***Official*** Australia in England (The Ashes)

[PY]

And also, I view the key men in your side as Langer, Ponting and Martyn because IMO the others are likely to offer chances at some point and they just have to be taken whereas them three probably are less likely to offer chances. And 2 of those are righties.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

And also, I view the key men in your side as Langer, Ponting and Martyn because IMO the others are likely to offer chances at some point and they just have to be taken whereas them three probably are less likely to offer chances. And 2 of those are righties.

I'd think Ponting is much more likely to give you a chance early than Katich, who I see as a key figure. Still, I'd expect Ponting, Martyn and Katich to be the dominant batsmen for Australia, and McGrath, Lee and Warne to all be successful with the ball.

Picking Vaughan and Flintoff to make runs for England, and Hoggard and Flintoff to take wickets.

 

[PY]

I'd think Ponting is much more likely to give you a chance early than Katich, who I see as a key figure.

I have to admit I've not seen much of Mr Katich but the little I have seen must have been when he was off form then because he seemed very edgy when he'd just arrived at the crease and seemed to struggle to get away.

I'm afraid I can't remember what game it was which is a bit of a nuisance.

 

[aussie]

well i suppose we all have hear the new about England's test sqaud , totally disagree with Thorpe's axing. The selectors have put up a bluff that he'll still be in consideration but this is definately the end of his career.

 

[marc71178]

It didn't work aganist Sri Lanka, 1-nil and it would have been 3-0 if it wasn't for crap captaincy

Is that the tour when England battled well for 2 draws?

Are you saying they deserve no credit then?

 

[King_Ponting]

Ponting looks in fine touch. Picking him as man of the series with close to 900 runs......

 

[Barney Rubble]

Ponting looks in fine touch. Picking him as man of the series with close to 900 runs......

900? That's ridiculous. He'll get 600, max, I reckon.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

900? That's ridiculous. He'll get 600, max, I reckon.

Players who have scored 900 runs or more in a series:
Donald Bradman - 974 in 1930 against England
Walter Hammond - 905 in 1928/29 against Austrralia

Batsmen who have scored "nearly 900" (800+)
Mark Taylor - 839 in 1989 against England
Neil Harvey - 834 in 1952/53 against South Africa
Viv Richards - 829 in 1976 against England
Clyde Walcott - 829 in 1954/55 against Australia
Gary Sobers - 824 in 1957/58 against Pakistan
Donald Bradman - 810 in 1936/37 against England
Donald Bradman - 806 in 1931/32 against South Africa

That's it. Pretty select group for Ponting to be joining! I'd tip an England series win before that, personally.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Picking Vaughan and Flintoff to make runs for England, and Hoggard and Flintoff to take wickets.

Slightly surprised you're taking Fred to make runs. I don't think he's in great nick with the bat at all just now. Is it a speculative punt or are you basing it on anything?

Conversely tho I now think he's our best bowler. Harmy's arguably better when he's in prime form & the wicket is a bit sporty, but Fred fires more often & is a lot harder to score against. The way Fred has come back from the ankle spur op is a credit to him.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Slightly surprised you're taking Fred to make runs. I don't think he's in great nick with the bat at all just now. Is it a speculative punt or are you basing it on anything?

Flintoff is actually a very good batsman, in my mind. He's got an excellent defensive technique and has a good range of shots and no noticable weakness. His real failing is shot selection, and honestly I'd expect him to make a couple of good scores and a few failures in the series, same as Pietersen. I actually didn't think too hard about the Warne factor before I made the above post, and in actuality I can really see Warne working him out, so I don't know. I'd expect Tresco to fail, Strauss to fail most of the time but maybe redeem himself if he manages to get set once or twice, and Jones to have a decent but not spectacular series with the bat. Vaughan I can certainly see doing well. Bell is an unknown quantity for me as I've never seen him bat. Looking forward to checking him out though, since I've heard good things and he sounds like he might do well.

Conversely tho I now think he's our best bowler. Harmy's arguably better when he's in prime form & the wicket is a bit sporty, but Fred fires more often & is a lot harder to score against. The way Fred has come back from the ankle spur op is a credit to him.

You'll get no argument from me there. Flintoff is an excellent bowler, and he and Hoggard are the two I can see having good series. Harmison I'm not sure about, as on flat pitches I can really see him getting hammered, and Australia seemed to get better and better at playing him as the series went on. Still, when he gets what he wants from the wicket he's quite lethal. Jones I'm not convinced about at all yet. From what I've seen of him so far I can't see him doing that well, and I think Giles will get shelled personally.

 

[sledger]

Slightly surprised you're taking Fred to make runs. I don't think he's in great nick with the bat at all just now. Is it a speculative punt or are you basing it on anything?

Conversely tho I now think he's our best bowler. Harmy's arguably better when he's in prime form & the wicket is a bit sporty, but Fred fires more often & is a lot harder to score against. The way Fred has come back from the ankle spur op is a credit to him.

completely agree.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Players who have scored 900 runs or more in a series:
Donald Bradman - 974 in 1930 against England
Walter Hammond - 905 in 1928/29 against Austrralia

Batsmen who have scored "nearly 900" (800+)
Mark Taylor - 839 in 1989 against England
Neil Harvey - 834 in 1952/53 against South Africa
Viv Richards - 829 in 1976 against England
Clyde Walcott - 829 in 1954/55 against Australia
Gary Sobers - 824 in 1957/58 against Pakistan
Donald Bradman - 810 in 1936/37 against England
Donald Bradman - 806 in 1931/32 against South Africa

That's it. Pretty select group for Ponting to be joining! I'd tip an England series win before that, personally.

