Will Damien Martyn stand up and be counted ??

[CQ]

meh i cant believe hes in the side stil. he wil surely get dropped from the next game, i hope neway.

[Collies4Eva]

what a dik marto is, seriously. not only is he playing like a tail order batsman with pathetic shot selection he's also creating bad PR for himself with these flipping the bird antics. now the journos will just write more and more crap about him. rather than playing these stupid finger games and hiding his face behind a bag (how sad is that) he should be in the nets facing delivery after delivery after delivery so that he gets his technique right and doesnt get bowled for a duck on his return to state cricket!!!!

[CQ]

well according to ponting his technique is alrite, err yeh ricky, whatever you say!

[JLC]

[commonwombat]

It seems that yr argument is based on monotonous repetition of the phrase "he's crap". Scintilating repartee, JLC, what great gifts you bring to the art of debate !!!

How do you define "crap" in regards to performance of a cricketer ?? Consistent non-performance ?? Failure to perform against top class opposition ?? Or is frankly you don't like him or just yr tiresome Victorian chavinism ??

Martyn's record is that of a good not great intl cricketer, hardly an imposter. His form in the Test series was unexceptional but hardly sacking material in that he got starts but didn't go on with them.

His one-day form has been poor and his place is justifiably under fire. Looking at his age, he will struggle to get another opportunity so some people's suggestions of sending him back to state cricket to regain form are sadly off beam.

Once out of the team in his situation and it's farewell to intl cricket and that day looks close at hand for LOI at least.

BTW, JLC yr little line about Martyn being "a poor man's Mark Waugh" which you find so amusing may be impressive to yr likeminded fraternity at the Keysborough Hotel but is sadly deficient in fact. His game and style is nothing like Mark Waugh and would more closely resemble Ponting of all Aus players.

Object if you wish to what I have written but the nature and manner of yr so-called argument required rebuttal.

[JLC]

Well Martyn is viewed as a stroke player and bats in the position that Mark Waugh made his own and that is the number 4 spot. Similarly if i wanted to compare Boon to someone i wouldnt compare him to Steve Waugh as they bat in different positions. I would compare him to players who have batted at number 3 over the years.

The only difference was that Mark Waugh could bowl and was an exceptional fieldsman and played his best against the best bowling attack in the World at the time and that was the West Indies.

Considering the Indian bowling attack during the series missed Kahn their number 1 pace bowler and Singh the man who troubled Australia in the previous series his performance was very average. A not out helped prop up his average to around his normal level although the NUMBER of runs scored was nothing to write home about especially for the Number 4 batsman in the team.

When the heat is on in test matches when has Martyn made runs ?? Every other player in the Australian Top order has made a big innings to win Australia a test match and most of them more than once.....Katich the exception but his innings helped save a test match. In the one day series he has only made runs against Zimbabwe and gets out to very soft dismissals against India. They have tried shuffling him around the order but it has made no difference.

Well there is nothing wrong with the Keysborough Hotel.....but hang on you probably havnt been there as it isnt a one eyed Aussie Hotel. Patrons also dont stick up their fingers like little school boys....lmao

jlc

[commonwombat]

Ah JLC, you'll find that most of his intl career has been played at 5-6 with a move to 4 being only in the past series or 2. On the past test series his perforamnce was unexceptional but an average of @ 40 does not by most judges rate as arrant failure.

Yr comment re Mark Waugh is curious. When did he play his intl career ?? If I am not very much mistaken that would be the 1990's to 2002. The West Indies attack of that period, with the exception of Ambrose and Walsh, was a pale shadow of the Windies attacks of previous eras.

Would counter yr point by suggesting the Pakistan attacks (Akram, Waqar, Shoaib) and Sth African ones of the period were far more formidable.

At one-day level, where Martyn is falling over himself, did M Waugh not spend much of his time opening or at the top of the order ??

FYI, I have lived in Melbourne for a few years but regrettably have not had the pleasure of drinking in yr favourite pub/place of worship/residence. By no means am I criticising this fine establishment or it's inhabitants, just questioning yr argument.

[JLC]

I wouldnt even mention Martyn and Waugh in the same breath as one day cricketers as that would be insulting to Waugh.

I think he has been at number 4 in test matches for about the last 2 years and is still yet to score a century in that position.

An average of 40, against a weakened bowling attack on batter friendly wickets is nothing to write home about when you look at how well Dravid, Laxman, Hayden and Ponting all did. If it were on seaming wickets where teams were being bowled out for 200 then his average would look better.

jlc

[Lorelei]

The Keysborough Hotel serves a gorgeous bowl of Chips and Gravy too!!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[commonwombat]

Sounds interesting but the big question is how much for a beer and is it any good ??? Keysborough is a bit of a hike from my usual Melbourne haunts.

[Donny]

I'm enjoying this.

For a change, I don't have to be having a go at JLC or the wombat.

They're doing quite nicely themselves so all I'll do is put in some stats for you two to get your teeth into.

Marto played 11 Test innings in the early '90s for an average of 28.8 before being dropped.

He came back in '99 and averaged 76.81 with 5 centuries from 24 innings.

Since he's batted at 4, Hayden, Langer and Ponting have scored heaps and been hard acts to follow but he's still averaged 41.25 from 17 innings.

The man he replaced at #4, Mark Waugh, had an overall Test average of 41.81. Marto's overall average is 45.86.

In ODIs, Mark Waugh averaged 39.35 against Martyn's 40.92. Waugh's strike rate was 76.83 and Martyn's is 80.11

Mmmmm ... some disturbing aspects there. As Mike Moore would say.

[commonwombat]

Thank you, oh wise and all knowing guru.

This Wombat is unworthy !!!

[JLC]

Well we all know stats can be a little deceiving sometimes.

Afterall both forms of cricket are being tailored more and more for batsman and less and less to bowlers.

I would pick Mark Waugh over Martyn any day as a cricketer despite what the stats say but it does make interesting reading.

Mark Waugh on more than one occassion held firm and won test matches for Australia. The most memorable one was in South Africa im pretty sure where he made a second innings 100 ??

jlc

[Lorelei]

http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9055

An old topic with some more ammo.. he is boring as well.

*snores* Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[The Prototype]

I really don't think they are doing Marytn any favours by keeping him in the side. He's so far out of form, that he has no movement at the crease, and by keeping him in the side, every time he fails, the media has a field day on him and adds even more pressure to him which makes things even worse. Now it's time for him to take his place back at Western Australia and someone else steps up into the side. Maybe Keep Hussey in, and Katich, and drop Martyn. Seems to be the only choice now, until he finds some form playing state cricket, or even English county cricket.