AU V EG o/d game final number 1

[Adelaide Hawk]

RIXON 11*[10]

Steve Rixon plays for England now?

[Punk Rooster]

McGrath has to go. I cannot believe the most dangerous fast bowler in the world cannot get a game before a washed up former great. I don't often knock the selectors but they need to take a long hard look at themselves, forget emotion, and pick the best team. That is why Australia lost this game.

Australian selectors have aways been a bit "shut the gate after the horse has bolted", why change now?

[mal]

McGrath has to go. I cannot believe the most dangerous fast bowler in the world cannot get a game before a washed up former great. I don't often knock the selectors but they need to take a long hard look at themselves, forget emotion, and pick the best team. That is why Australia lost this game.

I could not believe it when McGrath dropped an absolute sitter, then you see Ponting with a big grin on his face. If that had been Tait or Johnson who dropped it, I bet Ponting would have been fuming. McGrath's had it .. time for new blood.

Just om England, they are a happy team. They have been since a certain arrogant person returned home. Coincidence? I think not.

AH leave the absurd controversial posts to me as I get a few of them right
You have just picked on Glen Mcgrath the LEADING WICKET TAKER in the tri series.
I suggest you look at his record and then retract this MALicious post.
This is a fair dinkum troll aginst a legend and you should be shamefool of this post.

And your still picking on KP

What is it with you, picking on arguably
the best AU o/d bowler off all time
and possibly the best o/d batsman to have played for EG.

Just some advice if your going to pick on star players
wait till they are completely finished
eg: ELLIOTT

Brave post AH , but you are WRONG.

[mal]

McGrath has to go. I cannot believe the most dangerous fast bowler in the world cannot get a game before a washed up former great. I don't often knock the selectors but they need to take a long hard look at themselves, forget emotion, and pick the best team. That is why Australia lost this game.

Australian selectors have aways been a bit "shut the gate after the horse has bolted", why change now?

Look at his stats in this o/d series and retract your post
2nd time tonight.

What is it with you and AH you wait for MCGRATH to star all year
and then he has one bad game and you sink the boots in.

Stop picking on this LEGEND.

[Adelaide Hawk]

McGrath has to go. I cannot believe the most dangerous fast bowler in the world cannot get a game before a washed up former great. I don't often knock the selectors but they need to take a long hard look at themselves, forget emotion, and pick the best team. That is why Australia lost this game.

I could not believe it when McGrath dropped an absolute sitter, then you see Ponting with a big grin on his face. If that had been Tait or Johnson who dropped it, I bet Ponting would have been fuming. McGrath's had it .. time for new blood.

Just om England, they are a happy team. They have been since a certain arrogant person returned home. Coincidence? I think not.

AH leave the absurd controversial posts to me as I get a few of them right
You have just picked on Glen Mcgrath the LEADING WICKET TAKER in the tri series.
I suggest you look at his record and then retract this MALicious post.
This is a fair dinkum troll aginst a legend and you should be shamefool of this post.

And your still picking on KP

What is it with you, picking on arguably
the best AU o/d bowler off all time
and possibly the best o/d batsman to have played for EG.

Just some advice if your going to pick on star players
wait till they are completely finished
eg: ELLIOTT

Brave post AH , but you are WRONG.

Look at the scoreboard Mal, and you will see I was RIGHT.

The Australian selectors are more focussed on the World Cup than this series and used tonight as a trial match. Hopefully losing to England will force them to change their minds and try to win this series. McGrath's batting and fielding are an embarrassment in the one day game, and his bowling no longer has the punch it used to have.

McGrath .. best ODI bowler of all time .. maybe. Best at the moment? No f...ing way. Pietersen, the best ODI batsmen for England? How many did he make tonight? With Pietersen, England have been the worst one day team in the world. The moment he goes home they are jumping out of their skins, throwing the stumps down in the field. I don't think it's a coincidence.

[mal]

AH stop embarrasing yourself.
How many runs did PIETERSON make tonight I will answer
your question ZERO
PIETERSON ave 82 this series

AH do yourself a favour LOOK at MCgraths efforts before this game.

LEADING WICKET TAKER

[scoob]

Its called a kneeJERK reaction MAL

[Adelaide Hawk]

McGrath has to go. I cannot believe the most dangerous fast bowler in the world cannot get a game before a washed up former great. I don't often knock the selectors but they need to take a long hard look at themselves, forget emotion, and pick the best team. That is why Australia lost this game.

Australian selectors have aways been a bit "shut the gate after the horse has bolted", why change now?

Look at his stats in this o/d series and retract your post
2nd time tonight.

What is it with you and AH you wait for MCGRATH to star all year
and then he has one bad game and you sink the boots in.

Stop picking on this LEGEND.

Oh, go and have a sook Mal. I am entitled to MY opinion, not yours.

[sydney-dog]

will Tait come bak for game 2?

[mal]

Glen Mcgrath
relegated to 1st change bowler this series and is STILL the leading wicket taker
is supporting his seriously ill wife
is 37 years old
champion to keep performing.

Call me a sook if you like but stop this incessive attack on a champ
who is still performing extemely well.

[Aerie]

Clutching at straws using McGrath's batting as an embarrassment. It's always been that way. I'm with Mal on this one. McGrath still goes alright. Bad night tonight, but don't be surprised to see 2-30 off 10 at the SCG on Sunday.

The big question is how do the Aussies use Watson. IMO his batting is suited more in the top 4 and I'm not sure his bowling is good enough to be the fourth pace bowler, which seems to be the formula the Australians want to use. Especially with Johnson, Clark and Tait waiting in the wings.

IMO tonight, the Australians missed a big hitter in Symonds or White down the order. They also lacked another bowler who could blast out wickets like Lee. Tait is waiting in Queensland for the call up...

