montasaurus

1 more and game over, their tail will crumble like the pitch

Wasn't rocket science to work that one out but i'll take it! While i'm on a role I might make a call from left field. Mcdonald will be the missing like that we have not had in Melb and Perth. Our quicks have bowled well overall for the series with only a couple of bad sessions between them, but that will happen with a young attack. on Hauritz, I haven't changed my opinion...... So this is our biggest weakness and unlike to change today. Clarke is injured, Katich I have heard has a shoulder issue, punters too old to bowl, symonds has been unable to bowl. Therefore when a partnership comes which it will - who will break it? it has to be Mcdonald. Therefore he needs 2-3 wickets today for us to win. A crumbeling track, ball not coming onto the bat, variable bounce - ideal for a med bowler. if this doesn't happen either siddle or johnson need a big 5 wicket bag to get us home. Also what was SA thinking opening with a night watchman with over 1hr to play?? madness, but we will take it!

375-400 and/or min 1hr at them tonight. IMO - A draw is as bad as a loss for us at the moment. Therefore we must give us maximum time to bowl them out.

Is that now it for hayden? I still can't believe both he and cricket australia did not agree that this would be his last test be it early in the summer or even last week. All the pressure would have been off, we as supporters could have been given a chance to fairwell a champion. so now what? SA or Eng? keeping hayden and everybody else hanging just makes no sense.

SIDDLE YOU STAR!

You have hit the nail on the head Grazman. Rebuilding time is here. I have actually come up with an idea that that for some reason does not appear very often in cricket circles. Its nothing new but.... Rotation! Once upon a time aspiring test cricketers were blooded in the one day form, but for the last 5-10yrs the 1 day side has become a specialists ground likewise 20-20 and I for one really believe there is a big difference b/w a test batsman and a gun 1day/20-20 bat unless they are something special - eg Gilly. Therefore what I have noticed over the last 3 years is that as soon as somebody is out of form, injured or personal issues there is no ready replacement. Why? no game time. India was the perfect example. It took an injury for siddle to get a chance and now its an injury for another "untried" bowler to get a chance in sydney. Imagine if for the last 18 months the Aust side had a simple rotation basis that allowed players of the like of lee, Hayden, symonds etc always to have a forced rest in the series. There is a chance we may not have won as many tests but we would have been in a much stronger position now with players ready to step in. Hodge has been in the top few top order batsman for years but has little experience. What happens if clark and/or pointing go down with a long term injury? I'm sure someone will take an opportunity, but they should not have to- They should already be blooded. Games against the minnows like NZ, Srilanka, Bangladesh, and even england etc that we seem to play close to 1/yr is the perfect opportunity. Smashing these sides by 400 runs and sometime days does nothing for us. keep the AA players fit and rested while developing the next A-AA players. Trying players against the top side in the world after you have already lost 2 nil is a bit late in my book. Look at most other professional team sports and this is a common practice "resting/rotating players", especially David Hussey - No Opportunity Cameron White - Almost No Opportunity Brad Hodge - Little opportunity Mcdonald - No opportunity Siddle - opportunity only through injury Outcome - for the recent time the Vics have been the bench mark, why? no rotation in the Aust side. there also seem to be less "tour games" when the sides are O/S giving the squad even less experience in conditions they are not used to. I really believe out of this group there should have been close to 15 tests played in the last 12 months (or any similar group). Glad to see the squad named today. Hopefully haydens fairwell test. I can't believe he has not come out and retired, some people just don't know when it is time.

I can't understand why white is currently behind our current spinner let alone in as an allrounder. Maybe he needs to do KFC adds and go fishing a bit more often! He could well be a future captain as well due to his leadership at state level!

Wow, the search for the next young allrounder has just started I think! David Hussey is great but too old, so who else is in line?

