titan_uranus

Just to be fair, I was the one who brought up Krejza. I wasn't saying we should bring him in, I was saying I reckon it was the moment we dropped him that our spin problem truly developed. The best spinners in the world, Swann, Harbhajan, Randiv, Herath, Benn, Vettori etc., all have one thing in common, and that is they spin the ball. It takes time for any spinner to develop an economy rate if they're spinning it, as spin necessitates a loss of control. But the fact of the matter is that spinners who don't turn it don't succeed and don't bowl you to a win. Hauritz's successes have come against sub-standard teams and he won't win us the Ashes.

Krejza's figures vs India at Nagpur were 8/215 (at 4.9 an over) and then 4/143 (at 4.61 an over). India made 441 and 295. We lost by 172 runs. In Perth against RSA he took 1/102 (at 4.08 an over) and 0/102 (at 4.25 an over). Those figures are worse than I remember, but I still feel that if we'd persisted with a spinner who can spin the ball (i.e. not Hauritz) we wouldn't be in this predicament.

He's still bowling over 140 in the Ryobi Cup. His flat trajectory never hurt him before. The point wasn't 'Let's bring Lee back', it was more 'I wish we has someone like Lee to bring in'.

Agree re: George but there's precious little else. Forgot about Mark Cameron btw. He's a chance, surely. He swings it for starters. I wish Brett Lee hadn't retired. He's the kind of spearhead we need. McDonald got injured in the Sheffield Shield. Not that T20 game. And there was an explanation for Krejza being dropped, that being he leaked far too many runs.

True that. But given they have Shahzad and Bresnan, and they all bowled pretty well in Hobart, and the man they're replacing is Broad, I'd say the other two are ahead at the moment. But I guess they'll all, with Panesar, get a game vs Victoria in a bowl-off. Didn't justify his selection. Didn't look fit either. Johnson doesn't deserve a recall yet. He needs time to work on his action. Hilfenhaus is useless, and Nasher's rumour is one I subscribe to. I don't see any future in him. So maybe it'll be a left-field pick. Peter George took a five-for last week or the week before, Clint McKay continues to bowl well for Victoria. If Mitchell Starc wasn't injured I'd look at him too. Same deal with Andrew McDonald. I have a gut-feeling it'll be Johnson even though that's not what I'd do. But of all the guys we've tried, Krejza remains the only one who properly turns the ball. Yes, he leaked runs, but two Tests, against the two best sides in the world, isn't exactly the easiest task. Meanwhile Hauritz's credits come from a summer against the two worst sides, Pakistan and the Windies. I still think if we'd kept Krejza in there and persisted with him maybe we'd be in a better situation than we are.

From here, we need to win 2 of the last 3 Tests to win the Ashes. They need to only win one of them, any one of them, and the Ashes are theirs. 5/620 vs 20/549. That's a shellacking if you've ever seen one.

Pathetic. But good bowling from England. Took the new ball and it worked, getting Hussey, who played a poor shot, and then Haddin. Our two in-form batsmen. Swann's doing the rest. Our spin woes started when we dropped Krejza after 2 Tests. Since then we have played Hauritz and Doherty, who can't spin it, and Smith, who's 2-3 years away from being any good at Test level. IMO Krejza spins it the most out of all Australian bowlers but I don't see him getting a game any time soon. It's patently clear that we need a decent spin bowler who can break partnerships and help us get 10 wickets an innings but Doherty's not the answer, and frankly, Hauritz and Smith aren't either. Batting woes are still there. North should be gone now. Just can't do it. Katich is injured and won't play, so you'd expect Hughes to get another crack. Watson needs to learn that 50 isn't enough, Ponting needs to find some form badly. 3/238, now 9/297. We continue to lose wickets in clumps and if we ever get into a position of advantage we let it slip. Now we need to win 2 of the last 3 games to win the Ashes back. Can't see that happening with this team. For mine, Hughes comes in for Katich, D. Hussey or White comes in for North (hopefully one of them will tear England's bowlers to shreds in the tour game) and then there'll probably be a change in the pace bowlers, Bollinger was no good so maybe someone will get his spot. Edit: Katich is out for the series. Might be the end for him. Sad, he's been one of our best performers over the last 2.5 years. Dependable with the bat, should have bowled more often too.

Stuart Broad's out for the series. Harsh for him, but that helps us. One less bowler today. I think Bresnan will come in for him as he can bat a bit, like Broad. If they play Tremlett their tail gets really long. First session is crucial. Don't think it will rain until later in the afternoon so North has to tough it out.

Wtf...Clarke was well set on 80, and Pietersen gets him in the last over of the day. Therein lies the difference between us: even when we reach 50 we are still prone to go out. They're not. Too many 50s. Watson has 2. Needs to learn to convert. Rain required tomorrow or it'll be a loss. Big day for North. Possibly his last. Ponting won't get far past the Ashes. This might be it.

5/1000+ over the last two innings. Sadly, what can we do? Drop Doherty after two matches? That's hardly productive. We need to show the spinner we pick some faith. So he should stay. Drop a paceman or two? Siddle's wicketless since Day 1 of Brisbane. Bollinger is leaking just as many runs as Johnson did, and his only wicket was a major blunder from Strauss. Harris is the best and holds his spot but really, we could change the bowling as much as we want, there's no one in the counry who is any more capable than the bowlers we've got in the side. Long term we'll be looking at Mitch Starc and Trent Copeland from NSW but they're for the Ashes 2013, not the Ashes 2010/11.

