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Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 3:35 pm
by Alviro Patterson
braveneutral wrote:Everyone knows Ballance is better than Smith.


:thumb

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 7:44 pm
by Durhamfootman
It seems to me, looking towards this summer, that the reason why most people expect (I presume) a big Aussie win has less to do with the Aussie line up and more with the England one.

The make up of the Aussie team will be not wildly dissimilar to the one that England beat 3-0 a couple of years ago (Johno is the big difference, of course). However the make up of the England team will be very different, thanks to an untimely health issue, a hugely selfish retirement, a ludicrous sideshow, and a whole collection of dreadful selection, coaching and management balls ups.

If England get another kicking this summer, and they may not, but if they do, it will be largely self inflicted, and the biggest praise awarded to the aussies will not be their own vast improvement from 2 years ago, but the sensible way they avoided intruding on private grief.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:02 pm
by Alviro Patterson
Durhamfootman wrote:It seems to me, looking towards this summer, that the reason why most people expect (I presume) a big Aussie win has less to do with the Aussie line up and more with the England one.

The make up of the Aussie team will be not wildly dissimilar to the one that England beat 3-0 a couple of years ago (Johno is the big difference, of course). However the make up of the England team will be very different, thanks to an untimely health issue, a hugely selfish retirement, a ludicrous sideshow, and a whole collection of dreadful selection, coaching and management balls ups.

If England get another kicking this summer, and they may not, but if they do, it will be largely self inflicted, and the biggest praise awarded to the aussies will not be their own vast improvement from 2 years ago, but the sensible way they avoided intruding on private grief.


England are not the only team to suffer from internal difficulties, Australia not long ago had player and coaching issues and came to England in the 2013 Ashes far from good shape.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:19 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
The ECB appear to have been quite adept a preparing tracks that give the home team a bit of an edge. Though it's hard to guess what these tracks might be this summer. England don't have a specialist spinner they deem good enough to get in the side. The Aussie quicks are formidable. But after the recent whitewash, and the inability of the England batters to deal with the hostility of Johnson, I suspect priority one will be to prep tracks that have no pace. Surely seaming tracks will fall into the range of Harris and Hazlewood. So I think we'll get slow flat tracks that last five days, and some attritional cricket. But then, England don't have that bowling dry knack anymore.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 3:41 am
by from_the_stands
braveneutral wrote:Everyone knows Ballance is better than Smith.

You forgot to ad; end of.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:07 am
by braveneutral
from_the_stands wrote:
braveneutral wrote:Everyone knows Ballance is better than Smith.

You forgot to ad; end of.

Indeed. There is no debate obviously!

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:22 am
by Durhamfootman
Arthur Crabtree wrote:I suspect priority one will be to prep tracks that have no pace.

I completely agree with that

Arthur Crabtree wrote: Surely seaming tracks will fall into the range of Harris and Hazlewood. So I think we'll get slow flat tracks that last five days, and some attritional cricket. But then, England don't have that bowling dry knack anymore.

don't agree with this, though. If there is no sideways movement either in the air or off the pitch, then England have nothing left, so I think we'll get the usual variety of the usual pitches from the usual venues, and see what happens. After all what is the point of bringing a new man in, if the decisions on pitches have already been made?

and actually there is a bit of a vibe beginning to emerge from the pit of despair......... even Cook is feeling it, so it must be pretty obviously there or Cook wouldn't have realised and wouldn't have started to score a few runs.

I'm not as 'doom and gloom' as I was about the summer. (poor, misguided simpleton, that I am)

although I do think that Ballance will not survive the series. the only questions for me are at what point he gets dropped and whether Rashid will come in as specialist spinner to replace him, with everyone else moving up one in the batting order.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 1:57 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
There's a feeling around the England team and press that Anderson is the reverse swinging Wasim Akram of our times (no exaggeration, he's been described in those terms in the press). So that's what they may rely on. Even though (in my opinion) Johnson is a better reverser.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 2:55 pm
by Durhamfootman
Woody reverses the ball, btw.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 3:03 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
And Mitch2.

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:36 pm
by Durhamfootman
Mitch2 will be a much bigger threat than Mitch1, given that he can manage longer than 3 over spells. Just got to see him off. Besides he'll pull a hammy midway through the first innings of the first test, and England won't have to worry about him after that. They'll spank the tash. He'll take wickets, of course, bound to, but he'll also get carted around the park.

you heard it here first

England will be fine!

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:37 pm
by Durhamfootman
(once they replace their number 3, of course)

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:09 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
Nathan Lyon has a mystery ball. Apparently...

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:10 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
Don't tell them Pike!

Re: Counting down to the Ashes series in 2015

PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:10 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
Quotes from Dads Army are doubly appropriate regarding the Aussie team...