Ashes Predictions

[Seedy]

As every minute passes the Sydney test is looking more like a draw. Australias first innings total is not quite enough, the kippers got off to a blazing start which might have turned the scales in their favour, if they kept up with the pace. But they didn't, and with a full day today and most of tomorrow , that is - no rain - they have the opportunity to post a decent score and give the Aussies something to chase. I don't think that it will happen that way and my prediction is for more rain.

[Howe_zat]

To early to call on the draw. Weather looks good and the pitch will likely have a bit of rip second innings. England can plausibly be all out around the end of the day, which would leave around three or four sessions to bowl Australia out and force a result.

Conversely, if England are out by tea for around 280-300, Australia can still aim to bat until the end of day four and try and get England out on the last day, with a lead of say 300, is also possible.

All three results still on.

[superkingdave]

Originally Posted by Howe_zat

To early to call on the draw. Weather looks good and the pitch will likely have a bit of rip second innings. England can plausibly be all out around the end of the day, which would leave around three or four sessions to bowl Australia out and force a result.

Conversely, if England are out by tea for around 280-300, Australia can still aim to bat until the end of day four and try and get England out on the last day, with a lead of say 300, is also possible.

All three results still on.

Given we are 227-5 with an hour till lunch, if we are bowled out for 280 it will be way before tea.

[Seedy]

Thats all plausible, but with England still having half its wickets, at 235-5, I expext that the England tail will wag in the same manner as Australia, and with both sides still having an innings to bat, allow say, one day each, short of a collapse on either side (and I suppose that is still possible) I am still predicting a draw.

Either way, the Poms have won the day.

[GingerFurball]

Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Scoreline: 2-1 England - Right winners, seems I over-rated Australia
Top Runscorers: Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke - Pietersen a reasonable call, Clarke just dire
Top Wicket Takers: Mitchell Johnson, James Anderson - Both correct
Dumpings: Marcuss North, Nathan Hauritz, Steven Finn - All correct
Debutant/Returning Players: Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith. Tremlett will come in for Finn after the 2nd Test - All correct, with the exception of who Tremlett came in for and why
Suprise Package: Ian Bell will ton up twice in the series. - Reasonable. Tonned up and Sydney and could have tonned up at Brisbane or Adelaide had circumstances differed

Quite a good set of predictions really. Clarke as top Aussie run scorer really the only truly dire prediction.

[Oscillatingmind]

Originally Posted by Oscillatingmind

3-1 England
Top runscorer - Strauss, Clarke
Top wicket taker - Hilfenhaus, Broad
Dumpings - Hussey
Debutant/Returning players - Khawaja, Copeland
Surprise Packet - Swan to finish averaging 40+ with the ball (but do well with the bat)

Scoreline spot on
Top runs, well 300 runs off of each respectively
Top wickets, pathetic
Dumpings, woeful
Debutant, one win, one loss
Surpise packet, OH **** YOU SWANN ave 39.80 I think I can call that a win, though his batting has been average, completely uneeded however.

[flibbertyjibber]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

2-1 to England

Top runscorer - Strauss overall with Clarke for the convicts.
Top wickettakers - Johnson and Swann.
Dumpings - North and Hauritz.
Returningplayers/Debutants - Khawaja,Siddle and Hughes.
Surprise Package - Bell

Got Johnson right.

[King Pietersen]

Originally Posted by King Pietersen

2-1 to England
Leading Run Scorer: Kevin Pietersen; with Simon Katich taking it for Australia.
Leading Wicket-Taker: Mitchell Johnson; with Graeme Swann taking it for England
Dumpings: Marcus North; potentially Alastair Cook.
Debut/Return: Chris Tremlett to replace James Anderson; Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja to make appearances in the series for the Aussies.
Surprise Packet: Steven Finn to bowl beautifully, dominating Ponting all series.

