• The place for cricket fans to connect, learn, and share their knowledge of the game
  • The place for cricket fans

Team Selections

Recent Activity

Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
488 Likes
512 Followers



I read with great interest the following quotes from George Bailey as the Chief of the Australian Cricket selectors in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

Bailey was also open in calling for more Australian players to develop as left-arm spinners, after New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner was instrumental in engineering India’s first home series loss since 2012.

“I’m happy to very much throw it out there that it is an incredible skill set in the subcontinent and we’ve seen that for many years,” Bailey said. “Realistically there’s not a huge amount of players in domestic cricket that are doing it, so it’s something we’re looking to expose.

George, Josh Clarke is your man.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/2554/hi-george-josh-clarke-is-your-man
Read More
View responses or answer (2)
3 weeks ago
Peter Langston
Peter Langston
Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia
35 Likes
4 Followers



Those discussions are all a distraction from what happens after the first wicket falls. Australia's real problems lie at three and four, where the Brothers Caffeine, with their once extravagant leaves and unconventional movements at the wicket now exposed as their confidence has plummeted and their missing off stumps can no longer be found.

Despite their spectacularly incongruous nomenclature - the syllable and vowel expansive Marnus Labuschagne and the dialectally sparse Steve Smith - and their outstanding records up until and including the West Indies series nearly two years ago, they are now the weakest link in the Australian batting.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/194/peter-langston/blog/2550/the-problem-in-the-top-six
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
3 weeks ago
Nathan Hauritz
Nathan Hauritz
Cricket Coach
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1 Likes
0 Followers



I always find it so fascinating with cricket selections before a series. So much speculation around a player/s and whether or not they cash in on the very last opportunity to be picked.

The debate around the opening position at the moment is interesting because the selectors really have built a rod for their own back with giving Smithy a crack up there. But at the time, who was the best option????

Let’s be honest. 5 of those 6 batters are not going to change at the top of the order, well they will through injury. The selectors have showed their hand with the amount of faith and patience they are willing to give the current squad. So why not Konstas then?

Who cares if it’s against India. 🤷‍♂️Yes an incredible challenge but you have to make your debut eventually and if he is good enough then let him do it. He has been mentored by one of our greatest all rounders (just make sure he is careful with drs😂😂). I think give him a go and let the senior players look after him and pick up the slack if he is struggling.

Australian kids need their next hero playing for the baggy green. Let’s start now👍👍

Read More
View responses or answer (0)
3 weeks ago
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
488 Likes
512 Followers



Whiteman’s leadership qualities, solid technique, and resilience—reinventing himself as an opener after a finger injury ended his wicketkeeping career—make him the ideal candidate to step up.

Australia needs stability at the top. Usman Khawaja will turn 38 in December of this year, and it's possible that another selection decision is imminent. The choice of Whiteman to partner Khawaja against India could lay the groundwork for a potential opening partnership between Whiteman and Konstas. For now, I believe it's Sam Whiteman's time.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/2531/could-sam-whiteman-be-australiarsquos-next-test-opener
Read More
View responses or answer (1)
last month
Steve Thomlinson
Steve Thomlinson
Teacher
Sydney, Australia
24 Likes
1 Followers



My Best Grade team – Steve Thomlinson 1974-1990

From 1974 to 1990 I had the good fortune of playing Sydney Grade Cricket for the former Sydney Cricket Club, Western Suburbs and Balmain Cricket Club.

So many great players I played with over my 199 games. Here’s my best grade team:

1. Graham Lloyd - Balmain
2. Trevor Boyd - Sydney
3. Trevor Bayliss – NSW Cricket Association XI (Captain)
4. Darren Tucker – Balmain
5. Rod Tucker - Balmain
6. Greg Matthew – Western Suburbs
7. Greg Dyer - Sydney and Western Suburbs
8. David Gilbert - Sydney and Western Suburbs
9. Andrew Jones – Western Suburbs
10. Richard Stobo – NSW Cricket Association XI
11. Mark Denny – Sydney Cricket Club

Read More
View responses or answer (0)
last month
Chris Lanagan
Chris Lanagan
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1 Likes
0 Followers



My Best Grade Team – Chris Lanagan 1994 to 2007

As a country lad from Toowoomba, I made my way to the “big smoke” of Brisbane for the 1994/95 season where I was lucky enough to play grade cricket in an era when the international and state players were available to play club cricket regularly and we had some pretty handy ones at Valley District Cricket Club

Here is my best 11 (plus a couple) ….

