*Official Third Test at Edgbaston

[Jamee999]

 

[Matt79]

Sherminator or Shah - things are finally looking up.

 

[tooextracool]

What f_o_s said is true, but what I would like to add to this is that, in this series we have seen most wickets fall to the new ball, but since Johnson has been all over the place, it has allowed Cook and Strauss to hit their straps quickly and provide early momentum to their team, and hence also putting the other bowlers under pressure right from the very beginning.

I think that was one vital differences between both the teams in the last test, where England bowled brilliantly with the new ball and took early wickets with it, whereas on the contrary the Aussies leaked runs almost at the rate of 5-6 rpo with the new ball.

Indeed, and that's exactly why Australia need to stop giving him the new ball starting next game if he plays. Sets the tone for the rest of the innings as well if one team is able to get off to a flyer.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Where to bat Bello then? Not 3, that's for damn sure. Trouble is #4 looks at least a place too high for him, Colly & Prior too.

Had most of his success at #6, so case for him going there I suppose. Ravinder remains the sacrificial lamb at #3 & Colly and Prior move up a spot each.

 

[tooextracool]

Where to bat Bello then? Not 3, that's for damn sure. Trouble is #4 looks at least a place too high for him, Colly & Prior too.

Had most of his success at #6, so case for him going there I suppose. Ravinder remains the sacrificial lamb at #3 & Colly and Prior move up a spot each.

Don't see the point of batting Bell at 6 just for the sake of it. If he can bat 6, presumably he can bat 5 too. Looking at his record, he has a higher average at 5. Personally, I would move Collingwood to number 4 which is the position where he scored his double century at and also batted for the entire Ashes series in last time.

 

[four_or_six]

Where to bat Bello then? Not 3, that's for damn sure. Trouble is #4 looks at least a place too high for him, Colly & Prior too.

Had most of his success at #6, so case for him going there I suppose. Ravinder remains the sacrificial lamb at #3 & Colly and Prior move up a spot each.

I think 5 is a bit much for Prior, I think he's suited to the attacking that's often required at 6. Bell anywhere from 3-6 makes some sense, but personally I'd go for 5 and only disrupt Collingwood.

 

[tooextracool]

One has to wonder if Trescothick could be convinced for a one-time series return just for the Ashes. We all know that he couldn't handle the demands of touring, but surely playing the remaining Ashes tests at home is hardly that different from playing county cricket in England.

 

[grecian]

One has to wonder if Trescothick could be convinced for a one-time series return just for the Ashes. We all know that he couldn't handle the demands of touring, but surely playing the remaining Ashes tests at home is hardly that different from playing county cricket in England.

Look, I'm a fanboy and would love him back. Yet it was the pressure of Test cricket that made him retire, and I can't think of much more of a highly pressurised situation then an Ashes series, TBH.

Got to show faith in *sigh* Bell and hope he can prove us all wrong

 

[four_or_six]

One has to wonder if Trescothick could be convinced for a one-time series return just for the Ashes. We all know that he couldn't handle the demands of touring, but surely playing the remaining Ashes tests at home is hardly that different from playing county cricket in England.

Not happening. Not sure how the guy can be any clearer on this than he already has.

 

[pietersenrocks]

Worst thing is that, we're left out of options. Where will England go if Bopara fails again?We don't have any solidity to the middle-order now. I would want Prior to bat at 3 and Bell at 6. Not sure about Bopara, he's just looking out of sorts,ATM.

 

[tooextracool]

Worst thing is that, we're left out of options. Where will England go if Bopara fails again?We don't have any solidity to the middle-order now. I would want Prior to bat at 3 and Bell at 6. Not sure about Bopara, he's just looking out of sorts,ATM.

Prior doesn't have the technique to bat at 3 so that is hopefully not going to happen at any point this series.

 

[Jarquis]

Promote Anderson up the order IMO.

 

[pietersenrocks]

Prior doesn't have the technique to bat at 3 so that is hopefully not going to happen at any point this series.

He looks to me as a player, who's atleast better than Bopara to bat at 3.

It's certainly not going to happen, but then who do you want at #3?Still Bopara??

 

[tooextracool]

He looks to me as a player, who's atleast better than Bopara to bat at 3.

It's certainly not going to happen, but then who do you want at #3?Still Bopara??

Prior bats at 5 for Sussex. You can't just toss a middle order player to bat against the new ball regularly, especially one without any experience against the new ball, in the middle of the most important series of the year. If Bopara continues to struggle, then England will need to pick either a specialist opener or a specialist number 3.

If that means picking Rob Key or heck even Mark Butcher so be it.

 

[zaremba]

Other names to throw into the hat:

Hildreth
Joyce
Ramprakash (not sure how he's gone this season - is he still even playing?)

 

[pietersenrocks]

Prior bats at 5 for Sussex. You can't just toss a middle order player to bat against the new ball regularly, especially one without any experience against the new ball, in the middle of the most important series of the year. If Bopara continues to struggle, then England will need to pick either a specialist opener or a specialist number 3.

If that means picking Rob Key or heck even Mark Butcher so be it.

Fair enough. He's doing well in the middle order, so there isn't a need to shuffle him.

Do not think we're going to overcome our No.3 problems unless Bopara shows some form.

Also, I think England will consider Morre's(sorry if i misspelled it) & Denly's performance ahead of Key's.

 

[grecian]

Other names to throw into the hat:

Hildreth
Joyce
Ramprakash (not sure how he's gone this season - is he still even playing?)

Trott too, I'd of thought.

 

[tooextracool]

Other names to throw into the hat:

Hildreth

Don't know much about him.

Joyce

Looked to have a lot of technical issues last time he played international cricket and the last time he had a good FC season was 3 years ago apparently.

Ramprakash (not sure how he's gone this season - is he still even playing?)

Yep averaging 72 odd this season : Cricket Archive

Wouldn't mind him playing again, although we both know it wont happen.

 

[tooextracool]

Fair enough. He's doing well in the middle order, so there isn't a need to shuffle him.

Do not think we're going to overcome our No.3 problems unless Bopara shows some form.

Also, I think England will consider Morre's(sorry if i misspelled it) & Denly's performance ahead of Key's.

Moore? Thought of him, although it seems like he hasn't done much outside of his 100 against Australia at Worcester and struggled on the Lions tour to NZ.

Denly is categorically not test class with the kind of footwork that he possesses and really hope he doesn't come anywhere near this England side at the moment because he is not ready for it.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Prior at 3 is a ridiculous idea. You can't ask a keeper to bat that high on a regular basis unless there are genuinely no other options. Hell, even Andy Flower - by a street the best batsman ever produced by Zimbabwe and a class apart from his team-mates - never batted above five on any regular basis. It's too much mental strain.