4th Test: England v Australia at Leeds

[ZoraxDoom]

Oooh...


So then, no Harmy? Aww

Can't drop Onions, we need the Puns. Same with Swann. So cya Broad. You were given a wide leash, but you've just narrowly missed out. Their was a vast selection of fast bowlers available, and you were on thin ice anyways. Those were awful, I apologise.

 

[barmyarmy]

Harmison is also in the squad. Panesar has been released.

 

[King Pietersen]

Harmy will be retained in the squad I imagine. Could be a 14 man squad for the 4th Test, with Harmy, Sidebottom and a reserve batsman in the squad. I'd love to see us call Samit Patel up if Fred's injured, he could then bat at 6 with Prior at 7 which would allow us to pick Anderson, Onions, Harmison and Sidebottom as the bowling line-up, without losing a spin option and actually strengthen the batting. Won't happen though, as Samit's still not got off the pies. Can see it being Trott, Carberry, Joyce or Key coming into the side as a back-up batsman, possibly Bresnan given it's his home ground. Hopefully not.

 

[King Pietersen]

Wow.

Strauss, Anderson, Bell, Bopara, Broad, Collingwood, Cook, Flintoff, Harmison, Onions, Prior, Sidebottom, Swann and Trott.

Jonathan Trott in the England squad. Gotta keep up the SA quota I guess He deserves his call up though, averaging 97 in the CC this season with 3 hundreds. Was only a matter of time till the selectors picked him. Just need him in the ODi side now. So hopefully if Fred's injured the XI will be:

Strauss
Cook
Bopara
Bell
Collingwood
Trott
Prior +
Harmison/Broad
Anderson
Sidebottom
Onions

If Fred's fit could we see Bell at 3, Trott at 4?

 

[Themer]

Yay Trott! That is all

I have slight inkling that Bopara is going to get dropped with Trott coming in.

 

[Howsie]

Meh, he won't play. Hopefully England get rid of Broad and give Harmison or Sidebottom a run.

 

[Themer]

Even if he doesn't get played for the rest of the series it shows finally that the Selectors are willing to get him in.

 

[King Pietersen]

Yay Trott! That is all

I have slight inkling that Bopara is going to get dropped with Trott coming in.

Wouldn't be a bad thing. Trott's the sort of bloke we need in the England side. I'm a massive Bopara fan, but he's not done enough in this series, looks far too loose outside his off-stump and in defence, and sending him back to Essex before the ODi series could do him some good. I'd love to see Trott force his way into the XI in Test and ODi cricket.

Co-incidence that Trott gets his call up as soon as KP's out of the side? Given their supposed spat at the FP Trophy final in 05 iirc.

Trott and Pietersen played against each other at under-19 level in South Africa for their respective state sides, Western Province and Natal, and continued their rivalry in the county game.

The pair locked horns with some fiery banter in the 2005 C&G Trophy final but it is understood Pietersen extended the hand of friendship as soon as Trott was announced in England’s 14-man squad.

That was a news story on the ECB site before his T20i call-up.

 

[Howsie]

He sound's like the second coming of Kevin Pietersen. When he played for Otago 2/3 years ago he wasn't that impressive. Although I do agree that Bopara needs to be dropped, or moved down the order.

 

[barmyarmy]

Well apart from the Ramps call I got the squad bang on. Now just got to hope they change the XI.

 

[Sureshot]

I'm actually tempted to drop Swann for Headingly and play Sidebottom. Recall Swann for the Oval.
My team:

Strauss
Cook
Ramprakash
Trott
Collingwood
Prior
Flintoff
Sidebottom
Anderson
Harmison
Onions

Clearly England will name an unchanged side.

That's risky. Pattinson last year, anyone? Although I would agree I'd rather be a seamer: 1) We have a spinner who turns it big, 2) It can assist spinners (Yorkshire v Durham at Leeds, Jul 10-13, 2009 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com) 3) It is always good to have a spinning option.

My changes?

All depends on Flintoff. If Flintoff isn't fit, I'd bring in Trott and Sidebottom for him and Broad. You can then have Swann at 8, with Sidebottom, Anderson and Onions behind him. People say, "we need five bowlers", I don't think we've had 5 bowlers all series.

I won't comment on the bottler you have in at 3

 

[Skater]

That's risky. Pattinson last year, anyone? Although I would agree I'd rather be a seamer: 1) We have a spinner who turns it big, 2) It can assist spinners (Yorkshire v Durham at Leeds, Jul 10-13, 2009 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com) 3) It is always good to have a spinning option.

My changes?

All depends on Flintoff. If Flintoff isn't fit, I'd bring in Trott and Sidebottom for him and Broad. You can then have Swann at 8, with Sidebottom, Anderson and Onions behind him. People say, "we need five bowlers", I don't think we've had 5 bowlers all series.

I won't comment on the bottler you have in at 3

You seem to be forgetting Pattinson didn't do too badly.

 

[Hooper]

I hate Marcus North? That's news to me. I just don't particularly rate him. I enjoyed his 96 yesterday, that was a good innings under pressure, but the pitch was flat and England couldn't get it swinging. It's no co-incidence that when the pitch/ball is talking, North has failed in this series. Clarke on the other hand is just pure class.

As for centurians in this series, meh, we're winning 1-0, that's all that counts. We've scored runs when they've been needed, not on a flat, lifeless Cardiff deck in a drawn Test.

Uh, like every other batsman? All the batsman have crumbled this series though when the balls been moving around... Any batsman is going to get out when Anderson and Onions are moving it around. Its the ones that survive this then go on who are good.

They should go:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Clarke
North
Watson
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Clark
Hilfenhaus

Yes, that would be my exact squad. 4 bowlers with Clarke/North helping out when a bowler is tired.

We must play Stuart Clark.

That's precisely one more than the amount of victories you've got so far in this series.

As long as the crims keep leaving out Stuart Clark we have a chance to win, but as soon as they pick him the Ashes are as good as gone.

Yes it is a crime leaving out such a gun, can't beleive the selectors are so stupid to leave him out.

But aye, its not suprising seeing as a man like this is making the Australian selections:

http://bp0.blogger.com/_h8Kg85EZ5uQ/SIXwJ-iyziI/AAAAAAAAAHA/OpiKBzXpNYE/s320/merv-hughes.jpg

 

[Sureshot]

You seem to be forgetting Pattinson didn't do too badly.

You're right, I'll always stick by his performance, as I think he did okay. But did it work? No. Headingley isn't like it used to be. It's a decent batting track.

 

[King Pietersen]

Uh, like every other batsman? All the batsman have crumbled this series though when the balls been moving around... Any batsman is going to get out when Anderson and Onions are moving it around. Its the ones that survive this then go on who are good.

Clarke survived at Lords against Freddie at full force, and made a glorious hundred. Hussey made a half century when pretty much everyone else failed at Lords in the 1st innings. Watson made 2 half centuries in 2 innings at Edgbaston. Most other guys have made starts in those conditions, North just failed miserably after Cardiff at Lords when the ball was doing something, and in the 1st innings at Edgbaston. His big runs have come when the pitch was at it's flattest and the bowlers were starting to sense the game was over. I just cannot see him having a long Test career, there are better players who should be playing in his place, Hodge and Dussey 2 of them.