The CFC Cricket Thread
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Lambert Simnel
One across
Oh my god. England implode, top to bottom. Their lowest ever score against Pakistan.
I was watching it. England were crushed by good accurate Spin bowling. Back to the drawing board against Spin for them it seems(I would say it's time to drop Morgan and move on but I haven't been following English cricket to know enough of what sort of replacements there are). 
As much as I don't buy into the whole north & east vs. south & west thing they're trying to get going, I really don't like Steve Smith. So
classical_hero
In whom I trust
We did not score enough runs. We were 20 runs behind a good total.
azzaman333
meh
I really don't like Steve Smith. So
Pretty much sums up my feelings on the Big Bash final.
I don't get all the hate for Steve Smith. While I don't think he should play a part in any Australian international side at this time(this includes T20I) it's not his fault the selectors keep on choosing him 
.
But seriously when originally chosen his performances and statistics had him head and shoulders above most of the rest of the guys in Domestic Cricket as well(First Class batting average of 56 with 4 Centuries, Bowling average of 40(better than any other spinner in Domestic cricket(even Hauritz) and a 7 wicket haul in one innings) so it's not like it was unjustified in selecting him. To top it off the guy is also an excellent fielder and quite young as well.
To go a step even further comparing Smith to Khawaja(a player that most people want given another run) both have similar statistics at this stage of their Test careers. Khawaja averages 29 after 6 games with 1 50 while Smith averages 28 after 5 games with 2 50s(for more perspective Sean Marsh currently competes in the same league as these two averaging 27 after 7 games with 1 100 and 1 50 to his name).
Given that most of Australia's batting greats from the last decade had similar averages after similar amounts of games and were accordingly dropped from international cricket for some time I'm willing to cut the guy some slack and let him develop his own game. If he does come good Australian cricket will be better for it.
. But seriously when originally chosen his performances and statistics had him head and shoulders above most of the rest of the guys in Domestic Cricket as well(First Class batting average of 56 with 4 Centuries, Bowling average of 40(better than any other spinner in Domestic cricket(even Hauritz) and a 7 wicket haul in one innings) so it's not like it was unjustified in selecting him. To top it off the guy is also an excellent fielder and quite young as well.
To go a step even further comparing Smith to Khawaja(a player that most people want given another run) both have similar statistics at this stage of their Test careers. Khawaja averages 29 after 6 games with 1 50 while Smith averages 28 after 5 games with 2 50s(for more perspective Sean Marsh currently competes in the same league as these two averaging 27 after 7 games with 1 100 and 1 50 to his name).
Given that most of Australia's batting greats from the last decade had similar averages after similar amounts of games and were accordingly dropped from international cricket for some time I'm willing to cut the guy some slack and let him develop his own game. If he does come good Australian cricket will be better for it.
azzaman333
meh
I don't get all the hate for Steve Smith. While I don't think he should play a part in any Australian international side at this time(this includes T20I) it's not his fault the selectors keep on choosing him
But seriously when originally chosen his performances and statistics had him head and shoulders above most of the rest of the guys in Domestic Cricket as well(First Class batting average of 56 with 4 Centuries, Bowling average of 40(better than any other spinner in Domestic cricket(even Hauritz) and a 7 wicket haul in one innings) so it's not like it was unjustified in selecting him. To top it off the guy is also an excellent fielder and quite young as well.
To go a step even further comparing Smith to Khawaja(a player that most people want given another run) both have similar statistics at this stage of their Test careers. Khawaja averages 29 after 6 games with 1 50 while Smith averages 28 after 5 games with 2 50s(for more perspective Sean Marsh currently competes in the same league as these two averaging 27 after 7 games with 1 100 and 1 50 to his name).
Given that most of Australia's batting greats from the last decade had similar averages after similar amounts of games and were accordingly dropped from international cricket for some time I'm willing to cut the guy some slack and let him develop his own game. If he does come good Australian cricket will be better for it.
The difference between Smith and Khawaja is that Smith looks like a low grade club cricket hack when he's batting, and his bowling is worse than Cam White's. Actually, he's statistically worse than White in just about every facet, the only exception being T20 bowling.
Pakistan’s Gripping Yarn Keeps On Spinning
Written before they won the series agains England, too.
Written before they won the series agains England, too.
Catfish
Emperor
No, India was awful. It wasn't that long ago that Australia lost to New Zealand, but that seems to have been forgotten now. Australia still has some serious problems with its batting. There's a big question mark over the top three and at the beginning of the series people were calling for the heads of Ponting and Hussey. Have those two turned it around or did the Indian bowling go limp once the shine left the ball? Marsh had a series he'd want to forget: the second lowest series aggregate for a top-six batsman (qualification: 5 innings) in Test history, with 17 runs from 6 outings, only 'bettered' by Ken Rutherford's nightmare against the West Indies in 1985.
