Clarke refutes 'weakest Ashes squad' tag

[willsutton]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-24/clarke-refutes-weakest-ashes-squad-tag/4649314?section=sport



Yes, the weakest Ashes batting squad ever by a English County Mile but I
think our pace bowling attack is pretty good

[willsutton]

btw: remove the Captain and our tail looks better then our batting stars

[fish womper]

"willsutton" <w...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:atrhq5...@mid.individual.net...

Smith was extremely stiff IMHO. An average of 40 in India mightn't seem so
special but in the context of the tour it deserved better than being
dropped.

Note the "worst ever" pronouncements by the Pommy Press. Perhaps they are
right, especially regarding the batting, but you'd think they'd have learnt
something from the last time they sprouted this line, 1989. A 4-0 result
that flattered the losers.

One thinks the Pommy tracks may be more friendly to the Aussie quicks than
were the dustbowls of India.

fishy

[Jellore]

On Apr 25, 12:13 pm, willsutton <w...@nowhere.com> wrote:
> http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-24/clarke-refutes-weakest-ashes-sq...

>
> Yes, the weakest Ashes batting squad ever by a English County Mile but I
> think our pace bowling attack is pretty good

If the English go into this series seriously thinking they going to
roll the Australians easily, think again.

[Jellore]

I agree, Siddle will be handful especially if he gets off to a good
start. If Pattinson can remain injury free. I'd say 50-50 at this
stage, especially as the English have their issues. KP is no certainty
to play, and if does he will be underdone. Swann is struggling with
his elbow. Bresnan is just on his way back. Lot of pressure on
Anderson and the inconsistent Finn/Broad.

[Ramapriya]

On Apr 25, 6:24 am, "fish womper" <x...@x.x> wrote:
>
> Note the "worst ever" pronouncements by the Pommy Press. Perhaps they are
> right, especially regarding the batting, but you'd think they'd have learnt
> something from the last time they sprouted this line, 1989. A 4-0 result
> that flattered the losers.

Agree, however IIRC the Oz 89 squad comprised, among others, Border,
Boon, Steve Waugh, Alderman, Lawson, Hughes, Healy, Dean Jones and
Mark Taylor. I'd like to see *anyone* compare those names with the
present lot, aside of Clarke and possibly Siddle.

Ramapriya

[willsutton]

I will go down on record as saying Starc will become a great and
Pattinson will be with him. IMHO this Australian pace attack has the
potential to be better then the 89 team

[willsutton]

I think their bowlers will be confident but their batsmen know they are
in for a fight. For me the 2 priced English scalps are Cook and Trott,
if they succeed regularly we are looking at a 5 nil loss ( that is not
factoring in the weather )

[John Hall]

In article <atrhq5...@mid.individual.net>,
willsutton <w...@nowhere.com> writes:
>
>
>http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-24/clarke-refutes-weakest-

>ashes-squad-tag/4649314?section=sport
>
>
>
>Yes, the weakest Ashes batting squad ever by a English County
>Mile but I think our pace bowling attack is pretty good

Regardless of whether it's the weakest or not, one would hardly expect
Clarke to admit that it was. Had it been "Clarke agrees with 'weakest
Ashes squad' tag" /that/ would have been worth some newspaper column
inches. :)
--
John Hall
"Sir, I have found you an argument;
but I am not obliged to find you an understanding."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

[Luke Curtis]

As an English fan don't expect it to be easy but every Aussie journo I
have heard interviewed (about 4 or 5 now) have been predicting
anything between 6-0 and 8-0, the latest one I heard predicted that in
the 5 tests in England Aus would not once pass 300 and thought it a
struggle to get 200.


-
XBox 360 GT: Broton69

--
ButIstillneedtoknowwhat'sinthere! Thekeytoanysecurity
systemishowit'sdesigned! Thatdependsonwhyitwasdesigned!
Ihavetoknowwhatwhoeverdesigneditwastryingtoprotect!
(Blakes 7, City on the Edge of the World - Vila in typical panic mode)

[Dechucka]

"willsutton" <w...@nowhere.com> wrote in message

news:atrngt...@mid.individual.net...

