Siddle is not only Australia's best bowler by a fair distance but their best cricketer other than Clarke at the moment. Those two are carrying the whole side at the moment. I really like Siddle - he has a wonderful energy on the field of play. Looking forward to seeing him bowl in tandem with whichever young paceman is fit. Actually, NSW have unearthed a 19 year-old, Sandhu, of Indian descent, whose figures so far are absolute crackerjack - he may be fast-tracked, who knows (SA's Chadd Sayers is leading the wickets tally in the Shield - hitherto unheralded - and I'm amazed Luke Butterworth hasn't been given a go yet)
Casson, mentioned above, retired due to a heart complaint, sadly. Agar looks like the best of the up-and-coming bunch, along with Turner (both, amusingly enough, with the first name Ashton)
As an expat who has lived out here for a while now, I would caution against too much cockiness directed towards the Ashes.
As others have pointed out on here IF they can get them all fit at the same time, then the Aussies have arguably a better pace attack than England's.
Certainly Pattinson is a fine quick bowler and will improve with experience, Starc is a little raw but doubtless is a fine cricketer and Siddle is a high quality old fashioned stock bowler who will give away very little.
Also look out for Jackson Bird who played a couple of tests this summer, and has (prematurely), been compared to the great Glen McGrath, and they do have similar qualities.
Whilst the batting is fragile, the Aussies do have a habbitt of pulling a few rabbits from the hat and young Jacob Burns from QLD is a VERY good young batsmen, who scored heavily against the Lions this summer.
Elsewhere in the batting Clarke is obviously the main man, but if Watson can pull his head in, then he will still be a decent player in England and there is also talk of Hussey coming out of retirement, which would be an unbelievable boost for them as he is still a very, very good player.
I can understand England being favourites etc, but don't be fooled by what is going on in India in the last couple of weeks as we have all seen English teams struggle badly in the sub-continent in recent times, and then bounced back pretty quickly in more familiar conditions.
Like many older posters on here I can remember the 1989 Aussies turning up as a laughing stock, and then giving us a truly fearful hiding!
Do 'em 5-0, then get Mike Brearley out of retirement to say "with the crowded schedule, we ought to cut them to three tests as they no longer provide an adequate challenge."
Australia may have some promising young quick bowlers, but they are horribly injury prone. Their batting does look very fragile though, I can't see Hussey coming back, after the leaving drinks incident, and Clarke's back could let him down...
Siddle is not only Australia's best bowler by a fair distance but their best cricketer other than Clarke at the moment. Those two are carrying the whole side at the moment. I really like Siddle - he has a wonderful energy on the field of play. Looking forward to seeing him bowl in tandem with whichever young paceman is fit. Actually, NSW have unearthed a 19 year-old, Sandhu, of Indian descent, whose figures so far are absolute crackerjack - he may be fast-tracked, who knows (SA's Chadd Sayers is leading the wickets tally in the Shield - hitherto unheralded - and I'm amazed Luke Butterworth hasn't been given a go yet)
Casson, mentioned above, retired due to a heart complaint, sadly. Agar looks like the best of the up-and-coming bunch, along with Turner (both, amusingly enough, with the first name Ashton)
Siddle's a good steady bowler, but he isnt their best. In terms of ability, Starc,Cummins and Pattinson are streets ahead, with Starc showing recently that he has a talent for batting too- far more than Siddle or the others.
Interesting comment about average over 30 not being very good for bowlers:
Swann ave 29.13 Finn 29.94 Anderson 30.46 Broad 31.45 Panesar 33.31
Good point. Have a look at this graph though for Jimmy Anderson: http://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/graph/435385-Test-16.php Its a bit out of date, but for the last few years he has averaged in the low 20s, and the career average doesn't quite tell the tale in terms of form (not just short term form, but over a season or two)
Interesting comment about average over 30 not being very good for bowlers:
Swann ave 29.13 Finn 29.94 Anderson 30.46 Broad 31.45 Panesar 33.31
Good point. Have a look at this graph though for Jimmy Anderson: http://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/graph/435385-Test-16.php Its a bit out of date, but for the last few years he has averaged in the low 20s, and the career average doesn't quite tell the tale in terms of form (not just short term form, but over a season or two)
Comments
Swann ave 29.13
Finn 29.94
Anderson 30.46
Broad 31.45
Panesar 33.31
i think we were talking abour Fawad who has a FIRST CLASS average of 32.
Casson, mentioned above, retired due to a heart complaint, sadly. Agar looks like the best of the up-and-coming bunch, along with Turner (both, amusingly enough, with the first name Ashton)
As others have pointed out on here IF they can get them all fit at the same time, then the Aussies have arguably a better pace attack than England's.
Certainly Pattinson is a fine quick bowler and will improve with experience, Starc is a little raw but doubtless is a fine cricketer and Siddle is a high quality old fashioned stock bowler who will give away very little.
Also look out for Jackson Bird who played a couple of tests this summer, and has (prematurely), been compared to the great Glen McGrath, and they do have similar qualities.
Whilst the batting is fragile, the Aussies do have a habbitt of pulling a few rabbits from the hat and young Jacob Burns from QLD is a VERY good young batsmen, who scored heavily against the Lions this summer.
Elsewhere in the batting Clarke is obviously the main man, but if Watson can pull his head in, then he will still be a decent player in England and there is also talk of Hussey coming out of retirement, which would be an unbelievable boost for them as he is still a very, very good player.
I can understand England being favourites etc, but don't be fooled by what is going on in India in the last couple of weeks as we have all seen English teams struggle badly in the sub-continent in recent times, and then bounced back pretty quickly in more familiar conditions.
Like many older posters on here I can remember the 1989 Aussies turning up as a laughing stock, and then giving us a truly fearful hiding!
Should go down well on the Hill......