*Official* Road to the 2010/11 Ashes

[flibbertyjibber]

Originally Posted by superkingdave

How about that Frankie Bunn eh? Different class

Sorry for going off topic but was it Scarborough he got 6 against in that League cup tie?

[Andre]

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

Know it's a vastly different format, but Watson's bowling looks to have gone backwards from what I saw in the T20 WC. Bowling wicket to wicket without a hint of movement.

Although I reckon our 5th bowler is going to be a combo of Colly & Trott, so it's still score +1 to Oz there.

If I were choosing the team tomorrow (bearing in mind Onions currently broken) I'd go:

Strauss*
Cook
Trott
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Prior+
Broad
Swann
Sidebottom
Anderson

Can deffo see Morgan getting a run sometime in the summer and if we can beat KP up into moving to #3 could slot in at 5.

Reckon if Sidebottom plays he would get eaten for breakfast, to be honest. He's only medium pace and it's rare that the ball swings in Australia for more than a handful of overs. From what I've seen he is more of a swing than seam merchant. Bresnan might be more useful than Sid over here.

Plus, if it doesn't swing, expect to see Anderson drop his head pretty quickly and come onto the bat nicely. Broad and Swann the keys, for mine, unless Onions is fit. Both of those blokes seem to have the ability to make things happen.

Reckon this Steve Finn might have something about him though, will be interested to see how he develops over your summer - his extra height will offer him something different on Aussie wickets which over the past few summers have been pretty lifeless, if not downright slow and low.

How's Tremlett shaping up so far this summer? Injured again? Always thought he had the right mechanics to be useful at international level, just maybe not the gumption.

[flibbertyjibber]

Andre you have it spot on.Sidebottom is going to be a waste of time in Australia,i wouldn't ever pick him for a test again as he is useless after the first spell.His pace drops and his head goes down so on pitches that won't suit him in conditions that also won't he will be fodder.Anderson has improved but again isn't likely to be a threat apart from once in the series when he gets a 5 for.

Onions,Broad,Bresnan and Swann will be the ones who will take more wickets and maybe Finn if he continues to improve.Bresnan showed in Bangladesh on dead pitches that he could keep pressure on when there was nothing in it for him and his ability to reverse the ball will be useful as will Finn's.

Basically Hilfenhaus and Anderson will cancel each other out,neither was able to regularly bowl the other side out in England so what chance do they have in Australia.Johnson and Broad are both scatterguns,and Bollinger hasn't been tested by a decent side yet so is a total unknown quantity.

If England pick Sidebottom we may as well hand the urn over now.

[GotSpin]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Andre you have it spot on.Sidebottom is going to be a waste of time in Australia,i wouldn't ever pick him for a test again as he is useless after the first spell.His pace drops and his head goes down so on pitches that won't suit him in conditions that also won't he will be fodder.Anderson has improved but again isn't likely to be a threat apart from once in the series when he gets a 5 for.

Onions,Broad,Bresnan and Swann will be the ones who will take more wickets and maybe Finn if he continues to improve.Bresnan showed in Bangladesh on dead pitches that he could keep pressure on when there was nothing in it for him and his ability to reverse the ball will be useful as will Finn's.

Basically Hilfenhaus and Anderson will cancel each other out,neither was able to regularly bowl the other side out in England so what chance do they have in Australia.Johnson and Broad are both scatterguns,and Bollinger hasn't been tested by a decent side yet so is a total unknown quantity.

If England pick Sidebottom we may as well hand the urn over now.

Think Hilfenhaus has the edge on Anderson and Johnson the edge on Broad tbh

[GIMH]

You're wrong

[GotSpin]

What...you're wrong

[NUFAN]

Originally Posted by Andre

Reckon this Steve Finn might have something about him though, will be interested to see how he develops over your summer - his extra height will offer him something different on Aussie wickets which over the past few summers have been pretty lifeless, if not downright slow and low..

I think Finn will do a Roach or an Aamer. He'll bowl some good spells and the commentators especially Chappelli will rave about them having talent, but the end results will not be anything to write home about.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Got_Spin

Think Hilfenhaus has the edge on Anderson

Can't agree with that. Anderson at least has won his country Test matches and run through sides in favourable conditions, something which Hilfenhaus hasn't at this (admittedly) early stage of his career.

Hilfenhaus is the steadier of the two (good quality, dependable workhorse - expect lots of good overs from him), while Anderson the more destructive of the 2 (so more likely to win you a match).

Will be interested to see where Siddle fits in to the Aussie plans if fit - reckon he's just got that little bit about him which could potentially set him apart from other quick bowlers on flat decks. Just seems to find a bit more in those sorts of wickets than other blokes.

[TumTum]

No doubt we will win this series quite easily, but by what margin?

I am pretty sure this series will be like 07, with Watson and Ponting making heaps of runs.

[GotSpin]

Originally Posted by Andre

Can't agree with that. Anderson at least has won his country Test matches and run through sides in favourable conditions, something which Hilfenhaus hasn't at this (admittedly) early stage of his career.

