[quote=“Fitzy”]
I’m very happy for the England and Wales supporters here. I’m sure you all had a nice chorus of God Save the Queen at the close of play. 
[/QUOTE]
She’s your Queen as well. Australians are loath to relinquish their status as a Member of the Commonwealth.
SO you accept her as your queen then?
:guns:
As well? Jesus Evo, you have it bad mate.
That cunt is no queen of mine, I’m not an Australian citizen nor will I be until its a republic, which should be sometime soon.
Bad news for England and Wales. KP out for the rest of the Ashes as he has had an op on his troublesome achillies. Ian Bell in for him??? If so, tis a bit of great news as the Aussies will view the Sherminator as an easy enough wicket.
That’s a really big blow for England. It’s also a huge setback for Wales. Bell will need to step up to the plate in a big way here as the batting line up immediately looks strikingly weaker. Get rid of one of the openers early and you’re into Bopara, Bell and Collingwood. Hmmm.
[quote=“Fitzy”]As well? Jesus Evo, you have it bad mate.
That cunt is no queen of mine, I’m not an Australian citizen nor will I be until its a republic, which should be sometime soon.[/QUOTE]
The Aussies love the English, you might find it quite strange
'Cos they sent them all down under, with only balls and chains
And when they see the English, they always shout and scream
But when they had the chance to vote they voted for the Queen
God save your gracious Queen
Long live your noble Queen
God save your Queen (you’re a convict)
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over you
God save your Queen.
[quote=“Manuel Zelaya”]The Aussies love the English, you might find it quite strange
'Cos they sent them all down under, with only balls and chains
And when they see the English, they always shout and scream
But when they had the chance to vote they voted for the Queen
God save your gracious Queen
Long live your noble Queen
God save your Queen (you’re a convict)
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over you
God save your Queen.[/QUOTE]
Yeah Bell got a rare hundred last week for Warwickshire. Big difference from that to the Ashes though. If he does not perform in this series there could be an argument that he is finished as a test player. Threadbare batting line up indeed. Maybe a surprise call up for Joyce???
They’d crawl over broken glass for a Graham Thorpe now.
This is a terminal blow for the Tans, their only world class batsman in all reality they will now be even more dependent on the other South African. Freddie wont ever get back his 05 form with the bat and Prior has already shot his load for this series imo. I will revise my 2-1 Australia prediction and go for 3-1 now.
[quote=“Special Olympiakos”]They’d crawl over broken glass for a Graham Thorpe now.
This is a terminal blow for the Tans, their only world class batsman in all reality they will now be even more dependent on the other South African. Freddie wont ever get back his 05 form with the bat and Prior has already shot his load for this series imo. I will revise my 2-1 Australia prediction and go for 3-1 now.[/QUOTE]
I feel Australia are missing Andrew Symonds badly in the series so far. Is there any other Englishman or Welshman they can persuade to come into their team to add some quality and depth?
Talk on Sky Sports a while ago was that the main candidates were. Bell, Key, Shah, Stephen Moore, then Joyce was there or there abouts with an average of 35.25 for the County Season. Maybe if they ask him nicely, David Gower might give up the Commentary and presenting and dust off his pads ;)
Why would they be missing a player who hasn’t done well in tests for years and has no interest in the game anymore?
Ian Bell? Jaysus, I didn’t think he was still trying to play cricket.
Surely England And Wales have another South African handy somewhere?
Bring back Graham Hick…
[quote=“Fitzy”]Why would they be missing a player who hasn’t done well in tests for years and has no interest in the game anymore?
Ian Bell? Jaysus, I didn’t think he was still trying to play cricket.
Surely England And Wales have another South African handy somewhere?[/QUOTE]
I think Zola Budd is next in line.
England must change bowling attack to protect Andrew Flintoff
by Geoffrey Boycott
The second Ashes Test victory over Australia at Lord’s was a fantastic performance from England and a massive turnaround after their dismal showing at Cardiff.
Every home supporter must have felt anxious when Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook went out to bat on that first morning. But the openers laid the groundwork with their 196-run stand, and the rest of the team put in a superbly professional effort to close out the match.