1. Matthew Hayden - his results speak for themselves on an international level but was also a prolific runs scorer at grade level

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1553/chris-lanagan/blog/2526/my-best-grade-team-ndash-chris-lanagan-1994-to-2007
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
last month
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
488 Likes
512 Followers



NSW’s next Shield game is against Victoria on October 20 at the MCG, and Maddinson will likely be opening the batting along with Sam Konstas. I’ll be cheering for him for many reasons and one being I think Nic should be in line to open the batting for Australian in the first test v India.

But if he’s unlucky, get a peach of a ball, a bad decision or an untimely run out and gets out cheaply, what happens? And what if Nikitaras scores another ton in his next club game? Suddenly, Maddinson’s spot is under pressure, and you’ve got to ask—who made the call to deny him those batting opportunities for Eastern Suburbs?

In a professional world, is that a restraint of trade?

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/2519/is-denying-a-cricketer-the-opportunity-to-play-a-restraint-of-trade
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
last month
Graham Price
Graham Price
0 Likes
0 Followers



My best grade team – Graham Price 1979 to 2002

I joined Penrith Cricket Club in 1979 and made my first-grade debut for the club in 1986. Penrith first grade cap number 74.

I also played for Hawkesbury Cricket Club and Blacktown Mounties Cricket Club when they first joined the NSW Premier Cricket Competition. Blacktown first grade cap number 9.

I had the very good fortune to play with so many great cricketers and here’s my best grade team in betting order.

1. Steve Small (Penrith)
2. Brian Wood (Penrith)
3. Trevor Bayliss (Penrith)
4. Rod Bower (Penrith)
5. Mark Higgs – (Hawkesbury)
6. Mark Atkinson – (Blacktown) and wicket keeper
7. Ken Kall – (Penrith and Hawkesbury) – Captain
8. Graeme Pitty – (Penrith)
9. Phil Blizzard – (Penrith)
10. Subroto Banerjee (Blacktown)
11. Paul Sullivan – (Hawkesbury))

Read More
View responses or answer (1)
last month
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Founder
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
488 Likes
512 Followers



It’s AFL draft season, and the "father-son rule" has been getting a bit of attention. This rule, introduced in 1954, gives AFL clubs priority access to the sons of former players, helping to maintain the rich tradition of fathers and sons in the game.

Cricket, of course, doesn’t have a similar rule. But when I read that young Will Adlam had just made his first-grade debut for Mosman, it got me thinking about how many current NSW Premier Cricket first grade players have followed in their father’s footsteps.

With the father-son theme in mind, I thought it’d be interesting to put together a hypothetical NSW Premier Cricket Father and Son first grade team. Here’s my squad of 12.

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/32/paul-ryan/blog/2510/nsw-premier-cricket-father-and-son-first-grade-squad
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
last month
Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs)
Armidale Waratahs (The Tahs)
Founder
Armidale, Australia
3 Likes
8 Followers



The Tamworth chapter of the Tahs (well most of them), have played at being selector and would like to challenge other cricket tragic. We have selected the best Australian and World teams of our generation (last 65 years), plus others, to tour the cricket world and play in a five Test series.

AUSTRALIA
1. David Warner
2. Mark Taylor (c)
3. Ricky Ponting

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1223/armidale-waratahs-the-tahs/blog/2351/aust-v-world-the-tahs-challenge
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
3 months ago
Cricket Australia Community
Cricket Australia Community
Melbourne, Australia
23 Likes
21 Followers



Aussies reveal T20 World Cup squad, Marsh to lead

Steve Smith, Jake Fraser-McGurk left out as Australia pick Cameron Green and Ashton Agar in 15-player group to travel to Caribbean

Ashton Agar and Cameron Green are the big winners from the 15-man squad named for June's T20 event, with the Western Australian pair picked despite both having been absent from international T20 cricket for nearly 18 months.

Having led the T20I side on an interim basis for the past 12 months, Mitch Marsh has been formally appointed captain of the veteran group gunning for their second men's T20 title.

Australia's T20 World Cup squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3990756/australia-squad-reveal-mens-t20-world-cup-2024-caribbean-usa-mitch-marsh-named-captain
Read More
View responses or answer (0)
7 months ago
More