Nothing to Fear? The Australian Ashes Squad

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When a team in any sport is announced weeks, or in this case months, ahead of a big tournament, it’s usually a sign of intent. It shows that a squad is settled, confident and isn’t too fussed about what the opposition might do. It basically says: ‘we’re coming for you, and we think we’re gonna win’.

There are usually practical reasons for naming a squad early too, but it certainly lays down a marker. When England won the rugby World Cup in 2003, everyone knew what the starting XV was going to be about six months beforehand. Clive Woodward didn’t need to pull any last minute surprises; he knew his fifteen players would beat whatever was in front of them.

The fact the Aussies named their Ashes squad today – less than 48 hours after winning the World Cup – has therefore got people talking. They’re obviously full of themselves at the moment, and why not. But have they picked the right team? And is their squad as intimidating as billed?

My initial answers to these questions are ‘possibly not’ and ‘probably not’. Yes, there are some very good players there, but there are reasons to be somewhat optimistic too.

First of all, let’s look at the Aussies’ batting. Although Clarke and Smith are both class acts, and David Warner will be as dangerous as ever, I’m pretty encouraged that Australia still haven’t unearthed any prolific young batsmen. Their selectors are still being forced to try journeymen or cricketers who have already failed on the big stage before.

The likes of Alex Doolan and George Bailey have come and gone – they simply didn’t have the necessary class – and they’re forced to kick the tyres on guys like Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges again. Both these players are the wrong side of thirty.

I rate Marsh highly, as he’s so good to watch, but his test average of 36 tells us he’s been largely disappointing thus far. He’s almost like the Aussie equivalent of Ravi Bopara (although he bats more like Ed Joyce).

I appreciate that Voges has had a prolific domestic season, but he’s never been a particularly great player. He’s a county cricket stalwart but has rarely been prolific, and if he scores runs in the Ashes it will say more about the paucity of England’s resources than the depth of Australia’s batting.

Put it this way, I do not think Voges would be in the England squad. There are better, younger batsmen in the Lions reckoning. The problem of course is that Voges probably won’t play. Having better reserves doesn’t make up for the fact that Australia’s big guns are better than ours.

When it comes to Australia’s bowling, I also think there are reasons to be cheerful. It looks a potent attack on paper – and it would be ridiculous to argue otherwise – but England’s cause isn’t without hope.

Generally, I was a little underwhelmed by Mitchell Johnson in the World Cup. His arm looks lower than it’s been for a while, and he didn’t look the same well oiled machine he was fifteen months ago.

Let’s face it, Mitch’s action is so terrible that it could go wrong at any time. Everything needs to be in perfect working order for him to fire. Who’s to say his action won’t get worse rather than better before July?

Then we come to Mitchell Starc, who was the best bowler during the world cup. It’s quite possible that Starc, at 25 years old, has finally come of age. The truth is, however, that nobody knows. Test cricket is a completely different game.

Based on his ODI form a few years ago, Steve Finn was being described as the best young bowling prospect in the world. He was rapid – topping 92-95mph quite regularly during a tour of India – and everyone thought he’d take the world by storm.

Thus far Starc’s test career has been plagued by the same inconsistencies as Finn’s. Like Finn, his radar isn’t always the most reliable, and he sometimes struggles to maintain his extreme pace throughout the day. It’s one thing to go hell for leather for ten overs; it’s quite another to sustain it for twenty overs per day during back-to-back tests.

Basically, there is every chance that Starc might disappoint on the Ashes tour – just like he did in 2013. His test average is over the thirty for a reason you know.

Let’s look at the other seamers. Ryan Harris is superb, and if he plays then Alastair Cook’s career could be in jeopardy, but he will be almost 36 when the Ashes starts. Harris’ fitness is by no means guaranteed. Who will be the senior bowler, and who will keep control, if Harris’ knee blows up?

