Paul Collingwood exposes John 'Flanders' Buchannan...again
Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:49 pmThe Australian Cricket coach, Flanders Buchanan has been caught out again by a player that he clearly hasn't done his homework on, this time Paul Collingwood. In the 2005 Ashes series Flanders hadn't done his homework on Pieterson and Strauss and both players tore us a new one as England regularly tallied large totals on their way to winning back the Ashes.
Against lesser opponents, the preparation required is practising the basics and getting the fitness right. Against the number two side in Test cricket, against a side that defeated us last time out, we need to do our homework against some of the likely opponents, particularly blokes like Allistair Cook, Monty Panesar and Paul Collingwood who we might not know as much about. This is the job that Flanders used to do really well when he first started out, but in my opinion he has faltered badly in this area in the last two years.
OK, so what do we know about Paul Collingwood from his last two knocks?
1. Collingwood has excellent concentration and is a real fighter, after losing it against Warne at the Gabba, he has made us pay on an excellent batting surface. Bowling to restrict with deep defensive fields and waiting for the error is not an option.
2. Collingwood loves the cut shot, so let's feed it for a while and then take it away from him. How many times does a player's strength also become a weakness? A field similar to Flemming's 'Martyn' field should have been tried, particularly against the slower bowlers, cutting brilliant shots for one on a ground with such short square boundaries might input some frustration into a player who is fast becomming an unflappable roadblock for Australia. Remember another road awaits in Perth.
3. How many times are we going to let Collingwood get up the other end with that little 'squirt' shot to deep square leg for one or two runs? This is a no risk shot and really helps to boost the strike rate of a batsman who I believe is quite limited.
4. Punter's field. WTF?? Deep square leg, a gully, plenty of gaps square of the wicket, trying to get him out driving with short covers and extra covers. This hasn't been working.
REB's field.
1. Regulation square leg to cut out the 'squirt' shot.
2. Two gullies and a point to reduce the amount of runs Collingwood gets for the cut shot. ('Martyn' type field)
3. Regulation Cover (not the short stuff that Ponting has tried to date)
4. Mid off, nice and straight
5. Mid on deep and a little wide
6. mid wicket
7. Slip, even now
Game Plan
This guy has been given too many easy ones and twos hitting to deep fiedling positions. Let's bring the field up and make Collingwood hit over the top. Early on he looks a nicker so get some slips in there and maybe take away one gully and the midwicket when he first comes in. If he is on his game and the road is flat, revert to the REB field.
The idea of the REB field is to reduce the run making available to Collingwood's strengths and to tempt the batsman into playing away from his body by covering the straight option on the offside. The bowling should be middle and off as there is no fine leg with the bouncer only being used on this flat deck as a surprise delivery and not a stock ball like Brett dumbass Lee. How are we going to get him out? Caught behind or square of the wicket.
OK, Flanders or Punter I am not, but doesn't the above look suspiciously like a plan and a method for trying to get Paul Collingwood out? So far Australia doesn't seem to have a plan for Collingwood and for that the coach is responsible. He should have got the arse at the end of the Ashes in 2005 for mine as it is has been repeatedly cited that our preperation was not up to scratch for that series. Again, isn't this the coaches' job?? Flanders OUT, and Paul Collingwood would be nice too.
regards,
REB
Against lesser opponents, the preparation required is practising the basics and getting the fitness right. Against the number two side in Test cricket, against a side that defeated us last time out, we need to do our homework against some of the likely opponents, particularly blokes like Allistair Cook, Monty Panesar and Paul Collingwood who we might not know as much about. This is the job that Flanders used to do really well when he first started out, but in my opinion he has faltered badly in this area in the last two years.
OK, so what do we know about Paul Collingwood from his last two knocks?
1. Collingwood has excellent concentration and is a real fighter, after losing it against Warne at the Gabba, he has made us pay on an excellent batting surface. Bowling to restrict with deep defensive fields and waiting for the error is not an option.
2. Collingwood loves the cut shot, so let's feed it for a while and then take it away from him. How many times does a player's strength also become a weakness? A field similar to Flemming's 'Martyn' field should have been tried, particularly against the slower bowlers, cutting brilliant shots for one on a ground with such short square boundaries might input some frustration into a player who is fast becomming an unflappable roadblock for Australia. Remember another road awaits in Perth.
3. How many times are we going to let Collingwood get up the other end with that little 'squirt' shot to deep square leg for one or two runs? This is a no risk shot and really helps to boost the strike rate of a batsman who I believe is quite limited.
4. Punter's field. WTF?? Deep square leg, a gully, plenty of gaps square of the wicket, trying to get him out driving with short covers and extra covers. This hasn't been working.
REB's field.
1. Regulation square leg to cut out the 'squirt' shot.
2. Two gullies and a point to reduce the amount of runs Collingwood gets for the cut shot. ('Martyn' type field)
3. Regulation Cover (not the short stuff that Ponting has tried to date)
4. Mid off, nice and straight
5. Mid on deep and a little wide
6. mid wicket
7. Slip, even now
Game Plan
This guy has been given too many easy ones and twos hitting to deep fiedling positions. Let's bring the field up and make Collingwood hit over the top. Early on he looks a nicker so get some slips in there and maybe take away one gully and the midwicket when he first comes in. If he is on his game and the road is flat, revert to the REB field.
The idea of the REB field is to reduce the run making available to Collingwood's strengths and to tempt the batsman into playing away from his body by covering the straight option on the offside. The bowling should be middle and off as there is no fine leg with the bouncer only being used on this flat deck as a surprise delivery and not a stock ball like Brett dumbass Lee. How are we going to get him out? Caught behind or square of the wicket.
OK, Flanders or Punter I am not, but doesn't the above look suspiciously like a plan and a method for trying to get Paul Collingwood out? So far Australia doesn't seem to have a plan for Collingwood and for that the coach is responsible. He should have got the arse at the end of the Ashes in 2005 for mine as it is has been repeatedly cited that our preperation was not up to scratch for that series. Again, isn't this the coaches' job?? Flanders OUT, and Paul Collingwood would be nice too.
regards,
REB