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Freezin wrote: Pretty sure OKeefe has been the leading wicket taker spinner wise in the Sheffield Shield over the last 5 years....so I guess he deserves first crack......Agar probably needs to take a few more wickets I guess on a consistent basis.....his day will come....I guess with Cartright making his debut they have opted for Okeefe and his greater experience instead of Agar bowling wise....especially if Cartright struggles with debutant nerves......though Okeefes injury record is a worry.

Yeah I know the Baggy Blue is the claytons version of a Baggy Green.....but to be honest take out those key contributions of those NSW boys Smith, Warner Starc, Hazlewood and Kwahaja(ex NSW), there is no way Aust would of won.....good to see Cartright get a look in, the selectors could of easily plumped for Moises hey?.....

Would of loved to of seen either Swepson or Zampa get a go tho.......because when Aust tour India surely a diverse spinning attack of a right handed off spinner(Lyon) left handed off spinner (Agar or Okeefe) and a leggie(Zampa/Swepson/ Ahmed)would of covered a variety of needs...plus Smith and a Travis Head as back up options.......I just hope we dont fill the team with fast/medium all rounders forr "depth"

I don't necessarily agree. How do we know there isn't more Smiths, Hazelwoods etc out there when the selectors wear blue blinkers? How many non NSW/Vic players get the endless chances the others do?

58shark wrote:

Freezin wrote: Pretty sure OKeefe has been the leading wicket taker spinner wise in the Sheffield Shield over the last 5 years....so I guess he deserves first crack......Agar probably needs to take a few more wickets I guess on a consistent basis.....his day will come....I guess with Cartright making his debut they have opted for Okeefe and his greater experience instead of Agar bowling wise....especially if Cartright struggles with debutant nerves......though Okeefes injury record is a worry.

Yeah I know the Baggy Blue is the claytons version of a Baggy Green.....but to be honest take out those key contributions of those NSW boys Smith, Warner Starc, Hazlewood and Kwahaja(ex NSW), there is no way Aust would of won.....good to see Cartright get a look in, the selectors could of easily plumped for Moises hey?.....

Would of loved to of seen either Swepson or Zampa get a go tho.......because when Aust tour India surely a diverse spinning attack of a right handed off spinner(Lyon) left handed off spinner (Agar or Okeefe) and a leggie(Zampa/Swepson/ Ahmed)would of covered a variety of needs...plus Smith and a Travis Head as back up options.......I just hope we dont fill the team with fast/medium all rounders forr "depth"

I don't necessarily agree. How do we know there isn't more Smiths, Hazelwoods etc out there when the selectors wear blue blinkers? How many non NSW/Vic players get the endless chances the others do?

If Maddison came from WA/SA or TAS there is no way in the world he would have played 3 Tests before FINALLY being dropped, Wade is another ...just look at Ferguson for the perfect example!

yeah I get it a Baggy Blue is the new Baggy Green....I guess without those "endless chances" 58, the likes of Warner and Smith wouldn't be averaging near 50/ 50+ with 17 test centuries to their names and Starc/Hazlewood wouldn't be averaging mid 20's for their bowling....at least they have repaid some of that NSW favouritism I guess.

Yeah I agree Maddinson shouldn't of been selected, he only was, because he scored a fortitious 100 the same time Voges got dropped from memory....I reckon Head should of been given a go, but hey hopefully his time will come and soon...same as Lynn too.....

BH, Agar has plenty of time to get back into the test team, but considering OKeefe averages nearly 30 with the bat and 24 with the ball at FC, compared to Agar 26 with the bat and 40 with ball at FC level, I can see why OKeefe has gotten the nod, especially with a debutant all rounder in Cartright playing....perhaps if Mitch Marsh could be trusted to score more runs and take more wickets at the test level, then Agar could be playing tomorrow....touch wood Mitch gets more endless chances like Warner et al did

Freeze Smith, Warner, Starc & Hazlewood are world class cricketers, even Niiiice Garry has had his moments. Maddinson only averages 36 in first class cricket and he doesn't even have to face up to that Test team in waiting in NSW he only bats against the "ordinary cricket states" and still struggles sheesh imagine how low his average would be if he had to face up to the Test team in waiting in first class/Sheffield Shield cricket!

Cant think of too many batsmen in shield cricket averaging mid 40's plus outside the current test batsmen BH....I guess Maddinson scored his 100 at the right time....Head even averages less, but just something the way about how he has become a better batsman averaging and scoring more under pressure as SA captain....even though he is early 20's....highlights his temperament I guess.....

Lets not get to carried away in a few weeks time well be talking about our lack of depth in Australian cricket when we get crushed 4 nil by India.

There seems to be a lot of people wanting Ahmed or Zampa picked for this test.

Sounds good in logic but Ahmed cant get a game for Victoria in the shield, and Zampa has not done anything in 4 day cricket.

There was an interesting article in the paper yesterday from Crash Craddock in regards to pitches in Australia, and how they are two perfect. It seems that all curators are using the same best practice for drop in wickets, which makes all wickets perform the same. The Waca is no longer fast and bouncy, Sydney doenst turn a lot, MCG doesn't help the seamers much any more, Adelaide doesn't break down like it used too into an up and down pitch by late on day three and the Gabba has lost a lot of its seam as they cut the grass right back.

Hell we go to India and we get a crumbling turner, then we get something that helps the seamers and then we get another turning wicket. Playing on a variety of pitches like that in your own back yard has to give you a chance to succeed away, however we play on roads at home so the only time were challenged by the pitch is when we are away

Young Renshaw's century today may end Sean Marsh's hopes of ever getting back in the test side. He is a good foil for Warner and is an excellent leaver of the ball. They have found a good one there, give the selectors credit as well as brick bats which most people are happy to hand out ( including myself )

Yep 2 good selections in talented youngsters Renshaw & Handscomb. Hopefully we continue down the same path of giving quality young talent a go and never going back to recent old selection ways.

mikeh wrote: Young Renshaw's century today may end Sean Marsh's hopes of ever getting back in the test side. He is a good foil for Warner and is an excellent leaver of the ball. They have found a good one there, give the selectors credit as well as brick bats which most people are happy to hand out ( including myself )

Mikeh I keep hearing the selectors saying horses for courses if that's the case S.Marsh will be first picked for the tour of India, he's made runs consistently in the sub continent while the likes of Usman Kwalaga was dropped in Sri Lanka, Marsh will be in the touring party.