Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Ashes fever will soon reach pandemic proportions. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 C'mon Freddie It just won't be the same if Flintoff can't make it, says his old rival Brett More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Win Chance To Interview Star Matt England wicketkeeper MATT PRIOR is one of the most exciting young cricketers in the world. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 It Can Only Be An Ashes Summer EVERY BALL IN MORE DETAIL More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Brett Lee wants Freddie Flintoff fit for the Ashes Brett Lee is desperate to face Andrew Flintoff in another Ashes showdown - and has told his old foe: It won't be the same without you! More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Australia's 12 still a mystery Australia are still no closer to finalising their 12-man team for their opening tour match against Sussex, which starts in Hove on Wednesday. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Ashes No.16: Adam Gilchrist We continue our 30-day countdown to the first Ashes Test with Adam Gilchrist, the player who revolutionised wicketkeeping and loved taking the long handle to England. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Pre Ashes build up All the familiar conundrums have been discussed. Five batsmen or six, four bowlers or five. This will have led naturally on to one spinner or two and having reached that point the selectors will have moved seamlessly to the daddy of them all: a wicketkeeper who can bat or a batsman who can keep. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Now we can lose the Ashes twice They were the first team to represent Australia overseas in any sport, a squad of Aboriginal cricketers who visited England in 1868, nine years before the first Ashes series established cricket's oldest rivalry. Now a team of young indigenous players are retracing their steps, with a tour that will honour the trailblazers and play at many of the same venues. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Goodbye Vaughan: Final England snub for ex-captain could mean retirement England will almost certainly bring the curtain down on Michael Vaughan's illustrious England career today when they leave him out of their first Ashes squads of the summer.More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Whatever happened to England's Ashes hero Gary Pratt? Life has changed for Gary Pratt since he came on as a substitute fielder for England in the fourth Ashes Test four years ago and ran out Ricky Ponting but it has not changed for the better.More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Jones to miss Ashes As Andrew Flintoff battles to find form with bat and ball for the start of this year's Ashes series, the curtain on this summer was drawn on another of England's heroes from 2005, Simon Jones. More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Michael Vaughan not expected to feature in Ashes line-up • Geoff Miller unlikely to pick former captain in training squad • Lions side to face Australia before Ashes also to be named Michael Vaughan will find out today whether he has a realistic chance of forcing his way back into England's plans when an extended squad is announced for an Ashes training camp. The Yorkshire batsman has not featured for his country since stepping down as England captain after the third Test against South Africa at Edgbaston last summer. Although he has continually stated his desire to feature again in the Ashes, he is not expected to be chosen by the national selector, Geoff Miller. Today England will name a 16-man squad for an Ashes training camp and the three-day warm-up match against Warwickshire, which will form the basis of their selections for the five-Test Ashes series starting in Cardiff on July 8. Miller is also due to announce the Lions side to face Australia in a four-day match starting the same day. If Vaughan fails to feature in that long list of names, it will be the clearest signal that he is unlikely to force his way back into England's plans this summer. Ashes Cricket Michael Vaughan England Cricket Team guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Vaughanâ??s Ashes hopes in the balance Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to discover tonight if he is in line for a Test recall against Australia when the selectors name an extended squad for an Ashes training camp. Vaughan has More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Harmy Will Face Aussies HARMY'S ASHES LIFELINE More... Link to comment
Feed Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 England to name extended Ashes squad England are set to name an extended 16-member squad on Monday for the Ashes training camp and a warm-up match. More... Link to comment
King Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 All your Pre Ashes build up and news goes here. It'll be good to follow in a single thread. Link to comment
King Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think they need to include Vaughan in the playing XI somehow, he is good enough and despite his county scores he'll be a force to reckon with. He has enough experience to boot and I can't see how they can play Bell or Collingwood ahead of him. Bell's selection will be a good choice of course, he is a good bat but can he handle the pressure though? I'd go with Monty than Adil. England has to make turners this time around, they have two good spinners and Aussie have none to claim as good. Link to comment
Chandan Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think they need to include Vaughan in the playing XI somehow, he is good enough and despite his county scores he'll be a force to reckon with. He has enough experience to boot and I can't see how they can play Bell or Collingwood ahead of him. Bell's selection will be a good choice of course, he is a good bat but can he handle the pressure though? I'd go with Monty than Adil. England has to make turners this time around, they have two good spinners and Aussie have none to claim as good. But England have left Vaughan out of their training 16 member squad for the first test! Vaughan and Harmison left out of Ashes training squad Cricinfo staff June 22, 2009 Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, and Steve Harmison have both been left out of England's pre-Ashes camp ahead of the much-anticipated series against Australia which begins later this month, but England named three spinners, including Adil Rashid, as the first Test at Cardiff is expected to offer turn. The pre-Ashes camp squad of 16 includes Ian Bell, who was dropped following the defeat to West Indies at Sabina Park in