The Ashes Thread

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Jee. I cna't say that retaining the ashes on a draw sounds particually pleasing, if there is a draw that is.

I must say that it is a bit worrying that our fourth best batsman is a bowler and our most economic bowler is a batsman.

 

Two of your best batsmen have been bowlers. Warne and Lee have saved the day with the bat more than once in this series.

Barmy, what happened to Ricky Clarke? Wasn't he going to be the next Ian Botham / Dermot Reeve? Why isn't he in the team?

 

Harbs, I believe it was discussed in great length with the selectors and it was decided that he was far too ugly to represent to England cricket side.

Seriously though, I think you'll see Rikki Clarke in the England side in a few years time. Don't forget he's still only a kid. He was given his chance perhaps a little too early I think, as he failed to impress in his ODI's for England when he was called up for winning the Wisdens young cricketer award (averaged somewhere around 10 with the bat with like, 20 games and only took 10 wickets...). If someone doesn't pull their weight in the England side these days, they get cut loose.

He's in good company in the Surrey side though, so fingers crossed he can come good in a few years. There's just no spots for him right now.

I'll tell you who to keep an eye out for though; Alastair Cook. The kid is fantastic. He's only 19 and already averages 42+ with the bat. Remember the name and remember who told you!

 

Alistair Cook? Wasn't he the old guy in the jacket and pipe?

Also, what happened to that Indian kid who was supposed to be the next great England batsman a few years ago? Never heard anything more about him and I've forgotten his name.

 

Don't know who you mean on the Indian kid.

Alastair Cook averaged 55.27 last season in first class cricket and has a career average of 42 and he's just touching 20! Big future ahead of him.

 

It wasn't Aftab Habib, but someone younger than him. He was scoring big 100s as a teenager.

 

You aren't talking about Azhar Mahmood are you... ?

 

No, he was an English resident so was all primed up to play for England. I remember him being big enough to make the sports news in New Zealand but then nothing ever seemed to come of him.

 

Perhaps it's Owais Shah your thinking of HB? But He is of Pakistani descent though ...

 

Alastair Cook scored 214 from 238 balls against Australia yesterday . What a talent

 

Or alternatively he might be a flat-track bully like Graeme Hick, and, um, Matthew Hayden......

 

Well, I don't know mate. Any 20 year old who can slap the likes of Lee, Kasprovicz, Tait, MacGill and (dare I say it at the moment...) Gillespie is someone worth keeping an out out for, I reckon.

He averaged 55 in last years county season so I don't think he just relies on flat-tracks. A lot of the grounds in England are anything but flat.

Keep an eye out for him, anyway .

Back to the Ashes - Heres to hoping Jonah is fit!
I can't believe that the selectors have chosen Jimmy bloody Anderson again. They may as well have gone for one of the old guard like Andy Caddick or Dazzler Gough!
I'm a better bowler than Jimmy Anderson!

 

Jonah? He's out for the rest of the season. Typical that as soon as he signed for North Harbour he got injured. I hope we're making the most out of him for publicity purposes.

But he'll never play for the All Blacks again so don't expect to see him on the Grand Slam tour or anything.

Meanwhile, James Anderson qualifies for the England team on the basis of his appalling fashion / hair sense. He'll fit right in.

Also, after the success of Kevin Pietersen, New Zealand have recruited some promising young South African all-rounder who has decided to come live here and will be eligible for the Black Caps next year. Yay, maybe he'll be the next Jacques Kallis.

 

Jonah... Simon Jones's nickname .

 

What a crappy nickname. No worse than "Freddie" Flintoff, I suppose.

 

Freddie Flintstone .

I don't think the English team are so hot when handing out nicknames. It's a job good we do the biz on the cricket pitch, eh?

 

http://www.fredsociety.com/fat.html

I knew the Flintstone link, but for some reason this is the one that always comes to mind instead.

 

I got tickets for the Oval on Friday!!!!



I just hope the rain holds off...

Of course, if it buckets down for the other 4 days we're laughing!

Man, I'm so totally pumped...

 

You jammy bar steward, Magpie!
Me and my mates tried to get tickets months ago and were told that they were sold out for all 5 tests...!

When did you order them, out of interest?

 

New Zealand beat India again in the final of the tri-series in Zimbabwe with a brilliant chase of a challenging 277 run target. Shane Bond was man of the series (so glad that we have a good pace bowler again!). That puts NZ back into 3rd place on the world one day rankings. Go NZ.