Will England Retain The Ashes?.

[Rachael]

Two things:

{i} If Clarke, McGrath, Lee and Warne are in good form going into the game... Symonds will not get to bowl. Play Clarke at 5 instead (not least because he's a proven 5th bowler).

{ii} If Panesar plays and is in form... England don't need Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff AND Anderson. I doubt Fletcher would allow a tail that long anyway... but far better to treat Collingwood as the 4th seamer and play Bell (Dalrymple?) instead of Anderson / Harmison.

I'd also hope to see some real turners in the series so that the Aussies can play MacGill alongside Warne: these two have been Australia's best bowlers for a decade now... and I can't believe the groundsmen haven't started preparing wickets to suit.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Rachael

{ii} If Panesar plays and is in form... England don't need Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff AND Anderson. I doubt Fletcher would allow a tail that long anyway... but far better to treat Collingwood as the 4th seamer and play Bell (Dalrymple?) instead of Anderson / Harmison.

Rachael you place a lot of hope in a player who has notb yet hardly completed a full season for his county (Monty) , you may be right about Fletcher and the tail - but to include Bell or Dalrymple instead of Anderson or any pace bowler for that matter will mean that Paoli and Rowan are right - the Ashes will go back to Australia.

We can't afford to play 2 spinners - in fact we can't really afford to play one - England spinners by and large aren't good enough to hunt in pairs.

[Quagmire]

Playing both Collingwood and Dalrymple together would be a bad idea even though it will allow more batting but Englands bowling line up would not be good enough bowling on Australias batting wickets because they both just dont bowl fast enough to do well. Medium pacers usually struggle in Australian conditions Anderson would be a good choice to put in the side and Flintoff Hoggard and Harmison will need to bowl better than they did in England last Ashes because it is a bit harder to bowl in the conditions over here (if they do it will make up for Jones missing). Im not sure Monty will do as well in Australia as he has done against other countries, its not a skill thing or the quality of Australias batting it is that being a left hand offspinner bowling to a lot of left handed batsman can be hardwork. I think that Jones will play but i put Read in the team because i believe that would make Englands team stronger. I would love to see Cosgrove and Hodge play because they are very good players better than Martyn and Clarke. If Hayden or Langer become injuried Jaques would most likely open. Im not sure what the Australian bowling line up would be like if McGrath does not play, there are alot of bowlers trying to get into the side.

These are some of the bowlers the selectors have to choose from

• McGrath - 542 wickets at 21.55 (36 yrs) - if he wants to play he will
• Warne - 685 wickets at 25.25 (36 yrs) - No doubt he will play if fit
• Gillespie - 259 wickets at 26.13 (31 yrs) - bowled well in Bangladesh but hasnt shown much in County cricket, but at least he can bat
• Clark - 21 wickets at 18.78 (30 yrs) - shown how good he is in South Africa, he is sharper than he looks and gets a lot of bounce off a good lenght due to his height.
• Cullen - 1 wicket at 54.00 (22 yrs) - Good young spinner but hopefully wont play
• Johnson - 3 wickets at 58.00 (24 yrs) - Future Aussie quick but wont play
• Kasprowicz - 113 wickets at 32.88 (34 yrs) - Has lost a bit of pace and hasnt shown much since the ashes
• Lee - 211 wickets at 31.45 (29 yrs) - Not much to say apart from he is quick and has heart
• MacGill - 198 wickets at 27.20 (35 yrs) - Born in the wrong country and generation the best second spinner to ever play the game, will play in Sydney but wont play any other test (He must hate Warne)
• Tait - 5 wickets at 42.00 (23 yrs) - has a bit of work to do before he becomes a test bowler but he has Cooley and Lillee working together personally with him so a couple of years untill he is ready
• Watson - 2 wickets at 61.50 (25 yrs) - Allrounder who hasnt shown how much talent he has with the ball, but is a good batsman once he gets his eye in.

[Ernest]

I see Lee - Tait and Warne being the biggest danger to England, I really do think that McGrath will feel his age, unlike Warne he has a longer run up, and is a tall man hitting the deck hard I really don't think he can generate pace enough to worry a full England side.
I know he is accurate, but that's not everything - that can be played by just being patient, and playing proper Test cricket.

I think a lot depends on Haydon, and if he plays Flintoff any better, Gilchrist is another key player as far as Australia are concerned, he really did not fire against England in 2005.

Also I think Australia will miss a trick if they don't play Hodge.

[darksideofthemoon]

2 reasons why we will find it difficult -
1 The kookaburra ball
2 McGill and Hussey will strengthen the Australian side. The mistake they made last time in England was not to use these two players.

[Paoli]

Originally Posted by Ern

I really do think that McGrath will feel his age

That's what you said before he ripped 5-20 at Lords on Day 1 last year!

I thought you'd have the wisdom not to have written him off. Warne and McGrath, imo, are still the two biggest threats to England in the bowling front.

[greg]

Originally Posted by Paoli

Warne and McGrath, imo, are still the two biggest threats to England in the bowling front.

Those 2 are the only threats i am worried about in your bowling line up.

[Paoli]

Originally Posted by greg

Those 2 are the only threats i am worried about in your bowling line up.

Pretty much my sentiments, unless Lee has a few ripsnorters.

For England though, the bowling looks fairly pedestrian without Jones to be honest, but I've noticed that Greivous Bodily Harmison took 4-94, showing mild signs of an overdue return to form.

[Quagmire]

I hope that Clark plays because he is very similar to McGrath and in my opinion will do alot of damage if he plays. He is actually quite sharp and he is as tall as McGrath, so he gets serious bounce. People have been saying the same things about McGrath for 4 years and he is still the number 1 quick in the world when playing and he has not bowled quick for about 4 years because he obviously cant. The best pace bowlers dont bowl real quick they use there mind to get batsman out.

[tim93au]

No,

If australia has the same players and mcGrath at full fitness Australia will win.
English will not be used to the pitches.
Vaughn i and out and i think its possible Jones and Flintoff are out.