the winter, along with Monty Panesar, Rashid, Andrew Flintoff and Tim Bresnan. Panesar has struggled for form this summer, turning in a worryingly poor performance against Cardiff last week when he took 2 for 149 from 44 overs, but Rashid impressed for England during their World Twenty20 campaign. Harmison has had a productive couple of weeks in county cricket following his return from shin problems. In the recent Championship match against Warwickshire, at Edgbaston, he took 5 for 44 on a flat surface and gave the batsmen a real working over to make it 16 wickets in two games. Instead, the selectors have gone for Graham Onions, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom as back-up to James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the first-choice seamers. Harmison was, however, selected for the England Lions squad to face Australia on July 1. "The pre-Ashes camp is designed to give Andy Flower and the rest of the management team an opportunity to meet with the players ahead of their series and begin their preparations in earnest," said Geoff Miller, the national selector. "We will continue to consider players outside the 16 chosen for the camp and will closely monitor performances in domestic cricket as the international season progresses. The door has not been closed on any player at this stage." There was no place for James Foster, whose two deft stumpings during England's World Twenty20 campaign reminded everyone of his class behind the stumps. That mantle falls on the incumbent, Matt Prior, who has shown impressive consistency with the bat for England, even if he may not be quite the same standard of wicketkeeper as Foster. Prior is expected to bat at No.6, and slotting in behind him will be Flintoff, who has completed two Championship matches for Lancashire where he has collected wickets and scored a half-century since returning from surgery. Vaughan, who led England to regain the Ashes in 2005, has made only 159 runs at 19.88 for Yorkshire this season and, though he has made clear his intention to resume his international career, it seems increasingly unlikely unless, as Miller said, he scores a mountain of runs. "Michael Vaughan will, of course, be disappointed not to have been included," Miller said. "But I met with Michael recently and he understands that he needs to make runs consistently in county cricket if he is to force his way back into the squad. "We are pleased to welcome Andrew Flintoff and Ryan Sidebottom back to the Test squad after recovering from injury and Adil Rashid's inclusion reflects our view that he is maturing all the time as a cricketer and has the potential to develop still further." An England XI are due to play a three-day match against Warwickshire on July 1, but the side selected for that game may still change for the first Ashes Test. "We have chosen two spinners in our side to face Warwickshire, but this does not necessarily mean that we will opt for the same balance in our bowling attack in the 1st Ashes Test," Miller said. "An extra pace bowler still remains an option for our starting line-up at Cardiff." The England Lions squad, meanwhile, is led by Ian Bell, who hasn't played for England since their defeat to West Indies at Sabina Park in the winter. The squad's pace attack features Harmison along with Sajid Mahmood, who has shown excellent pace for Lancashire this season, along with Graham Onions. The young Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steven Davies takes the gloves while there were places for Eoin Morgan, Vikram Solanki and Kent's Joe Denly. The decision to appoint Bell captain is noteworthy. After he was told to "show more hunger" by Miller at the start of the season, he has since gone on to score 477 runs at 79.50 in the Championship, and his elevation to captaincy reflects the selectors' desire to hand him greater responsibility if he is to force his way back into the England team. "In choosing the two teams for the matches at Edgbaston and Worcester, we were also mindful of the need to field a very strong England Lions side against Australia and the inclusion of four bowlers with Test match experience and Ian Bell as captain demonstrates this," Miller said. "We are keen to make the match at Worcester a tough one for Australia and plan to give all the players in the Lions team the maximum opportunity to press their case for selection." The squad announcement for the first Ashes Test will be named on July 6, 24 hours later than originally planned, and just two days before the series gets underway. England Test squad for pre-Ashes camp 1. Andrew Strauss (capt), 2. James Anderson, 3. Ian Bell, 4. Ravi Bopara, 5. Tim Bresnan, 6. Stuart Broad, 7. Paul Collingwood, 8. Alastair Cook, 9. Andrew Flintoff, 10. Graham Onions, 11. Monty Panesar, 12. Kevin Pietersen, 13. Matt Prior, 14. Adil Rashid, 15. Ryan Sidebottom, 16. Graeme Swann England XI to face Warwickshirep Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ravi Bopara, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Graeme Swann England Lions squad to face Australia Ian Bell (capt), Tim Bresnan, Joe Denly, Steven Davies (wk), Steve Harmison, Sajid Mahmood, Stephen Moore, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Adil Rashid, Vikram Solanki ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I think both Panesar and Bell are useless should not even be considered for the final XI. Panesar has shown what a mechanical bowler he is---trying same things even when he is thrashed. Bell has been given enough chances and he has underachieved heavily IMO. Both should be left out. Link to comment
The Outsider Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 ^ Chandan, Rashid is a pretty ordinary bowler himself. If England do play two spinners, then I would choose Panesar over him just because how Australia struggled against Harris. I like the look of their squad though - there is obvious emphasis on spin which I still think is the way to go around beating Australia. After their struggles in India and against Harris over the past year, it should be an obvious strategy and it lines up perfectly for them that tracks conducive to spin are likely to aid reverse swing as well. A bit disappointed that Vaughan has been left out. He could have provided the X factor and wild card seriously lacking in the English batting line up, barring Pietersen. There appears to be no one in that squad who can walk in at 50/3 and start to play his shots in an effort to counter attack. The likes of Sehwag, Laxman, Tendulkar, Pietersen, Vaughan, and recently De Villiers have shown that nothing throws Australia more off their game than a counter attacking punch. Link to comment
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