[mal]

Clutching at straws using McGrath's batting as an embarrassment. It's always been that way. I'm with Mal on this one. McGrath still goes alright. Bad night tonight, but don't be surprised to see 2-30 off 10 at the SCG on Sunday.

The big question is how do the Aussies use Watson. IMO his batting is suited more in the top 4 and I'm not sure his bowling is good enough to be the fourth pace bowler, which seems to be the formula the Australians want to use. Especially with Johnson, Clark and Tait waiting in the wings.

IMO tonight, the Australians missed a big hitter in Symonds or White down the order. They also lacked another bowler who could blast out wickets like Lee. Tait is waiting in Queensland for the call up...

AT LAST SOMEONE WITH CRICKET KNOWLEDGE POSTED TONIGHT

[rod_rooster]

Mal, i will agree with you regarding McGrath. He has been and still is one of the great fast bowlers in the game. One bad night doesn't change that. Your assertion that KP is possibly the best OD batsman England have ever had is a bit far fetched though. Have a serious think about that and you will realise how silly that statement is. As for your defending of Watson, just give up. The guy is not an International cricketer's arsehole.

[mal]

Mal, i will agree with you regarding McGrath. He has been and still is one of the great fast bowlers in the game. One bad night doesn't change that. Your assertion that KP is possibly the best OD batsman England have ever had is a bit far fetched though. Have a serious think about that and you will realise how silly that statement is. As for your defending of Watson, just give up. The guy is not an International cricketer's arsehole.

RR

MCGRATH: is an unloseable argument with his detractors on this site
you me, Aerie and no doubt many others will agree with me.
VERDICT: champion always was and always will be

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history
just remember he has the highest EG ave in history
he averages over 50 which is astonishing
he strikes at about 90 odd making him probably the quickest striker in UK history
VERDICT:Good debate but stats dont often lie

WATSON:
Anyone who averages 30 with bat and ball in o/d cricket is an exceptional talent
I occasionally over-rate him but i think a lot of people under-rate him as well
He will languish and maybe his career will go backwards especially if he bats 7 or 8
As a 4th bowler if you look at his efforts prior to this game he has done a good job
VERDICT: performed well at this level SO FAR ....one of us will be right one day.

[rod_rooster]

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history

1. Gower
2. Lamb
3. Gooch
4. Vaughan
5. Thorpe

No particular order by the way but they all are proven over long periods of time. If i could be bothered i'd come up with more as well.

[rod_rooster]

VERDICT:Good debate but stats dont often lie

So very untrue mal. Stats do tell quite large fibs. Stats cannot measure the character of a player and character is the most important quality for any sportsperson.

[mal]

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history

1. Gower
2. Lamb
3. Gooch
4. Vaughan
5. Thorpe

No particular order by the way but they all are proven over long periods of time. If i could be bothered i'd come up with more as well.

Those 5 guys all had great test careers.
In tests the 5 of them are as good or better
In o/d games KP is the best

I would only say that GOWER might be even with KP

If VAUGHAN is a better o/d cricketer than KP I will give up posts in the cricket room.

[rod_rooster]

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history

1. Gower
2. Lamb
3. Gooch
4. Vaughan
5. Thorpe

No particular order by the way but they all are proven over long periods of time. If i could be bothered i'd come up with more as well.

Those 5 guys all had great test careers.
In tests the 5 of them are as good or better
In o/d games KP is the best

I would only say that GOWER might be even with KP

If VAUGHAN is a better o/d cricketer than KP I will give up posts in the cricket room.

OK yes their Test careers were very good and if you even think about suggesting KP's test career to date compares to any of them you need a white jacket. He may well become as good and most likely better than most of them (big call i know but i rate KP highly) but he's got a long way to go. Mal, just remember OD cricket is a vastly different game today than it was 20 years ago. The performances statistically in comparison may not appear as impressive but each of those players (with the possible exception of Vaughan) performed admirably over a long period of time against far better bowling attacks and in far more bowler friendly conditions than KP has to endure. You can argue he plays against Australia but if you even think about suggesting the current Australian attack is anywhere near a West Indies attack featuring Marshall, Ambrose, Walsh, Holding, Bishop, Roberts,Garner etc you are seriously deluded.

[GWW]

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history

1. Gower
2. Lamb
3. Gooch
4. Vaughan
5. Thorpe

No particular order by the way but they all are proven over long periods of time. If i could be bothered i'd come up with more as well.

Maybe Robin Smith too.

[mal]

KP: name me 5 better English o/d batsman in thier history

1. Gower
2. Lamb
3. Gooch
4. Vaughan
5. Thorpe

No particular order by the way but they all are proven over long periods of time. If i could be bothered i'd come up with more as well.

Those 5 guys all had great test careers.
In tests the 5 of them are as good or better
In o/d games KP is the best

I would only say that GOWER might be even with KP

If VAUGHAN is a better o/d cricketer than KP I will give up posts in the cricket room.

OK yes their Test careers were very good and if you even think about suggesting KP's test career to date compares to any of them you need a white jacket. He may well become as good and most likely better than most of them (big call i know but i rate KP highly) but he's got a long way to go. Mal, just remember OD cricket is a vastly different game today than it was 20 years ago. The performances statistically in comparison may not appear as impressive but each of those players (with the possible exception of Vaughan) performed admirably over a long period of time against far better bowling attacks and in far more bowler friendly conditions than KP has to endure. You can argue he plays against Australia but if you even think about suggesting the current Australian attack is anywhere near a West Indies attack featuring Marshall, Ambrose, Walsh, Holding, Bishop, Roberts,Garner etc you are seriously deluded.

I will accept that averages now should be 5 runs higher than the 1980s when the
good bowlers were around.