England v Australia, 1st Test, Trent Bridge, 10-14 July, 2013

Hmmmmmm. If you say so.

skully wrote:The only thing that can give Aus any chance is a 1989 style "well, they are the shittiest team ever to tour our country" attitude from England, with our bowlers catching the talented England top 6 on the hop and our batsmen doing enough to capitalise. The main problem is a lack of ruthlessness in the Aussie ranks ala AB, Tugga, Dean Jones, Boonie, Henry, Clem, etc. Hopefully Boof can instill some mongrel back into the Baggy Green.

I blame shiT20 cricket.

Was that 1989 result really down to that sort of attitude from England? I thought it was just that England turned out to be even shittier. Maybe the media had that "Gower's back in charge, the Aussies are crap, it's won already" view but with the players I guess it was that they just weren't up to it. All 29 of them, or however many we used (boosted I know by the mid-series announcement of the rebel Yarpie tour, but the selection was scattergun in any case).

PeterCS wrote:

horace wrote:old Geelong fans now happily reference handbags

lardbucket wrote:but when you start talking bags, most take a step back!

As Sting used to sing:

Don't stand
Don't stand too colostomy.

Indeed. That one has been done. And the Carpenters.

tricycle wrote:And now Bird going mental, four wickets in around three overs. I knew this pitch was a minefield greentop.

Good to see Tweet in the wickets. I reckon he might be damn handy with the high seam Duke ball in the Tests. 4-38 off 20 is useful. Dare I say it - McGrathesque.

so Bird, Patto and koo?

Not a bad combination, though I'd like to see either Harris or Siddle in there somehow. If Haddin bats at 6 it could be done ... our tailend batting would be at least as strong as the Khawaja/Warner/Hughes soft Dubber option that misses out.

Patto, Bird, Harris.

Brass Monkey wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:

Henry wrote:Meh, I'd take Compo over Bairstow pretty much everytime. Keep Root at six.

Damn straight - one is an overly intense blocker. Whereas the other, frankly, has very little clue. And the opener Root, IMO, is not much of an opener ATM. It's one of many twattish decisions made by the England camp.

BTW, did you like Gashton Slagar?

Henry wrote:Meh  I've heard better, but I've also heard worse.

Ashed-on Slag?

Boys, please.

It's Orrible, as in Agar the Orrible. Orrie for short. Where ya been?

horace wrote:so Bird, Patto and koo?

That'd be my pick. Rhino worries me with his propensity to break down. And pick Fork at 7 with Haddit at 6. Fork, Koo, and Patto can do a job with the bat.

I'm guessing the 1st Test XI will be...

Twat
Buck
Moo
Pup
Con
Downy/Fork
Haddit
Koo/Rhino
Patto
Elmer
Tweet

skully wrote:

horace wrote:so Bird, Patto and koo?

That'd be my pick. Rhino worries me with his propensity to break down. And pick Fork at 7 with Haddit at 6. Fork, Koo, and Patto can do a job with the bat.

I'm guessing the 1st Test XI will be...

Twat
Buck
Moo
Pup
Con
Downy/Fork
Haddit
Koo/Rhino
Patto
Elmer
Tweet

I'd go with that.

skully wrote:

horace wrote:so Bird, Patto and koo?

That'd be my pick. Rhino worries me with his propensity to break down. And pick Fork at 7 with Haddit at 6. Fork, Koo, and Patto can do a job with the bat.

I'm guessing the 1st Test XI will be...

Twat
Buck
Moo
Pup
Con
Downy/Fork
Haddit
Koo/Rhino
Patto
Elmer
Tweet

This is really four guesses...

