Jumping Jack Clennett

Rhino. You could have added some substance to your argument by pointing out "Ronnie's" decision to continue bowling Glenn Maxwell with his offies for 3 overs too long in thje Ryobi Cup match, which proved a match losing decision. By the way, I accidentally called it a T20 match , when it was 50:50. Is it "square earth" to want to bat first in those games, too? Funny how most captains seem to adhere to the "square earth" policy. I guess they're less knowledgable than us.

I really admire Andrew McDonald as a cricketer. But his captaincy???!!! He was lucky enough to win the toss in the T20 v. Qld. Sent 'em in on a perfect strip. The inevitable happened.Our young side batted under tremendous pressure. We lost to an inferior side. The Shield Match? Lucky boy!! Won the toss again!! Sent 'em in on a belter! Our guys failed under pressure again , and are now battling for a draw with little hope.

What about Hussey's catch!!!!

I'm not a "White man". I've followed his career since he made a district century and took a hat-trick as a teenager for Dandenong. I've hoped for, and expected, great things. I reckon his batting is flawed. There's no building of an innings. He either blocks it back to the bowler, or tries to whack it out of the ground. When he does try to hit the ball hard, he lifts his head. His timing is affected by this fault. His bowling is finished because he hasn't improved, or made any alterations. He lacks the confidence in himself to have a bowl at Shield level. I hate his captaincy. As a passionate follower of Victorian cricket, I'd like to see him do well, but in my opinion , he (like Hodge!!!!) , is not in our best 11 ODI players(and nowhere near it for Tests.) I'd feel so much more optimistic with M.Hussey there, instead of White.

Wow !!!!What a sensational win by Victoria in the Ryobi Cup v. Tas. tonight. Absolutely brilliant hitting by Glenn Maxwell! BUT.......!!!!!!! What a lesson for Australia in the World Cup. Vic needed one to win off the last ball. After Siddle edged it to point, Holland almost completed the single while the ball reached the fieldsman! The lesson? DON'T let the batsman at the bowler's end crib in these circumstances. The bowler shouldn't just run him out(as he easily could have).He should warn him, before he bowls, that he'll be watching to make sure he doesn't crib. The keeper should stand up to the stumps. So the shot straight to the short fieldsman should be a runout at either end. This scenario is not unlikely in an important game in the World Cup. I also thought Maxwell's clean hitting on the legside showed the value of the striker standing his ground(not stepping away to the legside), and whacking it with the bottom hand through mid-wicket.The ball raced so hard off his bat that it was four unless it went absolutely directly to the fieldsman on the boundary.( though he often hit over them for six!! He has unique talent.

LIMITED OVER CRICKET TACTICS: If I were coach of an Australian team in the one-dayers,I'd introduce a team rule statim that I'm confident would improve our results. This is particularly important leading up to the World Cup. The rule would be this:- our batsmen must NEVER step away to square leg to try to score. Why do I propose this? For 3 reasons.... 1./ It is extremely difficult to get any power into shots on the offside when moving away from the ball. 2./ If the batsman moves to the leg side,swings, and misses , it means the bowler who puts a poor ball outside leg gets away with it not being called a wide. If the batsman moves inside the ball, has a whack , and misses, he gets the extra ball. 3./ It is much more naturally powerful to slog the ball with the bottom hand dominating,to the leg side. If the ball is hit powerfully with timing, , it doesn't matter if the leg field is stacked,it has a good chance of being a boundary(certainly a better chance than the"inside out" cover-drive to a crowded off field.) Usually there are at least as many fielders on the offside as on the legside. Another point......Setting fields for spinners. All international captains set their mid on and mid-off deep for slow bowlers, allowing an easy single, even with a new batsman on strike. I contend that those fieldsmen should be close enough to cut off the single until the striker has risked a couple "over the top" . By setting these straight fielders deep, you are saying to the batsman...."play straight! Don't take any risks! Keep the ball down!" These tactics should not be employed until the batsman is dominating the attack. Last point. Trivial, but it could mean the difference between winning and losing.... On the last ball of the first innings.... RUN UNTIL YOU"RE RUN OUT!!!! I'm amazed how often players don't take a risky single(or second) on the last ball! What's the downside?(apart from their batting average).A little bit of pressure on the fieldsman often results in an error.

Gosh!!! What a disappointing day at the Test!!! They bowled well and we batted badly, then they batted well, and we bowled only fairly. I was looking forward to today for ages, hoping for a close game(won by Aust!). Not much hope of that now. Only spark of hope is that it's grey and dark tomorrow again morning at 9.30(real time), and perhaps our bowlers can extract something out of the pitch, and get some early wickets. I felt that our guys bowled too fast to move the ball off the seam,and the disappearance of the clouds when England came out to bat made conditions easier for them. But those excuses don't make up for the one-sidedness of this match so far.

