England have a dilemma or two, or even three.

[Ernest]

Soon be the Ashes - one thing for sure Vaughan won't be playing, that means Bell will be playing - or is there better in the England squad?.

The biggest dilemma IMO is wheather to play Mahmood or Anderson in place of Simon Jones.

Mahmood can go for some - but he does swing the ball, also he is capable of bowling devastaing spells.

But so is Anderson, he may not swing the ball as much as Mahmood, but he does move it more off the seam - so who will Fletcher pick?.

Mahmood or Anderson, or outside choice Plunkett, no variation with Plunkett though.

So Read and Jones - NO it's not what I think - or for that matter what anyone thinks except for Fletcher.

Read has played bad in these one dayers, but then again he is a better keeper than Jones, who is not hot with the bat himself these days.

So who will get the nod?.

Mahmood or Anderson

Also between Read and Jones.

Thing is will Fletcher revert back to his preferred Jones?, citing these one dayers as a reason.

It does matter because it's Australia England are playing, and although slight favorites in my book, England need the best keeper/ batsman and the best replacement for Simon Jones.

Oh and will he start with Panesar or Giles?, that's another poser.

[flanflinger]

I would have Panesar over Giles and Read over Jones, but do this I would lose the Extra bowler to accomdate Collingwood:-

My Ashes XI would be

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Pietersen
Bell
Collingwood
Flintoff
Read
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar

However if 5 Bowlers were required I would drop Trescothick in favour of Anderson, and have Cook open with Strauss. The reason, I feel that Trescothick still has demons when it comes to Australia, and at present he is clearly not up to Test cricket mentally IMO.

[Ernest]

Good side flanflinger - but will Fletcher pick Mahmood instead of Hoggard I wonder, not a lot in the Aussie pitches for Hoggy.

[flanflinger]

I would hope that Hoggy (58 Tests, 222 Test Wickets @ 29.76- England's leading wicket taker) would get the nod over Mahmood (5 Tests, 15 Wickets @ 33.20). Also, keep in mind that Saj didn't get a central contract (neither did Plunkett or Anderson) where Hoggy did.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

I would hope that Hoggy would get the nod over Mahmood.

Ernest overlooks the fact that the pitches in India offered Hoggard absolutely nothing... and the way Hoggard responded, turning in a stunning seam-bowling performance that carried an otherwise pretty ropey side: for reference purposes I include the figures of one Andrew Flintoff (Hoggard first)....

England in India, 2005/06 [Series]
Series         Win   Mat    O       R   W   BBI    BBM     Ave  Econ    SR 5w 10
                 -     3  106.5   232  13  6/57   7/86   17.84  2.17  49.3  1  0
                 -     3  105     336  11  4/96   4/82   30.54  3.20  57.2  0  0

A lot depends on Flintoff's fitness. If the guy is close to 100% and can be relied upon to shoulder his normal workload then I think it goes without saying that the side will read as follows:

6. Collingwood
7. Flintoff
8. Read
9. Hoggard
10. Harmison
11. Panesar

All the pointers to date suggest Fletcher has a plan 'B' for as and when Flintoff looks less than dependable:

6. Flintoff
7. Read
8. Giles
9. Hoggard
10. Harmison
11. Anderson

Of course.. Panesar would come in for Anderson where two spinners are preferred.

ps. My preference for a plan 'B' would be for Flintoff to simply go home: if he can't bowl at close to his best he shoud just rest up and focus on getting fit for the ODI series to follow and for the World Cup - unless he's 100%, England would be weaker with him than without him.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Ernest overlooks the fact that the pitches in India offered Hoggard absolutely nothing... and the way Hoggard responded, turning in a stunning seam-bowling performance that carried an otherwise pretty ropey side

Well Rachael I can't agree on this one, for a start India will always offer more swing than Australia, due to the Atmosphere, a lot more humid than most grounds in Australia.

Pace will be a big factor IMO in Australia, and Harmison - Flintoff and Mahmood - I think Fletcher will think is the best option.

There will not be much for Hoggard at his pace in Australia, he needs conditions right for swing

Of course Fletcher being Fletcher could well go for Plunkett.

Originally Posted by flanflinger

Mahmood (5 Tests, 15 Wickets @ 33.20). Also, keep in mind that Saj didn't get a central contract (neither did Plunkett or Anderson) where Hoggy did

Keep in mind that Hoggard is much more senior than Mahmood and the other two options you mentioned, I think that Mahmood's stats after only 5 matches are just fine - 15 wickets in 5 Tests.

PS: I think it goes without saying that Flintoff will not be selected if not for for bowling, but judging by recent England batting performances, Fletcher might want him to stay, like you I would rather he did not.

[flanflinger]

The pitches wouldn't suit Hoggy in South Africa (apparantly) and these were his figures:-

26 wickets at 25.50

which made him the leading wicket taker in the series!!

http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/20..._TEST_AVS.html

People have badged Hoggy as one dimensional, but he keeps taking wickets and I for one would doubt that he would not get the nod over Mahmood!

I do fear that Fletcher will try and rush Giles back, but I had not even thought that he would drop Hoggard for Mahmood.

In terms of Flintoff - it looks like he will be bowling soon:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cric...nd/6090198.stm

I am all for bringing through young talent at the expense of older players, but at 29 I feel Hoggard is currently at the peak of his ability.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

I am all for bringing through young talent at the expense of older players, but at 29 I feel Hoggard is currently at the peak of his ability.

Technically speaking his second peak: he was very impressive about 6 years ago, prior to his injury problems.... but point taken - Hoggard fully deserves his billing as England's best seamer.

I find Ernest's notion that Hoggard's success in India was due to conditions favouring conventional swing quite astonishing... and as I recall, Hoggard's great virtues in INdia were consistency and variation - he got the ball in the right place a LOT and he mixed in delightful cutters to keep the batsmen watchful.

The new ball should swing a little in Australia, but the key for Hoggard will be the pace of the wickets: being faster than those in India will aid him hugely, allowing him to plug away with lively balls in the channel without worrying about anything other than line and length.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Rachael

The new ball should swing a little in Australia, but the key for Hoggard will be the pace of the wickets: being faster than those in India will aid him hugely, allowing him to plug away with lively balls in the channel without worrying about anything other than line and length.

Since the West Indies tour three years ago Hoggard has been Englands most consistent player IMO. Not just the most consistent bowler, but the most consistent player (Freddie is close but injury has curtailed that) in fact since that series (where he was almost dropped) his performance has been:-

36 Tests, 143 wickets, 4 5fers, at 27.92...

He has played in the sub-continent, in Africa, in the caribbean and at home. Like you I agree he gets the ball in good areas more often then the rest of the attack, but he also gets the ball to move both ways, and this makes him very difficult to drop in favour of Mahmood (who effectively with pace is a one-trick pony, and an erratic one at that!!)

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Rachael

ps. My preference for a plan 'B' would be for Flintoff to simply go home: if he can't bowl at close to his best he shoud just rest up and focus on getting fit for the ODI series to follow and for the World Cup - unless he's 100%, England would be weaker with him than without him.

Agreed. There are better options for England should they need a specialist batsman - Owais Shah.