Andrew Flintoff was magnificent. It wasn’t just the way he bowled though that was special in itself. It was the way he lifted everyone else in the team and got the public on the edge of their seats. He must have been in serious discomfort, but he kept gritting his teeth and harrying the batsmen with his searing pace and frightening hostility. It was almost as if he was taking his pain out on the Aussies.
It would be easy to sit here and say “Same again, please, England”. But England have their worries with injury, and there are almost certain to be enforced changes to the team before the third Test starts in Birmingham. Kevin Pietersen, in particular, has very little chance of playing in that game. From the way he played at Lord’s, it’s clear that his dodgy Achilles is affecting both his batting and his whole mindset.
Pietersen’s two innings were hyperactive and fraught with danger. He was almost playing tip-and-run: as soon as he made contact with the ball, he was off for a quick single, and then limping when he made it to the other end. His hands were pushing hard at the ball, way in front of his pad, and his legs were all over the place, like a drunken giraffe.
Pietersen has always been a free spirit. He usually bats with an uncluttered mind, but at the moment he is being distracted by the pain, and his limited mobility. I understand that he opted against another injection at the end of the Test, and that is sensible, because too much cortisone rots your ligaments and tendons.
England would be daft to pick him for the third Test. If he found himself needing a runner or a substitute fielder, the Australians would be well within their rights to refuse, because the laws are stacked against anyone who comes into the game with a pre-existing injury.
While Pietersen is probably a non-starter for Edgbaston, Flintoff is a certainty. He will play whatever happens, because even on one bad leg, and with a gimpy limp, he was absolutely fantastic at Lord’s. Flintoff is mentally up for the challenge, but the problem is that with back-to-back Test matches coming up again, Strauss will have an almost impossible task trying to nurse his best bowler through the next fortnight. It is hard enough to play back-to-back Tests with fit bowlers, never mind an injured one who is limping.
One way of protecting Flintoff is to ensure that England’s other three seamers are all fit and firing. This ought to rule Graham Onions out for a start. At Lord’s, we were told that he was suffering from a niggly elbow, but it must be reasonably serious because we hardly saw him bowl in the second innings. It would be adding an unnecessary element of risk to go into the third Test with two suspect seamers.
Stuart Broad looks to be OK in a physical sense, but he just doesn’t do enough with the ball to be successful at this level. Against batsmen of the quality of Ricky Ponting or Michael Clarke you need to have some sideways movement, whether it be seam or swing. The only other option is to be exceptionally fast which Broad is not. He may have bounced a couple of batsmen out in this series, but so far he is averaging one wicket every 16 overs, which is putting too much strain on the other bowlers.
For me, England need to rebuild their attack. The fact that they won the last Test shouldn’t convince them to go for that old clich: always stick with a winning team. In fact, the best time to make changes can often be when you are on a high.
The three bowlers who did the damage at Lord’s were Flintoff, James Anderson and Graeme Swann; the other two were just passengers. Which is why I would call up both Steve Harmison and Ryan Sidebottom for the next Test. It is always flat at Edgbaston and England need some fresh, fit guys with wicket-taking options.
The batting is straightforward enough. England have to bring in Ian Bell for Pietersen. Bell is averaging 80 this year for Warwickshire and he will be playing on his home ground. We can only hope that his enforced break from the side will have taught him the value of ruthlessness, because it is about time he started converting his twenties and thirties into more big scores. In any case, there is nobody else out there who is putting a convincing case.
I would bat Bell at No 3, as England did in the last two Ashes series, because I don’t think Ravi Bopara is convincing anyone that he is in the right position at the moment. Yes, he may have made three consecutive centuries against the West Indies, but he is fast discovering that the Ashes represent a different scale of challenge. This is the Oscars of Test cricket, and Bopara has been anything but self-assured. So I would keep him in the side, but drop him down to No 5.
Paul Collingwood, who has performed solidly in the two Tests so far, can move up to take Pietersen’s place at No 4. If the whole team put in another brilliant performance in Birmingham, they will be well on the way to winning the Ashes.
She’d be better than Ian Bell.
Has no one told Geoffrey (or Evo for that matter) that Pietersen is actually out for the entire Ashes.
Break it to them gently, they will be terribly upset (well Geoffrey probably won’t)