Shane Watson is a proper good player. Just a shame he can't crack on to get decent scores when he looks really good to get one. Especially in tests (Ashes) he got afew 50s and 60s didn't he but never anything higher? He's in really good form of late and it's good to watch him hit big 6s.

I nthink that the last 4 in the 50 over world cup will be India, South Africa, England & Sri Lanka.

just had some pics sent back from my mates who are still out there lots more here www.pitchero.com/clubs/headingle ... ub/photos/

just had some pics sent back from my mates who are still out there lots more here www.pitchero.com/clubs/headingle ... ub/photos/

Excellent innings today from Watson.
England were about 20 runs short of a really competitive target, threw most of their wickets away.
Hopefully lessons learned for the upcoming World Cup.

Completely agree OF but there are plenty of games left in this series and this squad has shown it learns after a defeat.

Watson is a great 1 day player because he is impatient. That's his downfall in the tests though.

In my eyes he's not a test opener because he has to swing his bat instead of playing himself in. I reckon he'd be better down the order at 4, like Pieterson. You know, someone who can get a 50+ on the board once they have 200 or so already posted and keep the innings going.

If I was an Aussie, I'd sooner see Watson at the wicket than Hughes.
Yes, in Tests he hasn't gone on to make big scores but that could & probably will come.
His technique is generally very sound but he lacks concentration & gets himself out rather than being got out. Once he sorts that out he could be a very difficult guy to get out.

All the unused bowlers get a bash tonight in Hobart in the attractively named Belle Rive Oval & Prior replaces Davies as WK plus Strauss' opening partner.
Here's hoping for a win.

Prior is back and rightly so. He should be our WK for all forms of the game. It's stupid the amount of keepers we've used in limited overs stuff.

Well that was a disappointing performance.
Poor captaincy from Strauss when Doug the Rug 1st came in.
Excellent, sensible knock from yet another Marsh, Geoff or Rod's lad I think, but not sure which.
Injuries could be an issue for both side leading up to the world cup.

Agreed. And why did we take the batting power play when incontrol with scoreboard nicely ticking over? The batting power play seems to signal a rush of blood and a loss of wickets.

I didn't mind them taking the power play then but whenever we (or most sides for that matter) take it common sense seems to go out of the window.

IMO the power play should be taken when things are not going well and you need to change the tempo. It is best suited to the tailenders who lack the batting skills to get the singles and who can have a heave with a better chance of finding space. Whereas the batters like Morgan can create the 1's and 2's in normal play as he was doing.

Because we took it when things were going well we had to change the style because many of the singles were then cut off as the fielders were brought in and we lost a key wicket. Not our skippers best day for decisions.

It is a shame they didn't include Cook in the one day sides again. He was dropped when his form was bad in all forms of cricket. Now he has improved his technique and form he could have solved the problem of our openers.

Want to rethink that piece of selection yet Bang?

Davies made a scratchy but meaningful contribution in the first game, Prior has followed it up with two, three-ball ducks since.

To be fair, Prior deserves his place but IMO not as opener against Australia. They have 2 fast bowlers that demand a batsman with good technique to open. I would have gone with Bell for this series (having not included Cook in the squad) Prior is just the man to up the tempo in the mid and back end of the innings.

As a long shot the other one I would consider as an opener is KP as he is better against the quickies than spin, and if his eye is in can hit over the top in the early overs.

I do not understand the tactics of our limited over game. We seem to stick to the pre-match game plan not matter what is happening out in the middle or which team we are playing. We rarely change the batting order to suit the situation.

Also the persistance with Collingwood can only be based on the chance that after so many batting failures he is due for one now. Not really the best way to prepare for the World Cup.

Andersons return will help but we now need a replacement spinner.