FWIW - I'd be certain that Fork won't play.

agree re Fork...has 3 strikes against him
1 has nor performed well enough with the ball so far
2 ditto with the bat
3 does not play for nsw

heard Wade on radio this am...extremely upbeat about the team's prospects. Discounted any chance of playing as a specialist bat...noting he had not had a hit and that others were ahead of him..pos about Haddit in particular...goodonhim...makes a nice contrast with some of the english sookin

speaking of which there is a story in today's Oz about Patto being fired up for the Ashes...in part as revenge for the manner in which the Pom media and fans treated Pommy Patto on his selection to the pomgolian team

"He ain't a Pommy
He's my brother...."

horace wrote:heard Wade on radio this am...extremely upbeat about the team's prospects. Discounted any chance of playing as a specialist bat...noting he had not had a hit and that others were ahead of him..pos about Haddit in particular...goodonhim...makes a nice contrast with some of the english sookin

speaking of which there is a story in today's Oz about Patto being fired up for the Ashes...in part as revenge for the manner in which the Pom media and fans treated  Pommy Patto on his selection to the pomgolian team

England were kind (stupid) enough to give his journeyman older brother a chance to play test cricket, something that all of us would kill for the chance to do just once, and that immature little, homework non-completing dummy-spitter wants REVENGE for it?? Has he asked his brother if he feels bitter at how he was treated? Or happy that he can tell his grand kids that he played test cricket? Darren was a humble roof-tiler who toiled away in Australian grade cricket, Shield cricket, and County cricket for years before he (rightly or wrongly) got a test cap. James was a pampered, product of the system, under 19s, biomechanised, AIS waited on hand and foot, spoilt brat prodigy, and it shows. Symptomatic of the current generation of Australian cricketers who don't value test cricket at all.

So he's a twat AND a dumb-arse. Still, it's good to see the Aussies doing all the pre-series talking once again. Worked well for them last time.....

And if it's any consolation to him, I'm sure the English public will treat him far worse than they did his brother, so he shouldn't worry too much.

ROFL...Pommy patto remains proud to have been selected....the family was hurt by how the pom press and fans went bananas about the selection - not the selection itself...any read it your self - tis in today's Oz

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-03/pattinson-seeks-ashes-revenge-for-brothers-treatment/4797918

Yes I read that in today's 'Age'. He's particularly pissed off with Gooch.

I thought it was a great selection.

taipan wrote:I thought it was a great selection.

Aye.


And it put to bed all those stories about the England selectors not having a sense of humour.

JGK wrote:

taipan wrote:I thought it was a great selection.

Aye.


And it put to bed all those stories about the England selectors not having a sense of humour.

hehehe...and that they were just obsessed with picking saffies

horace wrote:ROFL...Pommy patto remains proud to have been selected....the family was hurt by how the pom press and fans went bananas about the selection  - not the selection itself...any read it your self  - tis in today's Oz

I don't remember many people having a go at Pattinson himself. More like people were angry with the selectors for picking him.

Still, whatever gets the Aussies fired up, eh. Hopefully in his anger he'll go and punch some poor sod in a bar and be sent home, because the younger, cockier, Aussier one is actually a decent bowler.

If this is being selected on form, I think it now has to be TYCA to Warner and Khawaja, with the top 7 thus:

Watson
Rogers
Cowan
Clarke
Smith
Hughes
Haddin

plus Lyon, unless Agar gets an absolute bag here and gets a surprise call-up (his better batting and fielding wouldn't hurt, either)

and then Pattinson and Bird, who has done enough to leapfrog the others ... and just one of Harris, Siddle, Starc and Faulkner; with the selectors probably preferring one of the left armers, to target Cook. If Starc is fully fit they may yet go with him.

pretty sensible line up...tho we will still get flogged

lardbucket wrote:If this is being selected on form, I think it now has to be TYCA to Warner and Khawaja, with the top 7 thus:

Watson
Rogers
Cowan
Clarke
Smith
Hughes
Haddin

plus Lyon, unless Agar gets an absolute bag here and gets a surprise call-up (his better batting and fielding wouldn't hurt, either)

and then Pattinson and Bird, who has done enough to leapfrog the others ... and just one of Harris, Siddle, Starc and Faulkner; with the selectors probably preferring one of the left armers, to target Cook. If Starc is fully fit they may yet go with him.

All things considered, and as much as I despise the idea of Con even being in the XI, the top 7 that the piefellow has listed would appear to be the strongest batting we can put on the park. Fark, that's scary.  

Worcs have skilfully played Con into T1 by bowling short pies outside off. Good to see Pup peel off a ton back-trouble-free.

It'll be between Koo and Rhino for the 3rd seamer role.

I reckon Agar will get the nod ahead of Lyon. Left arm spinner. KP, and all that....