Likewise! I'd tip an England series win before an Australian series win.....

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Likewise! I'd tip an England series win before an Australian series win.....

Good luck with that.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I think a lotta folk are underestimating Giles. Granted he's not in Warne's league, but has really bowled creditably in every series he's played in since SA over here. His figures against SA in SA don't make that attractive reading (11 @ 40-ish from memory), but for some reason he was underbowled by Vaughan in that series. If the wickets offer any turn at all he may be a factor. Naturally a turning pitch would also assist Warne, but I think he'd get turn on a snooker table, so a bunsen would help Gilo more.

Jones is the wild card for me (assuming he gets the nod over Tremlett, which I don't think is totally a given). He seems to be approaching the speeds he touched before he did his anterior cruciate (a couple of his deliveries in the ODIs were in excess of 90mph), but doesn't get much bounce for a bowler who's well over six feet. He does resverse the wearing ball, but is less adept at conventional swing. He's our most "skiddy" sort of seamer, so may be just the ticket for Ponting early doors when Punter's liable to play across the line. Although I guess given the probs he caused Fat Gray in South Africa, Hoggy could also come in the reckoning to pick up Punter LBW.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I think a lotta folk are underestimating Giles. Granted he's not in Warne's league, but has really bowled creditably in every series he's played in since SA over here. His figures against SA in SA don't make that attractive reading (11 @ 40-ish from memory), but for some reason he was underbowled by Vaughan in that series. If the wickets offer any turn at all he may be a factor. Naturally a turning pitch would also assist Warne, but I think he'd get turn on a snooker table, so a bunsen would help Gilo more.

I think Giles is a decent bowler, especially on a turner. I've watched the way Australia have played him so far though, and honestly I just can't see him having much success unless he's getting a lot of help. He's pretty accurate and is good at tying down right-handers, but Australia are definately going to target him, and if he's bowling on a flat wicket I'd be shocked if he had a big impact on the series.

Jones is the wild card for me (assuming he gets the nod over Tremlett, which I don't think is totally a given). He seems to be approaching the speeds he touched before he did his anterior cruciate (a couple of his deliveries in the ODIs were in excess of 90mph), but doesn't get much bounce for a bowler who's well over six feet. He does resverse the wearing ball, but is less adept at conventional swing. He's our most "skiddy" sort of seamer, so may be just the ticket for Ponting early doors when Punter's liable to play across the line. Although I guess given the probs he caused Fat Gray in South Africa, Hoggy could also come in the reckoning to pick up Punter LBW.

I'll reserve judgement on Jones for now. I liked him in SA when he got a spell in the right areas, but I think he's the sort of bowler Australia might handle pretty easily when he's not moving it around much.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Good luck with that.

Thanks - blind optimism is much more fun than actually thinking things over.

 

[pskov]

Likewise! I'd tip an England series win before an Australian series win.....

If Ponting scores 900 runs but England win the series you can have my house!

Edit: Lol,. got Barney and King_Ponting confused for some reason....

 

[PY]

Predictions Please...

Right people, I don't know if this has been done yet but reckon it's about time for people to lay their cards out on the table with just 6 days left until the biggest day in the cricketing calendar for 2005.

I'm going to do it with this, and other people can use mine or create their own template if they fancy it and others can use that.

Team I'll be supporting: England
Team who I think will take the Ashes home: Australia
Series score: 2 - 1
Top batsmen from either side (most runs): Justin Langer
Top bowler (most wickets): Shane Warne
Top English batsman: Michael Vaughan
Top Australian batsman: Justin Langer
Top English bowler: Steve Harmison
Top Australian bowler: Glenn McGrath
Surprise package for England: Ian Bell
Surprise package for Australia: Justin Langer
Man of the Series: Michael Vaughan

Any other categories that people want to add then feel free!

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Team I'll be supporting: Australia
Team who I think will take the Ashes home: Australia
Series score: 3-1
Top batsmen from either side (most runs): Damien Martyn
Top bowler (most wickets): Glenn McGrath
Top English batsman: Michael Vaughan
Top Australian batsman: Damien Martyn
Top English bowler: Andrew Flintoff
Top Australian bowler: Glenn McGrath
Surprise package for England: Ian Bell
Surprise package for Australia: Simon Katich
Man of the Series: Damien Martyn

And...
Biggest Disappointment for England: Steve Harmison
Biggest Disappointment for Australia: Matthew Hayden
Winner at Lords: Australia
Man of the Match at Lords: Ricky Ponting

 

[Mister Wright]

Slightly surprised you're taking Fred to make runs. I don't think he's in great nick with the bat at all just now. Is it a speculative punt or are you basing it on anything?

That's because FaaipDeOiad expects Gillespie to play in the tests...