After the complete capitulation of the Australian side at the hands of a depleted South African side – yes depleted, there’s no AB de Villiers, and no Steyn – the majority of the spots in the side seem to up for grabs. Following the Hobart shambles, Smith, Warner, Starc and Hazlewood were the only ones identified as ‘safe’. Realistically a few others are probably also safe, surely they’re not going to re-cast 63% of the team in a mad panic following Rod Marsh’s resignation as chairman of selectors.
With that in mind, and the looming pink-ball tests – remember we get two of them this year – could this be a test team that we see in the very near future.
David Warner and… Usman Khawaja
Warner is safe, and honestly needs to be retained just so there is some semblance of stability at the top of the order. Who would have ever imagined we’d be saying that about Davey 6 or 7 years ago?
Joe Burns will be unlucky if he gets dropped having only just re-entered the team following Shaun Marsh’s injured finger. However, since his ton to open the shield season his last 6 innings have returned just 4, 7, 1, 0, 4, and 2. Even despite that early ton being in the pink-ball shield round, the situation doesn’t seem promising for Joe.
His Queensland teammate Usman Khawaja could be the one to displace him – at least until SOS is healthy again and then I’d be bringing him back in (you can disagree, that’s fine) and shuffling everyone back down a spot with a handful fighting over the 5-6-7 spots.
Other options like Cameron Bancroft or Travis Dean don’t really factor in for me as they’ve both had lean openings to the current season (ignoring Dean’s ton in the current shield round). Someone like Marcus Harris could be a long shot to fill the openers spot. But counting against all of them is inexperience, especially if the selection is temporary until Marsh returns, surely its better to stick with experience.
Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, and Callum Ferguson
Steve is skipper, he’s still our best batsman, and he was the only one that looked like he maybe still knew how to bat in the Aussies first innings in Hobart. Play him at three – while Khawaja opens – I know he probably prefers to bat four or five, but it’s probably not fair to expose the likes of Ferguson or Handscomb at first drop.
Peter Handscomb has been putting up consistent numbers, topped off by a big double ton in the current shield round batting at four for the Bushrangers albeit against a Blues attack missing Starc and Hazlewood. He also had a hundred in last year’s day-night shield round, and 96 in the corresponding round the year before that. Plus, while he may only be the backup keeper in Victorian shield team behind Matthew Wade, if he gets a baggy green and then starts making runs he could put pressure on Nevill.
In Callum Ferguson’s favour is that he made a ton in the pink-ball round to open this year’s shield season, and plays his home cricket at the Adelaide oval. On top of that neither of his dismissals in Hobart were really his fault. He was run out in the ridiculousness of the first innings and then caught out by a non-bouncing bouncer in the second. Sure, if he fails again maybe you revisit his selection prior to the Pakistan series, but for now I think he holds his spot – especially with Voges struggling for form, and possibly unavailable following a blow to the head in his latest shield innings, whether or not that s the last we see of Voges in the baggy green I’m not sure.
Ok, you can hate this selection as much, or as little, as you like. You can hate it because you don’t like us playing an all-rounder, you can hate it because you’d rather they played a specialist batsmen at 6, or you can hate it because you don’t like Glenn Maxwell, I don’t really care.
I’m picking Glenn Maxwell for three reasons. Unlike Mitch Marsh who is really a bowling all-rounder, I see Maxi as clearly a batting all-rounder.
One. I believe he is good enough to bat six in the test team so long as you can accept that he will occasionally do something silly and throw his wicket away – remember his first-class average of 41.6 is better than Burns 38.9, Ferguson 39.8, Bailey 39.75, Nevill 37.6, S Marsh 40.7 and M Marsh 29.5.
Two. He doesn’t take a ton of wickets, but his off-spinners can be handy and this game is in theoretically spin-friendly conditions at the Adelaide Oval.
Three. This is a pink ball test. Maybe there is a place for pink-ball specialists, and maybe this is Maxi’s gateway into a larger role in the test team.
