Sunday 10 October 2010

Marcus North cannot be deciphered

Marcus North is a strange guy. When I saw him playing for the first time against South Africa, I thought he was a friggin fantastic player because he scored a hundred against the odds. Since then,  I'm trying to make up my mind whether he's this superman who still hasn't unleashed all his potential, or he's just a scum who should be a part of Warnie's pizza.

North plays in a very unusual rhythm, most of the time he's basically crap, but when he feels that the world is going to turn up at his door next day and after strangling him in his bedcover throw him in the Lake of Loch Ness, he decides to do something strangely wonderful. Like hitting a century when one is needed. Or taking six wickets and getting his name on the Lord's honour board. Or flying in a red cloak around to distract opponents.
You can see it happening, his strangeness is already messing up my mind.


There's a phantom under his helmet to which he's talking to.

Today he was this plain weirdo again and scored a hundred against India. Which means the selectors are not going to drop him for the Ashes and the smart badass manages to retain his place again. And possibly all at the cost of having another shit run again before scoring a ton in the third Ashes Test and being considered brilliant for a while.

What it is with North remains to be deciphered, but it's an incomprehensible mystery we might have to put up with till he retires. (Yes, he is going to RETIRE not going to be kicked out of the team because his strange playing ways make it impossible.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

North is a bit like Katich, in that it takes him time to settle but if he can get a good start he can do really well. I don't think they would have dropped him for the Ashes though, even if he hadn't got a century today. The only person who could really replace him is Ferguson and they wouldn't pick a newby in place of an old hand for the Ashes. Plus, North generally does well against the English.

Hareem said...

North used to be so overly awesome and amazing in my eyes before.

And just when I decide he's shit, he makes a century.

... officially neutral regarding North right now.

Anonymous said...

He's weird all right. Truly an oddity. Like Mitchell Johnson more than Katich. Utterly rubbish a great deal of the time, but somehow does spectacular things from time to time.

He's not like Katich at all, he'd be better at scratching around for a needed 40 more often if he was.
And once he's warmed up he actually looks like a prime quality batsman which Kat never really does.

He's not even one of those players who is a hero agaisnt the crap teams and therefore, though basically mediocre, maintains his place that way. He's far stranger. Four of his five tons have come against the best teams. And all of them have come away from home.

One thing about the batting line-up as it stands. It looks sturdier with Timmy there, just because he isn't interested in throwing his wicket away until he's stuck around enough to build partnerships. Unlike Haddin who is the king of the brain fade and doesn't much care when he has one.

But North now won't score till Perth. We could have pretty much lost the Ashes by then as Huss appears incapable of really doing anything very effective and Clarke is 'away' at present. I feel for Watson. He spent years trying to get fit enough to get into the brilliant Aussie team and now that he is fit enough, he's stuck with this unbrilliant bunch.

sunny said...

How much North resemles Katich I'm not sure, but you're right about him staying in the team because Ferguson can't replace him, Sid.
North has got a crappy record at home though, so maybe it will cancel out his good playing abilities against the English.

His ability to bat well against the good teams is probably the strangest, Lou. It makes it difficult deciding whether he is, as I said in the post, a good player or a bad one. The really bad ones are often only capable of bolstering their averages through performing against the mediocre teams.

You guys seem to be in need of reinforcements, apart from Watto and Ponting no one is performing consistently. Clarke and Hussey have been the biggest disappointments though. I'm normally a neutral spectator of the Ashes but this time around I really want the Aussies to win. No more glory for the Poms.
Maybe Watto actually likes playing amidst this unbrilliant bunch because when he performs it makes him look all the more brilliant.
I don't follow Aussie domestic cricket closely, so would you people know of any young potential player who should be given his debut?

sunny said...

Hareem, when the Ashes start again decide he's shit. That way he will play wonderfully. ;)