Hilfenhaus is the steadier of the two (good quality, dependable workhorse - expect lots of good overs from him), while Anderson the more destructive of the 2 (so more likely to win you a match).

Will be interested to see where Siddle fits in to the Aussie plans if fit - reckon he's just got that little bit about him which could potentially set him apart from other quick bowlers on flat decks. Just seems to find a bit more in those sorts of wickets than other blokes.

Before he got injured, Hilfenhaus was improving in leaps and bounds IMO. While he still possessed his earlier qualities that you mentioned - dependable workhorse etc - he had developed some more aggressive weapons and I thought he was more constantly menacing than Johnson.

Siddle is an interesting point. I rate him when he bowls fast (mid 140s), but as soon as his pace drops, he really becomes insignificant and he barely moves the ball around.

[TumTum]

Siddle's bowling trajectory could calibrate gun barrels.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Got_Spin

Before he got injured, Hilfenhaus was improving in leaps and bounds IMO. While he still possessed his earlier qualities that you mentioned - dependable workhorse etc - he had developed some more aggressive weapons and I thought he was more constantly menacing than Johnson.

Siddle is an interesting point. I rate him when he bowls fast (mid 140s), but as soon as his pace drops, he really becomes insignificant and he barely moves the ball around.

Agreed with regards to Hilfenhaus improving in leaps and bounds, but still not quite a polished as Anderson at this stage - not to say he may or may not end up better. He's got a great (and extremely sharp) bouncer, but until he has completely mastered his inswinger and the direction of his straight one, he still has a bit of work to do.

Wouldn't suprise me if he was the one to miss out though. Reckon Siddle might have more credit points than him with the selectors. To bowl at the right pace, though, he'd have to be 100% fit - as soon as he has dropped below that in the past is when he has struggled.

Could be a good case for the Aussies looking to use all 5 quicks throughout the summer (Johnson, Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, Siddle, R Harris) and picking the most likely of the 3 to do a job in said conditions. Apart from Johnson, who is an automatic pick as a genuine match winner.

Will be interesting to see how Bollinger goes/will be going at that stage. He's been outstanding for the last 12 months, but I just don't see him as a better bowler than Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus and possibly Ryan Harris come Ashes time. That is completely and utterly my own opinion though, fully expect people to have a go at me about it but something tells me he might not be going as good - reckon he's in a bit of a purple patch at the moment and that might not last forever.

[GotSpin]

Originally Posted by Andre

Agreed with regards to Hilfenhaus improving in leaps and bounds, but still not quite a polished as Anderson at this stage - not to say he may or may not end up better. He's got a great (and extremely sharp) bouncer, but until he has completely mastered his inswinger and the direction of his straight one, he still has a bit of work to do.

Wouldn't suprise me if he was the one to miss out though. Reckon Siddle might have more credit points than him with the selectors. To bowl at the right pace, though, he'd have to be 100% fit - as soon as he has dropped below that in the past is when he has struggled.

Could be a good case for the Aussies looking to use all 5 quicks throughout the summer (Johnson, Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, Siddle, R Harris) and picking the most likely of the 3 to do a job in said conditions. Apart from Johnson, who is an automatic pick as a genuine match winner.

Will be interesting to see how Bollinger goes/will be going at that stage. He's been outstanding for the last 12 months, but I just don't see him as a better bowler than Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus and possibly Ryan Harris come Ashes time. That is completely and utterly my own opinion though, fully expect people to have a go at me about it but something tells me he might not be going as good - reckon he's in a bit of a purple patch at the moment and that might not last forever.

I'd take a Hilfenhaus over an Anderson because I expect Hilfenhaus to perform to a reasonably good level on most surfaces. While he may not completely run through sides until he improves his inswinger I expect him to perform, overall, to a higher standard than Anderson, who although he can win matches, mostly relies on conducive surfaces.

I felt Siddle was reaching the end of his tether before he got injured. Especially with the entire cricketing media pointing out his ballooning average. IMO, he can only play if he's absolutely without a doubt 100% fit. Even then I might leave him out. Can't really know how Bollinger will perform in the long run yet so bit harsh to suggest it's only a purple patch and he'll be relegated to 5th priority.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Got_Spin

I felt Siddle was reaching the end of his tether before he got injured. Especially with the entire cricketing media pointing out his ballooning average. IMO, he can only play if he's absolutely without a doubt 100% fit. Even then I might leave him out. Can't really know how Bollinger will perform in the long run yet so bit harsh to suggest it's only a purple patch and he'll be relegated to 5th priority.

Yeah, I just reckon Siddle was playing really sore and bowling without a heck of a lot of luck - he bowled really well in a few of the home Test but came home with nothing to show for it.

Fully fit and fresh, I'd expect his ballooning average to be an abberation rather than the norm.

Not saying as such that Bollinger will be relegated to 5th priority, more saying that if he doesn't perform to the standard of the last 12 months, I wouldn't be suprised because my gut feeling is that his last summer has been the exception rather than the norm.

That said, the norm of Bollinger is still a bloody good bowler.

[Marcuss]

Hilf better than Jimmeh? Really?