Finally we come to Hazlewood, who looks a good prospect but lacks genuine pace, and good old Peter Siddle. I personally find it incredible that Siddle has been preferred to Pat Cummins. I am a huge Cummins fan, and I think England will feel quite comfortable if Siddle (who barely bowls more than medium pace these days) makes the final XI.

Strangely enough, I think Siddle’s selection shows the Aussies are a little worried about a Kevin Pietersen recall. As we all know, KP really struggles against Siddle. The truth is, however, that none of our other batsmen do.

During one of his commentary stints on Radio 5 during the World Cup, Pietersen joked that he kept getting out to Siddle in order to keep him in the Australian team. Apparently all the other England batsmen find him easy to face and see him as something of a weak link. I’m absolutely positive that Trott, Bell and Co would much prefer to face Siddle than a nasty quick like Cummins.

Finally, we should talk about Australia’s spinners. Nathan Lyon is a decent test spinner, and I think he’s improved quite a lot, but I don’t think he’s noticeable better than Moeen Ali (who obviously offers more with the bat).

The inclusion of Fawad Ahmed, who did well in the Sheffield Shield, is an interesting one, but I think his selection has more to do with England’s perceived weakness against leg spin than anything else. Fawad is a good bowler but certainly not one to be feared. If the Aussie spinners take lots of wickets I think it will be due to scoreboard pressure, and the fact England are under the cosh generally, rather than anything else.

Please don’t get me wrong. This Australian squad is a good one, and it’s certainly more than capable of defeating us 3-1 or even 4-0. However, I’m not ready to roll over and die just yet. There are genuine chinks in the armour, and I do not think this squad is anywhere near as good as the vintage Aussie sides of 2005 or 2001 (or even 1997 for that matter).

The problem, of course, is England. How strong will our side be? If we stutter through the Windies tour, lose to New Zealand, and Cook and Moores are still in situ, I expect nothing less than a comprehensive defeat. We will be out-coached and out-led (as well as being outplayed).

However, if Colin Graves and the selectors make the necessary changes, and the dressing room dynamic changes, then I can see England being competitive. We will need Anderson and Broad bowling at their very best, but they’ve risen to the occasion before.

England also have one very big factor in their favour: in modern test cricket, the home side usually wins. If you look at results around the world in recent years, you’ll see that series victories for touring teams happen as infrequently as ECB apologies.

James Morgan

@DoctorCopy

Australia Squad: Michael Clarke (c), Steve Smith, (vc) Fawad Ahmed, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson.

51 comments

  • Like the optimisim.

    Problem with England recently hasn’t necessarily been one of “talent” or at least perceived talent, certainly in batting anyway, more about mindset. That is the biggest difference between the 2 teams.

    As you say, there’s little difference in the batting of the 2 teams, with the Aussies having the 2 form players in Warner & Smith giving them the edge at this precise moment in time.

    Whilst there are legitimate doubts as you outline above, that the potentially fearsome Aussie bowling line up might not live up to it’s current billing, it’s still got more depth and threat to it than England’s, even allowing for a return to a full summer’s fitness & form of Braod & Anderson. Mitch Squared plus Harris if they click could absolutely destroy the England line up through their potent mix of craft, guile, swing and pace.

    As I said on the other ther thread, don’t think we’ll get hammered, it defeinitely won’t be 5-0 and I agree about the home advantage of recent years, just worry that we’ve been on a steep downward trajectory (until proven otherwise I look at the home & away wins over India as excellent blips on an otherwise pronounced trend) for a long time and if things even wobble a little bit, we look ripe for the taking.

  • “If Colin Graves and the selectors make the necessary changes”

    The first necessary change being the selectors themselves.

  • Thanks James, you made me feel better for 30 seconds.

    Nah, we’re getting a stuffing. The top brass will remain, the duffest coach in history will remain, and Little Lord Cook will pout his way through another season without runs or wins. AND do that awful thing with his voice at the end of his sentences in interviews. Grrrrrraves will turn out to be a company man like the rest. There – I’m doing reverse-psychology on him, should he read your blog.

