My fancy is a drawn series. Our attack is better than theirs but, on the other hand, our batting is inferior which rather leads me to conclude that both teams will struggle to bowl each other out.
I've had a bit at 120 on Betfair on 0-0 (really from a trading perspective should the first couple of Tests be drawn) with 1-1 (at 15) the main bet and a saver at 10 on 2-2.
Why not hope they are all injured so the have to put out a 2nd XI?! You want the best players on both sides to be available...not hoping that Brett Lee will miss games. 99% of Aussies wouldn't want Flintoff to miss games....they would want to beat the best England (or any team) could offer.
We've beat them once in 20 years and the two tests we won in 2005 were the two that McGrath missed! I hope that Ponting, Johnson, Hussey and Siddle all come down with swine flu on Wednesday morning and they have to play the ressies! Well maybe not........
I've got tickets for the Friday at the Oval so I hope we're still involved in the series at that point, I think we will be.
[cite]Posted By: HandG[/cite]We've beat them once in 20 years and the two tests we won in 2005 were the two that McGrath missed! I hope that Ponting, Johnson, Hussey and Siddle all come down with swine flu on Wednesday morning and they have to play the ressies! Well maybe not........
I've got tickets for the Friday at the Oval so I hope we're still involved in the series at that point, I think we will be.
Yes, and then last time over here in Oz they had a fully fit squad and we did not have Vaughan, Trescothick, Jones (S) and Freddie was only 70% fit. That's the way it goes.
Love the banter / rivalry with the Aussies at cricket. Bit of bite, intense, but light hearted at the same time. Loved seeing Warne play, a supreme, world class pantomine villian, and Brett Lee is probably the last one out of that group of world class bowlers we love giving stick to (Warne, McGragh, Lee), but have the ultimate respect for.
I hope its a great series, i hope we win, but i also want to see them playing their best players and best characters.
I don't think Lee is anything like the bowler he was in 2005. Having him out isn't as massive a loss as some people seem to think. If it was Mitchell Johnson or Stuart Clark I'd get excited - Johnson single-handedly led the Aussies pace bowlers in their recent series against the Saffers, and Clark will take more wickets than any of them if he stays fit all series (b*stard reminds me so much of McGrath its not funny). I'd also agree with AFKA - I love watching Brett Lee - the ultimate competitor on the field, and the ultimate 'good bloke' off it - similar to Allan Donald.
I'm looking forward to it more than any cricket since 2005 - if we can get a good start (thank f*** the first test isn't at Lord's - stroke of genius, that) then I reckon we can win - but it will be tough. I don't fancy Bopara in at three, Cook is out of nick and Pietersen's ego is threatening to swallow his entire body. Annoyingly, this is arguably the weakest team they've brought over for twenty odd years, yet we'll probably still capitulate to them.
[cite]Posted By: AFKABartram[/cite]I'm i the only one gutted that Brett Lee is out ?
Love the banter / rivalry with the Aussies at cricket. Bit of bite, intense, but light hearted at the same time. Loved seeing Warne play, a supreme, world class pantomine villian, and Brett Lee is probably the last one out of that group of world class bowlers we love giving stick to (Warne, McGragh, Lee), but have the ultimate respect for.
I hope its a great series, i hope we win, but i also want to see them playing their best players and best characters.
Win at all costs, or all about the show ?
Win at all costs when you are an Englishman living down under!
The problem with Lee is that he is 32 years old and he really went for it against the Lions and bowled as fast as he has done for a very long time - at 32 years old and with very few games under his belt his body was not ready for that and he has injured himself.
The real issue now for Lee is that if/when he does try and come back for the 3rd Test then he will be very, very conscious that he could injure himself again if he really strains for that 93-95mph speed at which he becomes very hard to play - especially when he's swinging it in.
Believe me, the Aussies would love Flintoff and KP to be out injured, they would love nothing more than to beat us 5-0 again. They are not bothered about a "good contest" they just want to crush the opposition - I have seen it too many times.
The Aussie bowling is the key, if Johnson fires and swings it back into the right-handers (away from the lefties) then he is a really, really top bowler. He is quick and bowls a very nasty back of a length ball that has injured a few good batters already - most notably Graeme Smith.
Siddle is also a very decent bowler, very much in the Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes mould, he big, strong, aggressive and a subtle as a house brick but runs in hard all day hitting a length and giving little away.
If those two bowl well then England will have problems but if they can put those two bowlers under pressure then the series is theirs for the taking because the Aussies have not got much else going for them in the bowling.
good news for england that lee is missing. by all accounts the aussie bowling coach (ours in 2005) has got him reverse swinging ala simon jones, only he is doing it at 90mph+. a bit like getting a new ball after 45 overs.
i still think our middle order will be our downfall.
i can see the problem being the top 4 doing enough but can see a possibility that once the third wicket is down, being all out within a session and half.
hope i'm wrong.
