dee-luded

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.

like faulkner. he's a part of our future.

I think hope this is a good sign.

it'll get smarter & better when the board remove their numbnuts from decision making processes. and get back to reality, instead of some pie in the sky dream of a super human race. they're cricket players & lads ACB, wake up! they 'the cricket board', seem very like what happened to Melbournefc since around the time of the Norm Smith sacking. that all pervading, they know better than everyone attitude, that goes with narcissistic types.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/ricky-ponting-goes-on-the-front-foot-at-ca-claiming-miserliness-caught-up-with-australia/story-e6frf3g3-1226745534932 Ricky Ponting goes on the front foot at CA, claiming miserliness caught up with Australia Ricky Ponting one-on-one Cricket News October 24, 2013 7:43 RICKY Ponting has intensified the pressure on Cricket Australia, claiming he was angry when attempts to try and keep the team No. 1 were often ignored. "It made me angry at the time,” Ponting said after the launch of his candid autobiography “At the Close of Play” by former Prime Minister John Howard in Sydney yesterday. “I think some of the stuff we’re seeing now might have been half avoidable and I’m pretty sure Buck (former coach John Buchanan) would be saying the same thing about where we find Australian cricket now. “Maybe if some ears had been opened at an earlier time … it wouldn’t have got to the point where we even needed an Argus review. “We might have had things in place better than what we had right now.” The former captain’s revelations came as sacked coached Mickey Arthur claimed chief executive James Sutherland, high performance manager Pat Howard and captain Michael Clarke would be under pressure if Australia lost a fourth successive Ashes series. "There are some serious players in Cricket Australia under a lot of pressure around this Test series," Arthur told Fairfax Radio. "If they lose this Test series there is going to be a lot of questions asked. “I think James Sutherland, I think Pat Howard, I think Michael Clarke . . . I think some serious heads could roll if Australia don't win this Test series." Ponting simply said that everyone is defined by results. ....... In his book Ponting admits to being stunned when told by Sutherland: "no one ever spends money when they are going well.” This was after Ponting and Buchanan had spent years making quarterly reports to the board. “Whenever we had things that we thought would improve the team we took them straight to the board,” Ponting said yesterday. “History suggests they listed to some of those things, they made some changes around the team, but once again I think there could have been more done back then. “If you look at the cold hard facts of it, we employed a bowling coach in 2006 after the 2005 Ashes loss and we didn’t have a batting coach until 2010, when we lost the 2009 Ashes. “I don’t know why. I can’t work that out. Why on earth would you have a specialist bowling coach but not batting coach when you’ve only got four bowlers and seven batters. “Everyone is trying hard. Everyone wants success for the Australian team but it’s not going to be a quick fix, it’s not going to be an overnight thing, which is why the real foresight had to be there a long time ago. “When we were on top of the world we had to be looking at how we were going to get further and further and further away, not just expect that we would stay number one.” Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/ricky-ponting-goes-on-the-front-foot-at-ca-claiming-miserliness-caught-up-with-australia/story-e6frf3g3-1226745534932#ixzz2igi7A2Uc

hahaha, I thought the same, thats why i put a bit of separation of it from the main body. but his point remains, team work & harmony. Australian cricket has gone way off the rails over the last few years, & the cricket became boring, at least to me in that time frame. something I just didn't relate to, & IMO that also related to RP captain but also must have been behind scenes stuff as well. I never took to punter when captain but loved him as a player. wrong captain choice I think. then Clark???? god help me.

