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[Vic Nicholas]

Judging by the English players we get at our club, I have found the following.

While we have about half a dozen perminent residents who are completely integrated in the Aussie way of playing cricket, we also get about four or five fresh ones each season who come out from the UK and play a summer of Melbourne turf cricket for experience, it is the bowlers who acclimatise quicker, as they enjoy the extra bounce and pace off the wicket.

Conversely, the batsmen who are raised on plonking the front foot down the wicket and driving nearly everything are rudely awakened when the first couple of deliveries fizz past their nose. I see it nearly every season where it takes the lads about two months to figure out how not to get killed and score some runs.

We did have this Novocastrian lad last season who did adjust pretty quickly and scored lots of runs - so there are no hard and fast rules on how long it takes.

[Hads45]

Grade cricket in Australia is also skewed where you go. Dare I say NSW and Victoria are fairly well ahead of the rest.

For example you only have to look at the host of names from Sydney Grade Cricket who really couldnt make the NSW Side (Cowan, Christian, Cooper, Forrest) who are now pretty much the best players in their respective states and all in someway in national selectors thoughts.

[langer17]

I'd say QLD would be up there too.

Look at the Australian team and it is pretty much NSW - Hughes, Warner, Khawaja, Clarke, Haddin, Starc. There is a trend of recent times that NSW are the ones that always get picked. Of that 6, only 3 should be in (Warner, Khawaja and Clarke), Haddin should have gone a while ago, Hughes is obviously gone for a while and Starc isn't ready yet. I wonder how Brad Hodge and Chris Rogers must feel? Both would easily be in the Australian team now, but they were just unlucky with how good Australia went.

Look at the Australia A game against New Zealand 2 weeks ago, QLD is miles ahead in the Shfield, yet they only had 1 representative in the team which was Cutting.

[100 not out]

Bring back Katich and Hodge.

I remember Martin Love what a player but didn't get a go.

[Manormanic]

While we have about half a dozen perminent residents who are completely integrated in the Aussie way of playing cricket, we also get about four or five fresh ones each season who come out from the UK and play a summer of Melbourne turf cricket for experience, it is the bowlers who acclimatise quicker, as they enjoy the extra bounce and pace off the wicket.

Oddly, for him it was the opposite - as a batsman he's pretty much a number ten/eleven here but managed to get up the order there, at least in the B side, because his lack of foot movement didn;t count against him so much on truer pitches and with less movement in the air.  But as a bowler - and one who clocks mid-80s at times - he struggled awfully; I think, and this is my supposition, that he got suckered into banging it in too short against guys used to playing that sort of stuff.

[Johnny]

Vic - great use of the word Novocastrian!

[Mad Bobbin]

Watching him in the the 2 test series against Australia, he looks the goods. He's got a good solid technique and can graft an innings. Looks like a good find for NZ, and a loss for Australia as he could easily come into the team with the way it is atm.

The thing that is perplexing me is that he wasn't picked for the WA team, so he was just playing grade cricket over there in Perth. He then goes over NZ in 2009 to further his career, and he looks like a really good player. So how did they overlook him?

Maybe he just was burdened by not getting a go over here, and maybe once he left he felt free, then he started playing First Class cricket and scoring some runs. Good luck to him as there aren't many players I enjoy watching outside of Australian cricketers, but he is one of them. Others being Sangakarra and I can't believe I'm saying this........ Strauss.

Could an Australian be New Zealands best batsman? Well not quite, Taylor would be best, but he is up there.

He played over in the Kent League a back in 2003  for Whitstable ave 27 in 18 games!!!!

[langer17]

He played over in the Kent League a back in 2003  for Whitstable ave 27 in 18 games!!!!

.

Didn't know that. He would have been 19 at the time though, so still very young

[Number4]

Maybe explains why he wasn't picked though.. Hardly impressive stats

[Vic Nicholas]

I think, and this is my supposition, that he got suckered into banging it in too short against guys used to playing that sort of stuff.

BINGO! We have a winner!

To blokes raised on short pitched bowling, bowling short (unless you are extremely fast) is not a good idea.

I have more trouble with the moving ball that is pitched up...but if you bowl short whether outside off or on my body...

[Simmy]

vic who do u play for my mate is out playing cricket in Melbourne at the moment