Nasher

A mate at work made an interesting comment today, in that all the 'great' sides of the past all have one thing in common; they have a plethora of great bowlers. WI in the 80s and Aus in the 90s/early 00s are examples of this, but both those sides also had a bunch of great batsmen so it's a bit inconclusive. If you believe these sentiments (and it's of course very debateable) then you'd have to say that as long as we've got a middle of the road bowling attack, then we're no certainties to win any series, especially against the stronger nations. It doesn't matter how strong our batting lineup is.

Yes, that's very annoying.

I know this is an old post in the context of this thread, but What's hard to understand about it? Fast bowlers are sprinting, at full speed, and have to stop instantly, as close to the line as they possibly can to get maximum advantage. It's a very difficult thing to do at full pace. Bowling no balls for overstepping usually has nothing to do with knowing their run-up length, because it only takes one slightly long step through their entire run-up to cause a no ball.

All bias aside, I feel Hilfenhaus will come in ahead of Siddle if they're both fit. Hughes ahead of Bailey as he's been scoring runs for longer. Any merit to Hughes batting in the middle order, or at three? The McKay vs Geeves argument is completely moot since they're both going to be behind Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Siddle and Bollinger.

I'm trying my hardest not to be biassed, but in my head I'm saying Bailey should definitely be in, Hilfy ahead of Siddle without question and Brett Geeves should have been playing ahead of Clint McKay :D

Klinger?! George Bailey anyone? If Ponting's out then it has to be Phil Hughes in, but it poses a problem as to how to jig the batting line-up. I'd be reluctant to mess with the opening partnership as Katich and Watson are starting to get runs on the board now, but Hughes is clearly the next best batsman in the country. A dilemma.

Wow, at that height, screw playing him in the ruck. Just have him stand in the defensive goal square, and when he stops every single goal from going through, just have him do a somersault the length of the ground with the ball and kick us a goal. But seriously yes, at 207 he is a serious man mountain. It's an interesting contrast with Fitzpatrick who appears to be an 'athletic' type. If both of them turn out to be good players they should make for a fairly tough to beat ruck combo. Unusual and interesting that we took two ruckmen in the national draft.

I read this thread and wished I could find something profound to say in response to such a touching article, but I've got nothing. All I can say is that I sincerely wish you all the best and hope that your obvious bravery holds you in good stead for your fight. I also have to add that I find it a terrifying reality check that this is happening to someone very close to me in age and circumstances.

I really hope Hilfy gets a look in. He was very disappointing last season when there were spots ripe for the taking. He's now in very good form, bowling with monotonous economy and taking wickets.

BBP have you read any articles by the coodabeens? Your writing style sounds exactly like one of their writers. Great work! I had always thought Moorcroft was a handy player who was unlucky to lose his spot at Essendon. I only needed to watch him play once or twice to realise how wrong I was.

Jeff Hilton anyone? Carter was one of the 8 Fitzroy players to go to Brisbane. Didn't last long there. And yes he plays for Bendigo now, I have a feeling he was the captain there at one point.

Beams is the captain of the Devils in the VFL now. Very exciting player at that level, is probably amongst the best VFL listed players in the competition. Couldn't quite cut it at the top, seemed to make too many mistakes. Definitely playing at the right level now.

My "real" nickname is Nozz, and my "real real name" is Andrew. I'm a 22 (12/10/83) year old Software Developer from Tassie.