Ashes selection: Pace Bowlers.

[alfie]

Obviously TRJ will be in now. So Ball comes out of my provisional list.

Remain uncertain about Wood but I think they will take him if they can...

[Arthur Crabtree]

Plunkett seems to feel less likely, though always an outsider. Got a feeling a youngster might go, like Helm, Overton or Tom Curran.

[Arthur Crabtree]

So I've dropped Plunkett for Anderson. Not because I think Jimmy the Saint will excel, but just because I'm feeling more realistic. I've stuck with Wood for now, but might go for Plunkett.

[Durhamfootman]

I think they'll take Wood. Plunkett will go over for the ODI's

[Durhamfootman]

besides.... where are the lions touring this winter... somewhere close?

[Alviro Patterson]

Jimmy Anderson
Stuart Broad
Chris Woakes
Tom Curran
Jack Brooks

Revising my 5th option

Liam Plunkett in for Jack Brooks, reckon Pudsey could do a Tremlett.

[Arthur Crabtree]

besides.... where are the lions touring this winter... somewhere close?

Australia.

[Durhamfootman]

well there you go... same as taking a 32 man squad.

Fill it full of any old rubbish............. except Borthwick of course, who will have to find a grade side to bring him down under

[alfie]

well there you go... same as taking a 32 man squad.

Fill it full of any old rubbish............. except Borthwick of course, who will have to find a grade side to bring him down under

Not one to hold a grudge are you , Footman ?

[Slipstream]

Roland-Jones will be going. Have a feeling that he will be more effective than Woakes in Australia.

Have they a plan for certain bowlers for certain grounds? I think the less you change the bowling the better. Bond is going to be the bowling coach for the first 3 Tests.

I think Stokes is going to be the leading wicket taker (and run scorer).

[Durhamfootman]

well there you go... same as taking a 32 man squad.

Fill it full of any old rubbish............. except Borthwick of course, who will have to find a grade side to bring him down under

Not one to hold a grudge are you , Footman ?

no, not me

Stonemercenary was bad enough.... shocking the way he jumped ship, because if he was ever going to get a test berth, he was going to get it regardless of where he played... particularly since his selection was the result of England trying every other possibility first, but he also cited being reunited with his cricketing hero, DiVenuto, as being the other major factor in his move, which I would understand, if he'd took a pay cut to achieve it.

Borthwick just *modded* off

there was no way he was going to enhance anything career-wise, because he was always going to be competing with Sangakkara for the no.3 slot, and always going to be completely overshadowed by him. He was also likely to be competing with Ansari as a top order second spin option and he just got plain old lucky there, otherwise he'd have been dropped much earlier in the season than he was, so he basically went down the less game time but more money route favoured by English football players. If he'd come and said he was going for financial security, I wouldn't have liked it, but would have understood it, but he came out with all this England career shite to justify it... almost as if he thought we were *modded* idiots

Rumours are now, that he would come back, if given the chance..... well he can ssip off for me.... we have a new number 3 who has impressed this season, despite being thrown in at the deep end. At the very least, Borthwick would need to walk out to bat at the Riverside in sack cloth and a hair shirt, with "I'm sorry" printed on the back of it, to even begin the process of healing the rift between him and the supporters. Big Ponce!

In his absence, we have also further developed a number 4, with another in reserve who we thought we going to be big this year, but had a few injury set backs. The way the club has developed since he scarpered with full trouser pockets, he'd have to turn himself into an opener, or work really hard on his bowling to become good enough to bat at 8, in order to get back into the side.... so I actually think he'd have to go to somewhere like Leicester or Derby

or Glamorgan

how the mighty fall

serves him right

[Durhamfootman]

And just so you don't think that Stonemercenary has gotten away with it..... I wish him no joy at all of playing for England

if he goes to Australia as Cooks opening partner (which he might, particularly now that he's scoring big runs on pitches that produce 1300 runs in 3 days with 5 centurions) I hope he gets so worked over by Starc et al, that it scars him mentally and diminishes him as a player for the rest of his career.

what really annoys me about his call up, is that he will think he made the right decision to stick 2 fingers up at the club that developed him, nurtured him, and turned him into a player god enough to get an England call up. He won't notice that England tried 11 other openers before, in desperation, they turned to him, and he'll somehow convince himself that they wouldn't have called him up if he'd shown the loyalty that the club deserved for sticking with him, through thick and thin.... and there was a lot of thin in his early years.

[Durhamfootman]

so no...

no grudges at all

[Arthur Crabtree]

Roland-Jones will be going. Have a feeling that he will be more effective than Woakes in Australia.

Have they a plan for certain bowlers for certain grounds? I think the less you change the bowling the better. Bond is going to be the bowling coach for the first 3 Tests.

I think Stokes is going to be the leading wicket taker (and run scorer).

Given it's in Australia, it might be that they'll be looking for the new Chris Tremlett. As they may have been when picking Boyd Rankin.

Surely Joe Root will be top run scorer.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I usually think sportspeople should chamge clubs with the same that any employee feels in changing job. Athletes tend to be less honest in their motivations, but then their decision comes under a different kind of scrutiny.