The Ashes 2017/18

[comrade]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Mitch Marsh is kinda like Beetle Juice. Just score over 50 and he immediately appears in the test team.

Speaking of beetles, the Marsh brothers are cricketing cockroaches. Not even nuclear holocaust is sufficient to truly end their careers.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

For mine this is the side I would take to Brisbane:

1. Warner
2. Bancroft
3. Khawaja
4. Smith
5. S Marsh
6. G Maxwell
7. Toss a coin and have a playoff - no one has demanded a spot
8.Starc
9. Cummins
10. Hazelworth
11. Lyon

[lemmon]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Rumours swirling that Paine will be taking the gloves...wow

[Bornadog]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Rumours swirling that Paine will be taking the gloves...wow

from The Age:


Australia (likely squad): David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.

[SlimPickens]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Tim Paine a head scratcher, don’t mind the rest. Quite comfortable going in with 4 bowlers. Bancroft smashes down the door and has been rewarded, like that.

[LostDoggy]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

I like Paine and Bancroft, but Shaun Marsh has surely had enough chances and Renshaw should be there. I would have liked Warner/Renshaw/Bancroft/Smith/Khawaja/Handscomb

[Axe Man]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

from The Age:


Australia (likely squad): David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.

Chadd Sayers is also in the squad.

Renshaw a bit stiff but he will be back. Marsh, what can you say? Paine not even keeping for his state, may as well have had Bancroft keep and kept Renshaw in. Why didn't Paine cross to Victoria when Wade went back to Tassie to maintain his number 1 keeper position?

[Greystache]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Tim Paine is very difficult to understand. About to turn 33, his first class batting average is 29, and has 1 first class century in his career. He's at best a battler.

To put it into context he has one more first class century in his life than Tyronne Vickery!

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

While Paine is a surprise selection, it is also indicative of the wicketkeeping position in Australia.

We have never really got over the loss of Gilchrist and the selectors keep looking for someone to be Gilchrist.

Paine would have played a lot of tests but for injury.

On the other hand, Shaun Marsh is clearly cricket's greatest current eker.

[Axe Man]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

The Paine selection really is puzzling:

Paine scored his lone first class hundred in 2006 (Aussie coach Darren Lehmann scored a more recent one in 2007) and wasn’t even in Tasmania’s best XI to start the Sheffield Shield season.
The 32-year-old has averaged less than 17 in his past three Shield seasons combined and has only stood behind the stumps three times in the past two seasons, often overlooked in favour of Ben Dunk and teenager Jake Doran.

Why didn't they just pick Neville if they wanted the best keeper? At least he has a good first class batting record, even if he struggled in tests last time.

[lemmon]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Really don't get the Paine selection. They obviously think he's the best pure gloveman in the country...but really? He's never kept as well after the finger break.

He was exceptional with the gloves before the break, he's been middle of the road after. Now I really don't see him as better than Nevill (who averaged 68 in the Shield last year).

I don't buy that S Marsh has banged down the door either. Yeah he had a great One Day tournament, but he's also averaging 38 in the Shield.

I would've gone Renshaw opening with Bancroft at 6 and Nevill at 7.

[GVGjr]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Tim Paine a head scratcher, don’t mind the rest. Quite comfortable going in with 4 bowlers. Bancroft smashes down the door and has been rewarded, like that.

I want to look at this a bit closer.
Tim Paine hasn't made a Shield century in 10 years and has only ever made one century in 91 first class games. As a wicket keeper he has only been behind the stumps 3 times for Tas in the last 2 years. He averages under 30 with the bat across his first class career..
He has batted 5 times for Tas this season scoring 12, 52, 5, 0 and 71 not out. A large portion of those 71 runs in his last innings were against 3 part bowlers from Vic when his captain wanted to declare the innings and the coach said no. He is also soon to be 33.

I like Tim Paine and believe he could have been a good test cricketer but on form I don't know how they have selected him. I'd be interested to hear from others.

The Shaun Marsh selection marks the 8th time he has been called into the Test side after a break either through injury or form. Perhaps when Greg Chappell would not tour sub continent countries might be the only time a batsman has come close to that mark of returning to the side that frequently. Marsh is 34yo and for him to be given another chance when he averages just 41 in first class cricket and 36 in Test cricket is a sign that form plays a very small part in any return to the Test side for Marsh.

I know the wicket keepers failed to grab their chances but the Paine selections appears to be that he did less wrong than the other options. Shaun Marsh is a very lucky man to have so much faith by the selectors.

Lets hope both players perform well

[GVGjr]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Really don't get the Paine selection. They obviously think he's the best pure gloveman in the country...but really? He's never kept as well after the finger break.

He was exceptional with the gloves before the break, he's been middle of the road after. Now I really don't see him as better than Nevill (who averaged 68 in the Shield last year).

I don't buy that S Marsh has banged down the door either. Yeah he had a great One Day tournament, but he's also averaging 38 in the Shield.

I would've gone Renshaw opening with Bancroft at 6 and Nevill at 7.

That seems to be the most logical options to me.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

I think we missed a chance to see if Lynn could keep or if Maddinson could be our number one spinner.

Renshaw had an excellent summer last year, broke some records and I think deserves a crack. Shaun Marsh for anyone isn't allowing youth the opportunity to come in. We are just pissing on 6th spot. If Wade & Nevill aren't medium term solutions, then get in a younger cricketer who may be. I think the team are all 11 all rounders now, maybe we are trying to bump up the average age to 32 and claim 'experience'. Maybe rebuild every now and then??

I hear the selectors sook about all the decisions they don't make. So to be fair, thanks for not shoving undeserving players like Maddinson & Mitch Marsh down our throats first up. Let's see if this holds...

[lemmon]

Re: The Ashes 2017/18

Compare S Marsh with someone like Ferguson.

Callum is a couple of years younger and had one test before being cast into the wilderness.

This year Callum has 343 runs, averages 69 in the Shield with 1 x 100 and 1 x 50.

S Marsh has 236 runs in the Shield is averaging 39 and has 3 x 50s.

Ferguson has actually been batting in the middle order, S Marsh has been opening.

The argument that Marsh is 'in the form of his life' is an absolute myth.