The Ashes: (England tour of Australia)

[LiveLoveABD]

Interesting to see who will occupy the number six for Australia. It's really up to Cartwright or Stonis, Cartwright did well in his first match and Stonis failed in both innings. Maxwell might as well be ruled out. I think there is an outside chance for the ever so overrated Mitch Marsh, Smith seemed to like his presence for sure, wouldn't be very surprised if he makes the team. As batting cover Shaun Marsh should be able to make it into the team as well. I believe Coulter Nile should be definitely be selected, he has bowled beautifully, hitting the deck hard, and a very handy batsman.

Why should Maxwell be ruled out? And NCL has been good in limited overs. Test matches is another whole different ball game. This would be my Aussie XI-

Renshaw
Warner
Khawaja
Smith
Handscomb
Maxwell/Stoinis
Wade
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

 

[CerealKiller]

Wade

On what basis? I'd bring in Alex Carey, or if you want a safer option, Peter Nevill.

 

[Velocity]

Why should Maxwell be ruled out? And NCL has been good in limited overs. Test matches is another whole different ball game. This would be my Aussie XI-

Renshaw
Warner
Khawaja
Smith
Handscomb
Maxwell/Stoinis
Wade
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

Have you even been following the first few rounds of Sheffield Shield? Wade has failed in both innings in the match he played, but still there's a few matches to go before selection. Coulter Nile bowled well as well, got I think about 6 wickets in the match and scored a handy 41 down the order. He is an ideal backup for Cummins or the other bowlers. He is one of those guys unfortunate to miss out playing in Tests. I don't know what need is for a spin bowling all-rounder like Maxi, he hasn't been in good form and isn't necessary on fast tracks like the Gabba and WACA. Obviously there's about 2-3 matches to go until Ashes selection, but even then I think Nevill or Carey will come to the side.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Have you even been following the first few rounds of Sheffield Shield? Wade has failed in both innings in the match he played, but still there's a few matches to go before selection. Coulter Nile bowled well as well, got I think about 6 wickets in the match and scored a handy 41 down the order. He is an ideal backup for Cummins or the other bowlers. He is one of those guys unfortunate to miss out playing in Tests. I don't know what need is for a spin bowling all-rounder like Maxi, he hasn't been in good form and isn't necessary on fast tracks like the Gabba and WACA. Obviously there's about 2-3 matches to go until Ashes selection, but even then I think Nevill or Carey will come to the side.

No, I've not. But Maxwell got a hundred in India and you cannot go about brushing people aside on the basis of one or two bad performances. Also, coming in at 6, he's exactly the sort of bloke who can turn a test match/series in a session. As for Wade, I loathe the bloke but I don't think the Ashes is a time to bed in a new keeper bat. The time to try someone else is past.

I just don't see the Aussies losing even one test. Their bowling line up is ridiculously good and they have a lot of up and coming batters. Specially in Aussie conditions, they'll be hard to beat.

With Stokes gone, the spine is already broken. England's batting is literally Cook/Root followed by the AR and bowlers.

 

[asprin]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21259433/moeen-ali-steven-finn-undergo-scans-injury-concerns

Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[Velocity]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21259433/moeen-ali-steven-finn-undergo-scans-injury-concerns

Hope it's nothing serious.

Would be a massive blow for England if he cannot play. He has a been instrumental in almost every England victory in the home summer.

 

[Velocity]

England looking quite strong in this tour match so far. Surprised to see Cook getting a duck . Stoneman and Vince batting well at the moment.

 

[zimrahil]

Ali hopefully will recover for first test!

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Great cricketers aren't necessarily great captains. Some of the excuses or reasons for poor selections made by Kohli and Smith are just laughable. It shocks me. Now you want a WK that can be a chatter and not a catcher?

 

[Aislabie]

I find that to be a worrying thing for Smith to request in all honesty, especially as he seems to be prioritising it above the actual wicket-keeping skills of the candidates in question.

The present incumbent averages less than twenty with the bat since his return to the team, and his predecessor has a career average of 22. There aren't any big runs coming from the number seven spot at the moment, so logically it makes sense to look for the best gloveman. So who are the candidates exactly?

