Series Predictions Thread

[Silver Silva]

I think Michael Neser would love CW to be part of the Aussie selection panel

 

[Molehill]

Winner and scoreline: England 4-0 Australia Also morally correct
Most runs for each: Crawley + Head Nailed Crawley
Most wickets for each: Robinson + Boland This was me effectively saying Boland would be horsecrap, he was
Compton–Miller Medal: Crawley It should've been him
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Crawley + Warner Another success from Crawley
Biggest failures for each: Brook + Smith Well it wasn't exactly Smith's greatest effort
Players called up/debuted: Foakes + Neser Both should've played
Players dropped: Khawaja, Starc, Lyon Well Lyon sorted that out whilst Starc and drop was a different scenario
Random/free choice: Lyon gets smacked out of the attack and Australia switch to a T20 type spinner. Head gets hit on the Head at least 4 times, Nailed the Head's head bit
Number of sessions affected by rain: 7 (and all will be in July) Should've made it 17 and all in July.

 

[GIMH]

.

Stokes did bowl a few overs tbf

 

[Spark]

Robinson probably dropped. But you could argue it was injury that cost him his place and then the form of Woakes/Wood prevented his return (even if he should've played The Oval ahead of Anderson).

Then you should remove Green from the list too, as that's what happened to him as well.

 

[GIMH]

Then you should remove Green from the list too, as that's what happened to him as well.

Got dropped after coming back though.

I'd list both like, but a little bit different.

 

[Molehill]

Got dropped after coming back though.

I'd list both like, but a little bit different.

Green was definitely dropped for the 5th Test. It was him or Marsh and they kept Mitch.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Winner and scoreline: England 3-1
Most runs for each: Duckett & Smith
Most wickets for each: Robinson & Cummins
Compton-Miller Medal: Duckett
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Duckett & Warner
Biggest failure for each: Crawley & Khawaja
Players called up/debuted: I doubt too many of the seamers (save Cummins) will play all 5 tests, so expect some rotation there. Tongue and Neser to play at some point.
Players dropped: Ali & AN Aussie Seamer (say Boland)
Random/free choice: Stokes to make significant bowling contribution in at least one test; at least one player from #8 down to ton up.
Number of sessions affected by rain: Ha, we've actually got eff all wet stuff around just now; will say 10.

Jeez, what an absolute shit show.

Winner and scoreline: England 3-1 - Not a million miles off, tbf.
Most runs for each: Duckett & Smith - Pfft.
Most wickets for each: Robinson & Cummins - Ditto
Compton-Miller Medal: Duckett - Think I was deffo pushing the wee fella's cart a tad hard.
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Duckett & Warner - Think they're the batsmen from each side with the lowest averages, certainly of those who played all 5.
Biggest failure for each: Crawley & Khawaja - Ha. Top two run makers. Bra-friggin'-vo.
Players called up/debuted: I doubt too many of the seamers (save Cummins) will play all 5 tests, so expect some rotation there. Tongue and Neser to play at some point. - Well, Tongue did get a gig. (Very) partial credit.
Players dropped: Ali & AN Aussie Seamer (say Boland) - Probably my least worst effort. Think Mo's absence more down to his finger, tbf, but Boland deffo got the arse.
Random/free choice: Stokes to make significant bowling contribution in at least one test; at least one player from #8 down to ton up. - Nope and nope.
Number of sessions affected by rain: Ha, we've actually got eff all wet stuff around just now; will say 10. - Yeah, just the thing to say before the wettest July on record. Sigh.

 

[Spark]

Got dropped after coming back though.

I'd list both like, but a little bit different.

Oh yeah but there's no question in my mind that both were dropped.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Winner and scoreline: 2-2
Most runs for each: Crawley & Khawaja
Most wickets for each: Broad & Starc
Compton-Miller Medal: Woakes
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Crawley & Head
Biggest failure for each: Anderson & Green
Players called up/debuted: Wood, Woakes, Moeen Ali, Mitch Marsh
Players dropped: Boland
Random/free choice: Bairstow to get run out by the keeper while leaving his crease after letting go through. Will be controversial.
Number of sessions affected by rain: 10

Reckon I did pretty well here.

 

[Chin Music]

I didn't put up any series prediction, largely because I didn't really post that much before the series but also, I can't say I had any great certainty about what the score would be. Firstly, I had my doubts that the 'Bazball' approach by England would work against Australia as I thought their bowling would be too good. Up to a point that was proven right over the first two tests. However, set against that, I always that Australia's batting would possibly not deal so well with the moving ball, a feature of most of the last several Ashes in England. It could be said that Australia actually managed the moving ball pretty well with the exceptions of Warner, Green and (up to a point) Labuschagne.

