England does have a woeful batting lineup and Australia does have the best bowling lineup in the world when at full strength. There is no better 4 man bowing attack then Johnson, Lee, Clark & Siddle.
England are rated like number 6 in the world now aren't they? Can you imagine where they'd be without Kevin?
I remember a long time ago, me saying that Owais Shah was as about as good as Marcus North and you laughed at it, saying that North is nowhere near Shah. Look who has a Test 100 to his name and look who doesn't?
![Wink ;) ;)](/forums/styles/planetcricket/xenforo/smilies/wink.gif)
But now I feel like an idiot because that is the ulimate insult to Marcus North's ability. Best debut hundred I've ever seen.
I'm sorry but Shah or Bopara are nowhere near Michael Vaughan at the present, Pietersen isn't as determined without the captaincy, Collingwood will get mauled unless their is a flat pitch and Jones was equally as good in 2005 as Prior has ever been.
Even so, you claim that Ponting is struggling because his only averaging 43 but yet only 2 or 3 English players have a first-class average of over 43. I mean batting average, not bowling average, so don't think about uttering the words - Stuart Broad
I'll answer all of these points with the England players records over the past 18 months.
Andrew Strauss: 1513 runs at an average of 54.03 with 7 hundreds
Alastair Cook: 1420 runs at an average of 41.76 with 2 hundreds
Kevin Pietersen: 1547 runs at an average of 48.34 with 6 hundreds
Paul Collingwood: 1231 runs at an average of 43.96 with 4 hundreds
Matt Prior: 563 runs at an average of 56.30 with 1 hundred
Andrew Flintoff: 262 runs at an average of 24
So out of them, only 1 of the proper batsmen averages under 43. Strauss and Prior are averaging over 50, Pietersen's been in decent form since the NZ series and Collingwood's been in sublime form since the start of the Indian tour. We've then got a class act like Bopara to come in who's already got a Test hundred, Shah's also a class act, his 80odd on debut in India proved that, he just had a poor series in the Carribbean, he'll come good in England. Then we've got Vaughan and Bell who could also come back in, Vaughan's hit thousands of balls in the nets over the winter, and scored an OD hundred in a pre-season tour, and Bell's going to be class when he's got some confidence.
LOL @ Jones being better than Prior as well. You clearly no nothing about Matt Prior. Jones was a 1 season wonder with the bat, and kept his place thanks to scoring the odd pretty 20/30. Prior's a proper batsman and could possibly make it into the England side as a batsman alone if we had injuries. His average of 50 in the last 18 months, including a series in India proves he's got talent. Much better than Jones.
England's seamers certainly won't do as much damage as Australia's. If I were you I'd be hoping that the England pitches are flat because if they aren't then Pete Siddle is going to give Kevin Pietersen his first pair in Test Cricket.
You say that, but none of Australia's current seamers (Johnson, Siddle, Clark and Hilfenhaus) have played a Test match in England before, so they're going to take time to adjust, and Lee's got a pretty poor record in England. Anderson's in magnificent form, getting some serious swing and reverse which was the curse for Australia in 2005. Broad's going to prove you wrong. Flintoff's going to be bowling fast and getting reverse and causing your batsmen problems, and Swann and Panesar are both miles better than your spinners.
Ponting isn't in bad form. He just isn't as hungry anymore because his got nothing left to acchieve but when he wants a score and the team needs it then he is always the one to step up and deliever. I suggest you watch his innings of 83 on a minefield of a pitch when Australia was 3/38.
I don't believe that's true, but if it is, then it's not the sort of mentality I'd want from my captain. He's been found out by a few bowlers recently, guys like Morkel and Sharma who get abit of movement and bounce have troubled him. He seems to be developing some technical problems as his eye leaves him, and as age takes over. 1 innings doesn't prove he's in form either, Tim Ambrose scored a hundred when England were in trouble, but I wouldn't say he's class. You claim it was a minefield as well, but Australia made 466 in that innings, with a hundred from Marcus North and 96* from Mitchell Johnson. Think you need to reassess the definition of a minefield. I watched the game, and it really wasn't that bad a pitch tbh.