Candidate | Test career | First-class career

Cameron Bancroft | none | 3983 runs @ 36.54 (10 centuries)

Alex Carey | none | 810 runs @ 24.54

Peter Handscomb | 743 runs @ 53.07 (2 centuries) | 5210 runs @ 40.70 (12 centuries)

Peter Nevill | 468 runs @ 22.28 | 4284 runs @ 40.03 (9 centuries)

Tim Paine | 287 runs @ 25.87 | 3949 runs @ 28.82 (1 century)

Matthew Wade | 886 runs @ 28.58 (2 centuries) | 5193 runs @ 37.09 (9 centuries)

Six viable candidates across six different states would suggest that Australia need to decide exactly what it is they're looking for in a wicket-keeper. Do they want...

• A batsman who keeps?
  • One option is Peter Handscomb; already established in the Test team, having started his career impressively as a specialist batsman. He has also kept wicket for Australia in three ODIs, and scored 7, 0 and 3 - perhaps a sign he needs to be given only one job to focus on. Verdict: Plays, but as a batsman.
  • Cameron Bancroft has combined the roles of opening batsman and wicket-keeper quite effectively for Western Australia in recent years. Also in the habit of really pushing on when he gets in the runs. But in his one appearance for Australia, he kept with very hard hands. Verdict: Neither one thing nor the other yet.
• A specialist wicket-keeper?
  • The logical choice for this position would be Tim Paine; he's already the Australian incumbent in one format, but worryingly for him, he has not been able to break into the Tasmanian eleven on his return from India. Given that he's not played a red ball game since March, it's hard to pick him. Verdict: Undercooked.
  • A name that has been bandied about, despite his inexperience, is Alex Carey. He has shown himself to be very good at a very specific job: taking catches stood back from the stumps to the South Australian battery of 82-mph seam bowlers. I doubt he's Test-ready yet. Verdict: Maybe next Ashes.
• A leader in the ranks?
  • The candidate of choice for Cricket Australia and Steve Smith seems to be Matthew Wade. For the life of me, I'm not sure why - he's very loud, needlessly so in my opinion, and often seems to put more effort into that than catching cricket balls. And he's not been scoring runs either. Verdict: Please no.
  • Which leaves Peter Nevill, the man that Smith wants to be louder, and more of a leader on the field. This is odd for me, because when Smith's not around, Nevill is the New South Wales captain. Add that to his invisible wicket-keeping and resilient batting, and you have my choice for the Ashes. Verdict: Get him in.

 

[Ahmad94]

Slightly unrelated to the Ashes but nice to see the female version of the game garnering half a million views. I am a strong advocate of broadcasting cricket for free to allow it to grow and develop especially in areas where it's a secondary sport.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I find that to be a worrying thing for Smith to request in all honesty, especially as he seems to be prioritising it above the actual wicket-keeping skills of the candidates in question.

The present incumbent averages less than twenty with the bat since his return to the team, and his predecessor has a career average of 22. There aren't any big runs coming from the number seven spot at the moment, so logically it makes sense to look for the best gloveman. So who are the candidates exactly?

Candidate | Test career | First-class career

Cameron Bancroft | none | 3983 runs @ 36.54 (10 centuries)

Alex Carey | none | 810 runs @ 24.54

Peter Handscomb | 743 runs @ 53.07 (2 centuries) | 5210 runs @ 40.70 (12 centuries)

Peter Nevill | 468 runs @ 22.28 | 4284 runs @ 40.03 (9 centuries)

Tim Paine | 287 runs @ 25.87 | 3949 runs @ 28.82 (1 century)

Matthew Wade | 886 runs @ 28.58 (2 centuries) | 5193 runs @ 37.09 (9 centuries)

Six viable candidates across six different states would suggest that Australia need to decide exactly what it is they're looking for in a wicket-keeper. Do they want...

• A batsman who keeps?
  • One option is Peter Handscomb; already established in the Test team, having started his career impressively as a specialist batsman. He has also kept wicket for Australia in three ODIs, and scored 7, 0 and 3 - perhaps a sign he needs to be given only one job to focus on. Verdict: Plays, but as a batsman.
  • Cameron Bancroft has combined the roles of opening batsman and wicket-keeper quite effectively for Western Australia in recent years. Also in the habit of really pushing on when he gets in the runs. But in his one appearance for Australia, he kept with very hard hands. Verdict: Neither one thing nor the other yet.
• A specialist wicket-keeper?
  • The logical choice for this position would be Tim Paine; he's already the Australian incumbent in one format, but worryingly for him, he has not been able to break into the Tasmanian eleven on his return from India. Given that he's not played a red ball game since March, it's hard to pick him. Verdict: Undercooked.
  • A name that has been bandied about, despite his inexperience, is Alex Carey. He has shown himself to be very good at a very specific job: taking catches stood back from the stumps to the South Australian battery of 82-mph seam bowlers. I doubt he's Test-ready yet. Verdict: Maybe next Ashes.
• A leader in the ranks?
  • The candidate of choice for Cricket Australia and Steve Smith seems to be Matthew Wade. For the life of me, I'm not sure why - he's very loud, needlessly so in my opinion, and often seems to put more effort into that than catching cricket balls. And he's not been scoring runs either. Verdict: Please no.
  • Which leaves Peter Nevill, the man that Smith wants to be louder, and more of a leader on the field. This is odd for me, because when Smith's not around, Nevill is the New South Wales captain. Add that to his invisible wicket-keeping and resilient batting, and you have my choice for the Ashes. Verdict: Get him in.

