Australia v West Indies, 1st Test, Hobart, 10-14 December, 2015

Mr bucket and I are heading to Hobart to catch a couple of days of this. Hopefully we'll catch up with Mr Dog.

Likely Aus side:

GCS
Monty
Tweek
Vague
Bog
Nifty
Puddle (I agree with TGM on the position swap with Nifty)
Cot
OP
Hazy
Elmer.

Windies squad:

   Jason Holder (c)
   Kraigg Brathwaite (vc)
   Devendra Bishoo
   Jermaine Blackwood
   Carlos Brathwaite
   Darren Bravo
   Rajendra Chandrika
   Shane Dowrich (wk)
   Shannon Gabriel
   Shai Hope (wk)
   Denesh Ramdin (wk)
   Kemar Roach
   Marlon Samuels
   Jerome Taylor
   Jomel Warrican

3 wks??

I think hope and Dowrich are very much batsmen first, and keepers second.

I don't think this will be pretty. Especially when you consider the Windies have lost their last 11 straight tests in Australia, and some of those Windies sides were quite a bit better than this one.

Aye Trev. A real pack of no-names. Still, there's always hope.

bellerive. no starc. they might make enough runs for the game to last two days

skully wrote:Mr bucket and I are heading to Hobart to catch a couple of days of this. Hopefully we'll catch up with Mr Dog.

Likely Aus side:

GCS
Monty
Tweek
Vague
Bog
Nifty
Puddle (I agree with TGM on the position swap with Nifty)
Cot
OP
Hazy
Elmer.

I'd keep Puddle at 6.  He'll never get a better opportunity to score runs at 6 and if he can't bat at 6 he probably shouldn't be in the team.

Otherwise looks ok - only slight worry is whether Haze is in the "red zone".   Presumably he'd want to play Boxing Day and NY Test so maybe he is happy to rest for this one with Jackson Bird being a like for like replacement.

Tweetie is hardly ripping through them.

Time to plan for the future. Drop vague and bog. Play Anne, Madman and Handy or even Stoinis

The Jackson-bird had a fair rip last weekend.....he's moved into calculations. If my theory about Siddle packing it in after Melbourne is anywhere near the mark then Tweet could be the replacement.

They won't drop Vogue just yet but he might be the bloke to make way for Quodge when he's fit again. Also Burns is already back in the 'needs a score' column.

Boof is talking about swapping Nifty and Puddle

Nifty averages 27.3 ...he can obviously bat and his keeping is good but you cant reward him/apply extra pressure to save someone else who clearly isnt up to it at the moment

Send Puddle back to the wozzies

Try Stoinis or Fork (is he injured?) ...but not Moises (or Watto)

PS ...yes I am a Mitch Marsh fan but I have known he isnt ready yet

skully wrote:Windies squad:

   Jason Holder (c)
   Kraigg Brathwaite (vc)
   Devendra Bishoo
   Jermaine Blackwood
   Carlos Brathwaite
   Darren Bravo
   Rajendra Chandrika
   Shane Dowrich (wk)
   Shannon Gabriel
   Shai Hope (wk)
   Denesh Ramdin (wk)
   Kemar Roach
   Marlon Samuels
   Jerome Taylor
   Jomel Warrican

3 wks??

For a 30-minute (approx.) tour??? At least in 72 when they sent Brian Taber as a 3rd keeper it was a full length tour with about 30 matches besides the Tests....

I'd also argue that whatever Mishmash is averaging, 27 isn't quite good enough for a no 6 batsman either. Swapping him with Nifty could mean there's now two holes where beforehand there was only one.

Mitch is averaging 23.68 after 10 Tests

His bowling ave is OK but he clearly isnt up to batting at 6 at the moment

So we need to find somebody who can bat at 6. A batsman and part-time bowler being preferable to a batsman and full-time keeper.

(I was surprised Marsh was averaging that high)

embee wrote:Mitch is averaging 23.68 after 10 Tests

His bowling ave is OK but he clearly isnt up to batting at 6 at the moment

But if he's in the team he should stay at 6.

Stoinis is making enough runs to be in the running but he is yet to take a FC wicket this season. Still, you really just need someone who can keep things reasonably tight for a few overs while the specialist bowlers have a breather.

They can't cover every arse at once. If they think Patto can see out a Test match they should pick him (if he's the best available). If they don't they should pick somebody else instead. To quote somebody or other (forget who), it aint rocket surgery....

Puddle's bowling is OK. He might feel less pressure at 7.

WideWally wrote:Stoinis is making enough runs to be in the running but he is yet to take a FC wicket this season. Still, you really just need someone who can keep things reasonably tight for a few overs while the specialist bowlers have a breather.

I thought that was Siddle's job.

Fred Nerk wrote:They can't cover every arse at once. If they think Patto can see out a Test match they should pick him (if he's the best available). If they don't they should pick somebody else instead. To quote somebody or other (forget who), it aint rocket surgery....

it's brain science, yeah?

Fred Nerk wrote:The Jackson-bird had a fair rip last weekend.....he's moved into calculations. If my theory about Siddle packing it in after Melbourne is anywhere near the mark then Tweet could be the replacement.

Haven't heard those rumours. I'd like to see Bird get another chance, though.

They won't drop Vogue just yet but he might be the bloke to make way for Quodge when he's fit again. Also Burns is already back in the 'needs a score' column.

Apart from The Great Trent Bridge Debacle, where he was hardly alone and certainly didn't play the worst shot, Voges has been a fairly consistent starter, and once in, has made good scores. He's a good boundary hitter, hitting the leg side gaps especially well, so I hope they're not thinking of letting him go before either of the Marshes.


skully - looking forward to days 1 and 2

The WEATHER FORECAST is not encouraging.

Coulter-Nile in the 12, Boland on standby, but no room for hometowner Jackson Bird. No changes to the batsmen.

So NCN will be sent home on Wed night then.

On one hand they reward Shield form by having Boland on standby, yet on the other hand they completely slap the Shield in the face by picking Coulter-Nile, who on top of having yet to make his test debut, hasn't played a game of first class cricket since March. Bizarre. He's been mostly average in the ODIs he's played as well.