Phil Hughes - unlucky in the extreme

When you live on the other side of the world it's fairly easy to come to the conclusion that Australian batsman Phil Hughes is pretty ordinary and just can't cut it against quality bowling.   Perhaps he had a golden start to Test cricket but he's been found out since and was never truly Test class.

This piece made me wonder though - is he the Aussie Ramprakash or Hick?   Some of the stats quoted make him look like a world-beater but he doesn't seem to get any prolonged chance to make a position in the Australian team his own.   On the basis of all his runs in state cricket, I hope he gets another go...he's still young.

Mixed feelings watching Australia bat

It's confusing watching Australia bat with book-hero Ed Cowan opening with  Middlesex-heroes Hughes and Warner but there wil be no second thoughts when it comes to the summer and The Ashes. Can Australia find another opener begining with Co..... to make a complete set with Cook and Compton, assuming that Cowan's running between the wickets hasn't cost him his place? Would he be the first batsman dropped from a Test side for that failing?

 

What is it about Twitter?

Why do players seem to lose all common sense when using Twitter? I can only assume they use it when drunk from the messages that are attributed to certain players. There's plenty but here's just a few:

Philip Hughes
Tim Bresnan
Azeem Rafeeq
Kevin Pietersen
And now, Dimitri Mascarenas

Come on people, get a grip.

Plum?

I was lucky enough yesterday to be able to watch the highlights and it seems that Watson was lucky not to be given out LBW yesterday to Swann when he was on 37 and Katich could well have been given LBW to Anderson for 4. (If anyone watching the live coverage and umpteen replays knows otherwise, let me know!). So it seems like Australia had the rub of the green last night - evening up the wrong decisions against them in the Lord's Test to a certain extent.

Watson has definitely looked better than Hughes, but I imagine Hughes is wondering why he couldn't have had the same luck...

....possibly because he's unlikely to ever get in line for an LBW!

Australia's selection

It's a tough selection decision. Allan Border is now saying that Australia should drop Johnson for Clark, and I certainly think they need to get Clark in the team somehow - going into the series without him seemed strange from the outset. Clearly I don't watch Aussie cricket day in, day out, but I'd be looking to play Clark ahead of all the Aussie seamers that have played.

Border suggests just the one change to bring Clark in instead of Johnson. I'd be tempted to get Watson in there as well and it has to be Hughes or North to go if you do that. I can only assume it would have to be Hughes, with Hussey up to open, so it will be interesting to see how they play it. As a non-Aussie with no experience of watching Hughes play well ever, or watching Watson bowl or bat well in a proper match (i.e. not a one-dayer or Twenty20), it's something I'll sit on the fence on....

Flintoff and left handers

Very interesting article analysing how Australia could react to the fact that Flintoff has been far more effective against their left-handers than their right-handers. I've got to say, it's made me think about Hughes further - I'd still pick him but they must be sorely tempted to move Hussey up to open and bring in Watson in the middle-order. Either way, moving Michael Clarke, who Flintoff has never got out in an Ashes Test, up to 4 looks to make good sense judging by this analysis.

England have gone for Bell batting 4. I would have preferred Collingwood up to 4 and Bell at 5 because Bell bats better lower down and that splits Bopara and Bell up, but hopefully it won't make a huge amount of difference if Bopara can come good....

Aussie openers

Personally if I was an Australian selector I wouldn't be considering dropping Hughes (who still averages over 50 in Tests) for two bad Tests - if he was good enough before the Tour then he's equally as good now. But the scavengers are circling so it's interesting to hear that Justin Langer hasn't exactly ruled out coming out of retirement in the same week as he went past Bradman's first class runs record for an Australian.

If Hughes was to be dropped the alternative seems to be to use Hussey or Shane Watson as an opener. As The Guardian points out, there really is only one choice there which is Hussey, agreeing with my post about Watson pre-tour. Watson averages under 20 so if Australia want to risk him to ensure they have a 5th bowling option, they need to bat him at 6 as I've Burbled before. The England bowlers would be licking their lips even more at the prospect of Watson opening the innings than the unconventional technique of Hughes.