• The forum upgrades are now largely complete.
    Please read this thread for more details.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.

Oz v England 4th test thread - Melbourne

Status
Not open for further replies.

Absolutely no belief at all. Yesterdays collapse looks to have drained them of whatever little belief they had left.

Treated this tour like a holiday just like 06/07.
Breezed over there thinking we'd do them again no bother. Don't seem to have any plans, selections been a mess and we've been f***ing crap at every aspect of the game.
Fuck knows what Flower and his merry band of coaches have been doing to allow a test side to go on like this.
In 06/07 the Aussies had at least 5 or 6 world class players. This lot have got one and maybe two very good bowlers.
Comes down to mental strength and preparation for me when the gap is this large between what should be two pretty evenly matched sides.

I'm off to bed, that usually brings on some wickets anyway.
 
Bowled pretty well to start with, but were let down by some awful fielding but now you can tell that the bowlers have absolutely no belief and it's like taking candy from a baby for Rogers and Watson. Never thought I'd be saying this 6 weeks ago but it's going to take a minor miracle to avoid the 5-0, a complete shambles of a tour.

Wouldn't be at all surprised to wake up to find that Australia have won with 9 wickets still in hand.[DOUBLEPOST=1388282120][/DOUBLEPOST]Boycott: "The hardest decision Australia have had to make this morning is what to have for lunch."

Really does sum up what a horrendous morning this has been.
 
Last edited:
Has to be the set-up IMO, there are 3/4 top class players in this England side and 4/5 very very good ones. And they have been battered by a side full of players who've been scratching round for years.

This is pitiful.
 
Australia will win this series by effectively 1000 runs by the 5th test....disgusting.

The ECB will make some significant changes hopefully.[DOUBLEPOST=1388288830][/DOUBLEPOST]Alistair 'Erm' Cook :lol:
 
Last edited:
Is it getting to the point where's Cooks captaincy could come under threat?
Without doubt, sounds like Pietersen was captaining the team for periods out there, when Cook was out of ideas. Tredwell could be being groomed for the job, which is worrying considering his form with ball
 
Without doubt, sounds like Pietersen was captaining the team for periods out there, when Cook was out of ideas. Tredwell could be being groomed for the job, which is worrying considering his form with ball
James Tredwell as captain?
 
What an absolute shambles.[DOUBLEPOST=1388311857][/DOUBLEPOST]
Bowled pretty well to start with, but were let down by some awful fielding but now you can tell that the bowlers have absolutely no belief and it's like taking candy from a baby for Rogers and Watson. Never thought I'd be saying this 6 weeks ago but it's going to take a minor miracle to avoid the 5-0, a complete shambles of a tour.

Wouldn't be at all surprised to wake up to find that Australia have won with 9 wickets still in hand.[DOUBLEPOST=1388282120][/DOUBLEPOST]Boycott: "The hardest decision Australia have had to make this morning is what to have for lunch."

Really does sum up what a horrendous morning this has been.
Very close to the truth sadly.
 
Is it getting to the point where's Cooks captaincy could come under threat?

Absolutely. There were some encouraging signs with his aggression on one or two days of this series but it has largely been uninspiring and defensive. His captaincy last night was a joke. Completely none-existant. Its affecting his confidence, his batting and his fielding. For the benefit of everyone, he needs to remove the burden of captaincy.

The only player I can see doing it is Broad. Im not a huge fan of bowlers as captain and I think his temperament is iffy but are there any other players you can see doing the job?
 
Absolutely. There were some encouraging signs with his aggression on one or two days of this series but it has largely been uninspiring and defensive. His captaincy last night was a joke. Completely none-existant. Its affecting his confidence, his batting and his fielding. For the benefit of everyone, he needs to remove the burden of captaincy.

The only player I can see doing it is Broad. Im not a huge fan of bowlers as captain and I think his temperament is iffy but are there any other players you can see doing the job?
Left field choice here, but I'd go with Stokes. He has a great attitude on the field, he won't be bullied by anyone, he knows when to be aggressive and when to be more cautious, and he just seems to have that nous that a good captain needs to be successful. Admittedly he's inexperienced in test cricket, but with the way things are at the moment, that's something we can't afford to be held back by, especially as he looks like being the one bright spot from this utterly shit series.

Time to build for the future and pick someone who will thrive on the spotlight of captaincy rather than be held back by it.
 
Left field choice here, but I'd go with Stokes. He has a great attitude on the field, he won't be bullied by anyone, he knows when to be aggressive and when to be more cautious, and he just seems to have that nous that a good captain needs to be successful. Admittedly he's inexperienced in test cricket, but with the way things are at the moment, that's something we can't afford to be held back by, especially as he looks like being the one bright spot from this utterly shit series.

Time to build for the future and pick someone who will thrive on the spotlight of captaincy rather than be held back by it.

massive burden on a young lads shoulders when he should be allowed to develop his game as an all rounder. Thats enough for him to work on at the moment. If they were going to chuck it at one of the young lads then Root would probably be the one. Im not sure that would be wise and Id doubt the management would do it anyway
 
Is it getting to the point where's Cooks captaincy could come under threat?

Absolutely has to be now, some of his decision making has been downright bizarre. As much as I don't think that Clarke is the great captain that Warne is trying to convince us that he is, he has out-thought Cook at pretty much every turn throughout the series.
 
James Tredwell as captain?
Already been T20 captain and recently resigned as Kent captain to 'concentrate on his international career'. Maybe 2+2=5 but I can't believe he is being picked for his spin bowling alone, there are younger promising lads we could be giving a chance.

Absolutely. There were some encouraging signs with his aggression on one or two days of this series but it has largely been uninspiring and defensive. His captaincy last night was a joke. Completely none-existant. Its affecting his confidence, his batting and his fielding. For the benefit of everyone, he needs to remove the burden of captaincy.

The only player I can see doing it is Broad. Im not a huge fan of bowlers as captain and I think his temperament is iffy but are there any other players you can see doing the job?

Fast bowler as captain is never a good idea as they are prone to injury. Also, if your name's Flintoff you just bowl yourself over after over.

Prior is the obvious choice, if his form wasn't so poor. I am confodent this could be restored with a new coaching setup, and less tests.
 
Just seen Cook's interview, sounds and looks like a man who knows that he won't be captain after this series in my opinion.
 
So long as it is not Kevin Pietersen. Tredwell is not even in the team. Bell may be the only choice. How about getting a new coach to start with?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top