*Official* 1st ODI at the MCG

[Philhughesisbes]

Australia looking fairly decent 12 months out from a World Cup. Any time you can field a guy at #8 who averages 45 at 115+, that's alright.

Faulkner has indeed strenthen the team,add Watson as an all rounder and Maxwell then you get the feeling this team has something special.Hughes could ofcourse replace one of the batter"s and keep wicket to accomodate Starc and Johnson ,something Australia might consider moving forward ( as Faulkner is good enough to bat 7 and ofcourse Johnson and Starc can bat.If i was a selector my team would be:

1.Watson
2.Hughes
3.Warner
4.Clarke
5.Bailey
6.Maxwell
7.Faulkner
8.Johnson
9.Starc
10.Mckay
11.Doherty

 

[theegyptian]

One of the journo's wrote in his piece the other day that Finn bowled the worst he has over the whole tour in the nets leading up to this ODI. Got smashed apparently.

I doubt there is any other reason but bowling badly. Finn always come across as a really good bloke and genuine.

If Finn doesn't come out of this some time bowling better then Saker will have done the worst job of the lot. Rankin looked a shadow of the figure he was last summer in the test and odi.

 

[Spikey]

Your bowling attack looks great but McKay and Faulkner should be included.Your batting is weaker than the batting that lineup in this first match though.Imo the team that lineup is great Starc and Johnson in for Coulternile and someone else( I can"t decide who)..Maxwell, Warner, Finch and Watson are all very quick scorers.Bailey and Clarke are both quality odi bats.Aussie look the best odi team.

It's all well and good to say Faulkner should be included, but who for? You can't fit everyone into the team. He's clearly not a better bowler than some of the other options, and we've already got an all-rounder in the team. There's no room for Faulkner, unless you want to basically pick 60 overs worth of bowling. And you want to pick Maxwell too! For me, the only way you can fit Faulkner in the team is to bat him at 7, with the keeper at 6...So Maxwell goes out. It's one or the other. As for McKay, if Harris is fit and wants to play in the WC, you'd be crazy to say "thanks Ryan, but we'll stick with Clint". That's why I don't consider him a certainty. There's a very real chance a better bowler could be available.

your team seems to be
Finch
Warner
Watson
Clarke
Bailey
Maxwell
Faulkner
Starc
Johnson
McKay

so spot number 11 comes down to a keeper or a spinner.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I don't mind Maxwell as an ODI player. At least I think he deserves a decent run in the side to see how he goes. Could be a pretty devastating player on his day and there's plenty of other batting etc.

Would really rather see Hughes in the team than Finch though, ****. Really wasn't that thrilled with our opening pair today, even though they did well.

 

[Spikey]

I don't mind Maxwell as an ODI player. At least I think he deserves a decent run in the side to see how he goes. Could be a pretty devastating player on his day and there's plenty of other batting etc.

I'm fine with giving Maxwell these games. The alternative for me is probably Voges, and I'm pretty confident Voges could miss all the ODI games between now and the first WC game, and still be the same ole Adam Voges if called upon for that game (a similar belief is why I really wanted them to play some other spinner instead of Doherty)

 

[Top_Cat]

Let's not be so quick to pin it all on Saker, we've got no idea what these guys have been doing at the County level or conflicting priorities and instructions between County and English coaches. Finn, for example, was pretty ordinary last CC season and there's been plenty suggest what he's being asked to do for Middlesex is very different to what he's being asked to do in English colours. That and what he'd have been working on, getting away from the stumps + getting his RPO down, is much tougher to do than you'd think. Have to re-gear everything from his approach to action which would take time.

 

[Cabinet96]

Let's not be so quick to pin it all on Saker, we've got no idea what these guys have been doing at the County level or conflicting priorities and instructions between County and English coaches. Finn, for example, was pretty ordinary last CC season and there's been plenty suggest what he's being asked to do for Middlesex is very different to what he's being asked to do in English colours. That and what he'd have been working on, getting away from the stumps + getting his RPO down, is much tougher to do than you'd think. Have to re-gear everything from his approach to action which would take time.

Yeah, there was a lot of dispute over his run up in the early parts of last year. Saker got him to shorten it in NZ and he bowled really well in the ODI's. But he was a bit meh in the tests and Middlesex got him to lengthen it again. He seemed to just get worse as last year went on, which is pretty sad.

From personal experience I know that conflicting information from different coaches is the worst. I reckon both parties should be held somewhat responsible until we get the full story.

 

[theegyptian]

I don't know why you get that impression. Wright and Hales both had good domestic seasons in your one day comp last year and are both currently in form playing in the Big Bash. Clearly your top order needs a player with some aggression in it.

I was quite pro on Hales a couple of years ago but having seen more and more of him I doubt his game can stand up to anywhere near international 50 over cricket. Just way too many technical failings. Domestic English one day comps are a pile of crap. Bowlers are rested to play four day cricket. England and Lions players are playing elsewhere. Standard is average and Hales didn't exactly excel last year in any format. More and more he's turning into a dirty slogger. Shame because there is talent there and he certainly can hit the ball extremely well. There's definite need for change in the top order but Hales and Wright aren't good enough. Whether you play Hales and hope for improvement, well that might work but I seriously doubt it. Wright is a tried and tested failure.

