England V Australia 2015

The honeymoon is over after New South Wales and Western Australia comprehensively beat the West Indies
England should be a lot more competitive

The 2013 series was a 3-0 win for England
Mitchell Johnson was out injured for that series
On a previous tour Mitchell Johnson had a terrible tour , the Duke cricket balls might have been the main reason why
How will MJ perform this tour ?

The selectors will have problems selecting the fast bowling attack if they are all fit
Who will be selected for the first test ?
Johnson
Harris
Starc
Hazelwood

If they are all fit which batsman play?
Warner
Rogers
Smith
Clarke
Watson
Voges
Marsh

Warner/Smith/Clarke are certs
The other 3 ?

" Shane Watson would be the luckiest player to ever play for Australia if selected for the first ashes test"
By
Rodney Hogg

Shane Watson gives balance to this team
3 fast bowlers, Watto and Lyon gives Australia a versatile attack
If Harris plays , Watson might have to for insurance [and vice versa]
Watto, the limited overs superstar, needs to become a match winner in Test matches

BATTING
Might be  close if England can keep Steve Starmith quietish
If Smith dominates Australia should win comfortably
Will Clarke ever dominate again at this level , older and fitness ?
Captain Cook needs a a very very BIG series for his teams hopes
BOWLING
Starc Harris and Hazelwood should enjoy English bowling conditions
If MJ produces as well, England might struggle to make enough runs to win matches
Lyon is doing his bit as well
Keep Anderson and Broad out often enough , this mob may lack bowling depth

Assuming everyone is available my team is

Warner
Rogers
Smith
Clarke
Voges
M Marsh
Haddin
Johnston
Harris
Hazelwood
Lyon

33 bowling average
34 years old today
35 batting average

Happy birthday Shane Watson born 17/6/1981

The Australian squad

AHMED
CLARKE
HADDIN
HARRIS
HAZELWOOD
JOHNSON
LYON
M MARSH
S MARSH
NEVILL
ROGERS
SIDDLE
SMITH
STARC
VOGES
WARNER
WATSON

State representation
9 NS
4 WA
3 VI
1 QL
0 SA  [almost had a rep with Lyon/Harris ]
0 TA

The England squad

ALI
ANDERSON
BALLANCE
BELL
BROAD
BUTLER
COOK
FINN
FOOTITT
LYTH
PLUNKETT
ROOT
STOKES
WOOD

Jason Gillespie was overlooked for the English coaching job
Kevin Pietersen is still out in the outer
Jimmy Anderson wants no sledging between the 2 teams
Australia is due to win an Ashes series in England

Really looking forward to this series. Since 2005 the away series have been fantastic.

Some late nights coming up!

is it true that ''Dizzy'' called the Australian squad ''Dads Army''

You stupid boy!
Sorry Mr Mainwaring

Tour match
Kent V australia
Day 1

3/348 Australia
84 Rogers
114 S Marsh
56 Clarke
71* Smith
8* Watto

The Kent team might have to turn into supermen to win from here

Who will open with Warner in the first test ?
Rogers or Shaun Marsh
Im with Uncle Huey on that selection , I prefer the more reliable Rogers

Rogers has had an extensive county career and so is very familiar with the conditions (it was why he was picked for the last series from memory).

I'd go Rogers for sure.

I hope they keep Smith at first drop also.

CURRENT AUSTRALIAN TEST BATTING AVERAGES

167.00 VOGES
56.23 SMITH
50.66 CLARKE
46.82 WARNER
39.35 ROGERS
37.42 M MARSH
35.79 S MARSH
35.40 WATSON

CURRENT AUSTRALIAN TEST BOWLING AVERAGES

19.08 HAZELWOOD
23.52 HARRIS
27.58 JOHNSON
30.48 SIDDLE
32.20 STARC
33.05 WATSON
164.00 M MARSH

If Mitchell Marsh plays , so must Adam Voges
The Adam Voges batting average will cover the Mitchell Marsh bowling average !

ALLROUNDER
I would pick Watson for the allrounder, to start with
His useful batting and bowling gives the team ballance
If the team was rebuilding, Mitchell Marsh should play
The team is on a bit of a roll, so staying with Shane Watson makes sense

FAST BOWLING ATTACK
4 excellent bowlers Rhino Harris, MJ, Hazelwood, STARc, but 3 get picked, none of them deserve to miss out
The forgotten man Peter Siddle is maybe the best 5th fast bowler ever selected for a tour of England
Imagine the selection problems if James Pattinson and Pat Cummins get fit and bowl well

For mind both Voges and Rogers must play. Both have had years of experience in England, have 20,000 FC runs and average high 40's in English conditions. The only real question for me is the number 6 spot where two Marshes and Watson vie for selection. If they want a bit of bowling backup then Watson may get the nod, if they think the batting looks a bit thin they may go with S Marsh.

Squad looks strong and they've had a good preparation over the Windies.
There is depth if necessary and the Aussies look far more balanced than the opposition.

8/507 AUST
280 KENT
4/322 AUST
294 KENT

6/440 AUST
V ESSEX
Thats the score day one against Essex


WATSON V MITCH MARSH

WATTO
21 + did not bowl
81 + did not bowl
52

MARSH
30 + 1/35
101* + 1/28
136*

Shane Watson has not bowled as yet on tour
Maybe that could tell against him selected for the first test
Mitch averaging 267 with the bat at present
Watto only 51.33 with the bat at present !
Maybe both Mitch and Watto both playing in preference to Voges and Shaun Marsh for the first test ?

