Is on five later

Ingurland.....Ingurland.

I don't have Sky either, I used to up till this year, but I've really enjoyed listening to it on TMS, and of course there's the highlights on 5. You get better analysis and discussion of the game when you listen to it on the radio and you can have the cricket on all day whilst doing other stuff, in the past if I was watching cricket that was the day taken up sat on the sofa.



I enjoy it more this way, its like going back to the old days, my grandad grew up listening to Test matches on his wireless, now I'm doing it.

I actually prefer listening to cricket for some reason, I've followed most of it via TMS, with a couple of good books, with SKY player on the laptop when I hear something I want to watch, or want to watch a particularly engrossing passage of play.



Not too keen on the SKY commentary at times, I know it is the SKY way but they seem to sensationalise everything and are OTT at times, I've listened to Shane Warne quite a bit and he has usually been good, but TMS is always a bit more reasoned.

Like Tuffers and Matthew Hayden both talking up the praises of Englands premier fast bowler Steve Harmison.

I've said before that would be Collys last test if it were up to me. He's a fighter and thats great but he just doesn't score enough runs on a regular enough basis to warrent his place when theres so much compatition.



I'm a huge Bopara fan aswell and would love to see us find a place for him but thats going to be tough. Ian Bell had 2 decent knocks in his series but overall i'm not convinced by him. Alistar Cook needs to work really hard at his game aswell but i don't see him being dropped.



The batting line up needs looking at and that can't be clouded by us winning the Ashes. If there was a new test starting tomorrow and KP were fit i'd go with-



Cook

Strauss

Pietersen(our best batter and he must start to take more responsibility)

Trott

Bopara

Prior



that would be my top 6.

Thank you England. Thank you.



Will enjoy my day over here.

Awesome. Warched all day and decided to go to the gym for a bit, and of course missed the climactic moment.



Just watched it now, fantastic.



Sky have just shown some of the England players and ground staff sitting on the outfield having a picnic of sorts (beer, I imagine), at 1.38am.



Good on yer lads!!

I'd keep Bell going because I think he has something, and I don't think he's that far off being a top player. He scored centuries in three consecutive Tests against Pakistan, and was a run away from a Test double century against South Africa, so he has done it at the highest level, he's got 8 centuries and 21 fifties in Tests. To think we were still talking about bringing back Ramprakash for this Test - a player whose record doesn't come close to Bell's.

Fantastic win and it's great to have the Ashes back!!



Broad had to be the motm, Swann may have had more wickets but it was Broad's spell which changed the game and won us the Test.



Looking ahead I would say when KP comes back that Collingwood should be the man to go and for Trott to keep his place. For me Collingwood is definately past his best and it's a time for a change.

Agree with that.

My squad for the SA tour:



Strauss, Moore, KP, Trott, du Plessis, Compton, Lumb, Prior, Kieswetter, Groenewald, McLaren, Dernbach, Ant Botha, Kruis, Meaker, Ervine



Every one of them born in SA/Zimbabwe...should have plenty of heart for the battle at least...more so than Ian c0cking Bell anyway!!



[size=75ps....I'm only joking with this squad, but I think Moore should be in the real squad anyway[/size

i would drop colly as well tbh. I'm not sure i know i called Bell but he showed more responsibilty and determination not to throw hes wicket away in this test. Id go for



Strauss

Cook/Denly

Bell

Pieterson

Trott

Bopara (I think he wpould do very well down the order against the older ball with a lot less swing. The way he plays he chases the swing of the new ball he could take attacks apart lower down IMO)

Prior

Broad

Swann

Anderson

Onions/Harmison

To be fair, I think you can probably put Lumb in the same category as Moore for mine. Had a good couple of years and seems to have really matured as a cricketer, worth a shot at number three?



If England take 3 specialist openers to SA then surely Carberry has to be the 3rd on form.



So I'd be taking a squad something like:



Strauss, Cook, Carberry, Bell, Trott, Lumb, Pietersen, Prior, Davies, Swann, Rashid, Broad, Onions, Anderson, Sidebottom, Plunkett.

I doubt they'll take 16 players, especially given the lack of cricket between tests and the relative ease in which players can get overseas as replacements if necessary. Saying that, I don't think they'll take 2 spare batsmen, so I'd lose Lumb from that squad.



As for the bowlers, doubt they'll take Plunkett, they're far more likely to go with Harmison, who was making noises last night about wanting to go on the tour. Not saying I'd do that, especially without his best mate there as a baby-sitter.

Whaaaaaaaat?? That's exactly what he didnt do...he got himself in in the first innings and then, as ever, got himself out to a daft waft of a shot then in the second innings, when everyone knew what was coming, he got out to the short ball from Johnson...still not good enough.







He bats at number 3 for Essex and has done for the past 2-3 years...where this myth comes from that he isn't a number 3 batsman I don't know.







