*Official* Road to the 2010/11 Ashes

[morgieb]

Yeah, some of the calls seemed laughable. Dropping Clarke? Picking WARNER??? WTF?

 

[morgieb]

What makes everyone think that Clarke's on his last chance? The guy averages 50 ffs! He's our most consistent batsman over the past 2 years! It's like these 'experts' are goldfish!

 

[NUFAN]

I would choose a side like this

Shane Watson
Phil Hughes
Ricky Ponting
Michael Clarke
Usman Khawaja
Simon Katich
Tim Paine+
Mitchell Johnson
Ben Hilfenhaus
Doug Bollinger
Peter Siddle / Ryan Harris

I would be so pleased if we ended up with a team similar to this but I'm not sure Siddle is anywhere close to his best yet and Harris has not returned from his injury.

I would probably still stick with Haddin over Paine though and I think Katich and Khawaja would most likely switch positions too.

When it gets to a turner pick the most in form spinner out of O'Keefe, Hauritz, Smith and hopefully Krejza.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Got to laugh at some of those sides.

Yeah it is a really sensible option to drop Clarke after a couple of bad games having stuck with North and Hussey for ages when they have been misfiring.

Then again England did the same to Hoggard when he had one bad game after years of persevering with Steve Harmlessone.

 

[JBMAC]

What none of you seem to be taking into consideration is the stupidity of the Aussie selectors.....You have to just about die to lose your place in the side and this attitude goes back for years...Form is not taken into consideration by these bummbersome ones...if you made a good score /took a few wickets at Shield/Club level and got selected then your there for life

 

[Spark]

Well I get why the selectors keep their jobs so easily. Because if that's what the average public thinks then they're absolute geniuses compared to some of the deadbeats out there.

Not a patch on us CW luminaries though

 

[Black_Warrior]

What do Australian fans think of Michael Clarke? Not just for the upcoming Ashes but overall as a player???
When he replace Steve Waugh and responded with a 150 in his very first test match against India..I really thought he was something special..
Gradually he improved and I started to think he was going to replace Ricky Ponting not just as a captain but as Australia's best and leading batsman of the team.

Now he doesnt look at that great does he.. I thought he was a very good player of spin who would do well in India.

His average has dropped to 48...So whats the assessment on him? He is 29 which for many batsmen falls in their peak years. Is he a 45-48 batsman or a 50+ batsman? Is he going to be the next Australian great batsman after Ricky Ponting?? (not necessarily the same level)

 

[Themer]

Haddin > Prior. Haddin's grossly under-rated, although neither seem to do much wrong..

Agree with most of the rest but Prior is a better keeper than Haddin for me. And I'd say that Prior is the better batsmen.

 

[four_or_six]

I would be so pleased if we ended up with a team similar to this but I'm not sure Siddle is anywhere close to his best yet and Harris has not returned from his injury.

I would probably still stick with Haddin over Paine though and I think Katich and Khawaja would most likely switch positions too.

When it gets to a turner pick the most in form spinner out of O'Keefe, Hauritz, Smith and hopefully Krejza.

Four quicks would be great, I reckon. Because when we bat for 140 overs in the first innings at Brisbane they'll be knackered. Then one of them will break down in the next test, making Watto bowl loads, he'll break down too. And we win.

 

[Prince EWS]

Agree with most of the rest but Prior is a better keeper than Haddin for me. And I'd say that Prior is the better batsmen.

Prior is definitely not a better keeper than Haddin. IMO Prior's the better batsman but the glovework goes to Haddin, hands down.

 

[four_or_six]

Prior is definitely not a better keeper than Haddin. IMO Prior's the better batsman but the glovework goes to Haddin, hands down.

No way, Prior's excellent now. And he doesn't have to resort to knocking the bails off with his hands to get wickets.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Haddin is a fantastic keeper..infact when it comes to pure keeping..I dont think he is any less than Gilchrist...

 

[aussie]

I would be so pleased if we ended up with a team similar to this but I'm not sure Siddle is anywhere close to his best yet and Harris has not returned from his injury.

I would probably still stick with Haddin over Paine though and I think Katich and Khawaja would most likely switch positions too.

When it gets to a turner pick the most in form spinner out of O'Keefe, Hauritz, Smith and hopefully Krejza.

Not hopefully. But DEFINATELY Krejza.

 

[aussie]

Prior is definitely not a better keeper than Haddin. IMO Prior's the better batsman but the glovework goes to Haddin, hands down.

Prior is the better batsman ATM yes. But i have a sneaky feeling he is probably in his peak form. While Haddin can certainly get better.

 

[aussie]

Haddin is a fantastic keeper..infact when it comes to pure keeping..I dont think he is any less than Gilchrist...

Nah. Haddin is still a level below Gilly @ his keeping peak between 99-2005. Haddin glovework like his batting to date has been very inconsistent.

 

[aussie]

Swann was averaging mid-40s in the last Ashes series until he benefitted from a dust-bowl in the last test and it would surprise me to see the same heading into the last test in Sydney

Australia is an incredibly difficult place to bowl finger spin (check out Murali and Harby's records there) and the Aussies like that style of bowling

Have you even watched Swann bowl since the 2009 Ashes??. Its very obvious that he improved a great deal in all formats since then. So its no use, using his Ashes 09 performance as a guide to how he might do in AUS.

Although off-spinner most notably Murali have not done well in AUS recently. The likes Lance Gibbs (1961 & 68/69), Laker (58/59), Saqlain (99/00) for overseas spinners did well in AUS.

While local AUS off-spinners like Mallett, Yardley, Ian Johnson, Funky Miller have pretty decent records in AUS as well also.

Swann will definately be a serious threat in all conditions during the Ashes IMO, not just on a wearing last day wicket or the SCG.

 

[social]

Have you even watched Swann bowl since the 2009 Ashes??. Its very obvious that he improved a great deal in all formats since then. So its no use, using his Ashes 09 performance as a guide to how he might do in AUS.

Although off-spinner most notably Murali have not done well in AUS recently. The likes Lance Gibbs (1961 & 68/69), Laker (58/59), Saqlain (99/00) for overseas spinners did well in AUS.

While local AUS off-spinners like Mallett, Yardley, Ian Johnson, Funky Miller have pretty decent records in AUS as well also.

Swann will definately be a serious threat in all conditions during the Ashes IMO, not just on a wearing last day wicket or the SCG.

I've watched him a lot tbh

The problem is that Oz conditions/players dont suit his style of bowling

I regard him in the same light as Jimmeh - as good as it gets in Durham, he'll be lucky to average 40 in Oz

 

[Pup Clarke]

Serious under-rating of Swann here one feels.

 

[aussie]

I've watched him a lot tbh

The problem is that Oz conditions/players dont suit his style of bowling

I regard him in the same light as Jimmeh - as good as it gets in Durham, he'll be lucky to average 40 in Oz

I can see Swann getting alot of help on all the grounds in AUS TBH.

- He will enjoy the extra bounce Brisbane

- Perth has gotten slow in recent years & Benn got alot of assistance last summer for the windies.

- Spinners always do well @ Adelaide.

- MCG should wear enough on the last couple days to keep him interested.

- While of course he will be a major threat @ the SCG

 

[social]

Serious under-rating of Swann here one feels.

He's an off-spinner

Check out "how well" vastly superior bowlers of his type such as Murali have done in Oz

Local batsmen feed on them and that was proven during the Ashes in Eng in his home conditions