Interesting to see some suit from the E(&W)CB on telly yesterday defending the Cardiff over Old Trafford decision, knocking back the suggestion that as we have a good record at OT we should be playing there to give us the best chance. He then joking said that was as absurd as not having a test at Lords, because we never win there.
Well, given the same circumstances in Australia, do you think they would spend a single second deciding where to stage tests if they had a great record at one venue, and a piss poor one at another...
AFKA....no you're not the only one gutted he's out....players like Lee make The Ashes a sacred contest. Injuries are part and parcel of the game but people who hope for them so that their own team has a better chance are misguided. They might as well take it to it's nth degree and hope that Australia have to put out a whole XI that no-one has heard of. It's infinitely better to play against the best and infinitely better to beat the best. Can you imagine genuine Aussie cricket fans/players (not the louts in the pub) wanting a home series without say a Botham out there to beat? No chance. Christ, all my Aussie mates were willing England to put out stronger teams when they kept rubbing us out in the 90's and beyond! And when we did, they absolutely loved that series four years ago. They hated losing (fair enough) but at last they had a contest to watch.....and those boys love a contest!
Heard on Sky Sports News this morning that Glenn McGrath is predicting a 5-0 win for the Aussies. How predictably ridiculous that man is. About as good a seam bowler as you'll have in the modern era but a total idiot off it. There's nothing wrong with being patriotic but predicting whitewashes everytime there's an Ashes series is simply ridiculous. Remember last time in England McGrath when we won 2-1 and you predicted a whitewash and claimed you'd go home by canoe if England won. What a berk he looked hauling his cases on the bus and the assembled press asking a sheepish looking McGrath if he's going home by canoe with him saying "No, not exactly". If looks could have killed!!!
As for Brett Lee, he's a superb player, their best bowler by far so for him to play gives our chances of winning the first Test a real boost. As for the banter I'm sure there'll be enough of that flying about with the other 11 Aussie players! As for their players having little or no Ashes experience, I'm not sure that's a disadvantage. You look at our squad back in 2005 - how many of our squad hadn't any Ashes experience? Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Flintoff, G Jones, Harmison and Collingwood. These players weren't carrying the mental bruises of Ashes beatings gone by and was a big head start for us in a psychological way.
Whatever happens I hope this series rivals the 2005 series in terms of drama and hopefully a similar result.
[cite]Posted By: Spankie[/cite]Heard on Sky Sports News this morning that Glenn McGrath is predicting a 5-0 win for the Aussies. How predictably ridiculous that man is. About as good a seam bowler as you'll have in the modern era but a total idiot off it. There's nothing wrong with being patriotic but predicting whitewashes everytime there's an Ashes series is simply ridiculous.
Anyone clued up what the black market prices in Cardiff are looking towards. Missed out in most of the ballots, I usually head up to the ground find a boozer to watch the morning session and then try and get one a bit cheaper later on in the day. Thinking about heading up to Cardiff on the Friday
Pigeon predicts 5-0 before every Ashes series - just his way of building up the excitement and why not!!
With KP and Flintoff seemingly fit I think it's a 50/50 call that could go either way so 15/8 England looks a nice bet as does 5/2 for the First Test so have had a bit of both.
Just predictable. Predicting 5-0 every single series is just stupid. Yes it was right last time but only once in recent living memory! Thing is I wouldn't know what to predict if I was forced to say....
[cite]Posted By: Spankie[/cite]Heard on Sky Sports News this morning that Glenn McGrath is predicting a 5-0 win for the Aussies. How predictably ridiculous that man is. About as good a seam bowler as you'll have in the modern era but a total idiot off it. There's nothing wrong with being patriotic but predicting whitewashes everytime there's an Ashes series is simply ridiculous.
He was right last time!!
The first white wash since 1920?!?!?! Wouldn't Ian Botham, David Gower or Michael Atherton look like a bell end if they predicted a 5-0 England win before every test? He might be trying to be patriotic and mix things up but comes across to me as slightly idiotic.
It seems that Shane Warne & Glenn McGrath are becoming cricket's equivalent of Pele in that the media feel it important to faithfully report their every prediction as though it going to happen and somehow everyone must take their every utterance seriously.
[cite]Posted By: Spankie[/cite]Heard on Sky Sports News this morning that Glenn McGrath is predicting a 5-0 win for the Aussies. How predictably ridiculous that man is. About as good a seam bowler as you'll have in the modern era but a total idiot off it. There's nothing wrong with being patriotic but predicting whitewashes everytime there's an Ashes series is simply ridiculous.
