The Quest - Ashes 2013/14

[Aerie]

Joe Burns any chance? Blewett had him in his Ashes team today.

Will they stick with Wade? Will they go back to Haddin? Will they go with Paine, Hartley, Ludeman?

Has Harris earned a ticket? In place of Johnson?

Are Australia A touring England before hand? If so, might be worth sending 75% of the Test team in that squad. Wouldn't be against them picking two Australia squads to have a few hit outs against each other in England just before the Champions Trophy and pick the players who perform.

The probables vs the possibles:

Warner / Cosgrove
Cowan / Silk
Huges / Doolan
Watson / Ferguson
Khawaja / Burns
Smith / Voges
Wade / Hartley
Henriques / Faulkner
+ however many bowlers who can interchange on/off the ground to manage workload

[Media Park]

Johnson only gets a ticket if he continues to grow the beard! That is awesome... And if we're going to have a hit and miss player over there, we need something to take the piss out of!

Nick Compton is a worry IMO, bloke can bat for ages, and carved up in their domestic season just gone.

[the joker]

Clarke can't train for 10 weeks,

[whufc]

What ever we do we need to waste a space by taking two spinners, Nathan Lyon is the number 1 spinner and if he is injured or the pitch doesnt suit we play 4 pacemen simple.

Wade may be kept due to the fact that its in England and he will be keeping to pacement for 80-90% of the time. His keeping to the pacemen was good in India (let less byes through than Dhoni) his keeping to the spinners on the other hand hahahahaha

[happyhawk]

playing in england the pitches are going to seam around, so we need players with solid techniques. watching the shield final i believe silk and paine should be selected for their patience and sound technique

my eleven
warner
silk
cowan
clarke
watson
voges
paine
henriques
pattinson
starc
lyon

id also take ferg as first replacement if there is poor form or injury to one of the batsman

[The Sleeping Giant]

What ever we do we need to waste a space by taking two spinners, Nathan Lyon is the number 1 spinner and if he is injured or the pitch doesnt suit we play 4 pacemen simple.

Wade may be kept due to the fact that its in England and he will be keeping to pacement for 80-90% of the time. His keeping to the pacemen was good in India (let less byes through than Dhoni) his keeping to the spinners on the other hand hahahahaha

Ahmed dude.

[helicopterking]

playing in england the pitches are going to seam around, so we need players with solid techniques. watching the shield final i believe silk and paine should be selected for their patience and sound technique

my eleven
warner
silk
cowan
clarke
watson
voges
paine
henriques
pattinson
starc
lyon

id also take ferg as first replacement if there is poor form or injury to one of the batsman

Will never be this side.

[whufc]

What ever we do we need to waste a space by taking two spinners, Nathan Lyon is the number 1 spinner and if he is injured or the pitch doesnt suit we play 4 pacemen simple.

Wade may be kept due to the fact that its in England and he will be keeping to pacement for 80-90% of the time. His keeping to the pacemen was good in India (let less byes through than Dhoni) his keeping to the spinners on the other hand hahahahaha

Ahmed dude.

True forgot about him! He would be the only other one.

[happyhawk]

playing in england the pitches are going to seam around, so we need players with solid techniques. watching the shield final i believe silk and paine should be selected for their patience and sound technique

my eleven
warner
silk
cowan
clarke
watson
voges
paine
henriques
pattinson
starc
lyon

id also take ferg as first replacement if there is poor form or injury to one of the batsman

Will never be this side.

unfortunately not but that is the side id take if it was up to me. australian cricket isnt at rockbottom but its no where near its peak. i think now or just after the ashes is time to get a young top order batsman in the side and give him a few years to develop. it worked with ponting, clarke, cook for england. maybe they are one in a generation players but they got oppurtunity at a young age.and became/are the backbone of the side now. silk plays on greentops in tasmania and has scored 2 hundreds in his last 3 matches, why not get him in there while he is young, confident and in form!

[Rik E Boy]

THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

1. Some **** who can't hit the ball but can stay in for a scratchy 30 if he doesn't run himself out
2. Some **** who tries to belt every ball for six
3. Some other **** who failed last time but was just 'unlucky' in India
4. Some ******* bastard who won't do his homework.
5. Pretty boy ******* **** who's back is shagged and won't move up the order to face the music.
6. Some **** who is half an all rounder
7. One of our wicketkeepers who can bat a bit can't keep for ******* shit.
8. Some dickhead with shocking facial hair to make the English press notice we are actually in the country but can't hit the ******* pitch.
9. A guy with plenty of ******* heart but is gun barrell straight on decks that Hussey could swing them on
10. A young **** with promise with the bat but can't ******* take wickets
11. The magnificent Gazza Lyon!
12th. Some other ****.

