Ashes 2015 - Australia tour of England July/September 2015

[cricket_icon]

After seeing Swann and Nasser do their player ratings, I thought I'd do mine.

Cook 7
Lyth 2 (caught well)
Ballance 3
Bell 4
Root 9.5
Bairstow 4.5
Buttler 5 (thought his keeping was good)
Stokes 7
Ali 6.5
Broad 9
Anderson 7
Wood 7
Finn 7

Warner 7
Rodgers 8
Smith 7.5
Clarke 3
Voges 4.5
Marsh S 1
Marsh M 7
Watson 1.5
Haddin 1
Nevill 5.5
Johnson 7
Starc 6.5
Hazlewood 6
Siddle 7.5 (more if he'd played in the 3rd and 4th tests I'm sure)
Lyon 8

Good stuff, personally I'd score Starc higher, wasn't he the second highest wicket taker in the series? The guy was criminally over looked by the media in this series and I have no idea why.

Bell is at most a 2, he was just horrendous apart from a couple decent innings but I believe his time is up. Ali in the top 5, Bell gone.

I think this is an interesting time to pick an England XI to tour the UAE. I might be a bit risky in mine but here goes:

1. Cook (c)
2. Hales (a good, solid, hard hitting opener who hasn't yet proven a consistent bat but on flatter pitches, he could get England off to a big start)
3. Root
4. Ballance (a return is in order, although Bairstow will still be in the squad)
5. Ali
6. Stokes
7. Buttler (wk)
8. Rashid (that much needed second spinner and excellent lower order batting option)
9. Broad
10. Anderson
11. Wood

 

[Deleted member 149013]

Good stuff, personally I'd score Starc higher, wasn't he the second highest wicket taker in the series? The guy was criminally over looked by the media in this series and I have no idea why.

Bell is at most a 2, he was just horrendous apart from a couple decent innings but I believe his time is up. Ali in the top 5, Bell gone.

I think this is an interesting time to pick an England XI to tour the UAE. I might be a bit risky in mine but here goes:

1. Cook (c)
2. Hales (a good, solid, hard hitting opener who hasn't yet proven a consistent bat but on flatter pitches, he could get England off to a big start)
3. Root
4. Ballance (a return is in order, although Bairstow will still be in the squad)
5. Ali
6. Stokes
7. Buttler (wk)
8. Rashid (that much needed second spinner and excellent lower order batting option)
9. Broad
10. Anderson
11. Wood

Complete pipe dreams true I agree, my choice would be option 1. Willey would never be ready without a chance @dp458

@cricket_icon
If I’m been honest I can’t see Hales having the temperament for International cricket limited overs yes.

Rashid can’t see a leg spinner having an effect unless it was Shane Warne. I can’t see him offering that much at test level.

Ballance had a great start to his career but is an easy wicket at current standard. They will toss a coin to see who gets it.

Maybe been more critical I can’t see Hales, Ballance, Stokes or Buttler playing spin very well.

And with that many seamers is relying on pitch suited for them plus no swing it’s risky and we need to rely on spin this time.

Ali has no control as a main spinner he will let the run rate go up before buying a wicket.

 

[cricket_icon]

Complete pipe dreams true I agree, my choice would be option 1. Willey would never be ready without a chance @dp458

@cricket_icon
If I’m been honest I can’t see Hales having the temperament for International cricket limited overs yes.

Rashid can’t see a leg spinner having an effect unless it was Shane Warne. I can’t see him offering that much at test level.

Ballance had a great start to his career but is an easy wicket at current standard. They will toss a coin to see who gets it.

Maybe been more critical I can’t see Hales, Ballance, Stokes or Buttler playing spin very well.

And with that many seamers is relying on pitch suited for them plus no swing it’s risky and we need to rely on spin this time.

Ali has no control as a main spinner he will let the run rate go up before buying a wicket.

We can't have wholesale change and remove Buttler and Stokes along with the others. It wouldn't work. The team is settled for now and working well together.

If no ali and rashid, who should be the spinners? I think the two can do as well as any english spinner in recent years, especially against pakistan, who even negated the great swann.

 

[Deleted member 149013]

We can't have wholesale change and remove Buttler and Stokes along with the others. It wouldn't work. The team is settled for now and working well together.

If no ali and rashid, who should be the spinners? I think the two can do as well as any english spinner in recent years, especially against pakistan, who even negated the great swann.

I wouldn’t class it as wholesale changes I think England need strength and depth to have success both home and away.

I don’t think we need to drop players like Buttler or Stokes. The only two players I have dropped is Bell and Lyth.

England struggled at Lords and the Oval even with a good pace attack and spin wise we didn’t have any options Ali let the pressure of the Australian batsman. We need to look at spinners the T20 world cup in India is fast approaching plus we need that control Swann gave us in test format.

I think we should show patience and give Ansari the role as main spinner and we could have Rashid backing him up if you’re playing two spinners. If it’s a case where only Ansari is the main spinner then you can have part time from Ali and Root.

Cook

Lees

Taylor/Vince

Root

Ali

Buttler/Bairstow (back up Keeper odd rotation to rest Buttler)

Willey/Rashid/Stokes

Ansari

Wood/Dawson (can move up the order)

Broad

Anderson/Finn

This would be the team I would take but depending on a pitch inspection/weather that would decide a final lineup.

 

[IceAgeComing]

Why would you want to pick Ansari over Rashid? Rashid has been better with the ball using every possible metric this year - and that's not factoring the fact that he's playing in the First Division and Ansari is playing second division cricket. Ansari or another good left arm spinner probably should be in the squad just in case we get an absolute rag heap of a pitch and you have a need for three spinners; but that would be an exceptional circumstance. Assuming they take 16 players with them, here's the route I'd go down initially.

