He does but 42, isn’t enough when Warner averages 49 and Smith averages 56! Once again its sporting jingoism, until the facts change they are the facts.
So if we can do a number on Smith and Warner do you reckon we’ll win?
Here.
Maybe we should have a few predictions. For the series: Top scorer? Top wicket taker? Predicted result?
NB aimed generally not just you bazza.
I’d have to go with Smith but it could be Warner, for England I’d say Bairstow could have a good series, the bowlers you can’t look past Starc, for England I’d go for Anderson BUT he could be under pressure if he doesn’t deliver so then it’d be Archer.
Batsman - Smith
Bowler - Starc
Too close to call the result of the Ashes but a close win for Australia at the moment, I hope I’m wrong.
I’m not sure Anderson’s fitness will help.
I’ll go with:
Bat: Root (but will probably be Smith) 
Ball: Cummins (I think he’ll play in every test and he is more consistent)
Result. Close. I’ll go for a positive 2-1 to the mighty England.
Bat Stokes
Ball Moeen.
Just because 
My XI
Vince
Roy
Root
Bairstow
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Woakes
Archer
Broad
Anderson
Not to be but there we go.
With what we have
Burns obviously for Vince.
I’d bat Woakes above Ali tbh
Actually, being possibly the only English cricket fan to see Jimmy Anderson hit a 6 in a Test Match (in Dubai v PAK). I’d slot Moeen after Jimmy tbh
1 Like
I’d have Curran ahead of Ali but obviously need spin, we’re weak in that department, Ali’s average is crap. The bowling isn’t that much better either, as he’s a nice lad he gets a run out, since Swann went we’ve been very very light in the spin/batting dept.
Which is why I can’t understand how they left Leach out of the squad
Maybe they thought he wasn’t up to it against high class bowling? Which is sort of worrying if thats the case.
1 Like
There are some proper shit averages there but sporting jingoism prevails…
And that’s us made to look stupid then
1 Like
You can skew figures anyway you want (especially in cricket), who were those wickets? Tailenders?Established batsmen? Other team chasing?
Sporting jingoism by Sky,
You can apply those rules to any Test bowler, it is meaningless. A Test wicket is a Test wicket. The fact is that Ali is the leading Test wicket taker in the past 12 months. I realize this doesn’t suit your agenda though.
Why not just his averages over his career which are well average? The agenda is driven by people wanting to keep him in the side with wank stats.
Test cricket is played on totally different wickets around the world.
We know that because England are awful on SE Asian pitches.
We are in case you haven’t noticed, playing Australia in England on English pitches.
Perhaps a good measure of who to pick to bowl on an English pitch would be someone with good figures on? Let me think. Oh yeah, English pitches.
Or perhaps you’d prefer to base selection for this series on bowling averages in Australia on drop in wickets with a Kookaburra cricket ball?
4 Likes