Pre Ashes Thread

[achilles]

KP has mercilessly raped John in public. This Ashes is gonna be hilarious if KP is playing his A-game.

[Bradman99]

Lol it's true.

[Shakthi]

This is where Sachin is different from others some one criticises him he lets his bat speak kp shud follow the same rule.

[Ram]

Well, if he’s a nobody, clearly KP wouldn’t have bothered to take the time off to respond to him. :--D KP is making a mistake by getting into this firefight himself. He should let proxies do the fighting for him. Already both Strauss and Flower have dismissed all the charges (which is what any coach/captain should do.. Silence would mean implicit acceptance of the allegation..). But the only person who has anything to lose from getting into this fight is KP. Now the Aussie media will do its customary bit and blow the whole thing out of proportion.

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Ashes 2010 - 2011: So who will take the urn? Former England coach David Lloyd, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain and former Test star Rob Key are among a panel of experts who deliver their verdict.More... Ashes 2010 - 2011: So who will take the urn? By Sportsmail Reporter 29th October 2010 Nasser Hussain Prediction: England to win 2-1. Star player: Graeme Swann - as part of a four-man attack, he will be crucial in keeping Australia down to manageable totals. Key factor: The conditions. They're no longer great, but Australia will still prove to be a tough nut to crack in their own backyard. David Lloyd Prediction: England to win by two Tests. Star player: Andrew Strauss - opening bat, captain, and under pressure to deliver. I think he'll be just fine. Key factor: England's batsmen need to get enough runs for Graeme Swann to play with. Winning the toss and batting first would help. Paul NewmanSeries prediction: England to win 3-1. Star player: Graeme Swann - at last England clearly have a better spinner than Australia. Key factor: England must make a good start at Brisbane. That will put Australia captain Ricky Ponting under pressure and get them on a roll. Geraint Jones Prediction: England to win 2-1. Star player: Andrew Strauss - I'm tipping him to have a big series as he'll have a point to prove after struggling out there a bit four years ago. Key factor: Both sides have decent seam attacks, but Swann is better equipped than Nathan Hauritz. Matthew Hoggard Prediction: England to win 2-1. Star player: Jimmy Anderson - Lancashire seamer has been a fantastic leader of England's bowling attack for the past couple of years and I think he has developed enough trickery now to cope with the conditions Down Under. Key factor: The First Test. Get some firstinnings runs on the board and hit the ground running in Brisbane. Lawrence Booth Prediction: 1-1 or 2-2. Star player: Jonathan Trott - England will need to bat long, and no one is better equipped for the task than the Warwickshire batsman, who made a debut century against Australia at The Oval at the climax of the last series. Key factor: Ricky Ponting's reflexes. If he really is losing his edge, especially against the short ball, England will retain the Ashes. Rob Key Prediction: England to win 3-2. Star player: Graeme Swann - so much rests on the spinner's shoulders for the series. I think he will prove to be the difference between the sides. Key factor: The wickets. The Aussies are going to have to produce quick and bouncy tracks to help their seamers, otherwise they will struggle to bowl England out twice.

[Sachinism]

'Don't Forget to Pack The Urn' Westminster Council has threatened legal action after a taunting slogan was beamed on to Big Ben by Australia's cricket team ahead of the Ashes. Images of cricketers Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were projected on to the tower with the message for the England team: "Don't forget to pack the urn." Australia hope to regain the trophy from England in the five game series in Australia starting in November. But the council was not amused by the "inappropriate and insulting" stunt. Its deputy leader, Cllr Robert Davis, said: "The Palace of Westminster is part of a Unesco World Heritage site. "It's both inappropriate and insulting for this important location and its buildings to effectively be abused in this manner. It's also a criminal offence." He continued: "Although we've not prosecuted previously as such stunts are usually over quickly, we do feel now that enough is enough and we're considering legal action." Cricket Australia could not be contacted. But in the aftermath of the stunt, captain Ricky Ponting said: "Winning the urn back from our age-old rival is the most prized achievement for Australians. 'Prepared and ready' "We just wanted to send them a reminder not to leave the urn behind. "Our message is clear - we're prepared and we're ready so bring on the Ashes!" A £2,500 fine may be payable for breaching the Town and Country Planning Act. It is not the first time Big Ben has had an unexpected addition. In 1999 a naked image of television presenter Gail Porter was projected on to it. England fly to Australia on Friday. After three recent Australian Test losses, England are rated above the Australian side for first time since the rankings began. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11650729 :cantstop::cantstop: Westminister council, bunch of snobby planks BTW England did the same in 2007 near the Sydney Harbour Bridge

[Sir john]

a legal case against CA. :woot:

[Bradman99]

Ahh just like 07, England feeling they will win.. Hopefully we can get a simlar result to that time round!