I agree entirely re Lumb - he's most certainly developed his game an awful lot since he left Yorkshire and could well be worth a look at in the middle order but I think he may be behind Hildreth and Denly (rightly or wrongly) at the minute.



And Carberry has been outstanding this season too but again I think he'd be behind Denly as an extra opener.



I think the actual squad will be...

Strauss, Cook, Bell, KP, Trott, Collingwood, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Harmison (if he can cope with A- touring and B- not having his best mate with him) with Denly, Bopara and Hildreth as cover batsmen, Davies as cover keeper and Rashid and Onions as cover bowlers.



I'd like to think they'd be a bit more ambitious and pick Plunkett ahead of Harmison and Lumb/Carberry/Sayers ahead of Bell, but doubt it after yesterday.

I think Moore will get in ahead of Carberry and considering he is available I would take Harmison above Plunkett. Don't think Plunkett has done enough to warrant a Test repreive.

Bar half an hour yesterday what has Harmison done to deserve being retained? It's to the credit of Broad and Swann that England managed to win that game with basically a two-man bowling attack.

You might only be half-joking with some of those. Steven Moore is clearly on the selectors' radar after his successful selection for the Lions match a few weeks back. Craig Kieswetter is the best young wicketkeeper in the country and has been making useful runs with the bat this summer - I'd take him as Prior's understudy this winter. Stuart Meaker bowls seriously fast and is an outstanding fielder. He's only played a handful of Championship matches and is aged just 20, but may well feature in a few years' time.



The selectors clearly want a squad mentality and at times the team selections have almost resembled a closed shop so I wouldn't expect too many radical choices for this winter. Of the eleven who featured at the Oval I'll be surprised if any is omitted other than Flintoff obviously, while Panesar, Sidebottom and Onions were all in the squad for that game and Pietersen will obviously return barring complications with his injury. It would be wise to include an addtional top order batsman capable of opening if necessary (also with Flintoff's departure they'll probably want the option of six specialist batsmen in the event of Prior getting injured or Broad not making sufficientruns at 7), and the back-up wicketkeeper's position could be wide open after Tim Ambrose's failure to establish himself ahead of numerous other candidates, some of whom have already been tried in the past.



I hope they will be bold enough to pick Adil Rashid ahead of Panesar, and I'd like to see Craig Kieswetter get the second wicketkeeping place.

Well in the second inngs Harmison took 3 wickets so we can ignore that if you want but I don't see why. Okay then compare Plunkett/Harmison on their county form and Harmison still wins.



I know you and a few others don't like Harmison but I just think he still has something to offer. Especially now with Freddie going, Harmison/Anderson for the new ball with Broad/Onions first/second change and either Swann/Rashid as the spinner. It means Broad batting at 7 but with Swann/Rashid at 8 there is still some depth.

poms want the rugby league ashes now ENGLAND captain Jamie Peacock has called for rugby league's Ashes to be put on the line when his men take on Australia during this year's Four Nations tournament. Excited by the hype surrounding the current cricket series, the Leeds star said over the weekend it would be a big bonus for league if its version was on the line at Wigan on October 31, a one off game to decide a title Australia has held for 36 years. "The cricket Ashes this summer has been massive and really captured the imagination of everyone around the country,'' Peacock said. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5765392911

poms want the rugby league ashes now ENGLAND captain Jamie Peacock has called for rugby league's Ashes to be put on the line when his men take on Australia during this year's Four Nations tournament. Excited by the hype surrounding the current cricket series, the Leeds star said over the weekend it would be a big bonus for league if its version was on the line at Wigan on October 31, a one off game to decide a title Australia has held for 36 years. "The cricket Ashes this summer has been massive and really captured the imagination of everyone around the country,'' Peacock said. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5765392911

When does Kieswetter qualify, isn't it next year?

Look at the wickets he took - Johnson, Siddle and Clark.



The Australian top order played him with relative ease in both innings, on a pitch that should have suited him down to the ground. Time to move on IMO, and Plunkett now is a significantly better bowler than he was when he first got his chance with England.

I mistakenly thought he was already eligible. His profile on Cricinfo classifies him as South African and says he "has decided to qualify for England" without specifying when this will happen. He played for SA in the 2005/6 Under-19's World Cup, so if he's been resident here since then (he was educated in England) he should be eligible at the start of next season.



Tim Ambrose didn't really grasp the nettle; I expect the selectors will go for James Foster or Steven Davies instead.



Personally I'd give serious consideration to picking other candidates ahead of Bell, Collingwood and Harmison, though I don't expect the selectors will leave any of those off the plane. It's going to be at least as tough a series as the one just ended, so as Bopara has just been rested following poor form against testing opposition it would be a nonsense to recall him immediately.