well, Boof will do it. ------------------------ Read more: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/other-sports/darren-lehman-is-the-most-powerful-coach-australia-has-had-since-bob-simpson/story-e6frf56c-1226743429458#ixzz2iJckcsi8 Darren Lehman is the most powerful coach Australia has had since Bob Simpson imo - the horse whisperer Darren Lehmann has a mandate for change as Australia coach. Source: AP DARREN Lehmann is the most powerful cricket coach Australia has had in two decades. Often the true powerbrokers in sporting teams are not the headline makers, but the ones who use their clout silently, selectively and subtly behind the scenes, amid the occasional public tub-thump. There have been traces of all of these in Lehmann's one-series reign as Australian coach since dramatically taking over from the sacked Mickey Arthur just before the first Ashes Test in England. Lehmann will have more say in what happens around him than any Australian coach since iron-willed Bob Simpson remoulded Australia's cricket culture between 1986-1996. Simpson was the first man to hold the position of national coach after a period when Australia went 14 Tests without a win. The comparison is significant because, like Lehmann, Simpson's power was rooted in the fact that the SS Australia had water flooding through every porthole when he took the job. Like Lehmann, Australia needed Simpson more than Simpson needed Australia. There was no one else in the country at the time suited to the job anywhere near as much as these two. Australia captain Michael Clarke speaks with coach Darren Lehmann. Source: AP Few things solidify a man's power base than being the only serious alternative. The other four coaches used between these two eras (Geoff Marsh, John Buchanan, Tim Nielsen and Mickey Arthur) came into the job when Australia's stocks were either soaring or at least better than they are now. When handed the job it was almost as if they should have been privileged to accept it. There was an unspoken assumption that they could feel free to do some deft interior decorating but don't worry about a major renovation because we are - well, Australia - and we go pretty well. But the game's changed. With Australia having lost three Ashes series in a row Lehmann has a powerful mandate for change after accepting the job with a few hours' notice in England. It is not a bad thing Lehmann has substantial influence because of an obvious yet underrated fact, he knows what makes a cricketer. Like a lot of sports, cricket is finding its way in the hazy, confusing world of sports science and the jury is very much out on the merits of the guidance modern fast bowlers get from sports scientists who might be experts on body movement, but who may also think a new cherry is something you buy at a fruit shop. The fact that Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird, James Pattinson and the rarely sighted Pat Cummins are all broken down with lower back injuries must raise questions as to whether they could be managed better. It is Lehmann's job to cut through some of the newfangled theories and apply old-fashioned commonsense. You don't put coaches like Simpson and Lehmann into a system and say, “Now would you please not rock the boat.'' You either go with them and their philosophies or don't hire them. Lehmann won't get everything he wants, but he should not be disappointed too often. Already his fingerprints have been seen on several key decisions. On the very day Lehmann was appointed, Michael Clarke stood down as an Australian selector. It was rumoured but never confirmed that Lehmann wanted this to happen. Certainly he later fully endorsed the move. A couple of days into the job, he announced Shane Watson would open the batting in the Ashes and he effectively put the kibosh on the controversial rotation policy by saying of the best fast men where fit they would play. Just last week Craig McDermott returned as Australia's fast bowling coach, a Lehmann-endorsed move no one could have predicted when McDermott left the same position for personal reasons not long ago. Like Lehmann, McDermott can talk to his players with a qualified firmness about the demands of the job because he has done it himself at the highest level. The power of the Australian coach has ebbed and flowed during the past 37 generally bountiful years. It was never stronger than when Simpson was in charge, but it waned under the likes of Nielsen to the point that the Argus review recommended the coach be made a selector to increase the respect they got from the players. Lehmann's challenge will be to cut to the chase in a team which is not short of varied opinions. Australia's entourage in England was so big that there were almost as many support staff members as players. Australia are desperately short of future leadership options and one theory is that teams are so well looked after that players simply follow their daily matrix and never learn to think outside the square. Recently I went to an Andre Rieu concert where at one point he had around 30 people on stage with him, about the same number as the Australian ensemble in England. As always, Rieu and his band members played in perfect symphony, that is now Australia's challenge. Robert Craddock Read more: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/other-sports/darren-lehman-is-the-most-powerful-coach-australia-has-had-since-bob-simpson/story-e6frf56c-1226743429458#ixzz2iJckcsi8

