Sack John Buchanan & Ponting before 5th Test please

[Beny]

For some reason, you can't accept that cricket is changing and becoming a fast bowlers game, where those who get speeds of 135kmh+ will take wickets. Kasprowicz is probably finished; he was never that good and is being found out by slightly-above-average batting performances.

So was Jeff Thomson a crap bowler? Please, Tait will bowl the odd crap spell, but have a look at the ball he bowled to Trescothick. He is capable of bowling quite a few of those. I've seen him uproot quite a few off stumps in his time; Younis Khan, Xavier Marshall and Sarwan amongst others, and he is clearly capable of becoming a world class bowler.

Far from it Paoli,

Glenn McGrath has proven that line and length is still the key, perhaps even more so now that batsmen are'nt willing to put the drive away. People should take note of Lee... Yesterday's play was the first time in this series that we have really seen him let loose with the pace. We all know that if he really wanted to and was having a good day he could hit 100MPH, but he has learnt that he is not going to be accepted back into test cricket until he can bowl lines and lengths.

We disscussed Thompson in another thread which I think you can find in the 'great posts fourm'. The consensus was that he was highly overated, especialy with a bowling average of 28 in test cricket, most of which was achived against the same opponent.

Tait is a good prospect... however all good prospects need to realise that they are only in the team because they might become fantastic, not because they already are. To let Tait rest on his laurals and not force him to improve would be a cataustrophic decision for Australian cricket. There is much he needs to work on... His tequinque, his accuracy and his knowlage of bowling as an art form.

As for Kaspa. The man has been brilliant over the last year and we can't assume now that he's just being shown up, unless we want to say the same thing about Gillespie.

[acker]

Kaspa brilliant ? No

Kaspa was a cog in the machine, like George Harrisson was a guitarist for the Beatles.

Without John Lennon and Paul McCartney I would suggest George would have ended up being a good Liverpool plumber, but not an international rock star.

Without Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Kaspa definitely would not have been a figurehead in the Australian attack.

Australia would have had to rely more on Brett Lee and possibly Mick Lewis.

[Beny]

I doubt it Acker, Mick Lewis was a nobody until last summer.... Kaspa has a proven first class background and a test career which includes two, seven wicket hauls... Once again I hear knee-jerking.

[acker]

Kasper only got in the team because of John Buchanan, Kasper fired blanks during the Ashes. I would have preferd a blank firing player with potential eg Bracken, rather than the as expected disapointing Kasper.

[Beny]

So the Fact that Kasper was playing for Australia long before Buchanan took over is just luck? And the fact that he was Queensland's steller bowler last season was a fluke?

Kaspa's proformances before the Ashes more than warranted his selection.

[Leafy Seadragon]

Originally Posted by Beny

We disscussed Thompson in another thread which I think you can find in the 'great posts fourm'. The consensus was that he was highly overated, especialy with a bowling average of 28 in test cricket, most of which was achived against the same opponent.

Sorry Beny, but this misrepresents the thread, where there were a range of differing opinions on this issue and little if any consensus. There's better discussion there about it than I'll add here. Dismissing him on the back of his overall average would be akin to saying that Flintoff is a rubbish bowler, because his bowling average is over 32. Both have had poor spells, but at their best, both are/were world beaters.

IMO, well bowled express pace will always have a place at the very top of test cricket. It just doesn't happen very often. Tait must mature in his mental approach (which currently is try and take a wicket with every ball) if he is to have a long successful test career, or become a significantly better bowler. But there is the potential there to work with and he's young enough to refine a lot.

As for Kaspa, he performed a role very, very well for Australia as did Gillespie until this summer. Unfortunately, it appears as both may struggle to continue to do so. The problem is that neither Lee or Tait are suited to that role and as a long term vision, there needs to be better balance in the bowling attack. A few challenging, yet exciting decisions ahead.

Whilst calls for sacking the coach/captain are often knee-jerk following a loss, Buchanan and Ponting need to be accountable for the poor performance of the team. Given Buchanan's role is predominantly mental preparation, tactics and strategy, with some work on fielding, you'd have to conclude that his performance was arguably the worst on tour (even against Gillespie). Unfortunately, Ponting's tactical ability to fashion something reasonable from this was far more likely to deliver defeat from the jaws of victory than vice-versa

[acker]

I pressume it was John Buchanan's desicion not to have a bowling coach for the paceman. Unlike England ?

[Beny]

I dont think Australia have had a bowling coach for quite a while...

[Paoli]

Beny, there are exceptions. Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, and to a lesser extent Heath Streak and Matthew Hoggard.

But the man of the series was Fred Flintoff, a constant 140kmh+ bowler. Shoaib Akhtar, Australia's chief destroyer in the recent tour downunder, bowls at the same speed constantly. Simon Jones is constantly at the 135-136 mark, as is Irfan Pathan. Harmison is normally around the 90mph mark. And these guys are amongst some of the best pace bowlers in world cricket.

The England side has a quality batting attack, and made light work of the likes of Kasprowicz and Gillespie. In fairness to Kaspa though, until he was dropped from the side against Pakistan he was bowling very well. He filled the gap basically. Gillespie isn't the bowler he once was. Kaspa had a distinctly ordinary tour of NZ and hasn't fired against the Poms.

There are exceptions mate, but the creme de la creme are above the 135 mark.

[acker]

The warning bells about Kasprowicz were ringing loudly during the infamous follow on innings of Dravid and Laxman.