No one could quite understand how he kept getting a game, or the new ball. Is a very talented young kid, but maybe, just maybe, he should perform at the level below before he is given an opportunity.
David Hussey – Kolkata
98 runs @ av 24 sr 166 hs 43
0 wickets econ 8.5
Came late onto a ship that had already sunk, and decided to swing away. Looked in top touch, but kept getting out after amazing starts. Had a way better strike rate than McCullum or Gayle.
Lee Carseldine – Rajasthan
81 runs @ av 20.25 sr 119 hs 39
1 wicket @ 6 econ 6 bb 1/6
Came in first game and just smacked the ball everywhere when no one else could get the ball off the square, sadly that was about all he did in the tournament. Interestingly only bowled one over.
Rob Quiney - Rajasthan
103 runs @ av 14.7 sr 100.98 hs 51
Hit his first ball in the IPL for 6, then went out. Only really got two starts, and showed glimpses of his talent, but good spinners slowed him down or got him out. Hopefully he has learnt some good lessons, and will be able to score more consistently for Victoria.
Shane Harwood – Rajasthan
9 runs (no outs) sr 62 hs 6*
3 wickets @ 24.3 econ 7.30 bb 2/25
Only played 3 games, but did look dangerous. Rajasthan were more worried with making runs so he and Morne spent most of their time on the bench.
Luke Ronchi – Mumbai Indians
0 runs from 1 game
Sachin went into panic mode about half way through the tournament and threw Luke one game. He was run out for a duck.
Simon Katich – Punjab
145 runs @ av 16 sr 123 hs 50
His 50 was sensational, as good as I have seen the krab time the ball, but struggled other than that. 2020 really wasn’t made for him, and had his coach not been Moody, I doubt he would played too often.
George Bailey – Chennai
45 runs @ av 22.5 sr 115 hs 30
In both of his innings he looked in top form, and in both of them he ran himself out. The good news was smilin’ George looked completely at home at this level of cricket.
Andrew McDonald - Delhi
3 runs @ av 3 sr 75 hs 3
0 wickets (3 overs) econ 7.33 bb 0/22
Only played the one game when Delhi were resting players, and got a sensational Yorker from Anil Kumble.
Luke Pomersbach – Punjab
41 runs @ av 10.25 sr 83 hs 26
Looked out of touch, and small. When Luke is at his best he looks like a Hayden type bully, here he looked like a mouse imitating a flea.
These were the significant players. Tomorrow will be the insignificant players.
Brad Hodge – Kolkata
365 @ av 40 sr 117 hs 73
7 wickets @ 23 econ 8.05 bb 3/29
Started off terribly, but as the team fell apart he became their banker. Eventually showed why he had made so many runs in this format of the game, happy to be 30 off 30, and then explode at the end. Was used as a front line bowler at times, which he isn’t, but he did bowl some very good overs.
Brett Lee – Punjab
28 runs @ av 14 sr 82 hs 14*
5 wickets @ 22 econ 5.55 bb 3/15
Only played a handful of games, but looked more like the late 07/08 bowler, and less like the heart break kid of recent times. Always does his best work with the white ball, so not a huge surprise he was too good for most batsmen at this level. His batting looked rusty but he will just be happy to be out in the middle and thinking about cricket.
Andrew Symonds – Deccan
249 runs @ av 35 sr 150 hs 60*
7 wickets @ 22.85 econ 6.66 bb 2/18
Won the final with 2 wickets in one over, and his medium pace bowling was swinging a lot, and was hard for most people to hit. His batting always looked murderous, but couldn’t quite cash in as he would like. Would be happy with his form though.
Ryan Harris – Deccan
21 runs @ av 21 sr 116 hs 9*
6 wickets @ 38 econ 7.41 bb 3/27
Couldn’t buy a wicket, but no one found him easy to hit. His bounce made him an ideal bowler. Was bagged in the South African press for not being up to it and then played as one of the imports in the final winning side.
David Warner – Delhi
163 runs @ av 28 sr 123 hs 50
Outshone Sehwag and Gambhir at the top of the order, but never really broke free. His fielding was probably his highlight, some of his efforts were amazing.
Started off with an average performance or two and the commentators and press questioned why he was in the side. 5 games in and he was being pronounced as rare diamond. Probably didn’t take as many wickets as he would have wanted, but was unplayable when he got it right. Definitely the best performed of this bunch, and even with Gilly’s punishment in the semi, has come away with a lew legion of fans.
But with Marcus North strolling into the number 6 position, and Mitchell Johnson out batting Michael Hussey, Shane might be worried he might not get back into the side.
What better state to move to than NSWales.
Yet again Shane Watson will lose some fans.
Not sure if he has any left.
What must Moises Henriques and Steve Smith be thinking.
I would be pissed, some dude moves in just because of his girlfriend and suddenly my position is shaky.
I’d wanna gouge his eyes out.
That is just me.
The bigger question is who will Shane Watson play for next.
With Luke Ronchi dropped, and Tim Paine unable to live up to his potential the race for back up test keeper is wide open.
Should Haddin get injured, no one could accurately predict who the next keeper would be.
The front runner should be Manou, but really it isn’t. No one has ever talked him up, even though he has carried the Redbacks for 2 years now. Very tidy, if not brilliant with the gloves. His career average of 23 is ordinary, but in the last two years he has averaged around 36 with 4 hundreds. Has a bit of mongrel in him as well. Perfect back up keeper, would be grateful for the opportunity. Not a long term proposition at 29 though.