Aston Agar might wish he hadn’t missed this round of shield cricket as he could easily fill this same role – he’s a better bowler, and has shown that he’s a more than comparable batter on his day.
Of course if selectors want to go a more ‘traditional’ route, and they probably will, they could do worse than giving George Bailey a recall – if there weren’t other fresh faces in the side I’d be open to giving someone like Kurtis Patterson a spot, but Bailey’s experience would be invaluable to the balance of the side just as Voges’, Rogers’ and Hussey’s has been over the past several years.
I still think Peter Nevill is the best keeping option, but he would undoubtedly like more runs as he’s only averaging 22 across his 17 tests (Wade was averaging 34 before he was dropped). Working in his advantage should be the fact that he showed more spine than most of his teammates in Perth when they were trying (unrealistically) to salvage a draw.
If/when Shaun Marsh returns I wouldn’t be surprised to see Handscomb, Ferguson, Nevill and whoever bats 6 in Adelaide fighting over the 5-6-7 spots for the Pakistan series.
Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Chadd Sayers
Starc and Hazlewood are both safe. Mitch has his killer yorkers, destroys wickets for fun, and has zero body language issues (anyone else notice during the first two Tests just how much praise Warnie has gushed over Starc, complete opinion shift from previous years). Hazlewood started the series well, he’s dependable, consistent and provide a solid partnership together with NSW teammate Starc.
The obvious, and perhaps more likely selection is Jackson Bird, however I’m not against the idea of swapping Mennie for his Redbacks teammate, Chadd Sayers.
Sayers is the leading wicket taker in this year’s shield season – including match figure of 11/76 in the destruction of Tasmania at the Adelaide Oval just a couple of weeks ago (he also too 10/77 against them at the same ground last season too). Often overlooked because he’s not express pace, but consistent wickets and familiarity with the Adelaide oval would be enough for me to give him a run. At least while the more known quantities of Siddle, Cummins and Pattinson aren’t available.
Nathan Lyon is the number one spin option and I won’t hear another argument against it. If he has any confidence issues, they’re a result of everyone constantly questioning his place in the team. He’s our greatest off spinner and leading wicket taker over the past five years by a distance (his 201 wickets lead Siddle in second on just 129). He can’t take full blame for lack of wickets when he’s either getting under bowled by Smith or having to bowl trying to project the miserable run total his teammates put together. If another spinner plays, it’s in addition to Lyon, not instead of.
So, what’s that leave us with. Well, it’s actually only three changes. Handscomb, Maxwell and Sayers for Burns, Voges and Mennie.
That won’t be the side for the Adelaide test, but it would be interesting if it were.
]]>As it currently stands, this is the format for the NatWest T20 Blast in England:
There are three main issues with this current arrangement.
Too many games — 133 games is a lot, even the IPL only play 60, it was slightly better in 2012/13 when they reduced it to 97 but prior to that it was a whopping 151
Too many teams — this contributes to the sheer bloat of games, possibly also spreads the best talent too thin
Tournament is too long — it runs for three months, why? too many games, too many teams…
All of these issues can be tackled by ‘rebooting’ the English domestic Twenty20 competition with a shorter, more dynamic tournament based on the models that have seen success in India with the IPL, and in Australia with the Big Bash League.
This is my proposal:
The nine franchises would be based at the nine existing Test-level venues across England and Wales.
These are the largest venues available, with capacities ranging from 15-28,000 and are reasonably evenly spread across the country.
Teams would be split into three equal divisions (North, Mid, and South) and associated with cities (or regions) complete with new names, colours and kits, rather than aligning with traditional counties.
Imagine a London v London derby featuring two strong T20 sides, in front of a packed crowd at Lord’s during the English summer. It would have to be big, right?
There would also be the possibility, or perhaps necessity, of having some matches played at other smaller county grounds in the case of clashes with International matches, or simply as a way to ‘compensate’ for the reduced number of teams.
