5th Test - England v Australia

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

And that's the same sort of attitude displayed by the selectors. No, he is no champion but neither is Swan who took 8 wickets. In fact I would have Hauritz over Swan everyday of the week as a bowler.

Yes, the batting was the problem but so was the bowling by leaking runs when no pressure was applied with the turning ball.

You can sit there and slam Hauritz all day long, the fact remains he still got 10 wickets at 32 including Cardiff where plenty of runs were scored.

With the exception of Clark's mum, you must be the only person in existence who still agrees that Hauritz ought not have played

Even the slectors finally acknowledge they got it wrong

I have more right than the current selectors.

Anyway what Lantern said. Even if Warne was selected, I still don't see how a spinner would have improved the first innings batting which is the only reason why they lost this match. Making 160 in reply to 340 won't give any bowlers help.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

BTW had North not been sick in morning in the last test in South Africa, Hauritz would never have gone to the Ashes.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

We had a successful formula in SA: Hughes opening, McDonald all roundering and the only obvious weakness was Hussey. Then the selectors decide to out-think themselves as a proven winning team menas nothing, so they drop McDonald and Hughes and persist with Hussey.

It is really painfully stupid. And for there to be no consequences for the inability to professionally select a national side is astounding poor from CA. Everyone has a role to play in wins and losses, and the painfully obvious standout is the non-selection of certain players in the side and touring party, no doctors and other rpofessionals on tour and no selectors on fulltime duties over there. This is exactly what i predicted and why i wasn't getting excited about the tour. I'm certainly happy now i didn't waste my nights and sleep time on a cause that was doomed form the beginning.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

BTW had North not been sick in morning in the last test in South Africa, Hauritz would never have gone to the Ashes.

Yes, and if Bradman had not aged and fallen off the perch he would have made two or three hundred and we would have won.

So its his fault.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Yes, and if Bradman had not aged and fallen off the perch he would have made two or three hundred and we would have won.

So its his fault.

I never said it was Hauritz's fault, I just believe he isn't a good spinner.
My point was he was lucky to be in the squad in the first place.

[mighty_west]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

I never said it was Hauritz's fault, I just believe he isn't a good spinner.
My point was he was lucky to be in the squad in the first place.

Agree, but when we lose, there always has to be some scapegoat, and every other senario "would have been better than what we went with".

Whilst their spiiner took 8 wickets for the game, it was actually Stuart Broad that destroyed us in the all important first innings taking 5 of our best batsmen in a devistating spell, he won them the game.

Hauritz did ok in the first few tests, but he still couldn't bowl out their tale in the 4th innings in that first test, he is nowhere near damaging enough to play in a good test side.

[Remi Moses]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Must get the off field stuff right. Please can we have FULL TIME selectors,not friggin tour guides. Should be a selector at every SHIELD MATCH!!Can we have a DOCTOR on tour.
Can the selectors please pick a spinner an persist for a few tests,although Swann is noj star but credit to the English for persisting with him. Awful selections reeking of complete panic at times,Hughes should have been persisted with!!! Aseries that should never have been lost END OF RANT

[AndrewP6]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

As you might know, I'm not a big fan of cricket... but listening to Fox Sports News tonight, host Melanie McLaughlin said even though we lost the Ashes, she feels we're still the best team! If we are, wouldn't we have won the series?

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

As you might know, I'm not a big fan of cricket... but listening to Fox Sports News tonight, host Melanie McLaughlin said even though we lost the Ashes, she feels we're still the best team! If we are, wouldn't we have won the series?

Yes, we would have, so we can't be. In fact, being the first team in quite a while (and Ricky being the first captain in more than a hundred years) to have lost two consecutive Ashes tours an argument can be made that this may be close to the worst team we've had in a while. And the 'best team' in the world wouldn't have lost 3 of its past 5 test series, including one at home.