The most impressive aspect of the Australian team has been the fast bowling. Pattinson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus were excellent. Harris also made a solid return to the side. The two that I feel I need to single out are Siddle and Hilfenhaus. I'd written off Hilfenhaus after last season's Ashes series and would've dropped Siddle after the South African tour. These guys have definitely reinvented themselves this summer. Siddle has embraced the fuller length strategy and it's paying off. In Perth he was clearly struggling in the heat, down on his haunches a few times, but he kept charging in and bowling well over 140 kph. Throughout the series batsmen would drive him to the boundary off the front foot, but he'd continue to pitch it up on a good length. He's won me over. Ishant Sharma, who a number of commentators described as unlucky, reminds me of where Siddle was at a year ago. He's 'unlucky' because he's bowling too short. The only criticism I have of the Australian seamers is the excessive short-pitched bowling at the tail-enders; a directive from Clarke, I believe. Sometimes it just got silly. They'd polish off the tail much faster with less half-trackers and more top of off stump bowling.
It's called subtle variation. He improved his ratio to 9 from 29.
Clearly nobody wants the number one ranking. It's a curse.
Is there some kind of contest going on that I'm unaware of? Firstly Australia get knocked over for 47, then Sri Lanka for 43, England for 72 and Zimbabwe for 51.
Is this really Monty Panesar? Is this possible?
Spoiler :
He's finally been dropped from all three formats. Wade also replaces Haddin for the limited overs matches. That ought to make some people around here happy.
Toss in a few sub-plots: Shahid Afridi's ball-biting capers at the WACA two years ago and his farcical 'conditional' retirement from international cricket last year, and Mohammad Asif's drug possession incident in Dubai in 2008 and his second positive doping test for Nandrolone in 2009. You've also got Shoaib Akhtar's antics: whacking Asif with a cricket bat (sounds like a good idea, actually) in a 2007 dressing room spat, a 5-year code of conduct ban in 2008 and the launch of his autobiography last year which had half of India up in arms.
azzaman333
meh
Obviously that can't be completely ignored, but some of the embarrassment of that has to be offset by New Zealand's incredible bowling performance against Zimbabwe. They seem to be undergoing a bit of a revival themselves.
Still aspects to complain about though. Notably, the selection of Forrest for the ODI squad despite a rather average season so far in the domestic one day competition. Ferguson and Quiney certainly have reason to feel a bit short-changed by that selection, with each having scored 100 runs more than Forrest, with significantly better averages and strike rates.
The one day squad for the upcoming Tri angular series with Sri Lanka and India has been chosen.
Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ricky Ponting, Peter Forrest, Daniel Christian, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade, Brett Lee, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh
This is the squad for the first 3 matches after which some changes could be made. Haddin has finally been "rested" giving a solid chance for Wade to prove himself. Wade will quite possibly be opening alongside Warner with Watson not yet fit and Sean Marsh dropped due to form. McKay is a bit of a decision out of no where although generally well deserved. Mitchell Marsh continues to impress in the short forms so his inclusion is good IMO. Ryan Harris also gets a return to one day cricket which is good IMO. Better to make use of him while we can then try to prolong a career that will likely always be injury prone.
Forrest's selection is a bit strange to me. While he is in great form he still only averages 28 in ODD cricket. I think it'd be better to give him a few more shield games to continue his good form to help him press his case for a Test spot. A better man for Forrest's spot would IMO be Tom Cooper who has an impressive ODD record and has also done well for the Netherlands at international level. Overall though I hope everyone gets at least 1 shot from this squad. Most of the players are in decent form so it should be good.
Edit: In other news Haddin is in the selectors plans for 2013. Ultra lame is about all I can say for that.
Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ricky Ponting, Peter Forrest, Daniel Christian, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade, Brett Lee, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh
This is the squad for the first 3 matches after which some changes could be made. Haddin has finally been "rested" giving a solid chance for Wade to prove himself. Wade will quite possibly be opening alongside Warner with Watson not yet fit and Sean Marsh dropped due to form. McKay is a bit of a decision out of no where although generally well deserved. Mitchell Marsh continues to impress in the short forms so his inclusion is good IMO. Ryan Harris also gets a return to one day cricket which is good IMO. Better to make use of him while we can then try to prolong a career that will likely always be injury prone.
Forrest's selection is a bit strange to me. While he is in great form he still only averages 28 in ODD cricket. I think it'd be better to give him a few more shield games to continue his good form to help him press his case for a Test spot. A better man for Forrest's spot would IMO be Tom Cooper who has an impressive ODD record and has also done well for the Netherlands at international level. Overall though I hope everyone gets at least 1 shot from this squad. Most of the players are in decent form so it should be good.
Edit: In other news Haddin is in the selectors plans for 2013. Ultra lame is about all I can say for that.
I can't tell if that's serious or not. The one that got Tendulkar was good. The other two were just gifts from the batters and/or fielders.
Catfish
Emperor
No, I thought my earlier comments about Lyon might have given that away.
I wouldn't have thought so. I mean, he's been one of the best ODI bowlers for Australia in recent years, so it's more a return from injury than a selection
Also, I think I read today that Siddle is now ranked as the 4th best test bowler in the world (behind Steyn, Ajmal and Anderson). Hilfenhaus is 7th (even given his great form I wouldn't put him there, though, especially given Harris only at 22nd). Clarke has rocketed to 3rd in batting. Ponting is the next best Australian at 14th. Siddle is also in the top 10 on the all-rounders list (though, for comparison, Swann and Steyn beat him).
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