the Ashes' 2017

i think being played in Australia will (obviously) suit us, however i think England are the better team, England have more players capable of punching a knockout blow than we do

i'll tip an Australian 3-2 result

I think England's batting line-up is as bad as I've seen.

The Australian lineup is as brittle as any going around

Australia likely to make a plethora of runs in this series

Flintoff talking up England's chances. He reckons Anderson will cut a swathe through the Aussie batting.

Can't see it myself. He wasn't that impressive last tour and he's 4 years older. If we have a long hot summer Anderson becomes a fast- medium pacer that doesn't do much if he cant get the ball to swing.

The gabba and Adelaide night test are the only games I reckon he'll make the ball swing.

England will lose the Ashes without Ben Stokes by Ian Chappell

With Ben Stokes in the team, England have a realistic chance of retaining the Ashes. If he is missing through suspension following his late-night altercation in Bristol, then there's more chance of the Brexit decision being reversed than of England clinging to the urn.

That's the dilemma facing the England hierarchy. If Stokes is convicted, they will have little choice but to seal his fate. The ECB will then be taking a decision it knows will almost certainly sentence the team to defeat. Nevertheless Stokes is innocent until proven guilty, so let's proceed with a breakdown of the two teams on the basis that he'll be in Australia, receiving endless taunts both on and off the field.

It's not only Stokes' skill with bat, ball and in the field that makes a difference to England but also his competitive aura. His match-winning capabilities drag his team-mates along with him, and because he's not overawed by an opponent, it helps to boost any England player who feels overmatched in Australia. He is a serious difference-maker.

England's batting, particularly the top order, has been an ongoing problem for some time. This has come about partly through misguided selection, which has, in turn, led to a badly balanced batting order.

A contributing factor to the jumbled order is Joe Root's reluctance to bat at three. England could have got away with Root at No. 4 if opener Haseeb Hameed hadn't been injured, since Mark Stoneman could have adequately filled the No. 3 spot. Now it looks like the trouble spot will be handled by James Vince. Vince is a good-looking player, but as I was eloquently advised as a youngster: If Vince can turn aesthetics into accumulation, then England's line-up will be greatly enhanced.

Root should then be followed by Bairstow, Stokes and Ali, leaving room for an extra bowler or the inclusion of specialist wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.

If Australia's quicks can remain quick through the Ashes, it will be difficult for England to retain the urn

Australia have similar problems with their batting in that they are heavily reliant on two players - David Warner and Steven Smith. However, the support line-up is more settled than England's, provided Usman Khawaja continues to deliver success at home from the No. 3 spot.
The pace bowling on both sides is strong but Australia possess more speed. Wisely harnessed, this is a great asset in Australia, as Mitchell Johnson amply displayed during England's last visit down under. If Australia's four leading proponents of pace, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, can remain fit and in form for the duration of the series, they will defeat England with or without Stokes.

The spin bowling advantage lies with Australia, as Nathan Lyon is a superior offspin exponent to Ali, but both will complement the pace attack rather than play a dominant role.

England's other area of concern is their fielding. They spilt a lot of catches during their home summer and similar mistakes are more likely to be severely punished on Australia's batting friendly surfaces. Here again Stokes' absence will be a big setback, especially fielding at slip to Ali.

The upcoming Ashes series has the potential to be just what Test cricket desperately needs: a highly competitive and hard-fought contest. However, it will be severely diminished if Stokes is absent, meaning that Australia could virtually wrap up the series before a ball is even bowled, following a blow delivered by one of their fiercest opponents.

It would be nice to see an aggressively fought series.But then most Ashes are.

What I would like to see;
- a centurion in each innings scored at a decent clip
- some good pacy swing bowling from both sides
- aggressive field settings with some good tactical captaincy
- all tests going into a fifth day with a result (maybe a bit fanciful) but 3 day tests aren't great spectacles.
- And just quietly the Aussies winning but with at least 1 test going to England. Keeps things real....and interesting.

Head to Head
341 Matches
140 Australia
108 England
93 Draws

At the end of this series I predict
346 Matches
144 Australia
109 England
93 draws

What would I like to see :
- An Australian allrounder batting at 6 , to perform well
- Usman Khawaja to be selected , he averages 62 batting in Australia
- Pitches that provide a fair contest , too many flat pitches in recent years

Speaking of which, where has the quality allrounder gone?
Australia hasn't had a dominant one in quite a while.
Struggling to think of the last one.

LBWatson had a couple of quick purple patches, but I doubt will go down in folklore as one of the best.

M Marsh has done nothing from more than a few attempts.

It is almost as if there is a reluctance to promote the development of players succeeding with both bat and ball.

At best we have had a few batters who bowl a bit, or a few bowlers who bat a bit.

Time for a swing back to allrounders!

I disagree with the fascination to play an all-rounder. Unless they can hold down a spot as either a batsman or bowler then they should not be chosen. You just end up with someone who can't quite bowl well enough and gets few overs and also can't quite bat well enough so we end up with a tail starting at 6.
I think we should play a specialist batsman at 6. Our bowling is good enough to skittle the poms, it our batting that is suspect.