    The Mitchells might be potentially erratic but they’re more than potentially world class, too. Both would walk into the England team, for me. Yes, Harris is great. He will end Cook’s career, but only if the selectors have been replaced already. Siddle may be a bit slower these days but saying things like that are doing Lehmann’s motivationals for him. They might not need many overs from a spinner unless we get a roasty Summer, so they may have overstocked the aeroplane with two. Will we last more than 75 overs very often against extreme pace? Hmmm…

    Even if the entire rotten hierachy get shipped out we’ll still only get silver medal.

    Gary Ballance! That’s a free one for James Whitaker.

  • Hello happiness! Great writing. In spite of your undiluted pessimism you made me laugh and lifted a cloud of what could be called, despair. Thanks also to James, for the same.

    • Thanks for the encouragement, jennyah46! Yeah, I’m sorry about the pessimism. When I’m not thinking about the England test team I’m actually all smiles! Promise the next time summat remotely good happens to us [perhaps a rush of suits to the exit door] I’ll gush forth the joy like never witnessed before.

      MMx

  • I’m surprised by this squad, because its a squad picked for the moment, not for the future (which is ok) and definitely based on current form. In fact based on form, this is a very good side. Voges and Fawed have been outstanding this season.

    My surprise is the omission of Agar, Maxwell and Hartley (being a Queenslander is never going to trump a NSW – incidentally, both keepers picked in the squad are from NSW!).

    Agar is a great talent, better than when England saw him last Ashes in the UK. He was brought into the squad in the recent test series against India, which we all thought was a marker for the Ashes squad, but he can count himself unlucky to miss out. We will though, see him again in the not too distant future.

    Maxwell is no secret, immense talent and I thought they would go with him instead of Voges. The selectors put him in at 3 against Pakistan last year, which failed, but so did everything else the Australians did in the UAE. Like Agar, he will be one for the future.

    If one was to select a squad based on the future, then I think Finch is a chance to replace Rodgers. That would be a pretty awesome opening pair of Warner and Finch, followed by Smith, Burns/Maddison, M. Marsh, Maxwell, Hartley/Neville, Agar, Starc, Pattinson, Cummins/Hazelwood,

    Anyway, flip it around anyway way you like, this squad will thump England.

    • Finch? Are you mad? There is about 3 or 4 young Aus openers in Shield who are better than him by some way and most of them aren’t even close to ready for test cricket.

      • I respect your comment Lolly, no issue there, but I based my theory on the fact that Finch, if he was selected, would be part of the same top 7 batsman he was involved with in the WC, so he knows the set up, has worked with 95% of the squad, which is a winning squad. No better way to come into the test team with that backdrop.

        Besides, he’s a decent fielder, good team man, keeps his name out of the wrong headlines and is very positive with his cricket attitude.

        Put it this way, who thought that Warner would go from a 20/20 wonder boy to a seriously good Test player?

        Finch can play a straight bat when he needs to, and with the winning environment of the ODI squad, his positive attitude towards his game, I think his inclusion would be seamless.

        I have made some bold predictions over the years, so you can add this one as another!

        • Finch’s Shield record is abysmal, worse than Mitch Marsh. There are no grounds to bring him in as he’s not even a mediocre all-rounder.

  • Agree with the Siddle thing james and said it on your last post. Would defo take a chance on Cummins,he is seriously quick! England batsmen will not fear Siddle. If Aus bowlers perform they should have enough to win series. Still many question marks on some of the batsmen like you said. Watson is lucky he is such a handy bowler,wouldn’t have him near the side for his batting,especially in England. Is Finn your great hope outside of Anderson Broad? Just wondering?

    • Great hope? We have no hope ;-)

      I think England will have to make do with the average Woakes for a year or two. There are a couple of good young bowlers around (Topley, Dunn spring to mind) but they’re probably not quite ready yet. A wildcard for the summer might be Mark Footitt, who is left arm and quite lively.

