A possible Ashes squad

[lemmon]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Openers
Hughes, Katich, Jaques

Middle order
Ponting, Clarke, Mike Hussey,

All rounder
Watson, C White/Henriques (sp)

Wicket Keepers
Haddin and Ronchi

Spinner
McGain

Pace bowlers
Johnson, Siddle, Clark, Lee (depends on how his body pulls up otherwise Nannes) and Hillfenhaus


I went with just the leg spinner as they seem to have more success in England. Im choosing 2 allrounders as I dont trust Watson's body and am leaving the second all rounders spot open for White if his bowling improves or Moses Henriques a highly talented youngster. I choose Haddin and Ronchi the 2 best performed keepers at first class level. I selected Clark as i think we will miss his experience and also Lee if he pulls up well, I dont think we can write him off after he was our best performed quick last summer. If Lee fails to pull up Id play Nannes, I know many will favour Bollinger but Nannes really adds more agression to the attack.

[GVGjr]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Not bad lemmon. I suppose you are backing White as the 2nd spinner which is probably your biggest risk.
Henriques would be speculative selection and one based solely on the future wouldn't it? As talented as he is he hasn't really put it together yet.
I doubt it would be worth taking both Watson and Henriques if you are taking 5 quicks.

[hujsh]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Henriques would need to play awesome shield cricket from now onwards to make the test team but I'd love to see it more than anything.

Been following him since his U-19 world cup performances.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Henriques would need to play awesome shield cricket from now onwards to make the test team but I'd love to see it more than anything.

Been following him since his U-19 world cup performances.

I've seen a fir bit of domestic cricket of Foxtel this year.

What is it about Henriques that I am not seeing?

[hujsh]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

I've seen a fir bit of domestic cricket of Foxtel this year.

What is it about Henriques that I am not seeing?

At the aforementioned WC he was the leading wicket taker even with one less match then then his 9 closest rivals taking 16 at 10.62. He was our third best batsman with 150 runs at 37.50. He captained the side

He played in the U-19 tournament before that at age 16.

He took 5 for 17 from 13 overs against Queensland in his second shield match.

Against NZ he took 5/51 off 19 in the second innings, most (mabye all) of them being the top order.

"Moises is a genuine allrounder who would be selected in sides for his bowling or his batting alone," Hohns said in 2004. "He is an outstanding prospect and certainly has a bright future."

And he'll be 22 in a week so he's still young.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

At the aforementioned WC he was the leading wicket taker even with one less match then then his 9 closest rivals taking 16 at 10.62. He was our third best batsman with 150 runs at 37.50. He captained the side

He played in the U-19 tournament before that at age 16.

He took 5 for 17 from 13 overs against Queensland in his second shield match.

Against NZ he took 5/51 off 19 in the second innings, most (mabye all) of them being the top order.

"Moises is a genuine allrounder who would be selected in sides for his bowling or his batting alone," Hohns said in 2004. "He is an outstanding prospect and certainly has a bright future."

And he'll be 22 in a week so he's still young.

Must need some more time then. Seems like Shane Watson, without injuries every month.

[hujsh]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Must need some more time then. Seems like Shane Watson, without injuries every month.

Also has been compared to Waugh as a batsman i think, though i know that was done for Katich as well, so i may be confused

[dog town]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

My squad would be

Ponting
Hussey
Clarke
Katich
Hughes
Rogers
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
Bracken
Clark
McDonald
Krezja
D Hussey
Watson
Bollinger

I have not included a second keeper. If Haddin goes down we can easily add a keeper to the squad. Most decent players will be over playing county cricket anyway. I dont think the real squad will be anything like mine. Nathan Bracken seems to have offended someone on the panel and I am sure a couple of favourites will survive until then. They will almost certainly take Jaques as well which I wouldnt do.

[lemmon]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Not bad lemmon. I suppose you are backing White as the 2nd spinner which is probably your biggest risk.
Henriques would be speculative selection and one based solely on the future wouldn't it? As talented as he is he hasn't really put it together yet.
I doubt it would be worth taking both Watson and Henriques if you are taking 5 quicks.

Yer mate going with White as the second spinner, he could probably be interchangeable with Krejza who IMO could really improve his batting and be capable of holding down number 7 or 8.

