The full aussie lineup but with KP instead of symonds and shuffle the order around a bit. You could put hoggy instead of lee (he had a good game today) but that would giave ern nightmares as the average speed of the seamers would be about 74mph ! You could swap langer for strauss if you wanted. After todays result, I'm not sure I care

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Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!

Well it wasn't Flintoff was it.

OK let's put in Mahmoud for Flintoff. Presumably Flintoff won't make another score until he's been relieved of the captaincy. There is the parallel with Botham. In Flintoff's lack of performance. Not in his actual captaincy.

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Red-it, Red-it, Read it and wept

We have a winner.

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" You don't want the truth,you can't handle the truth."

Well I was going to say no - but have changed my mind - it was Flintoff, he took the three wickets that reduced Australia to 40 somut for 3, Mahmood took the tail.

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Ern

Surely Read's solitary Test already bags him the gloves: Gilchrists astonishingly school-boyish and ham-fisted work behind the stumps precludes his selection, whereas Read has looked a class (or more) above than even the very best of Gilchrist (who currently loses out to Jones on glovework).

With one Test to go, Lee has clearly made a late bid for recognition with his first decent bowling performace in nine Ashes Tests.... but it seems to me that with one Test to go... two spots in particular remain very much up for grabs.

<opener>
Hussey
Ponting
Pietersen
Clarke
<batsman>
Read
Warne
Hoggard
Clark
McGrath

That said... the only guaranteed places are presumably Hussey, Ponting, Warne, Hoggard and Clark: this quintet (which should probably be expanded to include Pietersen) strikes me as having been a class apart from the rest.

Simply put - No.

Gilchrist:PERTH

Lee: Did not do much when the series was alive so I would keep Hoggart.

Openers:Strauss has had some shocking decisions,Bell has looked good but Langers two Brisbane knocks set the tone for the entire series IMO.Hayden made a good 92 in Perth.

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" You don't want the truth,you can't handle the truth."

Well, seeing that the score is 4-0 and England have been demolished within 3 days, I would have to say that the combined_XI should be the Australian_XI.

Seriously though, I think that Lee could be replaced by Hoggard and Symonds can be replaced by Pietersen. Perhaps Gilchrist can be replaced by Read( Gilly has forgotton how to catch the ball). As for the rest, its all AUstralian.

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434, world record for the shortest period. Whos choking now?

Lee has not actually warranted a place in a combined second Xi until this most recent match: his batting has looked better than his quite appalling bowling. I'll concede that he finally got his act together somewhat for the fourth Test... but in truth he should have been dropped long before that game (and can presumably thank the impending retirement of McGrath and lack of experience of Johnson for his opportunity to play at Melbourne).

I do partially accept that Hoggard would be out of place alongside McGrath and Clark: all three are clearly new-ball bowlers and whilst all can do a job with the older ball... none could be considered old-ball specialists. That said.... all three are just so much superior to Lee that he'd not even enter the reckoning for me.