      We have two genuine quicks in Mills and Overton, but both struggle with fitness and consistency so I’d be amazed if either gets a sniff re: selection this summer. The other genuinely fast bowler around is Meaker, but he doesn’t seem to do much with the ball.

        • I like Plunkett and he would’ve been in my world cup squad as a wicket taker. My fear is how Moores used him last summer. All that right arm around the wicket, exclusively short stuff. Just brainless, brainless management as usual.

  • It will be interesting to see how the pitches are prepared! They were slow and bare in 2013 as you had Swann in mind. Bit of grass would suit you more for your seamers this time,even though our bowlers would also love that. Could be a few batting collapses coming up for both sides

  • This post is mostly true.

    I’d raise two objections.

    The first regards the batting. You say Australia haven’t unearthed any prolific young batsmen. How about Smith? How young do they need to be? I also think Voges is more capable than is suggested here but so be it. He’s just come off an epic FC season and could add stability to the middle order if Smith moved to No.3.

    The second objection regards the bowling. It’s perfectly true that Johnson could lose his mojo and Harris could break down. No doubt. But to say Siddle has been included only as a contingency plan for KP is crazy. He’s been included because he’s had a great FC season for Victoria and because younger bowlers like Cummins and Pattinson can’t stay on the park. Also, for all the talk about Starc, Hazlewood is probably ahead of him when it comes to Test cricket. He’s got superb control, good bounce and is quicker than he looks.

    That said, the point of the post in valid.

    Of course, England shouldn’t be ready to roll over and die. It’s an Ashes series in England. That’d a challenge for Australian cricketers, especially a side that isn’t the finished product.

    The fact that the original post purports to go ‘against the grain’ says more about shameful English defeatism than it does about any Australian bravado. As though English fans have to talk themselves into thinking they might have a chance. What’s that about?

    England fans seem to have two gears when talking about their cricket team: unjustified optimism and then deranged, self-flagellating negativity. Why don’t you just find a happy medium?

    Australia are a good Test side, with 2-3 world-class batsmen and well-balanced pace stocks. Australia have their noses in front on paper but not to the point where victory is a given.

    England need a couple of players to step up, the way a few Australians did in 2013-14. That’s entirely possible. So just chill out instead of swinging the pendulum back and forth every two weeks.

    • I take your point about Smith but what I meant is there are no new faces. Smith is young, but he’s already played in three Ashes series (won one, lost two). Siddle is a good bowler, don’t get me wrong, but he’s played four Ashes series (I think) and won just once. He didn’t tear up trees for Notts either.

      Take out Mitchell Marsh and Smith and the average age of this Australian team is well over 30. Where are the next generation? There will be lots of players to replace in four years time, if not in two years time. I should really have focused on the age issue a bit more.

      • The Ashes will be played in a few months, so surely questions about the next generation will be addressed after that. I’m not sure ‘new faces’ would strengthen the team in the short term.

        But there are certainly wholesale changes around the corner. Rogers, Haddin and Harris will go. Watson is barely hanging on in terms of form, let alone age. Maybe Clarke and Johnson stick around for one more go at the Saffas next year.

        It means Australia will be left with a top six built around Warner, Smith and probably Mitch Marsh at No.6. Shaun Marsh and Joe Burns are probably the next guys in line, although Glenn Maxwell also seems likely to get another opportunity at some stage.

        Wade will likely be the next keeper.

        Then you’re into the young pace attack – pick three of Starc, Haxlewood, Pattinson and Cummins. James Faulkner is also floating around but is a bit of a square peg in terms of his role.

        The Australia A squads were also announced if you want to get a specific idea of who else is in the frame. The big takeaway for me is that Usman Khawaja will get another go if he returns successfully from his injury.

