Shaun Tait unlucky to miss out in this series .

[DarkKnight]

With hogg likely to a great job on sydney wicket , which is tradionally known to support spin , Selectors are very unlikely to drop hogg for the perth test . I guess it will end up closing the doors to tait for the Perth wicket . Though i would seriously like to see ourselves paly with 4 pacemen backed up by some spin from symonds and clarke. Tait is thus lucky and so is macgill who is injured .

[darksideofthemoon]

Is Perth likely to be quick? When England were there it wasn't. Tait will have to wait for until the ODIs.

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by DarkKnight

With hogg likely to a great job on sydney wicket , which is tradionally known to support spin , Selectors are very unlikely to drop hogg for the perth test . I guess it will end up closing the doors to tait for the Perth wicket . Though i would seriously like to see ourselves paly with 4 pacemen backed up by some spin from symonds and clarke. Tait is thus lucky and so is macgill who is injured .

After Muralitheran, I rate Hogg the next best attacking spinner in the world right now. And I strongly believe as solidifies his position in the Aussie team, he will not only get better, but will on many occasions be a match winner in test matches for us.

The toppie, flipper, wrong-un mixed in with his standard leg break - totally unpickable. Watch Gilchrist and you will notice that he has to read Hogg off the pitch most of the time. What other spinner in world cricket can make that claim right now?

And what about courage? As far as i am concerned, he epitomizes what an Aussie cricketer should be. The guy never drops his head, loves a good scrap, and is totally reliable under pressure. Not only with the ball too. He will take the crucial catches and is just the guy you need in the event of a top order collapse.

There are two teams in the world right now that can present Hogg with a stiff challenge - India and Sri Lanka. I reckon he will tear apart all of the others at some stage over the next few years. And i reckon he will hold his own against S.L and Ind too.

Notice how the Indians said they were going to target him last test? And apart from Tendulkar, how they failed and looked vulnerable against him? And now, after failing the first time, they are going to target him in Sydney? Seems to me that he worries them, has got into their heads, and rightfully so. Look how he went against them a couple of months ago.
Cricinfo - Records - Australia in India ODI Series, 2007/08 - Most wickets

Against the much vaunted Indian batsman in their own backyard. Seems to me the Indians have tried to target him recently already without too much success. The fact they want to publicaly target him again this series clearly shows the respect they hold for this guy deep down.




Tait? Yeah he is unlucky - unlucky that Lee is ahead of him. But he is only 25 and will prove the perfect replacement for Lee in a few years time. But to think that you can play test after test with only back up spinners and a four pronged pace attack, and for that to work out all the time is wishful thinking.

Sometimes it will work. But other times, they will get put to the sword too. The new ball only lasts so long. The old ball only reverses for so long. You can not split that time up between four guys. And you need a wicket taking option in that 40 over interim - thats why Warne was so crucial, and is why Hogg is now just as crucial.

The other beauty about Hogg is that he buys Australia 4-5 years to find a new spin option. Our batsman are covered, our pace stocks are covered. With Hogg, our spin option is covered as well. We are set for years basically as long as he stays fit.

Back and support Hoggy is what i say. Just as you did in the last two World Cups that he proved such a pivotal player. If not, them you may as well get used to him. The guy can play, he will prove the doubters wrong, and he will take 150+ test wickets before he is through.

[Warne]

Hogg has been absolutely brilliant in the last 2 world cups & one has to give him credit for having performed under pressure. In Melbourne too, he came back strongly after having got some stick in the 1st innings. But I just want to see both Lee & Tait being unleashed on the Indians. That'll be a wonderful sight for all except the Indian batters probably.

[DarkKnight]

Well , its a dream come true to finally see a four pronged pace attack.Tait and Lee should bowl together and unsettle the indian batsmen .
The great west indian side of the 1980s had a four pronged pace attack too with Malcom Marshall , Michael Holding , Colin croft and Andy Roberts and yet they achieved a winning streak of 11 wins . It is quite possible to win matches with 4 pronged pace attacks ,Another good reason is that it doesnt allow batsmen to rest after the quickies spells are over . Its just 4 fast bowlers all the time and they are gonna make you shiver and sweat on the crease with nasty pace . Some of our specialist batsmen can do the spin job and maybe they can be developed into decent spinners . Mark waugh did a great job , and symond can also do the same having experience. Clark has showed us what he can do.

And there is competition for Hogg ,if the selectors give DJ cullen , nathan hauritz and cameron white more chances .

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by DarkKnight

Some of our specialist batsmen can do the spin job and maybe they can be developed into decent spinners . Mark waugh did a great job , and symond can also do the same having experience. Clark has showed us what he can do.

If Australia had great spinners available would you be arguing that Hayden, Hussey, Ponting and Jaques could play ahead of such specialists as Lee, Clark and co as they could do a great job?

[acker]

Originally Posted by DarkKnight

Some of our specialist batsmen can do the spin job and maybe they can be developed into decent spinners . Mark waugh did a great job , and symond can also do the same having experience. Clark has showed us what he can do.
And there is competition for Hogg ,if the selectors give DJ cullen , nathan hauritz and cameron white more chances .

Considering Cameron White has the best bowling average of all that bunch including Hogg. I think we can conclude our spinning stocks are currently weak. And Cameron probably due to his allrounder talents will be the only one likely to be challenging for an Australian spot.
I think time has just about ran past Cullen, Hauritz and just about Hogg.

Originally Posted by Rachael

If Australia had great spinners available would you be arguing that Hayden, Hussey, Ponting and Jaques could play ahead of such specialists as Lee, Clark and co as they could do a great job?

Most likely not, but with the spin talent currently available that is irrelevant.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by DarkKnight

Well , its a dream come true to finally see a four pronged pace attack.Tait and Lee should bowl together and unsettle the indian batsmen .

Well.... Ponting couldn't really have done worse if he'd bowled himself: rarely in the history of Australian Test cricket can one Aussie bowler have done so much to harm his own side's progress in quite so few balls....

Bowling O M R W Econ  
  B Lee 16 3 52 2 3.25 (5nb, 1w) 
  MG Johnson 17 5 48 2 2.82  
  SR Clark 15 3 44 0 2.93 (1nb) 
  SW Tait 11.2 1 53 0 4.67 (2nb, 1w) 
  A Symonds 5 0 25 0 5.00  
  MJ Clarke 1 0 4 0 4.00

[Milo]

You are dead right Rachael in your previous post. Much has been made about Australia playing four pacemen for the first time in 15 years. There has been comparison with the WIndies. Fact remains, if Australia had a spinner worth talking about then they would not have picked this quartet. The WIndies had four quality test new ball bowlers, Australia have merely lined up four seamers for this wicket to compensate for Hogg being outbowled by Syomnds in Sydney and Warne retiring.

In the other thread on the test, Tait's name dominated the pre match posts, but hasn't been mentioned once since the game started.

[greg]

The fact is that Tait is one of the most overhyped bowlers in cricketing history.He is hardly fit enough to play games back to back yet the Aussies think he is some destroyer,well on a fast bouncy track he has been shown up for what he is,a bloke with raw pace but little clue about what he is trying to do.