Ashes Predictions Thread

[morgieb]

Jeez you're a pessimistic fella aren't ya...

 

[inbox24]

I prefer the term realistic, but whatever.

 

[jondavluc]

Realistic yeah thats it.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Jeez you're a pessimistic fella aren't ya...

Mate, it'll be driving you nuts 15 mins into the first test when we've lost it already and the series with it.

 

[andruid]

England's batting before and after Midge's ashes . (Note Alistair Cook being the unlikely survivor Right middleground)

 

[Burgey]

Good stuff mate.

Hope you're right.

 

[Faisal1985]

Whats so special about this Ashes.

Aussies will take it again.

 

[S Chanderpaul]

Series Result: 3-1 England
Top Eng Runscorer: KP
Top Aus Runscorer: Katich
Top Eng Wicket-taker: Anderson
Top Aus Wicket-taker: Siddle
Player of the Series: KP
Surprise Packet: Onions
Dropped Player(s): Hughes, Panasar
Miscellaneous Event: Hughes to be dropped after scoring less than 30 runs in 4 innings! Cook to smash the ball straight at Siddles chin and removing that annoying piece of hair in the middle! Panasar to get a wicket!

 

[Burgey]

Whats so special about this Ashes.

Aussies will take it again.

Well, it's been going since the 1880s, so it mans a fair bit to England and Australia supporters.

 

[Richard]

Whats so special about this Ashes.

It's the first one for 2-and-a-half years, same way the last one was the first for 1-and-a-half, and so the pattern goes on...

 

[Faisal1985]

Well, it's been going since the 1880s, so it mans a fair bit to England and Australia supporters.

No one questioning the importance of Ashes in the Cricketing world. Only concerned about all these prediction threads. Aussies will own the English ...............Again!

 

[Faisal1985]

It's the first one for 2-and-a-half years, same way the last one was the first for 1-and-a-half, and so the pattern goes on...

Amazing........................... Love Ashes but Aussies keep winning. English have to be more competitive.

 

[Richard]

I don't know what it's been like in the brief periods when England have dominated Ashes contests (1977-1986/87; 1953-1956; even 1926-1928/29) but my limited experience tends to suggest Australia's dominance of the contest 1989-2006/07 has actually caused the "Ashes is much more important than everything else" nonsense that perpetuates so much and has done in recent years. As I say, I might be wrong - maybe it was the same even when England were regularly emerging victorious; I have no memory at all of said time.

 

[ripper868]

I'd near agree with you on that Richard, It became important for the poms to get it back off us crims, while it became our utmost duty to ensure the poms never get their filthy mits on the urn again.

 

[Faisal1985]

I don't know what it's been like in the brief periods when England have dominated Ashes contests (1977-1986/87; 1953-1956; even 1926-1928/29) but my limited experience tends to suggest Australia's dominance of the contest 1989-2006/07 has actually caused the "Ashes is much more important than everything else" nonsense that perpetuates so much and has done in recent years. As I say, I might be wrong - maybe it was the same even when England were regularly emerging victorious; I have no memory at all of said time.

I have to agree for too long Ashes is more like a one sided winning streak. God knows what happened to England after the won the second last Ashes.....Simon Jones gone, Steve Harminson forgot how to bowl. Freddie getting injured regularly...Michael Vaughn went into a hibernate mode forever.....and now they have Bopara......who looked good but against Mitch, Lee, Clarke.........he will be toasted...........Further......

 

[Richard]

Steve Harminson forgot how to bowl.

Harmison has never really known how to bowl, and certainly his bowling made precious little contribution to England's success in the previous Ashes.

Freddie getting injured regularly...

Believe it or not, this happened pre-2005 as well.

Michael Vaughn went into a hibernate mode forever.....

Well Vaughan too has hibernated (in terms of not performing well) for much of his career.

and now they have Bopara......who looked good but against Mitch, Lee, Clarke.........he will be toasted...........Further......

Love this confidence some approach with. There is no way anyone should be sure of Bopara's success or failure. It could very easily go either way.

 

[inbox24]

Why is everyone so eager to slag Bopara off. The guy is on a hot streak and could very well be the highest run scorer of the series, just because we haven't actually played against him before doesn't mean he's automatically crap.

 

[Golaxi]

richard when harmison was on good form he was the worlds number 1 bowler and earmarked for his very precise delivery accuracy. amongst his other strengths. and he did actually play a part in the 05 success despite his poor form, anyone remember the last over of the day when he dismissed one of the most vital wickets of the series with a really clever slow ball?

he was englands number 1 spearhead for a large part of 2 years in our great winning/unbeaten run. he was long considered our best bowler, above flintoff, simon jones, hoggard and anderson. and the only man australia rated prior to ashes.

i think australia will win. but we may put up a little fight and of course they won't be as strong as previous years.

i hope im wrong! im just praying our batting order doesn't crumble like the jenga pack it usually does

 

[Richard]

richard when harmison was on good form he was the worlds number 1 bowler and earmarked for his very precise delivery accuracy.

No actually he wasn't - Harmison was never the world's number one while he was bowling accurately. He was ranked number-two after the series against New Zealand in the summer of 2004, and thereafter he never bowled with any real accuracy again.

and he did actually play a part in the 05 success despite his poor form, anyone remember the last over of the day when he dismissed one of the most vital wickets of the series with a really clever slow ball?

That Clarke wicket was not vital (England were already essentially home and dry by that point), nor was the slower-ball really clever. The commentators even picked it before it got to the batsmen! Clarke himself quite clearly spotted it - he just played down the wrong line, as he did on more than one occasion that series - he wasn't, at that time, all that good. The fact that it was a slower-ball had nothing whatsoever to do with the wicket falling. Harmison has the most ridiculously obvious slower-ball I've ever seen.

he was englands number 1 spearhead for a large part of 2 years in our great winning/unbeaten run. he was long considered our best bowler, above flintoff, simon jones, hoggard and anderson. and the only man australia rated prior to ashes.

Just because someone was considered something or was rated something doesn't mean they were. Harmison was never England's best bowler, and was certainly not any form of spearhead for anything like 2 years. He was the most effective bowler (different from best) for a whole 7 Tests accross 4 months at the start of 2004. Nothing more.

 

[GIMH]

That Clarke wicket was not vital (England were already essentially home and dry by that point),

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