As far as squads go, some IPL teams have close to 30 players, and BBL teams have 18, so given a player pool that would cover 18 counties, 20 seems a reasonable starting point for this new English tournament.
A maximum of 4 international players per squad, with only 2 allowed to play per match, and a supplementary list of 6-8 players to cover injury replacements or player development opportunities.
Players would be signed to regular yearly/multi-year contracts (as they are in the BBL), rather than using an IPL-style player auction.
Each team would play both home and away within their division (derby matches), plus all other teams either home or away (with venues alternating annually) for a total of 10 matches per team — 5 at home, 5 away.
The 45 group matches would be spread across 9 ‘rounds’, with each round of 5 matches featuring:
At the conclusion of the 9 rounds, the top 4 would qualify for the “Finals Weekend”, continuing the basic concept that they currently use.
The Finals Weekend would consist of 4 matches played across two days, with a double chance for those finishing first and second, rather than a traditional semi-final arrangement
The suggestion would be that this tournament be played in a single block – with a number of double headers, and having games every day, the entire thing could be condensed into about 37 days.
By condensing the tournament into just 6 weeks the whole tournament can take place during the school holiday break – taking the place of the domestic one-day cup.
Each of the 9 ‘rounds’ would span 3-5 days depending on the organisation of fixtures, with two double headers per week (played on Fridays, Saturdays and/or Sundays).
Assuming afternoon games are part of the double headers, they would likely need to planned around Test matches to avoid potential broadcasting overlaps.
The County Championship and One Day Cup would need slight realignment to allow for the six week T20 tournament.
The One Day Cup could revert to a season long fixture alongside the County Championship, while the championship itself would be split – having 13 rounds before the T20 break, and the remaining 5 after it ends (this assumes each team playing 16 first-class matches, with 2 byes).
If the ECB wanted to keep the One-Day Cup as a single block tournament like they did in 2014, the only way to fit both it and this T20 tournament in — without lengthening the overall cricket season — would be to shorten the County Championship, but I don’t see that happening.
Sky Sports covered just 41 out of 133 matches in 2014, but with only 49 in my suggested format they surely should be able to broadcast all of them.
The Big Bash League in Australia has shown there is interest in nightly prime-time cricket, with the BBL games also being broadcast back in the UK where it appears to also be a hit.
I would also like to see the matches broadcast back here in Australia, live broadcasts would be of limited use given that the time difference doesn’t really work so well, but I would be satisfied by a replay the following night.
Just to get it out of the way, my preferred option would be to scrap the Champions League entirely (at least in its current form), and return that time to the cramped international schedule, but that’s an article/argument for another time.
However, if it is going to persist — preferably as a ‘proper’ ICC run tournament for actual ‘champions’, and not a BCCI/CA/CSA operation that serves mostly as IPL2.0 — then the winner of this new English tournament should auto-qualify.
]]>Here’s Round 1 in review.
Two words. Tim. Ludeman. We’d seen the potential of his talent with a 43-ball 71 back in BBL02, but he only compiled 84 runs across the whole of BBL03.
Smash 91, hello fastest fifty in the BBL, goodbye Stars. Luke Wright and Kevin Pietersen looked good for the Stars, but with tiny contributions from everyone else their 148 never looked like being enough.
Sure enough it wasn’t, the Strikers wiped them out in just 12.3 overs going at a lazy 11.93rp/o. Unexpected, but very entertaining.
Matt Wade, Aaron Finch and Callum Ferguson all made starts at the top of the order, with some late hitting from the West Indian pair of Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell lifting them to 154.
On paper their bowling looked like it might have just enough to defend that total, but Nic Maddinson had other ideas, belting an unbeaten 84 off 54 balls to guide the Sixers to a relatively easy victory with an over to spare.
Most of the Hurricanes innings was pretty sedate until Darren Sammy went ballistic in their final couple of overs.
Jonathan Wells made 68 off 44, but at the other end it was Sammy’s 38 off just 12 balls, helping the Hurricanes pile on 47 runs in the last two overs, that was the difference. Poor Dan Worrall finishing with 0/60 off his four overs as a result.