We will lose this five match series six ******* nil.

regards,

Gordon Ramsay

[Rik E Boy]

australian cricket isnt at rockbottom

I challenge you to find a weaker period in our cricketing history that is not accompanied by a major upheaval in the game (Half the players staying home in 1912, WSC fallout 1979, South African exiles 1985-86). Unless you are stating that we are going to get even worse.

regards,

REB

[cheetah]

I agree with you happyhawk Australia hasnt hit rock bottom. Stats wise we compare better 2 India in home/away series. Unfortunately with the crammed international cricket program players cant get over and adjust earlier 2 overseas conditions. England have a weaker middle order than us. We just need 2 figure out are best order and someone really needs 2 put their hand up and grab that middle order spot. Why was khawaja not given ago in last test. Huge fan of Paine watching him in shield final was brilliant. Just has been huge risk in injury department. Still Wade is messy behind stumps and doesnt move well enough.

[Media Park]

australian cricket isnt at rockbottom

I challenge you to find a weaker period in our cricketing history that is not accompanied by a major upheaval in the game (Half the players staying home in 1912, WSC fallout 1979, South African exiles 1985-86). Unless you are stating that we are going to get even worse.

regards,

REB

What about in two years time when Clarke's back is totally gone and he retires...?

[bloods08]

No to Tim Paine at the moment. He is massively overrated. Heard a stat on the weekend that he has made 1 first class century in his 8 years of first class cricket. Don't forget he has opened the batting for most of that period. His keeping is not much better than Wade's either.

[the joker]

No to Tim Paine at the moment. He is massively overrated. Heard a stat on the weekend that he has made 1 first class century in his 8 years of first class cricket. Don't forget he has opened the batting for most of that period. His keeping is not much better than Wade's either.

He opens in one dayers. I'm fairly sure he has never opened in FC

[bloods08]

No to Tim Paine at the moment. He is massively overrated. Heard a stat on the weekend that he has made 1 first class century in his 8 years of first class cricket. Don't forget he has opened the batting for most of that period. His keeping is not much better than Wade's either.

He opens in one dayers. I'm fairly sure he has never opened in FC

I'm positive he opened for a fair portion of his career but you could be right, I could be thinking of the one-dayers.

[The Dark Knight]

No to Tim Paine at the moment. He is massively overrated. Heard a stat on the weekend that he has made 1 first class century in his 8 years of first class cricket. Don't forget he has opened the batting for most of that period. His keeping is not much better than Wade's either.

Test match debut 2010, Four matches, 287 runs @ 35.87. Two fifties. 16 catches, one stumping.

ODI debut 2009, 26 matches, 737 runs @ 29.48. One hundred, five fifties. 35 catches, four stumpings.

First Class debut 2005, 60 matches, 2996 runs @ 32.21. One hundred, 21 fifties. 168 catches, eight stumpings.

List A debut 2005, 91 matches, 2686 runs @ 33.57. Five hundreds, 12 fifties. 117 catches, 13 stumpings.

[The Dark Knight]

No to Tim Paine at the moment. He is massively overrated. Heard a stat on the weekend that he has made 1 first class century in his 8 years of first class cricket. Don't forget he has opened the batting for most of that period. His keeping is not much better than Wade's either.

He opens in one dayers. I'm fairly sure he has never opened in FC

I'm positive he opened for a fair portion of his career but you could be right, I could be thinking of the one-dayers.

Can't find whether or not he's opened in FC cricket, I don't think he has but definitely opened the batting in ODI and List A games for Australia and Tasmania.

[whufc]

I agree with you happyhawk Australia hasnt hit rock bottom. Stats wise we compare better 2 India in home/away series. Unfortunately with the crammed international cricket program players cant get over and adjust earlier 2 overseas conditions. England have a weaker middle order than us. We just need 2 figure out are best order and someone really needs 2 put their hand up and grab that middle order spot. Why was khawaja not given ago in last test. Huge fan of Paine watching him in shield final was brilliant. Just has been huge risk in injury department. Still Wade is messy behind stumps and doesnt move well enough.

give me Trott, Pieterson, Bell over Hughes, Watson, Smith anyday of the week!

[hawks21]

Heres what i think the selectors will go with (Squad of 15)

Warner
Cowan
Hughes
Clarke
Marsh / Khawaja
Watson
Wade
Haddin
Henriques
Pattinson
Siddle
Starc
Harris
Lyon
Bird