Cricket X

[Hereward]

He's still touching opn the borders of dissent, but he probably has toned it down a bit. I like Broad, he has some fire in his belly. Shame he doesn't have the extra 7mph to complement a fast bowler's attitude with actually being a fast bowler.

That's what really worries me about England in advance of the Ashes. We got a thumping last time with two 90mph+ bowlers*. Now we have none, and none on the horizon either. I fear for our chances of getting 20 wickets when it doesn't swing.

*Admittedly, Harmison didn't really count as one abroad.

[Jeor]

That's what really worries me about England in advance of the Ashes. We got a thumping last time with two 90mph+ bowlers*. Now we have none, and none on the horizon either. I fear for our chances of getting 20 wickets when it doesn't swing.

It's not all bad, H. The Aussie batting lineup is weaker (Ponting in decline, and I bet one of the older batsmen like Hussey or Katich will have a bad Ashes series) so that'll make the English bowlers look a bit better.

[Hereward]

It might, but will it be enough? Anderson's record outside England is poor. He averages something like 42. Broad gets good bounce and some seam movement, but he tends to bowl too short and his speed is only 85-90mph. Finn is too like Broad and very inexperienced, plus he's slower. Swann is a good bowler, but hasn't played as well against the Aussies as other teams.

If Cook and Pietersen can find their form, we should score decent totals, but I still can't see us overly troubling what is, I admit, the weakest Aussie batting line-up I've seen since the mid 80s.

[Paxter]

I share a lot of Hereward's doubts regarding England's chances for the next Ashes. Australia are in a period of definite decline following the retirements of Warne/McGrath/Gilchrist et. al. and also the onset of more volatile form from stalwarts like Hussey and Ponting. But the fact remains that both Broad and Anderson have very modest records away from home and Finn is young and inexperienced. The back-up bowling (Bresnan, Sidebottom, Mahmood, Tremlett) is pretty unconvincing as well. Swann is the stand-out bowler in the team (maybe even the best test spinner in the world right now), but it remains to be seen whether he can replicate his performances on Australian pitches. Compare that attack against an Australian batting line-up which includes several players who average over 50 on home soil, and things aren't looking too promising for England.

The toss will probably play a vital role in this Ashes - England's best chance will be if they can win the toss on good batting pitches, pile on the runs against an errant Johnson and co. and then hope that Swann can take wickets in the second and fourth innings. If Australia bat first, I don't see England running through Australia like Pakistan did recently.

Off-topic: outstanding recovery from NZ against India today. They were in all sorts of trouble at 3-28, but then Taylor and the evergreen Styris combined in a 190-run partnership to pull the Black Caps out of the abyss. I think the Kiwis made a mistake though in slotting Kane Williamson straight into the number 4 position on debut. He is the most highly regarded young batsman in NZ cricket and probably has a long career ahead of him, but he's not ready for top 4 just yet.

[ljkeane]

I'm not entirely convinced they're going to win the series but to be fair I think the bowling will be stronger than in 2006. In 2006 Harmison imploded and was a liability, Flintoff was carrying an injury, Hoggard had the same issues as Anderson and Giles was limited and coming off an injury. In comparison Swann is massively better than Giles, I'd take Broad over 2006 vintage Harmison and I'd say Anderson is the better bowler than Hoggard. Even Finn has been picked specifically because he bowls in a manner suited to Australian conditions.

[williamjm]

I'm not entirely convinced they're going to win the series but to be fair I think the bowling will be stronger than in 2006. In 2006 Harmison imploded and was a liability, Flintoff was carrying an injury, Hoggard had the same issues as Anderson and Giles was limited and coming off an injury. In comparison Swann is massively better than Giles, I'd take Broad over 2006 vintage Harmison and I'd say Anderson is the better bowler than Hoggard. Even Finn has been picked specifically because he bowls in a manner suited to Australian conditions.

I'd generally agree, although I'm not sure about the Anderson/Hoggard comparison when talking about Australian conditions. On the last Ashes tour Hoggard was the best English bowler (not admittedly hard) averaging 37 whereas Anderson averaged an abysmal 82, even worse than Harmison.

I'm still a bit concerned about their ability to bowl Australia out cheaply in Australia, but I reckon the current bowling line-up is significantly better than the last time.

The back-up bowling (Bresnan, Sidebottom, Mahmood, Tremlett) is pretty unconvincing as well.

I do think Tremlett has been a bit unlucky to have only played a single Test series, since he did bowl pretty well against a strong Indian batting line-up back then. Out of the four you mention he'd probably be the best suited to Australian pitches as well. Conditions won't suit Sidebottom and I can't see Bresnan or Mahmood taking Australian wickets in any conditions. Shazhad is probably more likely to play than any of those four, I think he's got plenty of promise although he's a bit too inexperienced at the moment.

[Jeor]

And so the Ashes speculation begins!

I'm glad Hereward agrees with my assessment of the Aussie batting lineup being weak. Statistically their numbers are good, but I feel that a number of the batsmen in the lineup are on the wrong career trajectory. To illustrate, Ponting and Hussey have great career averages of 50+ but those are from numbers accumulated years ago; in practical terms they are now average players in the 35-40 range.

