*Official* Road to 2013 Ashes

[Howe_zat]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Wee Jimmy Taylor is better than Bairstow.

May not have been being entirely fair

[Eds]

Originally Posted by GIMH

What did he say about Colly?

No-where near in the same league as the stuff he says about KP, Hussain or Fletcher, but mainly about him not being a "leader of men", which isn't an incredibly harsh insult considering the only real "leaders of men" he's had as captains are Stephen Fleming and Andrew Strauss.

Will have a quick flick through and find the page or so on it.

[flibbertyjibber]

England will win in England comfortably and will win again in Australia. There, cards on the table now. Unless Australia find some bats from somewhere they will struggle.

[Doctor]

I envision an English series win, though Australia will put up a decent fight.
1-2 (all other games were drawn due to rain)

• Clarke will either be in terrible, terrible Marsh-esque form or will score 151 on difficult pitches.
• Pattinson, Siddle, Hilf, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, will be rotated to ensure fitness.
• S.Marsh to be replaced with M.Marsh.
• Punter's last series, unless he has already retired.
• Same with Hussey
• Phil Hughes somehow back into the side, in the middle order, due to a mass of domestic runs
• Cowan and Warner still opening though.
• Wade and Neville rotated.
• Cam Fergie?
• Lyon will have learnt the doosra and teesra, and this will be his best series to date.

• Strauss to have been dropped. Captain Cook
• KP comes into the series in horrible form, but scores a double.
• Broad truly announces himself as a barbie bowler, not an allrounder.
• Minimal South Africans in the side
• That guy who hit that t20 style hundred in the England Lions/u19 game vs Bangladesh A/u19 yesterday. (can't remember anything).
• Trott falls into a lean patch and has been dropped, to be replaced by a young lad with not much more talent.

lets see how thsi goes.

[amanuensis]

Can England afford to keep carrying Strauss, particulatly with such doubt over the number six berth?

[zaremba]

Haven't really backed my own team since 1989. Backing them now though, at least for the home series next year. Provided Strauss is still at the helm the current England players should all still be there, and not yet over the hill, and perhaps augmented by one or two new players of quality.

As things stand the Aussies look as though they'll have a good bowling attack, but one which is pretty inexperienced in English conditions, and, for the first time in recent memory, a pretty rickety batting line-up.

[fredfertang]

Originally Posted by amanuensis

Can England afford to keep carrying Strauss, particulatly with such doubt over the number six berth?

He'll be fine - the knives have been out for him before and he always delivers, and the number six will have been sorted long before Australia arrive

[flibbertyjibber]

Originally Posted by amanuensis

Can England afford to keep carrying Strauss, particulatly with such doubt over the number six berth?

Once Taylor is in the side they can.

[Crazy Sam]

For mine this series in England is not quite as important as it normally would be. The real question is going to be who will have the Ashes at the end of the Australian leg of the series. There's no real point in Australia winning it in England if they then lose it again 6 months later.

I also think there is a long way to go before we can reasonably determine an Australian lineup when you consider that half of the players we've used this summer were either not there 18 months ago or on the cusp of being dropped.

It'd be nice to see a heap of the potential contenders playing county cricket this season though.

[amanuensis]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Once Taylor is in the side they can.

When do you see him making his debut then?

[amanuensis]

Originally Posted by fredfertang

He'll be fine - the knives have been out for him before and he always delivers, and the number six will have been sorted long before Australia arrive

His problems years ago were fundamentally technical - you can't say that now.

[flibbertyjibber]

Originally Posted by amanuensis

When do you seem him making his debut then?

1st test v West Indies in May.

Morgan deserves to be dropped and Bopara not good enough to take the chance so Taylor's will come soon enough.

[amanuensis]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

1st test v West Indies in May.

Morgan deserves to be dropped and Bopara not good enough to take the chance so Taylor's will come soon enough.

So Steyn et al after just 2 tests? Risky?

[Burgey]

Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Thread should really be called "Road to 2013/14 Mega Ashes tbh.

I think the series will come down to the batting. I'm still not convinced by Australia's batting - their top 3 this series has been pretty poor, opening stand at Perth aside. Full credit to Ponting and Clarke for getting Australia out of some pretty tricky situations, but I can't help feeling a more relentless attack, like England last winter, wouldn't have let Australia off the hook after picking up 3 early, cheap wickets.

There's a few questions over both teams' batting tbf.

As I CBF looking it up, how old is Pietersen? Personally think he's a fine player but from time to time I hear rumblings about his spot. I'm sure he'd like to still be playing though. The rest of the England line up seems the right age that they'll all still be about. From our POV I don't think Haddin will be and there's a big question mark on Hussey too. Ponting has bought himself time, even if his form tails off a bit. Besides, he seems to genuinely be enjoying his cricket again.

Watson will be in the top four if he's fit, obviously, and gives us five bowlers. It'll be a flat out fast bowling war, the way things are looking.

There's some interesting little series in the meantime, but genuine cricket lovers know this is the only game in town

I should say that I hope we prepare properly for it and send players over early to get set in the conditions. That will be vital for us.

[GIMH]

I think KP is 32, maybe 31