posted Feb 18, 2007

I hope SA will win as I support my country. I think it depends a lot on the pithces ( low and slow then WI and the sub-continent guys will fair good)As usual England are being blown up my their media, which is crazy.They played good agains Aus the last two games but to be suddenly a favourite is madness. Pakistan also stand a great chance if all their bowlers ar fit

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posted Feb 18, 2007

am not sure what the current little malaise is with the oz team. maybe it's just a temporary thing, but nevertheless they've certainly been dragged kicking and screamiing back to the rest of the field. the bowling is truly awful! why they haven't included stu clarke defies belief. i still think they'll be competetive enough to make the final- maybe losing to either pakistan (the real dark horses) or india. nz and sth africa might surprise, and kenya are in a group they are mmore than capable of getting out of.

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posted Feb 18, 2007

Why is it that Kevin Pietersen has not been tried as a one day opener? I know in test he comes in later on, but if you look at how effective Adam Gilchrist has been opening! Imagine KP being on 50 not out when change bowlers or even part timers were intoduced to the attack! he would murder them!
With regards wicketkeeping, Read has been acknowledged as one of the best glovesmen in the world. His county batting averages have been good, so I assume it's a transition to international cricket which he is struggling with. In that case isn't it worth the selectors investing time and matches in him to solve the problem? I'm sure he would immediatlet become an equal to Jones or Nixon with the bat, and with a show of faith in him combined with the coaching and experiences gained he would surpass the batting performances of Jones and Nixon. Why expect him to match Gilchrist? You wouldn't ask Plunkett or Lewis to match McGrath!

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posted Feb 18, 2007

TESTMANIAMAN


I am also tired of the permanent bleating about Read. Good keeper that he is doesn't make him a permanent fixture at Test or ODI level; Nixon is a short term fix for the OD side and does not desrve his poor press but I think there are good other options for the future (Davies especially) Read compares favourably with Jones but does not stand out like a Russell, Taylor etc

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posted Feb 18, 2007

KP opening would be absolutely crazy for England to try.

I don't think we realise how lucky we are to have him available to us - if it hadn't been for a spat with Natal, he wouldn't even be playing for us.

he is by a mile our best player - don't give me this rubbish about Collingwood who is a decent player but no more. Kp is the only player in the side they have selected who can regularly score a hundred against any team in the world at more than a run a ball. Collingwood, Strauss, Bell Joyce et al can't score that fast. Flintoff seems to me to be producing lots of cameos but I've not seen evidence that he will regularly score 100s.

KP is by a mile the most important batsman in the side - if he is out to a good early ball against a top side we are stuffed - well and truly.

I'm afraid we should have picked Loye as I have repeatedly said - that would solve the dliemma. Yes - I know he's not in the calibre of KP - I'm not suggesting he is. But he can get the innings off to a flyer which I think is what you are driving at in your post. The selectors decision to omit Loye will leave as us one of the few top sides without anyone in the top 3 who can score quickly if needed. It goes without saying that this will put us at a crucial disadvantage if we have to chase a high score.

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posted Feb 18, 2007

so why do the aussies put Gilchrist in first? I'm not suggesting you are wrong about KP, more just trying to work out the selection/batting order process in my own mind, as I am not much of a cricketer, just a fan!
In my time watching ODI Gilchrist is the only man I have seen push for a double hundred! from opening batsman too!
surely KP and Gilchrist are of comparable batting ability?

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posted Feb 18, 2007

Gilly is an accomplished, well organised batsman who can also play the role of a pinch hitter. Therefore he can open, or he can close. But crucially, he is not Australia's best batsman. So in ODI's the Aussies look to him to put on early pressure. In Test matches, he is a hand grenade lurking in the lower order. He's basically an extra bat.

Gifted as he is, Pieterson has deficits in his technique which are more easily exposed by the first new ball. So he bats a bit lower, therfore has a chance to get his eye in. Yes, he scores quickly, but it's unlikely that he would if he opened. From comments he's made, it was a push to get him up to number 4!

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posted Feb 19, 2007

Dazaarama

At last someone else who knows that successful opening batsmen have different qualities to successful middle order batsmen.

KP should bat at 3 or 4 in ODI's depending on the start and 4 or 5 in Tests. ThiS assumes that England are trying to gat thE best from him.

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posted Feb 19, 2007

I'm an open bat myself, so I know something of the thought processes involved in that position. Although I'm utterly rubbish, I hasten to add. My main advantage is to let the English bowlers know I'm an Aussie - then their hands shake so much with fear they can't bowl properly.

Haven't heard much about the English team lately...I sure ope they're not going into the World Cup undercooked!

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posted Feb 19, 2007

I can't remember if this was the blog where we were discussing fast bowlers, but I picked this up from Cricmania:

"Of long-lasting bowlers Lee has the ninth best bowling average ever behind such greats as Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee and Michael Holding and until recently only one bowler in one-day history (New Zealand's Shane Bond) has a better strike rate of balls per wicket"

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