Cam White was back in the runs with a solid 62 for the stars, but didn’t get much help from his team mates, in the end falling 52 runs short of the Hurricanes’ 190.
Two old guys had a field day in lime green on Sunday night, both of them just missing out on tons. Mike Hussey holed out for 96, and once he departed Jacques Kallis turned it up to 11 to finish 97* at the end of the Thunder’s innings of 1/208.
The loss of early wickets saw the Heat’s required rate rocket, and they couldn’t pull it back. Chris Lynn and Nathan Reardon looked good, but both fell before reaching their 50s. The Heat lost their last six wickets for just 19 runs to lose by 56.
Sydney Thunder remain undefeated in BBL04.
]]>Have again managed to keep almost all of their squad together, only losing Brad Hodge to the Strikers and Matthew Wade to their cross-town rivals in red.
The Stars were then involved in the very first BBL trade when they inexplicably traded young spinner James Muirhead to the Scorchers in exchange for Michael Beer.
Kevin Pietersen should help draw crowds wherever he goes – even in Brisbane – but how many runs will he bring? Based on recent form, if they get 20-30 quick runs from him each game, they’ll be doing ok.
They will miss Peter Handscomb’s batting for the first few games, with Tom Triffitt drafted in to take the gloves while he’s out.
Like the Heat, they are very reliant on their big name all-rounders – James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, John Hastings, Luke Wright and Marcus Stoinis.
Have my doubts whether either specialist spinner – Michael Beer or Clive Rose – will get more than a couple of games with Glenn Maxwell, David Hussey and even Kevin Pietersen able to provide slow bowling options.
Gains: Michael Beer (Scorchers), Luke Feldman (Thunder), Kevin Pietersen, Tom Triffitt (Scorchers)
Losses: Brad Hodge (Strikers), James Muirhead (Scorchers), Matthew Wade (Renegades)
Strength: Consistency, they strung together eight consecutive wins last year before they were skittled by the Hurricanes, no real reason why they can’t do the same this year.
Weakness: Experience in their depth, the loss of key pieces at the tail end of the tournament could see them miss out on the LED-illuminated-silverware yet again.
Availability: Test selections shouldn’t impact the Stars this year, but if they lose James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell and (maybe) Cameron White to the Australian ODI team that will hurt them.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 2nd – can see them just missing out again this year, but hopefully doing enough to secure themselves a Champions League spot.
The Hurricanes will benefit from having George Bailey back in their ranks now that he’s not in Test side, however they’ll likely lose him again once the ODI tri-series starts.
Alex Hales heads to Hobart, his third BBL team in three seasons, as he attempts to collect the whole set. We saw what he is capable of last year at Blundstone Arena when he visited with the Strikers and belted 49 off 19 balls in a washed out game.
Darren Sammy provides options with both bat and ball, as does their international replacement Englishman Tim Bresnan.
Although they have two spinners who have represented Australia – Xavier Doherty and Cameron Boyce – there is a reasonable chance that one misses out, however they should be able to get away with playing both in most cases.
Gains: Alex Hales (Strikers), Michael Hill (Renegades), Dom Michael, Jake Reed (Renegades), Darren Sammy, Beau Webster and Tim Bresnan
Losses: Aiden Blizzard (Thunder), Doug Bollinger (Sixers), Ben Laughlin (Strikers)
Strength: Batting power, last year’s stand-out Ben Dunk paired with the explosive Alex Hales at the top, followed by Tim Paine, Travis Birt and George Bailey – it’s a strong top order that most teams would be envious of.
Weakness: Bowling line-up, but it’s not because their line-up won’t be strong, it will be, just a question whether they find the right combination of spin and pace.
Availability: They will lose George Bailey once the ODI tri-series starts, and maybe one of Cameron Boyce or Xavier Doherty.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 1st – Their international signings are an upgrade on last year, their batting is deep and their bowling will be solid if they get the mix correct.