> On 25/04/2013 1:02 PM, Jellore wrote:
>> On Apr 25, 12:13 pm, willsutton <w...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>>> http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-24/clarke-refutes-weakest-ashes-sq...
>>>
>>> Yes, the weakest Ashes batting squad ever by a English County Mile but I
>>> think our pace bowling attack is pretty good
>>
>> If the English go into this series seriously thinking they going to
>> roll the Australians easily, think again.
>>
>
>
> I think their bowlers will be confident but their batsmen know they are in
> for a fight. For me the 2 priced English scalps are Cook and Trott,

what are they worth?

[Andrew Dunford]

"Ramapriya" <d.ram...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:55de5bdd-052d-4f59...@aw7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...

This is a slightly unfair comparison. When the 1989 team arrived in England
SR Waugh averaged 30 as a Test batsman, Healy had played eight matches and
Taylor had scored 67 Test runs.

And their bowling attack really wasn't that special, although I will concede
it did contain members who were able to play more than one match in a row
without getting injured.

Andrew

[jzfredricks]

On Friday, April 26, 2013 12:12:05 PM UTC+10, Andrew Dunford wrote:
> And their bowling attack really wasn't that special, although I will concede
> it did contain members who were able to play more than one match in a row
> without getting injured.

"MORE than one" is quite a benchmark. The current team would barely make it tea without the need of an ambulance.

[Dechucka]

"Andrew Dunford" <adun...@artifax.net> wrote in message
news:atu65b...@mid.individual.net...

Harrison managed it playing hit and giggle

[alvey]

On Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:12:05 +1200, Andrew Dunford wrote:


>
> And their bowling attack really wasn't that special, although I will concede
> it did contain members who were able to play more than one match in a row
> without getting injured.

Yairsss. Imagine the carnage if today's "professionals" tried Ye Olde Toure
of Pomgolia. Here's the 1956 Orstralian's itinary;

Worcestershire v Australia at Worcester, 2-4 May 1956
Leicestershire v Australia at Leicester, 5-8 May 1956
Yorkshire v Australia at Bradford, 9-11 May 1956
Nottinghamshire v Australia at Nottingham, 12-15 May 1956
Surrey v Australia at Kennington Oval, 16-18 May 1956
Cambridge University v Australia at Cambridge, 19-22 May 1956
Lancashire v Australia at Manchester, 23-25 May 1956
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australia at Lord's, 26-29 May 1956
Oxford University v Australia at Oxford, 30 May-1 Jun 1956
Sussex v Australia at Brighton, 2-5 Jun 1956
1st TEST: England v Australia at Nottingham, 7-12 Jun 1956
Northamptonshire v Australia at Northampton, 13-15 Jun 1956
Kent v Australia at Canterbury, 16-19 Jun 1956
2nd TEST: England v Australia at Lord's, 21-26 Jun 1956
Yorkshire v Australia at Sheffield, 27-29 Jun 1956
Gloucestershire v Australia at Bristol, 30 Jun-2 Jul 1956
Somerset v Australia at Taunton, 4-6 Jul 1956
Hampshire v Australia at Southampton, 7-10 Jul 1956
3rd TEST: England v Australia at Leeds, 12-17 Jul 1956
Middlesex v Australia at Lord's, 21-24 Jul 1956
4th TEST: England v Australia at Manchester, 26-31 Jul 1956
Surrey v Australia at Kennington Oval, 1-3 Aug 1956
Glamorgan v Australia at Swansea, 4-7 Aug 1956
Warwickshire v Australia at Birmingham, 8-10 Aug 1956
Derbyshire v Australia at Derby, 11-14 Aug 1956
Lancashire v Australia at Manchester, 15-17 Aug 1956
Essex v Australia at Southend-on-Sea, 18-21 Aug 1956
5th TEST: England v Australia at Kennington Oval, 23-28 Aug 1956
Gentlemen v Australia at Lord's, 29-31 Aug 1956
England XI v Australia at Hastings, 1-4 Sep 1956
TN Pearce's XI v Australia at Scarborough, 5-7 Sep 1956

That's just staggering. Note especially the number of consecutive dates.



alvey

[jzfredricks]

On Friday, April 26, 2013 3:20:46 PM UTC+10, alvey wrote:
> That's just staggering. Note especially the number of consecutive dates.

+1 holy crap

that's insane.

Players these days have to deal with social media, though.

[willsutton]

the "Ashes"


if they get get them for an average of 2 per innings that is

[Gerrit]

"alvey" <Argus...@yahoos.com> wrote in message
news:pf6m1blgj65f.xmgf4hf9p1fb$.dlg@40tude.net...

