Got to love the comradery of the Aussie management:
Fred Boycott @FredBoycott "He and I differ on the way to manage cricket teams and that's probably all I'd like to say about him." Darren Lehmann on Rod Marsh 2007
Went to the warm up. All the England batters got starts but couldn't convert them. Craddock is no warne but his leggies caused serious woe. Thank god the Aussies haven't got a decent spinner. Good fun day in the sun!
England squad: AN Cook (Captain), JE Root, IJL Trott, KP Pietersen, IR Bell, JM Bairstow, MJ Prior (wkt), GP Swann, SCJ Broad, ST Finn, JM Anderson, TT Bresnan, G Onions.
No surprises there. I won't be surprised in Compton comes in for Bairstow at some point (root moving back to 6). He hasn't played much and might find to going hard
The issue for me is Onions or Finn for the last seamer's spot. The ball tends to swing at Trent Bridge and that suits Onions. Broad I presume might not be 100% fit, but I think he'll play regardless - Trent Bridge being his home pitch.
The issue for me is Onions or Finn for the last seamer's spot. The ball tends to swing at Trent Bridge and that suits Onions. Broad I presume might not be 100% fit, but I think he'll play regardless - Trent Bridge being his home pitch.
Do 'Team England' players really even have a 'home' pitch anymore? I doubt Broad would bowl at Trent Bridge more than two or three times a year these days - including internationals.
Lot different from the days when FS Truman would play 20 Championship games for Yorkshire on top of his 5 Tests!
Slightly off topic, but I was at the Oval sitting on the grass as you could in those days, when Freddie Trueman got his 300 test wicket caught by the great Colin Cowdrey in the slips, those where the days.
You probably won't be interested in knowing how I got the money to attend as even in those days for a boy from a council estate from the wrong side of Dartford this was vastly expensive, there was no such thing as pocket money as we where to poor, food was a sugar sandwich made by my mum and I think we had a bottle of pop, no adult supervision either we just jumped on the train and off we went. It was the bottle of pop that the clue to the money, the night before we had jumped over the wall of the local off licence and "borrowed" a few cases of empty lemonade bottles, walked round to the front door and claimed our penny? A bottle back on the returned empties. In fact that's how our little gang got most of our money ;-)
Sorry for being off topic, especially if my memory serves me right England where playing South Africa.
Lot different from the days when FS Truman would play 20 Championship games for Yorkshire on top of his 5 Tests!
And then go down t'mine for an eight hour shift and live in a cardboard box in the road.
Truman might have laid on the professional Yorkshireman thing a bit thickly but the work rate of English bowlers in those days such as Statham, Bedser and Fred himself was unbelievable compared to today's players.
Whilst it is true that the players in the 50s and 60s didn't have to play one-dayers the fact that bowlers would bowl 1,000 overs in a domestic season - about three times what current bowlers would expect to deliver - is pretty extraordinary.
Brian Statham himself was once famously asked how he managed to be so fit as to bowl 1,000 overs per season, "By doing a lot of bowling." he replied, deadpan.
Australia have some decent bowlers if they stay fit, but their batsmen are laughable. If Clarke hurts his back again, it's all over for them. England's team is well balanced now KP is back, and if our batsmen play like they did against New Zealand at home rather than away, we should win this and win it well.
It's never that easy. I've been an England fan too long. Last time we were this ahead on the odds was 1989, and we all know what happened then.
The issue for me is Onions or Finn for the last seamer's spot. The ball tends to swing at Trent Bridge and that suits Onions. Broad I presume might not be 100% fit, but I think he'll play regardless - Trent Bridge being his home pitch.
Do 'Team England' players really even have a 'home' pitch anymore? I doubt Broad would bowl at Trent Bridge more than two or three times a year these days - including internationals.
Lot different from the days when FS Truman would play 20 Championship games for Yorkshire on top of his 5 Tests!
Broad especially, as he only moved to Notts after becoming part of the England setup, so has spent very little time there.
I think your England team is spot on - possibly Onions will get the nod over Finn. Onions is likely to be a better bowler at TB than Finn, but generally all the England bowlers bowl well there and it usually been a good bowler's track for everyone.
The Aussie team...who knows. Rogers will open - but by default on the basis that there is no other batsman in the Aussie squad who looks mentally/technically capable and he has a decent record when playing FC cricket in England. Watson will also open, this though is a big series for him. He has a habit of getting a start and throwing his wicket away. Much will depend on whether he can dig in again after batting for three hours or so and turn a start into a decent score, or not.
