Who's next

[Beny]

Gillespie is only one year older than Lee...

Lee gave no option to the selectors but to be dropped after his horrible proformance against India, and then he was injured in the tour of Sri Lanka where Kaspa did plenty to secure a place. You could say that it was being dropped that forced Lee to really work hard.

even McGrath as great as he has been, is 35 and prone to injury, so I think Tait has to be given a prolonged run.

McGrath has only really been injured once this tour, the other time was just unlucky. Either way he's an integral part of the Aussie set up and we need to hang on to him as long as we can. Tait will work his way into the Aussie team, hopefully the selectors will keep faith with him for a while now.

Just my opinion, but I think Australia have missed a two card trick, with the much improved Lee, and a raw but something about Tait, should have been in prior to this series.

The problem was that all three quicks were bowling so well. even our third seamer, Kaspa was bowling world class.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Beny

Gillespie is only one year older than Lee... You could say that it was being dropped that forced Lee to really work hard.

Thought Lee was younger than that, picture them both?.
Shows the grit of the bloke though, he wanted to get back, kept himself fit, and forced his way back in the side.

I think he will be part of Australia for quite a while, Tait is another Australia wil have to persivere with, I hope they don't go down Englands past selection policies, with some pick up, play um, and then never see um again.

[Paoli]

Flanflinger, Goatman and other English "dissidents" saying our cupboard is bare. When Beny and I chose this side we purposely left out guys like M Hussey, Hodge and Martin Love. These guys are either 29-30 and would've played 50-60 tests for England by now. Whilst our 'future' cupboard may not produce another Michael Clarke for a while, we have the likes of Chris Rogers, Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Martin Love and you could even say Phil Jaques, who wouldn't look out of place against the world's best attacks immediately.

As for the bowling; Shaun Tait is an absolute superstar. Nathan Bracken has a pretty good record and will most likely be named for our South Africa tour. Williams is finished, Micky Lewis could get a look-in in the not do distant future and Mitch Johnson, as I mentioned in the Pakistan A vs. Australia A Thread, is one who we should really, really watch out for. He's been plagued by injuries over the past few years, but is a tall, genuinely very fast, indigenous lad and if the cards fall his way and he has a good year in the Pura Cup this season, could work his way into Aussie calculations.

On the keeping front; nothing to worry about. When Gilchrist retires a 30 year old Haddin comes in for six years and he'll give it to a 25 year old Crosthwaite who'll hold the job down for quite a long time.

[flanflinger]

Paoli

This disscusion strarted when I mentioned the Australia A team on 1994-95. These guys were capable of beating any side in the world, and in normal circumstances would be playing for Australia

I has heard of the names before I had seen them play. They was a rumour that their B side was better than out Test team.

The A team of that tournament have made up the bulk of the winning side of the last 4-5 years..(in terms of batting McGrath and Warne were already in the full side)

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_data...C94-JAN95.html

I do agree that you have talent, what started this debate was that I don't think you have the same level of talent as you did...

[Paoli]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

anyway some names for you... not as good batting avererages but hey as you tell us pitches suit batsmen over their -
Newman Scott age 25 batting average 44.28
Key Robert age 26 batting average 40.72
Cook Alistair age 20 batting average 41.64
Shah Owais age 26 batting average 41.60
Joyce Ed age 26 batting average 46.35
Anderson Jimmy age 23 bowling 172 wickets at 27
Wallace Mark age 23 batting average 27.52 225catches 10Stumpings
Plunkett Liam age 20 bowling 89 wickets at 33.37
Bresnan Tim age 20 bowling 66 wickets at 31.68
Panesar Monty age 23 bowling 89 wickets at 29.76

Now, now flanflinger; we all know not to take English domestic form not too seriously don't we? Half your problem is that there are way, way too many teams, and a proportion of those teams are junk making easy pickings for alot of the players. The Pura Cup competition is way ahead of County Cricket in terms of standard of cricket. We have sixty six players to choose from, as opposed to 198.

Anyway, about your list: Newman from what I hear isn't anything too flash, but in my Aus side there is always a token Victorian; their is your token Surreyite. Rob Key, not for another four-five years anyway, has shown he is a cut below. Ali Cook; young lad and apparently shows a bit of promise. Owais Shah will have to wait for his opportunity as it seems a while off, Ed Joyce should be a monty by the time he is qualified. Anderson is a county dobbler nowadays, Wallace is still three keepers off, and the bowling doesn't look anything flash.

