dee-luded

yep. anything between 6 wins & 10 imo. but my comment isn't against you, but rather in hope that we as supporters don't expect too much from our team next year, & then attack the new broom like a mangy dog. we should just see next year as a learning year, trying to condense our talent into Our new ways & culture. & then any wins & rise above the bottom places as a bonus on the learnings.

We've (MFC) been off like a dead fish in the sun for 45 years. Roos will need some time to get us up like this. expect much up & down the next 2 years imo. but not bottom 3. we will climb slowly.

Johnson!!!

MOJO a balance of scales... We've got ours back from IMO a less tense dressing room which allows players to focus on enjoying their cricket with one another... the hunger is back & We are the Hunters.

absolutely! doesn't it feel great. I'm enjoying the game again.

I think so to Macca. the side is starting to settle back into an Aussie unit. & they are all contributing in bits & pieces, with the mainstays keeping up the quality. Clark, Siddle, now Harris, Haddin, & now seemingly Johnson. with Lyon, Warner, helping. its growing on me. I hope our 2 spinners cut loose tomorrow afternoon.

johnson, you beauty.

sensational dc. currently 8 - 519 the wicket looks even better today. i'd like us to have a full hour at them tonight.

maybe not so much a transformation of his 'character', but maybe a realisation the Aussie cricket world doesn't orbit around his head, & I think he's pulled his head & ego in a bit, thru forced disciplines. he seems to have taken the necessary change in attitude & is focused on his game. the whole team is now looking more cohesive since Boof came into the frame.... & the poms so far, are feeling the warm Aussie heat.

Boofs work on Warner is just fantastic. he's got him disciplined & wanting to prove himself all over again. he looks a new cricketer. he will be one to work to maintain his ego I feel. S.M.S the team is looking like one, & Lyon; he looks a different man from 12 months back.

we certainly consolidated today with the bat, setting it right up now. it seams the lack of ball movement thru the air & off the wicket has helped us thus far. the poms look vulnerable when the ball is at their bodies. I reckon your odds on now for the win you predicted. * I've just noticed we go to Sth Africa, after this Ashes campaign. maybe a good time to blood some kids too, as well as Faulkner & Stark, Pattinson? & the other young guy, forgotten his name now. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/teams/australia/fixtures

yes it is very few can swim from the start in a poor team & a poor team environment. last ashes over in England IMO, would have been the wrong time as Boof needed to sort them out first. But now I think we're getting closer, but now isn't the time to gamble with a kid just yet, as we are on the cusp of taking an advantage over the poms. lets get in front in this series first, unless someone makes a major f*%Cup. * not the right time, a better environment.

capitarn cook, addressing his charges at the luncheon break. the bright eyes are now squinted by the afternoon Sun.

yes but not in a sinking ship or as severely leaking ship. once its back righted & steaming again,, thats the time to bring in the young, when there is an aire of genuine hope & excitement. not thrown to the sharks. and agree to introduce them in the lesser roles first, then once acclimatised, promote when ready.

I agree Macca. very few kids are good enough to start at the pinnacle of world sports. not every player is a T Watson doing it at 16, or similar. but there will be time to get our wheels oiled & running without squeaks, before then. when the machine is serviced & tuned up, then bring the kids.

I agree jazz, & I also think that clark will improve as well, as the team improves. they'll all be more productive as the team ethos grows into camaraderie. get the Aussie culture back healthy & competitively aggressive, & then it'll be time to blood some more talent into a healthy environment.

I hope you don't think that I think there aren't any cracks left in our squad. but I do think we are at the basement & on a strong rise. I think the players in the team deserve some time to show how they go under a unified team. its time for the top order to bond & play together. I think consolidation from here is the way to get a strong team contesting hard. from there a few tweaks as we go along.

I don't think england is all that good, they have a number of stars but there is something missing with them when the real pressure is applied, I feel. maybe they are the team of champions,,, But. we tended to make hard work of the game in recent years, & we wade them look good over there thru our own ineptitude, as a team. but we have some real hard competitors, who just need supporting, from all at Aus cricket. the softer ones seem to have fallen in England, & are not in this team.

isn't it great, they'll be back to plain old whinging. I think we will have taken confidence already seeing how easily they crumble under a constant pressure applied. evben if itsa draw i would think myself we casn bowl the bums out. from there the belief & hunger should grow. And hopefully we can add some runs this dig, & again early next Test. I see this test as a draw atmo. we're still building momentum.

Hi Macca. good hands absolutely. two of my favourites, DK & Alderman. I used to sit & watch them all day. Johnston is full of talent but is taking his time maturing into a steady force. but the talent is always there. I sense & big shift in the psyche of this squad since Boof arrived on the scene in england. even Lyon looked stronger in England under Boof. he looked more confident & seems to have carried that forward, thus far.\ Our weakness is the youth of our bowlers who are injured so often, so I think Johnson is important to allow the young gun bowlers to not be overbowled. I think the kids should have to force him from the team. It really looks good to me now with this pace lineup of Harris, Siddle & Johnston with Faulkner waiting in the wings & Watson for cameos. if Johnston becomes our pace alrounder, it may take some pressure off Watson who I think has a point to prove. If Smith can hold a mid order batting spot, as well as Johnston all of a sudden we have depth again. This could take some strain off the whole team, & just maybe the top order can relax & play. what about the fielding I saw in the News clips, (out all day driving). those catches looked sharp like our old days. this team is ready & hungry. lets hope they're good enough.

as has Terry Alderman. DK has always seen talent in him from years back. but now MJ looks to be maturing a bit.

I agree grit isn't everything. but in the top 3 imo its an imperative necessity. (see boon/chapelli) I agree Cowan has it but i don't think he has the class to bat at 3 or 4. nor does Watson. this is why I likes them together as 1 & 2. the strokemaker & the grit. Khawaja imo hasn't the grit & composure to bat at 3; or even 4 as yet. Warner I hoped had the necessary to follow them @ 3, but from what you say, he's not the one I'd hoped for... What about Rogers for 3? has he got the attributes to temporarily hold the 3 spot, until someone natural comes along ready to take it? my thinking is to not throw some young green stick into the position, whilst the side is on the mental backfoot, but to blood the kids higher up to acclimatise, them then promote when they're & the sides more ready. So why Warner @ opener if he's so iffy? why not in the middle order & do away with hughes all together?

geez, I certainly didn't see Warner that way. Is this inside information from state cricket? I haven't heard that before about him. I know Cowan has grit & thats what I saw in his career as an opener, but he went off as well over the last 12 - 18 months, that horrible timeframe for our test team. But Cowan doesn't seem to my eyes that he has enough shots? certainly not for a 3, I think. If your right about Warner, whats he doing in the test team in the first place? & at the top of the order. Rogers is the one I thought/hoped would come into 3, when they called him up in the UK.

we need to consolidate the top 4 spots, especially the top 3 in the short term, if clark stays for the moment at 4. IMO if his back gets tight, & has to miss a test or 2, we need the top 3 as solid as we can muster.

Why not Warner? imo he could play like boony at 3. he's got grit & a real fighting spirit. should be quick on his toes. Watson's best opening, & could get us off to a quick start like gilly did. if he gets out early, then Rogers & Warner can steady the side & push on.