Sunday 28 December 2008

17 bowlers, less than 20 wickets

Australia are prepared to let Brett Lee's foot explode if they can take twenty wickets in Melbourne. The explosion seems more likely.

They have played 13 Test matches in 2008 and have taken all 20 wickets in seven of them. Four of those came against West Indies and New Zealand. On two further occasions that they did so, they lost anyway. In four Tests in India, they took 59 of a possible 80.

One of the great quiz questions of the future will be, 'How many bowlers did Australia use in Tests in 2008?' 

The answer, trivia fans, is seventeen: Lee, Johnson, Clark, MacGill, Symonds, Casson, Hogg, Tait, Watson, White, Siddle, Krezja, Hauritz, Clarke, Hussey, Katich and Ponting. 



7 comments:

Unknown said...

Should give Hayden a bowl, maybe he can be useful? Left-arm over the wicket bouncers, he's got the height and strength to be a real nuisance.

Jrod said...

Hussey is still useful, he brings the joy of laughter.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXoNJcQ2v0

Q said...

17!!

Damn. They surely don't know who can do the job for them.

I reckon there have been years where the Aussies have used only 6 bowlers annually.. not one but many years like that.

Anonymous said...

The best way to blood any bowler is by giving him chances. Shane Warne conceded a lot of runs to Ravi Shastri and Sachin at Sydney on his debut. McGrath, i am sure (though not certain), took his time to establish himself.

In the present day, Australia want to blood replacements without compromising on player performance and match results. Their requirement could have been met if they were replacing one player at a time. But when you have to replace two all-time-greats at a time, and when the seniors are underperforming, the team management/selectors are growing impatient and expecting immediate results from the youngsters, who are otherwise promising.

Things don't work that way.

The Old Batsman said...

Q- was going to try to work out how many bowlers they used in prev years, but think you're probably about right. 17 is more like an England circa 1990s total.

12th - spot on, it's a vicious circle. Or cycle. The spinners will now play on a rota system, decided by surname.

And how we love Mr Cricket. He's the world's try-hardingest player...

Damith S. said...

great point by 12th, i think krejza has showed promise and needs to be given an extended run, play him in sydney and take him to SA and keep playing him more and more and he should develop.

Billy Kimber said...

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