Beefy backs Swanny

Hard to argue really

"England cricket great Sir Ian Botham has nominated off-spinner Graeme Swann as the key to what he predicts will be a comprehensive Ashes series victory over a vulnerable Australia.

The former all-rounder, part of the last England side to win an Ashes series on Australian soil, in 1986-1987, tipped the visitors to win the five-Test series by at least two matches.

Botham said England had form, confidence and enough lead-up matches to fully prepare, while Australia were bereft of form and seemingly unsettled.

"England are on a roll, they're full of confidence, Australia are doing a little bit of bickering at the moment, a little bit of in-house fighting, which is always good from my point of view," Botham said.

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I can't disgree with anything the great man has to say in the article.

Botham wrote:"England are on a roll, they're full of confidence

??

in the last 4 years against ind, sa, sl and aus, eng have won 1 series, drawn 1 and lost 5

True enugh TO, but the fact is that England are a team on the up, having had a very successful 2010, whereas Australia, whilst it would be wrong to say they're in complete disarray - and certainly not to be written off at home - have issues concerning selection, form and morale within the squad.

This year hasn't been wonderful for them, and they have definately lost the aura of invincibility. Since we were humiliated there, the Australian side has changed beyond recognition.

No side can have three batsmen and three bowlers with over 22,000 runs and 1500 wickets between them retire and not suffer.

Who can deny that Hayden & Langer were one of the best opening partnerships of the last 30 years, and that Gilchrist in a single session could either put a match beyond reach of the opposition, or alternatively recover from 160/5 to heading to 300/5 ? Watson / Paine / Haddin ..... absolutely no comparison just now.

As for the bowlers - the whole attack put together isn't a patch on either Warne or McGrath individually. Don't forget also, that Warne and Lee could both hang about for an hour or two while Gilly at the other end was flogging a tiring attack to death.

Quite simply, Australian fans have been both spoiled and blessed. In the space of a year or so, they lost 6 of the modern "cricketing gods", and the replacements were mere mortals by comparison. Its why the side has gone from undisputed No 1 with daylight between them and 2nd place, to mid-table mediocrity.

This series really is all to play for ...... and definately our best chance in the last 20 years or so of a series win there - but still not a given result for sure. Ponting, for all his faults, will ensure his XI doesn't lack pride or fighting spirit.

aus is certainly not the team of 4 years ago. but i guess they dont need to be. i think both teams are evenly matched but much like 2009 there is one team with a home advantage. england's key pacer is not known for doing well in non-swinging conditions and wickets up front will be important for swann to make a big impact

australia's middle order is certainly quite shaky. a ponting who is not in very good form is pretty much holding it together. get him early and australia will be under immense pressure with clarke, north and hussey to come

will be quite interesting. might not be the quality of cricket we saw in 2005 but may end up being just as close

Somebody shoot him.

Beefy that is, not TO

Glad you clarified that JKL ..... I've crossed swords with TO once or twice but I'd hate for him to be shot.

Besides. the cost of bullets nowadays, combined wit defence cuts. Club him instead.

Thats also Beefy, not TO

I think Lamby is getting a raw deal these days. Especially in regards to punditry.

England is a side ranked 4th, and seemingly on the up. Australia is a side ranked 5th, but unlikely to fall further only due to the ineptitude of the nations ranked below it. In the past 18 months, Australia has shown a distinct propensity to fold when up against organised opposition.

This series really is a chance for the next generation of Aussie Test cricketers to stand up and be counted, and while I don't expect any of them to be of the calibre of the greats mentioned by Growls above, they could certainly show their worth.

One flaw in that is that they have to be picked first, and the NSP has shown a disturbing willingness to hang on to players past their use-by date. A trait we could afford to a degree with TGM, tgm, Gilly, MtB, BNG et al in the side, but at the moment, every man needs to carry his weight.

And that may be the key to the series. Australia used to be able to have the odd out-of-form passenger. Not any more. I suspect England, as things stand, will have fewer players in the side on pthe reputation of past deeds, and that will give them the edge.

And Swanny will do much better than Hauritz.

The One wrote:

Botham wrote:"England are on a roll, they're full of confidence

??

in the last 4 years against ind, sa, sl and aus, eng have won 1 series, drawn 1 and lost 5

He means sausage roll.

I think Swanny will go very well too. He gets so much turn and bounce which will go well on the Aussie wickets.

Also the Aussies in general seem to have a thing against offies kind of don't respect them enough which should suit Swanny. Just ask Symcox.

I think he'll be a bit hit and miss. Like the last Ashes - he was good in two Tests, annonymous in the other three.

With England's seamers likely to be fodder once the new ball has had a few overs, Swann will be their only wicket threat on the expected decent pitches. So I imagine it'll be a case of the Aussie batsmen just knuckling down against him while they easliy milk the seamers like the slutty udders they are.

Swann will be the best bowler from both sides. Sadly, that's not really a compliment.

Beefy - bloody-minded hero (playing), bloody-minded gung-ho (commentating).

doremi wrote:Swann will be the best bowler from both sides. Sadly, that's not really a compliment.

Hardly a disparagement either , though.