MadAsHell

Nathan Lyon Fawad Ahmed 49 First Class Matches 21 146 Wickets 67 38.11 Average 31.25 3.15 Economy 3.67 72.4 Strike Rate 51.0 7/94 Best Figures/Innings 6/68 9/165 Best Figures/Match 8/77 Sorry to say TU, but those stats don't back up your opinion. Fawad takes more wickets every game he plays at a better strike rate and better average. Lyon economy is also only half a run better then Fawad Ahmed's to date and although he has better match and innings figures then Fawad, he's had an extra 28 First Class matches in which to do it. I know Lyon will play in Brisbane and no doubt Adelaide. But if he fails to impress in the openning two tests, I can see 4 quicks in Perth followed by a Fawad debut on Boxing Day.

I'd go with Fawad Ahmed yes. Even as recently as Englands last tour game against that Invitational XI, they showed their famous weakness against leg spin with young Victorian James Muirhead taking 6 of Australia's 13 wickets for the match. Copped some punishment, but he was taking wickets. Watch out for Muirhead in the future as well, has a lot of talent this kid! Lyon's a defensive bowler and we need to take 20 wickets. He's not a bad bowler, but I don't see us getting a lot better with him in our XI, now's the time to roll the dice with Fawad. I'm against 4 quicks almost all the time, except the WACA on the odd occasion when we have 4 quicks in red hot form, no specialist spinner in form and we can use the likes of Clarke, Smith & Warner for part time relief. Watson as the all rounder at 3, but wouldn't want to bowl him much more then 10 overs a day. I think in time Faulkner may become a genuine all rounder, but he's probably not there yet, although I'd play him as a bowler ahead of Johnson myself. My XI would be: C. Rogers D. Warner S. Watson M. Clarke* G. Bailey S. Smith +B. Haddin J. Faulkner P. Siddle R. Harris F. Ahmed 12th Man: M. Johnson But obviously Johnson & Lyon are both going to play ahead of Faulkner & Ahmed.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/667951.html White no longer Victorian captain and Matthew Wade now has the job. Shipperd trying to give Wade some leadership experience to get him back into the Australian XI do we think?

Ray Bright was a reasonable bowler jazza, but 53 wickets in 25 tests @ 41.13 isn't anything to get to excited about. In fact we've never had a left arm spinner get to 100 test wickets and I'm pretty sure Hugh Trumble is the only right arm off break bowler we've had that has got past 100 test wickets and his last test match was in 1904! As Rhino said Australian conditins suit the leg break spinners which is why our best spinners Warne, O'Reilly, Grimmett, Benaud and MacGill were all leg break bowlers. Trumble being the exception of course. This is why Fawad Ahmed is probably our best prospect at the moment, however going forward look out for the development of both Adam Zampa who's now on South Australia's list and should hopefully get more Shield matches there and James Muirhead for Victoria, who if Fawad Ahmed is selected for Australia, should get some opportunities with the Vics. Although he'll have to battle for a spot with John Holland. Muirhead had a very good season in district cricket last summer.

That's a pretty fair call Rhino, and history backs you up. As all of our best spinners have been wrist spinners rather then finger spinners. The only really good finger spinner we've ever had that I can think of is Hugh Trumble from several eras back. Where as on the flip side there's the likes of Warne, O'Reilly, Grimmett, Benaud, MacGill etc. And elsewhere I find this really sad: http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/the-ashes/brett-lee-calls-for-reinstatement-of-mitchell-johnson-to-australian-test-side/story-e6frf3gl-1226705909564 Clearly Brett Lee has lost his grip on reality and he needs to be supported by close friends and well wishes to make sure he gets back to a much better mental state and isn't as dilusional as he clearly is right now....

