Mark Chilton – LiveCricket.in
Chill discusses cricket
Posts Tagged ‘Andrew Symonds’
2nd
So Australia get beaten on their own soil since 1993 and there is suddenly a crisis and every man and his dog voices their opinion. The fact is they just haven’t been used to getting beaten that often and to be so convincingly turned over means questions get asked. I have read many articles over the last few days about where they go from here and I thought I would offer another opinion.
It is no secret that they are a different team without Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne, especially the latter, and their deficiency in the spin departement has proved to be a real problem. I reckon they have two options.
Firstly, they could pick their four best bowlers (regardless of action), six best batters and Brad Haddin to keep wicket. The possible batters in my view would be Brad Hodge or David Hussey.
Secondly, they find an allrounder to allow them to play the spinner. I would play Jason Krejza who is a more attacking spin option then pick a bloke who can do a holding job as a fourth seamer to allow some control when the three quicks are tired or the spinner fetches it. Andrew Macdonald is a consistent performer having a great season with Victoria and has an opportunity to show is potential. A fully fit Andrew Symonds would still make my starting eleven but he has to able to bowl the overs.
Althought the results were ultimately pretty convincing the Aussies had South Africa on the ropes at times and failed to convert their strong positions. They are still a quality side and if they can keep confidence will still be a tough team to beat in Sydney and provide a stern test for England in the Ashes next year.
22nd
Andrew Symonds, the world class Australian all-rounder, has been dropped by Australia just prior to their test series in India. The reports seem to suggest disciplinary reasons and clearly the Australian management are making a strong statement about the attitude required to be an Australian cricketer.
I played with Symonds at Lancashire and he is clearly a rough diamond, however, his attitude and commitment to the cause was second to no-one and he proved to be a huge asset to our side. Clearly there are a few commitment issues he is facing but I am sure after missing this series his hunger for the game will be back. Whatever the problems are, I hope to see Symo back out on the pitch playing all forms of cricket as soon as possible, he is one of the games great entertainers and it would be a shame for his career to come to a premature end.