More insipid bowling and fielding. This test is gone. No swing, no control. No plan at times. And catches dropped again. Batsmen were also poor. No call from Watson, loose from Clarke and North. Anderson did bowl well but I don't rate the batting performance at all. North must be dropped. David Hussey in. Pressure on Clarke too, but I'll back him in to pick up.

Harris in for Hilfenhaus too. Another good call. And we won the toss and are batting.

Johnson out. Good call. I'd go with Siddle, Bollinger and Harris. Harris will be more damaging than Hilfenhaus once the shine wears off the new ball. The problem with Harris is his potentially dodgy knee. Claims that the tail will be lengthened aren't that big of a worry. With six ducks in his last 12 innings, it's not like Johnson has been scoring plenty at 8 anyway. Harris can bat at 8 no worries, so can Doherty. Hilfenhaus has a Test 50 to his name, and Siddle was a part of that big partnership in Sydney with Hussey. So there's a bit of batting there.

Australia's issues, for mine, stem back to the tour of India in 2008. In the first Test there we put 430 on the board in the first innings and then had India at 7/232, but Harbhajan and Zaheer then put on 80 for the 8th wicket. Since then we've seen the Australian team fail numerous times to take 20 wickets (vs South Africa in Perth and Melbourne, vs England at Cardiff, vs West Indies in Adelaide, vs India at Mohali, now vs England at Brisbane). Most of those games we were in winning positions at some point too. I thought the first three days were quite good. Obviously Days 4 and 5, with the extra sun, the pitch became a road and only two wickets fell. But the first few days were a pretty gripping contest, ebbing and flowing. I'd also rather have England's bowlers than Australia's, but maybe not if Bollinger and Harris come in for Johnson and Hilfenhaus.

Its not really a stock delivery because he has no control over it HT. Katich out for 4. Lack of discipline (flirted outside off), diligent bowling and a catch taken. Spot the difference.

Same problems resurfacing. Embarrassingly huge partnership between Cook and Trott. 316. None of the bowlers have looked capable. Our ability to take 20 wickets has always been an issue and its not improving. Hilfy isn't threatening without swing and bowls far too straight too often. Johnson has no stock delivery nor accuracy and should be dropped. Siddle lacks venom at the moment. Doherty is getting attacked too easily. Bollinger for Johnson in Adelaide, and Harris to threaten Hilfenhaus. Should be interesting to see what happens when we bat today.

Our advantage is slowly slipping away. That drop from Johnson will likely prove very costly. I see a big Strauss century coming up, and even though Doherty's getting spin and bounce, to lefties it's not nearly as threatening as to right handers. We need to break the partnership right now, and then Doherty will hopefully hurt their middle order. Hussey and Siddle were probably the two most contentious selections, but they've put us where we are now. Siddle was OK this morning, nearly had Strauss of an inside edge. Johnson and Hilfenhaus are both bowling varying levels of rubbish. At times Johnson looks threatening but then he slides one down the legs or bowls too far outside off. Hilfenhaus doesn't get his line right, and without swing he's much less dangerous. With Bollinger to come back they need to lift their game.

Peter Siddle. What a legend. Deserved his spot over Bollinger based on fitness. I wasn't impressed with Hilfenhaus yesterday. He's in there for swing, but Watson swings it more. Bollinger is better than him, so he needs wickets or I'd drop him. Johnson was crap too but I rate him as a match winner more so than Hilfenhaus. Plus we get the biggest tail since the dinosaurs if we drop Johnson for Bolly. Watson and Katich doing well at the moment. I don't rate Anderson or Finn outside of England and playing against the crappier teams, but Broad looks good and Swann is superb so the danger is still there. A good Test so far, shows why Test cricket is still the best form of the game.

I'd guess that Manou and Hartley are ahead of him in the pecking order given Manou played a Test last Ashes and Hartley filled in in one of the tour matches. But Wade should be up there, and he has the advantage of youth on his side (what is he, 21, 22?). I'm sure he'll play for Australia one day.

Not sure about this game, but either way the injury could have happened in many other ways.

Good to see Khawaja get added to the squad. Hopefully Clarke is fit, but if he's not then Khawaja is the best alternative. What's that word you love? Hyperbole? Paine could have sustained that injury in any nets session for Tasmania, Australia A, whoever. He chose to play that game.

Oh brilliant. Clarke's back injury seems to be worse than first thought and he's no certainty to play on Thursday. Who's the only other batsman in the squad? Steven Smith. We cannot win with Smith in the side. He can't bat. He is a talent, sure, but that talent isn't enough to have him in the squad. If Clarke can't play, one of Ferguson or Khawaja should. Yes, they failed for Aus A, but their first-class records trump Smith's.

In other news, Victoria is now second-bottom on the Shield table, with just one win from our four starts, including two losses at home after not losing at home for 3 years. The only team below us, SA, has played one less game. No Rogers, Hodge, White (mostly), and various removals of McKay, Siddle, Hastings and Hussey have hurt us. Replacements such as Hill, Finch and Sheridan aren't cutting it, and Wright seems to be struggling.

Good article from Peter English: http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2010-11/content/current/story/488002.html "Smith is the only other one of the group who remains in favour, but he is not yet good enough as a batsman to be in the top six, as displayed by his first-ball dismissal to Chris Tremlett in Hobart today, when he left an offcutter heading for his stumps. He is not ready as a specialist bowler either. A gifted player, he could develop into an all-round genius, but at the moment his selection as a bits-and-pieces man for such an important series is strange." Also questions our selection policy (i.e. why did we play Hauritz in India, then after limited chances in Australia, drop him for the Ashes?).

After his golden duck? No thanks. Clearly he's thinking from an English perspective. Smith is crap. Can't bowl, can't really bat either. Doesn't deserve to still be in the squad.