"You can quote me on this........"

[tooextracool]

That should bode well for the batting community.

well i think its safe to say that the last 5 years or so have been horrible in terms of bowling quality at the test match level. its because of that that certain batsmen are made out to be better than they actually are. the lack of swing bowlers in particular has been a major loss for cricket as a whole

 

[Richard]

i cant see him do that to be honest, unless he isnt fully fit. bowlers dont get worse over time unless they get injured or get old, neither of which is going to happen. simon jones has far more potential than any other up and coming fast bowler i've seen in a very long time, and theres no reason why he shouldnt succeed.

Players get worse all the time - players also have the odd good series and not much else. Until Jones has done the job for a few series in a row we can't assume anything. In June 2004 everyone was saying (no, I'm not suggesting you did) that Harmison had more potential than anyone for ages, and as we now know, that was a load of rubbish. And it was because he'd had just 2 good series.

and the odds of 2 out of 3 of those players playing in a test match is in itself very very slim let alone everything else happening.

It's much less likely than more, in Mushtaq Ahmed's case especially given that he hasn't bowled well in a Test for about 7 years, but I think it's more likely than you think.

 

[tooextracool]

Players get worse all the time - players also have the odd good series and not much else. Until Jones has done the job for a few series in a row we can't assume anything. In June 2004 everyone was saying (no, I'm not suggesting you did) that Harmison had more potential than anyone for ages, and as we now know, that was a load of rubbish. And it was because he'd had just 2 good series.

except for the fact that harmison never got worse, he was just rated higher as a bowler than he actually was while still being a fairly good bowler. Jones will not lose his ability overnight, and the fact is that he has a truckload of potential at the international level.

 

[Burpey]

This thread should be periodically reviewed in order to check accuracy. Feel free to add more so that you too can have egg on your face.

At the risk of looking foolish, here are 5 predictions to go on record:

1. Ricky Ponting will be Australia's captain in the next Ashes series
2. Matt Hayden will open the batting with Justin Langer at the Gabba in that series.
3. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath will all play in the series.
4. Australia will go into the series ranked 1 in the world and will retain their ranking at the end of it.
5. Australia will lose the ODI Super Series and win the test match.

Well, you have that one incorrect

 

[Jarryd_S]

Cameron White will one day captain Australia.

 

[Richard]

If so runs really will flow!

 

[Richard]

except for the fact that harmison never got worse, he was just rated higher as a bowler than he actually was while still being a fairly good bowler. Jones will not lose his ability overnight, and the fact is that he has a truckload of potential at the international level.

So Harmison didn't bowl far less accurately in these matches than he did in these?
Harmison mightn't have bowled that well in those games (though of course everyone went on as if he was bowling like the greatest bowler of all time) but he categorically bowled better than he had before or has since.
Jones will not indeed lose his ability overnight but he might bowl less well for the rest of his career than he did in The Ashes 2005. You see it quite often when bowlers have one sensational series and no other especially good ones.

 

[Pothas]

1. Trescothick will be Englands leading run scorer this winter
2. Shaun Udal will play and out perform Ashley Giles
3. Australia will whitewash South Africa

 

[Richard]

to the lot of that!

 

[Swervy]

to the lot of that!

apart from the Udal bit, I think he has good reason to make those predictions

 

[Maison]

1. Ricky Ponting will be Australia's captain in the next Ashes series
2. Matt Hayden will open the batting with Justin Langer at the Gabba in that series.
3. Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath will all play in the series.
4. Australia will go into the series ranked 1 in the world and will retain their ranking at the end of it.
5. Australia will lose the ODI Super Series and win the test match.

1 - Yes, of course, he's bloody good. No reason to sack him of the captaincy.
2 - Hayden could be included (who knows?), because take it this way, he's still in the test side now isnt he?
3 - Warne will continue till he's 40 (i hope so! lol), gilchrist.... doubtful (he was reported this year saying "i cant wait to quit"), McGrath will 'possibly' be around, although injuries await.
4 - Ranked number 1? Probably, but it'll be close between 1st and 2nd (england will 'hopefully' be 2nd?).
5 - Heh, look at the results now and tell me what you reckon? lollollolololololololol


i get angry when people say pontings a bad captain (i had to say it...)


hows about this!

1 - Pietersen will move back to South Africa, and spend 5 years or so there, then join the SA team

yay!

 

[Richard]

apart from the Udal bit, I think he has good reason to make those predictions

So Australia will whitewash South Africa? That'll take some spectacularly poor performance from a number of South Africans.
And Trescothick will perform better than Strauss, Vaughan, Bell and Pietersen? I think not. Trescothick is still an abject apology for a Test batsman in my estimation, and on top of that is not an especially good player of spin. To say he'll likely top-score in two away series when for some strange reason most of his failure has been away is not a very logical deduction.

