenhaus. We need to get Stuart Clark back fit as soon as possible. Symonds - Completely agree with Graz. Needed to make an impact with the bat. Gets the start then throws it away. Needs a big innings today or its over. His injury does not help either. Watson does not excite as his bowling and batting is wooden and his fitness is a real concern. Hussey - Will probably get a Test in Sydney because they will already be changing two positions already. However, if he fails in Sydney I would select him for the SA tour. Full marks to the efforts of Haddin, Clarke, Johnson, Katich and Siddle for stepping up under pressure. Hauritz will keep it tight but will never run through a side on the last day unless the planets line up. Ponting is coming up to 5 years as Australian captain and I think that time is as long as anyone would want in the hot seat. Selectors should be seeking to groom a transition to Clarke within the next six to 12 months. FWIW, since McGrath Warne retired captaincy became a far far harder job. If ever a young player wanted an opportunity to wear a baggy green cap, then now is the time to show some form.

Pretty sure it was same deadpan wicket that reduces most bowling attacks to mediocre and can batting sides elevate batting sides above their true standard. You are never going to get a confessional at a press conference. Agree. Perth has always been a problem. The standard of the wickets dont help either.

Siddle's short of a length bowling was in breach of the team plan. He did bowl too short all test. Siddle is young and will have further opportunities. Symonds med pace relies on swing to take wickets. There was no sideways swing so I am not sure what he offers there. Given we have a full time off spinner I am not sure what bowling more off spin would have done. Ponting backed Krejza and that's fine. Krejza is not up to scratch at the moment and even more trounbling is there is no other real contenders. Krejza bats better than Hussey at the moment. Hayden may not survive another Test after Melb. His lose of form is real blow to Australia as he has set the tempo of the innings for us for so long. I dont think his dismissal is one thing or the other. He was in trouble at any point with Steyn and the new ball. His first innings dismissal was poor.

No just missing the point. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. We took 14 wickets with one bowler taking 11 wickets. Despite the issues with the batting, we still set them 414 to win. A hard chase by historical standards. It proved not so for a batting line up that put its head down. Symonds made 57 and 37 in the last Test and has averaged 60 in the over the past 3 years. His batting is up to it. But we do need more from him. Watson is no where near Symonds calibre with the bat and for bowling think Brett Lee's current penetration less 5 to 10kms. Watson is not good enough at either skill and Australia cant carry nice to have Agree about Clarke. I dont think this team suffers from "arrogance". It suffers from not being good enough. I agree that the batting needs to work harder and they wont make big changes yet. I think the issue with the batting was that we won the toss and at no time were we able to set the standard of the game. We should have got 400+ in the first dig to close the SAs out. A lead of 150+ in the first innings was crucial to have them under the hammer. At no time in the Test did we have our foot squarely on their necks. Gee you have turned on Siddle, your new ball choice. I think they will drop Siddle. I think they will go for Hilfenhaus or Bollinger. Hayden will survive just. But if we lose the Melbourne Test and Hayden fails then he wont see Sydney.

WANTED: AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM THAT CAN TAKE 20 WICKETS OVER 5 DAYS Well done SA you have exposed the now major flaws in the Australian line up. Congratulations to Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. Johnson is head and shoulders above the other bowlers and has been our strike bowler for the past 3 series. Haddin is really stepping up to the plate. But hell, its disturbing that three bowlers only took three wickets over the whole Test. While Lee bowled a good spell on the 4th day, he is really fodder for an inform batsman. I still think he has the series to turn things around but he does not want another 1-132 again. He needs wickets in Melbourne otherwise he is in trouble. Australia was comprehensively flogged yesterday and our attack (sans Johnsons) was pedestrian. A strike bowler that does not strike is a liability. Unfortunately past record does not count for much if you cant get the wickets. I am still not beyond thinking that Krejza got the planets lined up on debut. A captain just cant implement a strategy when a bowlers leaks at 4 runs per over. Australia were always in trouble setting South Africa less than 450 in the fourth innings. And to think Australia batted too long in the 2005 Perth Test when they set SA 491 to win. Fancy that. While negating responsibility for the outcome where it sits, the ACB should take the Perth test away from the WACA if they continue to serve up questionable wickets that overly favour the batsman and blunt the bowlers. People should forget about Perth being a fast bowlers wicket. It has not been that for 20 years.

Johnson's main weapon is move the ball away (conventionally and old ball) away from the right hander. He does not naturally bring it back in. If he could get that going he could even more potent. McKenzie, Kallis will be cursing their judgement. There is a huge monkey on a couple of the backs of the SA bats now. Ponting should be congratulated for making the change to bring Johnson on. I agree on Krezja and Hayden. Langer and Hogg on ABC radio thought Krezja bowled a little short and flat in the afternoon session. And yes he does not dry the runs. However, he was a ball magnet in the field. Michael Bevan....Enough said.

Most definitely

Awesome Awesome Awesome. After looking set and had they lasted the next half hour then SA were in the box seat at 3/260+. On a good batting pitch late in the day with a hint of reverse swing, Mitchell Johnson put together one of the most devastating spells of old ball swing bowling at 140+kph. Swung the Test match and made his mark on the series If the signs were there before, then there in big lights....This guy is something special and the big thing in quick bowling. Great stuff

A bit of luck and I'm left handed too.

