Could say the same for Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. Parochial big country towns, mind you Adelaide got around the Pink Ball Tests they have hosted in good numbers prior to this summer.
No, just 7 v 9
No day/night test cricket so far this summer would have had a huge impact on ratings. 2 of the first 3 tests last summer went prime time into the eastern seaboard.
So the so called idiot majority have NFI? Iâm certain any Aussie cricket fan could easily point out that continually picking a 35 year old Shaun Marsh to play test cricket when he just repeatedly fails was plain poor selection. But if you think Hohns and G Chappell have done a good job - you clearly arenât part of the idiotic majority however Iâm guessing youâre a member of the insane minority.
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They most definitely could point that out. Because itâs an easy cliche. But that point of view fails to account for the fact that every time his position is under threat or he gets dropped he makes more shield runs than anyone else to earn a recall. Kinda like this year when heâs ~7th on the runs list from half the games of everyone else and as a result a superior average.
I think Hohns and Chappell have done exactly the sort of job youâd expect with the cattle available. You cannot select players that donât exist and right now theyâre trying to pick from the worst batting stocks we ever seen, save for perhaps the World Series Cricket and rebel tour days. The state of our batting ranks is diabolical at the moment. But weâve been ignoring that for 5+ years because itâs easier to crucify the selectors cause they couldnât polish a turd.
Or alternatively you could conclude that he is a cut above shield level, but definitely not a viable proposition at the next level up, as demonstrated by countless failures over many years and many opportunities. What in football we would call âa very good VFL playerâ.
Then you could try someone else rather than return to the same failure time after time.
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Thatâs 100% correct. His best is very classy but heâs a head case at the top level and his worst is exposed too often. Heâs teased his best with the 7 test centuries heâs made but thatâs only really served to muddy the waters when he has the brain fades. But that doesnât change the fact that nobody else has put their hand up. If blokes are averaging 45+ then we donât even have the Shaun Marsh selection discussion. He doesnât get a look in.
we should be picking guys who have been in good form for a long period on the domestic circuit.
yeeeeeeaaaaaahhh ok.
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So basically the same way they treated Hodge. Their excuse was that he wasnât made for test cricket so they didnât select him.
they just flat out didnât like him.
and he didnât help himself.
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Shaun Marsh shouldnât get a look in now. He should have had a line put through his name long ago. Time to have a look at the next cab off the rank regardless of whether his first class average is as good as Marshâs.
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Iâd be fairly keen not to overbalance the team with left-handed bats, particularly in England.
Weâre talking Harris, Khawaja, Patterson, Head, RenshawâŚi reckon youâre better with 3/3.
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I see it a different way. Although our batting doesnât look good at paper at least they could have invested invested heavily in the future to find a couple of players. However they have continued to pick a turd that they knew would never be polished in Marsh, all while this summer they basically had a free pass.
They could have used these 6 tests as an attempt to spring board our team into next period of success but rather they have gone conservative and left us arguably worse off. What have we learned? That Marsh isnât up to it, Handscomb has technical deficiencies and Finch isnât an opener. None of these are a shock. In fact I think we knew all 3 of these things in November.
I take what you say about Marshâs shield record now but look at his record when he was first picked. In his test career he has been gifted so many opportunities itâs not funny.
I donât like how they made such flawed decisions when we could have learned some new things about our batsmen. Over looking Maxwell makes no sense and I canât understand how Renshaw wasnât in the team ahead of Finch at the start of the summer. Itâs any wonder Renshaw has lost form and confidence. The selection of Finch as an opener was also always doomed to fail. Maxwell has never played a test in Australia yet Marsh has failed more times in tests at home than Iâve had hot breakfasts.
Picking Labuschagne and batting him at 3 was also a horrible choice. I donât mind that they have exposed Labuschagne but he was thrown to the wolves. He was picked as a 50/50 bet given he can bowl a bit. His clearly inferior shield batting record means there was absolutely no reason to bat him at 3. Personally I would be happy if they stuck with him for the next 2 tests now they have exposed him - but let him bat no higher than 5 or 6.
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Marsh made 141 on debut in Sri Lanka so at the very least you canât say he didnât take his opportunity when it was gifted to him ahead nobody that was making runs at the time.
