Australia A tour of India,

[Bornadog]

1st unofficial Test: India A v Australia A at Chennai, Jul 22-25, 2015

India out for 301.

Stephen O'Keefe finishing with 6-82 from 31.3 overs.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Handscomb missed a century and Stoinis batted well

[Axe Man]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Sandhu took 2 wickets bowling offspin in the second innings after being unable to bowl pace due to bad light. Maybe we have found the next Funky Miller?

[SlimPickens]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Sandhu took 2 wickets bowling offspin in the second innings after being unable to bowl pace due to bad light. Maybe we have found the next Funky Miller?

Tall spinners who can flight the ball are shocking to face. Or at least I was shocking at facing them.

[lemmon]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Tall spinners who can flight the ball are shocking to face. Or at least I was shocking at facing them.

That's the theory that got Phil Tuffnel 40 odd test matches

[Greystache]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Tall spinners who can flight the ball are shocking to face. Or at least I was shocking at facing them.

True, you were

There's upside and downside to being a tall spinner. It's not necessarily a good thing. Being able to actually spin the ball is 90% of the battle IMO.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Australia A rolled India A quickly today for 135 with the wickets being shared. Agar got a couple and and Sandhu 3 for 25.

We are currently no wicket for 43. Very interested to see how Handscomb and Stoinis go with the bat.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Some real positives on the Australia A tour. Who's likely to press for a promotion to the test team?

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Some real positives on the Australia A tour. Who's likely to press for a promotion to the test team?

I love Pattinson. But Starc and Hazlewood are a good match IMO. Johnson not going anywhere and we need a spinner. So I'm not sure how he gets back in and if the Australian (NSW cheer leaders) have him ahead of Cummins.

Batting wise, anyone is an improvement right now. Ed Cowan could walk back into the side and be an improvement instantly for example. I like some aspects of Maddinson, but he's got that stupid attitude of attacking excellent bowling and getting out poorly. Khawaja maybe?

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Bancroft is a name I'd have him right in the mix. His one 150 the other day will no doubt put his name forward. I think Lem mentioned that he hasn't made many first class centuries but his quality does stand out.
I think Sandhu is a very good bowling option and is now experimenting with some off spin. If he colours his hair perhaps we have the makings of another Colin Funky Miller

Cowan is an interesting one and while he would provide some stability it's probably not the ideal promotion.

Khawaja and Burns might be worth a look at. From memory their fielding is somewhat average.

[lemmon]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

For that openers spot I like Bancroft's mindset, he's like a Jordan Silk with more strings to his bow but he's still very raw. Cowan is the wrong option at the moment for me, we've topped up with maturity for the Ashes but now we go to Bangladesh and then the West Indies at home, no doubt he'd get runs but why not have a look at someone who is a potential long term player? Khawaja is a definite option, he's a far improved player on the last time he played test cricket, has expanded his shot range (is a wonderful one day player now) and has matured (they just gave him the Bulls captaincy) and Burns deserves to be right in the discussion.

The middle order is pretty threadbare if Voges has his name stamped, Clarke is going and S.Marsh is on the precipice (I think he gets The Oval test to prove himself). Burns and Khawaja come into the frame here definitely if neither gets the openers position but to be honest both would probably prefer 3. You can throw up Ferguson as a mature option with runs on the board but if we're going young I imagine it'll be Lynn, Handscomb (looks ready) or Maddinson (doesn't look ready). Maddinson can bat anywhere and does open but you can't partner him with Warner.

I have Sandhu some way down the list and don't really get why he's jumped ahead of Bird and Chad Sayers. Yes he's tall and gets some nice bounce but he's more of a 130kph tricky swing bowler. I like him more for the short forms of the game but I'd like to see more sustained shield form before he goes ahead of guys who have put up good numbers consistently.

We very well may be looking at something like:
Warner
Burns
Khawaja
Smith
Lynn? S.Marsh? Handscomb?
M.Marsh? Henriques? Faulkner? or a batsman?
Nevill

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

Thanks Lemmon, informative posts as always.

I'd have Bancroft as one of the batsman and I'd be prepared to give him an extended run at is as well.

With that in mind

Warner
Burns
Khawaja
Smith
Bancroft
Henriques

Khawaja is the player I struggle to accept mainly based on his casual approach to the game and that I think he is regarded as a liability on the field. The fact that we don't have a lot of options gives him the nod though but he certainly isn't my preference.
The team will need stability and leadership and that is why I think Henriques would be a good addition at 6.
It should be Mitch Marsh or even Glenn Maxwell given the way they have been groomed for it but I still haven't been impressed by them. If we are to keep trying all-rounders does someone like Marcus Stoinis come into the mix even though he has made only one first class century?

It's going to be fascinating to see which way the selectors go in the next few months.

[lemmon]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

How much do we take into account Khawaja being given the Aus A and Queensland Bulls captaincy as evidence of his maturity? I've had the same concerns and it's hard to assess with him missing all of last season but he must be impressing someone.

I'd say Stoinis is considered an all-rounder in the same way that Jesse Ryder was an all-rounder for New Zealand. I like him as a batsman, has good gears to his play, shots around the wicket and seems to have finally developed some patience but his bowling is very much the type of vanilla, medium pace that comes on when your attack has been worked to the bone or you're killing time to the new ball. He has 14 first class wickets at 50+ and it's not a record I see improving at the top level.

[GVGjr]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

How much do we take into account Khawaja being given the Aus A and Queensland Bulls captaincy as evidence of his maturity? I've had the same concerns and it's hard to assess with him missing all of last season but he must be impressing someone.

He just needs to display some intensity but I think the QLD captaincy is somewhat because he was really the last man standing.
I know he has the range of shots but having potentially cycled through some players that didn't put enough value on their wicket Khawaja needs show that he has learned the lesson. He also needs to make sure he improves his fielding.

I'd say Stoinis is considered an all-rounder in the same way that Jesse Ryder was an all-rounder for New Zealand. I like him as a batsman, has good gears to his play, shots around the wicket and seems to have finally developed some patience but his bowling is very much the type of vanilla, medium pace that comes on when your attack has been worked to the bone or you're killing time to the new ball. He has 14 first class wickets at 50+ and it's not a record I see improving at the top level.

To be honest that is the type of all-rounder I think we need to look at. Stoinis has also batted in a variety of positions so if he was to be eased in at number 6 it's not like he would be out of his depth with the next new ball. He would hopefully be a batsman who can also do some bowling more than us throwing the ball to Warner.
All we need is for him or any other all-round type is to come in and bowl tight for 5 overs in partnership with Lyon and if they snare a wicket then great.

It's all very well to have a Mitch Marsh or Shane Watson but a lot of bowling has typically played a part in their ongoing injury concerns. Stoinis is strong and his bowling might improve if he spent time with McDermott.

By the way, where does Faulkner sit in the all-rounder stakes? Is he a victim of being another left handed bowler or is it because he is out of favour with the coach? Perhaps he just off the mark in both options.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Australia A tour of India,

I don't see why Faulkner isn't higher in considerations as the all-rounder. His bowling is better than most of the other contenders, including Marsh and Watson, and he did take 6 cheap wickets in his only Test.

We have never seen the best of is batting. He has shown his shot making capabilities in limited overs internationals, but he can compile innings when required as well. In the shield final a couple of years ago when Tassie needed to bat time, he played 2 innings of real substance, batting for over 300 balls.

He is also a very good fieldsman and is a fiesty competitor who shows the kind of leadership the team needs right now.

My top 6 for the summer at this stage would be:
Warner
Bancroft
Burns
Smith
Khawaja
Faulkner