The Ashes

we'll get battered unfortunately

If only we could combine the England and India teams, we'd have a chance then.

Vaughan, Trescothick, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Stewart, Flintoff, Harbhajan, Kumble, Caddick, Hoggard: Could beat the Aussies.

It's predictable.

Cork shouldn't have gone, since if he can't really swing the ball anymore over here, he sure as hell won't do it there. I would have taken Tudor as he has taken wickets against the Aussies before and surely *one day* will get some consistency, BUT he's been crap this summer, so I'm not too bothered. I would have taken him instead of Harmison, who I would have put in the Academy on stand-by. You can guarantee plenty of injuries, so all the pace bowlers selected will get maybe get a chance.

I would have taken Ramprakash instead of Crawley - Ramps would have done better than Crawley this summer AND has scored well vs Australia in the past.

The big problem is the spin 'attack'. Giles and Dawson are the best we have, but not good enough. We will need one or both of them in Sydney, where Aus will play Warne and MacGill, but how much cricket will they play before that test? It's funny how the best spinners (the two above, Kumble, Harbhajan, Murali) get turn on ALL surfaces, yet our spinners need a grippy track. I thin k Vaughan has the potential to be a useful back-up spinner, but we really must develop someone who can rip people out on all surfaces. That also gives your pace attack a rest and keeps them fresh as a spinner takes some of the load.

Key : technique looks good and didn't disgrace himself with the bat, but those three dropped catches at Headingly will have made the management worry about his ability under pressure. You can't afford to drop catches in tests!

Shah : No chance. Too loose.

If a young player had to go - I'd say take Joyce (Middlesex) or Troughton (Warwicks). Hopefully they'll be at the Academy anyway. Or Rikki Clarke.

We really shouldn't take John Crawley as the Aussies will eat him alive (after that hundred he couldn't get high scores for the remainder if the India series) but hopefully, if all goes well for Thorpe, he won't get in anyway.

top six: trescothick, vaughan, butcher, hussain, thorpe and flintoff with stewart as keeper.

I agree with Dr. C. Though Ramprakash isn't a test player really he can somehow bat well against the aussies (crawley is good against spin but has weaknesses against fast bowling, both don't quite have the temperament).

Either that or robert key.

but the bowling is the worry. It will prob be caddick/hoggard/giles and either jones/harmison.

we won't beat the aussies until we get a top fast bowler (jones harmison are unknown quantities) and a really good spinner (giles isn't quite that). Does anyone believe that Gough will be fit? and even then match fit. I'd like to think so but the chances aren't good.

I'd love to see the Aussies beaten but I'm afraid it will be something like 3-1 to australia but out batting is better since they came here (we had a few injuries, lets not forget) but still, unless the bowlers really have a plan and have the form and ability to carry it out i can't see it.

the best we can hope for is that it stays competitive right up to sydney.

Not that I care, really. My mood is affected hugely by England's performances at football, and I love us to do well there, but in any other sport, perhaps especially in cricket, I simply find it funny when England are well beaten. Actually, maybe it's just cricket and rugby, because it's generally former colonies who beat us at that, and to a lefty that gives a bit of satisfaction. (Obviously getting beaten by a Caribbean side or India or New Zealand at football would be terribly upsetting, on the other hand.)

I am, however, upset that my cousin, James Kirtley, isn't going. he seems to be only considered a one-dayer. Shame really.

http://www.ocp.org/en/products/books/images/remembrance-cvck02.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40112000/jpg/_40112663_read270.jpg

farewell ;_;

Neutral : Bell, Strauss, Collingwood, Cook

Disappointing : Flintoff, Anderson

Disasters : Mahmood, Giles, Tres, Jones, Harmison

While most of the batsmen had one or two decent scores, the collective failure to grind out big partnerships when they were really needed was the probably the worst problem of the tour.

Enhanced: Collingwood, Bell, Panesar
Neutral: Anderson
Disappointing: Read, Jones, Pietersen, Strauss, Cook, Flintoff, Harmison, Mahmood, Giles

Are there really any disasters? In each match, yes, but in the series as a whole I don't think anyone deserves to descend below disappointing. And I don't know how you think Pietersen enhanced his rep - he didn't score much compared to previously, he showed himself to be tactically naive and unpopular with his teammates. And Read? What am I missing here?

lol never mind ey.

Bell was infuriating - he needs to turn those 50's into match winning scores. When it REALLY mattered he failed.

Anderson was nearly in the distater category for me. He only avoided it by bowling pretty well in the last match. But look at his figures in the first two tests - dire. Series figs of 5 wickets at 80!

