Would suggest that the impact of Warner in that debut match (I was there, extraordinary night) deserves to hold higher reverence as the opposition of better quality, the MCG heaving a more daunting prospect and on prime time broadcast.
Yes, want to see JFM go well, yet has had a softer entry to date.
Well put, Gideon. Ponting and Clarke need their heads read. Saw most of F-McG's blast against Tasmania - thrilling hitting and my immediate comment was 'he's on the way to an IPL contract'. Bernard
The Warner effect is indeed a truism as that 89 and the seamless transition to red ball paved a new way but it remains unique and is a bar setter. 41 off 18 against the current Windies crop ain’t what Warner did to that test quality South African line up that night though. I agree that we are keen to fill vacuums and Jake is tempting as he has the shots and swagger but the stats don’t add up yet-I hope he does put some red and white ball numbers together. I also wish Green would stop looking like a Prefect worrying about his ATAR score and hit the ball before people like Jake do it for him.
I love first-class cricket and I am indeed one of the ‘one man and a dog’ at as many county matches as I can fit in (you know when it’s scheduled at weekends, preferably not in winter). But how much longer will it go on? New Test and one day players seem not to be picked on their first class record. Indeed hardly any have played any f/c matches. Not even List A anymore. So it’s not even possible to justify it on the basis of preparing players for the international game.
Not too sure what the point is here. He might succeed in all 3 formats, he might not. This significantly downplays the prevalence of players who have made it in all 3 formats. As a general comment, the most talented players for each country tend to be able to manage it, at least for a good period of time. Warner, Kohli, Rohit, Gilchrist, Hayden, Head, Smith (for a long time before an eventual decline), Faf, Bairstow, Root, De Kock, now even Mitch Marsh to name a few. Why should we not be enthusiastic to see how he goes? At 21 years of age he shouldn't be expected to have a wonderful FC average in any format of the game. He's being picked because of his natural ability, and being given a chance to have a look at the highest level.
That's a pretty small elite, Thomas, and I'm not sure I'd include all those names: neither Hayden nor Root, for example, have made a T20 hundred. Oh, and plenty of cricketers have had robust averages at 21, while not many really good ones have passed 50 only twice in their first two-dozen FC innings. But, yes, we'll see. I hope he goes well, of course.
I take your point on the young players who have performed well in FC cricket. I would still argue that plenty of top cricketers who were picked young didn't necessarily have the record to justify that selection at the time. I think (hope) it's less a case of people seeing a cash cow to exploit than it is seeing a player of promise. There are plenty of other places to see the cynical side in cricket, and I prefer to believe in this case that selectors are just fast-tracking a talented batter, in the same way that they did with Marnus when he had a FC average in its 30s. Maybe I'm naive.
Would suggest that the impact of Warner in that debut match (I was there, extraordinary night) deserves to hold higher reverence as the opposition of better quality, the MCG heaving a more daunting prospect and on prime time broadcast.
Yes, want to see JFM go well, yet has had a softer entry to date.
Warner, a true icon across all formats.
Well put, Gideon. Ponting and Clarke need their heads read. Saw most of F-McG's blast against Tasmania - thrilling hitting and my immediate comment was 'he's on the way to an IPL contract'. Bernard
The Warner effect is indeed a truism as that 89 and the seamless transition to red ball paved a new way but it remains unique and is a bar setter. 41 off 18 against the current Windies crop ain’t what Warner did to that test quality South African line up that night though. I agree that we are keen to fill vacuums and Jake is tempting as he has the shots and swagger but the stats don’t add up yet-I hope he does put some red and white ball numbers together. I also wish Green would stop looking like a Prefect worrying about his ATAR score and hit the ball before people like Jake do it for him.
I love first-class cricket and I am indeed one of the ‘one man and a dog’ at as many county matches as I can fit in (you know when it’s scheduled at weekends, preferably not in winter). But how much longer will it go on? New Test and one day players seem not to be picked on their first class record. Indeed hardly any have played any f/c matches. Not even List A anymore. So it’s not even possible to justify it on the basis of preparing players for the international game.
The Mark Waugh Effect, perhaps? Sweet hitter of the ball, few runs to show for it
Not too sure what the point is here. He might succeed in all 3 formats, he might not. This significantly downplays the prevalence of players who have made it in all 3 formats. As a general comment, the most talented players for each country tend to be able to manage it, at least for a good period of time. Warner, Kohli, Rohit, Gilchrist, Hayden, Head, Smith (for a long time before an eventual decline), Faf, Bairstow, Root, De Kock, now even Mitch Marsh to name a few. Why should we not be enthusiastic to see how he goes? At 21 years of age he shouldn't be expected to have a wonderful FC average in any format of the game. He's being picked because of his natural ability, and being given a chance to have a look at the highest level.
That's a pretty small elite, Thomas, and I'm not sure I'd include all those names: neither Hayden nor Root, for example, have made a T20 hundred. Oh, and plenty of cricketers have had robust averages at 21, while not many really good ones have passed 50 only twice in their first two-dozen FC innings. But, yes, we'll see. I hope he goes well, of course.
I take your point on the young players who have performed well in FC cricket. I would still argue that plenty of top cricketers who were picked young didn't necessarily have the record to justify that selection at the time. I think (hope) it's less a case of people seeing a cash cow to exploit than it is seeing a player of promise. There are plenty of other places to see the cynical side in cricket, and I prefer to believe in this case that selectors are just fast-tracking a talented batter, in the same way that they did with Marnus when he had a FC average in its 30s. Maybe I'm naive.