B
Bentleigh
Guest
Radical 2009 Ashes XI – The evolution of test cricket
I relies there is a pre-existing thread on the 2009 side, which I quite enjoy reading and adding to but I want to make clear this is not solely about my proposed 11, but more importantly to question the potential direction of the games evolution over the next few years, specifically in reference to Australia’s cricket future.
I want to challenge the notions of picking your best 6 bats, 4 bowlers whilst squizzing in a gloveman whom can hold a willow somewhere in between.
As far as the bowling goes you have six genuine options:
* Hilfenhaus has impressed everyone it seems. Only 23 he has by far the most wickets in Australia FC cricket this summer with a impressive average, high strike rate and good economy rate. More importantly he gets genuine pace and bounce and bowls the most beautiful action which allow him near-prefect late outswingers, plus he seems to have the ability to move it both ways.
* Clark seems to be as close a McGrath clone as possibly to humanly get. I didn’t like the idea of him first being in the side but he has been simply amazing. 47 test wickets @ 17. Line and length bowling at its best.
* I have not seen nearly as much of Cullen Bailey as I would have liked but what I have seen has impressed, and I am more than happy to jump on the wagon. Looks a fine young prospect and if he turns out near anything as good as our South Australian comrades predict we have a fine spinner in our ranks.
The side only has three genuine bowlers, but it also has at least another three which are more than capable of turning the arm over:
* Shane Watson before braking down impressed me greatly with his bowling of the white ball of late; 2/11, 1/27, 1/48, 3/16, 1/34, 2/30, 1/42, 4/43 are solid bunch of more recent efforts from the all-rounder. He seemed to have got some great pace (145km+) and finding a way to get swing. He has good FC stats at an average of 30 - If he can continue to improve his bowling it’ll be a very good standard.
* Moises Henriques, so much hype, so much promise. By all accounts an outstanding bowling prospect, with many records to back it up; U19 WC (16 wickets @ 10 along with a solid outing with the bat, just shy of 40), youngest player to collect ten wickets in a Sydney first-grade match.
* Cameron White, already seen as a “good wicket taking option” by his mighty captain he will continue to improve his bowling. His ability to extract bounce and outstanding wrong’un will make him a very handy bowler long term, more so away from home.
The batting side of it, we look in reasonability solid shape too.
Rogers, Hussey, Ponting is as strong a top 3 as your going to find over any era. Rogers looks a gem to me, can’t wait to see what he can produce at test level. I’ve shifted Hussey which I don’t see as a problem, will finish his career with 60+ average, regardless. Punter is a bit special as we all know.
Now comes the interesting part.
I rate Watson highly as a batsman. For mine, he has ‘four’ written all over him. He reminds me a lot of Kallis. Technique is as very solid and tidy, not an easy man to get out. FC average of 50 is strong for someone who people seem to forget is only 25.
Clarke has Ponting MK2 about him. 9 digs in 2006 for an average of 72 (tests). Will end up a top draw batsman. X-Factor at that number 5 spot. Go the Pup!
Cameron White is the perfect #6. The Selectors can see the talent in the lad and rate him highly. Will evolve his game to test cricket, will combine explosiveness and his rare ability to blow any attack apart into the longer form of the game making more big scores and a regular rate and in intimidating fashion.
Henriques strikes me as a perfect test #7 – a position where Flintoff should be batting as the genuine all-rounder of his side.
Because of the sheer amount of batting ability and depth there isn’t a need for a specialist batsman-keeper. The team can afford to pick the best glovesman. I think Crossie is brilliant and has a lot of batting potential and will be well past Haddin come 2009. He has also read the Art of War which makes him cool, and if you heard him miked up during the 20/20 final is a humorous, well spoken feller.
In a swift counter attack about being accused of being pro-Victorian and bias I am more than happy to swap White with Symonds, North, even Voges and Crosthwaite with a Paine or Hartley, depending on how their keeping develops, not just batting.
I am more interesting in peoples reactions to the structure of the team, although I reckon I had a fairly good crack with the XI I choose above.
Have a look at the side;
- It authentically bats to 8; Rogers/Hussey/Ponting/Watson/Clarke/White/Henriques/ Crosthwaite
- It has 6 real decent bowling options; Clark/Hilfenhaus/Watson/Henriques as the four seamers, Bailey the specialist spinner and White the no.2
I think approaching cricket, more so the long form in the future will be about having abit (a lot even) more of an all-round game. You can criticise me of wanting a South African type side with too many all rounders and not enough specialists but with the like of Ponting, Hussey, Clarke I don’t see this as a problem if the young bowlers can come on a well.
McGrath and Warne is simply a huge loss. 100’s and 100’s of wickets and countless experience. We are going to have to find a way to combat their loss and move forward. Backing our young stars (Watson, Henriques, Johnson, Bailey etc.) is the best way to IMO.
I think England, 0-5 England are the best example of what I am trying to highlight. Flintoff who averages 30 in test cricket is clearly batting a spot too high. They are carrying an extra bowler almost for the hell of it, Giles is being picked batting alone because having a weak tail is a very real problem and a major one at that in the modern game. As England highlighted, it cost teams big. Then you have the keeper situation where the best gloveman gets overlooked, despite the other option not being able to bat much better whatsoever and couldn’t catch a ball if his life depended on it.
Australian need to be inventive and flexible in the future.
Cheers.
* Thanks to POBT for his ideas
I also scribbled a quick 2nd XI just for the hell of it.
That'd go alright vs the Poms as well me thinks.