As usual Rhino, impossible to argue your logic and I do agree Hilfenhaus would have to be 1st pick on paper ATM. I was never a huge wrap for tate even at state level yes he was quick, but i would argue not dangerous. Nannes has an ability to make balls rise off a fuller length then most, hence why he is so dangerous. However I don't think being 31 is too old being that we have johnson and siddle ahead of everbody else and both are young. Therefore who knows a suprise could well be sprung but I think you are right The difference between his best and worst is wide and is a concern. However - this could even be an advantage if he is in form, which he seems to be he could well spark something special! The argument against my logic is that both siddle and johnson can be a little wayward at times and it is maybe too much of a risk to add a 3rd wild card to the attack. But it would ceratainly make our 1st bowling session an interesting one to watch!

:lol: :lol: I wonder if she can bat at the top of the order as well!

Might be my biased Vic views coming through, but I think Dirk Nannes is a real dark horse to get a game. Hilfenhaus and Bollinger are ahead of him on paper but having a bloke who is capable of anything in the side, I'm not sure if he even knows where he is bowling it sometimes but with a new pill could well bring something that we have not seen from an aussie paceman in a while - a bit of mongrel! How good would it be to see smith like this! http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...07-2882,00.html Klinger has to be given a chance or the selectors are kidding themselves. You can't select a kid that has made a couple of good knocks into the test side. Klinger is the highest run scorer and like katich should be given his opportunity. If not what sort of message will the selectors be sending to the nation again! Surely being that he no longer plays for victoria he is a better chance Well said!

Or like the Dee's finishing top 4 in 09. I guess we all have to be a little optimistic at this stage! It must be rubbing off!

Fair call, but who knows we could be getting too far ahead of ourselves. Clark and Pointing are still both in and could easily be a part of setting a winning target. Just need the bowlers to step up.

RR you may have already had your wish - Series is "decided", Hayden and now Hussey. Could have drawn the 1st test and the way we are going in the second the test could be over by this time tomorrow. In this day and age I just can't understand why this was not in yrs ago. Have some sort of heafty penalty if the challenge is not upheld though. eg -20 runs! or if >2 turned down captain sits out the next game just to stop time wasting. Thats assuming he is fit to bowl which clearly he is not. Therefore is it symonds claiming he is fit thats to blame or the selectors that are at fault? The captain can only direct the cattle he has on the park.

MC - 6/10 (8) given his wicket away too often since india, showed a bit on the 1st day MCG. Scores over the past twelve months would suggest he has performed credibly. - I think the 1st innings could have been a turning point for clark. Working as hard as he did to then come out the next morning and find it easy. Lets hope he has just stepped up. AS - 2/10 (7) as above, no impact with ball. Agree but a harsh rating number. Has not bowled that much so unlikely to have impact - He is in the side as the allrounder therefore by not bowling he has achieved only half the maximum he could have. Being that he has had a limited impact with the bat I then rated him being 50% effective. MH - 2/10 (9) out of sorts. If AS is a 2 then Hussey hardly gets a 1! - I thought was OK against NZ in the 1st test? MJ - 6/10 (6) one great spell and has not had the impact outside of this. Leading wicket taker in India, leading wicket taker against NZ, Leading wicket taker against SA..... are you sure RR................. or is it ?? LOL!!

Hayden, ML c: Duminy b: Steyn 23 I think Hayden has just beaten symonds to it. the only thing that will save hayden now is announce his retirement for the end of the series and have symonds out inj for sydney!

Thats my thinking as well. the selectors will take a "safe" approach for sydney and not make too many changes. if both symonds and hayden fail today hayden will be the unlucky one but if he makes runs and symonds fails he is out. Adds a bit of interest into today's proceedings. But watch out for the ash's tour it will be one of the least experienced squads we have had in a long time.

Great Post RR, Cannot fault your logic here except due to lees injury can't see symonds being dropped for sydney but I would like to see this happen. Which australian side would have been the last one to have had this type pressure on it on home soil? I'm thinking back to the 80's when the Kiwi's rolled us.