We can certainly still be the best team, but in the state we are at the moment, we're not. In fact, we're ranked no.4 in the world at the moment (although these rankings are not by any means a perfect system).

The overall stats, inflated by one or two good innings, have blinded the team and selectors into believing that we performed better than we did in England, where for the most part we were haphazard, confused, inconsistent, and on occasion, abysmal.

[mighty_west]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Yes, we would have, so we can't be. In fact, being the first team in quite a while (and Ricky being the first captain in more than a hundred years) to have lost two consecutive Ashes tours an argument can be made that this may be close to the worst team we've had in a while. And the 'best team' in the world wouldn't have lost 3 of its past 5 test series, including one at home.

We can certainly still be the best team, but in the state we are at the moment, we're not. In fact, we're ranked no.4 in the world at the moment (although these rankings are not by any means a perfect system).

The overall stats, inflated by one or two good innings, have blinded the team and selectors into believing that we performed better than we did in England, where for the most part we were haphazard, confused, inconsistent, and on occasion, abysmal.

I actually think that you can throw a blanket over the top 4 or 5 teams, and any of those sides can beat each other on any given day or Test, which is healthy for the comp, not so much for Australian Cricket.

[The Coon Dog]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Australia selector Jamie Cox admits to error in omitting Nathan Hauritz

Partly as a joke and partly as a subtle dig at the controversy, Australia selector Jamie Cox refers to the furore created by the omission of Nathan Hauritz at The Oval as "spin-gate".

While Australia's woeful first innings batting was mostly to blame for its Ashes-deciding fifth Test loss, Cox has had to bear the Hauritz cross as the recriminations are played out across a heartbroken cricketing nation.

Australia's duty selector at the decisive fifth Test has revealed he realised "half an hour" into day one that he had misread the pitch.

Rather than a flat and hard batting deck, it was quickly unmasked as a dry turner.

Article in full...

[LostDoggy]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Australia selector Jamie Cox admits to error in omitting Nathan Hauritz

Of all the mistakes the selectors made, that one had the least effect on the Ashes result.

Are they going to admit a mistake in bringing no spare bats, why they insisted on Hussey, bringing 2 injured older players and not bringing an attacking spinner thats capable of bowling a side out on the 5th day?

[ledge]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Obviously the selectors believe the players they took were the best players they had, thus England beat the best Australia has, to mention other names who didnt go are irrelevant to the selectors because they took the best players in their opinion.

When do they actually say we were beaten by a better side, werent good enough would be a better answer than blaming whoever they can.

It amazes me that they have to find a scapegoat , just keep working on the plan they have because its what they have been telling us is all good or admit its all wrong and resign for another bunch of selectors and cricket managers to fix.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

Obviously the selectors believe the players they took were the best players they had, thus England beat the best Australia has, to mention other names who didnt go are irrelevant to the selectors because they took the best players in their opinion.

When do they actually say we were beaten by a better side, werent good enough would be a better answer than blaming whoever they can.

It amazes me that they have to find a scapegoat , just keep working on the plan they have because its what they have been telling us is all good or admit its all wrong and resign for another bunch of selectors and cricket managers to fix.

I don't think they were beaten by a better side, I think they cocked it up.

[Twodogs]

Re: 5th Test - England v Australia

The overall stats, inflated by one or two good innings, have blinded the team and selectors into believing that we performed better than we did in England, where for the most part we were haphazard, confused, inconsistent, and on occasion, abysmal.

This is what really scares me. At the moment we are being completely delusional about what the problem is-a complete and utter lack of professionalism. It's not the fact that we cocked up it up by only having one selector, no doctor available, a badly selected touring party, mates playing instead of form players, no criticism of the captain's tactics or the coach's stratergies brooked, a continued prickly relationship with the media, no real review of the tour, unneccessary tickering with the team for no good reason, fleding standards dropping away, bowling form dropping, no real direction etc, etc, etc.

For some reason we are smug and complacent and we have no right to be.