If Ashes were tomorrow

[Beny]

Flintoff and Pieterson sharing the crease together is beyond mouthwatering,

In all likely hood it'll only happen for 2 overs..

[Leafy Seadragon]

I'd have thought only one ball, with a certain runout at the other end

[Trescothick]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

Why talk about what will happen if the Ashes were going to be tomorrow when we know they aren't going to be tomorrow, hypothetical questions are more often then not more speculation and less facts.

That was the name of the BBC thread, i only posted it up!! It is purely hypothetical i agree but interesting nonetheless...

[Seamer]

This article is obviously a just something to fill up a bit of the sports section due to a lull in cricket at the moment. Load of rubbish. The lineups themselves are totally presumtuous and the ratings are from one mans opinion. Will Clarke be in the 11? Or Peterson? Don't be surprised if the Aussies go in with McGill as well as Warne to expliot England's ineptness against wrist spin? Should'nt Harmison be lined up against McGrath? I could go on. The whole article is total nonsense.

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

At last we agree on something ! Kind of a valid point on Mcgill except a: I believe he was carted to all parts when playing gor Notts (notts exile will confirm or deny), but the fact that bang will pack a side full of spinners (have they got anything else ?) maybe the one useful thing to come out of that series.

[Leafy Seadragon]

Sorry, can't agree on this one. Given four bowlers was considered enough to take on India in India, debatably the strongest batting lineup at that time outside Oz, why do the Aussies suddenly need five bowlers? Are the English wickets now a spinner's haven, or do they still favour seamers who can move the ball a little in the air and/or off the wicket? Either way, structure the team accordingly and yes, this might mean two spinners

I'm not convinced that the English batting lineup is so strong that you consider unbalancing a team and strategy that has worked so well. Okay, the players are a year or so older, but I suspect the English weather will be far kinder than India could ever be (at least in terms of wearing down a bowler - no comments on ability to provide sufficient play for a result)

[Seamer]

Probably right in not unbalancing the team as far as batsmen go. But McGill should be considered never the less. His form is excellent and he has a good record against England (39 wickets @ 24 ). Maybe at the expense of the(reletively) out of form Gillespie. The selectors will no doubt go with the current XI and fair enough if they do

[Beny]

Gillespie just got back into form... You can't remove a batsmen. How many times has number 7 saved us?

[Zainub]

Quite a lot in the recent past. And often Dizzy's been involved in valuable partnerships with the genuine batters in that process. My mind goes back to the series in Aus vs India, where he and Katich shared a massive partnership in the final test that saved the match for Aus

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by Beny

Gillespie just got back into form... ?

Beg to differ sorry
Recent tour to NZ
Wick:7 ; Ave 45.71
In any case, the selectors will no doubt go with the current XI and fair enough if they do. You cannot drop a champion if they go off the boil ( or can they? They did with Hayden), but having McGill as an option should not be discounted.