Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Tresothick sent home with injury ENGLAND'S defence of the Ashes was dealt a massive body blow tonight when opener Marcus Trescothick flew home with a recurrence of a stress-related illness. Trescothick, 32, left Sydney about 10pm (AEDT) tonight and will take no part in the series, which starts in Brisbane on November 23. The left-handed batsman, a veteran of 76 Tests and the only batsman in the England squad to have played an Ashes Test in Australia, was diagnosed with a stress-related illness earlier this year. He left India prematurely in March and also missed England's recent Champions Trophy campaign in India. England coach Duncan Fletcher said: “Following discussions between Marcus and the England medical staff, it was decided that Marcus should fly home at the earliest opportunity. “We are naturally disappointed to lose a player of his quality from our Ashes squad and everyone in the dressing room hopes that he is able to make a full recovery and resume his cricketing career.” England's selectors will meet tomorrow to discuss who is best to replace Trescothick in the squad. England flies to Adelaide tomorrow to prepare for a three-day match against South Australia, which starts Friday.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Punter rejects Dad's Army serve AUSTRALIAN skipper Ricky Ponting has scoffed at Ian Botham's notion that Australia's players are a "Dad's Army", and, not surprisingly, thrown his support behind veteran opener Justin Langer. With NSW opener Phil Jaques's second century against England in the space of a weekend putting further pressure on Langer, Ponting yesterday suggested Jaques, and other younger players, still had to "earn their stripes". "I wouldn't have thought so, no," Ponting replied when asked whether Jaques was a realistic chance of replacing Langer in the first Test at the Gabba, starting on Thursday week. "He's doing everything he can, but Justin's the incumbent and he's been doing such a great job for Australia over such a long time, I think that would be unrealistic." Ponting was pleased with the form of Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait but added that Stuart Clark is also in good form, meaning Australia's "bowling stocks right at the moment are excellent and that's very pleasing as a captain". "[Johnson is] doing everything right, but right at the moment lots of guys are as well," Ponting said. On former England all-rounder Botham's comments in a London newspaper that Australia's ageing side was "creaking" during last year's Ashes tour and would be creaking even more now, Ponting said that while it was important to have a new crop of players coming through, it was equally important that they were out-performing the players they would replace.

[Sharpe1ne]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 So out of the academy side for promotion it's either Robert Key or Ed Joyce.Hope it's our Ed cos he's used to pace and bounce wickets,and he's also a far fitter and better fielder than Key.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07

Is it just me, or were the Poms saying they'd beat us 5-0 last time? :tongue2 Remind me what happened, ads, beejay :ok

It's all a bit of a haze what happened last time Jeffers :loon I know one thing...There is more pressure on the Aussies to perform in the Ashes than England in my opinion. Since Australia lost the Ashes they have been waiting for a chance to get them back and have vowed that they will...If England happened to win the First Test, then the Aussies would be under a little pressure I believe. Having said that, no one believes Englands going to win any tests yet alone the first :drums

