Batting and Batsmen thread

[Ali TT]

Originally Posted by slop

My job's done maccy. Tell us again how funny it is.

I really hope he doesn't pee his pants from laughing so much. As most parents know, it's easy for young kids like Mac to get carried away when excited and forget to go wee-wee.

[Mickmac]

Originally Posted by Sir Virgs and Zamora

Serious question Micky.

If you could pick one batsman who would it be?
Root or smith?

Enjoy handing out beatings to weaker teams while being embarrassed by the big boys. I remember when England were like that and I did not like it. I much prefer embarrassing Aussies and winning in saffer land.

Rooty or Smith ? To honest I would swallow national pride, and flip a coin knowing that whoever won the toss would be a good pick.
Both Smith and Root are 26yo, have played almost the same number of tests and have similar batting averages.
I am a firm believer in the law of averages and will keenly follow the batting careers of both batsmen in the coming years.

Love it or hate it, the Test ranking system treats every team the same and after some time it does give a fair indication of the teams' performance.
If England were on top of the rankings it would only be met with approval by the England supporters, that's called human nature.
(It is currently running fifth which does seem a bit odd.)

From Wiki -
"The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket. The competition is notional in the sense that it is simply a ranking scheme overlaid on all international matches that are otherwise played as part of regular Test cricket scheduling with no consideration of home or away status."

............."I much prefer embarrassing Aussies and winning in saffer land."..............

Your judgement seems to be clouded by your intense "dislike" of Australia, and perhaps SA as well.
That's the difference between the Poms and the Aussies.
The Poms seem to get as much enjoyment out of an Australian loss as they get out of an English win.
There are countless examples of this attitude all through this forum which I put down to being an "English thing". I laugh every time I read a comment like that, and feel sorry for the poster as well.
I am glad I don't feel like that, carrying all that spite, resentment and hatred around with me.

When England are playing a test series against SA or India etc. people in Australia don't really care who wins.
We save our energy for the Ashes series, which when played in Australia is the biggest sporting event on the calendar.

Your comments are quite interesting and a psychologist would have a field day analyzing them.

[Mickmac]

Originally Posted by slop

My job's done maccy. Tell us again how funny it is.

You misquoted me sloppy. I would have thought someone who has racked up over 18,000 posts on a forum would know better than that.
Which is why I refer to you as "sloppy".

[cabinboy]

Originally Posted by Sir Virgs and Zamora

Serious question Micky.

If you could pick one batsman who would it be?
Root or smith?

Enjoy handing out beatings to weaker teams while being embarrassed by the big boys. I remember when England were like that and I did not like it. I much prefer embarrassing Aussies and winning in saffer land.

Not sure I would be able to pick between those two either. Smith has the added bonus of having proved himself as a captain and is the more attack minded of the two. I would probably take Smith the Test player but Root in the other two formats of the game.

[D/L]

Originally Posted by Mickmac

You misquoted me sloppy. I would have thought someone who has racked up over 18,000 posts on a forum would know better than that....

Perhaps, but I see you're quite new to this forum and won't have seen many of the preceding ones.

All I'd say is don't judge the rest of us by some of the few here. There are many Poms who recognise Aussie sporting achievements, particularly in cricket and RL.

Over the years, you've held the upper hand in the Ashes and State of Origin has consistently provided us with the best Rugby on the planet for decades now.

[Mickmac]

Originally Posted by D/L

Perhaps, but I see you're quite new to this forum and won't have seen many of the preceding ones.

All I'd say is don't judge the rest of us by some of the few here. There are many Poms who recognise Aussie sporting achievements, particularly in cricket and RL.

Over the years, you've held the upper hand in the Ashes and State of Origin has consistently provided us with the best Rugby on the planet for decades now.

Thanks D/L, not used to hearing comments like yours.
I don't judge you all by the opinions of a few but I do react to those who attack Australians just because they have it in for us.

[Mickmac]

Just saw the news regarding James Taylor having to retire due to a heart condition.
Very sad as he is only 26yo and had such a promising career ahead of him.
Wish him the best of luck with the upcoming operation and his recovery.