]]>After another dismal campaign in BBL03 the Thunder have overhauled their squad yet again as they search for some, or any, success.
With additions including a fit and firing Pat Cummins, in-form keeper Chris Hartley and some South African fellow called Jacques Kallis, who just happens to the greatest all-rounder in modern times, their chances should improve a little.
They’ve also added experienced campaigners Andrew McDonald, Nathan Hauritz and Aiden Blizzard which should help their overall depth and stability.
The potential opening pair of Usman Khawaja and Chris Hartley will be important for the Thunder’s chances, they’ll be hoping they continue the stellar form that they shared during the season opening Matador BBQs Cup in October.
With Craig Kieswetter withdrawing, the Thunder are still looking for an import to replace Eoin Morgan for the latter half of the tournament.
Gains: Ahilen Beadle, Aiden Blizzard (Hurricanes), Pat Cummins (Scorchers), Chris Green, Chris Hartley (Heat), Nathan Hauritz (Heat), Jacques Kallis, Josh Lalor (Sixers), Andrew McDonald
Losses: Ryan Carters (Sixers), Luke Feldman (Stars), Andrew Tye (Scorchers)
Strength: Batting, the Thunder will rely heavily on getting runs on the board, lots of them.
Weakness: Bowling, adding Cummins and Hauritz helps, as does Kallis, but it’s still one of the weakest attacks overall.
Availability: Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins look like the only two that they could potentially be without, but that’s unlikely until late in the tournament.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 5th – It think they’ve done enough to elevate themselves out of the cellar, don’t think they will make the finals, but they are a chance to come close.
The Heat have managed to keep the majority of last year’s squad together while adding a couple of extra pieces.
West Indian Samuel Badree joins Dan Vettori as the Heat’s international reps, with veteran English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff lined-up to take Badree’s place for the second half of the tournament.
The signing of Flintoff feels like a gamble to me even if he did pick up six wickets in three matches upon his return to the Lancashire side earlier in the year.
Not re-signing Chris Hartley seems a little crazy given how well he went for the Bulls in the Matador BBQs Cup a couple of months ago, leaving the newly recruited Jimmy Pierson as the only keeping option in their primary squad.
Gains: Samuel Badree,Ryan Duffield (Scorchers), Andrew Flintoff, Simon Milenko, Jason Floros, Jimmy Pierson (Strikers), Nathan Reardon (Strikers)
Losses: Chris Hartley (Thunder), Nathan Hauritz (Thunder)
Strength: Bowling, despite the majority of their attack being comprised of all-rounders, I like the overall attack. Samuel Badree should be a good addition, and guys like Alister McDermott and Mark Stekete are more useful than their stats suggest.
Weakness: Batting, the Heat might rely too much on Chis Lynn and Joe Burns at the top of the order, but Nathan Reardon is solid and Dan Christian has been in good form for Victoria so far this season.
Availability: The Heat will be unlikely to get any games out of Mitchell Johnson or Shane Watson. They don’t have any other automatic selections in the Australian ODI side, but a good run in the BBL could help the cases of Chris Lynn, Joe Burns and Ben Cutting.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 4th – Just missed the finals last year, but should make a return this year.
A few handy recruits for the men in red, with Matthew Wade moving across from the Stars and Callum Ferguson from the Strikers.
They’ll join a solid batting line-up that already includes Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch, Peter Nevill, Ben Rohrer and Tom Cooper.
The West Indian pair of Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell will be available for the first half of the tournament before national commitments kick in prior to the World Cup. Big-hitting Kiwi Jesse Ryder will be available for the second half of the tournament.
The Renegades will be looking for James Pattinson to be the spearhead of their attack as he works his way back from injury with support from Nathan Rimmington, Andrew Fekete and maybe Peter Siddle depending on Test commitments.
With Muttiah Muralitharan not returning this season, it should be Fawad Ahmed’s chance to get a consistent run for the Renegades having only featured in two matches across the past two seasons.
