*Official* Road to 2013 Ashes

[LongHopCassidy]

- Warner
- Cowan
- Cosgrove
- Bailey
- Clarke
- Haddin
- Watson (full bowling capacity or FO)
- Pattinson
- Starc
- Bird
- Lyon

 

[Red]

Yeah, time to blood a new top-order batsman. Let's face it, we've got nothing to lose.

Just need some techniques that will lead to a bit of consistency imo. Cosgrove and Bailey have those techniques.

 

[Daemon]

drop 4 guys for being lazy and irresponsible ****s

pick cosgrove

 

[social]

I really dont see why Watto wouldnt be fit to bowl in time for the Ashes as IIRC, his last 2 injuries have been to the calf muscle and worst case scenario, they require an operation and 3-4 months recovery

Given that it obviously isnt all that serious (he would have had an operation if it was), he should probably be fit to bowl today let alone by July

IMO, selectors need to get tough with him and not select him unless he is fit to bowl as his batting output alone doesnt justify his place

 

[Red]

drop 4 guys for being lazy and irresponsible ****s

pick cosgrove

Nup, they've got it all wrong.

Drop guys who can't bat very well.

Pick guys who can.

 

[GIMH]

Been having a debate with my friend on this point. Curious to see CW's view.

Will any Australian fast bowler play 5 Ashes tests - not taking into account injury? By that I mean, will any fast bowler not be rotated/rested?

I reckon that a fast bowler will play 5 tests but my mate doesn't.

It's bad enough we have to read Burgey's opinions without you feeling the need to ****ing share them as well. Seriously lad, quieten down.

 

[Viscount Tom]

I really dont see why Watto wouldnt be fit to bowl in time for the Ashes as IIRC, his last 2 injuries have been to the calf muscle and worst case scenario, they require an operation and 3-4 months recovery

Given that it obviously isnt all that serious (he would have had an operation if it was), he should probably be fit to bowl today let alone by July

IMO, selectors need to get tough with him and not select him unless he is fit to bowl as his batting output alone doesnt justify his place

Its Watson he'll find a way to become unfit to bowl.

 

[pup11]

Batsmen: Clarke, Hughes, Rogers, Warner, Bailey, David Hussey/Voges
Fast-bowlers: Pattinson, Siddle, Faulkner, Hilfenhaus, Coulter-Nile
Wicket-keepers: Wade, Haddin
Spinners: O'keefe, Agar/Boyce
All-rounders: Watson, Mitch Marsh

One thing that we should learn from the Indian experience is that, when playing away from home in tough conditions nothing can make up for experience. If we take a side to the Ashes similar to the one we took over to India, then sure we might compete a little better in English conditions but we certainly won't be winning many games there.

My 17 man squad is mostly made up of players who have consistent performances behind them over a period of time and yet each of them brings a different skill-set to the side.

Rogers has to picked ahead of Cowan becuase not only would he fill the role of the gritty opener that Cowan is currently playing in the side, but he unlike Cowan after getting a start won't throw it away and instead would most probably turn those starts into big hundreds, sure he is 35 and hence nothing more than a stop-gap measure but he without doubt is the best opener in Australia atm, so he has to play.

Bailey, David Hussey and Voges are three of the best middle order batsmen in Australia over the last few years and Voges and Hussey also have extensive experience of playing in England so that certainly would help as well, with Bailey we would not only be getting a pretty solid middle order batsman, but he also would fill the huge leadership void that's there in the side atm and hence provide some much needed support to someone like Clarke who basically seems to have too much on his plate with his off-field and on-field duties.

Haven't considered Starc or Bird becuase of their injuries which are unlikely to be fixed in time for the Ashes, Harris and Cummins because of their injury prone history too aren't viable choices for a 5 test series. Hilf and Sid are tried and tested blokes and they have previous experience of the English conditions, Patto would be the enforcer in the bowling attack.Faulkner brings the left arm variety into the team and being a seam/swing bowler the conditons should suit him, even in dry bowling conditions he can keep the batsmen guessing by bowling his cutters, Coulter-Nile on other hand is someone who can bowl with some serious pace and reverse the old ball, so he would be very handy even if conditions aren't favorable for fast bowling.