(I underwent spinal fusion last year, spent 7 months in hospital and had cancer treatment for six months, was paralyzed from the waist down for a time and have been learning how to walk again since being released from hospital 5 months ago, so I know what it is like to have your life turned upside down.)

[cabinboy]

Originally Posted by Mickmac

Just saw the news regarding James Taylor having to retire due to a heart condition.
Very sad as he is only 26yo and had such a promising career ahead of him.
Wish him the best of luck with the upcoming operation and his recovery.

(I underwent spinal fusion last year, spent 7 months in hospital and had cancer treatment for six months, was paralyzed from the waist down for a time and have been learning how to walk again since being released from hospital 5 months ago, so I know what it is like to have your life turned upside down.)

Best wishes for the recovery, that's excellent news that you're beating the cancer. I'm sure it's been tough.

[D/L]

Originally Posted by Mickmac

Thanks D/L, not used to hearing comments like yours.
I don't judge you all by the opinions of a few but I do react to those who attack Australians just because they have it in for us.

Not used to making them, Mickmac.

There'll be plenty of banter (as, due mostly to our close historical ties, covering more than just cricket, there always is between Poms and Aussies). When the banter descends into bile, though, it's time to say something.

Just saw your later post. Best wishes for the future, cobber.

[Fatslogger]

Although there wasn't really any bile, just a bit of winding up of Mm after he posted a very strange post talking about envy of Smith and the Aussies, based on really no evidence of such on the thread at all, beyond the odd comment about aesthetics. If anything, CD was more sensible about Smith's merits than usual and Mm's post followed several saying how good Smith is (which is fair enough because he is extremely good). So well done for generating a row about nothing Mm and well done for condemning a position that nobody appears to have taken DL. You can both give SVaZ his straw man back now.

[Mickmac]

Good comment fatty, albeit a bit of fact and fiction combined. But you are right, there was no bile, just a bit of fun.
Your comment -

.............."based on really no evidence of such on the thread at all, beyond the odd comment about aesthetics"..............

gave me a laugh, were you tongue in cheek when you wrote that bit ?

I can understand you saying that I posted a very strange post, talking about the envy of Smith and co. and you are well qualified to spot a strange post when you see one -

............"Smith may not be as technically gorgeous as Williamson and Root (who is?)"................

And you guys wonder why I laugh so much ! This place is a goldmine of comedy with a bit of cricket satire thrown in.
Thanks for your entertaining comments.

[D/L]

Not "really" any bile? A position that nobody "appears" to have taken? That allows for the possibility, then, that there was some (to many, the comment at the top the page would surely qualify and wouldn't be the first from that source).

Any road up, with one man's "bilious" being another man's something else there's probably little to be gained by labouring the point.

Welcome to the forum, MM.

[slop]

Originally Posted by Mickmac

But you are right, there was no bile, just a bit of fun.

Yeah, I'm not sure why it's being escalated.

[Ali TT]

Originally Posted by Fatslogger

Although there wasn't really any bile, just a bit of winding up of Mm after he posted a very strange post talking about envy of Smith and the Aussies, based on really no evidence of such on the thread at all, beyond the odd comment about aesthetics. If anything, CD was more sensible about Smith's merits than usual and Mm's post followed several saying how good Smith is (which is fair enough because he is extremely good). So well done for generating a row about nothing Mm and well done for condemning a position that nobody appears to have taken DL. You can both give SVaZ his straw man back now.

Originally Posted by Mickmac

Good comment fatty, albeit a bit of fact and fiction combined. But you are right, there was no bile, just a bit of fun.
Your comment -

.............."based on really no evidence of such on the thread at all, beyond the odd comment about aesthetics"..............

gave me a laugh, were you tongue in cheek when you wrote that bit ?

I can understand you saying that I posted a very strange post, talking about the envy of Smith and co. and you are well qualified to spot a strange post when you see one -

............"Smith may not be as technically gorgeous as Williamson and Root (who is?)"................

And you guys wonder why I laugh so much ! This place is a goldmine of comedy with a bit of cricket satire thrown in.
Thanks for your entertaining comments.

No offence meant, MM, in my "bilious" comment above. I enjoy a bit of banter with Aussie fans, but don't have it in for you lot at all. I'm a cricket fan foremost, and enjoy seeing great cricketers play no matter where. Wishing you well in your recovery.