Not wrong Jazza, I found a link to that article here: http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/the-ashes/stuart-macgill-says-fawad-ahmed-should-be-picked-for-ashes-tour-if-he-gets-an-australian-passport/story-e6frf3gl-1226613791486 I'm pretty confident he is Rhino. In his last 3 (being his first) Shield games of the season he took 16 wickets @ 28.38, two games at the G and one at Belrieve, neither of which are traditional spin friendly wickets like Sydney or Adelaide. He did then struggle in his first two games with Australia A against Ireland and Glousta over in the UK in pretty ordinary conditions it must be said. Could possibly be put down to nerves also. However in his last three First Class matches, one against a full strength Zimbabwe XI and the other two against a pretty handy South Africa A side he took 15 wickets @ 22.67. Lyon will get first crack in Australia, and rightly so, probably the first three tests (GABBA, Adelaide Oval & WACA) but if he fails to deliver I can see a Fawad Ahmed Boxing Day debut.

I still reckon Fawad Ahmed is better then Lyon. However I'm concerned that he's almost being set up to fail by playing in the upcoming ODI series as I think and his record suggest he's a much better bowler in the longer format of the game then the One Dayers. Still, if he starts the Shield season well then he'll give himself every opportunity. I just hope he doesn't miss a large chunk of it by getting picked in the One Day tour of India which starts the same time as the Shield season. Very poorly organised that one!

Thought I'd post the link to Malcom Conn's report card of our players for the series. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/news-corp-senior-cricket-writer-malcolm-conn-rates-the-performances-of-australias-ashes-squad/story-fni2usfi-1226704557575 Pretty fair you'd have to say. Thought maybe Rogers could have managed a 7 out of 10 rather then 6 maybe. Otherwise no real suprises. Mentions Haddin was great with the gloves but struggled with the bat. And still a question mark on Nathan Lyon I noticed despite his impressive performance at Durham. Makes me think that Lyon will need to perform in the first few tests (GABBA & Adelaide Oval) to avoid loosing his place to Agar (could come in for the WACA test) or Ahmed (could come in for Boxing Day) if they have good starts to the Shield season.

Amazing finish as the match ends with England needing 21 off 4 overs with 5 wickets in hand due to bad light: Stumps Day 5 Australia 1st Innings 9/492 dec S. Watson 176 J. Anderson 4/95 (29.5) England 1st Innings 377 J. Root 68 J. Faulkner 4/51 (19.4) Australia 2nd Innings 6/111 (In 23 overs!) M. Clarke 28* S. Braod 4/43 (10) England 2nd Innings 5/206 (Target 227 off 44 overs) K. Pietersen 62 R. Harris 2/21 (5) England not happy with Australia but after Manchester all I can say is karma's a b*tch! But well done England on winning the Ashes 3-0 and well done on coming to the party in that sporting chase we set up for you.

You're right HT, there's actually quite a few positives to come out of this tour. Apart from Lords it just seems we've lost the big moments in matches, crossed with some bad luck with the weather at both Old Trafford and here at The Oval. Looks as though we're going to see a draw here as after Englands positive start, their run rate has now dropped under 4. 154 needed off 27 overs and 9 wickets in hand but we'll see. I'll give the match till at least 20 overs remaining before I potentially give up.

Well done Brad Haddin on the keeper record for dismissals in a series. Great work and 9 more wickets to get in 38 overs! haha.

And news from cricinfo is that we have declared and England need 227 to win. Also because we did it over the tea break we don't loose 2 overs for switch over so England need 227 off 44 overs.

I don't necessarily think he's a poor captain. But I think he's very conservative and if they're to get to number 1 in the world for an extended period they need more attacking flair and be able to take more risks. I can't see them beating South Africa playing the cricket they play. And funnily enough I see more scope for improvement in our XI playing Clarke's brand of cricket compared to Englands XI and Cook's brand.

Tea on Day 5 Australia 1st Innings 9/492 dec S. Watson 176 S. Smith 138* J. Anderson 4/95 (29.5) G. Swann 2/95 (33) England 1st Innings 377 J. Root 68 K. Pietersen 50 J. Faulkner 4/51 (19.4) M. Starc 3/92 (33) Australia 2nd Innings 6/111 (In 23 overs!) M. Clarke 28* S. Watson 26 S. Braod 4/43 (10) J. Anderson 1/27 (6) Good on Clarke and Australia for pushing for a result. Lead is now 226 and if they declare over tea England will need 227 off 42 overs at just under 5.5 runs an over. Reckon we could see this happen. Poor form of Cook again not bowling Kerrigan. With the Aussies giving their wickets away chasing quick runs there was the perfect chance for the guy to get his first test wicket and some confidence. That's Cook's captaincy for you!

