The Unsung Aussies

[Beny]

Justin Langer:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Cricke...495460732.html

Originally Posted by The Age

Consider, for a moment, the size of Justin Langer's achievement at the Adelaide Oval yesterday. It was bigger than the sum of his 215 runs, and bigger than the steepling six over long-on with which he brought up his double century.
Langer became the 20th player in Test history to score three double hundreds in his career. Only 11 players, led by the peerless Don Bradman with an astonishing 12, have made more than three.

Justin langer has, for a long time now, lived in the shadow of the great run scorers in the Aussie team not least his opening patner Mathew Hayden. A man of amazing concentration who has never been out in the 90's. Langer often looks shaky early in his innings but once he gets going he is unbeatable. Langer is also one of only three in the Aussie team with 20+ test tons to their name.

Jason Gillespie:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...E11088,00.html

Gillespie is a unique package, and his status in the game is quietly rising by the series. Yesterday's impressive three-wicket haul before his home crowd took him to 232 wickets from 60 Tests -- four more than the immortal Ray Lindwall from one fewer Test. If you had to trot out one statistic to underline the quality of his bowling, the fact that he matched strides with Lindwall would suffice. Nothing more needs to be said. With precious little fanfare, he has slipped past Merv Hughes and Jeff Thomson on the list of Test wicket-takers. By the summer's end, among Australians, only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee and Craig McDermott should lie ahead of him.

Jason remains one of the top two or three fast bowlers in the world, a fact proven over time and after much heartach having suffered numerous injuries and set backs. Critics claim that Gillespie could not hold together a bowling attack by himself-mainly due to the fact he does too much with the bowl. But with an average falling below 24 runs and 50 balls per wicket he forms a patnership with McGrath that makes batting orders around the world tremble. Along with McGrath he shares a strike rate of 53 bowls per wicket, an amazing achivement.

[vvvrulz]

I can agree to both those points, but the Australian line-up is so good all round, its hard to give the full credit to everyone.

[Zainub]

If you think Dizzy and Langer are under rated I wonder what you would say about the likes of Damien Martyn and Stuart McGill.

Martyn, now in the form of his life, has been much more under the shadows of Hayden, Ponting & Gilchrist then Langer. When I think of him, my memory reminds me of all the times fine innings by him have been seemingly forgotten...the brilliant hundred against SA in the last test of the series, overshadowed by Gilchrist's then fastest test double century...a near immaculate unbeaten 70 odd in the final of the world cup completely forgotten in the midst of a majestic 144 by the skipper Ponting, a breath taking 90 odd not out against Bangladesh last summer which included some of the most to-die-for cover drives one is ever likely to come across.

I still recall how Martyn was ahead of Ponting early on in that world cup final, it was only toward the end of the innings that Ponting really step the gas on, and took India apart. He seriously has to be the most under rated batsmen in this Aussie line up. Until recently he was also an under rated player of spin bowling. Contrary to what a lot of people might think I rate him alongside Yousuf Youhanna as esthetically one of the most beautiful batsmen to watch. Pure class. It's just classical. Diehards will tell you, u can watch them play the same shot all day long and still not get tired.

Then you have Stuart McGill, who is I think one of only 3 or 4 bowlers in test cricket history to average 5 wickets per match, not even Shane Warne can boast of that. He is a very respectable leg spinner in his own rights, and perhaps will walk into quite a few international sides right now right here. Even for Australia I think had he not been born and bred in the same era as Warne he would have played a lot more test matches than he has.

Others can only look on in awe as Australia pound more misery on their opponents, and as their player excel on the basis of this very nature of competition for spots within the team/squad. We can just look in awe...