 

[Philhughesisbes]

It's all well and good to say Faulkner should be included, but who for? You can't fit everyone into the team. He's clearly not a better bowler than some of the other options, and we've already got an all-rounder in the team. There's no room for Faulkner, unless you want to basically pick 60 overs worth of bowling. And you want to pick Maxwell too! For me, the only way you can fit Faulkner in the team is to bat him at 7, with the keeper at 6...So Maxwell goes out. It's one or the other. As for McKay, if Harris is fit and wants to play in the WC, you'd be crazy to say "thanks Ryan, but we'll stick with Clint". That's why I don't consider him a certainty. There's a very real chance a better bowler could be available.

your team seems to be
Finch
Warner
Watson
Clarke
Bailey
Maxwell
Faulkner
Starc
Johnson
McKay

so spot number 11 comes down to a keeper or a spinner.

Well I get the feeling it will either be Warner or Finch.Whatever combinaion they come up with within the first 11 and Starc , Johnson and Hughes would be very good as they are all individually very good odi players.Would I go in without a front line spinner? Absolutely not!If the world cup was tomorrow i"d want Faulkner in there as he strikes me as a player who can handle the big stage and he is excellent in the late overs.This is odi cricket two all rounders isn"t too much.The fact we have two genuine odi all rounders should be an advantage to us.In addition Starc ,Johnson and Mckay is our best odi attacK so some combination needs to be worked out to get these 3 together.Hughes provides the answer,he has had success in odi"s and he bats in the top 3 and can keep would allow us to pick the 3 quicks,plus Faulkner, Watson and a frontline spinner.If they"re not willing to do that then yes then it might be either Maxwell or Faulkner sadly.

 

[Philhughesisbes]

I'm fine with giving Maxwell these games. The alternative for me is probably Voges, and I'm pretty confident Voges could miss all the ODI games between now and the first WC game, and still be the same ole Adam Voges if called upon for that game (a similar belief is why I really wanted them to play some other spinner instead of Doherty)

Which spinner would you pick? Lyon?I always felt Hauritz was a better bet than Doherty, but that was awhile back.I have no idea what Hauritz is like now..

 

[dermo]

Well I get the feeling it will either be Warner or Finch.Whatever combinaion they come up with within the first 11 and Starc , Johnson and Hughes would be very good as they are all individually very good odi players.Would I go in without a front line spinner? Absolutely not!If the world cup was tomorrow i"d want Faulkner in there as he strikes me as a player who can handle the big stage and he is excellent in the late overs.This is odi cricket two all rounders isn"t too much.The fact we have two genuine odi all rounders should be an advantage to us.In addition Starc ,Johnson and Mckay is our best odi attacK so some combination needs to be worked out to get these 3 together.Hughes provides the answer,he has had success in odi"s and he bats in the top 3 and can keep would allow us to pick the 3 quicks,plus Faulkner, Watson and a frontline spinner.If they"re not willing to do that then yes then it might be either Maxwell or Faulkner sadly.

do you seriously rate Mckay over Harris?

 

[Cooky Monster]

You just had to look at the top 3 of each team there, the Aussie top 3 are all powerful destructive players, as happened if one of them fires then its pretty much game over for England, if 2 of them fire England have no chance.

Englands top 3 is utter weak ****e, Hales and KP would be my choice to open and there should be a place for Luke Wright in the team.

This overly cautious mindset is a cancer on the England teams.

 

[Cabinet96]

No.

 

[Marcuss]

Buttler at 8 is a ****ing joke. Like, say what you want about the selection (it was beyond **** but it's been done to death) but then to get the in-game approach so badly wrong too.... FMD

 

[Tangles]

We don't need Harris in the team. Save him for tests imo.

 

[Watson33]

I'm afraid there's going to be a fair few more of these abject performances from England before we see any improvement. A few things really annoyed me today about team selection/performance:

1.) Jos Buttler at 8: Excuse me? Arguably England's most destructive batsman coming in at 8, when he should in my opinion be 7 at the latest. The best players need to be facing the most balls. With all due respect to Stokes (he is a class act imho), Buttler is more likely to spark the innings.
2.) Alastair Cook: Again getting out early. I'm at a loss as to when England last had a 100 partnership for the 1st innings. I'm not calling for him to be dropped, but he needs to get himself back to the way he was and fast for the sake of England.
3.) The england attack: We've just got spanked 5-0 in the ashes and really need this ODI and T20 series to spark some form of revival (Like the aussies did after the 2013 ashes) so why have we picked such an inexperienced attack. Fair play to Chris Jordan, I think he did well, but in his 2nd (or is it his 3rd?) ODI he shouldn't be asked to lead the attack alongside Rankin who looks a shadow of the man who plays for Warwickshire.
4.) Dropped chances: Again, same old story as the test series. A dropped chance and the guy goes on a gets a big one. Didn't Carberry drop Haddin early on in the test series and he went on to get a biggie. Then look what that sparked!

 

[hendrix]

I have no idea if Bresnan has a reasonable ODI record but he doesn't strike me as someone who's going to be much of a threat. I suppose if Stokes is considered the strike bowler then the team composition makes a little more sense, but still you'd hope to have at least 2 established bowlers in your line-up, coming off a thrashing like that.

 

[hendrix]

actually Rankin's got a pretty decent ODI record. Weird.

They just need to take some wickets.

 

[grecian]

Didn't watch any of this ****, and not planning on, obviously Jos is the only one worth watching anyway.

 

[wiff]

Didn't watch any of this ****, and not planning on, obviously Jos is the only one worth watching anyway.

I missed all of this, was outside Karchering the padio. This is a thing to behold, whitewashing without the soap! So England lost?