http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/shane-watson-sits-down-and-discusses-his-struggles-and-darren-lehmanns-impact/story-fndpt0dy-1226743136692 Shane Watson sits down and discusses his struggles and Darren Lehmann's impact Shane Watson says Darren Lehman made an immediate impact on the team. Source: AFP A candid Shane Watson opens up to Jessica Halloran about life under new coach Darren Lehmann, a fractured Australian cricket team, tension with skipper Michael Clarke, and self-doubt. As for Watson and Clarke’s much scrutinised relationship, he laughs off speculation their shared smiles in the slips and on the balcony during the last Ashes series was "stage managed". Clarke and Watson have swiftly moved on from Mickey Arthur’s revelation that the Australian captain once referred to him and his faction in the side as “a cancer” on the team. The 32 year old explains why they have great working relationship but firstly how that final Ashes innings squashed a mountain of self-doubt ... JH: What did that 176 innings in the final Ashes test in England mean to you, what does it tell you about where your Test cricket is at? SW: I hadn’t scored any big runs in Test cricket throughout my whole career, and I hadn’t scored a 100 in quite a few years, so deep down I was doubting whether I had the game to be able to perform and bat especially for really long periods of time. Through the Ashes I was going through some technical issues, I was fortunate to have a lot of good people helping me out, and like anything when you work hard on something it’s really nice to see the rewards. To bring it together and bat for a long period of time, it was something I really had been dreaming of in Test cricket, it’s really nice looking back now, knowing I can do it. That I have got it in me, hopefully there is a little bit more to come in the next Ashes series. JH: What’s it like to deal with that nagging self-doubt in the middle of a series? SW: Life’s never meant to be easy and I was very lucky to have my wife Lee and son Will there during that time so they really took my mind off it at times. But it was engulfing the majority of my day … it felt like even when I was sleeping. I was just thinking about; “How am I going to get better? How am I going to find a way to achieve things that I feel that I have got in me but I haven’t been able to show?… it’” It’s mentally draining. In the end I learnt my lesson the hard way, especially in Test cricket, because I kept on making mistakes. But to see Will at the end of the day and see how he was developing, to me that was amazing. I couldn’t imagine how I would have got through it if I didn’t have Will and Lee there to take my mind off things. I love cricket but there are more important things life, like having a healthy family and little boy and being the best father I can be. JH: Speaking to Lee you had no qualms in getting up in the middle night to help her settle Will? SW: During the Test match Will was in our room and it didn’t worry me at all if I was getting woken up. The majority of the time I was still getting a good sleep. Lee is an amazing mum and she was doing a brilliant job as well. I am there to help out and it’s more important than a cricket game. JH: Heading into the next Ashes series, where do you feel you are at? SW: I feel like I am only getting better. I have made a lot of mistakes in Test cricket with my batting; I feel like I have really got through that period of time and now is really the time to capitalise on all the experience that I have had. I hope I can contribute more with the ball in this Ashes series if my body continues to stay together. With my batting, I feel like we are much more settled in the batting order, the balance we had in the last Test match we had some stability in the batting order. To know no matter how things are going, there is always a way to work through it and come out the other end. Shane Watson has maintained his one-day form throughout his Test struggles. Source: AFP JH: Can you talk about the LBW problem you had and how you started to conquer it? SW: I had to go through a few changes. I had to, I had no choice, it couldn’t really get any worse. I could get to the start of an innings, I would get to 20 and they would find a way to bowl that ball and get me out. I couldn’t keep doing that over and over again. I have been very lucky to have a lot of people around me, who would send me an email, call me up, and all the information I was getting had a common thread. From the fourth Test I was able to make the changes. More than anything it was something as simple as just getting my weight right, so my bat was out in front of my pad a bit more, so if the ball seamed, which were the balls were predominantly getting me out, I was able to get my bat on it a bit more. It was as simple as getting my head over my front leg. Sometimes I was getting a bit stuck and they’d bowl that ball and get me out. I am well on my way now to resolving it. JH: What are your thoughts on the DRS? Do you like it? SW: No. (Watson laughs) I have realised I am a shocking umpire ... I have really learnt the umpires are the experts and that I have no idea. I am happy to admit I am useless at it. Umpiring