Miscellaneous Ashes prognoses and thoughts.

For example, a couple here:

1. Aussie plan: Pitch it up to Johann and hope he starts pecking, getting his knickers in a twist and nicking or missing it again. So obvious. Strauss had better practise his front-foot playing.

2. Similar targeting of Collingwood's technical weaknesses. I have no idea how Colly will fare. He is like a self-taught player. 0 or 100 is always possible.

3. It looks as if Anderson is now an established member of the team, barring injuries. Hence Aussie plan: hopefully still the most brittle of the Pom bowlers, ergo > go for him, thrash him out of the attack. Hughes is an attacker by nature, but he will probably be under team orders to execute a symbolic act at the start fo the series.

4. Prior to keep and I would guess, (only) slightly improve on Grunt 2005. For a cocky player, he is a confidence player after all.

5. Swann to do well with the ball. (Should perhaps be given the new ball again, vs Hughes?)

Many of the other aspects are unpredictable, I think. Such as Ponting. Aussie national hero or Drunky drongo?

Oh, and .... 90% of Aussie FBers to be bipolar-disordered, as always.

1. Warnie bowling Strauss constantly pitching 2 feet outside off, hitting leg as he offers no shot.

2. Pidg bowling a metronomic line and length to all batsman, eventually driving them insane and making them throw away their wickets.

3. Gilly smoking everything aimed at him to and over the boundary.

4. Hayden saundering out, belting a lazy 150 and siddling off.

5. Ponting smashing 3 effortless tons.

6. Wake up from the best dream I've had in years.

Wondering how Rav will go at 3, and how Broad & Anderson shape up against better batsmen.

Wonder how Hughes will handle Anderson's 'swing' both ways. I don't think he'll fare well - he's a bit of a slasher, perfect for the one that nips away from him moreso than it seems it will.

Hughes is my main worry. Apart from punter and Bung and Haddin and....well you get the picture.

But seriously Hughes could set the tone for the whole series.

Brass Monkey wrote:Wonder how Hughes will handle Anderson's 'swing' both ways. I don't think he'll fare well - he's a bit of a slasher, perfect for the one that nips away from him moreso than it seems it will.

He looks farkin horrible from the little i've seen but you can't argue with a Fc average of 60+

And you are hoping that the Anderson Cycle has been broken...

JKLever wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:Wonder how Hughes will handle Anderson's 'swing' both ways. I don't think he'll fare well - he's a bit of a slasher, perfect for the one that nips away from him moreso than it seems it will.

He looks farkin horrible from the little i've seen but you can't argue with a Fc average of 60+

And you are hoping that the Anderson Cycle has been broken...

TBF to Jim, he's bowled so much better than a whole year of stats suggest. I just haven't said it for fear of ridicule. He could've had 30 more wickets at this stage.

Yup, as someone who has regularly stuck pins in Jimmykins dolls, his spell in the last test was bloody fantastic.

I guess he'll always be average away from home with the Kookabura balls but if he bowls anything like we should see a few Aussie batsmen groping like an old blind bloke chasing some skirt.

How's the mint stocks, lads?

skully wrote:How's the mint stocks, lads?

By the looks of our results since 2005, we have plenty of unused stock...

JKLever wrote:groping like an old blind bloke chasing some skirt.

I can see you know the feeling.

JKLever wrote:Yup, as someone who has regularly stuck pins in Jimmykins dolls, his spell in the last test was bloody fantastic.

I guess he'll always be average away from home with the Kookabura balls but if he bowls anything like we should see a few Aussie batsmen groping like an old blind bloke chasing some skirt.

Hmmm, yeah, but I think he bowled manfully in both WI and India on unresponsive pitches and if he'd had any back up he'd have probably helped break the back of both teams.

taipan wrote:

JKLever wrote:groping like an old blind bloke chasing some skirt.

I can see you know the feeling.

Looking for a mate to share your hard luck stories Taips?

I think Ricky Ponting will make at least one glaring captaincy error.

You heard it here first.

Wondering how many byes and dropped catches Haddit will inflict upon us.

spangler wrote:I think Ricky Ponting will make at least one glaring captaincy error.

You heard it here first.

That's right up there with "the sun will rise in the East this morning", spang.

freddled gruntbuggly wrote:Wondering how many byes and dropped catches Haddit will inflict upon us.

Numerous, I believe tails. Let's just hope none are series defining events.

skully wrote:

freddled gruntbuggly wrote:Wondering how many byes and dropped catches Haddit will inflict upon us.

Numerous, I believe tails. Let's just hope none are series defining events.

At least we're playing fair and making it just about even on the wicket-keepers. I'm a Prior fan for the balance of the side, but if you haven't watched him much prepare to be appalled and think Haddin is world class...

Let's face it: it's tough being a Test keeper today.

Intense concentration on every delivery for hours on end, every attempted catch or stop captured from 17 camera angles and shown a dozen times over, to be scrutinised to the nth degree by a legion of box and studio "experts".

Even Prior doesn't always look good.

Definitely a bit of Broad around the wicket to the Aussie openers. He troubled Chanders with that angle and Katich still probably wakes up in the middle of the night sweating because of That dismissal courtesy of Freddie.

Regardless of the amount of cameras or exotic camera angles, if you catch it you catch it.

But - joking apart - catching is more difficult in a 1984 goldfish bowl. Muscles are not as relaxed, for starters, intently knowing the consequences of failure.

Prior to cost us competing on any level with several dropped catches.

The deluded will continue to scream that he brings 'balance' to the side.

Big_Bad_Bob wrote:Prior to cost us competing on any level with several dropped catches.

The deluded will continue to scream that he brings 'balance' to the side.

No names Bob