from_the_stands wrote:I would say that the selectors have finally picked O'Keefe for 3 reasons;
1) He was the leading taker in the Sheffield Shield last season.
2) The debarkle that was the India tour showed that qality Oz spinners would appear to be in short supply.
3) The selectors realized that they hadn't quite exhausted their options from NSW.
We'll definitely see him used as the second spinner in this series, and possibly again for the Sydney Test. Lyon, Smith & O'Keefe will give Clarke loads of spin bowling options when they're all on deck. He's a decent bat too, with a first class average of 35. I am a bit surprised we haven't seen him feature more in the short stuff, his 7 T20I's yielded some good numbers.
He has had his moments has Shane, some of them truly spectacular, but I'll be quietly glad to see the back of him. Too many injuries, too little return for the chances he's been given and a permanent air of lingering discontent mean he's been very much a double edged sword for us. There comes a time when you just have to accept it hasn't really worked as well as it might have done and start to focus elsewhere. This is not the time for the player in question to utter anything other than his willingness to do whatever his team needs of him should he be selected. Shane should temper his expectations and be glad with what he gets. The product has been on the shelves for some time and is near it's 'use by' date.
from_the_stands wrote:Shane Watson has once again opened that gaping hole under his nose by suggesting that he plays at his best when he opens the batting. Sigh. Can't see him dislodging either Warner or Rogers... or anybody else right now.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/story/789363.html
I really don't know why Twatto persists with this talk, when he belongs at 6 in the current set-up... where he should have been playing all along. Going forward, I see the number 6 slot being contested between Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell, and possibly also James Faulkner.
On Twatto, a cricinfo contributor had this to say:He has had his moments has Shane, some of them truly spectacular, but I'll be quietly glad to see the back of him. Too many injuries, too little return for the chances he's been given and a permanent air of lingering discontent mean he's been very much a double edged sword for us. There comes a time when you just have to accept it hasn't really worked as well as it might have done and start to focus elsewhere. This is not the time for the player in question to utter anything other than his willingness to do whatever his team needs of him should he be selected. Shane should temper his expectations and be glad with what he gets. The product has been on the shelves for some time and is near it's 'use by' date.
I couldn't have put it better myself. I'd go as far as saying that just maybe Shane Watson has already played his last Test. I really do hope that Mitchell Marsh comes through, even though I still think that he isn't ready. Should Marsh not make the first Test against Pakistan, I really do hope that the selectors go with James Faulkner, as Maxwell is likely to come in for Clarke (although if I had my way, I'd be calling up Chris Lynn as cover for Clarke).
As for Twatto, should he get himself back to full fitness over the summer, he still has a role to play in the short stuff, but in Tests, surely it's time to move on.
from_the_stands wrote: Head looks very impressive too. He seems to hit a lot of balls in the air, some of which have sailed over the fence.
Making_Splinters wrote:from_the_stands wrote: Head looks very impressive too. He seems to hit a lot of balls in the air, some of which have sailed over the fence.
Watching the highlights from most of the games on Youtube, there seems to be a general habit of hitting the ball in the air across Australian cricket. It's significantly more prevelent than it is in the English limited overs game, Australia are a much better limited overs side than England. Maybe there is some link between the two.
from_the_stands wrote:I think also that there is a strong desire for batsmen over here wanting to get on top of bowlers by dominating them rather than boring them to death.
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