I relies there is a pre-existing thread on the 2009 side, which I quite enjoy reading and adding to but I want to make clear this is not solely about my proposed 11, but more importantly to question the potential direction of the games evolution over the next few years, specifically in reference to Australia’s cricket future.
I want to challenge the notions of picking your best 6 bats, 4 bowlers whilst squizzing in a gloveman whom can hold a willow somewhere in between.
- Rogers
- Hussey
- Ponting
- Watson
- Clarke
- White
- Henriques
- Crosthwaite
- Hilfenhaus
- Clark
- Bailey
As far as the bowling goes you have six genuine options:
* Hilfenhaus has impressed everyone it seems. Only 23 he has by far the most wickets in Australia FC cricket this summer with a impressive average, high strike rate and good economy rate. More importantly he gets genuine pace and bounce and bowls the most beautiful action which allow him near-prefect late outswingers, plus he seems to have the ability to move it both ways.
* Clark seems to be as close a McGrath clone as possibly to humanly get. I didn’t like the idea of him first being in the side but he has been simply amazing. 47 test wickets @ 17. Line and length bowling at its best.
* I have not seen nearly as much of Cullen Bailey as I would have liked but what I have seen has impressed, and I am more than happy to jump on the wagon. Looks a fine young prospect and if he turns out near anything as good as our South Australian comrades predict we have a fine spinner in our ranks.
The side only has three genuine bowlers, but it also has at least another three which are more than capable of turning the arm over:
* Shane Watson before braking down impressed me greatly with his bowling of the white ball of late; 2/11, 1/27, 1/48, 3/16, 1/34, 2/30, 1/42, 4/43 are solid bunch of more recent efforts from the all-rounder. He seemed to have got some great pace (145km+) and finding a way to get swing. He has good FC stats at an average of 30 - If he can continue to improve his bowling it’ll be a very good standard.
* Moises Henriques, so much hype, so much promise. By all accounts an outstanding bowling prospect, with many records to back it up; U19 WC (16 wickets @ 10 along with a solid outing with the bat, just shy of 40), youngest player to collect ten wickets in a Sydney first-grade match.
* Cameron White, already seen as a “good wicket taking option” by his mighty captain he will continue to improve his bowling. His ability to extract bounce and outstanding wrong’un will make him a very handy bowler long term, more so away from home.
The batting side of it, we look in reasonability solid shape too.
Rogers, Hussey, Ponting is as strong a top 3 as your going to find over any era. Rogers looks a gem to me, can’t wait to see what he can produce at test level. I’ve shifted Hussey which I don’t see as a problem, will finish his career with 60+ average, regardless. Punter is a bit special as we all know.
Now comes the interesting part.
I rate Watson highly as a batsman. For mine, he has ‘four’ written all over him. He reminds me a lot of Kallis. Technique is as very solid and tidy, not an easy man to get out. FC average of 50 is strong for someone who people seem to forget is only 25.
Clarke has Ponting MK2 about him. 9 digs in 2006 for an average of 72 (tests). Will end up a top draw batsman. X-Factor at that number 5 spot. Go the Pup!
Cameron White is the perfect #6. The Selectors can see the talent in the lad and rate him highly. Will evolve his game to test cricket, will combine explosiveness and his rare ability to blow any attack apart into the longer form of the game making more big scores and a regular rate and in intimidating fashion.
Henriques strikes me as a perfect test #7 – a position where Flintoff should be batting as the genuine all-rounder of his side.
Because of the sheer amount of batting ability and depth there isn’t a need for a specialist batsman-keeper. The team can afford to pick the best glovesman. I think Crossie is brilliant and has a lot of batting potential and will be well past Haddin come 2009. He has also read the Art of War which makes him cool, and if you heard him miked up during the 20/20 final is a humorous, well spoken feller.
In a swift counter attack about being accused of being pro-Victorian and bias I am more than happy to swap White with Symonds, North, even Voges and Crosthwaite with a Paine or Hartley, depending on how their keeping develops, not just batting.
I am more interesting in peoples reactions to the structure of the team, although I reckon I had a fairly good crack with the XI I choose above.
Have a look at the side;
- It authentically bats to 8; Rogers/Hussey/Ponting/Watson/Clarke/White/Henriques/ Crosthwaite
- It has 6 real decent bowling options; Clark/Hilfenhaus/Watson/Henriques as the four seamers, Bailey the specialist spinner and White the no.2
I think approaching cricket, more so the long form in the future will be about having abit (a lot even) more of an all-round game. You can criticise me of wanting a South African type side with too many all rounders and not enough specialists but with the like of Ponting, Hussey, Clarke I don’t see this as a problem if the young bowlers can come on a well.
McGrath and Warne is simply a huge loss. 100’s and 100’s of wickets and countless experience. We are going to have to find a way to combat their loss and move forward. Backing our young stars (Watson, Henriques, Johnson, Bailey etc.) is the best way to IMO.
I think England, 0-5 England are the best example of what I am trying to highlight. Flintoff who averages 30 in test cricket is clearly batting a spot too high. They are carrying an extra bowler almost for the hell of it, Giles is being picked batting alone because having a weak tail is a very real problem and a major one at that in the modern game. As England highlighted, it cost teams big. Then you have the keeper situation where the best gloveman gets overlooked, despite the other option not being able to bat much better whatsoever and couldn’t catch a ball if his life depended on it.
Australian need to be inventive and flexible in the future.
Cheers.
* Thanks to POBT for his ideas
I also scribbled a quick 2nd XI just for the hell of it.
- Jaques
- Paine
- Hodge
- North
- Cosgrove
- Voges
- Symonds
- Lee
- Johnson
- Cullen
- Tait
That'd go alright vs the Poms as well me thinks.