Key England Ashes players

[Ernest]

England pitches behave different than they used to do, take the Oval there is not as much pace and bounce as there used to be.
Headingly although a result wicket, does not have the devil in it, than it used to have.
Old Trafford can be so unpredictable, can help seam, so one would think that Harmison and Flintoff would prosper there.
Harmison is the key here, if he is accurate then one would have to fanct England for a win here, should Harmison not be accurate, then him and Lee should cancel one another out.
so Flintoff being an accurate back of the length bowler should more than be a match for McGrath, he is as accurate, and has more pace, so his shorter balls should count more.
Old Trafford can also be of use to spin bowling, we have seen keedy and Hooper do well here, so it should be of help to Giles, and depending on the pace, more so to Warne.
So the key to this game will be the batting, a lot depending on Trescothick Vaughan and Thorpe, who can play spin.
Flintoff will be better attacking, because he may as well try and knock Warnre out of the attack, because if he defends, he will be ok against the seamers, but Warne will get him.
Edge to England.
Headingly.
Not like it used to be, but if Hoggard is in any sort of form, and Anderson can fire, backed up with Flintoff and Harmison, a definate edge to England here.
I would have Simon Jones here instead of Giles, because I doubt spin will play a big part here, and vaughan can do his occasional stuff.
Edge to England.
The Oval does not have the same pace and bounce it used to have, Where Harmison and Flintoff would have prospered, I think the Aussie batsmen will like the ball coming onto the bat here, on a true surface.
a lot depends on Englands batsmen here, I think the best we can hope for is a draw.
But edge to Australia.
Lords is yet again another matter, it can play lots of ways, bowlers can find it hard to get a good line here, wheather the supposed ridge exists or not.
Will be a dour match here, but Lords at times can give unexpected help to spinners, so I would say the result at Lords is to close to call.
Slight advantage Australia.
So the real battle I think lies in the heart of England, and pitches there are never reliable like they used to be, so no predicions, because that is the battleground.
I have not checked if Old Trafford is hosting a Test.

[Paoli]

Marlon Black looked promising until he got belted by thugs whilst in Australia, adamski. He's never been the same since.

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Ernest

Headingly.
Not like it used to be, but if Hoggard is in any sort of form, and Anderson can fire, backed up with Flintoff and Harmison, a definate edge to England here.

There's no test at Headingley this year, Ern.

Originally Posted by Ernest

I have not checked if Old Trafford is hosting a Test.

The third test is at Old Trafford, starting on 11 August.

[John]

Rachel,
I am a Hoggard fan like yourself. A much improved bowler. He exposed the technique of SA batsmen. Hopefully they will go away learn from it. He was very unlucky to miss out on man of the series.
The trouble is the Aussies have got strength in depth in their batting. I don't see him causing him the same sort of problems. I really believe the Australian and Indian batting is a class above the rest. If I was Fletcher it would keep me up nights. Its up to someone to convince me I am overating the Aussie batting.
Personallly I think you need to find a Walsh and Ambrose quickly.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Occasional Fan

There's no test at Headingley this year, Ern.

Hi OF, At times they have missed Old Trafford out, why is there no Test at Headingly, I'l be dammed.

Made a mess of my post!!!!!!!

[Occasional Fan]

It's an odd one, Ern, given that the Aussies are probably less comfortable in Leeds than anywhere else (as a Lancastrian, you would probably understand that). Hasn't there been some re-development of Headingley going on recently? Something in the back of my mind says that it won't be ready for test cricket until 2006. Perhaps someone from the Yorkshire side of the Pennines can confirm this for us?

[Paoli]

The Lords Test will be great for the traditionalists however, at least that stays....

OF, would you be making your way to the mother country for any matches???

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Ernest

so Flintoff being an accurate back of the length bowler should more than be a match for McGrath, he is as accurate, and has more pace, so his shorter balls should count more.

My point was that in order to take wickets the English bowlers will have to bowl on a full-ish length (as was the case in South Africa.. where Ntini's naturally full length enabled him to take the "best bowler" credits and where Hoggard and Langveldt eclipsed the rest by pitching the ball right up there).

That's not to deny that Harmison in particular and perhaps also Flintoff might prosper on pitches where they can get movement off the seam.. but just to say that if they are going to rip through the Aussie batting it will be by pitching the ball up and getting movement off good length balls.

What we've seen to date is that Harmison only occasionally clicks on that sort of length: he found it for a few devastating spells in the WI and once or twice last summer but in between bowled too short and to little effect. We've also seen that when Flintoff finds the confidence to pitch it up in search of wickets he gets wayward and wasteful.

I think the latter two wil be more important for damage limitation.

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

OF, would you be making your way to the mother country for any matches???

Sadly not, Paoli. Simple fact is that you can get a five day pass for a test match in Australia for not much more than a one-day ticket in England. With accommodation and entertainment in Australia also being significantly cheaper than "the mother country", and with me not being on a mother country salary, well, though it sounds daft, I am much more likely to turn up in Australia in 2006/7 than I am to turn up for any of the home tests in England this year.

[Paoli]

Shall see you in 06-07!!!