You're right Macca, and we have a game on our hands, Faulkner in at 3! Reckon Clarke will play it as it comes a bit. We'll probably bat for a minimum of 15, maximum of 25 overs. Which will give us anywhere from 40-50 overs to bowl at them. Obviously the more overs we have the better chance we have of taking 10 wickets, but we'll need to make sure we set them a reasonable run rate chase and don;t just hand them a victory. We'll probably be looking for a run rate chase of min 4.5 runs an over to 5.5 runs an over, so it will be dictated by the rate we can score at. The question will be how will England respond. Knowing Cook they'll shut up shop to begin with which is poor IMO. I mean Warner and Watson hot a few boundaries and after 7 overs he had men back on the ropes on either side. So, so negative!

Spot on about Faulkner's game. He's certainly one to watch for the future and with our injury concerns with our quicks he's a handy player to have available. I don't expect to see him at the GABBA but time will tell I guess.

Change of innings. Australia 9/492 dec S. Watson 176 S. Smith 138* R. Harris 33 J. Anderson 4/95 (29.5) G. Swann 2/95 (33) C. Woakes 1/96 (24) England 377 J. Root 68 K. Pietersen 50 M. Prior 47 J. Faulkner 4/51 (19.4) M. Starc 3/92 (33) R. Harris 2/64 (28) 115 in front and by dismissing England for 377 we ensure England haven't made 400 in an innings for the whole series while we've done it twice! Now for the Aussies to go out there and bat for 15 overs, declare and set England a target off 50 overs. If Warner and Watson tee off and we go at 8 runs an over T20 style and make 120 off the 15 overs, that would set England 236 off 50 overs. Game on and they'll be given plenty if they don't even attempt the chase.

And since saying that he's dropped an absolute sitter! And I'm also disapointed to see England haven't declared yet. Will need to take these next 2 wickets quick as this time will have to come out of our 20 overs...

And back onto the topic of team selection for the GABBA I found an interesting comment in this article from Malcom Conn: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/while-there-have-been-good-signs-australia-have-fallen-short-when-it-mattered-writes-malcolm-conn/story-fni2usfi-1226703539707 'There will be changes for the summer. Keep an eye on Adam Voges.' You wouldn't have thought Conn would just name Voges willy nilly. Could we see him at 5 and Smith at 6 which I think suits Smith better for the GABBA? Wouldn't be totally against Voges. Also bowls some handy part time left arm spin.

77 overs left in the day. I'm still hoping my vision of this match comes true and England declare after 3 more overs after lunch. We then bat a 20 over innings and set England a target to win off 50 overs? Hadn't realised he'd been that good with the gloves. Safe as houses for the GABBA.

Lunch Day 5 Australia 9/492 S. Watson 176 S. Smith 138* R. Harris 33 J. Anderson 4/95 (29.5) G. Swann 2/95 (33) C. Woakes 1/96 (24) England 7/350 J. Root 68 K. Pietersen 50 I. Bell 45 M. Starc 3/92 (33) R. Harris 2/64 (28) J. Faulkner 1/40 (16)

Stumps Day 4 Australia 9/492 S. Watson 176 S. Smith 138* R. Harris 33 J. Anderson 4/95 (29.5) G. Swann 2/95 (33) C. Woakes 1/96 (24) England 4/247 J. Root 68 K. Pietersen 50 J. Trott 40 M. Starc 2/60 (26) N. Lyon 1/41 (26) R. Harris 1/41 (23) Rain and negative cricket from England have ruined what was looking a good test for Australia. England going at 2.12 runs an over but still stating they were looking to win the test is an absolute joke! It's why they'll never be as good as we used to be back in the Days of Taylor & Waugh as captain and the positive cricket they had us playing no matter the position we were in. Only way we could push for a result from here would be with a gentlemen's agreement with the English. 98 overs will be expected for the day to help make up for some time. First 24 overs for England to bat to avoid the follow on. Say they go at a normal rate of about 3 an over would take them up to about 320 and about 170 behind. England declare, take the 2 overs off for change over and there would be 72 overs remaining. Australia go out and bat for 20 overs at a rate of 4-5 an over taking our lead to somewhere in the ball park of 250-270. Australia declare, take the 2 overs off for change over and there would be 50 overs remaining. End of the match could then become like a ODI as England need 250-270 to win off 50 overs. In the spirit of the contest don't bowl any of our bowlers for more then 10 overs each and play it old school by not having anymore then 2 fielders outside where the circled area would be for the first 15 overs. Won't happen, but it would be great for the spectators and great for test cricket!

