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bewlay

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It'll be interesting to see what England do in the 1st Test. The wicket in Cardiff has been causing quite a lot of controversy and has loads of turn in it. You would think then that England should go with 2 spinners but then this is England we're talking about and they're not really reknowned for doing things sensibly.

1st test team should be :- Strauss, Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Panesar.

I would expect to see Panesar omitted from that and Sidebottom brought in.

The good news for England is that the Aussies don't have a decent spinner. Warne would've skittled England out single handedly if he was playing.

That is a decent shout.And for once the team will not be undercooked.Maybe if they lose there will be the calls of too much cricket... I would give Swann a game.

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That is a decent shout.And for once the team will not be undercooked.Maybe if they lose there will be the calls of too much cricket... I would give Swann a game.

Swann is bound to play, infact surely he is a shoe in to play. I would go 2 spinners as well. Pretty much the same team as SK posted. Although i am tiring of Flintoff, injured too much and not on the top of his game enough. He is vital for England but would they be that much worse off without him?

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Swann is bound to play, infact surely he is a shoe in to play. I would go 2 spinners as well. Pretty much the same team as SK posted. Although i am tiring of Flintoff, injured too much and not on the top of his game enough. He is vital for England but would they be that much worse off without him?

Im not sure on Flintoff.He certainly isn't scoring runs,but it was his bowling that was crucial in the 95 series. I think England will need runs from him this time,especially if the top order fail.

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No way Monty should be anywhere near the squad never mind the team.

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No way Monty should be anywhere near the squad never mind the team.

What about the Ian Bell Method though? Panesar has got to consistently fail for the next year or two before he can even be considered for the chop. A few comments about how he's bowling "well in the nets" wouldn't go amiss either.

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The England squad is along expected lines -

No Vaughan or Harmison and the only real surprise is that Monty is in as a 3rd spinner when both Swann and Rashid have had far better summers so far and I don't think there will be a pitch that requires all 3.

I'm not surprised at Vaughan omission but I thought Harmison would be in. Panesar still has to be ahead of Rashid in the reckoning as a Test player at the moment, I want Rashid to be good but I'm doubtful at this stage. I suspect the Aussies would thrash him all over the place, and his batting hasn't developed in the way that was hoped for him either. (Boycott was quite critical of him in that respect in his Telegraph column the other day.) Panesar's complete lack of form this season is a worry though, so I think they'll end up going with just the one spinner, even at Cardiff which last I heard wasn't spinning as much as had earlier been anticipated. You don't necessarily want to make the pitch too much of a turner anyway, it brings both Clarke and Katich into the equation as dangerous part-time bowlers.

It'll be interesting to see what England do in the 1st Test. The wicket in Cardiff has been causing quite a lot of controversy and has loads of turn in it. You would think then that England should go with 2 spinners but then this is England we're talking about and they're not really reknowned for doing things sensibly.

1st test team should be :- Strauss, Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Panesar.

I would expect to see Panesar omitted from that and Sidebottom brought in.

The good news for England is that the Aussies don't have a decent spinner. Warne would've skittled England out single handedly if he was playing.

Yeah, that's pretty much my side except I'm agreeing with the selectors ahead of you. The first ten pick themselves if fit and I'd put in Sidebottom as the last bowler. Who has done really well actually, last year I thought his international days were already coming to and end but he's won me round.

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Yeah, that's pretty much my side except I'm agreeing with the selectors ahead of you. The first ten pick themselves if fit and I'd put in Sidebottom as the last bowler. Who has done really well actually, last year I thought his international days were already coming to and end but he's won me round.

Yeah, I actually agree with you. For some reason I thought I heard that Panesar had been bowling well with his county but he's apparently been bowling like a drain so I am going to have to retract my initial shout. My bad. With Monty hideously out of form England don't really have a 2nd spin option.

Also, Sidebottom had bowling in the high 80's in the T20 so he's easily added at least 10mph since his forgettable time in the Windies. Looks like he's hitting fitness at just the right time.

Edited by Shengus Khan
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It's been on the BBC website all day that Vaughan will announce his retirement on Tuesday.

Probably the right decision if his motivation to play county cricket, or indeed his knee has gone. He's been at the top of the game so very little point in him pottering around for Yorkshire.

In other news, India are 82/8 at the same ground where they scored 339 on Friday :huh:

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The Vaughan retirement isn't a shock as Charlie Sale has been reporting for months that Sky have offered him a shed load of money to cover the Ashes but that Vaughan was hanging off until the squad was picked before committing either way.

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http://www.cricinfo.com/engvaus2009/engine...tch/350039.html

Aussies struggle against England lions. Ponting out for 1 Harmison is bowling well.

Wonder what odds you can get for Johnson to score a ton in this series, he's batting as well as anyone! Aussies now 286/6, only Katich (95) and Hussey (115*) getting into double figures of the top 7!

Only really Cook getting big runs though for England vs Warks, 268/7 at the mo.

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Cracking effort from Sri Lanka against Pakistan yesterday,Pakistan resumed on 71/2 on the fourth day chasing 168 to win and got bowled out for 117. Even without Murali.

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After the 2005 ashes series the governement said they would insist on test cricket being amongst the 'crown jewels' of televised sport after the current Sky deal runs out in 2010. Was this all test cricket or just the Ashes and is this still going ahead or has there been another Government U turn?

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I don't remember the government saying that.

The protected events list is under review at the moment and we're expecting some decisions later this year.

Bangladesh have just recorded their second Test win, against a scratch West Indies side. The Sri Lanka / Pakistan Test is brewing up nicely as Pakistan recover from their disastrous first day too.

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After the 2005 ashes series the governement said they would insist on test cricket being amongst the 'crown jewels' of televised sport after the current Sky deal runs out in 2010. Was this all test cricket or just the Ashes and is this still going ahead or has there been another Government U turn?

I always thought the Lord's Tests were among that list, but apparently not.

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Bangladesh have won again, beating West Indies 2-0. I know it's a sub-standard West Indies side because of the strike, but Shakib Al Hasan's performance is nonetheless well worth a mention; captaining Bangladesh for the first time at the age of 22, he took three wickets in the first innings, five in the second, came in to bat at 67/4 chasing 215 and lashed an unbeaten 96 from 97 balls to win it.

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