TOPIC:

PN: Your right it is not Marshs' fault he gets picked; in any case he has made quite a few runs this season so he would be up there. If true, Ferguson is an unlucky dude.

Peter North wrote: A lot of news outlets including Cricket.com reporting that Bancroft, Tim Paine and Smarsh are in the eleven, poor old Marshy is gonna cop it on social media.

Yep unfortunately that will be the case PN not too mention from our ol mate Freeze!

Paine has not kept at all in Shield cricket this year. He didn't even play in the WA v Tas game in Perth.If its true that they have picked him the selectors have really lost the plot. They must have drawn a line through Nevil's name.

mikeh: In the eastern press they are claiming that Paine has been picked due to him making runs against England in one of the first-class games. Looking from afar, it would seem the selectors have a wee Gilchrist complex, having to find the best keepr-batsman possible. As I said above, I don't mind the selction of SE Marsh at six, as he is one of the better players in the country.

Selection day....will be a crime if Bancroft is not selected....will be very risky not going into the test with batsmen short of runs...TBH test incumbents from Bangladesh in Renshaw, Handscomb, Wade and even Warner are short of runs.....can't drop them all but can't pick them all.
Warner Bancroft Kawhaja, Smith, Handscomb, Cartwright Paine, Starc, Cummins, Hazelwood and Lyon.....TBH Cartwright, Maxwell Ferguson or S Marsh could get the 6th spot....Paine is getting talked up alot....better keeper than Wade and definitely better bat than Wade....

Side for the first test has been announced.

Warner
Bancroft
Usman
Smith
Handscome
Smarsh
Paine
Stark
Cummings
Lyon
Hazelwood

Bird
Sayers

That 6th spot was always gonna be a lottery, up to Marsh now to make it his....funny to think Paine got the keepers gig over Wade, yet Wade was the Tassie keeper last match over Paine....hopefully that is the last test cricket sees of Wade. Bancroft over Renshaw at this particular point in time is a no brainer...Renshaw has a long test career ahead of him, best to nuture him along...he will be back.....the rest select themselves.....a few English batsman are cashing in on a few 3rd string bowlers.....be interested to see how it goes against the better boys....

I was concerned that it appeared that George Bailey was asked to delay his declaration in the Shield game in order to give Paine more time in the middle, even though Tasmania were over 400 runs in front and were keen to win their first game of the season.
If this is correct it makes a complete farce of the shield competition and as it turned out Tasmania would have been in with a real chance of victory if they had declared earlier. They were ultimately thwarted by the weather.
Some ex players and commentators like Jim Maxwell and Glen Mitchell have savaged the selectors over Paine and Marsh being in the squad. The English supporters would certainly be sitting back and enjoying this.

Peter North wrote: A lot of news outlets including Cricket.com reporting that Bancroft, Tim Paine and Smarsh are in the eleven, poor old Marshy is gonna cop it on social media.

You should hear the vitriol for S.Marsh on Vic radio today PN it is nothing short of a disgrace really after all SOS is an Australian isnt he?
Interestingly though they believe Maxwell (no mention of the likes of non Vics- Renshaw, Weatherald, Ferguson, Patterson, Freeze's boy Head) should be in his place as he is in better form by SS averages (a measly half a % mind you) and despite Maxwell not having to face the full Australian bowling attack at suburban Hurstville and also no mention of Handscomb's form or lack there of so far this summer....but apparently it is only us West Aussies that are parochial towards our own!!

Mikeh; so true
bh: there is no doubt that they picked both players on the basis of performming against NSW -- a reasonable policy..