Cowan I think will bat three rather than open as he has done in recent Tests, he's a grafter and Australia need an opener there. The alternative is Phil Hughes who looks a better player than on his last Ashes tour, but I'm not sure if I were an Australian I'd like to see him walking out to bat if an early wicket falls.
Clarke has to bat four - which in the past he's been unhappy about, but as the best batsman in the side he has to be higher than his normal spot at number five.
Warner will I think play, but bat at five, his technique is ideal for T20, but not necessarily for opening in Tests in England so I'd play him down the order. He's also a brilliant fielder and although banned for the warm-up matches neither of his replacements made runs.
That leaves either Phil Hughes or Steve Smith to bat at six. Who knows? The word is Smith will get the nod, but Hughes is a better/more reliable batsman and batting down the order against an old ball might allow him the chance he doesn't often get at first drop to build an innings.
Pattinson will play, he's been the best Australian bowler over the last year or so - barring an ability to get his homework in on time he should lead the attack. Personally I'd go with Starc, Siddle and Lyon alongside him.
The Aussie team was largely guesswork. They chop and change so much, and it was hard to read too much into the warm ups. I think Jackson Bird and Faulkner could be decent for them, but I don't expect them to play straight away
The Aussie team was largely guesswork. They chop and change so much, and it was hard to read too much into the warm ups. I think Jackson Bird and Faulkner could be decent for them, but I don't expect them to play straight away
Agreed, there are a few definites - Rogers/Watson (Lehmann has said they'll open), Clarke, Haddin, Pattinson, but there could be a surprise or two.
It'll be interesting to see (injuries aside) who is still in their starting line-up come the last Test. I'll bet there are more unforced changes than in the England team.
Agree. We might see Compton come back if Bairstow fails (he's hardly played) and root go back down, and maybe Finn/bresnan/onions swapping, but unless there are injuries, or a pitch that requires two spinners (unlikely) i don't expect any changes. Australia still don't know their best team
Root will have to spectacularly fail if he goes back down the order again/be dropped - freezing in the headlamps sort of failure. Even if his form is modest he'll be given the entire series to make his claim. Besides opening with Cook with Trott, KP and Bell to follow means there are in theory plenty of runs in the top six (they all average ca 50) if he and Bairstow don't contribute many runs and then Prior, Broad and Swann can usually be guaranteed to add a few runs. England, unlike the Aussies are not in position where every run matters. Root though is the future - he has the technique, talent and temperament and you need someone who has a range of shots and can play on/off side cricket to open otherwise your opening three batsmen can look a bit predictable (as is the case with Cook, Compton and Trott) and therefore easy to set fields against and that in turns leads to a stagnating run rate and pressure on those coming in afterwards. That is why he should open.
The selectors might not be so tolerant with Bairstow though, he'll probably play in the first two Tests come what may, but he'll need to score runs in one of them to play thereafter. He's a long way off being a nailed on starter and indeed being a Test batsman and there are a range of options - Compton, Hildreth, Taylor etc who have good claims to an England place.
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From what I've heard England are seriously considering Bresnan for the third seamer slot. Personally I'd go with Finn but on a "horses for courses" theory Bresnan does have a good Trent Bridge record. Just out of interest neither Cook nor Swann do though. Good chance for them to change that tomorrow. I don't think Cook has passed 50 at TB in a Test.
I don't think choosing bresnan, Finn or onions would be the difference between winning and losing. All are good. Bresnan has improved since his elbow operation
Bresnan's poor form was caused by his elbow injury which prevented it from hyper-extending. That appears to have been solved now.
Swann doesn't have a good record at TB in Tests (I think his average is ca 50 there)- but that is mostly because he got taken to the cleaners by Rahul Dravid on one occasion and it has proven to be a good seamer's wicket.
Comments
Fred Boycott @FredBoycott
"He and I differ on the way to manage cricket teams and that's probably all I'd like to say about him." Darren Lehmann on Rod Marsh 2007
England lost the toss, but it was pre-planned that they'll bat first.
Cook 17(27)* Root 15(11)*
32-0 off 6.2.
Perhaps after a month of one day cricket some of the batsmen have forgotten how to build an innings.
Lot different from the days when FS Truman would play 20 Championship games for Yorkshire on top of his 5 Tests!
And then go down t'mine for an eight hour shift and live in a cardboard box in the road.
