Cricket Part III

Nah. Had a quick chat to Trav after he was dismissed and then went back to work.
I’d say they are just managing him

It seems unlikely that Patto could be part of a 4 man bowling attack in the Ashes. Is his batting good enough to be an all-rounder?

Warner
Bancroft
Smith
Khawaja
Head
Paine
Patto
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

The lower-middle order looks a bit suspect but Poms will struggle to 150 if those 4 quicks are fit and in form.
I think Head will struggle in England. They should have Pucovski in the squad as the next in line.

No.

Not quite an all-rounder at Shield level. Definitely not one in Tests

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Agreed, but what about in the context of the batting ability of Paine, Cummins & Starc, and the (assumed) additional strike bowling option he brings (if fit)?

Vics 0/30 needing another 137.

Dean and Harris both 15

Our batting is thin enough without sacrificing a batsmen for another bowler. Test teams with 5 front liners struggle to manage the bowlers loads appropriately. Much better off with 4 front liners and a 5th option.

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So Nielsen is another Marsh? I thought he had actually put up a few decent scores for SA.

I don’t really get this fascination with having 5 full time (or almost full-time) bowlers.
Last I looked, you can only have 2 guys bowling at once.

And we certainly have looked better with a proper bat at number 6.

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Ludeman’s back in Vic, isn’t he?

He was the guest at the Warrnambool District preso night, last week. Ludeman Real Estate is a big name in the Bool.

Yep Ludeman came back to Victoria last year or maybe even the year before. Plays his premier cricket for Geelong

I hear ya, but that’s the strength of slower bowlers like Copeland and Sayers, they have the accuracy so will make the batters play more in suspect areas. On the more bowler friendly English decks they would be a handful

Warner
Burns
Khawaja
Smith
Patterson
Head
Paine
Cummins
Starc
Richardson
Lyon

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I think the reality of this generation of fast bowlers is that they are highly talented but fragile. This is coupled with none of the 6 preferred batters offering any relief as a viable 5th bowling option.
The question is not - will a number 6 specialist batsman make more runs than Pattinson at number 7, but rather are those extra expected runs offset by having an additional elite strike bowler who will take wickets and solve the problem of needing a 5th option to spread the load and to breakthrough, which is a significant problem when the opposition bats well.
The biggest problem of the past 5 years is not missing 3 batters for 12 months, but missing Starc, Pattinson and Cummins for a combined 12 years.

The fascination is more - how could we get Pattinson into the test team because we sure as hell can’t go in with 3.5 bowlers, and like Shane Bond, I doubt his back will ever stand up to long bowling stints in test cricket.

You’re inventing a problem to fit him in.

There’s not a spot for a bowling all-rounder. There’s just not.
It’s as simple as that.

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Has made a couple of decent scores but his rise through district and Premier cricket was aided by his father often at the expense of better cricketers who have now since left the sport or headed to the country

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Mitch Marsh made a century…

Needs 3 or 4 more bowling options IMO.

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We are already struggling to fit Richardson into the XI - Cummins and Starc are auto selections and Hazelwood still has plenty of credits in the bank.

As much as I would like to see Patto back in the test squad, I can’t see it happening unless Starc goes off the boil and another quick goes down

Would argue that Hazelwood doesn’t have that many credits, but very average this summer and bowled poorly last time in England.

Starc is lucky that he saved himself in the last Lankan test but is prone to go off the boil at the drop of a hat. He should be a chance on the flat English decks but doesn’t know how to bowl on a green top. Richardson is very well suited to English conditions, has a bit of X factor about him and the poms haven’t had a look at him so reckon he needs to be an absolute lock-in for the first test

Can’t have Patto and Starc in the same lineup, too erratic.

Australia win first ODI vs Pakistan in UAE. Chased down 280 with an over to spare. Finch 116, Shaun Marsh 91*

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