Cant believe that they have picked Bell at 3. Surely with bringing in Trott (and not making any other changes to the squad) surely the obvious thing to do was promote Collingwood to 3. Bell in his current form and previous form for that matter should bat no higher than 5 if at all be in the side. If this goes belly up surely Ashley Giles’ role as England Selector has to come under scrutiny.
Its not exactly a vote of confirdence in Collingwood, who has looked very unhappy during the series, but to bring Bell in at 3? Is this Trott’s test debut? Ramprakesh must be seething…
Yep, it will be Trott’s test debut. I reckon he’ll have a dose of the trotts on Thursday morning too. Whatever about Bell being lucky to bat at #3, Collingwood should definitely be batting no higher than #5 though he could be at #4 in this test depending on where they decide to include Trott in the order.
[quote=“balbec”]The England batsmen that failed at Headingly were sent back to county to get some match practice. Not a great return so far however.
Bell scored 1
Bopara 4
Trott the next batsman in line for a call 15
Owais Shah 4
But Robert Key scored 90[/quote]
Bell made 126 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge the week after the 4th test.
Had to happen. Bopara may have a future, and his centuries against the Windies show he has some skill, but you cannot go into such a crucial test with a batsman who has blown 4 Test’s worth of opportunity.
This test won’t get to tea on day 3 with any luck. Australia will only have to bat once.
[quote=“Shadow”]
Had to happen. Bopara may have a future, and his centuries against the Windies show he has some skill, but you cannot go into such a crucial test with a batsman who has blown 4 Test’s worth of opportunity.[/quote]
The likes of Bopara should be starting off their careers at 5 or 6. Not at 3. Ponting started down there, so did Vaughan for example.
Hopefully the weather won’t screw it up this time round.
True enough, but at this stage he’s wasted too many opportunities and England need to put their best lineup out. He’ll get another chance.
Its difficult to know what else they could have done with the top order. Options were very limited. The talk of selecting Mark Ramprakash was just nonsense. Trescothick would have been a good addition if available, but hes retired and Pietersen is obviously injured.
Out of the top 5 of Strauss, Cook, Bell, Bopara & Collingwood - Bopara had to be dropped. Cook & Collingwoods form has been poor but survive becuase of lack of alternatives and the even worse form displayed by Bopara. As regards Bell, I think some of the reaction has been a bit melodramatic. Undobutedly, he had a stinker at Headingly, but he hit a half century in his only inning at the crease in Edgbaston and hes having a good season with Warwickshire, averaging 70+. Given the lack of alternatives, so soon after earning a recall at Edgbaston, he just wasnt going to be dropped. Hes been given a reprieve and he owes England to back up his undoubted technical skills with some mental toughness and deliver a big score. Trott by virtue of his Warwickshire form deserved a crack at it.
The make up of the bowling attack will be interesting. Im sure the English selectors had wanted from a long time back to go with two spinners at the Oval. Only problem is Montys horrific form. 10 wickets at an average of 71 between England and Northants this summer!
It doesnt look to clever for England with so many players out of form. Its actually a minor miracle in a lot of ways that theyre facing into a winner takes all Ashes decider. Whats needed is some of the old indominatable bulldog spirit.
Dont forget England were been similarly written off before Lords after performing so dismally in Cardiff. Winning the toss and a big opening knock from Strauss would do very nicely again.
According to Jim Maxwell (the world’s pre-eminent cricket commentator), the wicket is very dry and therefore Australia will take Hauritz into the game with Clark dropped (he’ll probably be 12th man).
Otherwise Australia will play as is - Watson, Katich, Ponting, Hussey (he’d better perform), Clarke, North, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Hauritz.
This could be an epic 5 days of sport. Trott’s batting at #5 so Collingwood goes up to #4. I think they’ve settled on going with one spinner so Panesar misses out and their final choice seems to be to decide between Harmison and Onions.
Yeah, think there could be another couple of twists yet. Harmison will surely play. Warne had a cut of Collingwood in the Times today, says he has been hiding batting at #5 and leaving all the pressure on Bopara and Bell.
Warne never refuses the opportunity to have a dig at Collingwood. Does it pre-date Collingwood getting an MBE after the 2005 Ashes or did it start from there? I remember Warne saying someone who only played the final test and didn’t make a meaningful contribution with the bat didn’t deserve an MBE. He was sledging him constantly in Australia in 06/07 referring to him as Paul Collingwood MBE all the time. He’s consistently had a go at him for his ODI and Twenty20 captaincy too in the year or so.
No Monty Panesar seemingly.
I think it’s Harmesan according to Atherton anyway.
Beefy says it’s a result pitch but that’s probably just because Sky have the rights.
Warne and Athers were agreeing though that England would play 2 spinners if Panesar was in any sort of form but they just can’t afford to given how badly he’s been playing.
Weather forecast looks decent for most of the time - slight risk of rain around noon today and a bigger risk tomorrow but then fine all weekend.
Should be cracking sport anyway and just the sort of viewing I need before the intensity of the Astro finale next week.
[quote=“Fitzy”]According to Jim Maxwell (the world’s pre-eminent cricket commentator), the wicket is very dry and therefore Australia will take Hauritz into the game with Clark dropped (he’ll probably be 12th man).
Otherwise Australia will play as is - Watson, Katich, Ponting, Hussey (he’d better perform), Clarke, North, Haddin, Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Hauritz.[/quote]
According to Shane Warne (the world’s pre-eminent spin legend), the wicket is very dry but despite that Australia will still play Clark with Hauritz missing out (he’ll probably be 23th man).
“Hell of a risk” is the consensus from Bumble and others but they seem to think they’re just sticking with Headingley lineup.
Heads is the call from Ricky…
…it’s a tail. England batting.
Fuck.
England as expected with Harmison for Onions.
[quote=“Rocko”]…it’s a tail. England batting.
Fuck.[/quote]
'Mon the fucking English and Welsh.
Ricky reckons the coin was fixed!
Confirms an unchanged side.