Good incentive to win with a day to spare!

Gerrit

[Mike Holmans]

On Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:44:48 +0800, "Gerrit" <s...@for.you> tapped the
keyboard and brought forth:

>
>"alvey" <Argus...@yahoos.com> wrote in message
>news:pf6m1blgj65f.xmgf4hf9p1fb$.dlg@40tude.net...

>> Yairsss. Imagine the carnage if today's "professionals" tried Ye Olde
>> Toure
>> of Pomgolia. Here's the 1956 Orstralian's itinary;
>>
>> Worcestershire v Australia at Worcester, 2-4 May 1956

...

>> TN Pearce's XI v Australia at Scarborough, 5-7 Sep 1956
>>
>> That's just staggering. Note especially the number of consecutive dates.

>

>Good incentive to win with a day to spare!

Actually, it wasn't. Winning with a day to spare meant that there
would be no gate receipts on day 3. Touring parties to England at that
time received 40-50% of the gate receipts, which was how the tours
were financed, so there was every incentive to play as many days as
possible.

Cheers,

Mike
--

[patt...@gmail.com]

But did the players get a cut?

[jzfredricks]

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 1:04:00 AM UTC+10, patt...@gmail.com wrote:
> But did the players get a cut?

I imagine the incentive was that if they didn't play they'd get the cut

[CaraMia]

> But did the players get a cut?

It seems like Touring Party is a party in England just like the Labour
Party or Conservative Party. If 40-50% of the gate receipts went to
them, I don't see they should they give a cut from that to the players.
It isn't as if they are the Socialist Party.

[Andrew B]

On 26/04/2013 06:20, alvey wrote:
> On Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:12:05 +1200, Andrew Dunford wrote:
>
>
>>
>> And their bowling attack really wasn't that special, although I will concede
>> it did contain members who were able to play more than one match in a row
>> without getting injured.
>
> Yairsss. Imagine the carnage if today's "professionals" tried Ye Olde Toure
> of Pomgolia. Here's the 1956 Orstralian's itinary;

<snipped>

> That's just staggering. Note especially the number of consecutive dates.

Although there was no play on Sundays, so they never actually played
more than 6 days in a row.

[Andrew B]

On 26/04/2013 03:12, Andrew Dunford wrote:
>
>
> "Ramapriya" <d.ram...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:55de5bdd-052d-4f59...@aw7g2000pbd.googlegroups.com...
>> On Apr 25, 6:24 am, "fish womper" <x...@x.x> wrote:
>>>
>>> Note the "worst ever" pronouncements by the Pommy Press. Perhaps they
>>> are
>>> right, especially regarding the batting, but you'd think they'd have
>>> learnt
>>> something from the last time they sprouted this line, 1989. A 4-0 result
>>> that flattered the losers.
>>
>>
>> Agree, however IIRC the Oz 89 squad comprised, among others, Border,
>> Boon, Steve Waugh, Alderman, Lawson, Hughes, Healy, Dean Jones and
>> Mark Taylor. I'd like to see *anyone* compare those names with the
>> present lot, aside of Clarke and possibly Siddle.
>
> This is a slightly unfair comparison. When the 1989 team arrived in
> England SR Waugh averaged 30 as a Test batsman, Healy had played eight
> matches and Taylor had scored 67 Test runs.

Waugh had averaged 80 in the previous county season. The 1989 Playfair
says "England... are unlikely to underestimate the potential of an
Australian team which includes the immense talent of Steve Waugh". The
Daily Telegraph cricket yearbook looked forward to the Ashes with
"guarded pessimism" (also mentioning Waugh, plus Mark Waugh, Border and
Dean Jones).

FWIW, Henry Blofeld writing in the Cricketer magazine thought it was
unlikely that Australia would win the 1989 series, largely because he
thought they'd struggle to take 20 wickets.

[alvey]

They didn't play Tests on Sunday you mean? Check that itinary again. Oz had
continuous scheduled dates from 02May to 05Jun against Counties (and CU)
and afaik, they were all *actual* three day games.

But even so... six days play is a full season for Pat Cummins...



alvey

[Mike Holmans]

On Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:11:09 +1000, alvey <Argus...@yahoos.com>

tapped the keyboard and brought forth:

>Cambridge University v Australia at Cambridge, 19-22 May 1956
> Lancashire v Australia at Manchester, 23-25 May 1956
> Marylebone Cricket Club v Australia at Lord's, 26-29 May 1956
> Oxford University v Australia at Oxford, 30 May-1 Jun 1956
> Sussex v Australia at Brighton, 2-5 Jun 1956

As you say, check that itinerary. The games were three-day games. I
realise that counting beyond three is probably beyond you
Queenslanders, but three of the games in that excerpt are scheduled
for four days.

