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*Official* Fifth Test at The Oval

Matt79

Hall of Fame Member
Great effort by England to be in this position with KP having been absent or limited through injury, and Flintoff restricted for much of it. Those are the two players you'd have suggested would be most vital for them.
 

pup11

International Coach
AUS main problem in this post McWarne era has been inconsistency & horrible selections especially in the bowling. On paper & in depth AUS are still better than SA, IND, SRI especially at home. But of course AUS will always struggle in the sub-continent because of no quality spinner - even though winning in IND historically done by the fast-bowlers.
True, we know some heads will roll when we lose the Ashes, but what about the selectors, are they answerable to anyone, because if they are doing a performance oriented job, then they should be the first one's to be shown the door, have made an absolute mess of Australian cricket, ever since Hilditch and Co. have taken over things.
 

Xuhaib

International Coach
World cricket is very interesting right now.

Aus, Ind, Sa and Eng definetley form the upper tier with none of the sides having a massive advantage.. SL is another side side that can threaten the upper tier especially at home. Pakistan is a team I am unsure about, if some of the younger lot develop nicely they could be another Lanka which threatens at home (provided we play at home) other wise they can form a nice little group with NZ and Wi.
 

Woodster

International Captain
Bell faced an entirely different set of bowlers and an entirely different set of conditions. Arguably, Bell's job was much much easier than Katich's or any of the other Australians. Whether or not 330 was a decent score or not on this pitch maybe debatable, but there is little question that England batted poorly and have done so all series long. Dont care if they win or lose the Ashes, but a serious inquest needs to be done on their top 7.
Of course Bell faced an entirely different attack, but conditions were not totally easy to score runs then. I disagree with you that England batted poorly in the first innings, while they were not at their best, and haven't been consistently throughout, they scrapped their way to a decent total.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
Great effort by England to be in this position with KP having been absent or limited through injury, and Flintoff restricted for much of it. Those are the two players you'd have suggested would be most vital for them.
I remember thinking during the first innings at Cardiff, that if Freddie or Piteresen did not remain fit for the entire series England would have no chance, pleased to have been proven wrong.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Not really, hope he fails and gets dropped. Would do himself and everyone a favor if he does so IMO, some time in CC would do him good.
England win, no one gets axed. Aussies win, Hussey and Clark stay. Always the case, unless your selectors are ruthless.

Not sure how county game cricket will help his game, division two county cricket against military medium pace isn't going to turn his game around. Look what Ravi has just done and apparently he is mentality shot.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Of course Bell faced an entirely different attack, but conditions were not totally easy to score runs then. I disagree with you that England batted poorly in the first innings, while they were not at their best, and haven't been consistently throughout, they scrapped their way to a decent total.
They batted poorly in the sense that the majority gave their wickets away to innocuous deliveries after being set against a flat attack. England should have got 400 min regardless of what the Aussies did today.
 

Adamc

Cricketer Of The Year
Haha, Patto.

True, we know some heads will roll when we lose the Ashes, but what about the selectors, are they answerable to anyone, because if they are doing a performance oriented job, then they should be the first one's to be shown the door, have made an absolute mess of Australian cricket, ever since Hilditch and Co. have taken over things.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

(klaus)
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
**** I hate Phil Tuffnell. If there's an archetypal non-tubbing, self-satisfied, borderline 'tard Pommie it's him.

He's on the radio now criticising Cook's technique. Now we all know Cook's technique is rubbish, but c'mon, Tuffnell giving batting advice? Next thing he'll be telling AB de Villiers how to take catches.
 

Matt79

Hall of Fame Member
One thing this series has done is to bring the verdict back on Strauss as a batsman. Until now, I'd have said the assessment of his career would be in the balance between a good career and a mediocre one. But for him to stand up the way he has this series and score the runs he has and in the manner he has, having the burden of captaincy as well, has tipped it decisively for me.
 

tooextracool

International Coach
England win, no one gets axed. Aussies win, Hussey and Clark stay. Always the case, unless your selectors are ruthless.

Not sure how county game cricket will help his game, division two county cricket against military medium pace isn't going to turn his game around. Look what Ravi has just done and apparently he is mentality shot.
You are right, and Cook wont get dropped whether England win or lose tbh. But his presence at the top of the order for England is bothering and it is starting to cost England. I am all for taking him to South Africa, but I would seriously consider picking another opener on the tour as well who should be given the opportunity to play.

Ravi's issues are different from Cooks if you ask me. I don't think Ravi has a technique thats unsuited to test match cricket. I think he got to a place during the series where he just wasn't sure whether to defend or attack. His problems are different to that of Cook's.
 
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TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Not sure how Cook can score runs in South Africa, given his technique. Set-up to play on nice slow, low wickets. Like Colly he will be bowled or LBW before he plays a stroke.
 

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