And in other news, another Australian fast bowler is injured! http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013/content/story/664283.html For the GABBA test the 3 seamers will probably be Harris, Siddle & Starc as there won't be any others fit available! And you know it's only a matter of time before Harris goes again....

Haha, not wrong Macca, he's certainly proved me wrong and good on him I say! He was out of my XI also, as was Smith! You make some good points re: Faullner RR and I can see where you're coming from. I think what it will come down to with Faulkner, apart from his performances obviously is what they decide to do with Watson? Obviosuly Watto hasn't bowled yet in this test. So going forward will the selectors now look to play Watson as a specialist batsman only at number 3 and instruct Clarke only to bowl him as a partnership breaker for no more then about 6-10 overs an innings, for example Steve Waugh's medium pacers in the 2nd half of his career. If that is the case then there may be a potential spot for an all rounder still in Faulkner. This would require him to average at least around 35 with the bat though you'd think and the same would be required of Haddin or whoever the keeper is at number 6. If would also require to top 5 to be averaging over 40 each like the good old days to still give you a solid batting line up. If this isn't the case and they still wish Watto to play as an all rounder while batting at 3 then I agree, the side does look unbalanced and you'd like to see them get another specialist batsman in so they and Smith can hold down 5 and 6, whether that's Maddinson or whoever? As for the state of the match a good days play by the Aussies and at least it now looks extremely unlikely that we'll loose 4-0. Sorry Beefy Botham! Well done to both Watto and Smith who before this match I said were playing for their careers and I expected to both be playing their final tests. Fingers crossed we can knock England over for under 320 by stumps day 3, go out and make a quick 250 and set them 420 in 4 sessions and then push for victory. Back onto England however, pretty ordinary I say that Kerrigan wasn't even given the opportunity to come out on Day 2 and attempt to bounce back from the previous day. Even if he was only given 1 or 2 overs and if he still looked ordinary then drag him. The guys been picked as a specialist bowler and to not even get a chance to redeem himself was pretty ordinary I thought, but that's just me.

Stumps Day 1 Australia 4/307 S. Watson 176 S. Smith 66* C. Rogers 23 J. Anderson 2/52 (18) G. Swann 1/71 (30) S. Broad 1/73 (19) Great day for the Aussies, especially Watson & Smith who were playing for their careers heading into this test. You'd think they've assured themselves spots for the GABBA test now and Watson has scored the dreaded number 3 role for some time. The only other question that would need answering is will we keep playing Faulkner and just have Watto as a specialist batsman. Or will Faulkner make way after this test for a batsman down the order and Watto play as the all rounder at 3? But a great knock from him, especially given the heavy hit he copped from Broad. A fine innings from Smith also and a crucial gritty 23 from Rogersd off 100 deliveries to blunt the new ball. With Rogers falling to Swann once more however, I wonder if in the time between this test and the GABBA whether he should do a Matty Hayden and develop a sweep shot to make sure he doesn't get tied down by Swann and can rotate the strike a bit more like Hayden did against Harbajan all those years ago? As for England young Kerrigan looked right out of his depth. I think Woakes will be an ok player and I can understand why they've played him, just under other circumstances they would have played Monty ahead of Kerrigan if not for the bouncer incident and their team balance wouldn't of looked so bad. The Oval always spins, but I thik that was the worst bowling I've seen from a debutant since Scott Muller made his test debut.