Will England Retain The Ashes?.

[ketz]

I think that if Jones and Flintoff are fit then they can win. But a full strnght Australia side will be the toughest task yet for England. But there there a few months before the ashes and England do have some time left to try and form a new group of cricketers to replace people like Vaughan and Flintoff and Jones in case of a worst case scenorio.

Another major factor that could signal Englands downfall will be the keeper. Jones has looked a bit more cooler with the gloves but in the batting department he has made in 50 in the last 8 test matchs.Adam Gilchrist has made 2 centuries and 2 fiftys in the last 10 tests. That includes a very recent 144. The difference will be the runs made by the number 6 downwards.

[toadieisgod]

gday all how you going.

1st up im a born and bred welshman living in swansea but im a 100% baggy green supporer.have been since i first saw michael slater bat in the early 90s.
i hope we nail the poms come the ashes but it wont be easy-for me this england team has the best batting line up for many a decade especially with new boy alistair cook at no.3.
very good bat indeed.i have no doubt we will win the ashes back but i dont think it will be as comfortable as we think.

[flanflinger]

Toadie,

Do you also support Man United/Chelsea etc...

Don't mind a true Aussie calling me a Pom, but a guy from Swansea?

PS what's with the "G'day" comment - do you also put on a fake Aussie accent?

[toadieisgod]

ever heard of heritage mate?in swansea now but forefathers werent.and iv supported the baggy greens ever since i loved cricket.and no im swansea city and tottenham.perth glory and eagles.answer ya ?.and the voice kinda mongrol between wales and blandness.sorry for not supporting england.must really hurt

[flanflinger]

Toadie,

OK, that's more understandable, and as you are a Spurs supporter I think I can let that one go.

[Speedboy Salesman]

It's the wrong type of question? Can England retain the Ashes?: Of course they can! WILL they retain it? Hmm...
I think the main dangers are: Warne (for obvious reasons), Lee (the sheer pace of the man) and Hayden (He had a pretty poor Ashes '05, so he'll be out for revenge)

Our main strengths are: Cook (plays a lot more mature game than most people of his age), Pietersen (and he knows it) and Flintoff (if he plays).

If Flintoff's out, we're up a certain creek. It means we lose batting and bowling, and Mahmood/Plunkett are no where good enough to cause the Australians problems, so if Anderson comes back, shove him in.

Does anybody know how Simon Jones is actually doing? Or has disappeared off the face of the Earth?

[Quagmire]

My Grandparents and my parents are English but im an Aussie born and breed so thats who I support.Jones is a massive lose for England, Harmison will get good bounce in Perth he will be a dangerous if he bowls well there, but if he bowls short and wide he will go for alot of runs. Monty should bowl his best at the MCG and SCG he probally will struggle everywhere else. Im looking forward to watching Cook (bunny 2) bat against the Australian bowlers to see how he will go. Strauss (bunny 1) & Trescothick Vs McGrath should be an interesting contest. Read or Jones, well we have no idea who will get the position untill we see how Read goes. Hoggard and Harmison Vs Langer & Hayden. Pieterson Vs Warne will be very entertaining, Flintoff with the ball Vs Hayden and Gilchrist will also be a very interesting contest. I can't wait to see how Hussey goes against the English bowling line up, he will play well at Perth (home ground). The biggest contest of all will be in Sydney Warne Vs MacGill, there little contest has been dominated by MacGill over the years.

[cantplaycantalk]

OK I've done a politician here and answered the question I think should have been asked.
No I don't think England WILL retain the Ashes (of course they could, but I don't think they will)

The reasons,

For Aus
Played in Aus, on Aussie type wickets.
Shane Warne
Mike Hussey

Against England
Gillespie and Kasper probably won't play
Neither will Simon Jones (ouch)
Flintoff may not be back and if he is will be without sufficient practice.
The temperature, a hot day in England is slightly above freezing, a hot day in Aus ice cubes sumlimate (look it up)

One note of caution for the Aussies though, don't write off the England batting line up.
Trescothic av mid 40s
Strauss av mid 40s
Cook av mid 50s
Pietersen av approx 50
Collingwood av approx 40
Bell av high 40s
Flintoff av 33 bat (31 bowl)

Oh and Monty Panesar is an actual real spinner, not that I am suggesting you don't have a load of them but Monty is an English one!

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by toadieisgod

sorry for not supporting england.must really hurt

Not at all why would a Welshman have to apologise for not supporting England, I mean I support England when we play Wales and Rugby Union, so no wounds at all.

On the Ashes front even though I feel England are just about favourites they could be in for a shock, a lot depends on any new players Australia introduce.

Key players for Australia.
Langer
Ponting
Warne
Lee: more than all the others.

For England,
Trescothick
Flintoff
Harmison
Panesar: could be the key to who takes the urn.

[south beds mikey]

Absolutely agree about Monty. Could be the key. Just a bit worried how much stick he'll get off the Aussie fans and how he reacts to it. I do believe there is a slight chance they might take him to their hearts. Its a long shot but you never know