The Ashes 2023

One of the pinnacles of World Cricket is less than 4 months away (T1 starts on 16 June).

On current form, England would go in as favorites to regain the Ashes. Bazball England look dominant atm, while Aus is struggling very badly in India.

While I expect Aus to go much better in the much more preferred English conditions (than the dusty bunsens of Bannietown), the series will come down to our bowlers (if at full strength) v the much improved English batters.

England would be crazy not to serve up juicy wickets, but that could back fire if Cummins. Starc and Hazlewood (plus Lyon) are at peak fitness and form. Aus, of course, will be heavily reliant on Smith and Labuschagne firing v the ageless Jimmeh and Sturat. It will be interesting to see if the Aus NSP persists with the awful Warner. Perhaps he may retire pre-Ashes.

The battle between Smith/Labuschagne/Head/Green/Carey, and Pope/Root/Brook/Stokes/Foakes will be fascinating. Both teams seem to have an issue with at least one of their openers.

Shaping up as a cracking series.

Last time Australia won a Test series over here, the Twin Towers were still standing.

Not so long ago I’d have been certain that run was coming to an end, but with the momentum we have now the odds might just about be in our favour. The pace attack will be a challenge, and there might be an argument that we’ve largely been beating poor/out of form teams, but they’ll be up for this. Should be a cracking 15 days of cricket

Yeah, Fortress England has been a tough task for 20 years. Won't be any different this time around.

Bancroft might have sealed his place and Warner’s fate today. I think he’s a better batsman now than he was when he was last selected. Other candidates - Hughes, Renshaw, Harris, Hunt and Ward haven’t done as much.

On that note, I hear Joe Burns is throwing in his lot with Italy.

Burns is not remotely in the frame for the Ashes. Done and dusted.

Bancroft has made ~ 800 runs in the shield this year, 200 more than the next most prolific batsman, with 4 centuries. If he's not chosen after this season, in place of Warner, he may as well retire. Great fieldsman as well ... regardless of his past sins, and arguably less culpable in those anyway than either Smith or Warner who have been back for a while, he should be chosen.

No doubt Bangers has improved, even allowing for the autobahns he plays on at home.
. Still doubts remain. After 10 Tests he averages mid 20s. Then again no body else is putting their hand up

After his reported comments yesterday, GCS expects to go on the Ashes Tour. The guy really has no insight into or probably cares two hoots how his poor performances contribute to team failure.

lardbucket wrote:Burns is not remotely in the frame for the Ashes. Done and dusted.

Well yeah, I assumed that’s why he’d decided to serve qualification for Italy, as opposed to just not fancying facing Jimmy and Sturat on a green-top… his English namesake might as well do the same. Though being called Rory presumably automatically qualifies him for Ireland.

I always most associated the name Rory with Scotland - Ruarri MacHaggismuncher (the last name maybe not 100% accurate) the Braveheart-style 'title character' of Morris West's Summer of the Red Wolf

Well, it is a Celtic name, seemingly originating in Ireland but also common in Scotland.

horace wrote:No doubt Bangers has improved, even allowing for the autobahns he plays on at home.
. Still doubts remain. After 10 Tests he averages mid 20s. Then again no body else is putting their hand up

After his reported comments yesterday, GCS expects to go on the Ashes Tour. The guy really has no insight into or probably cares two hoots how his poor performances contribute to team failure.

He'd have 10 centuries if he played his home games at the Junkshion oval

embee wrote:

horace wrote:No doubt Bangers has improved, even allowing for the autobahns he plays on at home.
. Still doubts remain. After 10 Tests he averages mid 20s. Then again no body else is putting their hand up

After his reported comments yesterday, GCS expects to go on the Ashes Tour. The guy really has no insight into or probably cares two hoots how his poor performances contribute to team failure.

He'd have 10 centuries if he played his home games at the Junkshion oval

G3’s with the program embee.

Not nowadays. Offers a bit for quicks and spin. Curator has done a good job.

I hope Bancroft has improved (particularly to the moving ball on off) but I'm afraid I'm not convinced that he isn't an FTB.

skully wrote:I hope Bancroft has improved (particularly to the moving ball on off) but I'm afraid I'm not convinced that he isn't an FTB.

all our players are FTBs.

Hard to argue, Nath.

Squad for the Ashes firming up

Warner banished, Carey on thin ice (Peirson seems a better option), only one of Kuhnemann and Murphy will go, Hazlewood under an injury cloud.


Head
Khawaja
Bancroft
Labs
Smith
Handscomb
Green
Peirson
Carey
Lyon
Murphy
Boland
Starc
Cummins
Hazlewood / Neser

I’d like to see both Hazlewood and Neser in the squad. If that means Carey out, so be it. Handscomb can be the backup w/k if required

(I’m assuming squad of 15)

Morris and Kman unlucky not to make the squad, same with any of the above that are omitted

The touring side has taken at least 17 players in the initial squad for the last two Ashes series (Stokes was a late addition for us in 21/22, taking it up to 18).

6 seamers, 2 spinners, 2 keepers, and 7 top order batsmen/batting all-rounders looks like the standard mix.

We used to take 17, back in 1972.

2019 squad was 17:

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/australia-2019-ashes-squad-england-tests-paine-smith-warner-pattinson-wade-marsh-bancroft-neser/2019-07-27

There will be somewhere between 15 and 17. Doubt they’ll take 17 with the ‘reserves’ available in County cricket

Agree it will be a 17 man squad.

Spiv boys club means Haze goes but does not deserve to. Is a certainty if Warner is left out.

Anderson and whoever will have fun with Head as an opener and expect he returns to the middle order. 

Bancroft and Harris to be openers with Uzi.

Handscomb will miss on the tour because he is typecast.

I tip Mere will get a go. Ferkin lol.

Let's hope for some decent pitches. Some of the ones we served up last year were not good. Utterly inexcusable given the weather we had.

Might need some roads to take any of the matches into day 4!