[Happy Days]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

What They Should Do:

Openers: Katich, Hughes, Jaques

Middle Order: Ponting, Clarke, M. Hussey

All-Rounders: North, Watson

Keepers: Haddin, Ronchi

Spin: McGain, Krejza

Pace: Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Johnson, Clarke

In my opinon, Hilfy should be the first player picked. His style of bowling, with the amount of swing he can produce, will be formidable in English conditions. Lee's form and fitness, not to mention signifigant drop in pace, would have me backing off.

North's selection has been long overdue, and although I've classed him as an all-rounder, his batting is really mid-order class. His spinners would also help bolster our stocks in that particluarly bare department.

McGain should be picked, as, last season, he was the best spinner in the land, not to mention the best bowler in the state of Victoria, and would have had a baggy green by now if not for a set of unfortunate circumstances. Add to all this that Hauritz is terrible, and the decision should be a no-brainer.

What They Will Do:

Openers: Katich, Jaques

Middle Order: Ponting, Clarke, M. Hussey

All-Rounders: Watson, Symonds

Keepers: Haddin, Ronchi

Spin: Hauritz, Krejza

Pace: Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Johnson, Clark, Lee

Unfortunately, the selectors at the moment have a very defensive mindset, and seem unwiling to take a gamble. This is why we will see the likes of Symonds, Lee and Hauritz in England.

The reason I have gone with just the two openers is it has been stated that only two will be taken to SA, and I don't see why the same wouldn't happen in England.

[Sedat]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

The best credentialed and in form starting 11 should first be selected and then the remainder should fall into place from there. For mine, the starting 11 (injuries and form permitting) would be as follows:

Rogers
Katich
Ponting
Clarke
Hussey
Hodge
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
McGain
Clark

12th man: Hilfenhaus

Pick the best 6 batsmen in the country irrespective of age - Mike Hussey is in long term trouble if he cannot make an impact with the bat in Sth Africa and in England: for now he has earned enough credit points to go to England. Hodge is world class, has amazing experience playing in the English conditions and, right here and now, is at the peak of his powers. I don't care about next Summer or 2-3 years from now - it's all about winning the Ashes.

The 4 others that should make the touring party would be a combination of Hughes /North /D Hussey with the bat, and, McDonald /Lee /Krezja with the ball. Hughes is a non-negotiable to make the touring party (if he continues to pile on the runs). Jaques (and Klinger to a lesser extent) would be stiff to miss out but there's no place for 4 or more openers in the squad. The choice between North and D Hussey for the last batting spot is a toss of the coin. I've classed McDonald as a bowler because the all-rounder obsession is flawed and he needs to make one of the disciplines his own - I believe he would be a handful in England with his accurate cutters in the Reiffel vein. Two spinners is a luxury if there aren't two quality options but I believe that Krazy is a talent worth nurturing. Brett Lee would want to jump through hoops to declare himself 100% ready for such a arduous tour at his age - I can't see him being ready in time. Bollinger I'm not sold on. Aside from his lack of dedication to his career, not to mention his poor form all Summer for Australia and Queensland, Symonds has technique issues with the moving ball, which will horribly expose him in England.

You can have odds of a million to one that this squad will be picked.

[LostDoggy]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

Jacques
Katich
Hughes

Ponting
Hussey
Clarke

North - can be classed a middle order or all-rounder

Symonds - subject to availability - Watson

Haddin - They only take on these days

Johnson
Siddle
Lee
Clark - the forgotten man
Hilfy

Mc Gain
Krazy


Team would be

Jacques
Katich

Ponting
Hussey
Clarke

Symonds - subject to availability

Haddin -

Johnson
Siddle

Hilfy

Mc Gain

[dog town]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

I hope the selectors dont go with Jaques as an opener. Let him get back to fitness and start piling on some runs then we can come back and look at him. Too many question marks over him to be giving him an express path back to the Test side especially given Rogers and Hughes are both in form.

[hujsh]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

I hope the selectors dont go with Jaques as an opener. Let him get back to fitness and start piling on some runs then we can come back and look at him. Too many question marks over him to be giving him an express path back to the Test side especially given Rogers and Hughes are both in form.

Rogers and Hughes has done nothing Jaques hasn't. Jaques has a few test match hundreds to back himself up however. You make it sound like he was dropped when he got injured.

[LostDoggy]

Re: A possible Ashes squad

I hope the selectors dont go with Jaques as an opener. Let him get back to fitness and start piling on some runs then we can come back and look at him. Too many question marks over him to be giving him an express path back to the Test side especially given Rogers and Hughes are both in form.

We are talking about an Ashes squad here. There is plenty of cricket for him to get into form before then. Prior to his injury, there was no question about his place in the side.