Forsight was needed by the selectors, not hindsight - with hindight it's as a rule to late.

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Ern

Yes but it is only with hindsight that you can tell that the selectors showed a lack of foresight. Foresight is vague, while hindsight is certain, so i would always put more faith in using hindsight as opposed to foresight.

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Are we not allowed the excuse that our coach is a numptie?

He was shown up totally today by Panesar and the shame is that it has come too late to make much difference in the series thanks to said coach being so pigheaded with his selection.

I agree in principle, but Fletcher could quite easily have given Harmison the chop. Instead he maintained confidence in him and Steve was as important in today's bowling.

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Six and Out: Fine cricket journalism: http://www.sixandout.net/

No. 18 months ago Fletcher was god's right hand man, now he's a numptie?! Make up yer minds!

Milo was on the money I think- you aren't good enough. Fair enough, missing Jones is a big one. Vaughan's not so big imo. Since he became captain he hadn't batted well at all. So it's fair to say you guys haven't had the right build up, but still, the reasons why you won last year, we could make excuses for. McGrath missing in Test 2 which you won, Fred single handedly won test 4 for you. If England win this one, makes it more interesting by the time we get To Melbourne.

Well you can call it excuses when you expect to win 5-0 before the start and end up losing.

But one thing ALL you gloating Aussies should look back through the posts and realise is.
Most of the England fans had already said that we expected to come out second best in this tour.
We knew before the start that we were going into this without S Jones or Vaughan, with Harmison and Flintoff undercooked and recovering from injury, with Tresco's fruit and nut on a christmas special and almost worse than all this we were taking both GO Jones and Giles, of those two Giles has been a good servant to England down the years but he never was good enough to come back from a year long injury into the England side and his batting is only up to standard vs 2nd class attacks. GOJO is just not international standard.

the biggest excuse is absentees (particularly those from the last series):



flintoff

strauss

vaughan

Harmison

S jones

giles

GoJo

nor tresco....played a game this ashes.

England have LOADS of potential, but were i an England fan (and believe me noone can empathise more) i'd be very worried about the 4th innings of the second test.

nice job OZ!!

and bowl (bar warne)

1) - i think this one is arguable (though since the last ashes finished this is an accurate assessment of the english attack) - and in this series they certainly won't do it for less runs than England will make, if at all.

2) - evidently

I have no problems with this - best XI picked for each test won. The Aussies were simply better this time, and well done to them.


What I do have an issue with is that Fletcher has not become a bad coach over night, I think he and others have managed this series very badly.

The picking of Giles and Gojo is a shocker

Not enough prep

Allowing Troy Cooley to leave

Allowing Tresco to come on tour


NOTE:- These are not excuses, it merely disappoints me that all of these things should have been sorted out for the most important tour in the last 20 years.

VV annoyed!!!!!!!!!!

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I'll have the Mouseburger please, with a side of Goldfish.