On to your other post...Yes, but what you have to realise is the Australia A team is no longer the second best team in Australia; they changed that two summers back. Before that, you'd always have Greg Blewett, Martin Love, Jimmy Maher, Matt Elliot, Darren Lehmann/Justin Langer. My 'A' Team at the moment, with a mix of second best and up and coming, it'd look like this: Jaques, M.Hussey, Hodge, Watson, Rogers, Bevan, Haddin (WK), Cameron White, Bracken, Tait, I.N Sertanother, possibly Noffke, Cleary, Williams, Lewis; none of them stand out but by means of having the Cricket Australia contract, it'd be Mick Lewis. That ain't such a bad side by my reckoning. That is a fair amount of talent. I'd say it'd be close to that of a few years back.

The side was:

Damien Martyn (c), Phil Emery (vc), Matthew Hayden,Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, MervHughes, Paul Reiffel, Gavin Robertson, Greg Rowell, Jo Angel, Tom Moody

Batting, I agree, it was very good. Five of those blokes have represented Australia recently; four in the XI as we speak. But the bowling?!? Gavin Robertson, barely making it to the NSW XI, drafted into our India tour where he was our leading wickettaker. Angel had played his last test by then and is nothing compared to Bracken. Merv "The Swerve" was finished, Reiffel was the only one who was a force, Moody was good in the 99 World Cup, and I've never heard of Greg Rowell. And Phil Emery made 1 first class century in his career, averaged 23. His century was an even ton not out, and there are many keepers better than he was in here at the moment. Emery played one test, deputising for the injured Ian Healy, in Pakistan.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

Ali Cook; young lad and apparently shows a bit of promise.

Originally Posted by Beny 67339

But ofcourse with Alistair Cook, what do the English have to worry about...

214Runs 238Balls 33fours 1six

Nuff said..

Oh and Bopara's not bad either....

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

On to your other post...Yes, but what you have to realise is the Australia A team is no longer the second best team in Australia;

Not too sure how old you are, so I don't know if you know much abot the 1994-95 series, in that series the A team was used in the World Series to develop a number of young players who could easily play for Oz, hence the average age of a lot of the players (not all Moody and Hughes) was early twenties. At the time they said they were so good (and they were right) that they deserved to compete at the heighest level.

You may still have a good A team - but it is nowhere neat as good as it was then, and the young batsmen of that team have become core to the success over the last five years..

[cantplaycantalk]

You 1st team minus Warne and McGrath just got pasted rond the park by two 20 year olds from Essex.


Ali Cook made a double century and Rav Bopara a century in a total of 502-4

On this evidence the gulf between Warne & McGrath and evrything else in the australian cupboard is enormous.

[Paoli]

Yes, I've read quite a bit about that series; but there wasn't alot else in Australia at the time. These guys were the second best team. Ponting made his debut the next year, Emery had just come off his debut, Martyn had to wait another four years before being given a "Re" debut. Lehmann made his debut in a couple of years and Langer failed to show anything until 1999, when in Australia's sixteen game winning streak, he was the leading scorer. The bowling certainly wasn't young talent. None of those guys are playing First Class Cricket any more.

Whilst the selectors may have got it right in he long run, in about 1998, I don't think they would've been too pleased. Only Ponting was a regular fixture. Post Ashes 2001 was when it came to fruition with the side consisting of Hayden, Langer, Martyn and Ponting all in form. 2002, enter Darren Lehmann and a fifth name to that list. Hayden was an international chump, Langer was an inconsistent blocker, Martyn was still emotionally shattered from the loss against South Africa in 93 and Ponting, like Clarke, was there on potential. The A Team is better than that of today, but these guys took ages to mature. If a bloke like M.Hussey, Rogers or Hodge were thrown on to the scene, I reckon they'd be able to cope in that arena.

For the record, it was a four team series between AUS, ENG, ZIM and AUSA. And, the two Aussie teams made the final. Further to that, games against Aus A didn't hold ODI status.

[acker]

Originally Posted by cantplaycantalk

On this evidence the gulf between Warne & McGrath and evrything else in the australian cupboard is enormous.

One self created problem Australian selectors caused the team is that in the early nineties McGrath and Warne were allowed to develop behind McDermott and Hughes in McGraths case and May in Warnes case they started in the team as developing project players. Of late the Australian selectors have opted to play the likes of Kasprowicz and Bichel as third pace options and McGill as a secondary spin option rather than younger development players. Now we have to pay for that selection decision.