[Sir john]

Ahh just like 07' date=' England feeling they will win.. Hopefully we can get a simlar result to that time round![/quote'] :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[The Outsider]

Australia will mop the floor with England. Won't be as bad as the 0-5 last time round, my prediction is 3-1 to Australia.

[Clarke]

Australia will mop the floor with England. Won't be as bad as the 0-5 last time round' date=' my prediction is 3-1 to Australia.[/quote'] England winning the one in Sydney with Swann/Monty in the XI ?

[The Outsider]

England winning the one in Sydney with Swann/Monty in the XI ?

Sydney or Adelaide are the only venues where England have a chance. England's biggest problem is their batting. I pulled up some stats a while back and off the top of my head, England have scored 450+ on maybe a couple of occasions against top teams over the last 4 years or so. To do well in Australia, you have to score big and score quick. The tracks are absolute roads and the only way to win tests in Australia is to put up huge scores. England just don't have the batsmen to play the 150+ or 200+ kind of innings required to put up these kind of totals. Abroad, Australia face the same problem. But at home all their home track bullies like Ponting, Clarke, and Hussey spring into action and rack up 450-500+ scores to set up wins. It used to be much easier having McGrath, Warne, and Gillespie with those kind of totals. But even now Bollinger and Johnson are very capable bowlers to defend those kind of scores with ease.

[Laaloo]

Last time around at sydney, the aussies gave a "green pitch" to the padosis. Do you guys think they will do the same this time around?

[The Outsider]

Last time around at sydney' date=' the aussies gave a "green pitch" to the padosis. Do you guys think they will do the same this time around?[/quote'] Sydney will be a road, like the one India got in 2004.

[Precambrian]

England digging their own grave, cannot stop laughing how the hell they had the brianwave to appoint Sir JOhn Buchanan as specialist guide/coach/whatever before the AShes... And their papers are full of "how Australia are lying at the bottom because they've just had 3 losses in a row".. big deal, the first one was in English conditions against some super quality fast bowlers (matchfixers or not)... the other two was at the hands of WOrld's no.1 cricket team in their den... Funny how England can claim any credit for those... this is a team which struggled to best Pakistan despite all the help from some in the opposition itself :hysterical: Predicting 3-1 in favor of Aussie with a dead rubber win for Ol Blighty... nothing makes me happier than crying English fans.. football or cricket.... For a team that has not created ONE world great since cricket began to be taken seriously by more than 3 countries, perhaps with exception of Sir Ian Botham, rubbish cricketers like Stuart Broad are hyped up as next Flintoff lol!

[Bradman99]

Rising stars Callum Ferguson and Usman Khawaja have turned up the heat on veterans Mike Hussey and Marcus North ahead of the first Ashes Test with standout Sheffield Shield performances over the weekend. Ferguson slammed 129 off 143 balls against Western Australia in Adelaide while Khawaja compiled a gritty 60 as wickets tumbled on a green Gabba pitch on Sunday. While the two future Tests stars flourished, Hussey and North did themselves no favours as they both failed with the bat on the Adelaide Oval pitch that Ferguson had found to his liking. Want to know what the experts think of Australia's Test side? Brendon Julian, Damien Fleming and Greg Blewett will discuss Australia's XI and the other big cricket stories TONIGHT on Inside Cricket. Tune in from 8:30pm EDT on Fox Sports 3HD and Fox Sports 3 Both fell to the part-time spin of Aaron O'Brien on Sunday (Hussey for a first-ball duck and North for 10) as the Warriors were forced to follow-on. Hussey didn't do much better on the second innings, falling to Peter George for 3. All this happened under the watchful eye of new national full-time selector Greg Chappell. The weekend performances have put further pressure on Hussey and North with the first Test against England just over three weeks away. Foxsports.com.au users were overwhelming in their calls for change when asked in October to name their first Test XI. One, Jason, summed up the views of many users as he pushed for a more youthful Australia batting line-up. "I am a huge fan of Mike Hussey but him and North in the middle of the order just are not cutting it at the moment," he said. "We are getting into trouble because of the lack of runs in the middle order. Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson are both next in line for a shot at those positions and allow us to build for the future." Ferguson also received support from national coach Tim Nielsen on Sunday, who said the 25-year-old was in contention to make his Test debut at the Gabba on November 25. "I think he's a big chance, runs do the talking, don't they?" said Nielsen. "I think he's done a tremendous job. "He's gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years. "He had a really breakthrough season two years ago then unfortunately hurt his knee. "He's come back from injury and made runs whenever he's been given the opportunity." Before the weekend, Ferguson had not played a first-class match for 15 months after suffering a serious knee injury in the Champions Trophy in South Africa. But Khawaja has had no shortage of four-day cricket in the past year, and he has established himself as one of the premier batsman on the domestic scene. The stylish left-hander has made a brilliant start to the domestic season, scoring 214 in NSW's Shield opener against South Australia. His form comes on the back of a fruitful 2009-2010 season, in which he amassed 698 runs at 63.45 in seven matches. Khawaja told foxsports.com.au in October that a Test call would be "freakin' awesome" but he was simply focusing on making runs for New South Wales. "You pretty much have to block out those distractions because we are not only playing four-day games,†he said of the clamour for him to be named in the Test team. “I still have to perform for the Blues in the one-dayers and Twenty20s, and worry about that first." Khawaja and Ferguson were surprisingly left out of their states' Ryobi One-Day Cup matches last week, perhaps an indication the national selectors wanted them to focus on the longer form of the game. While Ferguson and Khawaja continue to push their case, the two Western Australia veterans have recent history up against them. Hussey has made just two Tests hundreds since October 2008, his last ton coming in the now suspect Sydney Test against Pakistan last season. He has since scored just 280 runs in seven Tests at an average of 25.45. North has always been under public pressure to retain his spot in the Test side, despite scoring five centuries in 19 Tests since debuting in Johannesburg in February last year. His Test average currently stands at an unflattering 37.40, but his century against India in Bangalore in October might have given him another chance to hold his spot.