Chris Hartley might be the man to jump the queue. Is the best regular gloveman in the country, and with Crosthwaite, are the only two guys who are proper old school keepers. His career batting average is 27, but is in career best form with the bat, has one hundred this year, 3 50s and that is not including his 82* overnight in the current match. Of all the keepers in Australia only he and Manou seem to be safe in their jobs.
Victoria’s keeping is a mess, but for good reasons. Wade and Crosthwaite are probably the 3rd and 4th best options in Australia at the moment, and they are continuing to fight for one spot. Crosthwaite has made the side as a batsman this year, Wade has done it for the last two years. Wade’s glovework doesn’t impress me (although he has 51 catches in 8 games this year), but his batting is solid. The only thing he hadn’t done is kick on and make a hundred, well he did that yesterday, so in 19 first class games he has 1 hundred and 4 50s, and is 21. Having someone as good as Crossy behind him seems to be spurring him on. Maybe not ready to be number two, but will be mid 20s when Haddin is due for retirement.
Daniel Smith could be the roughie, not that I think he is good enough, but people seem to like him, and he is from NSWales, so that has to put him in the running. Has averaged 26 in 18 games, which seems to be about the same for all the back ups. Can play, but is probably a bit too hit and miss as a back up.
At one stage I wanted Tim Paine to replace Gilly. Watching him bat you can actually see the talent ooze out of him (not a semen joke). But where are the results, he hasn’t made big scores with the bat, and his keeping is adequate at best. With an average of 30 he pretty much tops this list, but he has made only one hundred in the last 3 years, and for his talent that is not good enough. Could still replace Haddin, but he must frustrate the selectors, and that could count against him.
Over in Western Australia Luke Ronchi has lost the support of Tom Moody. Last season he averaged 40 with the bat and made 64 off about 8 balls when understudying for Haddin. This year he has averaged 20, and is on the outs. Has an amazing amount of talent with the bat, but his keeping is only so so. Who knows where he is in the list now.
Right at the moment I’d go with Hartley, but it would surprise me if almost anyone on this list gets picked.
Day 1 was the story of Usman Khawaja. Prior to this outing, his highest first class score was 85, however on Day 1 he piled on a near chanceless 109* while all and sundry fell around him.
This morning while batting with number 11 Burt Cockley he was eventually caught down the legside chasing a wide one, the 4th NSWales batsman dismissed in this manner!
Usman’s 112 out of a team score of 269 provides a workable total on a Gabba wicket that’s been as tight as a nuns nasty all year.
The real issue for NSWales could well be lack of bowling penetration. We’ve gone into this match missing some real bowling stars, namely
Nathan Bracken – injured
Stuart Clark – injured
Brett Lee – injured
Doug Bollinger – 12th man in South Africa
Marc Cameron – injured
Aaron Bird – chucker
Turns out that Moises Henriques is opening the bowling with Burt Cockley at the other end, however Cockley has just broken the opening stand having Broad caught behind by Docklands Light Rail in the 4th over.
JRod’s mob look to be holding up their end of the deal by dominating the Tasmanians, here’s to a few more wickets and keeping the dream alive.
I’m pleased that the Blues are taking this must win outright match against the New Texas seriously. The Bulls are looking pretty motivated with this match being Marcus North’s last home appearance, Shane Watson returning, and their own finals aspirations riding on the match.
However after the first session you’d have to agree it’s all New South Wales, who have won the toss and been dominant with the bat. That is, if you can call 3/39 dominant. Fortunately Twenty20 final hero Brett Rohrer 27(59) and everyone’s favourite ranga Dominic Thornley 18(40) steadied the sinking blue ship, taking us through to lunch at 3/81.
Looking at the Gabba this year, we see the following innings totals:
Which tells me it has not been a high scoring ground. The average completed innings total is 246, however considering the Blues are looking to gain first innings points I’d like at least 300 in the bank.
Queensland also have what I feel is a flakey middle order, despite it containing three Internationals in Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson and James Hopes. Fortunately Symonds is pants at state level, Watson is in his first game back from injury, and Hopes has scored 1, 6, 4, 32, 12, and 35 this year.
For those wanting to follow the match from work, there’s occasional updates here, and a less frequently updated scorecard here.
As the top wicket taker in both T20 and F50 competitions, he’ll be missed by the Blues in their remaining two Shield matches and also for the final when we make it. His 90 day ban concludes on 26th May 2009, which would have been an interesting test for the IPL had any franchise bid for him.
Upon completing his 90 day exclusion from competition Aaron will have to undergo biometric testing, where he’ll bowl all his deliveries except his wonky one, I believe the word for it is Doosra.
Tomorrow has been declared as Phillip Hughes Day by the prestigious Star Hotel in Macksville. Publican Ben Partridge has claimed they’ll be “chock-a-block” with locals eager to drink to their local boy’s debut in South Africa.
This town of 2,000 punches well above it’s weight in the sporting arena, also boasting Melbourne Storm star Greg Inglis. I wonder if his selection in the NRL was also announced over the school’s PA system..
Good luck to Phil in his Aussie debut, I’ll certainly be wishing him all the best from my position in front of a telly somewhere. At the very least he’ll be better than Hayden..
Read the First Comment 
I’m pleased that the Blues are taking this must win outright match against the New Texas seriously. The Bulls are looking pretty motivated with this match being Marcus North’s last home appearance, Shane Watson returning, and their own finals aspirations riding on the match.
NSWales fast bowler and Aaron Bird has 
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