Now it's Over

[Lee Johnson]

Now the Test series is over a few concerns have arisen,

Who Bats at 3? Key and Butcher both looked suspect on occasions and not one big score from that position is a big problem.

Wicket keeper? I'm a big fan of Geriant Jones and believe he will turn out to be a fine cricketer for England but his keeping has had cause for concern.

Strike bowler - Steve Harmison has had a poor series and im not sure what went wrong but Troy Cooly will have some work to do with the Durham Pace man.

4th Seamer - Whilst Jones had an Ok series i dont think he looked dangerous enough, he needs to discover that lost pace to make him more effective.

Andrew Flintoff, His Injury to me this is the biggest concern to come out of the series, if his sugery doesnt go well we have no chance against the old enemy in the summer.

On a final note I'm ecstatic about the result and feel we deserved the series win.

[Ernest]

Promote vaughan to 3, he was at his best as an opener, put Key at 4.

Harmison will perform back in England I reckon, he gets home sick, I would not let him tour.

Jones may well bowl faster in the cooler England conditions.

[quote=Lee Johnson]Andrew Flintoff, His Injury to me this is the biggest concern to come out of the series, if his sugery doesnt go well we have no chance against the old enemy in the summer.[/QUOTE

That is so true, it's unthinkable.

Thorpe is becoming a worry,plays from the crease all the time, if he does not come forward, Warne will have him for dinner.

Well done England.

[Zainub]

• No doubt in my mind that England were over all the better team over 5 tests, and probably deserved to win 4-1 had everything gone their way. But that's history, importantly they have won which means they will still be unbeaten in a series from the last time they played at home when the face B'desh and Aus coming summer.

• No 3, I think if I were an England selector until Butcher is fit I'd give Key another chance, when Butcher is fit he needs to be back, England will need his experience for the Ashes, Ian Bell can wait, he's young and will definately get more chances in the future

• Keeping, I'm neither pro/anti Jones/Read, I just don't think Jones has done all that badly with the gloves, people have been harsh, with the bat, could have been better, but still ok, I'd stick with him righht now

• Steve Harmison, main worry IMHO, found no rythym, bowled too many four balls, didn't even bowl a spell where he looked threatenning to take wickets, let alone actually take them for real - might have been better for him to not play the ODIs, but that's not going to happen. I'm wondering if something has gone wrong with the technical side of his bowling, run up , wrist position, head position, all those sorts of things, may be it was because he bowled carrying injuries, who knows, home sick, I'm not sure, he bowled alright in the Caribean, in fact bowled brilliantly there, home sickness can't be the excuse, what ever it is is, definately his form has to be the main worry for me, the biggest out of this tour IMHO

• 4th seamer, I think people haven't given enough credit to Simon Jones too. He's had a good tour as far as I'm concerned, and I would think he's done enough to secure a berth for the summer.

• On to Freddie, he had a great series over all, having seen so much of Shoaib Akhtar pulling out of matches every now and then my self, it was heartenning to see him play in the 4th test carrying that ankle niggle and even then bowling his heart out - I have to admit I'm a big fan of this guy's temprement, and I'm hopeful other people around the world can draw out some inspiration from him. Anyway, lots of time for him to recover, I'm confident he'll be ok by July - good thing he is not being asked to play the ODIs.

PS: I'm not also concerned either about Thorpe or Vaughan's patchy form in this series, these guys have something about them that makes them do well against the Aussies, I'm confident they will get their acts sorted out. My main worry is Steve Harmison. Also, I think its great that Ashley Giles has got quite a few runs with the bat this series, to go with 11 wickets at a fairly highist average as well, not a bad series from him either, if he can do what he did to the WI last summer, he'll double England's chances of winning

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

Simon Jones hasnt done bad, certainly better than the other alternatives, Hoggy is becoming a pretty damn good swing bowler. Giles did OK, but I'd love more options in that dept. Batted OK. But harmo needs to get his head out of his ****, failing that troy needs to get to work on anderson.

More importnatly, an army of physios needs to be employed to get freddie fit and ready to go against the aussies, like it or not we're not the same side without him.

Batting wise, tresco was tresco, strauss a revaltion (I'm sure i predicted he'd top score overall) the Key/butcher conundrum is STILL no further forward. Vaughan, didnt do much but you know he's still got it so know massive worries. I'd leave him at 4 though. Bell or not for no.3 ?? Give him a go, i'd reckon.

Jones probably did enough to keep big dunc happy, but I'd like to see how the other condenders develope. Nice to have that many options. Dont think the aussies have our depth in keepers.

[Zainub]

Brad Haddin certainly isnn't a bad standy by keeper to have, at least from what I have seen of him in the VB series so far, and Beny also keeps talking about another Adam, whose second name has a difficult spelling that I can't recall - they all have decent first class records , if I'm remembering correctly. Australia RBLC have decent batting & keeping depth, it is their bowling depth that is the weakest out of the three.

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

More worryingly, what the bloody hell are we going to talk about till we play bangladesh ??????

read, no jones, read, no jones read, no jones

or

Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,Key, butch, bell,

DOH !

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Richie Benauds Love Child

More worryingly, what the bloody hell are we going to talk about till we play bangladesh ????

Calm down Rich, dont forget the 2 weeks of one dayers, and after that jones/Read read/Jones - Bell/Key Key/Bell

[Notts Exile]

And there's the One Day issues ............. should Gough still play ? Does Alex Wharf look like a Clingon ? Why hasn't Vaughan scored a One Day ton ? Read or Jones for the One Day team ?? (and we have a FAR better arguement there by the way :-) )

[Zainub]

Don't worry RBLC, seeing by my stay here so far, you guys (surprisingly) never get tried of talking about each others chances at the Ashes. That will , I think, along with Jones/Read, Butch/Key debate dominate the proceedings along with the occasional dose of "Ashely Giles not good enough" thread, and a few threads about how poor B'desh are and why England aren't as good at "pyjama" cricket as they are in actual cricket...don't worry, this place always finds something to talk about

[Trescothick]

The futures bright... The futures England...

What i noticed from that test is that England are defientlya strong side and are gonna win the Ashes (Being confident). Trescothick, Strauss, Vaughan and Thorpe will all do well... Thorpe is by no means ANY concern because he showed how brilliantly he can play in difficult situations. Vaughan will rise to his peak against Aussies i have faith..

Bowling is good as well, Giles is strong, Hoggard is looking good, Harmison ended up getting some wickets so who knows what can happen when hes at home and we have the master: Flintoff...

Its good.. except No 3