[EnterTheVoid]

Sydney or Adelaide are the only venues where England have a chance.

Do you remember what happened in Adelaide last time ? :hysterical: Made 550 odd in 1st innings and still lost. Collapsed like a pack of cards on the last day. http://www.cricinfo.com/ausveng/engine/current/match/249223.html

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ASHES 2010/11: Brisbane pitch looks spicy as England enjoy first net session Down Under The prospect of a hostile, bowler-friendly pitch for the pivotal first Test in Brisbane was raised on Monday after Queensland were twice skittled for fewer than a hundred runs.More... ASHES 2010/11: Brisbane pitch looks spicy as England enjoy first net session Down Under By Paul Newman 2nd November 2010 The prospect of a hostile, bowler-friendly pitch for the pivotal first Test in Brisbane was raised on Monday after Queensland were twice skittled for fewer than a hundred runs at The Gabba. While England were having their first serious net session of their tour in Perth, New South Wales were concluding a thumping Sheffield Shield victory at the ground where the first blows of the Ashes will be struck on November 25, by an innings and 91 runs within two days. Queensland were dismissed for just 75 and 96 on a surface made spicy by the unusual amount of rain that has fallen on it in the early weeks of the Australian summer and Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell warned conditions may be the same for the big match later this month. 'Anything is possible,' said Mitchell. 'If there are some cloudy and humid days during preparation then the moisture would stay in the wicket and the grass will continue to grow. We are hoping for at least 10 or 12 sunny days before the first Test. If we get that you will see a fantastic match but if we don't you will still see a fantastic match - only not as many runs.' A surface made for seam would provide a huge dilemma for the captain who wins the first Test toss. Andrew Strauss will be wary of bowling first after what happened to Nasser Hussain's side in 2002, where the Australians scored 492, while Ricky Ponting has done everything he possibly could to avoid bowling first in a Test since the Edgbaston match of 2005 backfired on him with England scoring 407. Australia, who may consider leaving out Nathan Hauritz and going for an all-seam attack, have an outstanding record at The Gabba, where they have not lost since 1988, 22 Tests ago.

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Cocky England sternly Warned SHANE Warne claims England are getting far too cocky about their chances of retaining the Ashes and has warned the English against being arrogant. More...

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'Kevin Pietersen will be in my pocket' says Doug Bollinger Australia might have finally found an heir to Glenn McGrath after Doug Bollinger vowed to target Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in the Ashes. More... 'Kevin Pietersen will be in my pocket' says Doug Bollinger By Dean Wilson 3/11/2010 Australia might have finally found an heir to Glenn McGrath after Doug Bollinger vowed to target Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in the Ashes. Before each series, pace legend McGrath would name the batsmen he would torment. Invariably the opposing skipper was top of his list, and he'd follow it up by predicting a series whitewash. Bollinger (below) has not been bold enough to name that scoreline yet, but Strauss and KP will be given special attention by the Aussie opener who is hoping to make his Ashes debut at Brisbane. "I'd like to have Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in my pocket," said Bolly. "Those two have done really well against us and everyone is giving it to Pietersen, but we know what kind of player he is. "What Strauss has done leading from the front for his team over the past 18 months has been fantastic so if I can get him and Pietersen cheaply I'll be very happy with my work." Bollinger is excited at the prospect of bowling on a lively Gabba surface that is taking more pace than ever, while the WACA pitch in Perth is reportedly back to its quickest. He added: "The Gabba looks like being fast and bouncy which is great news for me and Mitchell Johnson."