RYAN HARRIS
The great fast bowler is injured and will miss the first 2-3 tests
If STARc Hazelwood and Johnson all bowl well early in this series, that could unfortunately mean that the popular Rhino will never play Test cricket again

Would be a pity if Rhino bows out whilst injured.

I think he above all the others provides the bowling variety that is invaluable on an English soil Ashes tour.

Aussies are in the happy predicament of being spoiled for choice.

Ryan Harris has retired from all forms of cricket
Rhino has re-injured his  knee

Heres some interesting comments

No matter what level of cricket, he is the greatest competitor I have ever seen
BY CHRIS LYNN


Really sad to hear this, great competitor and from the beers Ive shared with him a top top bloke
BY STUART BROAD


Genuinely gutted to hear that.
Hes a top bloke.
Always was tough to face
Wish him all the best
BY IAN BELL


Well done on a fantastic career.
You will be missed
Facing your around the wicket bumpers will not
BY KANE RICHARDSON


One of the best fast bowlers Ive seen play Test cricket for Australia
BY SCRAPPY


TEST BOWLING
113 WICKETS
23.52 AVERAGE
50.76 STRIKE RATE
2.78 ECONOMY

When you consider how often he might have played injured/unfit that is quite an outstanding Test career
That is a sensational strike rate
He is one of the most lethal new ball bowlers in the history of the game
As for South Australia, he is the one that got away

The selectors now dont have to make a decision of the attack for the first test
Must surely be Johnson, STARc, Hazelwood
The door is slightly open for Peter Siddle on this tour to play Test cricket

Pat Cummins will be the replacement player for Ryan Harris
I wonder how pissed James Faulkner is on not being the replacement

last line, very clever/funny Scrappy

Stumps day 2
First Test
Cardiff

430 England
134 Root
5/114 STARc

5/264 Australia
95 Rogers
29* Watson
6* Lyon

Looks like England is the box seat
Were 3/43
Should have been 4/43, Haddin dropped Root when he was on 0

Are some of the experienced players on the decline ?
I have singled out 4 of them
Johnson
Clarke
Watson
Haddin

Will these 4 ever get back to their best form in Test Cricket on a consistent basis ?


Johnson 0/111[25]
Struggles a fair bit in England

Clarke 38 [82]
Ever since Morkel hurt him  in 2014, when he made 161 * he has struggled for consistent good batting form

Watson 0/24 [8] + 29*
As an opening batsman he averaged close to 50 with the bat, and was a handy wicket taking bowler
But he has not done much the last 2 years when he has been down the batting order

Haddin
His keeping has always been sus
His recent batting has been below par, his batting is his strength to be selected

I think MJ will improve when he gets on decent bowling decks
But on low bouncing decks Im not sure
Maybe Clarke might come good, if his hamstrings are now sound
Haddin , low bouncing pitches might help him with his batting
As for Watto ?


Im hoping Im wrong and these 4 guys perform for the rest of this series

Do these guys do their homework or what?

How many times does Watson have to get out playing across the line to straight balls before the penny drops? And the ball is keeping low. Lyon too.
Is there some strange phenomena about English conditions that I'm missing?

Reckon it is time to cut Watto loose and give M March a crack.
He ain't shown much for so long now. Enough.

so who does Watson play for

blacky wrote:so who does Watson play for

same place the rest of them go to when dropped

Aussies' collapsing like a pack of cards, just after lunch Australia 5/106 having lost 4/9 in 6 overs, the target is 412.....obviously no hope from that position

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:Do these guys do their homework or what?

How many times does Watson have to get out playing across the line to straight balls before the penny drops? And the ball is keeping low. Lyon too.
Is there some strange phenomena about English conditions that I'm missing?

Reckon it is time to cut Watto loose and give M March a crack.
He ain't shown much for so long now. Enough.

Your a freak Chambo
Watson out LBW Wood 19 second innings

When you play like he does, it is odds on it will happen regularly.
I cannot mount a case for his inclusion in the next test.

The Aussies in general looked mostly out of sorts when batting.

Too many pokes outside off stump.
Too much playing across the line.
No adjustment in batting to suit the conditions.

The only defence for Watto is by covering his stumps he eliminates getting Bowled !
He needs his coach, his mates, his girlfriend, Chambo or a 5 year kid to tell him this
Shane you are never going to be a match winner in Test cricket the way you are playing
Go out and pretend its a 50 over game, play your shots, put the pressure back on the bowlers

430 ENGLAND
308 AUSTRALIA
289 ENGLAND
242 AUSTRALIA

Rogers 95 +10
Lyon 2/60 + 4/75
STARc 5/114 + 2/60
Hazelwood 3/83 + 2/49

Those 4 made good contributions
the rest were below par

Johnson was interesting
1ST INNINGS 0/111 +14
2ND INNINGS 2/69 + 77
Might be running into form
He can still be a match winner

IF Warner Smith bat well and Johnson produces , Australia can still win matches
We only need a drawn series to retain the Ashes