Gains: Tom Beaton, Callum Ferguson (Strikers), Andre Russell, Jesse Ryder, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade (Stars), Nicholas Winter
Losses: Michael Hill (Hurricanes), Jake Reed (Hurricanes), Jayde Herrick (injury)
Strength: Batting, they’ve got the longest line-up in the tournament, with hitting potentially stretching all the way to number 10 depending on the line-up they pick.
Weakness: Bowling, oddly, based on the calculations I ran to determine my predictions they’ve got the weakest attack out of all eight teams – but it’s not because of lack of talent – if James Pattinson, Nathan Rimmington, Fawad Ahmed, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell all fire, they will be dangerous.
Availability: Test selection will likely keep Peter Siddle out of the line-up for most of the tournament, but they should get him back for their last couple of matches. The ODI tri-series will take Aaron Finch and possibly Matthew Wade also out of the equation.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 3rd – Will be better than their 6th place last year, will have better depth to cover the unavailability of Aaron Finch, and their bowling will probably make me look like a chump.
With only two side left, check back for part three to find out which one I’m tipping to take it out.
]]>On paper, still the stronger of the two Sydney-based sides, with the vast majority of the NSW squad wearing the Sixers’ magenta, now even further bolstered by the arrivals of Ryan Carters and Doug Bollinger.
However, international commitments are going to pull the core out of their side and challenge their depth.
Ryan Carters will have the gloves in Brad Haddin’s absence, and is a more than useful middle-order option for the Sixers, but could also open if the need arose.
Dwayne Smith is their new international signing, and while acting mostly as a batsmen in recent times, does also provide an additional bowling option which could be handy if/when Hazlewood, Starc, Abbott, Lyon, and Steve Smith are unavailable.
Marcus North has retired and replaced by a rejuvenated Ed Cowan, he might not make their first XI, however depending on how Chris Rogers goes in Brisbane, there is every chance that Ed could find himself back in the Test team for Boxing Day.
Gains: Doug Bollinger (Hurricanes), Ryan Carters (Thunder), Ed Cowan, Dwayne Smith
Losses: Josh Lalor (Thunder), Marcus North (retired), Daniel Smith (retired)
Strength: Their experience, at a quick count they’ve got 13 current or former Australian representatives in their ranks.
Weakness: That all their experience will be playing for Australia and not them, testing their depth greatly.
Availability: Will be without Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and Steve Smith for most, if not all, of the tournament. One or both of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc also likely to be unavailable due to Test, and then ODI, selection. Might also lose Sean Abbott once the ODI tri-series begins.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 8th – Believe it or not the numbers I ran placed them last by a distance. At full strength they would make the finals easily, but they won’t be anywhere near full-strength.
Having made it to the final in all three seasons, they finally cracked a win last year – I’m not expecting the same this year.
They’ll be without Craig Simmons and Simon Katich, but they’ve got reasonable replacements with Michael Carberry and Michael Klinger.
However the absence of the Marsh brothers will hurt them a lot, Shaun’s top order batting is key, and the loss of all-rounder Mitch affects their overall balance.
They also upgraded their spin bowling stocks with a steal of a trade with the Stars, swapping Michael Beer for James Muirhead. He joins Ashton Agar in a battle for Brad Hogg’s spot – if they don’t pick Hogg, and are without Mitch Marsh, then both Muirhead and Agar could play.
The trio of Jason Behrendorff, Joel Paris and Nathan Coulter-Nile is one of the strongest attacks in the tournament – we’ve already seen what they can do in the Matador BBQs cup earlier in the summer.
Gains: Michael Carberry, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger (Strikers), Simon Mackin, James Muirhead (Stars), Andrew Tye (Thunder)
Losses: Michael Beer (Stars), Pat Cummins (Thunder), Ryan Duffield (Heat), Craig Simmons (Strikers), Tom Triffit (Stars), Simon Katich (retired)
Strength: Bowling, they’ve got depth in their pace options, and in their spin options – their only problem will be deciding who misses out.
