Australia's Ashes squad named.

[Mr. Wicket]

If a little ironic. Remember, this is coming from the media of a country that just gave Tim Bresnan a test cap. And still has Matt Prior as a wicketkeeping option!

[graphic23]

Why they dropped Tim Ambrose in place of Matt Prior, I still don't know. Sidebottom would've gotten 5-6 more wickets on our last tour to England if Prior didn't drop so many catches.

[Mr. Wicket]

Still not as bad as dropping Read for Errant Jones. Good grief, what a royal f-ck up that was. Read is the best pure glovesman I have seen in any form of cricket in the last decade. The morons dropped him for a man with two left hands and all the coordination of a drunk.

[Don Sharma]

G Jones was tried instead of Read in that dead rubber at Antigua in 2003-04. Read had a torrid time with the bat throughout the series btw he had to bat only thrice in those three matches. Jones too didn't do a lot with the bat in the final game but still managed to keep his place in the side. I think the team management had a soft corner for Jones.

[Mr. Wicket]

Duncan Fletcher had a soft corner and a hard-on for Jones, going by the perpetual and completely ridiculous support he kept getting...

[f.b.m]

The Sun made their thoughts on the selection very clear:

lawlz, but still I think he'll do well with the ball if he's given the opportunity to.

[Feed]

Lee's career in doubt Brett Lee's international career might be over within a month if he doesn't impress in the lead-up to the Ashes series, according to former Australian batsman Michael Slater. More...

[riya]

He was a mediocre test player mostly in his career except for six months.An excellent ODI player he was always.

[Mr. Wicket]

Agreed w/ Riya. If Bung's test career is over, I will not shed a tear. Clark is a better bowler with more control and variation, Johnson and Siddle should be certainly picked ahead of Lee in tests and Bollinger should be groomed as a backup/possible incumbent post-Clark while Josh Hazelwood plays domestics.

[ViruRulez]

BTW Aussies itne saare fast bowler paida kahan se karte hai .. they seem to have an endless list of fast bowlers whereas in the whole IPL there was hardly any domestic bowler who could even touch the 140 kmph barrier

[jf1gp_1]

Bollywood - IPL here i come

[Bradman99]

Ronald McDonald may surprise a few people in the Ashes series.

[Mr. Wicket]

By being a better drinks waiter than people imagined? I really, really hope so! McDonald should not play in the series. Ideally the best possible lineup would be Brilliant NSW Opening Combo/Ponting/Hussey/Clarke/North/Braddin/Mitch/Clark/Siddle/either Hilfenhaus or Horrorwitz depending on pitch conditions.

[Bradman99]

True, he probably wont play actually. But, he's not as bad as people make him out to be. Also, a lot of North lovers out there, he still has a lot to prove.

[Gambit]

How is Hoggard completely out of the picture now?

[Feed]

I feel stronger than ever: Lee He might be under pressure to regain his place in the Australian team for the upcoming Ashes series, but pacer Brett Lee insists he is at the peak of his fitness and is feeling stronger than ever. More... I feel stronger than ever: Lee Press Trust Of India Melbourne, June 21, 2009 First Published: 13:24 IST(21/6/2009) Last Updated: 13:28 IST(21/6/2009) He might be under pressure to regain his place in the Australian team for the upcoming Ashes series, but pacer Brett Lee insists he is at the peak of his fitness and is feeling stronger than ever. Lee was criticised by former cricketer Geoff Lawson, who termed him country's last-choice bowler, who will prove a liability in Australia's bid to avenge its 2005 Ashes loss in England. "My preparation before this tour has been outstanding. It's probably the best preparation I've ever had," Lee was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun. "That all came through getting injured and having 17 weeks to get my strength back up at home. I'm at a stage in my life, at 32, I feel I'm definitely the strongest I've ever been and I feel fit," he added. A game against Sussex, and the July 1-4 trial against England Lions would decide his place in the Ashes side and Lee said he has kept a plan B for himself if he doesn't get selected in the playing XI. "So I give myself every opportunity and if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't I'll work on plan B. "You've always got a second plan in place but I'm not planning to work on plan B at the moment. I've done the hard work and if I get the opportunity then the hard work will pay off."

[Watson87]

LoL after getting thrashed by Gayle and Mubarak he should consider himself lucky to even find a place in the bench. He shouldn't be picked, he will be a threat for Australia itself. If only Simon Jones was fit would have hit him again. Gonna miss Simmo Joneysy :((

[bharat297]

LoL after getting thrashed by Gayle and Mubarak he should consider himself lucky to even find a place in the bench. He shouldn't be picked' date=' he will be a threat for Australia itself. If only Simon Jones was fit would have hit him again. Gonna miss Simmo Joneysy :(([/quote'] I think we have all been quite quick to jump on the anti-Brett Lee train. He has been a successful bowler for Australia for a long time, and based on the performances in a few T20 games after returning from a long injury, during which time no other Australian bowler (besides Johnson) has really stood up and made a significant impact, some people have decided he is not good enough to be in the Test side. My sides would be: AUSTRALIA Hughes Katich Ponting ( c ) Hussey Clarke North Haddin Johnson Lee / Hilfenhaus / Siddle (depending on who performs better in the warm-up matches) Hauritz Bollinger I rate Hilfy and Bolly over Siddle. Both of them are Siddle's pace, but the other 2 offer more in terms of movement and variation, not to mention accuracy. However, Siddle is a real "fast bowlers fast bowler", in that he runs in fast all day, works hard, and bowls with a lot of intensity and aggression. ENGLAND Cook Strauss © Bopara Pietersen Collingwood Bell / Broad Prior Flintoff Swann Anderson Sidebottom The decision whether to play Broad or Bell depends on the fitness of Flintoff. The main advantage I see of playing Broad is that because Broad can bowl long spells, it enables Flintoff and Anderson to be used primarily in short bursts, where they are most effective.

[Lord]

lol still Prior?after watching Foster i'm convinced that he is England's best keeper Prior is no way close

[ritwik]

lol still Prior?after watching Foster i'm convinced that he is England's best keeper Prior is no way close

Prior can bat at number 6/7. Foster is a novice with the bat. The theory goes that if Flintoff is fit, he and Foster can bat at 6/7. I think England should simply play a proper batsman at 6, broad at 7, foster at 8 and then 3 specialist bowlers, because Flintoff never seems to be fit for a sustained period of time, and he is not good enough to bat at number 6 anymore.