3rd Test: Australia v England at The WACA, Perth, 13-17 Dec

[Skater]

I think it's fairly safe to say the only major difference between the sides has been Johnson. He has been on scintillating form, the other Australian bowlers have been doing ok and plugging away but without Johnson we would have been making decent totals with the bat. Johnson needs to have a bad Test in Perth if we are going to get back into this.

 

[Frostyvegi]

Outlook weather for Perth

Friday - 0% chance of rain, 38 degrees
Saturday - 0% chance of rain, 38 degrees
Sunday - 0% chance of rain, 38 degrees
Monday - 0% chance of rain (maybe some clouds), 39 degrees
Tuesday - 0% chance of rain (maybe some clouds), 30 degrees

 

[mrzdt]

I think it's fairly safe to say the only major difference between the sides has been Johnson. He has been on scintillating form, the other Australian bowlers have been doing ok and plugging away but without Johnson we would have been making decent totals with the bat. Johnson needs to have a bad Test in Perth if we are going to get back into this.

The good thing for England is that when Johnson is bad he is very bad. They just need to hit him out the park a few times or not give him any wickets in the first innings. He is a confidence player and his confidence can fluctuate quite drastically in a short space of time.

 

[Lebanna]

With regards to England's team, in the last match 4 out of the top 5 showed that they could deal with Johnson (Carberry, Bell in the 1st innings and Pietersen, Root in the 2nd). If they all could do it in the first innings in Perth, that would help.

So if you add in Cook, the top 5 should be Cook, Carberry, Root, Pietersen & Bell.

As for the number 6 spot, the options are Stokes, Bairstow & Balance. Stokes for me should get the nod because he did pretty well in Adelaide. He batted well enough in the 2nd innings and if he continues in that vein and sticks around then we might prevent a middle order collapse. He also adds a very good seam option that can be used to rest the main bowlers if needed.

Prior showed signs of returning to form so he should be at 7.

Now for the bowlers. If you look at the 1st innings of the 1st test, our bowlers (led by Broad) bowled really well but have been declining since. I think this is directly the fault of the batsman. Our bowlers haven't had a chance to rest between innings properly due to the top order folding quicker than a pack of cards. This meant that in every innings since they have been bowling within themselves to save energy and prevent injury. If the batsman show up in Perth then the bowlers can bowl all out and hopefully prevent an insurmountable total again.

As for who should play, Anderson and Broad pick themselves on experience and record. I feel Bresnan should come back as he gives a bit of variety to the bowling and can add with the Bat (much needed). If you presume that Bresnan comes in for Panesar, the only question then remains over should we play a 4th frontline seamer or leave in Swann. On that I'm leaning on playing Swann but wouldn't rule out Finn or Rankin as raw pace options. With Stokes playing, if Finn or Rankin do lose their radar, he can fill in a few overs to prevent the feeling of being a bowler down.

Therefore my team would be:

Cook
Carberry
Root
Pietersen
Bell
Stokes
Prior
Bresnan
Broad
Swann/Rankin/Finn
Anderson

Due to feeling our bowlers are suffering from lack of rest and Australia's aren't, I really want England to bat first tomorrow. If they pull themselves together and produce a decent total then it will tire the Australian bowlers and give ours something to bowl at.

Alternatively they could just collapse, hand the Ashes over and go on an early holiday. Up to them.

 

[War]

BBC Sport - Ashes 2013-14: Dropping Graeme Swann may help England in Perth

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The good thing for England is that when Johnson is bad he is very bad. They just need to hit him out the park a few times or not give him any wickets in the first innings. He is a confidence player and his confidence can fluctuate quite drastically in a short space of time.

Well that is the hope. But an argument can be strongly made to counter, that "very bad" Johnson is a thing of the past. And, even if he is not 100% on his game, his new found consistently will mean he won't leak runs at an alarming rate.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

if johnson was an inconsistent bowler in the sense that one match he was good, one terrible, then he'd have arguably had a better career and been capped more by now. over the course of things though johnsons form tends to come in extended periods where he's pretty effective for a series or two then inexplicably drops off.

if you were to look to his past to predict his future you'd be banking on him remaining lethal for the remainder of this series and then, just as everyone is calling him the best bowler in the world, become wayward again in the summer.

 

[SpitfiresKent]

Just noticed that it's a 2am start

Hope we show more fight in this Test. I agree with possibly dropping Swann and playing 4 seamers, I mean there's always Root & KP who bowl a bit of spin if needed.

 

[Skater]

Just noticed that it's a 2am start

2.30am.

 

[SpitfiresKent]

Even worse! I got confused, the sky coverage starts at 2am. I'll still give it a try though.

 

[Skater]

Even worse! I got confused, the sky coverage starts at 2am. I'll still give it a try though.

I won't be staying up for it but I am happy that play goes on until 9.30/10am so I can hear some of TMS in the morning.

If they started at midnight here like they have been in Brisbane and Adelaide then it would be a rather early 8am start in Perth.

 

[barmyarmy]

2.30 is actually better. In bed by 10 and afternoon session starts at 5.10am. Missing the first session is ok.

 

[Deleted member 11215]

For me it has to be Stokes and Swann out, Bresnan and Ballance in.

Cook
Carberry
Root
Pietersen
Bell
Ballance
Prior
Bresnan
Broad
Anderson
Panesar

If we wanted to go all out then I'd drop panesar and bring in Finn, but due to the heat we'll need a spinner to take the heat off the pacemen.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

Reasons for Ballance > Stokes?

eta I just looked him up and he wasn't born in England, so that's a solid start. First class average of 53

 

[Deleted member 11215]

Reasons for Ballance > Stokes?

eta I just looked him up and he wasn't born in England, so that's a solid start. First class average of 53

Stokes is the kind of guy that will get 2/139 and score 43 runs combined between both innings. That's ok when you're winning a series and want to give someone a go but when you're looking to win you're best lining up with 6 batsmen to get the runs and 4 bowlers to get the wickets. Root and Pietersen can bowl part time to relieve pressure off the other bowlers and could probably snag similar bowling figures to stokes.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

He bowled a lot better than that, I think. Could easily have snagged a couple more wickets in the first innings when the game was really on. Bit of pace, bit of bounce, not a lot of bad balls. Not sure why so few people on here seem to like the look of him.

Just looked his stats up and ave 28, strike rate of 46 (!) vs Bres at ave 31, SR 60. Stats can mislead but I'd bet this is a guy who can play. Deffo a better bat than Bresnan, probably a better attacking option with the ball. Bres is obv a much more seasoned campaigner though, a less risky call, and prob a better bet to bowl into the wind if required, which is a real factor in Perth.

Thought Stokes batted ok too, although he looks like he might be an lb candidate to a lefty. FC average of 35 and 8 tons from 60 games inspires considerably less confidence than Ballance's 53 and 18 tons from 67, though.

I don't fancy KP or Root's chances of not getting smacked about at Perth, so I'm not sure they're going to relieve much pressure. Can Panesar tie an end up sufficiently to give England control in the field?