Starc and Lyon are the only players that have any business being in the Australian Test XI at the moment.
Very harsh on Paine.
Rest are crabs or journeymen tho.
Lol.
How is it harsh on Paine?
Heās a very nearly 34 year-old with one first class ton.
Historically would not get a look in to the Australian XI and imo shouldnāt be there now.
Let alone the frigginā captain.
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Paine was a joke of a selection. His own state didnāt think he was good enough for them, now heās the Australian captain.
He symbolises how far we have fallen.
But heās a nice guy from Tasmania so we all need to support him, apparently.
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At the very least it seems clear that no bowler will ever be an Australian captain again.
I reckon they fact they canāt stay on the park for more than 3 matches in a row rules it out.
Lyon?
They donāt have the guts to.
I donāt know about that.
I donāt know why it would take guts to make Lyon captain.
In this XI he seems the obvious choice to me.
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I agree with that personally, but I donāt think CA think that way. Meanwhile everyone is scratching their head at Paine.
Well, yes, CA donāt think that way.
CA are responsible for this team in so many ways.
I honestly donāt think Iāll give a fat rats about this boys club of a team until M Marsh is out of it.
Which is a shame, because I really, really love Test cricket.
Havenāt bothered to watch a single ball of this Test.
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IIRC he was very good in our last series against souf africa.
Iām yet to switch from footaball to cricket mode tho.
Would Lyon be a good captain? Has he been a captain before?
As a āpureā keeper heās farking pants.
Maybe he had it once as that, but quite understandably at 33 he does not have it now.
And heās not as good a batsman as Wade.
Not by any measure.
Wade has put in some pretty fine innings when the pressure was on.
I havenāt seen a single innings from Paine to win or save or even come close.
But forget Wade, he doesnāt matter.
If Wade was playing in the XI I sure as hell wouldnāt be spruiking him for captain.
Everything about this XI is a joke, from the captain down.
No disrespect to Siddle.
He has been and continues to be a beast, but that heās in the side in 2018ā¦
Why bring Wade into it? He bats ok for a keeper but heās a terrible keeper.
Makes Paine look like Ian Healy
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Because heās Paineās main rival and his keeping is nowhere near as bad as people say and Paineās keeping sure as hell is not all that, now.
Maybe it was, once.
Maybe he was lightning and didnāt miss a trick in his mid twenties.
But heās not in his mid twenties, and he is not lighting and he does miss several tricks.
And heās not as good a batsman as Wade.
Thatās why.
Edit: And lol. Donāt be bagging Healy. Thatās just really silly.
Just give the keeping gig to Carey and start moving forward.
Bring in someone to captain the side.
If not, as silly as it sounds, for the immediate term, while heās there, give it to Finch.
At least he has experience, and is tactically astute.
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I donāt think Paine train should be anywhere near the captaincy under normal circumstances but he was 1 of 2 players (other being Cummins) who didnāt embarrass themselves in souf africa. Was also our only player to average over 40 during the series.
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Well if you only think Smith, Warner and Bancroft were involved in the ball tampering affair then you are delusional - This was a cover up of the highest order.
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Who gives a fark?
Only CA and who they want in their boys club, not the rest of the world.