He was right last time!!
The first white wash since 1920?!?!?! Wouldn't Ian Botham, David Gower or Michael Atherton look like a bell end if they predicted a 5-0 England win before every test? He might be trying to be patriotic and mix things up but comes across to me as slightly idiotic.
Comments
I've had a bit at 120 on Betfair on 0-0 (really from a trading perspective should the first couple of Tests be drawn) with 1-1 (at 15) the main bet and a saver at 10 on 2-2.
just need flintoff to terrorise Phil Hughes with a few bouncers after Jimmy Anderson softens him up.
meant to be a turning wicket so expect monty and swann to play
I've got tickets for the Friday at the Oval so I hope we're still involved in the series at that point, I think we will be.
Yes, and then last time over here in Oz they had a fully fit squad and we did not have Vaughan, Trescothick, Jones (S) and Freddie was only 70% fit. That's the way it goes.
Love the banter / rivalry with the Aussies at cricket. Bit of bite, intense, but light hearted at the same time. Loved seeing Warne play, a supreme, world class pantomine villian, and Brett Lee is probably the last one out of that group of world class bowlers we love giving stick to (Warne, McGragh, Lee), but have the ultimate respect for.
I hope its a great series, i hope we win, but i also want to see them playing their best players and best characters.
Win at all costs, or all about the show ?
I'm looking forward to it more than any cricket since 2005 - if we can get a good start (thank f*** the first test isn't at Lord's - stroke of genius, that) then I reckon we can win - but it will be tough. I don't fancy Bopara in at three, Cook is out of nick and Pietersen's ego is threatening to swallow his entire body. Annoyingly, this is arguably the weakest team they've brought over for twenty odd years, yet we'll probably still capitulate to them.
Win at all costs when you are an Englishman living down under!
The problem with Lee is that he is 32 years old and he really went for it against the Lions and bowled as fast as he has done for a very long time - at 32 years old and with very few games under his belt his body was not ready for that and he has injured himself.
The real issue now for Lee is that if/when he does try and come back for the 3rd Test then he will be very, very conscious that he could injure himself again if he really strains for that 93-95mph speed at which he becomes very hard to play - especially when he's swinging it in.
Believe me, the Aussies would love Flintoff and KP to be out injured, they would love nothing more than to beat us 5-0 again. They are not bothered about a "good contest" they just want to crush the opposition - I have seen it too many times.
Not saying those players are week, but they have a number that are inexperienced in high profile pressure tests.
Siddle is also a very decent bowler, very much in the Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes mould, he big, strong, aggressive and a subtle as a house brick but runs in hard all day hitting a length and giving little away.
If those two bowl well then England will have problems but if they can put those two bowlers under pressure then the series is theirs for the taking because the Aussies have not got much else going for them in the bowling.
Really up for this series, I hope it dosen't disappoint.
i still think our middle order will be our downfall.
i can see the problem being the top 4 doing enough but can see a possibility that once the third wicket is down, being all out within a session and half.
hope i'm wrong.
Well, given the same circumstances in Australia, do you think they would spend a single second deciding where to stage tests if they had a great record at one venue, and a piss poor one at another...
As for Brett Lee, he's a superb player, their best bowler by far so for him to play gives our chances of winning the first Test a real boost. As for the banter I'm sure there'll be enough of that flying about with the other 11 Aussie players! As for their players having little or no Ashes experience, I'm not sure that's a disadvantage. You look at our squad back in 2005 - how many of our squad hadn't any Ashes experience? Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Flintoff, G Jones, Harmison and Collingwood. These players weren't carrying the mental bruises of Ashes beatings gone by and was a big head start for us in a psychological way.
Whatever happens I hope this series rivals the 2005 series in terms of drama and hopefully a similar result.
He was right last time!!
We would have also beaten them convincingly in the Old Trafford test (where McGrath did play) but for losing the best part of a day to rain.
........
Yeah, he averages over 40 with the ball in Tests in England. Now they might pick someone a bit more economical.
With KP and Flintoff seemingly fit I think it's a 50/50 call that could go either way so 15/8 England looks a nice bet as does 5/2 for the First Test so have had a bit of both.
...........
To be fair he was 100% right last time.
Head says draw, heart says England win...
The first white wash since 1920?!?!?! Wouldn't Ian Botham, David Gower or Michael Atherton look like a bell end if they predicted a 5-0 England win before every test? He might be trying to be patriotic and mix things up but comes across to me as slightly idiotic.
It's banter! Don't take if so seriously!