 

[Maison]

So Australia will whitewash South Africa? That'll take some spectacularly poor performance from a number of South Africans.

Who knows?

Can't see why not. it'll be after the summer, Australia wouldve had practise, thus more prepared than they were going into the ashes series ( )

This summer will give us time to see 'who sucks and who doesnt' (in other words, 'who just had a sour series and who sucks')

 

[Richard]

However much practise they might get, they're now a poor enough Test team to have to work pretty hard to beat South Africa.
While it's still pretty likely they'll do so, a double-whitewash is very, very far-fetched IMO.

 

[Swervy]

So Australia will whitewash South Africa? That'll take some spectacularly poor performance from a number of South Africans.
And Trescothick will perform better than Strauss, Vaughan, Bell and Pietersen? I think not. Trescothick is still an abject apology for a Test batsman in my estimation, and on top of that is not an especially good player of spin. To say he'll likely top-score in two away series when for some strange reason most of his failure has been away is not a very logical deduction.

But the fact of the matter is Australia are still light years ahead of SA. I cant really see SA troubling the Aussies that much, and if the Australian bowling attack fires on all cylinders (which it didnt this summer of course) SA will struggle. It is perectly reasonable to suggest Australia could win all three tests...its not a laughable suggestion.

and regarding Trescothick, I dont think you can really rule out someone who was pretty much Englands most CONSISTANT scorer this summer, who scored nigh on 450 runs in 5 tests vs the Worlds top team...again its not a laughable idea that he could be Englands top scorer this winter...it may well not happen, but its probably more likely than maybe Vaughan or Bell being the top performer. Remember Trescothick is pretty good at going on to make big big scores, it only takes a couple of those scores and he could be on for a 600 run winter..and for me Pakistan could suit him, and he has succeeded vs India previously

 

[Swervy]

However much practise they might get, they're now a poor enough Test team to have to work pretty hard to beat South Africa.
While it's still pretty likely they'll do so, a double-whitewash is very, very far-fetched IMO.

so its pretty likely they will whitewash SA while it being very very far fetched an idea to suggest it could happen???????

 

[Maison]

england won over in south africa (2-1), england beat australia, nevertheless aust still 'only' lost 2-1 when it shouldve been like 3-1 (or, 4-1 in some cases)

lets say australia 'werent in form', thats why they did 'bad' (cause considering how BADLY THEY PLAYED IN THE ASHES THEY SHOULDVE BEEN FLOGGED). if they came back to form against SA, it should be 3-0? or better


so having typed all that crap, which probably made no sense, i still beleive Australia is the best team in the world..... by quite abit.

 

[Pothas]

So Australia will whitewash South Africa? That'll take some spectacularly poor performance from a number of South Africans.
And Trescothick will perform better than Strauss, Vaughan, Bell and Pietersen? I think not. Trescothick is still an abject apology for a Test batsman in my estimation, and on top of that is not an especially good player of spin. To say he'll likely top-score in two away series when for some strange reason most of his failure has been away is not a very logical deduction.

The fact you think he is not test standard is a lot more laughable. He impressed me imensly agsinst the Australians even if he dint go on to get a hundred. He is also far more consistant than Vaughan in the last couple of years and he is certainly more cosistant than Pieterson.

 

[tooextracool]

So Harmison didn't bowl far less accurately in these matches than he did in these?
Harmison mightn't have bowled that well in those games (though of course everyone went on as if he was bowling like the greatest bowler of all time) but he categorically bowled better than he had before or has since.

no harmison may have bowled more accurate during the summer of 2004 than he did in the winter but hes certainly bowled just as accurately in the ashes as he has ever managed to bowl, whether his ER represents that or not is irrelevant.

Jones will not indeed lose his ability overnight but he might bowl less well for the rest of his career than he did in The Ashes 2005. You see it quite often when bowlers have one sensational series and no other especially good ones.

you see it in bowlers who get the conditions in their favor for one series and then get talked up as being something brilliant, much like anderson was after the World cup or like harmison was after the series in the WI. fact is if harmison went to the WI and bowled in the exact same conditions hed in all likelyhood get a similar number of wickets, as would anderson if he bowled in the WC in the exact same conditions.
obviously Jones may bowl less well in his next few series but im sure that he will bowl just as well in several other series unless as i said his injury hampers him.

 

[tooextracool]

So Australia will whitewash South Africa? That'll take some spectacularly poor performance from a number of South Africans.

so its not possible for them to get whitewashed despite the fact that thats exactly what happened to them last time around? i cant see pollock being effective in australia(unless we miraculously see a change in conditions), it would take a brave man to suggest that ntini wouldnt be rubbish away from home when hes been like that all his career, and therefore you're really only counting on andre nel to take 20 wickets every game.