The Ashes and Cricket World Cup Discussion Thread

Really enjoying England thrashing the aussies in this test, especially with me being a England supporting scot who loves cricket. I sat up to 4.30am watching it for the last 2 nites, oh and a bit of babestation as well,lol. Go on England wrap it up and sicken the Aussies.
Cheesyboy

Excellent disciplined bowling performance by England again in the 2nd innings. All the bowlers have made life difficult for the Aussie batsmen. Bresnan has justified his selection which is good. Strauss has captained the side very well and got the field placings spot on particularly with the Hussey dismissal. I want England to be ruthless now. Finish this game off and then try to win in Sydney too. I want an outright 3-1 series win. NO MERCY!!

Loving this so far Would really like Prior to give Siddle the finger when we win this game. Hopefully it will be sorted early as effectively the Aussies are 169-7 as its unlikely Harris will bat

Agree with you snookered147, I too want to see us be ruthless and get a 3-1 win down there, can see it now if it's a drawn series, we'll never hear the end of it that we didn't 'complete' the job.

Would be pointless for Harris to go out and bat in this situation, with the difference in scores between the two sides and he isn't exactly someone who can block three and then hit you three boundaries and he'd have to have a runner and could bring some confusion which in turn would only make it easier for IJL Trott to get the winning run out If I was in his situation I would stay put.

(28-12-2010 18:29 )rocksaviour Wrote:  Agree with you snookered147, I too want to see us be ruthless and get a 3-1 win down there, can see it now if it's a drawn series, we'll never hear the end of it that we didn't 'complete' the job.

err, who gets the ashes if the series is drawn, yeah thats we do the english. win this test and the ashes is ours until 2013. the assuies have more pressing matters. anyway ponting should not be in the side after this series and along many of them, there have been only 3 players that have turned up for the aussies this series hussey (batting), siddle (bowling) and haddin for helping ponting to toy section of his pram.

Yeah we will retain them if its a drawn series since we hold them going into it.

As an Englishman I would say the Aussie side 'should' look something like this after this series:
Watson - Has done alright, has a probelm making the big scores so you could shift him down the order and he seems to be able to play the role of a fourth seamer and bowl a half decent amount of overs without getting injured like he used to.
(M) Hussey - Has been by far their best batsman and what with the talk of us swapping Bell and Colly, the Aussie should of switched Clarke and Mr. Cricket.
Johnson - Despite him not performing every game he plays, they were wrong to drop him and then not let him play any match cricket (could of sent him out to play a grade match or something). He has some talent and his world ranking as a bowler proves he has done it enough over the course of his career. Also he is a useful number 8.
Hauritz - Should of been in from the start, he had a poor time going into the series but since being dropped he has shown what he can do in state cricket and he can bat as well (2 hundreds during his time out of the side). So he should be recalled.
Smith - He hasn't set the world on fire since he came into this side but has potential. Would be better him being the 2nd spinner and batting at 7.
Siddle - Can't go wrong with two 6 wicket hauls but only one wicket outside of that... has an international test match future though.
Katich - Averaged 24.25 before getting injured and provides some experience for a side going forward.
Harris - Shame for Australia he got injured yesterday. I don't recall him bowling 'real bad' like the rest during the series. But he has had a history of injuries so they would be unlikely to build an attack around him.
Haddin - Of course no probelm with his batting or keeping so he should stick around.

So this is a possible batting lineup for Australia post Ashes
1. Katich
2. Watson
3. Stick with Ponting just as a batsman or go for Usman Khawaja
4. M. Hussey (capt)
5. Clarke or Cameron White or Callum Ferguson
6. Haddin
7. Smith
8. Johnson
9. Hauritz
10. Siddle
11. Harris or that George boy who is tall and played against India

In 2006/07 Australia were ruthless, they went for the jugular and inflicted the full force of the pain they felt after losing in 2005. They didnt take their foot off the gas at 3-0 up but kept going to complete a 5-0 rout. Even though they hold the Ashes England have the chance to win a series outright in Australia for the first time in many years and in the process end years of misery in Australia. Away series wins are relatively hard to achieve against established test nations. Any chance to win must be grasped with both hands. Yes a win in Melbourne retains the Ashes but a series win is better than a series draw so I want 2-1 or ideally 3-1.

(28-12-2010 21:04 )rocksaviour Wrote:  So this is a possible batting lineup for Australia post Ashes
1. Katich
2. Watson
3. Stick with Ponting just as a batsman or go for Usman Khawaja
4. M. Hussey (capt)
5. Clarke or Cameron White or Callum Ferguson
6. Haddin
7. Smith
8. Johnson
9. Hauritz
10. Siddle
11. Harris or that George boy who is tall and played against India

I doubt very much Ponting will stay in the side as just a batsman. It's something that the Aussies just don't do. History tells us that once an Aussie is done with the captaincy his place in the team generally goes with it, they rarely if ever stay on as just a team member. It's quite the opposite of England, where our ex-captains nearly always seem to retain a place in the side.

Plus, his age is against him and after the hammering he's taken in the aussie media and by the public, my guess would be that he's had enough anyway. Now that he doesn't have the players at his disposal that he had around ten years ago, his captaincy has been shown to come up short on many occasions.

Ricky Ponting......A truly great batsman, but only an average captain and an obnoxious little man.

Yeah Ponting has been a great batsman and I understand what the Aussies normally do when a skipper has to move on, a way which I prefer to see with a cricket captain. Him returning to England in 2013 was a bit of a pipe dream given his age even if he did cut back to just playing 1st class cricket and tests. BTW his batting average has been lower than North's this series, so that in itself shows how he has fallen.

The outstanding aspect (for me) of the complete demolition of Australia by England's bowlers is how many times a day it makes me consider the following:
How stupid must the BBC Breakfast News sports correspondent - who stated (after the previous match) that Australia were in the ascendant, it was all theirs for the taking and England were finished - now be feeling?
I love a bit of schadenfreude.

Missing key events. Talking bollocks. Making stuff up.
~~~SAVE THE KRILL!~~~