The only variation I can offer is Finn, as you mentioned, if he's fired up because of his height & ability to create bounce. Are you playing Prior as keeper or Bairstow, aeolium?
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Before this latest innings of Prior's I would have definitely dropped him and played Bairstow as a keeper at 7 with Ballance in at 6. That's still an option, though Prior does have a tough temperament and the ability to counter-attack which probably means he is worth retaining for this Test at least. There is at least a small consolation that England kept the Aus bowlers in the field for over 100 overs with not much recovery time before Perth. If Cook can ever win a toss, then he must bat first even though it will be an ordeal. It is generally the team that bats first in Perth who wins, as it was in 2010 (and last year, when South Africa won). -
Indeed, Oz on the up, plus the very quiet, stage left, South Africans evisceration of India, such that millionaire strutters and sledgers like Kohli are getting a real thumping.
The seeds of this England capitulation were actually sown in UK last summer IMO. It was clear that this is, with one or to tweaks, a pretty useful Oz attack. Harris, Siddle particularly, and indeed Nathan Lyon too. Johnson's pace has given that attack the edge it lacked, and batsmen a good as Clarke can';t be kept down for long.
The worry for England is that Swann and Anderson look thoroughly ill-sorted, even frankly uninterested, Pietersen is wildly irresponsible and unpredictable, and Cook, once magically potent, looks so utterly predictable and apparently clueless now that strategists all over the cricketing world have worked out how to winkle him out. Thus the top order is holed below the waterline. Root will be undone in Perth, many will get out avoiding damage or, as in Adelaide, hooking helpfully to which ever fielder is posted anywhere near a boundary. Broad and Stokes look up for it AFAICS, Bell is quietly equipped for almost any pitch, maybe Prior is coming back into form, Carberry might likewise cut it. But it's fragile. So Stokes would stay in, Pansear dropped for Perth, Ballance in as well if poss.
My eleven would be: Cook, Root, Bell, Pietersen, Carberry, Ballance, Stokes, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson. Reluctantly.
IMO, Jos Buttler is a better keeper/batsman than any of them, Graham Onions a better and more potent line and length bowler, and Scott Borthwick a better, feistier batsman / spinner / fielder than many we've seen. Consider this: the Notts pair, Alex Hales and Michael Lumb in all forms of cricket, proved cannier technicians than almost all the current England top order on view. I am frankly amazed that the pair have been left out: Notts and Durham [ Onions. Stokes, Borthwick] were Div 1 leaders and scrappers all through the UK 2013 season, yet their talents have not been recognised except in ODIs. It's a failure of flexibility and imagination among the selectors, I fear.Comment
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I think this is a good article which mentions some longer-term causes of the decline:
"But it was also the scheduling that saw England obliged to go straight from a Champions Trophy final into an Ashes series; it was the seeping weariness of asking them to play back-to-back Ashes series with all the attendant hype and hyperbole; and it was the relentless demands of a treadmill that sees them regularly play more Tests than any other side in the world, alongside an increased priority in limited-overs cricket. The ECB, desperate to feed a business model that may well not be sustainable, has asked too much of its most precious assets."Comment
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Plenty of food for thought from Draco & aeolium - many thanks. Could I ask how you each gather your views and impressions? I scarcely see any Test cricket, being anti-Murdfoch (let's not go there) and I haven't seen county cricket in years.Are you county members? Do you read particular cricket magazines? I feel very out-of-touch ( But I did know who Reg Simpson was when his obituaries were published recentlyOriginally posted by DracoM View Post
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Could I tempt you further to ponder on whether or not any of this is to do with the central contracts concept whereby plauyers are effectively removed from the county set-up and placed in E&WCB cotton wool? Does it remove the need to compete? And if so is that important?
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Not if Aussie won at Sydney or Melbourne - it would then be 3-2 to Aus.Originally posted by aeolium View PostComment
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Ams I am anti-Murdoch and therefore have no qualms about looking at this fine place: http://www.crictime.com/Originally posted by amateur51 View Post
(I have fast and unlimited broadband however)Comment
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Yes, I should have said at least one win and no losses.Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostComment
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I see Test highlights during the summer on C5 and for this series on the Pick channel which is on Freeview channel 11 - an hour at 10 pm. Though I live outside Wales now I'm a county member at Glamorgan and have been since a boy in the 60s (when I saw famous Glamorgan victories against the touring Australians in 1964 and 1968 at St Helens).Could I ask how you each gather your views and impressions? I scarcely see any Test cricket, being anti-Murdfoch (let's not go there) and I haven't seen county cricket in years.Are you county members?Comment
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Cheers hodger. What delight. Needs a serious looking at.Originally posted by hedgehog View Post
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A masterstroke from motivation genius, Sir Geoffrey Boycott.
He says he fears that England are going to be 'annihilated'
If that doesn't get their pride pumping I don't know what will
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Dear Hedgehog,
Many thanks for the Crictime link which I look forward to using this week. Perth is such an agreeable place, never say die, we did beat em' 3-0 three months ago!
In Hope,
GComment
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The only thing I know with any degree of certainty about Perth as a cricket venue is the cooling effect of the Fremantle Doctor in the arvo (local argotOriginally posted by gradus View Post
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We must hope that Monty has great success with the good Doctor (if Monty is playing)
If Blowers is broadcasting he's bound to mention it.Comment
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I use www.cricpass.net where the Sky feed and / or the Australian TV feed (fronted by Mark Nicholas) can be watched on my laptop - I am able to block most of the site adverts from my browser.
As well as this site and the one mentioned by hedgehog above, there is also another at www.watchcric.com I believe.Comment
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Oh I'll look at cricpass too, thanks! On crictime just let the add on the screen disappear by itself without clicking on anything and then switch to full screen mode. You don't get anymore adds when it is on full screen, use the HD width if possible.Originally posted by AmpH View PostComment
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Third Test, First Day .. a day of some success fior England, and then we let it slip. I'd say England won the first two sessions but by allowing Haddin, Smith and Johnson to get away, we have made the next day even harder than it might have been.
i was pleased to see that Swann repaid the selectors' faith in him by taking two relatively expensive but important wickets (Warner and Clarke) but most of the bowlers were relatively expensive, except for Anderson who was wicketless. Does Cook need to rotate the bowlers more frequently, not allowing batsmen to settle, keeping the bowlers fresh? What do I know?
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