And of course they wouldn't play on a Sunday. Why on earth would they
bother to play on a day when it was illegal to charge gate money when
the sole reason for them playing was to get their 40% gross gate
receipts?

Cheers,

Mike

--

[alvey]

So casting your mind, or what's left of it anyway, back to sayyy the 1930's
when you were la'ad, was the county week; Mon-Wed= play county A; Thur-Sat=
play county B, and then give the missus one on Sunday?


alvey

[jzfredricks]

On Saturday, April 27, 2013 1:45:09 PM UTC+10, alvey wrote:
> and then give the missus one on Sunday?

Sure, so long as you didn't enjoy it. That would be a sin.

[Mike Holmans]

On Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:45:09 +1000, alvey <Argus...@yahoos.com>

Starts of three-day games were traditionally Saturday and Wednesday.

Cheers,

Mike
--

[John Hall]

In article <nt0wxckjb2k4.15ry63v4q80fl$.d...@40tude.net>,

:)

I think that used to be the case at one time, but by the 1950s games
were Saturday to Tuesday (with the Sunday a rest day) and Wednesday to
Friday.

[alvey]

A programme designed by the same people who bought you seperate dressing
rooms for team-mates. Yep, it's Point and Laugh time.


alvey

[**matto**]

On Thursday, April 25, 2013 1:43:00 PM UTC+10, Ramapriya wrote:
>
> Agree, however IIRC the Oz 89 squad comprised, among others, Border,
>
> Boon, Steve Waugh, Alderman, Lawson, Hughes, Healy, Dean Jones and
>
> Mark Taylor. I'd like to see *anyone* compare those names with the
>
> present lot, aside of Clarke and possibly Siddle.

Healy was a passenger and was carried in 1989.

Taylor had only played two Tests.

Point taken with all the rest.

[Dechucka]

"alvey" <Argus...@yahoos.com> wrote in message

news:tk7xdlfe330g.1hopzk3fikprx$.dlg@40tude.net...

why?

[Bob Dubery]

On Apr 25, 5:43 am, Ramapriya <d.ramapr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Apr 25, 6:24 am, "fish womper" <x...@x.x> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Note the "worst ever" pronouncements by the Pommy Press. Perhaps they are
> > right, especially regarding the batting, but you'd think they'd have learnt
> > something from the last time they sprouted this line, 1989. A 4-0 result
> > that flattered the losers.
>

> Agree, however IIRC the Oz 89 squad comprised, among others, Border,
> Boon, Steve Waugh, Alderman, Lawson, Hughes, Healy, Dean Jones and
> Mark Taylor. I'd like to see *anyone* compare those names with the
> present lot, aside of Clarke and possibly Siddle.

Yes, but in '89 a lot of those players still had to make a name for
themselves. We don't know what the guys in the '13 Ashes squad may
achieve in the future.

OK... maybe we do, but the trick is to try to compare what we know
about this squad NOW with what we knew about that squad THEN.

I also note that the names being bandied around here don't even number
11. Who else was in the '89 squad?

[Andrew B.]

On Sunday, April 28, 2013 4:38:46 AM UTC+1, Bob Dubery wrote:

> I also note that the names being bandied around here don't even number
>
> 11. Who else was in the '89 squad?

The full squad was Taylor, Marsh, Boon, Jones, Border, Waugh, Moody, Veletta, Healy, Zoehrer, Hohns, Hughes, May, Lawson, Alderman, G Campbell, Rackemann.

Campbell played in the first Test (in place of Hohns). Moody, Veletta, Zoehrer, May, Rackemann didn't play any Tests.

Maybe it's due to hindsight, but I'd have thought the '85 squad looks weaker:
Wood, Hilditch, Wessels, Boon, Border, Ritchie, Wellham, WB Phillips, RB Phillips, Matthews, O'Donnell, McDermott, Lawson, Thomson, Gilbert, Bennett, Holland. (McDermott was a promising youngster who did well in the circumstances, Lawson was apparently unfit, Holland had one good game, and that was one more than any of the other bowlers).