Very good post. I might be wrong, but an observation I've made about Australia in the past 3-4 years is a reluctance to invest in youth. Apart from an absolute glittering stock of young fast bowlers the Aussies have looked to invest in blokes that are 30 + for tests and as a result the moment they start under performing the sword begins to dangle. I feel they need to create a pool of batters and keepers after the Ashes that are 23-25 and back a select few.

 

[CerealKiller]

With Finn ruled out, i hope Tom Curran get's a chance. Big fan of him.

 

[Dutch]

With Finn ruled out....

Our chances of winning just increased a bit......

 

[Aislabie]

Very good post. I might be wrong, but an observation I've made about Australia in the past 3-4 years is a reluctance to invest in youth. Apart from an absolute glittering stock of young fast bowlers the Aussies have looked to invest in blokes that are 30 + for tests and as a result the moment they start under performing the sword begins to dangle. I feel they need to create a pool of batters and keepers after the Ashes that are 23-25 and back a select few.

I'll do some analysis on that if you wish.

Age Range | Players | Details
Under 20| 0 |-
20-24| 3 |Ashton Agar (24), Pat Cummins (24), Matt Renshaw (21)
25-29| 12 |Joe Burns (28), Hilton Cartwright (25), Peter Handscomb (26), Josh Hazlewood (26), Nathan Lyon (29), Nic Maddinson (25), Mitchell Marsh (26), Glenn Maxwell (29), Joe Mennie (28), James Pattinson (27), Steven Smith (28), Mitchell Starc (27), Matthew Wade (29)
30-34| 11 |Jackson Bird (30), Callum Ferguson (32), Moises Henriques (30), Jon Holland (30), Usman Khawaja (30), Shaun Marsh (34), Peter Nevill (32), Steve O'Keefe (32), Peter Siddle (32), David Warner (31)
35-39| 1 |Adam Voges (38)
40 and over| 0 |-

Australian Test players since 01 Jan 2016, by their current ages.

As you can see, there's a pretty clear bell-curve in terms of the ages of the Australian players. It's just a normal distribution as far as I can see, centred around roughly 28 or 29 as the average age of the team. As far as I can tell, this is pretty much exactly what you would look for in a balanced Test team.

You raise the concern of there being a dearth of young batsmen though; again I'm not entirely convinced that's the case. Cartwright (25, 2 Tests), Handscomb (26; 10 Tests), Maddinson (25, 3 Tests), Marsh (26, 21 Tests) and Renshaw (21, 10 Tests) have all been given a run in the top six in the last eighteen months. Perhaps Cartwright and Maddinson could reflect on not having had enough opportunities to properly assert themselves, but at least they've had them.

Nor is it exactly essential that Australia immediately replenish their batting stocks. A top-six of Warner (31), Renshaw (21), Khawaja (30), Smith (28), Handscomb (26) and... whoever ends up at number six could be settled for anywhere up to four or five years.

In all, nine young batsmen scored over 600 Shield runs last year, of whom only two averaged over 50, one of whom broke into the Test side.

Player | Runs

Hilton Cartwright (25)|861 runs @ 53.81 (2 centuries)

Marcus Harris (25)|808 runs @ 42.52 (2 centuries)

Ashton Turner (24)|742 runs @ 52.00 (2 centuries)

Jake Lehmann (25)|692 runs @ 40.70 (1 century)

Kurtis Patterson (24)|668 runs @ 44.53 (1 century)

Travis Dean (25)|664 runs @ 34.94 (1 century)

Travis Head (23)|645 runs @ 43.00 (2 centuries)

Jake Weatherald (23)|634 runs @ 31.70 (1 century)

Marnus Labuschagne (23)|626 runs @ 36.86

I guess what I'm saying is, it's easy to throw stones at the Australian selectors, but they've actually not done too badly.