*Official* Road to the 2010/11 Ashes

[Spark]

Steyn obviously would give him a run for his money but yes. So a lot rides on the weather - if the first three tests are like the first three of 06-07...

 

[Uppercut]

Whether Jimmeh or Steyn are better at exploiting swinging conditions depends on the number of lefties in the opposition. And, possibly, the brand of ball being used. For the purposes of the Ashes it's all a bit moot though- Australia's batting lineup doesn't have anything like the ability to cope with either at the moment. Or Asif, obviously.

 

[tooextracool]

Trouble is Tremlett will break down as he always does.He is the past and Finn is the here and now.

Tremlett is 28, assuming he can put it together for the entire season, hes at least worth a spot on the tour ahead of the likes of Sidebottom and Plunkett.

 

[tooextracool]

Hmm. Not sure I agree. On the face of it they look very similar bowlers: tall, natural length is just short of a good length, good bounce and carry from a high arm action. Based on the evidence of this season Tremmers is maybe a couple of mph quicker, but I've only seem him bowl limited overs where I suppose there's less mileage in keeping anything in the tank for another long spell later in the day.

That aside the only difference I see is that one has an appalling injury record and one (mercifully) doesn't.

Last time I saw Tremlett bowl he got the ball to swing which at his height is extremely valuable. Finn does nothing with the ball really, and as much as we'd all like to think that bounce gets wickets on its own, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't.

 

[tooextracool]

Shahzad looks like he reverses it both ways, so not sure I totally agree.

Fear for Jimmy with the Kookaburras tho.

The problem with Shahzad is that he doesnt do much else.

 

[tooextracool]

Whether Jimmeh or Steyn are better at exploiting swinging conditions depends on the number of lefties in the opposition. And, possibly, the brand of ball being used. For the purposes of the Ashes it's all a bit moot though- Australia's batting lineup doesn't have anything like the ability to cope with either at the moment. Or Asif, obviously.

Personally, when the ball is swinging, Id take Anderson over the other 2. Though in all other conditions, the other 2 are far and away the better bowlers so it really doesnt matter.

 

[Jarquis]

If I was a bowler and had the option of picking an attribute, reversing it both ways at ~90mph would be pretty high on the list tbh.

 

[tooextracool]

If I was a bowler and had the option of picking an attribute, reversing it both ways at ~90mph would be pretty high on the list tbh.

True it would, but you need to be absolutely brilliant at it in that case to the point where you have the ability to get the ball to reverse consistently in every country. Simon Jones was capable of that, though England still ran out of patience with him and it was only when he started to get the new ball to swing both ways in the summer of 2005 that they actually guaranteed him a place in the side (and this is while they had the luxury of a 5 man attack)

 

[Shoggz]

I see all the main sites are having a field day with Ricky's "We could win 5-nil" talk.

As Australian captain ahead of a home Ashes series, surely he'd be lynched if he said anything else?!

 

[four_or_six]

I see all the main sites are having a field day with Ricky's "We could win 5-nil" talk.

As Australian captain ahead of a home Ashes series, surely he'd be lynched if he said anything else?!

Quite restrained though, we 'could' rather than we 'will'.

 

[Jacknife]

Tremlett is 28, assuming he can put it together for the entire season, hes at least worth a spot on the tour ahead of the likes of Sidebottom and Plunkett.

I've seen quite a bit of Tremlett this season and I think he's bowling better than ever,especially considering where he's bowling,at the Oval. I know he's had his fitness issues but he looks strong and seems to have a bit more venom to his bowling that he lacked before,he's more accurate and seems a little quicker. With him bowling at the Oval it's the pitch most similar to the Australian pitches so that a plus .If he's still fit come the end of the season I would put him on the plane and I'd like to see how he would go in a few warm up games .I think he would be a real handful over in Australia.

 

[Top_Cat]

I see all the main sites are having a field day with Ricky's "We could win 5-nil" talk.

As Australian captain ahead of a home Ashes series, surely he'd be lynched if he said anything else?!

Ponting quoted yesterday;

Yeah, of course we could win 5-0.

*snigger*

But we won't.....

 

[tim_aussiefan]

Really looking forward to this upcoming Ashes. Purely because it's the Ashes.