Iâm not saying he should be picked now or at any other stage over the last 5 years, hell Iâd love nothing more than to be able to say we didnât have to go back to Shaun Marsh over and again but the fact that weâre even having this discussion is indicative of the issues weâre facing around the dearth of quality batsmen in the country broadly.
If one thing has become blindingly apparent this summer itâs that in the absence of our two best batsmen and with opportunities abounds, thereâs simply nobody else there to stand up and take them. The absence of Smith and Warner has thrown into sharp focus the appalling state of batting in this country and that significant changes need to be made to development pathways (not just juniors) and First Class cricket if weâre going to start producing any sort of depth of batting talent again in this country.
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Completely agree. This cricket season for CA shouldâve been what the 2016 season was for us in terms of having half a team suspended. Yes, we got belted, a lot, however we unearthed some players in that season and exposed others to more responsibility than they otherwise wouldâve had if the full complement was available. If not for Harris, and to a lesser extent Head, itâs been wasted. What youâve said re Marsh x 2, Handscomb and Finch is on the money. I donât mind that they gave Pete another go but clearly not enough has been done to eliminate his technical flaws. The handling of Maxwell has been nothing short of disgraceful. They shouldâve played him, stuck with him this summer and if he failed by all means drop him and maybe stamp his papers as never again at Test level, but the questions still remain whether can can cut it or not. You never know, he may have done really well and thereâs 5/6 in the batting order sorted out for the next few years.
Two Tests between now and the Ashes is not a lot. Thereâs going to be change anyway with Smith and Warner coming back from suspension, but really they are the only nailed-on certainties for me to be in the Ashes First Test XI. Khawaja has been a major disappointment this summer, given he was billed as the senior batsman and best credentialed Test player of what was left and the failed to deliver. Harris, Head, Patterson, Burns and Pucovski have a max of 4 Test knocks to show why they should be considered for England. I donât think Renshaw has been in good enough form to be selected despite the fact he looked best equipped to handle the English conditions. Will they pick him?
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The difference here is that CA genuinely expected us to win. They arrogantly just expected weâd win on home soil as weâve always done. Theyâve been living in a fairly land of unicorns and pixie dust and magic beans that grow into world class batsmen. I hope theyâve woken up now but alas I actually think an inevitable series win over Sri Lanka (who are rubbish and missing two of their best players through injury) will just paper over the cracks and theyâll say everythingâs fine.
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Thatâs what Iâm afraid of as well. I definitely didnât have us winning the series v India, even with Smith and Warner it wouldâve been a closely fought series given Indiaâs pace attack is now genuine quality and can take 20 wickets on any surface. The Perth victory heightened expectations and maybe they might believe a 2-1 result superficially wasnât that bad? We were only 30 runs off victory in Adelaide too. A series defeat by the odd Test and a 2-0 series win (should that occur) v SL and the boffins at CA might see it as something of a success. I shudder to think how things will pan out in England during our winter, both in the WC and the Ashes. The banter from the crowd will be next level. I hope the boys have thick skins, or take industrial strength earplugs with them onto the field. We are going to cop some horrific stick!
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Success goes in cycles and weâve enjoyed a good go at the top. While we expect to get back up, as seen with the West Indies that expectation of a great side re-appearing is not a given. Cricket Australia need to prioritise the schedules and development programs to give us the best chances of success. Our Sheffield Shield was the envy of the other countries.
Nothing like winning matches and series to get fans into the grounds and watching on the telly in big numbers. From that you get your big $$$ TV deals. T20 Big Bash will get the kids and families involved, but test cricket will still be the pinnacle for the sport. Plus the World Cup.
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You raise an interesting point - test cricket has to be the pinnacle. I think the explosion of the Big Bash has come at the wrong time for Australian cricket given the national team has been on the nose for some time. Now Iâm guessing Big Bash supporters may get frastrated when their team members get called up to play for Australia. This shouldnât be the case. CA must work to ensure that the Australian team remains the pinnacle not only for the players but also the cricket loving public.
Thatâs pretty much irrelevant now.
As long as your making runs in any form of the game, right down to the backyard at mums, youâre safe.