WI v England 5th Test

[fox58]

it's a draw

 

[MKFox]

phew....

 

[Brauny Blue]

Once again too negative by Strauss imo.

How are we going to win the Ashes when you have got a captain with no bollocks.

Strauss......" we are going to be positive, we have to risk losing in order for us to win "

Why didnt you put them in before lunch then, or perhaps you had to bow to king Kevs century

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

How are we going to win the Ashes when you have got a captain with no bollocks.

Strauss......" we are going to be positive, we have to risk losing in order for us to win "

Why didnt you put them in before lunch then, or perhaps you had to bow to king Kevs century

Strauss is a cautious and steady character, after Pieterson he was the safe choice as Captain to try and unify the squad, however unfortunately his captaincy mirrored that of his personality. IMO he was reactive rather than proactive. An inexperienced captain and a novice acting coach were always going to be tactically naive. Unless some hard and fast lessons are learnt then Ponting will savage Strauss in the summer.

We desperately need a new coach to be appointed, someone who can offer Strauss support, guidance and tactical nous. My choice would be Nasser Hussain whom would inject some much needed life and enthusiasm back into the English squad.

I think we need to stop concentrating on selecting wicketkeeper batsmen and pick the best wicket keeper, Prior's glovework was appalling and we have fallen into the trap of selecting wicketkeepers on the strength of their batting and our play in the field has suffered badly.

My XI for the Ashes series:

Strauss (Capt)
Cook
Bell
Pieterson
Collingwood
Flintoff
Foster (WK)
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Panesar


Bopara would offer cover for the top six positions and Harmison / Sidebottom cover for the bowling.

 

[enderby fox]

I agree on some of your points there.

Nasser Hussain would be a top coach imo and he would put the life and fight back into this side. He did start the ball rolling imo for the ashes triumph in 2005. I've always said beefy should be involved too and i'd even give Bob Willis a bowlers role for the simple fact that we would never see harmison again which can only be good for the team.

I don't tend to agree with you on the keeper role. Now i am one of foster's biggest fans and i do believe he is the best keeper in the country. However in modern day cricket we must now have a batsman/keeper. Prior is the best choice for this role closely followed by Ben Scott of Middlesex. Prior did have a bad match i'll say that. However it wasn't helped by Amjad Khan bowling miles down the leg side at times and also a flat pitch with the ball not getting above ankle height at times. He's kept fairly well over the series too.

My XI for the ashes would be

Strauss
Cook
Bell/Shah
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Panesar/Jones/Plunkett/Mahmood/Hoggard (depending on pitch)

 

[Brauny Blue]

We could do with Vaughan discovering his form again for the no3 slot.
Panesar and Swann imo wont play in the same team in England.
I expect the likes of Broad and Anderson to cause the Aussies plenty of problems in the English conditions, but we need more in the bowling department.

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

We could do with Vaughan discovering his form again for the no3 slot.
Panesar and Swann imo wont play in the same team in England.
I expect the likes of Broad and Anderson to cause the Aussies plenty of problems in the English conditions, but we need more in the bowling department.

Worryingly the Aussies seem to be getting their act together and in Phil Hughes have unearthed a natural successor to Matthew Hayden.

 

[Brauny Blue]

Worryingly the Aussies seem to be getting their act together and in Phil Hughes have unearthed a natural successor to Matthew Hayden.

Actually as good as the Aussies maybe, the SA effort against them was pretty poor.
I dont care what anyone says the Aussies are not a patch on the side that lost the Ashes here 4 years ago. Apart from that blip i've never seen a better team.

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

Actually as good as the Aussies maybe, the SA effort against them was pretty poor.
I dont care what anyone says the Aussies are not a patch on the side that lost the Ashes here 4 years ago. Apart from that blip i've never seen a better team.

I agree, but they appear to be moving in a positive direction, they have bounced back well against a top side like South Africa. Whilst we have just lost to a side who won their first test series in 5 years.

I would rather be in the Aussies position than ours. We lack leadership, direction and unity.

 

[Brauny Blue]

I agree, but they appear to be moving in a positive direction, they have bounced back well against a top side like South Africa. Whilst we have just lost to a side who won their first test series in 5 years.

I would rather be in the Aussies position than ours. We lack leadership, direction and unity.

All part of the plan.......lead them into a false sense of security:icon_lol:

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

All part of the plan.......lead them into a false sense of security:icon_lol:

:icon_lol:

 

[H T B]

Bring on the Aussies,

Why the feck should we worry about the ex-cons.

As for W Indies winning their first series since Lord Kitchener, every dog has it's day.