Australia v England, 5th Test, Sydney, 4-8 January, 2018

skully wrote:Aye, after Smithy's comments at the lunchtime press conference it looks like the Aus side will be as per the 1st 3 Tests.

"LEFT-arm spinner Ashton Agar looms as a surprise omission for the final Ashes Test at the SCG despite being called into the squad, Australian captain Steve Smith has revealed, while Mitchell Starc is firming for a recall.

At his pre-match press conference, Smith revealed that the SCG wicket was carrying more grass than expected, pushing the thinking back towards sticking with Nathan Lyon as the front-line spinner with three pacemen in the Aussie bowling attack.
...
“The wicket’s got a fair bit of grass and looks to be a pretty good wicket. I’d say we’ll probably opt for just the one spinner,” Smith explain in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“Nathan’s done a terrific job throughout this series and I’d say we’ll go down that route.” "


Root thinks it's dry and the English will play Ali and Crane.
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Good!!

horace wrote:On ya Trev.... Good to see a half Oz, half Pomgolian back here. Do you think IR Bell would have made a difference?

lardbucket wrote:Will he and Foakes get a run in the ODIs?

Henry wrote:The thing is, giving Crane a go now is just a token test. Aus will almost certainly target him, and if he’s belted, will he ever Ben seen again? He should have been picked for Melbourne when it was clear that Moeen was gone. You can only assume England weren’t confident that Crane could do a job, in which case, why the f*uck was he picked in the squad in the first place?? An ashes tour is no place for development selections. It has to be the best available, so Jack Leach should have been picked as the reserve spinner.

taipan wrote:

Henry wrote:The thing is, giving Crane a go now is just a token test. Aus will almost certainly target him, and if he’s belted, will he ever Ben seen again? He should have been picked for Melbourne when it was clear that Moeen was gone. You can only assume England weren’t confident that Crane could do a job, in which case, why the f*uck was he picked in the squad in the first place?? An ashes tour is no place for development selections. It has to be the best available, so Jack Leach should have been picked as the reserve spinner.

You get the impression there is a clique inside the English team

Henry wrote:

taipan wrote:

Henry wrote:The thing is, giving Crane a go now is just a token test. Aus will almost certainly target him, and if he’s belted, will he ever Ben seen again? He should have been picked for Melbourne when it was clear that Moeen was gone. You can only assume England weren’t confident that Crane could do a job, in which case, why the f*uck was he picked in the squad in the first place?? An ashes tour is no place for development selections. It has to be the best available, so Jack Leach should have been picked as the reserve spinner.

You get the impression there is a clique inside the English team

Since the KP blow-up, being a “good bloke” holds more weight than having genuine talent when it comes to being selected for England.

Henry wrote:Yes, despite their good deeds on the pitch over the years, I’m not 100% convinced Anderson and Broad have been a positive influence on the dressing room. Still, deeds on the pitch are 99% of what it’s all about.....

Henry wrote:The thing is, giving Crane a go now is just a token test. Aus will almost certainly target him, and if he’s belted, will he ever Ben seen again? He should have been picked for Melbourne when it was clear that Moeen was gone. You can only assume England weren’t confident that Crane could do a job, in which case, why the f*uck was he picked in the squad in the first place?? An ashes tour is no place for development selections. It has to be the best available, so Jack Leach should have been picked as the reserve spinner.