For me, although a hugely variable series, what defined it for me was lots of errors from the losing teams in the four result tests that ended up defining the result.

 

[Molehill]

Reckon I did pretty well here.

It's good, but not even the best random act involving Bairstow - that has to be him carrying a Just Stop Oil protestor over the boundary rope.

 

[ataraxia]

Winner and scoreline: England 3–2 Australia – morally correct, 4th test rain saved Australia
Most runs for each: Root + Smith – both were 2nd place tbf
Most wickets for each: Anderson Cummins – also right
Compton–Miller Medal: Stokes – Stokes, Woakes, same difference. He had a pretty gun series anyway.
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Stokes + Lyon – spot on, apart from the "biggest" part; Lyon was good when he played
Biggest failures for each: Crawley, Bairstow + Warner, Labuschagne – Warner failed ofc, Labuschagne relatively failed, Bairstow holistically failed because that keeping genuinely might have prevented England from winning both the first two tests, and Crawley failed the expectations of him.
Players called up/debuted: Neser + Stevens – neither team saw the bright side
Players dropped: Crawley (by Kent) + Starc – Crawley hasn't played a match for Kent in 2.5 months and Starc was dropped before the series even began
Random/free choice: Broad dismisses Warner at least four times; Green to quietly gun it – 3 is a moral victory. If Green gunned it, it was very quiet so also correct.
Number of sessions affected by rain: 13 precisely – got the digits in the wrong order

About right.

 

[honestbharani]

Jeez, what an absolute shit show.

Winner and scoreline: England 3-1 - Not a million miles off, tbf.
Most runs for each: Duckett & Smith - Pfft.
Most wickets for each: Robinson & Cummins - Ditto
Compton-Miller Medal: Duckett - Think I was deffo pushing the wee fella's cart a tad hard.
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Duckett & Warner - Think they're the batsmen from each side with the lowest averages, certainly of those who played all 5.
Biggest failure for each: Crawley & Khawaja - Ha. Top two run makers. Bra-friggin'-vo.
Players called up/debuted: I doubt too many of the seamers (save Cummins) will play all 5 tests, so expect some rotation there. Tongue and Neser to play at some point. - Well, Tongue did get a gig. (Very) partial credit.
Players dropped: Ali & AN Aussie Seamer (say Boland) - Probably my least worst effort. Think Mo's absence more down to his finger, tbf, but Boland deffo got the arse.
Random/free choice: Stokes to make significant bowling contribution in at least one test; at least one player from #8 down to ton up. - Nope and nope.
Number of sessions affected by rain: Ha, we've actually got eff all wet stuff around just now; will say 10. - Yeah, just the thing to say before the wettest July on record. Sigh.

Think Stokes did make a key contribution at Edgbaston as a bowler.

 

[andruid]

Winner and scoreline: Australia 3-1 not far off
Most runs for each: Labuschagne and Root far off
Most wickets for each: Boland and Anderson very far off
Compton-Miller Medal: Labuschagne
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Neser for Australia. No one does anything overly unexpected for England
Biggest failure for each: Travis Head for Australia. The whole England team just generally underwhelms with no one standing out as an obvious scapegoat
Players called up/debuted: Neser(?)
Players dropped: Head and Starc
Random/free choice: Bazball kinda blows up in England's face. Something along the lines of a match that could have played out as a draw ends up as a loss because of England trying to force a win and falling on their faces woohoo
Number of sessions affected by rain: 9

 

[Ashes81]

Winner and scoreline: England 3-2
Most runs for each: Root and Labuschagne
Most wickets for each: Robinson and Cummins
Compton-Miller Medal: Robinson
Biggest welcome surprise for each: Duckett and Green
Biggest failure for each: Crawley and Warner
Players called up/debuted: Neser
Players dropped: Crawley, Warner
Number of sessions affected by rain: 12

A mixed bag - I would have got the score right but for the pesky Manchester rain .

Robinson didn't perform as expected, nor did Green and obviously Crawley exceeded my expectations.

 

[GIMH]

Green was a welcome surprise for England tbf

 

[NotMcKenzie]

Winner and scoreline: 2-2 Correct
Most runs for each: Marnus, Root Wrong; Wrong
Most wickets for each: Cummins, Broad Wrong; Correct
Compton-Miller Medal: Who cares? Correct
Biggest welcome surprise for each: None, all surprises will be unwelcome Correct
Biggest failure for each: Lyon, Crawley (hopefully) Don't know, does injury count? ; wrong
Players called up/debuted: Neser Wrong
Players dropped: Starc, several English bowlers through 'rotation'. Wrong; Wrong (Robinson was dropped dropped)
Random/free choice: The level of disengagment these predictions portray to continue, unless the world changes dramatically. Correct
Number of sessions affected by rain: 10 Wrong