Road to the 2019 Ashes

[Red]

I'd actually play Harris and Burns and drop Head, but that's just my opinion.

Warner
Harris
Khawaja
Smith
Patterson
Burns

Got a feeling Burns would be better at 5/6 than Head, and better at 5/6 than as an opener in tests.

I like Head () but I think he has some technical flaws that'll get exposed in England.

 

[Red]

I'll be that pissed off if they drop KPat

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Head absolutely should play. It is true than he can be a bit too wooden of technique early in his innings, but I have faith he can adapt well soon enough. He does have a bit of county experience which should hopefully serve him well

 

[TheJediBrah]

I'd actually play Harris and Burns and drop Head, but that's just my opinion.

Warner
Harris
Khawaja
Smith
Patterson
Burns

Got a feeling Burns would be better at 5/6 than Head, and better at 5/6 than as an opener in tests.

I like Head () but I think he has some technical flaws that'll get exposed in England.

Spot on. It's unfortunate that Head has hacked his way into a spot because we will have to leave out at least one better player (eg. Burns, Harris, Patterson) as a result

 

[Burgey]

I'd actually play Harris and Burns and drop Head, but that's just my opinion.

Warner
Harris
Khawaja
Smith
Patterson
Burns

Got a feeling Burns would be better at 5/6 than Head, and better at 5/6 than as an opener in tests.

I like Head () but I think he has some technical flaws that'll get exposed in England.

Harris has exactly the same technical flaws (how many times has he been caught slashing at wide balls without moving his feet?) and he opens, but you blokes want to retain him.

Cod ordinary.

 

[Burgey]

not necesarrily, not at this moment. If you paid attention to the discussion you'd notice this was based on the hypothetical scenario that Burns was in terrible form pre-ashes and failed utterly in the warm ups/A games compared to other players

Why would I ever pay attention to you though? I mean, you think Handscomb doesn't have technical flaws which explain his failings at test level, despite him constantly getting out the same way.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Why would I ever pay attention to you though?

Why would I ever care if you paid attention to me though?

Thanks for reminding me about Handscomb though. Another superior player that Head's hacking himself into the side is keeping out.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I would back Head to make more Test runs in England than Handscomb by a long way, that isn't saying much, Other people and entities I would back as a batsman over Handscomb include:

Jackson Bird
Glenn McGrath
Peter McIntyre
The fat middle aged bloke who captains my club side
Bob Hawke
The seagull that got hit and picked up by Rob Quiney in the Big Bash a few years back
A plank of wood
The corpse of Hansie Cronje
300kg worth of lead buckshot

 

[TheJediBrah]

Handscomb and Smith would be Australia's 2 best batsmen in England by a long way

 

[Test_Fan_Only]

I feel the Ashes squad is shaping up to be

Warner, Burns, Harris, Khawaja, Smith, Patterson, Head.
Paine, Carey
Cummins, Starc, Richardson, Hazlewood, Pattinson
Lyon, Holland

This is 16 players, in 2015 the squad had 17 players. It included 8 options to bat in the top 6 including Mitch Marsh and Shane Watson as all rounders.

The 8th option in this squad is not clear, it could be Maxwell, Wade, Handscomb, Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh or Pucovski as far as I can see.

They could go with only 2 openers and rely on Khawaja as the back up opener and select an extra middle order batsman. Maybe they will only select Lyon as a spinner.

 

[morgieb]

I feel the Ashes squad is shaping up to be

Warner, Burns, Harris, Khawaja, Smith, Patterson, Head.
Paine, Carey
Cummins, Starc, Richardson, Hazlewood, Pattinson
Lyon, Holland

This is 16 players, in 2015 the squad had 17 players. It included 8 options to bat in the top 6 including Mitch Marsh and Shane Watson as all rounders.

The 8th option in this squad is not clear, it could be Maxwell, Wade, Handscomb, Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh or Pucovski as far as I can see.

They could go with only 2 openers and rely on Khawaja as the back up opener and select an extra middle order batsman. Maybe they will only select Lyon as a spinner.

I'd pick Wade instead of Carey, but other than that the squad feels pretty close to what I'd pick.

 

[Borges]

Since the A team is in England, they don't have to commit early to a fixed Ashes squad for the entire series.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Wouldn't select him as a specialist batsman personally, but on weight of performance Wade probably should be the reserve keeper. I do think we will need one in the squad.

Holland will probably be there, but I honestly wouldn't bother. He has never even remotely looked like transferring his domestic ability to the international stage. Marnus genuinely outbowled him in the UAE, looked far more likely to take wickets while being only slightly more expensive

 

[trundler]

Would legit have Maxwell over Holland. Holland was just so so innocuous in UAE.

 

[morgieb]

Yeah I don't really rate Holland. But with O'Keefe in the doghouse I don't know who's better.

 

[Test_Fan_Only]

I'd pick Wade instead of Carey, but other than that the squad feels pretty close to what I'd pick.

It is an option but I think it is extremely unlikely to happen. Carey seems to be the appointed deputy and successor to Paine. They seem to be prioritising keeping ability and discounting batting ability unlike a few years ago.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Would legit have Maxwell over Holland. Holland was just so so innocuous in UAE.

Same. Anyway to get Maxwell into the team really. Though on a wicket where you need a specialist spinner I wouldn't want to rely on him, if Lyon was unavailable.

 

[stephen]

It is an option but I think it is extremely unlikely to happen. Carey seems to be the appointed deputy and successor to Paine. They seem to be prioritising keeping ability and discounting batting ability unlike a few years ago.

Carey should be next in line for tests since he's a decent keeper. What I don't understand is why he's ahead of Wade in ODI/t20 cricket.

 

[Gob]

Handscomb and Smith would be Australia's 2 best batsmen in England by a long way

Kidding right.

Also Trav is absolutely set. The only place that should be up for grabs is Warner's opening partner. Personally feel Harris would go better than Burns despite joe's century in the most recent game

 

[mr_mister]

Hey Gobs back