By Test_Fan - 22 Dec 2018 11:55 AM
The Australian selectors obviously do not care because they have selected the same squad despite the obvious flaws in the squad.
India on the other hand have brought another opener into the squad as Shaw has been ruled out for the rest of the series. They have also added Hardick Pandya who might come in to bat 6 and bowl quite a bit. I think Umesh Yadav will not play with Ashwin, if fit, or Jadeja replacing him.
I wonder if this team might be India's best option
Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Kohli, Vihari, Pant, Pandya, Jadeja, Ashwin, Shami, Bumrah
Swap out Jadeja for Sharma if it is a green top.
|
By baggygreenmania - 31 Dec 2018 8:06 PM
+x+x+x+xWarne didn't exactly call for them to be dropped just mentioned they have had a form drop “So I’m not saying drop them all because we have a very good attack, but they need to get better,” he said. “They need to be put on notice and say guys 47 and 40 with the new ball opening the bowling to the top six batsmen isn’t good enough. “Yes the batting has got to get a lot better, but the bowlers need to get better too and the numbers don’t lie.” But he is questioning the bowlers and how they are performing. As I said before changing a batsman here, a batsman there is just band-aiding. A batsman with 37.5 FC average is replaced and bring in a batsman with 40 average is adding 5 runs per test. Not going to help much when the bowlers are not being changed and this pathetic frontline bowling is continuing what it is doing. They may go well in the next test, but they just revert back to their old ways. Remember Hazlewood on 9 occasions from his last 32 tests has managed 0-1 wickets only, for the test, not an innings. Nearly 30% of the time. So my question to you grazer still stands "When is enough enough"? I'm saying right now these questions are valid and now is the time to change Openers gone Marsh Bros gone Hazlewood and Starc gone. It's a tough call granted but they are the reasons we have been so poor over the last year, embarrassingly so. To bring Labuchagne in and there is a big chance he is No 4 batsman and M Marsh will remain in the side, even the selectors feel the bowlers need 2 all-rounders now to help them. If this occurs we are down to 4 specialist batsmen for the sake of a poorly performing bowling attack. RIDICULOUS. Change the bowlers and get 6 specialist batsmen. I have now accepted that Hazlewood needs to improve his strike rate. Whadda want from me. I still maintain he is the best technician at his speciality in the country. His lack of wickets are not from lack of effort or skill. Starc is the real weak link in our attack. Baggers, we.ve known each other for 4-5 years, When Hazlewood came into the side he was No 3 to Johnson and Harris. He did extremely well. Over the last 3 years that is when I started to notice this trend starting. On forums people like yourself laughed it off and used the same argument you are trying to use now about QLD etc. On this site people are reading and thinking and seeing it, even Warne has commented. Why? because it is a lot worse, worse than even I ever thought possible. And it has been for the last 3 years. Paddles can back me up, we've know each other for 2-3 years. With Starc he started off really poor in and out of the side etc. Once Johnson and Harris gave it away, Starc stood up and fired thus why he has this really good record as he approaches 200 wickets. The turn in poor form has just occurred. Yes it is bad but not as bad as Josh. Remember Starc took his 150 test wicket in his 38th test, he is nearly 200 wickets in 48 tests so the last 10 tests he has nearly taken 50 wickets, so whilst he looks bad, it isn't as bad as you may think and it definitely hasn't been for as long. You may be right that he's the best at what he does, but it is not effective, nor was it at sheffield shield level prior to his selection, as I showed in a previous post. And unlike England and Anderson, Australia actually does produce quality pace bowlers, it not like we don't have options, they have to be given an opportunity and that opportunity is now.
Seamers like Josh have to manufacture ways of taking wickets on unfavorable decks like the MCG. He has not as yet mastered that. He is improving. Then there are the flat slow decks in Asia. He has so far struggled there. What is the secret for a man who relies on accuracy to break a batman's resistance, hamper his scoring to take wickets on tracks that do not suit his speciality. Why is he being asked to bowl cross seamers as his stock ball as Paddles has pointed out. I was not aware that was the case. Few stand up the seam better than Josh...or used to. This could be part of why his wicket strike rate has dropped. What is our bowling coach doing to help a man seemingly, according to you, is in free fall.. btw For those calling for Josh's head for Sydney, he took 6-83 @13.4 in his last game at the SCG. Please dont compare Starc to H/Wood. Trawl thru the leftie's archives and you will discover a good whack of those wickets are from mopping up the tail. Few do it better. Also it took Starc twice as long as it took Josh to reach 150 wickets...albeit in fewer tests.
|
|