        So there are a few guys waiting in the wings for an opportunity. I guess it’s worth pointing out that two years ago, Smith was a joke, Warner was a T20 slogger and English fans probably hadn’t heard of Starc. So things can move quickly.

    • Sorry Tom, but my pendulum hasn’t swung for quite a while now. Probably since Brisbane 2013. I’m having scary thoughts about the West Indies and NZ tours, never mind The Ashes. I’m just saying what I see and, with this set-up, this captain, and this bowling attack, I see us getting rogered throughout 2015, and into 2016.

      I really want to be wrong. Aren’t too many things are stacked against us before we even get to the toss? Selectors, coaches, etc. I’ll eat my and Peter Moores’ laptop if I am proved wrong.

      • I think Australia are in front on paper but it’s not comprehensive and English conditions can complicate matters. I doubt it will be the rogering you fear.

      • ……..oh, yes West Indies AND New Zealand before Australia!! ……… and here’s me thinking test cricket proper didn’t start until the ashes – how nice to be single minded – why complain about the state of english cricket when we have the ashes to look forward to???????

    • Aussies haven’t won in England for the last 3 series. Victory can’t be a given on those grounds alone.

  • If England are to make a competitive series out of this year’s Ashes, they need to find a working 3rd bowler (and ideally a 4th too, if Moeen is to be the spinner/batsman). It could be Finn, it could be Jordan… maybe miracles can happen now Saker is gone. Anyway, at the moment we’re a bowler light. And Broad’s form is in pieces. Really hard to see how we take 20 wickets…

  • The issue of age I think is a bit more complex. Players get “too old” at different ages and so who knows when the Australian players will retire. Some like Harris at 34 and Rodgers at 37 look like they are in their prime, at ages where a great many players are finished. Others amongst this Australian side will conk out with injuries and a loss of form long before those ages. As for the younger ones coming (or not coming) then they will just have to work harder, and longer to get their chances. And some of them will emerge when the time comes. Not brilliant young promising youngsters perhaps, but instead older, more experienced and solid batmen, making their test debuts at around 30. Let me finish with a quote

    “After the series (1968) I remarked that with the lack of young players producing runs in England, it would be a long time before England would beat Australian again. It took exactly two years to prove me wrong” Bill Lawry

  • James, I admire your attempt at blind propoganda.

    Let’s take a look at it.

    Warner, Rogers, Smith, Clarke, S Marsh, Watson, Haddin. Mitch Johnson, Starc, Harris, Ahmed.

    England will lose this 5 Test series probably 7 – nil.

    You went after Voges and Siddle, but they won’t play. Doubting Mitch as made Fools of many a man. I don’t care if Harris is 65 years old. Judge results, not age. Starc’s in swinging yorkers are silkier than Wasim’s.

    Best of luck :)

    • Looking at that side and our side, it’s probably best for KP to sit this Ashes out..

    • I find it extremely encouraging that Ahmed and Voges did so well in domestic cricket! Shows that the talent level in the Shield isn’t particularly strong. Voges never scores that many runs in county cricket :-)

      The Big Bash also showed the paucity of young Aussie talent coming through. Look at the success of the English contingent: KP, Carberry, Lumb, Wessels etc. Didn’t see too much exciting Aussie talent eclipsing these much travelled guys.

      The Aussies have two exceptional young pacemen in Cummins and Pattinson, but their careers have been ruined by injury this far. If their bodies can’t cope with the rigours of the sport when they’re young ….

      • In the Big Bash, Nic Maddinson, Jordan Silk, Chris Lynn and Travis Head all scored more runs than Wessels. All aged 24 or younger.

        Not that I’d get too excited about the Big Bash as a means of identifying talent for Test cricket.

        • Wasn’t trying to suggest that Wessels is a top player. He’s never been close to international selection. Just trying to demonstrate that the standard can’t be particularly high if journeymen players from the county game are doing well. But yes, agree that a T20 competition only tells us so much.