Ponting has already visibly declined at 35 years old; Katich and Hussey will both be 35 by the time the series starts. Katich has had some good years and is in great touch but I can't help but feel a nasty turn is around the corner soon; and Hussey's been inconsistent over the last couple of years. Add to that the fact that Marcus North is in a form slump (and if he isn't picked, they'll get some debutant) and Haddin will be coming back from injury (assuming he gets in ahead of Paine), and you basically only have Michael Clarke and Shane Watson in the right place.

In summary, out of numbers 1-7 in the batting lineup you have 50% of the frontline batsmen over 35 years old, a number 6 who is completely out of touch and a number 7 coming back from a long layoff/injury. It isn't the strongest batting lineup going around, and will be one of the weaker lineups we've fielded in recent times.

I think the big dangerman to exploit this is Swann...Australians still don't play spin all that well.

[Hereward]

I do think Tremlett has been a bit unlucky to have only played a single Test series, since he did bowl pretty well against a strong Indian batting line-up back then. Out of the four you mention he'd probably be the best suited to Australian pitches as well.

Tremlett has ability, but he seems far too nice to be a fast bowler!

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

Typical English, worrying about the Ashes when they still have two tests against the MIGHTY PAKISTAN to play.

[IheartTesla]

I don't think Gavaskar's comments have much merit TBH - the ICC/Match Referees just tend to be too soft on player behaviour across the board. If Steyn isn't getting banned for spitting at a player or Johnson for initiating physical contact, then there is no hope of seeing Broad getting pulled up for a throwing a tantrum.

The merits of Gavaskar's comments aside, there were a few rumblings in the past years about Asian players being penalized for stuff that players other nations got away with. I dont have much to add to the debate, but to quote Andrew Miller of Cricinfo, Broad had sailed close to the wind without being penalized once until now. Hopefully the rumbling will calm down some with more rulings like these.

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

I have a Pakistani cricket friend, and he felt Broad should at least have been given a match-ban, so I'm not sure it will.

[Paxter]

NZ in a spot of bother once again but there's no Taylor to bail them out this time. They'll need serious runs from Styris to have any chance. Again Williamson fell for a duck - crazy idea to persist with such a young player in the vital number 4 position.

ETA: 50-over cricket is finally dead in Australia. The domestic one-day comp will now be a 45-over-a-side affair, with each match split into four blocks (2 of 20 overs and 2 of 25 overs) and a maximum of 12 overs a bowler instead of the usual 10. It'll be interesting to see how it works when the season gets under way, but at this stage I am ready for a change after watching many dull domestic 50-over games in recent seasons.

[ljkeane]

T20 finals day has been good so far. Notts' bowling isn't bad with arguably the three best bowlers at the T20 World Cup in Swann, Broad and Nannes plus Patel and Sidebottom but Trescothick and Buttler really put them to the sword and Somerset look well placed. It's good to watch Trescothick batting again and it took some great bowling and wicketkeeping from Swann and Read to get him out.

[Paxter]

T20 finals day has been good so far. Notts' bowling isn't bad with arguably the three best bowlers at the T20 World Cup in Swann, Broad and Nannes plus Patel and Sidebottom but Trescothick and Buttler really put them to the sword and Somerset look well placed. It's good to watch Trescothick batting again and it took some great bowling and wicketkeeping from Swann and Read to get him out.

Yeah, pretty exciting game that one. Hussey and Patel had Notts in front on the D/L method, but then Pollard took a great catch to turn the tide and Somerset ended up with the win.

[Paxter]

This is a shame. Nothing going right for Pakistan really, although Yousuf's innings in the rain-curtailed practice game was encouraging.

[williamjm]

This is a shame. Nothing going right for Pakistan really, although Yousuf's innings in the rain-curtailed practice game was encouraging.

It is definitely a case of anything that can go wrong will go wrong for them at the moment. Losing almost the entire warm-up game to rain was unfortunate as well, considering how badly their batsmen need the practice.

[Zoë Sumra]

Nothing going right for Pakistan really

Getting England to 40-3 after an hour and a quarter might help them... :wideeyed:

[Jeor]

Getting England to 40-3 after an hour and a quarter might help them... :wideeyed:

Make that 4/47. Great stuff from Pakistan - one just hopes that their batting can do it, assuming that their bowling this innings continues in the same vein. Their fantastic bowling performances have been in vain all series, hopefully they can make one count.

Real pity about Haider. The problem is the selectors seem to really like Kamran Akmal so it might be hard for him to get back in the team again if Akmal scores at some point in this series. I hope for one that Haider gets back into international cricket soon.

I notice Shoaib Malik has been dropped (along with some of the other batsmen). I'm guessing this must have something to do with Yousuf's inclusion. The two of them don't seem to get along...

[ljkeane]

England 233 all out then. That's still a very bad score on this pitch but not quite the unmitigated disaster it was shaping up to be before Prior and Broad put together a very useful partnership. Excellent performance from Prior again and I'm sure Broad will be pleased he's found a bit of form with the bat, other than not much to shout about and I think Cook is running out of chances.

From a Pakistani point of view they'll be very pleased with Riaz and the fielding. Hopefully Yousef and Hameed can improve the batting.

[Daeric]

I think it as Alex Stewart said at the previous test, you pick him for the Oval one of the most batsmen friendly pitches in England and if he fails there you drop him. Cookes run out of chances I think.