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 NSW and England Draw 3 Day Game New South Wales and England have drawn the three-day cricket match at the SCG after the Blues used the final two sessions for batting practice. The Blues finished on six for 194 in their second innings, a lead of 200, when stumps were drawn 30 minutes early. Michael Clarke made 68 and captain Simon Katich retired hurt on 55 to give his younger teammates a hit. Two England batsmen also got a decent hit-out today, as Kevin Pietersen reached 122 in England's total of 349 and captain Andrew Flintoff made 62. England paceman James Anderson breathed some life into a final day which petered out after the suicidal run-out of Phil Jaques (four) before lunch when he removed Aaron O'brien and Daniel Smith in successive balls. Anderson finished with 3-40 to boost his confidence going into the Test series, which starts in Brisbane November 23. England will play South Australia in a three-day match in Adelaide starting on Friday in its last hit-out before the Ashes opener. NSW 1st Innings 9(dec)-355 England 1st Innings 349 NSW 2nd Innings P JAQUES run out 4 E COWAN c Jones b Hoggard 8 S KATICH retired hurt 55 M CLARKE b Giles 68 A O'BRIEN c Strauss b Anderson 2 D SMITH b Anderson 0 M HENRIQUES lbw Anderson 12 N HAURITZ not out 20 B CASSON not out 12 Sundries (6b 5lb 2nb) 13 Six wickets for 194 Fall: 4, 18, 132, 132, 156, 165. Bowling: M Hoggard 7-2-24-1, S Harmison 5-0-27-0, M Panesar 13-2-38-0, J Anderson 10-1-40-3, A Giles 8-0-32-1, A Flintoff 4-1-11-0 (2nb), P Collingwood 4-1-11-0. Batting time: 217 mins. Overs: 51. Match drawn. Umpires: D Orchard D Goodger. Crowd (aggregate): 23,091.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 ENGLAND VS AUSTRALIA The greatest rivalry of them all - The Ashes Now the English and Aussies at PL can go head to head in the Ashes by using their skill and ability to outplay each other. The Sportal Ashes Dream Team is now open for entry - here's your chance to take part in this highly anticipated series of cricket's greatest rivalry: http://ashesdreamteam.sportal.com.au/ Simply Register FREE with an Email address and password. Then pick your Team and Join a League with LEAGUE CODE - 245860 If you wish to take part, you will need to select your team prior to the first test Lockout, which is Thursday, 23rd November. You will then be entered for the duration of the competition. Be sure to enter ASAP as no further entries will be accepted after this date! There is even a comments box to talk trash to each other after Australia win another test :lol Let's see who will be the PL Ashes Dream team Champion :drums It should be noted that entry is completely FREE and is purely for fun purposes...

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Any replacement been named for Trescowthick yet?

[Sharpe1ne]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Not as yet BBC are touting either Key ,Joyce or Shah.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Can anyone refresh my memory on Englands better batters and bowlers? I am not taking the piss here either, just call it ignorance. There is only one English name I can always remember and that's Ian Botham :cheers Botham should have been an Australian :dude So if anyone can give their thoughts on some of the English players that would be great!

[Sharpe1ne]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Suppose were looking Bowling wise at Bob Willis and thats about it really the other bowlers we've had seem to always start off promising but then get caught up in all the hype and then go through a nervous break down when there game collapses around them. Batting wise Gower ,Boycott, Gooch, Broad,Gatting.I think we've always had a good quality of batsmen but when the bowlers don't come through they really are up against it. Seems every series we play only a couple of players really stand out,never usually the entire team.So this series it will probably be Anderson and if he gets a game then Joyce.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07

Suppose were looking Bowling wise at Bob Willis and thats about it really the other bowlers we've had seem to always start off promising but then get caught up in all the hype and then go through a nervous break down when there game collapses around them. Batting wise Gower ,Boycott, Gooch, Broad,Gatting.I think we've always had a good quality of batsmen but when the bowlers don't come through they really are up against it. Seems every series we play only a couple of players really stand out,never usually the entire team.So this series it will probably be Anderson and if he gets a game then Joyce.

Who were the players from the last Ashes that England won that are still around and can do some damage? Sometimes that is better to have no stand outs because it means its a team thing, rather than individuals.

[Mighty Magyar]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 what about ...................