Picking M Marsh, Maxwell, Cartwright, Faulkner etc is a waste of a spot.

confusion
noun

1.
uncertainty about what is happening, intended, or required.
"there seems to be some confusion about which player does what"
synonyms: uncertainty, lack of certainty, unsureness, indecision, hesitation, hesitancy, scepticism, doubt, ignorance; More
2.
the state of being bewildered or unclear in one's mind about something.
"they looked at each other in confusion"
synonyms: bewilderment, bafflement, perplexity, puzzlement, mystification, stupefaction, disorientation, befuddlement, muddle;
3.
Australian Cricket Selectors

Ken Barrington
Ian Botham
Herbert Sutcliffe
Fred Titmus

All born on 24/11

Scrappy wrote:Ken Barrington
Ian Botham
Herbert Sutcliffe
Fred Titmus

All born on 24/11

That is quite incredible Scrappy. The first 3 would almost certainly make England's best ever XI and Titmus was a very good off spinning all rounder who I believe played first class cricket in 5 decades (cue Robranisgod) . Where did you pick that birthday gem from Scrappy. Did one of the broadcasters come up with that fact?

I was on cue with this information days b4 the 24th
They mentioned it was Ian Beefy Bothams birthday on the day on TV

Don't think he will expect a B'day card from Chappelli.

As to the match result. Are the selectors going to claim the win?
The bowlers all contributed fairly evenly.

Smith once again salvaged the first innings which could have gotten ugly.
Good performances from the openers in the second.
However, the reliance on Smith and Warner is getting just too entrenched.

I think we would want to see some pretty solid innings over 5 tests from Marsh in particular, but also the other batsmen.

We need the Khawaja of 3 years ago also regularly mixing it up with runs.

And if Paine's form wanders off, then perhaps it is time to start looking to the future in that area. We've had 3 blokes rotating around the glovework, with no incumbent ever far from getting ejected. It would be a great settler for the side if someone can cement that spot long term.

A good win, but perhaps not as convincing as a 10 wicket win should be.

Lost the toss and the POMS are batting. Mitch Marsh makes a come back.

Why do we persist with all-rounders who are not test level. Hanscombe can be feeling fairly hard done by.

If you have Marsh as a surname you get more chances than any other surname

UncleHuey wrote:Lost the toss and the POMS are batting. Mitch Marsh makes a come back.

Why do we persist with all-rounders who are not test level. Hanscombe can be feeling fairly hard done by.

Insurance
The hard surface of the WACA track has had its fair share of bowlers being injured there
WA bowlers Coulter Nile, Moody, Behrendorff , all injured during this season[ might be all 3 at the WACA as well ?]

As for Handscombe his technique last season was not an issue , but seems to be now he has lost some form this season
The same might one day be said of Steve Smith if he ever loses form

bayman wrote:If you have Marsh as a surname you get more chances than any other surname

The Marsh family have created history !!!
Geoff, Shaun and Mitch have all been involved in partnerships of 300+ runs in Test cricket
Geoff + Mark Taylor
Shaun + Adam Voges
Mitch + Steve Smith

How good was “that ball” Starc delivered today?

___________________________________________________
* Thats called a JAFFA !
What a delivery mstarc you reminded me of my bowling days and I enjoyed it to a hilt!
You made left armers proud.*

By Wasim Akram
Both similar bowlers

___________________________________________________

" If i faced that ball 20,30 times, I think It'll get me out every time."

By James Vince
He was bowled by that ball for a very nice innings of 55

_____________________________________________________


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVcxqdNoH_A

bayman wrote:The Australian lineup is as brittle as any going around

got that wrong, well at home anyway, they seem to have more middle order collapses than any other team in test cricket excluding the once mighty West Indies' etc

Scrappy wrote:Australia likely to make a plethora of runs in this series

Scrappy wrote:

UncleHuey wrote:Lost the toss and the POMS are batting. Mitch Marsh makes a come back.

Why do we persist with all-rounders who are not test level. Hanscombe can be feeling fairly hard done by.

Insurance
The hard surface of the WACA track has had its fair share of bowlers being injured there
WA bowlers Coulter Nile, Moody, Behrendorff , all injured during this season[ might be all 3 at the WACA as well ?]

As for Handscombe his technique last season was not an issue , but seems to be now he has lost some form this season
The same might one day be said of Steve Smith if he ever loses form

Add Mitchell Starc to the list of injured bowlers at the WACA this season

Add Sarah Addison to the WACA injuries this season
Sarah has a knee injury, and she is the WACA pitch area curator !

bayman wrote:How good was “that ball” Starc delivered today?

Trent  Boult delivered a beauty in todays odi for New Zealand versus the West Indies...another left arm swinging yorker, like the ones where used to that Starc bowls

they may've had more chances than most others but i have to admit that the Marsh brothers have done very well in the series since being selected & have cemented their place in the team now...kudos to them