Australia in England - 2009 Ashes Tour

[OnlyClarkey]

I see your point, Howsie, but my only concern then would be we'd rely too much on the top order. Prior makes a few errors with the gloves but he has always proved to be a a great anchor in our batting lineup.

As a very biased Notts fan, I'm so glad Chris Read is alway overlooked for England. Whether he compares to the likes of Foster or Prior, I'm not sure.. but he is probably the best keeper in the country that is no longer mentioned in any discussions.

 

[Therbs]

Warne is what has been missing from this Ashes campaign. Finally someone has sparked up something rather than this boring stuff on Ronald MacDonald and Horritz.

Exactly the point. Warne is once again using the old mind games making the English worry about his comments and waste time and energy justifying someone like Bopara. There'll be more of this.

 

[ZexyZahid]

Now that the Twenty20 World Cup is finished the world can now focus on the Ashes. I've been reading that Flintoff has been getting wickets. So I assuming he is fit to play.

Also is Warne commentating? If he gets one sided on Australia, it could be fun to hear. A bit like Boycott, who has some harsh words for an opposite side. Is Boycott expected to commentate as well?

Also will BBC 1/2 will show the highlights of each day?

ZexyZahid added 8 Minutes and 35 Seconds later...

I see a training squad will be announced tomorrow. I don't understand why Vaughan is being named. For England's sake, he better not be selected.

Vaughan and Harmison wait on training squad
Andrew McGlashan
June 21, 2009
Vaughan and Harmison wait on training squad | Cricket News | The Ashes - England v Australia 2009 | Cricinfo.com

 

[angryangy]

Not sure if that's a good sign...

 

[iridescentt]

We should be fielding Hauritz and Krejza IMO. I mean, Cardiff is going to spin a lot. It may swing in the earlier stages but spin is the way to go. If we only play Hauritz and the part timers, we'll let England post a big total from the word 'Go'. Plus, anyone reckon' Swann is gonna' have a great impact on our batting line up ?

 

[Covvy]

Not both of them. You can get Michael Clarke and even Simon Katich to bowl a bit.

 

[spaga1994]

i think this is the way we (aus) will go for the first test

1.hughes
2.katich
3.ponting.
4.hussey
5.clarke
6.north
7.watson
8.haddin
9.johnson
10.lee
11.siddle

thats how i think the aussie selectors will go i feel they will pick lee because of experience even though i think hilfenhaus should be picked but you never know if he or even stuart clark play well in the warm up games they could take lee's place and a strong batting line up incase their top order gets in a bit of trouble with the swing 4 seamers including watson and 3 part time spinners a very strong side

 

[Skater]

Now that the Twenty20 World Cup is finished the world can now focus on the Ashes. I've been reading that Flintoff has been getting wickets. So I assuming he is fit to play.

Also is Warne commentating? If he gets one sided on Australia, it could be fun to hear. A bit like Boycott, who has some harsh words for an opposite side. Is Boycott expected to commentate as well?

Also will BBC 1/2 will show the highlights of each day?

Warne is part of the Sky Sports commentary team. It'll be interesting hearing him with Beefy Botham!

Highlights will be on Five, 7.15pm until 8.00pm, every day of the tests.

 

[iridescentt]

Even though Katich may be reluctant to bowl as he usually says, I think he is going to play a vital role within the Australian lineup. Maybe he doesn't have excellent turn or a ton of wickets as with Murali, but I remember watching the SA Vs. AUS test matches. Soon as he was put on he took like what, 2 wickets to generally close one of SA's innings; one was the defiant AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn.

With his batting, people say he'll struggle against the swing of England as seen in many occasions with the past but I doubt this will have any immediate effect.

 

[OnlyClarkey]

Now that the Twenty20 World Cup is finished the world can now focus on the Ashes. I've been reading that Flintoff has been getting wickets. So I assuming he is fit to play.

Also is Warne commentating? If he gets one sided on Australia, it could be fun to hear. A bit like Boycott, who has some harsh words for an opposite side. Is Boycott expected to commentate as well?

Also will BBC 1/2 will show the highlights of each day?

ZexyZahid added 8 Minutes and 35 Seconds later...

I see a training squad will be announced tomorrow. I don't understand why Vaughan is being named. For England's sake, he better not be selected.