Other than the bolded didn't get much right at all. Shocking that I thought Tremlett would take Jimmeh's place. Not a great series of predictions, but **** it, we just won 3-1 in Australia. I'm still pretty damn chuffed

[Howe_zat]

So many predicted Cook to get dumped. Was always ****ing ridiculous.

[zaremba]

Remember the injury to Jimmy in the run-up to the series? These were my wise words at the time.

Originally Posted by zaremba

My first thought was that it could be a blessing in disguise for England. I've never really believed in Anderson as a credible proposition in Australia, and if this means that Tremlett gets in the team then it may work in our favour. Finn, Broad, Tremlett makes for a worryingly one-dimensional pace attack, but they would not be a pleasant proposition on pitches with any pace and bounce.

Among other highlights in this thread, I predicted Australia to win, North to be the surprise package and Cook and Hussey to be dropped.

Worst poster.

[Howe_zat]

Originally Posted by zaremba

Remember the injury to Jimmy in the run-up to the series? These were my wise words at the time.



Among other highlights in this thread, I predicted Australia to win, North to be the surprise package and Cook and Hussey to be dropped.

Worst poster.

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I urge you to confidently predict an England loss every series.

[morgieb]

Originally Posted by morgieb

3-1 to the good guys (that's Australia, not the Poms!) - Wrong way around tbh.
Top runscorer: Watto, Pietersen - Not shocking calls but weren't right either
Top wicket-taker: Johnson, Swann - Johnson actually was, Swann wasn't I believe.
Dumpings: North, Haurie, Hussey, Bell, Finn - 3/5 ain't bad....
Debut/Return: Khawaja, Smith (sort of....), Harris, Tremlett Yep, all 4 made comebacks or returned.
Surprise Packet: England taking the lead sometime in the Ashes. - Yep, shame it wasn't for longer though

Not bad, except for the result.

[Top_Cat]

Originally Posted by top_cat

2-1 england (england to take a test off australia in bris for the first time in forever) Nup.
top runscorer - trottNot bad but no
top wicket taker - anderson Ooo yeah
dumpings - huss, finn, kp Muffled laughter
debutant/returning players - usman, starc (ugh) Happy to be wrong on the latter
surprise packet - kp unable to score a ton all series. Take away Adelaide and, well......

z

[Neil Pickup]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

2-2

In the runs: Ricky, as he bloody well always does - will get a stack of runs against us, but only once go on to make a face-in-the dirt epic. Hussey will score more runs than most of the world seem to think, whilst everyone else in the Aussie line up will flatter to deceive. For England, the top order will continue to misfire and Matt Prior will come through on the rails to top the runscorers list.

Wicket Takers: On the grounds that our seamers are way too inconsistent over the course of the five Tests, I have to go for Swanny to top the tally. For the convicts, Hilfenhaus will work his arse off all series, but consistently bowl half a yard too short to get anyone out (let me be the first person ever to compare him to Corey Collymore), whilst Mitch will somehow contrive to top the lists having sent down his usual mish-mash of jaffas and ****e.

Dumpings: Kevin Pietersen will find himself on the outer by the time my plane lands in Melbourne having failed to cross fifty all tour. Eoin Morgan will then come in and make a century in his first knock, before failing to make double figures in either subsequent innings and being nicknamed "Northy", who retains his Baggy Green due to the fact that he has some unbelievably compromising photos of Jamie Cox and Mitchell Johnson's mum.

New Blood: Tremlett will almost certainly play a Test match when one of our pace attack breaks in half: and it wouldn't surprise me to see Shahzad wheeled in from Perth when another leg falls off. Khawaja appears to deserve a crack for the Aussies, but I expect to see Steve Smith play more often than Haley Joel Hauritz.

WTF: an injury to Matt Prior means I need to take the gloves for the final glorious session at Sydney. Back in reality, Tremlett retains his place having come in for whoever ends up injured. North to make one score between 30 and 80 and stun us all.

Some very astute shouts in there, mixed with some frankly dreadful ones...

[Spark]

I don't even want to read my own predictions again they were that bad.