I forgot Hoggard - I'd say Neutral. We know that he gives his all every game, and he did. The 7-109 was a great effort.

Read - kept well. Alright didn't make runs. But he's no more a number 7 than Jones.

Bell was infuriating but he surprised me with some of his performances. On balance maybe neutral makes more sense. Hoggard neutral bordering on good, I think, again compared to expectations and because he didn't give less than 100% at any time.

I've been supporting Read for a long time, hence the sadness.

????? Apart from that double hundred he was abysmal. Although Warne's sledging of him the other day was fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY980BLPmJw&eurl=

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ajucf4.jpg

belter of a catch by cook

Aus on the ropes

... and out

well that was enjoyable. particularly the watson dismissal and review.

Nevill looks like the goods

Happy knack of getting umpires to give him not out, you mean?

Ha maybe! On your side Stokes is a fucken UNIT in the field

flippin heck

King Boy Pato might return to ILE tonight!!

It's well poised for a heroic fight to the draw, tbf

aye right

Not quite how things panned out tbh.

predictable. Bell will maybe be the one dropped as he's been shit for a year now

hales should have been picked befre Lyth but i see them giving him another chance.
Ballance i dont think will be dropped as he has been very good the past year.
I wouldnt meddle with the rest of the team.

2 out of the top 4 might need to go - but i dont see it happening.

stoked to see Steven Peter #Devereux Steve Smith go up on the honours board

also: lol england forever

bumping in case the englanders missed this thread or something

almost too much, this

actually nah

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ajucf4.jpg

Ponting with the finest commentator's merk of all time there

can you be fined for failing to prepare a competitive team?

Aus to make 600 on the 2nd innings.

6 for Broad!

think you'll find that's 7

fuck off get fucked

big century from nath lyon coming up, I can feel it

nice work for a shit bloke

need some focus from the batsmen now, think we'll need a lead of 50 or 60 to have a chance of saving this test

fastest time any team has been bowled out in the first innings of a test match ever apparently.

https://twitter.com/rameshsrivats/status/629260282594877440

poor show from England for that last wicket

Just spent 5 minutes explaining the score to a guy at work, incredulous doesn't really cover it, "What... you mean...60... Australia are out... but .... what time is it... but they've only been playing... did you say 60... how many wickets did he take?" etc

They batted like England did in Oz. Cant say I saw it coming.

no this was much worse

they will now fear Broad like we do johnson. Every innings they play now they will wonder if it could happen again, just like England did after the west indies debacles when we were out for 51 and 46 i think?

8-15 is just staggering figures. We will be talking about that in 30 years!

totally! already have double the runs with 3 wkts down.

yeah Root is putting the hammer down a bit. Broad was actually the only player apart from Stokes who came out of the 13-14 series with much credit- he took something like 20 wickets at 28 which in the context was pretty great.

Root making more runs than the entire aus eleven. #notSayingMuch

Such an awesome humiliation. But there will be national enquiries and a couple of cricket academies to be set-up and they'll be back :-(

quite a few players in their last ashes i think

well that didn't go too badly

In their last Ashes? Just Clarke, Rogers and Voges from this game, surely. MAYBE Shaun Marsh, MAYBE Lyth if he drifts from the reckoning. *MAYBE* Lyon but they'll need to find a gun spinner pronto. Mitchell Johnson will definitely be back for one last crack in Australia

Oh, Ian Bell. MAYBE.

Anderson might not play Ashes cricket again either I guess

Not playing in this match though, is he? They'd have been 30 all out tbf

well yeah but he's "first on the team sheet" and similar cliches

fucking straya

Lets get it done today guys gotta a busy weekend to enjoy.

"Australia have got a big task in front of them, but this match is not over yet."

gotta love McGrath

the most one-eyed of one-eyed Aussies

got to lunch without a wicket

she'll be right

another dropped one

starting to feel the england choke tbh

aw how cute

double century for david "dave" warner at least

drop him 6 more times and maybe

and keep kool moeen ali bowling

one of the best "lol england" moments this series

worried about my ticket for tomorrow now :-(

for Australia, it's just a warm up for the Bangladesh series, really

I'd be worried about that, the Tigers gave SA a bit of a run for their money recently

Guy I work with was claiming Bangladesh are the best team in world cricket at the moment. He is from Bangladesh though.

Pato's gone to bed

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poor old clarkey, being interviewed by shane warne

the same shane warne who wouldn't have lost an ashes series if he hadn't dropped one catch

the most important thing is The Devereux Era begins as of today and if you thought the Taylor/Waugh/early-Ponting years were tough on the world, well, just wait...(until we get a batting lineup)...