is not for me when I finish. I’d like to go into coaching. JH: Throughout Ricky Ponting’s new book At The Close Of Play, his attitude toward discipline is starkly at odds with the recent less forgiving approach – in an interview last week he said; “The environment was all about looking after each other, protecting each other, not hanging them out to dry which I think has been happening.” Has it changed under Darren Lehmann? SW: It has changed under Darren. There is no doubt about that. There were times in the previous two years that weren’t ideal. The way things were going was definitely in the wrong direction. The day that Darren came in things changed significantly and only for the better. It is now at the stage where everyone is really enjoying themselves again. When Darren first came in, the first meeting we had, he said: “This should be the time of your life.” That it was a privilege to be able to play for your country, and when I first started playing and training for Australia that’s how it was, but we had gone away from it. JH: What exactly did he bring back to create a happier team environment? SW: Experience about what it is to play for Australia – it is that simple. He knew what environment you needed to get the best out of the Australian team. He knows the Australian way of playing cricket and living that day to day. That’s what he brought in. I was lucky enough to play with Darren when he first came into the team and that’s the way he played. He was a genius of a player himself. Off the field everyone really enjoyed themselves and it meant guys were a lot closer. Everyone was enjoying each other’s success. It is a really exciting time, for not just me who has been through what it was originally, then been through that other period, now it is back to a really exciting time.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/cricket/hussey-reveals-tension-among-test-team-20131002-2uswg.html Hussey reveals 'tension' among Test team The consequences of Mike Hussey's shock retirement cannot be underestimated. Photo: Reuters Retired Test batsman Mike Hussey has traced his waning enjoyment of the Australian dressing room to last year's tour of the West Indies, when he observed the first cracks in the team culture and raised his concerns with then coach Mickey Arthur. In his new book, Underneath the Southern Cross, Hussey also describes his dismay at decisions made by Cricket Australia in the aftermath of the Argus review. He felt making captain Michael Clarke a selector, a position Clarke has since relinquished, ''drove a wedge between the players and their leader, and it wasn't fair to either side''. The consequences of Hussey's shock retirement last summer cannot be understated. Australia suffered heavy Test series losses without him in India and England and the extent of the cultural crisis was revealed with the ''homework'' fiasco, before Arthur's sacking on the cusp of the Ashes. Hussey reveals ''warning signs about the team environment'' emerged after Australia's 2011-12 Test series win over India. The first was when Arthur, after Australia won the first one-dayer in Melbourne, told the players they would be ''rewarded'' with an unchanged team for the next match. ''What we needed from our coach was a degree of backing and help with our games, not a veiled threat that if we didn't keep playing outstanding games, our heads were on the block,'' Hussey wrote. During the subsequent West Indies tour, he arranged a meeting with Arthur to discuss his concerns about an ''insular'' culture. ''My view was always that in cricket you have to be genuinely happy for your teammates' success,'' Hussey wrote. ''If it wasn't happening, was it a team culture, or just a few players? I was a bit nervous about that, and organised a meeting with Mickey. ''I sat down with him and got all my concerns out in the open. 'We need to foster a culture that makes them want to think about other people and play for the team,' I said. 'Get them out of insular thinking, about No.1 only.' ''In our chat, I don't think anything I said went in. Mickey definitely listened but he was in tunnel-vision mode too. He had specific things he wanted to focus on, and anything from left-field didn't register. It was understandable how Mickey had his specific plans, and Michael too. But for me it was a big early warning sign that this team had problems ahead of it. ''We were fostering an environment where guys only cared about their own positions and didn't think about the team.'' Hussey said the dressing room ''became just as stressful and tense as out in the middle. It should be a sanctuary, where you can let go and have a joke with your teammates. Our dressing room wasn't relaxed or calm or conducive to good play. I didn't enjoy that tension.'' Elsewhere, Hussey expresses frustration that CA ''went in the other direction from pretty much everything I had suggested'' during his interview for the Argus review. Among his concerns was the aggressive promotion of youth in domestic cricket. Mike Hussey farewells the fans after his final Test at the SCG in January. Photo: Reuters Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/hussey-reveals-tension-among-test-team-20131002-2uswg.html#ixzz2ge52MVJj