I can't remember a series where we appear to be so utterly outclassed. The Windies used to kill us in the 80's and early nineties, but at least we could get a few of them out. This is Shocking!!! Everything's going wrong!!!! Katich, Ponting and Harris.....3 balls between them on a batting paradise!!! The Katich run out started it all. Trott's throw from side-on was a 1 in 5 chance at best. That led to Ponting's dismissal, which put the out of form Clarke in a dreadful position. The English are getting more and more confident. They now have four batsmen in best-ever form. All they need now is Swann to take a bag....an d that's looking SO likely. This is torture. I was so looking forward to the Melb Test....but probably the Ashes will be gone by then. Perhaps we'll be hoping to stop the 5 nil whitewash. The weather's our best hope.

Can't help thinking what a huge advantage the Poms gained by winning the toss. Even though their first innings was poor, it was obvious the Aussies would need a HUGE lead to make the game safe, batting fourth against Swann . Luckily, the Poms batted slowly this afternoon. If they'd got 140 ahead tonight, as they could have if they'd shown more initiative, we'd be in a very vulnerable position to LOSE this Test. It's still not impossible. Bloody Bushrangers have won the toss the last 2 games and chosen to bowl on featherbeds, with the obvious disastrous outcomes.

Fantastic ton in each innings by McDonald, against a test standard attack.(though Starc was injured in the second innings). He deserves to be looked at seriously by the selectors for the Ashes series. Probably a better bat, and better bowler(albeit not a spinner) , than North. He would add variety to our attack, and looks a class batsman to me. Do any other Demonlanders watch some of the live Telecast on the Cricket Australia website?

The poor Old Hammers. Stayed with Arsenal till the 87th min. Dammit! They remind me of Melbourne so much!

Don't give up,WYL, we could still win this. If Johnson gets a chance against the spinners he should try to whack a few sixes.200 ahead and we're a fair chance!The Indian quicks were looking just as dangerous as the spinners,with the ball reversing and keeping low more and more often.

Did anyone else watch the Bushrangers v. the CSK last night? I recorded it and watched it not knowing the result this morning. Exciting!!! The Bushies got off to a great start chasing 162, but their rate slowed as the pressure rose. They needed one to win off the last ball to McGain, but failed to score, resulting in a tie! We batted first in the "Super Over", and Hussey belted 'em out of the ground for 27!! They only got 13. Rivetting stuff!

You call that batting, HG!!?? I haven't wasted my time posting every time the side batting first has won!

Very important to win toss tonight and BAT!!!! I'm sure HG agrees!

Yahoo Bushrangers! Great effort to beat Qld on the Gabba in the 'Big Bash", after being 3/5(should have been 4/5). Absolutely zero from Huss and Hodgey, too! Lucky with the weather and the Duckworth/Lewis, but we deserved to win!

So you DIDN'T think we'd lose, HG. You have phenomenal prescience. Your statistics on choosing to bowl then winning matches would be heavily weighted by pitches which have been affected adversely one way or another in preparation, making it obviously preferable to bowl first. On a normal pitch(as was the MCG's for the Vic/SA match), you must bat when you win the toss. SA's 6/517 shows that this premise was correct on this occasion. I contend it's always wise to bat first in cricket matches if possible. The fact that we won does not in any way prove what you say is correct.

Well done Vics.!!! But next time don't waste 2 points by giving up the advantage of winning the toss. It doesn't often happen that you have 6/500 scored against you in the first inns. and still win! I wouldn't hope for such a miracle to be repeated! HG you are the only one playing "I told you so"! Surely it's more meaningful to give an opinion while the match is on , rather than waiting for the final result to "prove" you're wrong or right. I re-iterate my opinion that it is always wise to bat first if you have the chance in cricket matches(of any duration).

Hey Hotgod! What did you think of Cameron White's decision to bowl first against S.A. on Thurs. ? I rolled up at 5 past 11, watched one over , and said...."I hope we didn't send them in on this batting paradise!" I later learned, to my dismay, we DID!!!! The pitch is looking worn now. We've got a test leg-spinner, and they've got Aaron O'Brien, who has about 30 first class wickets to his name! We'll lose. When you captain a side, it's SO tempting to send the opposition in after inspecting the wicket. It's a gutless option to bowl first. There ALWAYS seems to be a bit of moisture that you hope will make it hard for the openers against the quicks. But there's nothing like runs on the board. I think the following scenario encapsulates it..... Batting first, in a one-day game, you EXPECT at least 10 from the last over , and usually get it. Batting second....10 to win from the last over?? Sometimes, but not often.

[quote name='titan_uranus' You were right, Titan!! The guys did well! Luckily, I didn't put my money where my mouth was. If we'd batted when we won the toss, I contend that we'd have got all the points. Did you hear the rumour on 3AW this AM that Hodgey and Victoria are set to part ways by Christmas? I hope that's not right! I find the Sheffield Shield fascinating. I really care how we go. I know it's function is as a breeding ground for Test players, but the over-riding strength is the competitive nature of the games. I want us to gradually catch up on NSW in Shields. This will take till at least 2100!, so I may not see it,but at least I'll see the Demons overtake Carlton, Coll. and Ess for Flags, and clear out on the Tassie Waverley Hawks!