Haddin is going to start of as my keeper in this series, not only is he an experienced player but his glove work too is pretty good compared to Wade's. I think Wade is a massive player for Australia going forward but his keeping could get brutally exposed in the English conditions where the ball tends to wobble a lot in the air, having said that if he Haddin continues batting in brain dead fashion then it would pretty hard for him to retain his place in the side for too long.

SOK 'just' has to be our #1 spinner for the Ashes, I think Lyon not only has lost a lot of confidence but he is looking anything like the bowler who made his debut in Sri Lanka, he needs to go back to shield cricket and try to comeback as a better player. Agar or Boyce both of them are promising young spinners and being the part of the squad even if they don't play a game could help them to a great extent to eventually kick-start their international career.

Have picked Watson as an all-rounder because if he doesn't bowl then its hard to see him getting picked as a batsmen in the side, Mitch Marsh is more of a gamble, he has a pretty ordinary FC record but he is one of those players who could win us a game on his own, to go along with his batting his meduim pace bowling is pretty handy as well.

All in all picking the best and the more experinced blokes from our available pool of players is our best bet of doing well during the Ashes in England and hopefully our selectors would learn from their mistakes and do the needful.

 

[social]

I really dont understand the fuss about either Coulter-Nile or Faulkner (well, tbf, it's only you and Warnie )

NCN is quick but erratic and hardly moves the ball at all whilst Faulkner is no better than the 4th best bowler in Tassie

I also think that people need to stop talking about Rogers as he is highly unlikely to be picked and that is probably overstating his chances

 

[Tangles]

Hussey and Voges are too old also. Hussey looks to be past his best anyway. Pretty sure they Starc was having the op now to be fit for the Ashes.

Ideally Haddin wouldnt be picked either but Wade is the worst Aussie keeper I can remember seeing. IMO Haddin needs to be 1st choice if selected and Wade can spend the off season working on his glovework. Pick one of the other State keepers and take them to back up Haddin. Won't happen but it should.

 

[Cabinet96]

Experience didn't help India much on their recent away tours tbf.

 

[sphynx]

I know we won't but anyone who thinks the Aussies will be able to get enough runs with their weak batting line up is kidding themselves. Aussies will win a match but lose the series.

They still have the best bastman in the world.......

It's easy to say they will all fail, but the fact remains, they still have some dangerous types. If Hughes and Warner hit some form, anything is possible. Warner alone can win a test in a session.


Despite all the mud flinging etc, England is alot more comparable to their home conditions to that of India.

The last time a world class pace attack went to England, the home side had their pants pulled down. I can see Pattinson having similar results, he's the best young quick in the world by an absolute mile.

The New Zealand trip to England will be watched very closely, because at times, the NZ batsmen have made Jimmy, Broad and co look pretty military medium at times....


For all the bagging of Australias batting lineup, England will enter this Ashes series with 1 bowler averaging under 30, with Swan @ 29.

Pattinson (21), Harris (24), Siddle (28) is a pretty big difference, the proof will be in the pudding I guess.

 

[theegyptian]

Experience didn't help India much on their recent away tours tbf.

yes but their players were on a downward spiral and even failed at home losing to england with those experienced players. Aus would be well served by having a bit more experience. Then again all of the batting by my reckoning will have had experience of England through either county, odi,test or a cricket. The young bowlers have less experience but most of them have some experience.

They still have the best bastman in the world.......

It's easy to say they will all fail, but the fact remains, they still have some dangerous types. If Hughes and Warner hit some form, anything is possible. Warner alone can win a test in a session.


Despite all the mud flinging etc, England is alot more comparable to their home conditions to that of India.

The last time a world class pace attack went to England, the home side had their pants pulled down. I can see Pattinson having similar results, he's the best young quick in the world by an absolute mile.

The New Zealand trip to England will be watched very closely, because at times, the NZ batsmen have made Jimmy, Broad and co look pretty military medium at times....

