Prediction- who will do what in the Ashes?

[Burgey]

This is going to be one of the intriguing battles of the series IMO.

Seen a few posters saying that nether will really perform and I personally think that is highly unlikely. Both by far the best batsmen in their sides and I reckon the odds on both having crap series would be slim.....question is, which of them will really stamp their mark.

Gotta be said, a lot more riding on Clarke performing for the Aussies.....if he does go off the boil and have a s#$t series you lot are screwed big time.

Yeah, England sans Pietersen have by far the more consistent top six. Trott has been so good the past 12 months, and blokes like Root and Taylor have really established themselves alongside the great Ian Bell who has long been regarded as an exceptional performer against good bowling in pressure situations.

[uvelocity]

let me tell you adders would have spud bell's babies if possible

[Adders]

Trott has been so good the past 12 months, and blokes like Root and Taylor have really established themselves alongside the great Ian Bell who has long been regarded as an exceptional performer against good bowling in pressure situations.

Do I detect a note of sarcasm here??

The facts speak for themselves mate.Asides from Clarke Australia don't have a single other batsmen ranked in the top 30.....England have 4.

In one of the tests in NZ Cook went out for 17 and we still posted a score of 465, when was the last time the Aussies posted a decent total without a big effort from Clarke??

I'd say be careful belittling players of Trott and Bells class fella, may not have had the best of 12 months either of them, but they are both better than any batsmen save for Clarke that the Aussies have.

[Burgey]

Do I detect a note of sarcasm here??

The facts speak for themselves mate.Asides from Clarke Australia don't have a single other batsmen ranked in the top 30.....England have 4.

In one of the tests in NZ Cook went out for 17 and we still posted a score of 465, when was the last time the Aussies posted a decent total without a big effort from Clarke??

I'd say be careful belittling players of Trott and Bells class fella, may not have had the best of 12 months either of them, but they are both better than any batsmen save for Clarke that the Aussies have.

Bell has no class. I'd say he's the most over rated player in world cricket, but really, no one who knows anything about cricket rates him at all.

[Burgey]

That moniker probably belongs to Swann, who can bowl decently when conditions suit, but really is a whole pile of nothing on anything but a dust bowl.

[Burgey]

I mean, really. Ian Bell is the Dean Jones of this era, without the range of stroke or the ability. Scores his runs mostly in dead rubbers on flat decks against dis-spirited attacks. He's not worth a squirt of piss.

[Burgey]

The measure of when your team is having a really **** bowling day is when Ian Bell scores runs against them. He takes mediocrity to a new level, and blokes just blow a load over him because he looks elegant playing a cover drive. He's the soft as play dough ffs.

[Jono]

Yeah but what do you think of Ian Bell though?

[Burgey]

Well I really don't think he's as good as these Pommies think he is, just because they think he's an "elegant" player. I can strike a perfectly elegant pose as the ball passes between bat and pad and cartwheels my off stump too.

He's a putz.

[Burgey]

Look, I'm sure he's a perfectly nice bloke and all (for a Pom, which doesn't say a great deal) but he's such a meh player.

[Jono]

Would like to hear more of your thoughts on Ian Bell over a cup of tea.

[flibbertyjibber]

Such a meh player that he'd walk into your side and be your 2nd best bat and probably vice captain.

[Burgey]

Such a meh player that he'd walk into your side and be your 2nd best bat and probably vice captain.

Yeah but I'm not blowing smoke up their arses like blokes are about Bell.

If it comes down to relying on Bell to win or save the series for England, I wouldn't back him with your dough mate.

[Adders]

Crikeys Burgey, 7 attempts and you still haven't managed a valid point.

A few facts about Ian Bell for ya.....

86 tests and an average of 46. That's a higher career average than Graham Gooch, David Gower, Mark Waugh and Justin Langer to name but a few. He's scored test tons against every test playing nation including a high score of 199 against a South African bowling attack of Steyn, Morkel and Nitini.

I point you to Newlands 2010 as an innings that shows he can deliver under pressure, I watched every ball of that knock and I can tell you that the 200 odd balls he faced was against some of the best bowling you'll see in this era............actually thinking of putting this one forward in the most underrated innings thread.

Oh and he just saved a series for England in the last test match he played.

The trouble with some of you Aussies is that when you think of Ian Bell you think of 2005 Ian Bell and the image has stuck............you've somehow managed to miss the following 8 years of his career.

He's no ATG by any means but he's a bloody decent batsmen and as said multiple times, head and shoulders above anything you've got to bring to the table right now bar Clarke.

[Burgey]

He's a dud. Wouldn't give you two bob for him.

If you have pics of Ian Bell on your wall (and you plainly do) then you worship mediocrity, which is why the English have 18 months of sporting success every 25 years and consider themselves a powerhouse.