I would like to think Australia will win because of home conditions, and that Englands attack not likely to do much on our dull pitches. I would like to see us line up as follows:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Hilfenhaus
Bollinger

I would like Hughes in the team, as I think this time around he will be a better player and a lot more prepared. Watson has to drop down, I'd rather him open but when he can bat in the middle order and Hughes hasn't proven he can yet, it's not worth trying in an Ashes series.

I think our bowling might be a little suspect, but will be better than Englands on tracks like the Perth and Adelaide wickets. I feel they rely a bit too heavily on Swann to take wickets, and don't think he'll have much of a summer over here. I think overall both sides bowlers will struggle, bringing me to...

My prediction: Aussies 3-0

 

[Spark]

Swap Clarke/Watto and that'd be my team.

I really am very hesitant about making any more predictions until the first ball of Brisbane - because everything we've seen recently doesn't tell us a whole lot about how the teams will play down here.

---

People are getting carried away. Quote from cricinfo "But i dare say that this is probably the best English team I've seen in twenty years, maybe more" Twenty years? Not even the best in five years.

 

[four_or_six]

Swap Clarke/Watto and that'd be my team.

I really am very hesitant about making any more predictions until the first ball of Brisbane - because everything we've seen recently doesn't tell us a whole lot about how the teams will play down here.

---

People are getting carried away. Quote from cricinfo "But i dare say that this is probably the best English team I've seen in twenty years, maybe more" Twenty years? Not even the best in five years.

Not the best team in the last five years, but in with the best chance we've had for a while. Our team last time may have been better on paper, but as we all know we turned up a complete shambles. I'm certain we won't be a shambles this time.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Not the best team in the last five years, but in with the best chance we've had for a while. Our team last time may have been better on paper, but as we all know we turned up a complete shambles. I'm certain we won't be a shambles this time.

Thought that five years might've referred to Ashes 2005, rather than 06/07.

 

[Uppercut]

Don't know if there's much in it between this side and that of 2005. I do wonder whether the balance of top-class bowling and poor fielding was better than their current setup of high-quality bowling and top-class fielding.

Although when you compare their respective tours to South Africa the class of '05 just seems leagues ahead.

 

[vcs]

England's team when they toured Australia last time had big problems that were waiting to rear their head. Duncan Fletcher was stubborn as a coach, Freddie's captaincy failed to inspire, Giles past it, Geraint Jones a liability, Harmison was terrible, Strauss had a poor time, no Trescothick... all in all, they were a complete disaster and the players still seemed to be caught up in the Ashes 2005 euphoria and unprepared for the Aussie backlash.

As for the 2005 side, this team can only be put equal to or above them, if they go to Australia and atleast tie the series... there is no other fair comparison.

 

[wpdavid]

Dropping Jimmy in Australia is absolute madness. The swinging ball is Australia's biggest weakness, and has caused significant collapses in each of the last three Aussie summers. Recent history shows your best chance of beating Australia is staying in the series as best you can and doing maximum damage when the ball does, occasionally, do something through the air. It's not as rare as some seem to think.

Which is pretty much England's strategy against decent opposition anyway - bat deep, aim to ensure they don't lose, and look to cash in on the occasions when the force is with their attack. It's not the worst approach, tbf.

I still think the series has come 12 months early for our attack though.

 

[GotSpin]

Really looking forward to this upcoming Ashes. Purely because it's the Ashes.

I would like to think Australia will win because of home conditions, and that Englands attack not likely to do much on our dull pitches. I would like to see us line up as follows:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Watson
Clarke
Hussey
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Hilfenhaus
Bollinger

I would like Hughes in the team, as I think this time around he will be a better player and a lot more prepared. Watson has to drop down, I'd rather him open but when he can bat in the middle order and Hughes hasn't proven he can yet, it's not worth trying in an Ashes series.

I think our bowling might be a little suspect, but will be better than Englands on tracks like the Perth and Adelaide wickets. I feel they rely a bit too heavily on Swann to take wickets, and don't think he'll have much of a summer over here. I think overall both sides bowlers will struggle, bringing me to...

My prediction: Aussies 3-0

Decent side that. The fortunate thing is that we still have a few test matches to sort out our team which will hopefully give the selectors enough time to drop north.