You probably won't be interested in knowing how I got the money to attend as even in those days for a boy from a council estate from the wrong side of Dartford this was vastly expensive, there was no such thing as pocket money as we where to poor, food was a sugar sandwich made by my mum and I think we had a bottle of pop, no adult supervision either we just jumped on the train and off we went. It was the bottle of pop that the clue to the money, the night before we had jumped over the wall of the local off licence and "borrowed" a few cases of empty lemonade bottles, walked round to the front door and claimed our penny? A bottle back on the returned empties. In fact that's how our little gang got most of our money ;-)
Sorry for being off topic, especially if my memory serves me right England where playing South Africa.
Whilst it is true that the players in the 50s and 60s didn't have to play one-dayers the fact that bowlers would bowl 1,000 overs in a domestic season - about three times what current bowlers would expect to deliver - is pretty extraordinary.
Brian Statham himself was once famously asked how he managed to be so fit as to bowl 1,000 overs per season, "By doing a lot of bowling." he replied, deadpan.
England:
Cook
Root
Trott
KP
Bell
Bairstow
Prior
Broad
Swann
Finn
Anderson
Aussies:
Rogers
Watson
Cowan
Clarke
Hughes
Smith
Haddin
Starc
Siddle
Pattinson (or Harris)
Lyon
Australia have some decent bowlers if they stay fit, but their batsmen are laughable. If Clarke hurts his back again, it's all over for them. England's team is well balanced now KP is back, and if our batsmen play like they did against New Zealand at home rather than away, we should win this and win it well.
It's never that easy. I've been an England fan too long. Last time we were this ahead on the odds was 1989, and we all know what happened then.
The Aussie team...who knows. Rogers will open - but by default on the basis that there is no other batsman in the Aussie squad who looks mentally/technically capable and he has a decent record when playing FC cricket in England. Watson will also open, this though is a big series for him. He has a habit of getting a start and throwing his wicket away. Much will depend on whether he can dig in again after batting for three hours or so and turn a start into a decent score, or not.
Cowan I think will bat three rather than open as he has done in recent Tests, he's a grafter and Australia need an opener there. The alternative is Phil Hughes who looks a better player than on his last Ashes tour, but I'm not sure if I were an Australian I'd like to see him walking out to bat if an early wicket falls.
Clarke has to bat four - which in the past he's been unhappy about, but as the best batsman in the side he has to be higher than his normal spot at number five.
Warner will I think play, but bat at five, his technique is ideal for T20, but not necessarily for opening in Tests in England so I'd play him down the order. He's also a brilliant fielder and although banned for the warm-up matches neither of his replacements made runs.
That leaves either Phil Hughes or Steve Smith to bat at six. Who knows? The word is Smith will get the nod, but Hughes is a better/more reliable batsman and batting down the order against an old ball might allow him the chance he doesn't often get at first drop to build an innings.
Pattinson will play, he's been the best Australian bowler over the last year or so - barring an ability to get his homework in on time he should lead the attack. Personally I'd go with Starc, Siddle and Lyon alongside him.
It'll be interesting to see (injuries aside) who is still in their starting line-up come the last Test. I'll bet there are more unforced changes than in the England team.
The selectors might not be so tolerant with Bairstow though, he'll probably play in the first two Tests come what may, but he'll need to score runs in one of them to play thereafter. He's a long way off being a nailed on starter and indeed being a Test batsman and there are a range of options - Compton, Hildreth, Taylor etc who have good claims to an England place.
The Investec Ashes Series is finally upon us! England will be hoping to retain the urn as they take on Australia in the first Test at Trent Bridge.
By making predictions in our Cricket Zone Runs Predictor for each of the Investec Ashes Tests this Summer, you'll get the chance to win some incredible prizes, including Investec Ashes tickets and exclusive signed merchandise.
In the spirit of historic sporting rivalry between England and Australia we are also asking players to choose the side they are supporting. So, who will you be supporting?
It's time to start making your predictions for your chance to get your hands on those prizes!
Log in and start predicting. Remember to return each day to enter your predictions, view insights, player profiles and updates from the Investec Ashes. Terms and Conditions apply
Good luck!
www.investec.com/cricket
Join all the #InvestecAshes conversation by following @InvestecCricket
Swann doesn't have a good record at TB in Tests (I think his average is ca 50 there)- but that is mostly because he got taken to the cleaners by Rahul Dravid on one occasion and it has proven to be a good seamer's wicket.
its very dry at the moment so reverse swing will be a big factor and bresnan gets it to reverse very well