Ashes 5th and Deciding Test

[avlfcdev]

With the Ashes still up for grabs England MUST go into this game with the best line up available, if we presume that Flintoff will play after being rested for Headingley the question is, what is the best line up.

Here is mine for starters:

1 - Strauss
2 - Cook
3 - Trescothick
4 - Prior
5 - Key
6 - Bell
7 - Flintoff
8 - Broad
9 - Rashid
10 - Anderson (Sidebottom if not fit)
11 - Onions
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FORMERLY JOHN MAC

[qprjon99]

Whilst it's probably better than the team at Headingly:

1. Tres is gone, and not coming back - plenty of talk of Ramps though, interesting.
2. Prior has batted well, but 5 or 6 are surely the right spots for him. I personally wouldn't want him exposed to a new ball if we lose two early wickets.
3. Swann surely hasn't done enough wrong to be dropped for Rashid, although he is a talent.
4. I would drop Broad. We need to WIN, and to take 20 wickets for as little runs as possible. I know he took 6 in the last game, but getting people caught on the boundary just means they were trying to hit you for six and weren't under enough pressure.

My line up would probably be:

1. Cook
2. Key (always been his best position)
3. Strauss (has played here before, and they always say best batter at 3)
4. Ramps (surely better than Bell)
5. Collingwood
6. Prior
7. Flintoff
8. Swann
9. Anderson
10. Sidebottom
11. Onions

Batting down to 8, and 5 bowlers. The only trouble would be too many new faces, but they'll have a little while to gel.

Had trouble with the batting actually, but I can't bring myself to pick Bell or Bopara on recent form!

[jaydubs]

This is a difficult one to call

Do you make wholesale changes as the Aussies have got to Bopara and Bell (thought this may happen in one of my first posts about the Ashes) or do stick with them and put all your trust in them giving them a confidence boost?

Me personally I would like to stick with the batsmen but would probably make just the one change. Collingwood just does not have the runs to be able to afford both Bopara and Bell so I am afraid as Ravi Bopara is well out of form he would have to be sacrificed. I don't see Key as the replacement although he probably will be if there is a change, we need a guy to go in at 3 and take the attack to the Aussies and get them on the back foot. A 50 at a run ball would give us such a bounce in our step as we need to win the last test to win the Ashes anything else will not do. We need 5 bowlers on the batsman friendly oval track and the type that gets wickets, Harmison is a must but Anderson looked uninterested and injured and he would be dropped for me although he has usually bowled well on here. We need control so I would bring in Sidebottom. I would also open up with Harmison and give Onions the new ball and tell him to get in there. Too many times he has been left out to graze feeling the captain doesn't have confidence in him. England have won 4 and drawn 3 of the last 7 here so it is a happy hunting ground for them.

My team

Strauss
Cook
Carberry/Denly (basically a shock so the Aussies will have to take time to work them out)
Bell
Prior
Collingwood
Broad
Swann
Sidebottom
Harmison
Onions

[Dammo Qwirky]

Carberry should never be mentioned in national terms, brutal player that just about gets by in county team! His recent form shouldnt cloud the fact he is well below international class and there should be several ahead of him in pecking order.

I think England really need to start being a bit braver and getting rid of players who are not in strong form. Problem is 3 or 4 are out of form, Bopara is playing out of position, and confidence will be dented.

Id bring in Trott firstly and perhaps one of Key or Ramps as its just a one off test. Without Pietersen theres an element of fragility there so we do need shoring up.

Colly and Bell have had enough chances now. They need to be able to do it when we need them and not when they need it to save their careers.
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[jaydubs]

I was really pushed in to a corner as there wasn't any hard hitting batsman in good nick apart from IMO Andrew Gale but I didn't want to mention him and be accused of being a biased Yorkie but now I see that he has made the Lions squad it will be interesting to see if he can step up. He is having a good summer and is really coming of age but doesn't score enough big runs at the moment although he is exactly the sort of player I alluded to in my post of someone to take the attack to the Aussies.

