Observations from the Brisbane Ashes Test

image: www.smh.com.au

The Australians played very well in Brisbane through some quality batting by the tail in the first innings and the top order in the second. But this was followed up with some great bowling in both of England’s innings that had speed and caused several difficulties for the English players.

The Australians achieved most of my requirements to win the test as per my last paragraph on November 12. Although I am possibly being a little harsh in that they scored 400 in the second innings and not the first. But the Australians have shown that they will be very competitive in this Ashes series and that Test Cricket is still the best form of cricket.

Anyway here are some observations from the first Ashes Test in Brisbane:

• David Warner can score runs at Test Level. However he still needs to learn consistency and to keep his thoughts to himself, especially when it comes to critiquing players from opposition sides. Warner’s assessment of Trott’s dismissals during the test was overstated and it was unnecessary. Warner may be better off refraining from these types of comments until he can consistently score runs at Test level and remove all doubt over his ability.
• England is susceptible to the short ball. Several English players were dismissed with deliveries that were pitched short. This tactic needs to be used in tandem with good length bowling to ensure that England do not expect the short stuff too often. At this point I would have preferred the next test to be played in Perth where it would be possible to really get into the English player’s psyche with the “chin music”, however Adelaide’s much more benign pitch will probably be a relief for England.
• Brad Haddin is a really good cricketer (who was always going to be compared to Gilchrist through being the next wicketkeeper in line). There was a time that I was critical of Haddin’s ability, however Haddin has made me eat my words, which means he is performing well for Australia and I cannot complain. Haddin’s record in Test cricket (2661 runs at 35.01 per innings) is fairly good when you compare it to all wicketkeepers. The issue is that Gilchrist was just a great batsman who could (and would) dominate all bowling attacks. Unfortunately Haddin is nearing the end of his career at 36 and a replacement will need to be found from Paine, Wade or Nevill in the near future.
• Mitchell Johnson is the epitome of a confidence player. Johnson contributed 64 in Australia’s first innings and backed it up with 4/61 and 5/42 in both of England’s innings with good spells of short bowling. The Adelaide test becomes a crunch game for Johnson as he needs to show that he can play consistently good cricket. In fact the whole series will make or break Johnson in my opinion.
• Shane Watson should not have played in this test and his contributions for the match back this up. Watson contributions were 22 and 6 in his two innings and 0/0 off two overs with a catch in England’s first innings. This is clearly not good enough from a senior player who was originally in doubt with a hamstring strain. As noted in my earlier post, if a player is not 100% fit he should make himself unavailable for the team’s benefit and not be selfish in taking another player’s opportunity unless he can perform.
• Stuart Broad is a warrior, the opening crescendo fired at Broad by the Brisbane crowd was totally expected. While some cricketers may have been affected by it, Broad appeared to absorb it well and answer in the best way possible through his on-field performance. Broad’s 6/81 in the Australian First Innings showed that the man has a large amount of self-belief. There will be some admiration for Broad's actions but whether they offset his previous actions remains to be seen.

Over the next six weeks it is reasonable to expect this Ashes series will be very competitive and absorbing. The final result may not be known until the final test in Sydney.

Can Australia win the First Ashes Test in Brisbane

David Warner will need to prove his temperament at Test Level

image: www.independent.co.uk

The Test Series that stops a nation (or two) starts in ten days from now. Although it is difficult to see Australia being really competitive throughout the series and they will need to win in Brisbane if they are going to be any chance of capturing the Ashes Urn.

The Australian team for the first Ashes Test in Brisbane was announced today and although there was one new addition to the team in George Bailey, it appears that once again the National Selectors are relying on the same people to win matches.

There are two individuals in particular that are under scrutiny: David Warner and (my mate) Shane Watson. Warner has supposedly been forgiven for his off field demeanours in England and been reselected. However I question his temperament for the long periods of batting required at test level. Too often Warner will play a loose shot and lose his wicket especially when the bowling is tight. Don’t misunderstand me here, as a one day player I think he is ideal as he can accelerate the scoring when required and he has been pivotal for Australia in winning many One Day games. But Test cricket is a different beast and I’m not sure that Warner has the nous required to succeed at test level for the moment.

Once again, I find myself writing about Shane Watson and his selfishness. Watson is under an injury cloud for the Brisbane test with a hamstring strain. The word is that he will not be able to bowl and will play as a batsman only. The Ashes are a pivotal contest and I am unsure why a person would make themselves available when they are potentially not going to be able to perform at 100%. Furthermore there is potential to make the injury worse through the course of the game. Watson will need to run between wickets during his innings which may aggravate the injury. Would it not be better for Shane Watson to make himself unavailable for the test and ensure the injury heals properly, so that he can contribute more effectively later in the series?

Of the remaining players in the team, I am not convinced that Mitchell Johnson is mentally ready for an Ashes campaign as he does tend to crumble under pressure. However I am pleased that George Bailey has been given a chance, his ODI form is great at the moment and if he can produce the goods at Brisbane then it will justify the selection.

In my opinion, the Australian team should be Chris Rogers and Phil Hughes as the openers with Usman Khawaja at three. Michael Clarke slots in at four with Steve Smith and George Bailey making up the top six. Brad Haddin is the keeper at seven, then come the fast bowlers in James Faulkner, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris at eight, nine and ten respectively. Nathan Lyon is retained as first choice spinner and bats at eleven.

