Are we going to retain the ashes?

[Quagmire]

Its funny people are bagging the Australian team that was seleted, I think that people would be bagging the English selecters for picking Jones over Read & Giles over Panesar

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

Giles over Panesar

That's still to be announced and I am still hopeful Monty will get the call

[L Ramrod]

92 minutes and counting. My gut feeling is that England will go for Panesar over Giles and trust the batsmen to do the batsmens job ie score sufficient runs.

In terms of pure numbers, Giles would probably score 20 - 25 more runs than Monty and maybe you can add another 20 runs that Giles could add by virtue of occupying the crease with a recognised batsman. So, at best, Gilo would put 40 - 50 extra runs on the board. If the top seven just score an extra six runs each then that takes care of that.

With the best will in the world, Ashley isn't going to take a 5-for and secure the match the way Monty could. Go for Monty I say.

C'mon England!!!!!!!!!

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by L Ramrod

My gut feeling is that England will go for Panesar over Giles and trust the batsmen to do the batsmens job

I'm sure that was the intention when Jones was selected ahead of Read.... and I'm sure it remains the intention for the final four Tests of the series..... but the Gabba strikes me as one ground where it doesn't really matter which of them plays from a bowling point of view... and with Giles having bowled more positively than Panesar in the warm up games I'm not convinced Fletcher and Flintoff even made their own minds up until yesterday.

Bottom line: it's a non-issue. Neither could be expected to be the key to this 1st Test... so forget about it.

What matters more is how the seamers (on each side) measure up... and that's a ridiculously unknown quantity for such an over-hyped series - the coaches enter the series with reasons for concern about the form of Harmison, Flintoff and McGrath, without any sort of reassurance as to the likely effectiveness of Lee, Hoggard, Anderson and Clark... and with complete unknowns like Mahmood, Johnson and Tait in with a real chance of figuring before the final day of the final Test!

[greg]

Well playing Giles isn't going to help us retain the ashes.

Fletcher should resign if we lose this series.

[Pete]

Good bye ashes

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Pete

Good bye ashes

Lets wait and see.I suppose Fletcher thinks Panesar would be one newbie to many, the pace bowlers will count more IMO anyway.
Australia to bat first.

[flanflinger]

Big fan of Monty and felt him and Read should have been in the starting line up. But still back them to do well. Giles is an Ashes winner and played a key role last time, so it is not as negative as it looks.

For me the key is the seamers, how will Harmison, Hoggard, Anderson and Flintoff bowl?

[Ernest]

Yes I agree - it depends on Harmison to bowl a decent line, and Flintoff to be able to bowl flat out.

It's as near as England can get to the Ashes winning side of 2005, I see Fletchers point, and I am no fan of him.

Maybe for me Mahmood in place of Anderson.

[flanflinger]

Mahmood for Anderson, really Ern you have never mentioned that before