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Just seen India have beaten SA in a T20 O/N in SA.....I guess that means India are firm favourites to win the up coming series v Aus now.

Both Bancroft & Harris out for golden ducks in consecutive balls in the Australia A second innings.
How these 2 are even in the conversation for a Test opening berth just shows how poor our batting stocks are at the moment.
This summer in red ball cricket Bancroft has scored- 0, 0, 8, 2, 0, 16, 3, 0 at an average of 3.62.
This is supposedly an opening batsman's statistics not a bowler batting at number 11!
Anyone know what has happened to that Bancroft cheersquad (lead by the jokers at 7/West media) that were demanding he be picked as the replacement for Warner's opening spot???

So some how Aust woeful depth has conjured up a miracle 2-0 series win over India's depth......with youngster Konstas leading the team to victory with an unbeaten 70 odd, after coming in with Aust A wobbling at 2/1 after 3 deliveries.

Good to see BH's boy Beau deliver again. Can see him in the squad of 14, as I really dont feel Marsh is fit enough to bowl, which Aust will need him to do. 

BH didn't JL endorse Bangers credentials for an test opening spot just  recently?

Beasley Hutton wrote:

Both Bancroft & Harris out for golden ducks in consecutive balls in the Australia A second innings.
How these 2 are even in the conversation for a Test opening berth just shows how poor our batting stocks are at the moment.
This summer in red ball cricket Bancroft has scored- 0, 0, 8, 2, 0, 16, 3, 0 at an average of 3.62.
This is supposedly an opening batsman's statistics not a bowler batting at number 11!
Anyone know what has happened to that Bancroft cheersquad (lead by the jokers at 7/West media) that were demanding he be picked as the replacement for Warner's opening spot???

the illiterate shit poor excuses for journalists at the West would not know anything apart from their sick adulation of a draftee that folks are absolutely sick of seeing & hearing about mate
Harris played a really loose poor shot 
Bancroft didn't even see the pill let alone lay timber on it

Test squad announced-

Khawaja
McSweeney
Labuschagne
Smith
Head
Marsh
Carey
Cummins (C)
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

Inglis 12th man
Boland 13th man

McSweeney was the best choice. A batsman in form and under 30 to boot. Finally the selectors are looking to the future. Uzzie will be retiring in the next year or two so they should give young Kontas a bit of a look in as well. I think Harris and Bancroft seemed to have missed the boat, Harris has had a few decent scores but really has not demanded selection. Bancroft seems bereft of all confidence and is inventing new ways of getting out. It may benefit him to go back to grade cricket to try and sort out his technical issues rather than continue to fail at Shield level

Seems like the Optus is going to help the bowlers mikeh, so tough opening gig for the youngster, if he is even selected to open. As for Uzzie, if he has a poor series v India, at 38/39 years old, not sure he will be even opening in the Ashes next summer. 

 

Uzzie is at that stage he seems to get a lot of starts but doesn't go on with it

so far in 2024 he has had 10 innings faced 684 balls and scored 274 runs with a highest score of 75 - so that's 199 runs from 9 innings.

Thats not setting the world on fire that's an average of 22 if you take out the 75.

In my opinion thats someone that needs to retire at the end of this summer not try to go one more year and finish against the poms next year
 

a really poor first day for WA in their shield match against the natural born fuckwits today
the selectors have a duty to omit Bancroft after this latest dismal effort as it seriously undermines other players in the squad
even on a very basic level Bancroft is only a 2nd or 3rd choice player now

The Aussies will have no excuses for fatigue if they come up short in the 1st test....the only players who could offer that excuse, would be Carey and McSweeney, who have played a fair amount of cricket in the middle so far this season.....when was the last time the likes of Head and Marsh had a competive outing with the bat?