Vaughan and Harmison wait on training squad
Andrew McGlashan
June 21, 2009
Vaughan and Harmison wait on training squad | Cricket News | The Ashes - England v Australia 2009 | Cricinfo.com

Flintoff has played 2 LVCC games for Lancashire and has taken 8-164 in those 4 innings. However, he got 69 with the bat altogether. It is worth noting that his Lancashire teammate and ex England bowler, Sajid Mahmood took 11-197 and got 56 with the bat in the same two games. I know who I'd rather have.

 

[Howsie]

Vaughan and Harmison left out of training squad | Cricket News | The Ashes - England v Australia 2009 | Cricinfo.com

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England's pre-Ashes camp ahead of the much-anticipated series against Australia which begins later this month.

That's all it has though.

 

[Jakester1288]

Just a short analysis on our team.

1. Hughes
2. Katich

Set in stone.

3. Ponting
4. Hussey
5. Clarke

Pretty much set in stone there as well.

6. Watson (if bowling)/North

7. Haddin

Set in stone

8. Johnson

Set in stone

9. Lee/Hauritz/McDonald

Depends on the pitch. I wouldn't be disappointed if McDonald gets selected. He hasn't performed poorly in his Test appearances so far, he would just get the job done, not a bad thing. Gets through his overs pretty quickly, and if we name a 4 or 5 (including Watson) prong pace attack, the quick overs are needed.

10. Siddle
11. Clark

Set in stone, unless Clark is no fit.

It's pretty obvious that we will require Clarke, Katich and if he plays, North, to do some bowling in this series. If Hauritz doesn't play, the more bowling they need to share between them, which is a bad thing. On spinning pitches, they should get through their overs well. Hopefully they slip under the radar, and England don't attack them. KP will rip their guts out (unless he has some trouble like he does with Yuvraj Singh, which I doubt he will), and some other English batsmen wont hesitate hitting some easy pickings either.

 

[King Pietersen]

That's all it has though.

Not particularly surprising. Good to see them ignoring Vaughan, but I would liked to have seen Harmison in there ahead of Panesar, who's been awful with the ball all summer, and performed crap at Cardiff only a few days ago. How he's still in the 16 man squad is beyond me, he better not play at Cardiff.

 

[mattfb]

i think this is the way we (aus) will go for the first test

1.hughes
2.katich
3.ponting.
4.hussey
5.clarke
6.north
7.watson
8.haddin
9.johnson
10.lee
11.siddle

thats how i think the aussie selectors will go i feel they will pick lee because of experience even though i think hilfenhaus should be picked but you never know if he or even stuart clark play well in the warm up games they could take lee's place and a strong batting line up incase their top order gets in a bit of trouble with the swing 4 seamers including watson and 3 part time spinners a very strong side

Nah mate, Watsons a hack. Besides, we don't need both Watson and North. I would line us up like this:

Hughes
Katich
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
North
Haddin
Johnson
Hauritz
Clark
Siddle

Got a bit of variety there. 2 unorthodox openers, but there styles are very indifferent. But the way you need to bowl is similar. Bowl across them, try get them edging early. You need to get these boys out before they hit 20 or you are going to have a very hard time. They can be caught going for a wide one before they are properly played in but once you give them a bit of a look they'll pull there heads in.

Ponting, Clarke and Hussey add some stability. Ponting can score at 100+ strike rate, punishing anything short. Clarke can punish anything full on his pads or a wide half volley. A lot of line and length changes will be required. Hussey comes in and plays the solid role.

North comes in and scores some runs before Haddin ups the tempo once more. Mitch comes in and ups it again before the tail goes berserk. On our day that will go perfect by 98% of the time that plan won't go anywhere near perfect. But we don't need it to work like that. Even if one or 2 play out of character it's good enough to score 350-400+

The bowling: A stable spinner capable of picking up 2 or so wickets without going for too many. A left arm swinger with genuine pace. A right arm pacer who can send them through with great accuracy and on his day is almost impossible to play with the seam. And Stuey Clark - No explanation needed. Legend.

 

[Skater]

Training squad: 1. Andrew Strauss (capt), 2. James Anderson, 3. Ian Bell, 4. Ravi Bopara, 5. Tim Bresnan, 6. Stuart Broad, 7. Paul Collingwood, 8. Alastair Cook, 9. Andrew Flintoff, 10. Graham Onions, 11. Monty Panesar, 12. Kevin Pietersen, 13. Matt Prior, 14. Adil Rashid, 15. Ryan Sidebottom, 16. Graeme Swann