Well, I'm going to do the hard thing here and back ponting. A lot of the reasons are explained in the above already. For me its the experienced players around him not his captancy that is the issue. SK - 8/10 (6) since india (batted well but yet to make a big score) MH - 1/10 (8) since india, unlikely to see sydney RP - 5/10 (10) struggled since india MC - 6/10 (8) given his wicket away too often since india, showed a bit on the 1st day MCG AS - 2/10 (7) as above, no impact with ball MH - 2/10 (9) out of sorts BH - 7/10 (5) serviceable BL - 1/10 (8) has struggled, maybe injured since before india? MJ - 6/10 (6) one great spell and has not had the impact outside of this NH - 3/10 (4) taken a few but no real impact PS - 3/10 (4) no impact in perth but better in melbourne. Therefore a total of 44/10 vs 75/10 on paper. Katich and haddin have been the only good news out of this summer. So by my score we are at 70% of playing strength. From this you would suggest it is time to turn 2-3 players over. Brett lee's forced injury will be 1, so I think it is likely if we don't win this test another player could be in trouble. For me take your pick from the 2 below. Surely todays innings should not make any difference to hayden unless he makes a big 100 in a winning side. Therefore no hayden for sydney. I would like to see klinger in for no other reason then runs on the board. Could open or bat at 5 giving hussey a chance at opening. Symonds - Out for watson in (I think unlikely to happen, more likely to replace injured lee but if lee was fit this should have happened for sydney) Lee - Replaced by either Watson, Hilfenhaus or Bollinger. but maybe go for something a little different - a wrist spining leggie! wont happen though

Oh - No here we go again, but this time its against decent cricketers.........

Take the game side of it away, the crowds for SAT/SUN were nothing short of a disgrace when you had the top 2 sides playing off in a game that could have gone either way. Lift your game WA

What I would like and what I think will happen are 2 different outcomes. Not sure if it was a team plan or his own but he bowled too short all test. I still rate him as a potential opener as he has an ability to move the ball both ways off the seam but as you have correctly pointed out you need to take 20 wickets to win a game and siddle too NIL. Therefore if the axe is coming his name would have to be ahead of any other bowler at this stage unless Krejza is to replaced but I doubt it. The only hope for siddle is that lee did nothing also and I don't think anyone else have put their hands up at domestic level enough. What ever happened to a med bowler to break a partnership on a dead track? is symonds arm not up to bowling after his last injury? The smartest thing Hayden to do is announce his retirement at the end of the series now! that would almost guarrantee him a ticket to melb and syd on a farwell tour. I think he is actually a little lucky to get out the way he did (he now has sympathy on the selection issue). Had have he been out to his own devices the next over or 2 it could have been the end for him, but then again it could have also been a ton!

Are we reading too much into this. Is it the bowlers who could not take wickets on a flat track the problem or the upper order who get starts and don't go on with it! That's been the issue for mine since the start of the indian tour. Clarke, Hayden, Ponting, Symonds all giving their wickets away so far this summer. Symonds especially, if he is not being used a bowler then should not be in the side. His batting is just not up to it, watson is just as good with the bat in this form of the game and can bowl! Clarke - Is by far the most frustrating batsman to watch the way he gives his wicket away when he is set. ARROGANCE is a word that comes to mind that explains the current side. No need to make big changes they just need to work a bit harder. This test should have been a draw and if johnson had not bowled that incredable spell probably would have ended up that way. I think it is likely Siddle out watson in. But I would love to see siddle be given a chance on his home track. Ideally hayden out. Maybe siddle out for Dirky! See if he can put a couple of the SA batsmen into the alfred!

All hail the Orical! Interesting to note though that the damage was done with the old ball, so for mine still may not be the best for us to be opening the bowling! (But then again I'm right handed and a victorian!) so might be a bit biased!

Hughes at 21 would have been given his baggy green before the "valued NSW" cap for sure! I think this is on the cards being that katich is batting very well ATM. None the less as a victorian bring on ROGERS/Klinger or even promote M.Hussey to open and bat D.Hussey in the middle - Now I like that!