[avlfcdev]

[Dammo Qwirky]

Really England need to pick players who are capable of BIG centuries as thats where the batting falls down. They have got the players who get the starts but dont go on. Trotts a capable batsman scoring freely so should be able to fill that role. Just hope he deals with the huge pressure. He should be able to, hes not properly English!
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[jaydubs]

John,

Prior does but he is a known quantity (I would like to see a gamble on an unknown ..sh!t or bust style) and after reading the Langer report about him in today's mail if he went up to 3 he would be more of a target than he already is. Then again if he got into double figures he would outscore both Bell and Bopara put together.

[bigmoose]

I'm virtually with the same 11 as qprjons above. Definitely all the same batters for me. Cook not quite right and still learning the game and definitely no Bopara or Bell. And the crucial point for me is this is definitely not the time for Test debuts, you could not get a more high pressure situation to bat.

Ramps may have a terrible average, but he's matured considerably and would be on home ground. Shah at the mo, all that intensity, hard bat gripping and cramping, reminds me of how Ramps used to bat. Ramps used to play 3 or 4 shadow shots between every single ball. But he's finally relaxed wth age and would be a good bet on home ground. Key is in the runs, and also another who's matured considerably. I'd rather not Bell, altho even in the last 2 years of Test cricket he's averaging 39. So if he plays i'd still expect a pleasant 40 or 50 on this good batting track before he gives it away. Whereas Bopara is completely shot and must not play.

On bowling front i'd drop Broad for Freddy. Broad isn't bowling well enoufgh to take wickets. And i'd stick with Harmy who is generally bowling quite well this summer and has a good record at The Oval, most noticably in the dead rubber vs SA there last summer.
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Steve

[KanKeano]

[nors]

A few stats from Sporting Index for cricket bettors.

Trading Talk – The Ashes, Fifth Test, The Oval

England’s humiliating defeat by an innings and 80 runs at Headingley, has left the Three Lions’ Ashes dream hanging in the balance. The crushing defeat will have certainly dented the host team’s spirit and has no doubt troubled spread bettors that bought England’s series win index spread prior to the first Test back in July. Spread buyers and sellers of the series outcome might not have foreseen sweating on the outcome at the Oval - it’s the first time in 43 years that the two sides have been all square heading into the last Test.
England fans and their Ashes spread buyers will be praying that the side can be spurred to victory on news that Andrew Flintoff is expected to be passed fit for the decider although the same spread punters may also fear the worst knowing that the Aussies need just a draw to retain the urn. However, the Oval holds many happy memories for English cricket fans since hosting the first Ashes Test win on English soil in 1882. Perhaps the happiest of these is from 2005, when England clinched the draw they needed to win the Ashes for the first time since 1986-1987, ending the longest series-winning run in Ashes history.
Spread buyers of England’s match win index will also know that the Oval is the ground the Aussies will be least looking forward to playing at, despite their currently buoyant mood. The Baggy Greens have won just six times here and have lost on fifteen occasions and since Sir Donald Bradman bowed out with a win, Australia have only won twice, in 1972 and 2001. Punters might instead expect a close match, knowing that there have been 13 draws between these two sides at the Oval. Spread sellers of Australia’s first-innings supremacy will be hoping England’s middle-order have got their act together, but only in their wildest dreams could they expect to see a repeat of the incredible Oval match of 1938. England made 903 for 7 (dec), the highest score in Ashes history, to win the first innings by 702 runs and the match by an innings and 579 runs.
Buyers of England’s series ton-ups spread, now at 103 (current make-up 61), will take heart that the Oval has been one of their most successful batting grounds in the past. Record partnerships have frequently been set here, and in the 2005 fixture, four tons were scored. In fact, buyers of Australia’s ton-ups can find positives from that match too – openers Langer and Hayden, along with Strauss, all reached 100 runs. Followers of Graeme Swann’s individual spread markets will have been encouraged by his gutsy batting performance alongside Stuart Broad at Headingley, putting on 123 runs between them. His performance with the ball could be vital to England’s chances of success - spread punters will recall Shane Warne, thankfully in the commentary box for this Test, taking a staggering 12 wickets here in 2005.

Risk Warning - Please ensure you understand the risks with sports spread betting as it involves a higher level of risk and you can lose more than your original stake. Remember to bet responsibly. Sporting Index is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

[jaydubs]

Dierdre (Rashid) certainly put a marker down today if you want a guy in form
1st he hits 117no to give Yorks a big lead and then blows away Hants lower order to claim a five for and win the match.