Albert Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Australia looking ominous in the first Test against. The Windies are 7-121 after lunch having won the toss. Johnson 2-29 and looking very dangerous. Hazlewood the pick of the bowlers so far. Good to see Cook back in form, and hopefully Balance and co are ready for the Ashes. Should hopefully be a good series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Australia looking ominous in the first Test against. The Windies are 7-121 after lunch having won the toss. Johnson 2-29 and looking very dangerous. Hazlewood the pick of the bowlers so far. Good to see Cook back in form, and hopefully Balance and co are ready for the Ashes. Should hopefully be a good series. For Australians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 For AustraliansThe last time Australia won in England was 2001. This series isn't going to be easy for either side, and I honestly at this point would put it at 50-50. It wasn't that long ago that Australia were at crisis stations. A brief run down of Australia positions right now could be put as:- Batting - Positive: - Steve Smith has been amazing recently, though his move to number 3 is going to be interesting - Warner on form is one of the best in the World right now - Watson is finally at 6 where he belongsNegatives: - Clarke's fitness is still something of a concern, it wasn't long ago that there was honestly talk of his career nearing it's end - Rodgers is 37, going on 38, and the talk is that he's already decided that he's played his last Test in Australia - Our new man in the batting lineup is Voges, 35 - Shaun Marsh is still a bit question mark - They've dropped Burns... why? - Haddin's form has been awful with the bat, though his form with the gloves has been very good - Bowling - Positives: - Johnson's looking as dangerous as he has for the last few years - Hazlewood's form, pretty much penciled in for Cardiff as of now - Starc's world cup form - Lyon is looking better each passing year - Even without Johnson, Hazlewood, Starc or Harris, we potentially have Cummins, Pattinson and SiddleNegatives: - Harris' fitness is still a massive question mark - Starc still has a lot to prove at Test level, whilst he's as dangerous as they come when batsmen have to play, it seems he still has some work to do in terms of making them at Test level (he has literally taken his second wicket for the day as I was writing this, Holder gone, 8-133 now) - Siddle has a lot to prove after his efforts in recent years, but as Johnson's shown, anything is possible - Australia's selectors are still twitchy, and I worry that them bringing Fawad Ahmed to the Windies indicates that he's the backup should they panic axe Lyon in the Ashes, despite him proving his worth over and over againI'd also say that I'm still not 100% confident in Australia's fielding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 3-1 Australia, I reckon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posh Ram Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I think it'll be a 2-2 draw. This side has come on a lot from the one that got whitewashed - Root and Cook have got their confidence back, Ballance has become a very good #3, Stokes and Buttler give us aggressive batting down the order. Think we need a proper spinner though - Ali is a bit of a Ravi Bopara, not great with bat or ball. I would pick Rashid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 I think it'll be a 2-2 draw. This side has come on a lot from the one that got whitewashed - Root and Cook have got their confidence back, Ballance has become a very good #3, Stokes and Buttler give us aggressive batting down the order. Think we need a proper spinner though - Ali is a bit of a Ravi Bopara, not great with bat or ball. I would pick Rashid.How is Stokes looking now? Do you still need to keep him away from lockers? It's the thing with spinners. Everything absolutely demands to use one, even if they can't find one that's appropriate. It'll be interesting to see how they line up at Cardiff on that front. At this point though, I honestly think Starc isn't going to start the first Test if Harris is at all fit. Hazlewood isn't being dropped, Johnson isn't being dropped and Harris is in if he's fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anag Ram Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 In my heart I hope England find form and push Australia all the way, but I just think there are too many areas of concern in England's team. Lyth is a good player but is stepping up a level in facing Johnson and co. Ballance had a great first year but now looks frightened of failure. His technique is under scrutiny and the bowlers have been doing their homework. Can he adjust? Bell is not consistent enough for a senior player. If he doesn't get a score in the first test we should look elsewhere.And the bowlers? Too samey. Anderson is a great bowler on the decline. If it's hooping around there's no-one better. If it's not, he's pretty easy to face. Broad is a rhythm bowler but gets his head up his a%%e and when he goes into short-stuff mode, goes for plenty.I would honestly pick Treadwell as our spinner. He has great experience, has faced the Aussies before, and can bring control when the pace men aren't on. I also think Jordan has a part to play this Summer.Looking forward to it and have my ticket for Cardiff but might be peering through my fingers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtains Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Is KP playing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Is KP playing . If only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovis aries Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Putting it in a nutshell I would say we are ****** , well and truly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 Seems McDermott has Starc actually attacking the line of off stump better now, making people play and genuinely threatening with his swing. On the plus side for England, only three of Harris, Johnson, Starc and Hazlewood will get selected for any given Test. Additionally, Australia's batting needs work. The fielding overall looks much improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Josh Hazlewood looks the real deal to me - an 80-85 mph top-of-off merchant right out of the Glenn McGrath school of accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anag Ram Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Josh Hazlewood looks the real deal to me - an 80-85 mph top-of-off merchant right out of the Glenn McGrath school of accuracy.Yes, I saw him in the Big Bash last year and thought he would be a feature in the Australian Test side. I hope England are brave enough to take a step or two forward to negate his movement. Ballance is doomed however! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Yes, I saw him in the Big Bash last year and thought he would be a feature in the Australian Test side. I hope England are brave enough to take a step or two forward to negate his movement. Ballance is doomed however!Or 'off-Ballance', as he will be henceforth known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRamFan Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Loss I see for a young England squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Loss I see for a young England squadThe average age of England's last side: 27 years, 207 daysThe average age of Australia's last side: 30 years, 198 daysThat's actually quite a difference between the average ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Australia have been giving the Windies a bit of a going over with the ball again. Weaknesses in the batting seem apparent, but equally the batting conditions aren't great, as demonstrated by the events of sessions 2 and 3 on day 2. Having Rogers in for Marsh should help as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsy1884 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 1-0 England tests virtually a complete wash out. England to win the one days. We looked terrific against NZ recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 The Windies are absolutely outclassed here. 5-33, Hazlewood and Starc are both looking extremely dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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