England Ashes Squad to be Announced at 10am

PlanetPakistan wrote:Also hope they play Bell ahead of Collingwood.

I'm sure every Australian would agree with you on that one.

A bin bag stuffed with cabbage would probably make more runs than Collingwood in this series.

He's my "one to watch" in terms of the series signaling the end of his Test career, in the Gillespie stylee.

I'm not sure, I'd back Collingwood to score runs if he was batting with just the edge seeing as that's what he does usually. It won't be pretty and if it swings there'll be some predictable cases of 'rabbit in the headlights' when it nips back in to him, but I wouldn't be surprised if he out-scored most of England's other batsmen.

I'm still not sure Bopara will cut it. Cook's got something to prove as well. Pietersen's not been in great form either. The whole batting line-up has that '50-6' look about it for at least one Test.

Dello wrote:A bin bag stuffed with cabbage would probably make more runs than Collingwood in this series.

He's my "one to watch" in terms of the series signaling the end of his Test career, in the Gillespie stylee.

You've never been a big Colly fan have you? Got to admit he's made a far better international career for himself than I ever thought possible.

Chivalry Augustus wrote:
I'm still not sure Bopara will cut it.

He deserves the whole series to prove doubters wrong either way.... one thing I do know is he won't be a rabbit in the headlights like Bell. If he fails it wont be poking one endlessly to first slip all the time - more like hooking it down long legs throat.

Bops walking to the wicket at 0-1 just after Cook has nicked off to slip, anyone nervous??

My biggest concern is the openers really, Tres got us off to a good tempo but these 2 are crabs...

JKLever wrote:

Dello wrote:A bin bag stuffed with cabbage would probably make more runs than Collingwood in this series.

He's my "one to watch" in terms of the series signaling the end of his Test career, in the Gillespie stylee.

You've never been a big Colly fan have you? Got to admit he's made a far better international career for himself than I ever thought possible.

Yes he has. But he just seems to scrape by all the time. Never seems to make any runs when the series is still in the balance, but vomits out the ugliest of scores at the last minute to hang on to his place.

I just never feel like he's a specialist batsman - and yet there he is in the top five.

Meh, we'll see...

Dello wrote:

JKLever wrote:

Dello wrote:A bin bag stuffed with cabbage would probably make more runs than Collingwood in this series.

He's my "one to watch" in terms of the series signaling the end of his Test career, in the Gillespie stylee.

You've never been a big Colly fan have you? Got to admit he's made a far better international career for himself than I ever thought possible.

Yes he has. But he just seems to scrape by all the time. Never seems to make any runs when the series is still in the balance, but vomits out the ugliest of scores at the last minute to hang on to his place.

I just never feel like he's a specialist batsman - and yet there he is in the top five.

Meh, we'll see...

Not sure that's totally fair - off the top of my head he scored that 135 2nd innings against SA which set up what could have been a winning total and also in our 1st innings in India 2006 helped us to get in the game after threatening to have the usual collapse.

Perhaps its his style, which is about as exciting as watching Roger Federer win Wimbledon for the 27th time.

JKLever wrote:

Chivalry Augustus wrote:
I'm still not sure Bopara will cut it.

Bops walking to the wicket at 0-1 just after Cook has nicked off to slip, anyone nervous??

Essex can die if it becomes 0-2 .

My biggest concern is the openers really, Tres got us off to a good tempo but these 2 are crabs...

Alastair Cook is the man after his Twenty20 hitting . . .

. . . fastest hundred ever from him coming up.

JKLever wrote:Perhaps its his style, which is about as exciting as watching Roger Federer win Wimbledon for the 27th time.

Surely you can't compare him with Federer, who is probably the most stylish shot-maker tennis has ever seen (even if that wasn't in evidence as much as usual in today's match, which was a battle of serves more like what we used to see in the Sampras era).

Colly's value to the side can be compared more with the way Roddick played today, makes the best of what he's got and gives it 110%. You can't have a middle order without that sort of player and he's the best we've had available since Thorpe retired, and I can't see who's coming through to take over.

I like Colly. One of the few English cricketers I actually do like.

One the least talented international cricketers ever, but seems to make a way for himself.

Exactly, it's not all about style, cricket is decided by runs and wickets not a panel of judges. The same thing applies to football (well, not the "runs and wickets" bit of course), which I always like to point out to Arsenal fans...

I quite like Colly, it's Dello who wants him run over by a truck!

I wasn't comparing his style to Federers at all - more like the general boredom level is the same when he shovels one off the legs is about the same as Federer winning another Wimbledon title.

No it isn't.

Colly is one those batsmen who do the job and do it pretty well, but you hope someone better comes along to replace him.

Well, Ian Bell will be England's next number 5 - there be no other contenders. At least not in the eyes of the selectors.

BTW, Davies who kept for the Lions, how good is he behind the stumps?

doremi wrote:BTW, Davies who kept for the Lions, how good is he behind the stumps?

Middling. He needs to improve a bit, but he's a talented bat too

Middling sounds better than useless so why isn't he being considered instead of Prior?

doremi wrote:Middling sounds better than useless so why isn't he being considered instead of Prior?

He's not as good a batsmen. And his keeping is only marginally better.

PeterCS wrote:Quietly pleased after his heroics for the Lions:

Indeed, he has the honour of providing Hauritz his only wicket, thus increasing the chances of the deadly offie playing?....A cunning plan perhaps

Or just yet more of the same old same old Ding Dong CRAPPINESS

Chivalry Augustus wrote:Well, Ian Bell will be England's next number 5 - there be no other contenders. At least not in the eyes of the selectors.

Pick any number from 1 to 6 and he's probably next in line. The selectors seem to believe in his ability, which he clearly has, rather than accepting he doesn't have that mental toughness to succeed at this level. As I said before, he's one player the Australians would like to see in the England side.

One interesting question is, who will step up to open if Strauss or Cook get injured? They didn't take another opener to the Caribbean so Bell was obviously their backup out there - none of our other frontline batsmen have any experience of opening in first-class cricket. Will that still be the case at home or would they take the chance of calling up an uncapped specialist?

Well, judging by the Lions game they would go with Denly or Moore?

Bell's eyes are so enchanting. That's probably why the selectors pick him so often.

JGK wrote:No Harmison - advantage England.

It is a shame that Hughes's ploy to get harmy in the team did not come off

One interesting question is, who will step up to open if Strauss or Cook get injured?

Denly looked more talented than Stephen Moore. I'd go with him.

A direct swap, Moore for Strauss?