Debatable whether Clarke is the best. And he's got a chronic back problem that will affect the rest of his career.

You're also clutching at straws when you say Australia have dangerous types. I'm sure some would call Maxwell a dangerous player. Warner has looked awful early on against Kumar. He's fine when he can just hit through the line on true and fast wickets

By all accounts England have the more proven world class internationals and home advantage. They should win and that is why they are very strong favourites with the bookmakers. But nothing is certain and it wouldn't surprise if Australia won. England have been pretty unpredictable over the last couple of years.

 

[sphynx]

yes but their players were on a downward spiral and even failed at home losing to england with those experienced players. Aus would be well served by having a bit more experience. Then again all of the batting by my reckoning will have had experience of England through either county, odi,test or a cricket. The young bowlers have less experience but most of them have some experience.




Debatable whether Clarke is the best. And he's got a chronic back problem that will affect the rest of his career.

You're also clutching at straws when you say Australia have dangerous types. I'm sure some would call Maxwell a dangerous player. Warner has looked awful early on against Kumar. He's fine when he can just hit through the line on true and fast wickets

By all accounts England have the more proven world class internationals and home advantage. They should win and that is why they are very strong favourites with the bookmakers. But nothing is certain and it wouldn't surprise if Australia won. England have been pretty unpredictable over the last couple of years.

It's not really debatable. He's made a 91, and a ton this series despite the back problem, he's hit 10 centuries in the last 18 months in 4 different countries, including 3 doubles and a triple. His 151 in Cape Town is the highest rated century of the last 4 years, smashed 3 100+ year old ground records in Australia as well as Ponting's Australian calender run record.

He's had this back problem since he was 17, he's managed it fine so far in his career, the way he's been pummeling any ordinary pace bowling in the last 2 years, I can't see him being too worried by Broad and Finn.

You're also clutching at straws when you say Australia have dangerous types. I'm sure some would call Maxwell a dangerous player. Warner has looked awful early on against Kumar. He's fine when he can just hit through the line on true and fast wickets

Maxwell doesn't average over 40 in test cricket.

He's not half the batsmen of Warner and have anything near the FC record Hughes does.

 

[theegyptian]

It's not really debatable. He's made a 91, and a ton this series despite the back problem, he's hit 10 centuries in the last 18 months in 4 different countries, including 3 doubles and a triple. His 151 in Cape Town is the highest rated century of the last 4 years, including all the other stuff.

Amla is no.1 in both formats according to the official rankings.He has also been more consistent over a longer period. Clarke might be the better batsman but to say it isn't even debatable is stupid

He's had this back problem since he was 17, either way, the way he's been pummeling any ordinary pace bowling in the last 2 years, I can't see him being too worried by Broad and Finn.

Yes the back is only getting worse especially with Australi's workload over the next 9 months. Clarke gonna miss the IPL?

Maxwell doesn't average over 40 in test cricket.

He's not half the batsmen of Warner and Hughes.

yes i agree but putting your hopes in two guys who are pretty much unproven on an international level to win you test matches sounds like clutching at straws to me.

 

[Spark]

Broad circa 2011 is exactly the sort of bowler I wouldn't want Clarke to face tbh.

 

[Top_Cat]

A disagreement between an Egyptian and a Sphynx. Ancient skool.

 

[sphynx]

Broad circa 2011 is exactly the sort of bowler I wouldn't want Clarke to face tbh.

Luckily he's facing Broad v.2013.

Honestly, as weak as the Aussie batting line is, England's quicks have been utter **** for 12 months now.

They might not be Gilchrist and Hayden, but they are still competent cricketers.

All the Aussie batsmen are flat track bullies, they prefer pace over spin, and they love room to play their shots (Hughes, Warner and Cowan especially), if the English quicks keep bowling mid 130's wide crap, no matter how **** the Australian batsmen are, they will go for plenty.

 

[Top_Cat]

They do prefer pace, yes, but really they prefer seam. Guys who swing it in good conditions will still be dangerous to this line-up even if it's not awesome stuff they're sending down.

 

[honestbharani]

are you guys Gambhiring all the way to the Ashes?