      • Mitch Johnson couldn’t cope with the rigours of fast bowling till he was about 25. He had 2 years off where he played as a batsman in grade cricket after a series of stress fractures in his back. He has ended up as strong as an ox. You can never tell with young quicks. They may disappear never to be seen or they may end up like him and Lee.

        I think it will be a very interesting Ashes as these are two teams with the potential to fall apart. We still don’t know if Clarke can bat in test cricket anymore… or if Harris can bowl for any length of time.

  • Any Australian side which doesn’t have Doug Bollinger in it already looks good to me.

    I’m surprised to say I would have given Maxwell a dig — I really didn’t rate him at all a while ago. And Cummins should have been in, but I guess they put in Siddle as a reliable “known quantity” in case there are injuries, and so that Warne can call him the banana-man a few more times.

    The main concern I have (from an Aust point of view) is that Saker’s absence might assist the Eng quicks, and there’s always the possibility that Cook and Moores will have been “moved on” before the first test.

    But yeh, Aust have been one batter short for several years now. I could imagine one devastating knock from Warner, and perhaps one big score from Clarke to be added to all of Smith’s runs, and that’s about it. If Aust winds up being six for not many 7 times out of 10 like last time, it will not go well. We can’t always rely on Cook’s captaincy to come through with the goods.

    Aust’s bowling looks pretty good, but as pointed out in the post, largely unpredictable. Johnson could lose it at the drop of a hat, Harris & Pattinson can easily break down, and Starc might not make the transition at all.

    • “I could imagine one devastating knock from Warner, and perhaps one big score from Clarke to be added to all of Smith’s runs, and that’s about it.”

      Rogers has made four centuries since coming in the side in 2013. Is it really impossible to imagine he wont add to that in 2015?

    • Cummins hardly plays Shield cricket due to fitness issues.. And Pattinson is similar. There is really no point in filling the Aus squad with injury prone players, there are enough in there without Pattinson and Cummins too.

  • I think we need Stokes firing on all cylinders with bat and ball….as well as some others obviously.

  • Basically, we need Botham in his prime and someone like Brearley as captain…

    WE’RE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!

  • Australia are clear favorites, but it will be a lot closer than last time, as this squad is nowhere near as good as the teams up to 2005. The selection of Voges is a practical one as he is more comfortable in English conditions than a Maxwell. Shaun Marsh has a very good technique and we could have difficulty in getting him out if he plays in the test’s.

    Their fast bowling options are far better than ours more of their’s are on the rise, my only hope is that Jimmy and Broad in English conditions will be able to muster a couple of match winning spells.

    We can try and pick holes in the Aussie’s squad but the main issue is with our team, we are currently very dysfunctional at the moment especially with the KP issue just under the surface causing the selectors , the coach (who quite frankly is not up to the job) and the test captain to loose focus. Whilst the Aussie’s have a great motivational coach and have currently a winning and battle hardened mentality.

    I predict that we will struggle in the West Indies especially with the batting, and if that is the case we will be heading for the Ashes with confidence low , a plan build around statistical information and not good common sense cricket, and with no idea what our best 11 is.

    I haven’t a clue who will open with Cook do you?

    On a domestic note the Aussie’s have now picked both the original and the replacement Middlesex captain’s so I will not be having a bet on them at 10-1 for the Championship!

    • I think we’ll go into the Ashes like we did the WC with no idea what our best team is? Especially if we get rogered (I like that word!) by NZ?

  • Again Australia looks like it could lose a fair few top order wickets quickly. Yet it wouldn’t surprised me if the middle/lower order get a stack loads of runs as England go defensive – totally lose the plot as soon as one players shows a hint of establishing themselves. I’m less worried about the Aussie quicks in England than I would be in Aus – Mitch and co won’t be able to get most of them to back away to square leg on our much slower pitches. There is also a question as to whether Johnson himself is as quick as 18 months ago.

    That said I still have no great confidence in England’s batsmen to deal with what they might be up against.

