The Ashes 2017/2018

[Grenville]

I think the selectors will be salivating at Shaun Marsh making a 60 in the first shield game, cant really not pick him now. I think after 16 years in the system he is finally ready to reach his full potential.

you forgot one of these........

I like to keep people guessing

Turns out i got it right the 1st time, **** me

Stan f***ing Darsh. What a joke.

[Q.]

FFS

[mighty_tiger_79]

Lol....Paine

[The Dark Knight]

I was looking forward to the squad being announced tomorrow but now I'm not so sure. They cannot pick Marsh and Paine FFS, please no.

Daisy you bastard I hope you're wrong lol.

[stampy]

this reminds me of the debacle when hilditch was in charge and we named a squad of 25 or something for the first test of 2010/11

[am Bays]

I reckon Paine is a great selection and comes with a liberal dose of karma for a bloke who has stuck to the task when a lesser man would've quit.

If it wasn't for a busted finger in a pseudo cricket charity game in 2011 he would've been the 'keeper selected after Haddin and it would've been matt Wade who? and his first class career would look much better as he missed basically three years getting his finger right.

he's a good keeper and he only hasn't kept for Tassie more because they/ve been told to try Doran last season until Paine's performances and Dorans lack there-of meant he was given the gloves at the end of last season

This year Tassie were told to start with Wade if they had been allowed to pick the best 'keeper....

Wade moved to Victoria in 2006 to get away from Paine and Clingleffer.

[The Dark Knight]

I reckon Paine is a great selection and comes with a liberal dose of karma for a bloke who has stuck to the task when a lesser man would've quit.

If it wasn't for a busted finger in a pseudo cricket charity game in 2011 he would've been the 'keeper selected after Haddin and it would've been matt Wade who? and his first class career would look much better as he missed basically three years getting his finger right.

he's a good keeper and he only hasn't kept for Tassie more because they/ve been told to try Doran last season until Paine's performances and Dorans lack there-of meant he was given the gloves at the end of last season

This year Tassie were told to start with Wade if they had been allowed to pick the best 'keeper....

Wade moved to Victoria in 2006 to get away from Paine and Clingleffer.

I'm a fan of Tim Paine and he has an interesting story but let's not talk in if's and but's. They're being selected to play for Australia, not a community club down down the street.

[Tony Clifton]

Bancroft at 6, Carey WK, Renshaw stays in would have been such a positive, bold and forward-looking line up.

Instead we've recycled tried and failed options.

[am Bays]

I'm a fan of Tim Paine and he has an interesting story but let's not talk in if's and but's. They're being selected to play for Australia, not a community club down down the street.

There are no ifs and buts, his selection in 2010 when Haddin wasn't available proves he was the annointed one. He would be a 40-50 Test player by now.

[am Bays]

Bancroft at 6, Carey WK, Renshaw stays in would have been such a positive, bold and forward-looking line up.

Instead we've recycled tried and failed options.

The ASHES isn't when you pick on potential, the ASHES is when you pick on form.

Having said that I have a half cocked eyebrow with the selection of SOS.

[FlyingHigh]

If we have a genuine all-rounder such a Stokes you pick him, it's a no-brainer, but if you don't, don't try to manufacture one.
Australia has a tradition of having a genuine batsman with a bit of a cavalier, gambling attitude to their cricket who can bowl a few relief overs, preferably of medium pace, and coz it's not their main job they don't care about runs, combined with the way they play the game, often brings a wicket - think Dougie Walters, Mark Waugh, Blewett, Symonds, Ponting, Clarke (spinner I know), even Watto. Hussey's bowling, funnily enough, mirrored his batting, solid and steady but not as threatening. Mitchell Marsh has it with his bowling, but his batting isn't good enough.
This is why I would start Cartwright at 6.

I was a big fan of Tim Paine, but can't believe they would go back to him, nor play Bancroft as a keeper, ahead of Nevill.
Similarly, big fan of Bancroft as a batsmen, but Renshaw has to be given first go. I'd back him as the sort of player that would turn it around in a big environment.

[FlyingHigh]

Cam Bancroft - Sheffield Shield record career

45 Matches
79 Innings
9x 100's
9x 50's
3, 033 runs aggregate
39.91 average

Highest Shield scores:
228* (vs SA 2017/18)
211 (vs NSW 2014/15)
171 (vs QLD 2015/16

He also his 265 @ 53.00 in the ODD comp this year and has a HS of 176 in ODD in 2015/16.

These numbers tell me not only does he manage to go on with an innings, he goes on big. 25% of times he bats he reaches 50.. 11% he hits 100. Reasonable conversion rate.

Had a look at his record a couple years ago, and the amount of big scores he made in WA's first innings of a game was incredible, but he had a pretty poor record in their second innings, same as in this Shield game. Is that good or bad? I'd tend to think better than the other way around

[Tony Clifton]

Bancroft at 6, Carey WK, Renshaw stays in would have been such a positive, bold and forward-looking line up.

Instead we've recycled tried and failed options.

The ASHES isn't when you pick on potential, the ASHES is when you pick on form.

Having said that I have a half cocked eyebrow with the selection of SOS.

Picking on form is a disaster waiting to happen IMO

Form is temporary, class is permanent.

Picking on form you end up chopping and changing all the time.

[Booney]

Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

13 man squad named

[Failed Creation]

**** me, do the selectors know something about Shaun Marsh that we don't?

How many chances does a bloke get, only to fail 90% of the time?

Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

Based on this, here's my XI:

Warner
Bancroft
Khawaja
Smith (c)
Handscomb
Paine (wk)
Starc (I'd rather him bat at 7 than have Marsh in the side)
Cummins
Lyon
Hazlewood
Sayers

[Booney]

Warner
Bancroft ( I'm ok with this, rewarding form )
Khawaja
Smithers
Hanscomb
Marsh - I seriously cannot work this one out....I just can't. Jimmy Anderson can bank on at least 4 wickets this series, Marsh twice in the first tow Tests )
Paine - Didn't think I'd be typing this this summer. How this has occurred has got me, well, stumped.
Starc
Hazlewood
Cummins
Lyon

[Failed Creation]

Warner
Bancroft ( I'm ok with this, rewarding form )
Khawaja
Smithers
Hanscomb
Marsh - I seriously cannot work this one out....I just can't. Jimmy Anderson can bank on at least 4 wickets this series, Marsh twice in the first tow Tests )
Paine - Didn't think I'd be typing this this summer. How this has occurred has got me, well, stumped.
Starc
Hazlewood
Cummins
Lyon

Hopefully he isn't given two Tests to prove to us that he's a dud.

[S Demon]

Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

13 man squad named

I'd love to have the photo's of the selectors that Marsh obviously has. Then I'd be playing for Australia too!!

[heater31]

I'm lost for words on the Marsh and Paine selections....

[Booney]

Cummins will make way for Sayers in Adelaide I reckon.

They'll be mindful of managing Cummins through the summer, he was sent home early from the sub continent, left out ( as all the quicks were ) of the last Shield round. He's being closely monitored.