1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

[lemmon]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Is that the best comeback story since Damien Martyn? Debuted as the great white hope at 23, he's finally made it at 28

[bulldogtragic]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Is that the best comeback story since Damien Martyn? Debuted as the great white hope at 23, he's finally made it at 28

Not a bad innings, but Marto did a fair bit after the comeback. I hope he does the same.

[1eyedog]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Ah New Zealand, the Bangladesh of Australasia.

[1eyedog]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Is that the best comeback story since Damien Martyn? Debuted as the great white hope at 23, he's finally made it at 28

The great Asiatic hope you mean.

[Remi Moses]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Sounds like what some people were saying when Cowan, North, and Quiney finally got a few back to back scores. They were found wanting badly at Test level.

How it reeks of boys club mentality you've got me stumped

Well how do you explain Dean Jones and his demise? Brad Hodge ? Elliott ?
Quiney played one test? Kahwaga has had three chances, and looks the goods.

[Greystache]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Well how do you explain Dean Jones and his demise? Brad Hodge ? Elliott ?
Quiney played one test? Kahwaga has had three chances, and looks the goods.

Not sure if this is a wind up or not.

Dean Jones is the most dislikeable person on the planet. The fact that 10 other blokes managed to share a change room with him for 52 Tests is a testament to their commitment to the team. He wouldn't have a friend in cricket.

Elliott got 21 Tests despite averaging a paltry 33. He was given a lot more opportunity than he deserved.

Hodge should've played more cricket but timed his runs of poor form poorly and was shafted by Martyn being Ponting's best mate.

Or is this the tired old Victorians get persecuted cliché?

[LostDoggy]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

That is hugely harsh. I was expecting about 50 runs combined from our batsmen outside Smith & Warner but have been very pleasantly surprised so far

Maybe harsh, but he'll be spewing. When you get dropped from the team after 2 50s, get another chance, play beautifully, get to 71 risk free then nurdle a little edge to a nothing ball, it's a real wasted opportunity.

I like Burns, but he'll know he needs to convert these opportunities (if Watson could his legacy would be massively different).

[GVGjr]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Maybe harsh, but he'll be spewing. When you get dropped from the team after 2 50s, get another chance, play beautifully, get to 71 risk free then nurdle a little edge to a nothing ball, it's a real wasted opportunity.

I like Burns, but he'll know he needs to convert these opportunities (if Watson could his legacy would be massively different).

Fully agree, batsmen need to make of their chances because when the eventually hit harder times it's always better to have a few centuries behind them. The hard work was done and NZ were clueless in what they should do.

Burns had a good innings but missed out on having a great one.

[Twodogs]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Warner played like he was Gordon Greenidge today

[jeemak]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Not sure if this is a wind up or not.

Dean Jones is the most dislikeable person on the planet. The fact that 10 other blokes managed to share a change room with him for 52 Tests is a testament to their commitment to the team. He wouldn't have a friend in cricket.

Elliott got 21 Tests despite averaging a paltry 33. He was given a lot more opportunity than he deserved.

Hodge should've played more cricket but timed his runs of poor form poorly and was shafted by Martyn being Ponting's best mate.

Or is this the tired old Victorians get persecuted cliché?

Pretty much agree with everything, though it should be noted Hodge was also the most talented number three in the country - aside from Ponting.

Australian captains all have their idiosyncrasies. Ponting was all for mates that fell around him and for him, but none that might have gone against the way he thought things should be. He was extremely bloody minded in everything he did.

[lemmon]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Pretty much agree with everything, though it should be noted Hodge was also the most talented number three in the country - aside from Ponting.

Australian captains all have their idiosyncrasies. Ponting was all for mates that fell around him and for him, but none that might have gone against the way he thought things should be. He was extremely bloody minded in everything he did.

Can you argue with his results though?

[Twodogs]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Hodge's footwork wasn't up to international standard. That's why he didn't have a long international career. It was nothing to do with where he was born or what his postcode was when he was playing.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Hodge's footwork wasn't up to international standard. That's why he didn't have a long international career. It was nothing to do with where he was born or what his postcode was when he was playing.

In fairness to Hodge he did average 56 in Tests, mostly against South Africa, so his footwork can't have been too bad. If selectors give you a shot, you perform to a very high level, then they drop you (even from squads) it's an issue other than technique. To my eye, Hodge had a better technique than most international players.

[Greystache]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Pretty much agree with everything, though it should be noted Hodge was also the most talented number three in the country - aside from Ponting.

Australian captains all have their idiosyncrasies. Ponting was all for mates that fell around him and for him, but none that might have gone against the way he thought things should be. He was extremely bloody minded in everything he did.

He was certainly talented, and should've played more Test cricket, but he did have some limitations that didn't mean he was a lock to be a good number 3 at the higher level. Not many players got an opportunity because Ponting was a lock in that position for a decade, but I think Langer, Hussey, and a couple of others could have been just as good at 3 as Hodge.

His biggest problem was just as he was ready to be penciled into the Test team he hit runs of bad form. He burst onto the scene as a kid and was the anointed next young player on the rise, then went 2 years hardly making a run at Shield level and was pushed back down the pecking order. After he made that 200 all be needed was one more decent score or at least a stylish innings and he'd have been safe, unfortunately he scratched around looking really shaky and that was enough for Ponting to get his mate back in.

Similarly after the 2007 world cup when he was flying and unlucky to be dropped when Gilchrist came back, he was an automatic selection for the India series and couldn't score a run in the 7 ODI's and was left out for the following summer. All he needed was one big score.

Hodge's footwork wasn't up to international standard. That's why he didn't have a long international career. It was nothing to do with where he was born or what his postcode was when he was playing.

His footwork was pretty scratchy, and he was more susceptible than many players of his class early in an innings, but once he got set he was as good at destroying an attack as anyone in the world, including Gilchrist, Ponting, and Hayden. He was that good.

[Bornadog]

Re: 1st Test Match, Vs New Zealand - 5 Nov 2015

Do we just keep batting or declare at some stage?