Ashes XI Prediction Game

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Jacques

 

[Nate]

Watto will rip through the top order with the others cleaning up the tail.

I like the way you think.

 

[GIMH]

 

[gettingbetter]

Johnson is easily a better batsman than Stuart Clark, and potentially better than Lee too.

In regards to the masses who don't think the selectors will pick Sidebottom.

 

[Richard]

Mmmm...

 

[Richard]

It's a predicition thread, not what I want.

But you picked Bracken!

 

[Richard]

Fitness pending obviously, but it looks as if Jaques, Symonds & Watson will be fighting for two places between them. And, despite being a big scoring batsman, Jaques cannot match the other two for all-round abilities.. However if Australia are confident their four main bowlers can do the job Jaques should sneak in the XI...

Jaques is an opener, though, something neither Symonds nor Watson are or have ever been. It'd require Hussey moving to open for both to play, and like SA with de Villiers, Australia seem to have decided that Hussey will never open again, no matter how many middle-order batsmen they have to manufacture into openers to make it happen.

 

[dossa]

Well, as the English Test Summer comes to an end, I would like to stage a little game with the Cricket Chat crowd.

The game is pretty simple - just predict the two XIs that will take the field in Cardiff for the 1st Test of next summer's Ashes, along with the captains and wicket-keepers. Simple, innit? Then next summer we'll have a look at who did the best, and who did rubbish. Everybody understand?

I will go first:

ENGLAND

Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen (c)
Collingwood
Prior (wk)
Flintoff
Harmison
Anderson
Jones
Panesar

AUSTRALIA

Hayden
Jaques
Ponting (c)
Hussey
Clarke
Symonds
Haddin (wk)
Casson
Lee
Noffke
Clark

Remember, you're predicting - not picking who you want to get in.

Jaques has been dropped from the contract list so i doubt he will play!!!

 

[pskov]

Cook
Key
Bell
Pietersen*
Collingwood
Prior+
Flintoff
Sidebottom
Anderson
Harmison
Panesar

Not sure that Key will be in, but think Strauss will be dropped between now and the Ashes and Key is just my best guess as to who would be next in line for an openers spot. I think Prior will be the keeper on the West Indies tour and do well enough to keep his place for the summer Tests, especially since I reckon England will be desperate to find a wickie to bat a six.

Hayden
Jaques
Ponting*
Hussey
Clarke
Watson
Haddin+
Noffke
Lee
Clark
Tait

I rate Tait higher than Bollinger, Johnson and the raft of spinners. He has said he is now ready to play international cricket again and if he has a good Aussie summer with the ball I think he'll be a more attractive pick than any of the other options for that 4th bowler spot.

Well my guesses were pretty poor on the whole. If I get more than 12 of the 22 players correct I'd be very surprised.

 

[Richard]

CBA looking but did so much as one person reckon Graeme Swann was going to be one of the first names on the 'sheet? If so I don't imagine there'll have been many.

And on my skim-read I only noticed one Katich-as-opener and no Hughes either. How quickly things can change.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Only one to call Bresnan.

I think I made joke picks though.

 

[GIMH]

This thread really does highlight the dilemmas which will face the England selectors as far as the bowling attack is concerned. Will they really leave Sidebottom out? Can they afford to play 5 bowlers, 4 of whom are rank tailenders? This highlights why Giles was so valuable. Could Swann be in with a chance?

The only person to even mention Swann, mad.

A fair few tipped Bopara to play though, tbf

Depressing to see Simon Jones routinely picked

 

[Trumpers_Ghost]

My Aus XI

Culina --------------(solid opening bat)
Wilkshire ---------(dour openning bat)
Cahill ---------------(aggressive #3, likes a sledge)
Kewell --------------(flashy strokeplayer, suspect against short ball)
Emerton -----------(hard working batsman, handy medium pace)
Neill -----------------(aggressive allrounder, somewhat inconsistent)
Grella ---------------(mouthy wicketkeeper)
Bresciano ---------(mystery spinner)
Schwarzer --------(ageing fast bowler)
Kennedy -----------(RFM, gets good lift and carry)
Djite -----------------(express fast bowler)

 

[stephen]

Man just read through the thread. If this many cricket fanatics can get predictions so wrong less than a year out from the event, imagine how bad economists must be at picking economic growth...

Interesting that nearly every team had both Jaques and Hayden, who have both lost their places.

Very few teams had Katich (none had Hughes).

Noone had North (who is almost a certainty for the #6).

Noone had Siddle.

Lol @ Casson.

Unfortunately Noffke got injured at the wrong time AGAIN. Not that we need him with Johnson, Siddle, Lee and Clark.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

AUSTRALIA

Shane Watson


ENGLAND

James Anderson.

Predictions looking solid IMO.

 

[Richard]

Man just read through the thread. If this many cricket fanatics can get predictions so wrong less than a year out from the event, imagine how bad economists must be at picking economic growth...

Interesting that nearly every team had both Jaques and Hayden, who have both lost their places.

Very few teams had Katich (none had Hughes).

Noone had North (who is almost a certainty for the #6).

Noone had Siddle.

Lol @ Casson.

Unfortunately Noffke got injured at the wrong time AGAIN. Not that we need him with Johnson, Siddle, Lee and Clark.

It just goes to show that prediction of two XIs a year down the road is almost impossible, because things don't change considerably only very rarely.

 

[NUFAN]

Australia
1. P. Jaques
2. S. Watson
3. R. Ponting [captain]
4. M. Hussey
5. M. Clarke
6. A. Symonds
7. B. Haddin [keeper]
8. B. Lee
9. M. Johnson
10. S. Clark
11. B. Hilfenhaus

9 from 11 have made the squad which isn't that awful.

I didn't think Hayden would make the Ashes this time round and at the time I thought Jaques was an absolute shoe-in, reckon he's going to have a brilliant 09-10 Domestic year will P Jaques.. Pleased with my Hilfenhaus call, he might not play, but has at least made the squad.

 

[stephen]

Yeah I'm disappointed in the selectors treatment of Jaques. I called for him to be in the ODI team instead of Katich as far back as 05/06, with him as the natural successor to Hayden.

 

[GIMH]

With the sides taking shape, reading back through this thread again has been interesting. Hardly anyone got our attack right, and understandably so, same with the Aussies as well. If I cbf I will go through on Wednesday and find out who got the most right.