Nasher

And just to go for the hattrick of consecutive posts - I'm also happy to put my hand up for judging. I promise to judge with the impartialty of the AFL in a tanking inquiry and the integrity of a Pakistani fast bowler. Please leave any bribes in unmarked brown paper bags - thanks.

Here's the post of mine that Rogue moderator deleted

Yaaayyyyyy! Finally.

Technically I didn't name names. Nonetheless, the bottom of the barrell hasn't been reached yet re: NZ. (Can I say that?)

Eww. We'll have to start calling you Barry, H_T.

Phew! Thank goodness they finally played Clarke, Wade, Warner et al. Definitely made them a stronger and more competitive side.

'Take it out of our hands' - Harris http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/600951.html I'm really glad to read this article. When the media is saturated with dinosaurs like Ian Chappell who is stuck in the 70s and every fast bowler in the nation understandably going "stuff this rest crap, I want to play!", it's nice to hear that at least one cricketer actually gets it.

I'm not as quick to speculate on reasoning, but his fielding has been nothing short of shocking in the BBL this year from the couple of games I've seen.

0/7? Goodness, at that pace, they should've made at least 70 runs.

Yes, the timing is a bit of a bugger, but then again, when's a good time to lose one of your most experienced campaigners? I'll be sorry to see Mr Cricket go. He's been an amazing and ultra-reliable player over the years, especially when you consider he didn't make his test debut until he was 30. Like Matty Hayden he had to just keep amassing a mountain of runs at Shield level before the selectors had no choice but to pick him. He turned out to be a gem in all forms of the game as well, in that regard he was probably more versatile than any other player in era of Tests, ODIs and T20s. My hat goes off to him.

I entertained the idea of Johnson as the all-rounder when pondering this last night, but then I dismissed it, because he's just not good enough with the bat. You have to look beyond one (very good) innings - his test average is 22.45 and he's scored one century in nearly 50 tests. Is that the guy to bat at 4 or 5 or 6? Bottom line is he's a bowler who is handy with the bat, but a true all-rounder he aint. I'd rather a guy in the du Plessis mould; a genuine batsman who can bowl 15 overs an innings if necessary. Watson as an opener - surely we've been there, done that. I know Cowan is B-grade and probably isn't the long term answer, but if we're going to start stuffing around with our opening then it has to be because the options we've got are genuinely better, not to go from ordinary pair to ordinary pair. Watson has proven he can't get big scores when opening the innings; I'd say that ship has well and truly sailed.

It wouldn't be the first time it had been paid that way. I doubt it's ever happened in Test cricket, but it certainly has in lower levels.

Did he throw the ball over the fence when he caught it? It looked like he may have on TV, but they only showed him throwing it, they didn't show where it landed. By the letter of the law it should have been six if he did.

Huh? I thought Bird could only bowl well on Bellerive? It's pretty funny though, I remember listening to one of the SA tests on the radio and O'Keefe prattled on about how he didn't rate Bird at all (without offering any logical reasoning at all). Then yesterday on TV, Mark Nicholas was making Glenn McGrath comparisons. It's like reading Demonland on the off-season.

My browsing time is too sporadic sorry. I tend to hold these things up. Also, I can't really be bothered.

Yes, I used to see the council guy with the leaf blower every day and wondered whether that was his only task for the day, or...? It's hard to imagine a more menial, low responsibility job. Maybe it's the job for me when I win div 1 in the lottery and just need something to do to pass the time.

Unless a miracle happens, Hastings will be a one test wonder. Props to his nuggety innings with the bat, but it's not what he's there for. All three of the specialist quicks have been bloody hopeless though. This test is all but lost, on day two. I'm feeling very blah now after what had been a great series so far. Couldn't even be farked watching the last hour.

Found it! http://demonland.com...-t-no-b-thread/

Bump.

I bet Nathan Lyon has never had a standing ovation like that before when coming out to bat.

Ponting to quit after Perth test: http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-south-africa-2012/content/current/story/594213.html Glad he's doing to before being given the flick. It's been a pretty sad end for a wonderful career.

Jackson Bird's most recent figures outside of Bellerive in first class cricket: 4/73 against Victoria at MCG 0/51 and 3/53 against SA at Adelaide Oval 3/75 and 3/46 against NSW at SCG But you and Rhino must be right, he must just look good because he bowls at Bellerive a lot.

Funny that he's take a number of wickets at Bellerive when that's where he plays 50% of his cricket. Are you suggesting that the selectors should be biased against Tasmanian bowlers? Let's take a look at the most recent Shield match at Bellerive, shall we? http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-domestic-2012/engine/current/match/576097.html WA bowled out for 67, Jackson Bird takes 6/25. This may lend some credibility to the pitch being a batsman's graveyard, yet somehow by the end of the first day Tasmanian side was 2/201. Tasmania made a total of 448 which hardly points to outrageously tough batting conditions; the leading scorer was Ben Dunk who made 97. Dunk is a journeyman Queenslander who would've played fewer matches at Bellerive than the experienced WA batsman like Adam Voges, so you couldn't claim it's familiarity with the pitch that helped him. Mitch Johnson's performance on this bowler's paradise was 4/105, which has half the nation wiping dribble from their chin about his form, but Bird's 6/25 gets dismissed as "oh, it's just because of the pitch". It just seems ridiculous to me.

Who does Jackson Bird have to screw in order to at least enter the minds of selectors?

Jeez that was a tough bowling innings from Siddle. I can't remember in my life seeing a bowler as dead on his feet as he was and still tossing them down at 140kph like that (albeit with significantly less control for the last two overs). Du Plessis was brilliant as well, with ample support from de Villiers and Kallis on one leg. How important is Kallis to their side? Two absolutely crucial innings in this test as a cripple. Gripping draw.