In saying this I think that Khawaja should be given the entire series to establish the number three spot, but on the condition that if he fails he never plays for Australia again. Bailey should be given until the third test to determine if he is suitable for test cricket. With respect to the bowling, a fully fit bowling squad would see Mitchell Johnson being well down the pecking order and I find it really difficult to fit Johnson into my best Australian eleven.

Will we win in Brisbane.... well I’m not overly confident of success and it will rely on the “Top Six” making most of the 400 that Australia needs in the first innings and our bowlers containing England to scores under 300 in both innings. Essentially, the Australian public will find out in ten days time just how competitive the Australian cricket team will be this summer.

SANFL Teams Comprising of Players that have Played VFL/AFL



www.sanfl.com.au

Have you ever wondered about what the best team for your favourite SANFL club that comprised of players that had played VFL/AFL would look like? Well I have considered this notion over the years and I thought it may be interesting to expand this concept to every team in the SANFL.

 

Some SANFL clubs have more players to choose from than others and there are some surprise selections in teams. As with these exercises there will always be debate around what players to include and what players are excluded. The intention is to release teams in the 2013 reverse ladder order so this translates to Glenelg being released first, South Adelaide second and so on until the Premiership winners Norwood.

 

In order to achieve this I need to include some parameters. To qualify for the team, the player had to begin playing their career in South Australia. So for the purposes of this exercise: Andrew MacLeod does not qualify for the Port Adelaide Magpies team because he played for the Darwin Buffaloes.

 

Another qualification is that players drafted by the South Australian AFL teams from another state before starting their senior careers in the AFL do not qualify for the SANFL team they are drafted into. For example Patrick Dangerfield does not qualify for West Adelaide on this basis. However Darren Jarman qualifies for North Adelaide after Adelaide recruited him from Hawthorn because Hawthorn recruited him from North Adelaide.

 

A player can qualify for two teams, for example Andrew Jarman appears in both North Adelaide and Norwood teams as he won a Magarey Medal and a Premiership at both clubs. (This particular selection was met with some derision from a “Westies” friend, but had Andrew Jarman not won a Premiership and a Magarey Medal at Norwood then his inclusion in the Norwood side would not have occurred).

 

In fact, it highlights the wonderful aspect of the exercise, to encourage discussion about the SANFL about what might have been had history and circumstances been different.

 

Another aspect to this exercise is that there are instances during Australia’s history where the nation was at war. A common occurrence was for people to enlist in Adelaide and then travel to Melbourne prior to being shipped overseas. Quite often a SANFL footballer played for a Victorian Club while they were in Melbourne. For the purposes of the exercise these people were considered for their respective teams as it is no different to Graham Cornes only playing 5 games for North Melbourne.

 

Also, I have considered Woodville and West Torrens as the Eagles not as their separate clubs that existed before 1991. This was because I wanted to look at the clubs from the SANFL competition as it currently stands and not one from the past. It also avoids the debate around history that often occurred with the Port Adelaide Club between the Magpies and the Power, quite often used by their fans to win arguments.

 

So without further ado, let’s begin with the Glenelg Football Club.

 

The forward six are quite capable of kicking a decent score and comprises of three “talls” and three crumbing forwards. Starting with the Full Forward line, Tony Hall (103 games for Glenelg, 97 Hawthorn, 11 Adelaide) starts in the forward pocket. At Full Forward is Graham Cornes (312 Glenelg, 5 Nth Melb, 47 Sth Adel) who also coaches the team. Stephen Copping lines-up in the other forward pocket (246 Glenelg, 42 Essendon). The Half-Forward line comprises of Craig McRae (41 Glenelg, 195 Brisbane) on one half-forward flank. At Centre Half Forward the obvious choice is Stephen “Sticks” Kernahan (136 Glenelg, 251 Carlton) and would be my choice for Captain. On the other half forward flank is Matthew Liptak (51 Glenelg, 116 Adelaide)

 

The midfield contains vast experience and would be very competitive. Kane Cornes (36 Glenelg, 268 games Port Power) is my choice for centre with David Marshall (353 Glenelg, 26 Adelaide) and Tony Symonds (225 Glenelg, 3 Hawthorn) are on the wings. Brad Ottens (15 Glenelg, 129 Richmond, 116 Geelong) is a ruckman who can go forward, with Chris McDermott (277 Glenelg, 117 Adelaide, 10 North Adelaide) and Tony McGuiness (113 Glenelg, 109 Footscray, 113 Adelaide) as ruck rover and rover respectively.

 

The back six for Glenelg is solid and some teams would have some trouble kicking a score against it. At Centre Half Back is Chad Cornes (43 Glenelg, 239 Port Power, 16 GWS) with Andrew Mackie (198 Geelong) and Bryce Gibbs (29 Glenelg, 155 Carlton) on the flanks. Rod Jameson slots in at Full Back (163 Glenelg, 153 Adelaide) with Andrew McKay (40 Glenelg, 244 Carlton) in one back pocket and Paul Weston (196 Glenelg, 60 Essendon, 49 Torrens, 23 Norwood) in the other.

On the interchange bench are: Allan Bartlett (201 Glenelg, 11 Adelaide), Kym Hodgeman (244 Glenelg, 91 North Melbourne), Michael Murphy (134 Glenelg, 3 North Melbourne, 16 Adelaide, 10 Brisbane) and David Grenvold (101 Glenelg, 112 Essendon). 

All in all, there is some flexibility in this team and there is a good mix of champion players such as Stephen Kernahan and Graham Cornes with some quality performers such as the two “Macs” McGuiness and McDermott and Andrew Mackie. A notable exclusion is Richard Douglas who started his career at the Calder Cannons.