Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

How about Paine? 4 Tests 35.87.

Cummins back and taking wickets

I would take Paine back if he stays injury free.

I think he would have been an ever present in this side for a while if injury free.

Cummins taking wickets, please let him stay injury free.

Faulkner's batting surely can't be any worse than Marsh's.

dan08 wrote:Faulkner's batting surely can't be any worse than Marsh's.

It is a bit of a suprise that Faulkner has only played one test. The Aussie selectors have decided he is not a top 6 batsman.

Which then means that Marsh should not be batting at 6 either looking at their respective first class records. And Faulkner has won the odd game for australia with the bat in 50 over cricket. Not sure Marsh can say that yet.

Marsh and Neville at 6 and 7 at present makes the Aussie tail start at 6. Maybe Faulkner coming in at 8 might make Australian batting stronger. Bowling a little weaker....

Faulkner is a slower ball specialist, a slightly better version of DJ Bravo. Not a Test bowler by any stretch of imagination. Marsh is a much better bowler IMO. Faulkner's batting too has been found out in ODIs recently after the initial success.

dan08 wrote:Faulkner's batting surely can't be any worse than Marsh's.

His bowling certainly can be. Marsh was very good with the ball last summer and in NZ. Not his fault the captain didn't give him much of a bowl in SL and overbowled the spinners, who were awful. I highly doubt Faulkner can bowl at the pace Marsh did last summer and get that reverse swing on flat pitches. Marsh's bowling is really underrated. Faulkner is a slower ball merchant.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Marsh doesn't look like a top six bat. But he looks a bit more than a fifth bowler. If Australia had a convincing batter keeper, maybe Mitch3 would be easier to indulge. Perhaps the same is true of Faulkner too, who could conceivably bat at seven, but not six.

Well, they do. They definitely have more options in that department than alternatives for Mitch Marsh as allrounder. Yet Marsh's place seems more under scrutiny whereas there hasn't even been a murmur yet about Nevill who is probably one of the worst batsmen among all the keepers playing for good Test sides these days. With an Indian tour coming up, its time to blood the likes of Handscomb and maybe even recall Wade. They both play spin well. Wade was really impressive with both bat and gloves in SL in the ODIs.

Don't think Handscomb has kept for a long while. Hartley got me a lot of points in last years' SS FL.