Weakness: Batting, the additions of Carberry and Klinger won’t offset the loss of Katich, Simmons, and the Marsh brothers.
Availability: Already without Mitch Marsh, they have now lost Shaun as well following his test re-call. A chance they could also lose Nathan Coulter-Nile if he makes the Australian ODI side.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 7th – On paper they have a great squad, but – like the Sixers – several significant absences will affect their balance. I don’t see them making the final this year, nor the top four, but they will probably find someway of proving me wrong.
The second least successful team across the first thee seasons, the Strikers have added batsmen Brad Hodge and Craig Simmons, bowlers Ben Laughlin and Chadd Sayers.
The big West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard also returns, plus they have signed Ryan ten Doeschate as his replacement for the back half of the tournament.
They have numerous options that could be used to partner new recruit Craig Simmons at the top of the order, but I’d expect them to try several options before they find one that sticks.
The Strikers will also miss Michael Neser who was their MVP last year, having been ruled out with a back injury.
Even with the addition of Brad Hodge, Kieron Pollard and Craig Simmons the Strikers don’t have a lot of batting depth, this will be an issue if they lose an early clump of wickets.
Inexperience is an issue across the squad with four players yet to play a BBL game, and several others with less than a handful under their belts.
Gains: Brad Hodge (Stars), Hamish Kingston, Ben Laughlin (Hurricanes), Kieron Pollard, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Craig Simmons (Scorchers), and Ryan ten Doeschate.
Losses: Callum Ferguson (Renegades), Alex Hales (Hurricanes), Michael Klinger (Scorchers), Michael Neser (injury), Jimmy Pierson (Heat), Nathan Reardon (Heat)
Strength: Death bowling, already strong, they now have Ben Laughlin to partner Kane Richardson.
Weakness: Batting depth, if Craig Simmons continues to be inconsistent (last year was all low scores or centuries) then they could quickly find themselves 3 or 4 down for not many.
Availability: Luckily, they don’t appear likely to be impacted by the ongoing Test series, but could be without Kane Richardson for their last couple of games if he is picked for the ODI tri-series.
Possible XI:
Prediction: 6th – I think they’ll manage to be better than last year, but only slightly.
There is a notable absence from the bottom three that I’ve tipped. Check back for part two to see who I think will make the finals, and who just misses out.
]]>Phillip Hughes didn’t have an orthodox style about his batting, it didn’t matter. He made runs, lots of runs.
Despite averaging 40+ in all three forms of the game, and having just ticked past 9000 career first-class runs, his best cricket was most definitely still ahead of him.
Hughes was a first-class batsman of the highest order, and an under-rated talent in the limited overs arena.
Four months ago he became the first Australian to notch a List A limited-overs double century, whacking a 6 of the last ball of the innings to lift him to 202*, and taking him past the previous record of his good mate David Warner.
He had also brought up his maiden test century in a similar fashion as a 20-year-old back in 2009.
“This young man’s lived up to the hype! He takes a couple of paces down the track and lofts him with the turn and deposits the ball on the grass embankment over deep midwicket, Hughes take a bow! All the Australians are up on their feet.
There’ll be major celebrations in Macksville, New South Wales”
– Cricinfo commentary
This achieved against a South African attack that included Steyn, Ntini and Morkel.
He followed his maiden effort with 160 in the second inning of that match, twin tons in just his second test, the youngest ever to do so.
“He’s done it! Morkel gifts him with a short delivery outside off, he gets the elbows high and upper cuts it over the slips, he’s now the youngest to score a century in both innings of a Test, surpassing George Headley”
– Cricinfo commentary
Just a couple of weeks after his one-day double he hit another career best, again playing for Australia A, again against the touring South African A side, when he put together 243*. This was his 26th, and final, first-class century.
He was still only 25, and seemingly had a world of time to add to his tally of 26 Tests and 25 ODIs. But everything changed in a split second last Tuesday afternoon.
