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The Official BL Cricket Thread

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I think some of Merves points are fair. Hussey is an opening batsman, not a middle order batsman. Opening the batting is a very different art to batting in the middle order. It may very well be that Hodge who is a middle order batsman will retain his spot ahead of Hussey even though Hussey knocked up a good ton. Batting in the middle order may even be to some extent why Katich was struggling, he is an opening/top order batsman.

Again Chanderpaul has failed, how long til they start calling for his head? Or at least how long til someone teaches him to bat.


Beech
 
^^^ I have to agree with you on Hodge Vs Hussey in the middle order. Imo Hodge just looks the part in the middle order. Great defensive strokes and his shot selection seems more like that of a middle order batsmen who can accumulate runs yet stay at the crease if we are in trouble.. Beech i think it was you who first bought up dropping Clarke, and at the time it was something i didn't really agree with but he is really struggling. When you think the likes of Hayden and Martyn were both dropped early in there test careers and came back all the better for it i've come around to thinking it's time for Clarke to go back to the n.s.w squad. I can't see the value of retaining him when you have both Hussey and Hodge in such fine, why drop one of them for Clarke? Even though they are getting on in years in some peoples eyes i'm sure they still have plenty of runs in them for seasons to come and it will give Clarke the time to develop that it looks like he is in need of.
 
We were always going to end up with a bit of a glut of very good mature cricketers. The team has been so strong for so long with very few oportunities so guys who are good enough to have been playing Test cricket for a long time like Hussey and Hodge are now starting to get on a bit in years but are not too old to be given a chance. In any other countries these guys would already have at least 20 Tests under their belt. Its now got to a point here where we have a number of guys in their early 30's that are still good enough to play and spots are opening up. So the decision the selectors have to make is whether to go with a young bloke who is almost good enough to play and would benefit heaps from playing Test cricket or to play a mature, experienced player like Hussey or Hodge. I don't see any problem at all with the older guys getting a game. They are still fit and have a great temperment and life experience.
There is probably very little doubt that Clarke will return eventually. He is definately a player of the future but at moment he needs to find some touch and get confidence back in 1st class cricket. I think he also needs to pull his head in a bit and listen to people who know better than him. He isn't willing to adjust his game and maybe put a few shots away and not be quite so hollywood in his batting. He believes that it has worked for him before so there is no reason it wont keep working. He will work it out in time. He is being compared to a young Ponting who also had all the shots but tried to play them too much. He got dropped and refined his game and came back a better player. At the moment Clarke is a young arrogant cricketer who thinks his way is the best way. Not even a great batsman like Hayden can dominate and play every stroke he wants to all the time. He can in certain situations and its about choosing those situations. When he learns when to pull out every shot in the bag and when to put them away then he will be a better player for it. Until then his spot will be taken by a quality batsman who may not have as much natural talent or as bigger future in cricket but has a better head on his shoulders.

Maybe I'm a bit biased in it all because I really reckon Clarke is an arrogant wanker so I'm a bit critical of him, but i reckon if you asked the guys in the team honestly who they would prefer the answer would be Hussey or Hodge because they bring more to the team. I liken Clarke to Dean Jones, they both think they are the shit and that they are right at all costs. Both wankers, hopefully Clarke grows up and doesn't end up like Jones - a bloke who's team mates can stand.

Beech
 
^^

I totally agree.

Clarke is a definite talent, who does need to get his confidence back and I for one am glad that he is being dropped just so that Hodge and Hussey can BOTH get a game in the top side. Being 30 years old and getting your first cap in the national side is one hell of a wait, and they deserve their chance. Especially with Hussey's maiden test ton and Hodge playing well for 60 in the first innings at Bellerive. There will be a spot for Clarke in the future, just like there was for Martyn and Hayden, once he matures into his cricket, he will be tops!

CB :)
 
Good to see the windies are making a competition out of this one, pity about the other two.... :\
 
yeah they have put up a decent effort in this match so far. Bravo just went out for 34. Now Smith and Ramdin really needs to play another good innings or Lara is going to rapidly run out of partners and a pissy score will be posted again.
Lara is batting really well though and has played some pretty good shots but also a few pretty loose ones

Beech
 
Brian Lara made his 11,000 test run today. Second ever to do so behind Alan Border. What an achievement!

Well done Lara, and another test century today!
 
Border also played in a time where Australia was really struggling and was also captain for a long time. Under the circumstances Border's achievements are quite amazing. Even though the Windies are struggling now, he played at the time when they were incredibly strong too.
Lara is probably a lot silkier and more naturally talented batsman than border but they are completely different sorts of cricketers so its kinda hard to compare them. Border wasn't a cavelier flamboyant batsman but a tough gritty batsman capable of scoring rapidly or building an innings. Also Border was an incredibly tough player and guided Australia through a really tough time and still was able to perform under immense pressure. Not too many captains around the world can perform to the level Border did when their team is getting flogged every game.


Beech
 
^no.

your batting average is calculated by number of runs divided by the number of times youve been out.

and Border has about 30-40 more matches than Lara.

[meant for doodle]
 
to date, Lara has played 36 less tests than border and 53 less innings for and avg of 53.2, Border's avg is 50.56
 
spot on KB.

Seems Smith is going to g ive it a bit of a shake, he is hitting em around at the moment. Good for entertainment, might not last long though.
Oh great pie chucker Symonds is back on to bowl and looks like he is going to attempt to bowl spin

Beech
 
^ Yep damn straight (Swifty) - just looked that up myself.

I must of misheard on the radio before. I thought they said that Border had an average of 56.

It would also appear that Lara will become the highest test scorer ever.
 
fuck lara is on 160. He has moved along pretty quickly. Seems like a very hard man to get out once he is set
 
and Lara is still in? who's his partner?

for some reason, ive just had the feeling all day he'll get 200 n.o. at stumps (fyi: the exact figure i came up with was 212)
 
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