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

[magsi23]

I think australia should open with Warne and Lee, Gilespie at number 2 and Mcgrath at 3

 

[aussie]

Sunrise News has just said that McGrath's inclusing is highly unlikely and is undergoing intensive treatment to overcome injury for the 4th test.

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[Simon]

Kasper would have to come in for McGrath, theres no way Gillespie would be re called just like that, his confidence is shot to bits, and with a fast bowler on debut we wouldnt play 2 spinners leaving only lee and tait.

Saying that McGrath is still a better than 50/50 prospect of playing...

 

[social]

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Langer has just been quoted on radio as saying McGrath is a certainty at present.

 

[Demolition Man]

Yeah, I did mean inclusion (typo).

It will be very interesting which way they go. You'd like to think Kaspa would get a shot, but then you would have thought he would have been a straight swap for Gillespie aswell.

Your man yet get a run.

 

[aussie]

Langer has just been quoted on radio as saying McGrath is a certainty at present.

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[social]

Assuming you meant "inclusion", it'll be interesting to see the subsequent course of action. Kasprowicz getting in has to be the most obvious answer, a real kick in the guts for Gillespie. It'll be good for Tait to take the new ball, prevents him coming on at 0/50 and copping a hammering if Strauss and Tresco had seen off the new ball. Fate is in his own hands now.

Or, if Aus holds the catches that Strauss and Tresco routinely offer, coming on to bowl at 3-20

 

[social]

oh im not arguing that tait shouldnt be playing because of his ER. im just pointing out that a career ER of 3.66 isnt very good in whatever form of the game.
the ERs i showed you for jones and b.lee were actually career ERs so it was based on not just performances against australia and england, but against the rest of the world, which again shows that they are generally either rubbish or very good, although lee is fast starting to change that. its also quite likely to be the same for tait, who on an off day would probably struggle to get chris martin out even if he was batting without a bat, and yet on his day he might be an absolute nightmare for even the very best.

A lot depends on field placings.

One can assume that Tait wouldnt have had many people in run saving positions in his career. Therefore, a simple defensive push can often yield runs.

Likewise, because of their extra pace, a lot of boundaries are scored off express bowlers through fine leg and third man whereas they are routinely cut off by fieldsmen to bowlers of slower pace.

Strike-rate and average are far more important indicators to fast bowlers than economy rates.

 

[social]

Q. Which front-line bowler, has an ER in the current series of 3.6 despite bowling for most of the series with 4 - 5 men on the boundary and being in his team largely to tie up an end (couldnt be for his wicket-taking abilities as his return stands at 8 wickets @ 50)?

 

[Top_Cat]

Q. Which front-line bowler, has an ER in the current series of 3.6 despite bowling for most of the series with 4 - 5 men on the boundary and being in his team largely to tie up an end (couldnt be for his wicket-taking abilities as his return stands at 8 wickets @ 50)?

Before checking: Ash Giles.

After checking: Damn I'm good.

Interesting side-note: Glenn McGrath has gone for 3.49 this series to put him 3rd on the economy rates. Warne is at no. 1 and Harmi at no. 2. How about that?

 

[Top_Cat]

I must say that the inclusion of Tait has given the rest of the series a bit of a shake. In times of trouble, the Aussie way has generally been to go for the high-percentage option of someone like Kasper but being genuinely on the back-foot, the Aussies have instead decided that all-out attack is the way to go. So far we've had rollocking innings from both sides, close finishes, highly-intelligent use of the old ball by quick bowlers, excellent spin bowling, gritty knocks under pressure (from both sides; remember KP in the first Test), new and experienced players doing well and now we have the addition of an explosive new bowling talent after the introduction of an exciting new batting talent. I guess it's the series for boldness. England bold gamble with KP has paid-off really well. Will the Aussies' with Tait do likewise? I don't know. I've given up predicting anything anymore.

I was tipping Kasper and partly that was because of the tightness of the series but bugger it, Tait sounds pretty confident in the press. He's not giving it the whole "I hope to do well" guff; what he's said is that he expects to do well and considering he's making his debut in the most pressure-charged series any Australia side has played for probably 15 years, that sort of confidence and statement of intent is brilliant to see.

 

[honestbharani]

So,what is the latest on McGrath?

 

[Simon]

So,what is the latest on McGrath?

well its only 6am in england, i hope hes been sleeping for the past few hours!
we should probably know more in the next 6 hours or so...

 

[honestbharani]

well its only 6am in england, i hope hes been sleeping for the past few hours!
we should probably know more in the next 6 hours or so...

lol... okay. But I hope he plays for the sake of Australia.

 

[Demolition Man]

So,what is the latest on McGrath?

Well its the afternoon here is australia but the latest is , McGrath is a gun !!

 

[greg]

I must say that the inclusion of Tait has given the rest of the series a bit of a shake. In times of trouble, the Aussie way has generally been to go for the high-percentage option of someone like Kasper but being genuinely on the back-foot, the Aussies have instead decided that all-out attack is the way to go. So far we've had rollocking innings from both sides, close finishes, highly-intelligent use of the old ball by quick bowlers, excellent spin bowling, gritty knocks under pressure (from both sides; remember KP in the first Test), new and experienced players doing well and now we have the addition of an explosive new bowling talent after the introduction of an exciting new batting talent. I guess it's the series for boldness. England bold gamble with KP has paid-off really well. Will the Aussies' with Tait do likewise? I don't know. I've given up predicting anything anymore.

I was tipping Kasper and partly that was because of the tightness of the series but bugger it, Tait sounds pretty confident in the press. He's not giving it the whole "I hope to do well" guff; what he's said is that he expects to do well and considering he's making his debut in the most pressure-charged series any Australia side has played for probably 15 years, that sort of confidence and statement of intent is brilliant to see.

I would say the balance sheet is pretty even. Clearly it hasn't been a total or even near disaster, but he was replacing one of our best batsman over the past few years not someone who could have been expected to score 6 ducks!

 

[luckyeddie]

Sunrise News has just said that McGrath's inclusing is highly unlikely and is undergoing intensive treatment to overcome injury for the 4th test.

Zzzzzzzwhat now? He'll be fit.
Smokescreen number 2.

Bookies are only offering 3-1 against Adam Gilchrist being kidnapped by aliens before Thursday so I don't believe a word of it.

"Honest, officer. I FOUND the loaf of bread." We've heard it all before.

(prays that McGrath really IS crook)

 

[luckyeddie]

I think australia should open with Warne and Lee, Gilespie at number 2 and Mcgrath at 3

The batting?

It'd probably be an improvement on the first 3 tests.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

If McGrath is out, does Tait open the bowling with Lee then?

It's certainly going to be tough for Australia with McGrath out if they have to bowl first again on a flat pitch. WIth no McGrath, batting first and making a decent score really becomes key for Australia, as it gives Tait and Lee something to play with. It's hard to know exactly how Tait will go in his first test, but if he can bowl the way he did last summer he's guaranateed to have some success, regardless of the conditions or the opposition.

Frankly, I'd love for him to have a good test just so people would shut up about him playing at Durham, as it's really getting tired. He's also a great deal of fun to watch, so it will be good as a spectator if he does get a go.

 

[marc71178]

Before checking: Ash Giles.

After checking: Damn I'm good.

Interesting side-note: Glenn McGrath has gone for 3.49 this series to put him 3rd on the economy rates. Warne is at no. 1 and Harmi at no. 2. How about that?

The thing is, regardless of that stat, Giles played a very big role in winning the 2nd Test with his 1st innings effort and has at times bowled very tightly to the top order only to be hit about by tail enders.