Having brought up his 50 – his 72nd 50+ score in 114 first-class matches – and looking to be on the way to century number 27, Hughes received a ball no different to that which he would have previously faced hundreds of times across his career, he was 63 not out at the time.
However he was already through his shot when it arrived, and the ball struck him. Initially dazed, Hughes collapsed as his mates frantically called for assistance.
So many times, at all levels, have we seen batsmen get stuck by the ball. Most would shake it off, a few would retire hurt, but this time it was different.
Phillip never regained consciousness, and surrounded by family and friends he passed away on Thursday afternoon.
63 not out. Forever.
So unspeakably sad for such a freak accident to take a freak talent away from his family and friends at such a young age.
There is no way to begin to understand how his family and closest friends are feeling.
And it truly was a freak accident, one in a billion, apparently just 100 reported cases of the same injury in recorded history.
The bowler, Sean Abbott, a former NSW and Australian team-mate, meant no harm and was among the first to Hughes’ aid when he fell. No one holds him responsible, and I genuinely hope that he knows that. I hope that he is being given all the support and care that he needs.
The same applies to the rest of the New South Wales and South Australian squads, almost all of whom had been his team mate at some point.
The initial response efforts of Dr John Orchard, and the other medical staff at the ground must be applauded, along with the efforts of the paramedics and doctors who treated him at St Vincents. Their quick action gave Hughesy a fighting chance in a battle he would sadly not emerge victorious from.
The dedication and courage shown by Michael Clarke over the past week has been superb. He barely left St Vincent’s Hospital, staying to support the family of his little mate.
No one should ever call into question his leadership again.
Thursday afternoon Clarke read a prepared statement on behalf of Phillip’s family, how he got through that I’m not sure.
The statement he read on behalf of his Australian teammates yesterday morning, and the immense difficulty he had getting through it, showed just how deeply the loss has affected them.
If it wasn’t already clear before Clarke’s 10am statement, it surely was afterwards. There is no way they could have been expected to play this coming Thursday.
It’s been reported there were unto 70 players, past and present, at the hospital over those couple of days. The immense popularity of Phillip Hughes the person is something that I don’t think many of us were truly aware of.
It is still hard to comprehend how and why Hughes’ passing has impacted the global cricket, and sporting, community so profoundly.
No one deserves to die playing cricket, nor any other sport or occupation of any description. No one deserves to have their life cut short at the age of 25 for any reason. An accident is likely the worst way to lose someone, the complete lack of warning, the immediacy of it all.
The #PutOutYourBats social media tributes have been amazing, at this point there have been well over 32,000 images shared on Instagram alone, and probably at least that many again on Twitter and Facebook.
Those that didn’t have a cricket bat instead put out hockey sticks, tennis rackets, hurling sticks and soccer balls. Anything to pay their respects.
Celebrations were muted in the ongoing New Zealand v Pakistan test match, while the Kiwi players also wore “PH” on their chests. A-League matches have been pausing for 63 seconds of applause at the 63rd minute mark. Golfers are wearing black ribbons on their caps.
Junior cricketers are retiring at 63* instead of the usual 50*. With reports this morning that one kid even walked off after reaching 37* yesterday, remarking that he’d finished off Hughesy’s 100 for him.
One grade side held a minutes silence at the 63rd over, and wrapped up the days play at 4:08.
So many tributes in so many ways, to a guy who most of us never met, nor knew, personally.
He had simply fulfilled a dream that many of us had as kids, playing a game that he loved at the highest level, wearing the baggy green. Number 408.
Cricket will go on, it must, Phillip Hughes loved the game and you suspect he wouldn’t want it any other way.
But it will be a while before it’s the same.
The first test at the Gabba has been delayed, and with the small gap between the first and second test leaving little wriggle room in the schedule it’s increasingly likely that the second test at the Adelaide Oval might become the first.
With Adelaide being Phillip’s adopted home, that would seem fitting.
Phillip Hughes. #408
Forever not out.
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