The Ashes are coming home!

[Richard]

well thats right...in that a ball measured at even getting on 90mph can actually take longer to reach the batsman than a ball maybe 6 mph less (according to the speed measuring gear)..due to the effects of the angle the ball is bowled at, the friction of the pitch, wind speed and direction etc

Well the air-resistence is obviously going to have some effect, but generally there's not going to be a terribly large amount of variance in that.
Obviously there's less in South Africa than anywhere else, and so bowlers bowl a bit quicker in SA than anywhere else (as we noticed at WC2003 when almost all bowlers bowled a bit quicker than normal) but it's pretty constant in England, West Indies, Australia and New Zealand.

 

[Richard]

thats because you are brilliant!!!

Well - if all you've got to do to be brilliant is not make sweeping assumptions, yes.
I'd not exactly call myself brilliant because of that, though.

 

[Swervy]

Well the air-resistence is obviously going to have some effect, but generally there's not going to be a terribly large amount of variance in that.
Obviously there's less in South Africa than anywhere else, and so bowlers bowl a bit quicker in SA than anywhere else (as we noticed at WC2003 when almost all bowlers bowled a bit quicker than normal) but it's pretty constant in England, West Indies, Australia and New Zealand.

the main difference is where the ball pitched....a change in length can affect those readings by a hell of a lot...for some reason..

Its the main reason I take them with a pinch of salt

 

[Swervy]

You didn't see some of his various quicker-balls (such as the one he beat Flintoff for pace with) during the winter, then?
As for the average speeds, I've never yet found any website detailing them, I was just lucky enough to be watching a Sky feed from the SA TV against WI last year where, at Pollock's specific request I shouldn't wonder, they showed his speeds in the matches they've covered in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 (though with 2004 it was just a single Test), and there was little or no deviation.
Most people watching would probably have been shocked - I wasn't.

Your initial point was that Pollock has only dropped in pace 1 or 2 mph over the last 7 years....you have cut that down to 4 years somehow..

Even after his injury problems in the late 90's, he still had more pace than he has now

 

[Pedro Delgado]

It is?

MA Butcher
MA Atherton
AJ Stewart
N Hussain
GP Thorpe
JP Crawley
MA Ealham
RDB Croft
D Gough
AR Caddick

I'd say so aye. How many of the above team would make it into the current side?
Thorpe is still about of course.

 

[Adamc]

thats because you are brilliant!!!

And doesn't he know it...

Re: Pedro Delgado's post - Four, possibly five? The current team looks better to me.

 

[BoyBrumby]

And doesn't he know it...

Re: Pedro Delgado's post - Four, possibly five? The current team looks better to me.

I'd say more like 3. Stewie, obviously & then probably Gough & Caddick for Jones & Hoggy.

 

[Adamc]

I'd say more like 3. Stewie, obviously & then probably Gough & Caddick for Jones & Hoggy.

Are we talking Tests or ODI's here? I assumed Tests, seeing as it's an Ashes thread, but I may well be wrong, as I can't be bothered looking ploughing through the thread to find out. If it's Tests, then I would have Atherton for Trescothick, and Thorpe as well, though he is actually in the current side so I don't know if that counts.

 

[Jamee999]

Thorpe replaces...Thorpe.

 

[superkingdave]

Thorpe replaces...Thorpe.

the question is who is better, the Thorpe of now or the Thorpe of then?

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Specifically, whom from the Edgbaston '97 Test match would walk into the current one.
Stewart stands out clearly as BoyBrumby said, and Gough for Jones. Thorpe still going. Not sure I'd swap anymore.

 

[Jamee999]

You'd want Atherton, but I'm not sure where.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

You'd want Atherton, but I'm not sure where.

Strauss at three? And drop...erm... no, if it's too hard I can't understand it.

 

[wpdavid]

MA Butcher
MA Atherton
AJ Stewart
N Hussain
GP Thorpe
JP Crawley
MA Ealham
RDB Croft
D Gough
AR Caddick

I'd say so aye. How many of the above team would make it into the current side?
Thorpe is still about of course.

I'd take the current side, if only because there's XI of them - IIRC you've omitted Devon Malcolm from the 1997 starting lineup, or Dean Headley if you look later in the series.

It's an interesting question though. A composite side might look like:

Atherton, Strauss/Tresco, Vaughan, Hussain, Thorpe ('97 version). Stewart, Flintoff, Giles, Caddick, Gough, Harmison. Although Headley could make a decent claim ahead of Caddick or Harmison if either of them was out of sorts.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Damn yeah I c&p'd it and Dev DNB, sorry about that. Who can you drop out of Tresco and Strauss seems to be the trickest one.

 

[Jamee999]

Maybe you could put Strauss at 3 and get rid of Nasser?

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Maybe you could put Strauss at 3 and get rid of Nasser?

Nasser hasn't made the team not mine at least.

 

[Jamee999]

I was looking at wpdavids.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Specifically, whom from the Edgbaston '97 Test match would walk into the current one.
Stewart stands out clearly as BoyBrumby said, and Gough for Jones. Thorpe still going. Not sure I'd swap anymore.

Stewart, Gough, Atherton and Caddick for the two Joneses, Trescothick and Hoggard or Harmison. Also I guess Hussein for Bell has a pretty strong case, not that I think Nasser was a particularly great player, so perhaps an unproven talent like Bell would be a fair move.

On the same token though, aside from the four bowlers who are still there (and Kasprowicz, McGrath and Gillespie are better today than they were in '97), only Steve Waugh would make the current Australian team, and maybe Mark Waugh for Katich as well, but that's borderline. Hayden/Langer for Taylor/Elliot, Ponting for Blewett, Martyn for Bevan and Gilchrist for Healy and you've got some significant improvement there.

 

[marc71178]

It is?

Considerably better.