Common Sense
This is not a world beating team; they have a couple of canny bowlers, two hard to get out openers, KP, an untried number 3, a number 5 who has to play for his career every 5 minutes, a keeper who can’t catch, and an aging all rounder who they win more with when he doesn’t play. This is not a special English side, it is very working class.
Match winners
KP…. And then who? Strauss made two hundreds in a game in India, great effort, but England lost. Broad chips in, but doesn’t take many wickets. Anderson looks like he has finally mastered his bowling, but he still hasn’t taken down a top notch batting lime up. Swann is good, but will he win matches? No one knows if Freddie will play, and more importantly, if he will be any good.
Form
England has lost three of its last four series. Australia has won two of their last four. Seems pretty close until you actually look into the details. England have beaten a homesick Windes, and Australia went to South Africa (the team that less than 12 months ago beat England at home) with a team of new players and won the series. No contest.
Captaincy
Andrew Strauss cost England the series in the West Indies, with not one, but two horrendously late declarations. Ricky might be a poor captain, but he is a poor captain with 4 years of experience behind him, and now has the two best strategic thinkers in state cricket in his team.
English media
This team’s cred is paper thin. One loss, and the media will rip them apart. Strauss has been in the job for less than 6 months, Flower less than that; they have built up no record that can insulate them from the press. KP can top score and still get bagged by the media here.
51
You could say this goes into form, but it doesn’t, it gets its own special chapter. Because the West Indies bowled England out for 51, and that top order, with only one change, will be the same one that faces Australia.
Complacency
Australia don’t have it. In 2005 they turned up with it. That was a transitional team, this is now Ricky’s team. They are younger and hungrier than any team Ricky has captained, and thanks to their win in South Africa, they now have belief.
Ahh, the fluffy side, scratch the milk!
(1) Mitchell Johnson
(2) See one
(3) There isn’t a three
Well, this is over-analysis. England will not win the Ashes because they are England. In 2005, a great bowler stepped on the balls, and thats the reason England won. The fact that there is no stand-out performer in Australian lineup now means that one bowler stepping on the ball may not be a big issue. So, England being England, and no external help forthcoming, they’ll lose. Stop all analysis. You are wasting your time on posts that can stick to the cred of this site – sex, cuss words and relate them to cricket.
Seems like England will have to resort to strategically place balls on the ground when the Aussies are training and hope.
Raj, If Mitchell Johnson stands on a ball I can’t see Australia winning.
The way we talk about Prior, you’d think he was the best keeper/batsman in the world. He’s probably not even the best keeper/batsman in the squad. He’s scored loads of runs against a shit Windies side and not much against anyone else, and he makes Haddin look world-class behind the sticks. The only way he could be worse is if he was he had his hands tied behind his back and had to catch the ball in his teeth.
You have said it before – why England can’t win the Ashes? Simon Jones
After being knocked out of the T20 world cup in the first round by a Nannes led Netherlands, a humiliated and hurt England will proceed to tear into runners up Australia who suffer their worst result in an Ashes tournament for two decades. Ricky Ponting will be sacked and Mitchell Johnson made captain after Michael Clarke is found in a corner in the dressing room gibbering like an idiot after his 5 consecutive ducks…
Calls made to Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Matthew to come back will not be returned.
Alok, your scenario tells why it wont happen. Ricky Ponting is not going to lose the Ashes. Thats just not going to happen. He’ll probably not end up with an average less than 20 either for this Ashes series. Whats sure is that he’ll captain Australia to a draw or win in the Ashes series 2009
Who are the two best strategic thinkers in test criicket in the aussie team?