Andrew Hilditch - thunderqunt

ODIs best for Test preparation, Hilditch says

Jamie Pandaram and Will Swanton
November 23, 2009


ONE-DAY internationals are now a better preparation for Tests than first-class cricket, national selection chairman Andrew Hilditch has suggested.

Much of Australia's line-up for Thursday's match against the West Indies was rested from last week's Sheffield Shield games and the players head into a summer of six Tests with only short-form performances on which to be judged.
Next year, Australia will preface a Test series against New Zealand with two Twenty20s and five one-dayers. Then in England, where they play a neutral series against Pakistan, there are five ODIs against England before two Twenty20s against Pakistan, and only a two-day tour match before the Tests begin.

The overloaded schedule has crammed such a large number of short-form games that Australian players will barely be practising for Test cricket, merely playing it.

But Hilditch believes international competition - regardless of what form it takes - is better for preparation than domestic matches.

On the decision to rest players who won the recent ODI series in India from Shield games, Hilditch said: ''We thought long and hard about the best management for the side.

''The fact that they went and succeeded long term is going to be of great benefit to everybody who was involved. It was one of our better one-day performances.

''They get a lot of confidence as individual players. International cricket is the best I think you can get for Test cricket so I think they'll be ready to go at the Gabba.''

Both Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, who are returning from injury, spoke of the importance of spending time in the middle for NSW last week against Tasmania. Clarke scored 106 but it was the four hours he spent at the crease he valued most.
''It's good to spend some time in the middle, definitely,'' Clarke said. ''I needed the hit. I didn't feel that comfortable in the one-dayer the other day, I felt very scratchy. The time at the crease, that was my goal in the game, not so much the amount of runs I scored.''I think I faced 170 balls so to spend that time is worth 20 net sessions. I feel better for it.''

West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin said the four-day tour match against Queensland which finished on Saturday was used by his players to spend solid time at the crease or get through a high number of overs as the best preparation for a Test match.

However, Australian paceman Peter Siddle, who was sent home from India due to a side strain and has not played cricket in two weeks, believes he is better off having missed Victoria's Shield match last week.''I got an extra week than the other boys, I've been at home for two weeks now,'' Siddle said. ''It's been enjoyable but I'm really looking forward to getting back in the Australian colours. ''[The injury] was played up a bit more than it was. I got tight during the last one-dayer that I played, as sort of precaution for the big summer ahead we've got in Australia was to come home and rest up.

''So I came home and got the scans and they came up all clear, so it was more of a rest period. I'm back bowling now and feeling fit and strong and ready to go. ''I've played that much cricket now since I took off to England earlier in the year, I've played enough cricket now to know what I've got to do to prepare for each match, and what I have to do to get ready. ''I'm feeling comfortable with how I'm feeling at the moment and my preparation.''

Australia's strong domestic competition has been the backbone of the national team's long-standing success, but with the proliferation of Twenty20 and ODI matches with every tour, the players are becoming virtually unavailable for Shield games unless they're Test-only members such as Simon Katich. With the vast majority of Test stars also playing Twenty20s and ODIs, their availability for four-day cricket is becoming redundant. Australia played a record 40 ODIs this past year and as new domestic Twenty20 competitions sprout there will be even less time to spend playing Shield matches.

Meanwhile, Hilditch said no player overlooked for the Test squad would have improved the side. Michael Hussey was retained despite strong support for the recall of Phillip Hughes to build for next year's Ashes series but Hilditch said: ''We don't change the side unless we're confident we can improve it.'' ''Michael Hussey scored a hundred in his last Test.''He averages 50-plus and he's in good nick as far as we can tell. ''He deserves to be in the side and I think he'll play very well.''

Dear God in Heaven. The idiot's gone completely mad.

Australian cricketers dodge bullets

• Ben Dorries
  
• From: Herald Sun
  
• November 20, 2009 12:00AM
  

DEAN Jones believes the national selectors have fallen asleep at the wheel by allowing Australia's cricketers to dodge a bullet for losing the Ashes.


The former Australian batsman is astounded that veteran seamer Stuart Clark is the only fall-guy from the team that lost the Ashes at The Oval just three months ago.
Selection boss Andrew Hilditch yesterday retained 34-year-old Mike Hussey in the 12-man squad to take on the West Indies in next week's Gabba Test.
Jones insisted it should have been a summer to blood new players against a feeble Caribbean side - and with an eye on next year's return Ashes battle on Australia soil.
The average age of the Australian squad is 30.
"The game has changed hasn't it? When you lose the Ashes, normally someone's throat gets cut," Jones said. "Now they just get paid more.

"If there was ever going to be a time to blood someone into the team and give them an easy ride into Test cricket, then this was the summer. We will bury the West Indies, whoever plays. This was the time for change.

"We shouldn't forget that it was a 23-year-old (fast bowler Stuart Broad) who won England the Ashes. This Australian side has a lot of older blokes."

The inclusion of Doug Bollinger, the 28-year-old left-arm paceman, is the only breath of fresh air although all indications are he will be 12th man. Spinner Nathan Hauritz is likely to be preferred to Bollinger.

Clark, 34, the man of the series during the last home Ashes series, may have played his last Test.
Hilditch defended the lack of changes by claiming Australia's players dominated the run and wicket-taking lists during the Ashes - they just lost the big moments.
"The nucleus of that side all performed well as individuals," Hilditch said. "We lost the Ashes because we played three poor sessions and when we played a poor session it was a shocker."
Hilditch also claimed he had to show faith in Hussey as he believed his form had turned the corner.
"The assessment is he's in very good nick," he said.
"He scored a century in his last Test match, averages 50 in Test cricket and has form in one-day cricket.
"We've got to be very careful comparing one form of the game to the other, but with Michael it's a combination of factors."

As much as I think Deano is a laughing stock, it's hard to argue with his points in this article. And Hilditch just makes himself look dumber each time he gives a sound-bite. Stoopid farker.

FFS! Just how much influence does Simpson still wield that this clown isn't eking out a living doing conveyancing?

And he'd probably fark that up too, qmy.

He's reassuring though because he confirms my belief there's no such thing as a benevolent god.

FFS! How did this guy manged to have kids. He would have cut the necessary tool off trying to unzip his pants.

his zipper doesnt go near his forehead

I always though James Sutherland came across as a bit of a drongo. His continued support of the head of the NSP clearly confirms such suspicions.

It's good to know selectors are just as loved around the world as at home.

Hilditch > Miller? (and by > I mean sh!tter)

thunderyquntier

Interesting adjective.

I like its understated descriptiveness.