Author: index

Mitchell Johnson is no longer the fastest bowler of the Australian Cricket Team

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Mitchell Johnson is no longer the fastest bowler of the Australian Cricket Team. It’s Mitchell Starc who has taken over from him.

Starc has come a long way over the last one year. He was quick before as well, but, he was pretty much a directionless bowler and that’s why, he would find himself in and out of the team all the time.

Six or seven months before the World Cup, he was not a certainty to be picked in the Australian squad.

But, not only did he get back into the frame with his hard work, he ended up winning the World Cup for Australia on his own, grabbing 23 wickets.

And, out of those 23, most were the top order wickets. In the final match against New Zealand, it was Starc who started it for Australia by cleaning up Brendan McCullum in the very first over with a swinging yorker.

McCullum could have tilted the game in favour of his team there with 10 overs of ferocious hitting, but, with him getting out; New Zealand fell behind and never recovered.

Starc’s speciality is that apart from being quick, he swings the ball as well and he swings it right through the innings. (more…)

Shane Watson facing drop down from Squad due to bad Form

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Shane Watson is not too far away from being dropped out of the playing XI of the Australian Cricket team.

The pressure is starting to mount on the Queenslander now with all the players in the squad almost getting fit.

There are three pace bowling all rounders in the Australian squad for the World Cup i.e. Watson, Mitchell Marsh and James Faulkner.

If all three of them are available for selection, it’s very much possible that Marsh and Faulkner get the nod ahead of Watson because of their current form.

Currently, Faulkner is injured and thus, Watson might get to play another game this Saturday versus the Bangladeshi team. But, he will have to get some runs to his name there. (more…)

Adam Gilchrist feels AB De Villiers is best Cricketer

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Adam Gilchrist reckons there is no Cricket player going around at the moment who brings more value to his team than AB De Villiers brings to South Africa.

According to Gilchrist, there is nothing that De Villiers does not seem to be able to do on a Cricket field. He can bat in any game situation. He can be an elegant player and he can, all of a sudden, become the brutal basher as well and it’s not only his abilities with the bat which makes him a superstar, the contribution that he makes in the field or even behind the stumps when he keeps, it’s fantastic.

Gilchrist is also the fan of De Villiers’ captaincy. He likes the way the 31-year old sets example for the other guys. (more…)

Best Australia Cricket Legends

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After establishing himself as a test match player, Steven Smith is now finding his feet in limited-over cricket too. In the recently played series against South Africa, he played some vital, match winning knocks for the Kangaroos.

Smith is currently not a guaranteed selection in the playing XI of the Australian ODI squad. It was just because the regular captain Michael Clarke was not available, the leg spinning all rounder got the opportunity to play and bat at no. 4 and he showed he was good enough for that.

The strongest point of Smith’s batting is his ability to innovate and toy with the field. His shots on the leg side were worth watching at the Melbourne Cricket ground during the 4th match of the series in which he got his maiden hundred in the One day Internationals.

Smith knows well that he cannot hit the ball as far as some of the other Aussie boys can. So, he never tries to play his game that way. He plays the touch game with a bit of cheekiness involved and he is getting more and more successful day by day.

Now, when Michael Clarke returns, it will be a real problem for the selection committee of Australia as far as picking the middle order batsmen is concerned.

If Clarke and Smith both play, then, either George Bailey or Glenn Maxwell would be out and that would be a little harsh on those guys.

Bailey has probably been the most successful Australian player in coloured clothing in the last couple of years while; Maxwell has often put team’s interests first and has batted selflessly. So, he deserves the benefit of the doubt too.

The players in the top order i.e. David Warner, Aaron Finch and Shane Watson are already well settled. So, there is no point tinkering with them.