  • Why I think we are rogered even before the first toss:

    1. The selectors
    2. The coach/coaches
    3. The captain/opener

    We are starting every innings one man guaranteed down, and an automaton for a captain. Plus the selectors will inevitably pick a number on reputation and previous stats, not form.

    The Aussies have an actual functioning captain, they have a top coach, they have all their bogeymen from before, plus a few extra. Steve Smith has morphed into Steve Waugh, ffs.

    That said, it would be a great one for us to win from here, wouldn’t it? Pfssst. I’ll get me coat.

  • I think Lyon’s a better spin bowler than Ali, and while not up there with Herath, still there with the next highest rank of active Test spinners with currently unquestioned action. That is, as good as Benn, al Hasan, etc. We’ll see how Ajmal 2.0 works out I guess. He has always imposed risk on batsmen that try to attack when he’s trying to bowl dry, even on unhelpful pitches, because of dip and drift. He’s got no magic ball but the 100% safe scoring rate is usually not too high.

    There’s a synergy that comes into play when there’s a competent spinner on one end allowing the captain to cycle the quicks as desired on the other end, and he already had that – but with the taking 12 vs India in the first test of India’s tour of Australia, he showed he could win a test and might /eventually/ actually start bowling over the wicket to right handers for a change… He also had a pretty good second half of the Sheffield Shield season, averaging 25 or so.

    I suspect he is underestimated because his spin is more topspin, which means that what he’s doing is usually more in the air than off the pitch and in any event does not usually lead to sideways deviation which is readily visible to the TV viewer. I also think that early in his career he suffered from butterfingers Wade wicketkeeping.

    Anyway, this is all to say that I think some folks’ impression of Lyon’s development might be lagging reality and that while I wouldn’t claim that /overall/ Ali brings less to a side than Lyon, from the point of view of spin bowling and the load-balancing it gives to an attack overall, purely as a spin bowler Lyon’s substantially ahead. And he can be that without being Warne.

    Furthermore, if you were a batsman preparing for spin, if you practiced in the nets against X to played in the match against Y, how would you prefer to assign Ali and Lyon to X and Y?

    This is all to say that I don’t think that England takes spin bowling seriously enough, I guess, and that a specialist spinner gives you something back in terms of wear-and-tear on the other bowlers, and over rate, and pressure, that doesn’t show up in statistics. Among the deficiencies in Cook’s captaincy is a complete inability to use spinners who are not G. Swann.

  • really like this article…
    Warner is an excellent player with strong basics. however, pushing hard at the new ball if it swings could be a downfall. i like Rogers but he is nothing special. Smith can bat for sure but there will still be questions over his ability to play a ,moving ball as he plays with his hands away from his body. i therefore hope england play on fast wickets like the one at OT last year as it will help Jimmy and co get 20 wickets. Clarke will make 1 hundred i think and probably win a game but apart from that i dont see him being prolific. Shaun Marsh looks great but gets out just like Watson. Mitch Marsh is a way behind Stokes, who bowls faster and more aggressively and could bat higher in the order, so isnt a real worry. Haddin very good. Johnson has struggled with a duke but he Starc and Harris could be brilliant on any pitches so we may aswell pick one that helps us. however, aussies have stuggled versus spin more than ourselves so turning tracks that arent necassarily slow may work, i like Lyon but i think we will attack him more than last series. i actually think Hazlewood could be effective in England though. England’s batting looks strong as you pick 5 from Cook Trott Lyth Ballance Bell Root KP then Stokes Ali and Buttler in that order. their only selection quandary is 3rd seamer. i doubt Jordan’s ability to create any pressure as he cant bowl straight, it seems he gets in the side based on batting and slip catching but with buttler at 8 portentially we bat long. I like the look of Wood as he swings the ball off a full length at Pace. Plunkett is also an option. a dark horse is Mills who has genuine pace.

    • Are you for real dfriel?