Back to the thread topic and speaking of batsmen, it's been felt that the Aussies have a bit of a shortage of top young batsmen coming through yet Burns and Khawaja have had a great Aussie Summer. Do you feel confident that the Aussie batting is looking a bit healthier than it has recently, especially for when you next go on tour?

[CDogg16]

Mickmac, in the summer I said Smith had been found out, and he then scored a century at The Oval, so now I just occasionally mention when he gets a low score as a joke. I don't think Smith is as good a batsman as his average suggests, but since moving up the order to three and becoming captain he has maintained his form (albeit against lesser opposition), and would certainly get into a World Test XI.

[cabinboy]

Originally Posted by Ali TT

No offence meant, MM, in my "bilious" comment above. I enjoy a bit of banter with Aussie fans, but don't have it in for you lot at all. I'm a cricket fan foremost, and enjoy seeing great cricketers play no matter where. Wishing you well in your recovery.

Back to the thread topic and speaking of batsmen, it's been felt that the Aussies have a bit of a shortage of top young batsmen coming through yet Burns and Khawaja have had a great Aussie Summer. Do you feel confident that the Aussie batting is looking a bit healthier than it has recently, especially for when you next go on tour?

Cameron Bancroft
Travis Head
Chris Lynn
Jordan Silk

All worth keeping an eye out for.

[Ali TT]

Bancroft is at Gloucester isn't he? I'll keep an eye out, although he'll be hard pressed to better Klinger's 2015 season.

[cabinboy]

Originally Posted by Ali TT

Bancroft is at Gloucester isn't he? I'll keep an eye out, although he'll be hard pressed to better Klinger's 2015 season.

Bancroft is by far the biggest prospect, he is very close to being picked for the test side.

[Mickmac]

Originally Posted by Ali TT

No offence meant, MM, in my "bilious" comment above. I enjoy a bit of banter with Aussie fans, but don't have it in for you lot at all. I'm a cricket fan foremost, and enjoy seeing great cricketers play no matter where. Wishing you well in your recovery.

Back to the thread topic and speaking of batsmen, it's been felt that the Aussies have a bit of a shortage of top young batsmen coming through yet Burns and Khawaja have had a great Aussie Summer. Do you feel confident that the Aussie batting is looking a bit healthier than it has recently, especially for when you next go on tour?

No offence taken at all Ali TT, and I enjoy the banter just as much as the next guy.
Like you, I love the game itself, and have played it and watched it since I was a kid (a long time)
Thanks for your thoughts regarding my recovery, I will be ok.

Have not found any of your comments, or any others to be the slightest bit "bilious" - ie............."affected by or associated with nausea or vomiting,spiteful; bad-tempered".............. and anyone who thought they were bilious could only be described as a drama queen.

We are lucky in that we do have a number of young players ready to step up to test level, my personal favourite being Chris Lynn who plays for QLD in the Sheffield Shield as well as the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
He really does hit the ball hard, and I believe he could become a good middle order test batsman, with a bit of spin bowling as well.
There are many others just as deserving and some have been listed on another comment.
I am more concerned with our bowlers, they seem to break down with great regularity.
The average age of the Australian test side is 27 years at the moment, not too old by world standards but I hope the next lot to join the squad are in their early/er twenties.

[Mickmac]

Originally Posted by CDogg16

Mickmac, in the summer I said Smith had been found out, and he then scored a century at The Oval, so now I just occasionally mention when he gets a low score as a joke. I don't think Smith is as good a batsman as his average suggests, but since moving up the order to three and becoming captain he has maintained his form (albeit against lesser opposition), and would certainly get into a World Test XI.

..................."I don't think Smith is as good a batsman as his average suggests".....................

Sorry, but I cannot agree with you on this one. The entire game is based on averages and it is how batsmen are judged at the end of their careers.
If a batsman only ever played at "home" against weaker opposition then the average would not be an accurate measure. But Smith has played enough tests in enough countries by now for his average to mean something.

Anyway, I don't have to stick up for him, I am confident he will let his bat do the talking for a few years to come at least.