Cook
Hales
Taylor/Ballance
Root
Stokes
Moeen
Bairstow
Rashid
Wood/Finn
Broad
Finn/Anderson

Buttler
Ansari
Plunkett or similar sort of bowler


I'm going to qualify a few of the odd selections: Ballance was good at the start of the year in the West Indies in very similar conditions to the UAE so deserves another chance - although admittedly he didn't exactly have to face huge amounts of quality spin bowling, but frankly no one did on that tour. I've never rated Stokes before this summer but frankly he's had a good year and although he was shocking in the West Indies I can't think of anyone else that could play that role - you shouldn't need his bowling a great deal, he's there as a sixth bowler. Bairstow over Buttler because Buttler had a shocking Ashes (averaged 14, remember!) and only played all five games because the rest of the side did well in the third and fourth test - similar to Lyth I suppose. I personally wouldn't play Anderson in the UAE because he isn't effective in those conditions and I'd want him ready for South Africa in the winter: although that probably applies to Broad as well come to think of it... That limits you in the sort of bowler that you play though: a Woakes would be terrible in the UAE because he relies on swing to take wickets and there isn't any in the UAE, and I think that same applies to Willey although I'm not entirely sure. The Plunkett selection has been thrown in honestly because I can't think of anyone better to play in the UAE: everyone else that comes to mind have gone bad (Jordan) or rely on a type of bowling that wouldn't work in the UAE...

 

[Deleted member 149013]

Why would you want to pick Ansari over Rashid? Rashid has been better with the ball using every possible metric this year - and that's not factoring the fact that he's playing in the First Division and Ansari is playing second division cricket. Ansari or another good left arm spinner probably should be in the squad just in case we get an absolute rag heap of a pitch and you have a need for three spinners; but that would be an exceptional circumstance. Assuming they take 16 players with them, here's the route I'd go down initially.

Cook
Hales
Taylor/Ballance
Root
Stokes
Moeen
Bairstow
Rashid
Wood/Finn
Broad
Finn/Anderson

Buttler
Ansari
Plunkett or similar sort of bowler


I'm going to qualify a few of the odd selections: Ballance was good at the start of the year in the West Indies in very similar conditions to the UAE so deserves another chance - although admittedly he didn't exactly have to face huge amounts of quality spin bowling, but frankly no one did on that tour. I've never rated Stokes before this summer but frankly he's had a good year and although he was shocking in the West Indies I can't think of anyone else that could play that role - you shouldn't need his bowling a great deal, he's there as a sixth bowler. Bairstow over Buttler because Buttler had a shocking Ashes (averaged 14, remember!) and only played all five games because the rest of the side did well in the third and fourth test - similar to Lyth I suppose. I personally wouldn't play Anderson in the UAE because he isn't effective in those conditions and I'd want him ready for South Africa in the winter: although that probably applies to Broad as well come to think of it... That limits you in the sort of bowler that you play though: a Woakes would be terrible in the UAE because he relies on swing to take wickets and there isn't any in the UAE, and I think that same applies to Willey although I'm not entirely sure. The Plunkett selection has been thrown in honestly because I can't think of anyone better to play in the UAE: everyone else that comes to mind have gone bad (Jordan) or rely on a type of bowling that wouldn't work in the UAE...

No doubt Australia will be looking at Agar and I think we need a young off spinner to grow and mature with the England team, at 23 he could be world class material in 4 to 5 years.

It would be good to see Dawson make the ODI team and we would have another off spin option the more the better.

Rashid will prove useful in limited overs I’m sure but leg spin is a tough art and could he do that at international level? He had decent start in his first game against NZ but was taken apart the next match it looked like they worked him out.

Cook will want Anderson I think as he compares him to Johnson in that he will take wickets. Would like to see Plunkett in the side but it looks doubtful with the current seamers.

 

[C Boomer]

Big game today for Ireland against ODI world cup winners Australia, weather quite damp here at present but forecast gives it to clear up soon so hopefully we'll get a game?

We've never beaten the mighty Aussies before so would be great to get a first win today and send another shot across the bow of the ICC as regards to their woefully draconian decision to limit the next world cup tournament to 10 teams and thus make it very difficult for the associate nations to even qualify at all !

Australia ready for battle against Ireland

 

[C Boomer]

Game on, Australia win the toss and surprisingly choose to bat first....suits us !

Toss could be vital in Ireland v Australia clash

 

[PokerAce]

These is what we were talking about in the other thread. Associates getting matches fit in during regular tours. I am ofcourse rooting for Ireland in this one. Ireland and Afghanistan being my two fav associate sides.

Surprised to see Kevin O'Brien not in the playing XI. Still remember him destroying England in the 2011 WC, and some of his crackers in the last WC. Aus got off to a flyer, but good to see Ireland pulling it back slowly now.

 

[PokerAce]

Super fightback from the Irish, after a great start from Aus. Shame its raining again.

 

[C Boomer]

Super fightback from the Irish, after a great start from Aus. Shame its raining again.

Due to start again shortly, Mr Duckworth-Lewis has a big part to play now in this very exciting contest !!

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

I'm hoping for the Irish to win, just so the ICC opens up their eyes towards associate cricket.

 

[PokerAce]

Due to start again shortly, Mr Duckworth-Lewis has a big part to play now in this very exciting contest !!

Yeah hearing a 40 over Irish innings, with 258 as the target. A little harsh, but thats the way DL Works.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

75 off 46 balls with 7 wickets left, should be a bit tough for Ireland with Starc still having to bowl at least two more overs. But, I think that if they survive Starc. Then they'll have enough firepower to finish the game and cause a mighty upset.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

Ah, crap. Com'on Ireland! I'm still supporting ya, Thompson!