Lets not over do the accolades. This test is in Perth and Johnson has proven dangerous is more likely to get the new ball than Siddle IMO. Anyway he will be exhausted after his marathon 23!!!!!

At 9/365 with batsman 6 to 11 getting a dozen or more runs each suggests that if the SA batsman knuckle down and the Aust bowlers are not at their best this could be difficult to get a result. The absence of Stuart Clarkes height and bounce could really hurt us. The pitch is belter to bat on and with Siddle and Krejza (now allrounders ) in just their 2nd tests then Australia could be tested with the ball.

Jacques in injured and I doubt Rogers will get a look in if we win this Test. Maybe Symonds got back in because he actually scored heavily at Test level over the past 2 to 3 years. And the rule you apply to Clarke should equally stand for Symonds.

If you look at the number of changes in the Australian Test team over the past 18 months then it makes a mockery of that statement. Bevan did have his chances and blew them. At the top level he is not in either categories class. Hayden is probably one of our greatest opening batsman and Symonds has averaged 60 with the bat over the past two years. Bevans' position was taken by other (better) players. Bevan and others of his ilk suffered from playing at time of high quality cricketers

I thought one of Johnsons strengths is the ball he swings to slips against the right hander. I agree about Lee. And yes you would start Clark into the breeze on opening.

Perth is no longer a fast bowlers wicket and has not been for nearly 15 years. If anything its a batsmans wicket. Without hearing Hilditch's words, I would suggest he is keeping his options open. Hauritz is bench warming for Krejza whose injured ankle has relied undermined the objectives of getting overs into Krejza. The Adelaide Test would have been perfect build up for him. Agree. Clark could be very very important on the Ashes tour. His tight line to line bowling is a compliment to the more aggressive style of Lee and Johnson. His position is underrated.

I have already said he would be judged on the SA series.

I think think you will find that is the argument your so called "Lee bashers" are making. No one doubted his effort or character. However in Test cricket you are judged on results. Its cruel at the top. Its good he got back his rhythm. He must maintain it as a fit and firing Lee will be important for Ashes 09. He needs to back up one good Test with a good series against SA. By the way your personal connection blinds a more objective analysis of his position and his career. He has been a great servant of Australian cricket but his career has been marked by a number of significant highs and lows.

When examining the NZ batting line up, Kerry O'Keeffe suggested that Sundries bat at 4 as it always gets to double figures and is normally unbeaten.

No7 is a bit harsh. How about 5? I like McCullum but I dont think his game is tight enough for spots 1 to 4. And that is recognising that existing NZ options dont have it either. i dont want to unnecessarily want to sacrifice him higher. FWIW I am happy with Taylor who is 24 at No 4. He is a capable batsman if he can develop the application required. I dont argue with points 2 and 3 and I note we agree on the opening issue.

On the back of one innings? McCullum has a wonderful eye and is a beautiful striker of the ball when required for a cameo but I dont think his application and technique are not suited to opening the batting and he is better at No 7. FWIW, Haddin is a similar style and I would not open with Haddin. In fact I dont like the concept of keepers being Test opening batsman. After a hard slog in the field it must be hard to have the necessary application to see off the new ball.

I was not calling for Lee to be dropped but he was using up his "Get Out of Jail Free cards". And had his poor form extended across the NZ and SA series then there would have been serious question marks about him for England. The simplest tactic to adopt in batting is occupation of the crease. NZ could not do that. Batsman dont make runs in the pavilion. The stats suggest that NZ could not bat for more than 100 overs even on the best batting wicket in the world, had only three partnerships that exceeded 50 and only 3 batsman that scored more than 50 at any time. Its an appalling peformance. The very least they could do would be to occupy the crease and when you are there the runs will eventually come. The high number of NZ dismissals to catches forward of the wicket highlights the technique and application issues. I was surprised to see many of the NZ batsman were late 20s in age. I would probably ditch Flynn, Fulton and question what future Ryder has at 3 if at all.

The problem with NZ batting is technique and more importantly application. Its got nothing to do with strategy. Their batting was not good enough to implement a simple strategy of building an innings What we have learnt is that there is real question marks about the batting order there. But this is not surprising given the impact of retirements of key players like Fleming, Astle etc which has robbed NZ of leadership, experience and character. There was a good article by Peter Roebuck on the malaise in NZ cricket. http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/magazine/c...ory/380440.html I have no problem with the first hour as NZ lost no wickets. 0/42 is a great position to be after the first hour of a Test. New ball, fresh attack, possibly something in the wicket. 2nd innings started on a belter of a pitch and the Australian attack early bowled poorly and the next morning the Australian bowlers in particular Lee found their line and got success where once again technique and application were found wanting. NZ were fv%ked once they were all out for a paltry 270 on a 450+ pitch at Adelaide. You cant dictate anything if you dont put runs on the board. Its got none of what it needs at the moment. Lee is there as a strike bowler. In India he did not strike. He was second fiddle to younger and more inexperienced bowler in Johnson. While many bowlers have struggled there, it did not hide that Lee had a very poor tour. Calendar year records go out the window if you start stringing together bad tests. His recent return to form has certainly given him breathing space to stamp his ticket for the Ashes tour. However, he needs to carry his revitalised form in against the SAs. If he lapses again the questions will come up about him and at 32 I think he realistically has about 2 years left at the top level.