      You have just written off the best test team in the world, who has recently belted England and India, riding high on confidence after winning the ODI WC (half the test squad were in the ODI team), were unlucky to lose the last Ashes in England despite the scoreline (common knowledge by both sides), and given England, who are at their lowest point in recent memory, with a total dysfunctional management, a captain fast becoming disliked, a coach who is now seen as a joke, a strike bowler who will never better 30 as an average and is looking more and more knackered and disinterested, a broken second seamer who has never recovered from getting smacked in the head and his body caving in, no logical back up bowlers, no front line spinner, a chance of beating Australia, really?

      Steve Smith, on current form, is the number one batsmen in the world, and he does have his faults, but he was Australia’s best batsmen in India, in England, in the UAE (ave 43, second to Warner 59), in Australia v England and India – he has done this with all types of balls, wickets, conditions, spin, swing, pace. He’s where he is because he does play away from his body at times. He has succeeded in England before, against a Duke, and with a fading Anderson, a battered Broad, he’ll cash in.

      Ben Stokes isn’t even in a weak England side (soon to be i hope), so how can he be better than Mitch Marsh? Cannot compare at this point until they play at the same time, but I would have Marsh before Stokes, as Marsh has a better temperament and a wider range of strokes whereas Stokes is a stand and deliver type which is high risk, and against Johnston, Harris and Hazelwood with sharp fieldsman around, he will need to adjust his game, but as he is a hothead, I doubt the penny will drop. He probably bowls a little quicker than Marsh (not sure though), but Marsh does a little more with the ball.

      Lyon is improving, but he will never win over the purists though and he will get Australia over the line in the odd test, but as Australia has such a powerful line up of quicks, he will have to get his head around the fact that he has a supporting role and to bowl accordingly. Clarke does get the best out of him though, and knows how to set a field and make adjustments – that’s Lyon’s lifeline though.

      Seriously, how can England recover from this current mess? I’d like to think England will beat the WI’s, with Trott back in the side. They did not bring him with all his experience, just to sit around smelling pot wafting from the stands all day, no, he will play. If England lose, then you’d have to say it’s curtains for a lot of people. Coach and selectors first, followed those players that failed. I’m thinking Broad, Anderson, Cook here.

      I believe NZ can roll England, and if England beat WI, but lose against NZ, it will put everything in a panic as it will be difficult to make massive changes right before a 5 test Ashes. ENgland would be better off losing to WI, so the two home series can be viewed as a new era with a whole new squad, including KP and Trott.

      As for KP, well he will make it difficult for the selectors, particular if he keeps doing what he did yesterday for Surrey. Had to giggle at Cook’s response yesterday when asked about KP’s innings in Oxford – this guy clearly does not want KP back in the side. If I was Cook, I’d be more worried about his own position rather than secretly have fears of KP coming back into his team, his dressing room.

      So dfriel, as Darryl Kerrigan said in The Castle, “your dreamin’!”

  • “Thus far Starc’s test career has been plagued by the same inconsistencies as Finn’s. Like Finn, his radar isn’t always the most reliable, and he sometimes struggles to maintain his extreme pace throughout the day. It’s one thing to go hell for leather for ten overs; it’s quite another to sustain it for twenty overs per day during back-to-back tests.

    Basically, there is every chance that Starc might disappoint on the Ashes tour – just like he did in 2013. His test average is over the thirty for a reason you know.”

    Old thread I know, but need I point out that Anderson’s average was also over 30 just last year (sure not as much over 30 but still!)

    Starc’s Recent test form (ie against India last summer) was also very good and accurate. His Bowling in the drawn Sydney test was phenomenal near the end, repeatedly beating the batsman but not quite able to draw the last few wickets, with a string of clean misses and balls dying before the slips. I think he will be the Mitch to watch this coming summer.

    By Comparison Harris clearly wasn’t at his best during is outing vs India – we can hope he gets there for the Ashes.

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