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England players and officials - select an initial letter: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - Y Derek Underwood England Player profile Full name Derek Leslie Underwood Born June 8, 1945, Bromley, Kent Current age 61 years 159 days Major teams England,Kent Also known as Deadly Batting style Right-hand bat Statsguru Test player, ODI player Batting and fielding averages class mat inns no runs hs ave bf sr 100 50 4s 6s ct st Tests 86 116 35 937 45* 11.56 0 0 0 44 0 ODIs 26 13 4 53 17 5.88 133 39.84 0 0 5 0 6 0 First-class 676 710 200 5165 111 10.12 1 2 261 0 List A 411 197 81 815 28 7.02 0 0 108 0 Bowling averages class mat balls runs wkts bbi bbm ave econ sr 4 5 10 Tests 86 21862 7674 297 8/51 13/71 25.83 2.10 73.60 13 17 6 ODIs 26 1278 734 32 4/44 4/44 22.93 3.44 39.93 1 0 0 First-class 676 139783 49993 2465 9/28 20.28 2.14 56.70 153 47 List A 411 19825 11099 572 8/31 8/31 19.40 3.35 34.65 25 8 0 Career statistics Statsguru Tests filter | Statsguru One-Day Internationals filter Test debut England v West Indies at Nottingham - Jun 30-Jul 5, 1966 scorecard Last Test Sri Lanka v England at Colombo (PSS) - Feb 17-21, 1982 scorecard ODI debut England v New Zealand at Swansea - Jul 18, 1973 scorecard Last ODI Sri Lanka v England at Colombo (SSC) - Feb 14, 1982 scorecard First-class span 1963 - 1987 List A span 1963 - 1987 Notes Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1969 Awarded the MBE in 1981 Profile No nickname was better earned that the "Deadly" which Derek Underwood's Kent team-mates conferred on him for the havoc he caused on rain-affected pitches. Such was his accuracy and, for a left-arm spinner, pace - either side of medium when the ball was really biting - that when conditions favoured him an avalanche of wickets was almost guaranteed. His wizardry brought England one of the most dramatic wins in the history of Tests when, with six minutes left against Australia at The Oval in 1968, he took his fourth wicket in 27 balls. That clinched a 226-run win which squared the series, even though a lunchtime cloudburst which flooded the ground had swallowed all but 75 minutes of the last four hours. In similar circumstances at Hastings in 1973, Underwood demolished Sussex by taking 8 for 9 after a bare-footed Kent team helped the Fire Brigade mop up another flooded ground. Underwood's accuracy, intelligence and patience meant he was always a blessing to his captains. He adapted to conditions overseas, especially in Australia, by dropping his pace, and might have added 50-100 wickets to his England haul of 297 but for joining World Series Cricket in 1977, then the disapproved tour of South Africa in 1981-82. A game nightwatchman and a workmanlike outfielder, he was as unaffectedly pleasant at the end of his career as when, in 1963, he became the youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in his initial season. John Thicknesse Wisden Sporting Heroes Derek Leslie Underwood was born in Bromley, Kent on June 8 1945. A left arm slow bowler he made his debut for Kent at age 17 and became the youngest player in history to take 100 first-class wickets in his first season. He achieved this feat on 9 further occasions in a county career spanning 25 years, and in 1966 took a remarkable 157 wickets. He was chosen for England against the West Indies, when just 21 years old and went on to play 86 tests, despite interrupting his international career to play world series cricket and terminating it with a disapproved trip to South Africa. His 297 Test wickets are included in a career total of 2465 taken at just 20 runs apiece. He was awarded the MBE in 1981. To describe Derek Underwood as a slow bowler, or simply a spinner is to give a false picture of a unique performer. Much of his bowling was delivered at a respectable medium pace, and always off a plodding run-up of ten yards or so. When conditions were right he would turn the ball extravagantly, but on good pitches, against good players, he would still take plentiful wickets through his unfailing accuracy. Batsmen, infuriated or entranced by the unhittable length and line firing at them with the remorseless regularity of a bowling machine, would very often commit cricketing suicide in their frustration. Underwood was at his most effective on the uncovered English pitches of the sixties and early seventies. On a "sticky dog" the cricket slang for a pich affected by rain he could be unplayable. Full covering failed to thwart him, however, and both in county and Test cricket he maintained a high success rate through his dedicated attention to detail. A bad delivery from Underwood was a rarity and the anguish over it would be etched on his expression. Although sometimes accused of bowling, a negative, flat trajectory, when conditions demanded something more flighted, Underwood was a master of variations of pace and slight shifts in angle. He won countless lbw victims with the ball which swung in to the right hander, "with the arm". Underwood's most memorable triumph of many in his long career, was to retrieve the series against Australia. It had seemed hopelessly lost. The circumstances of the story are extraordinary and the fact that they could not be repeated now makes it a tale worth retelling. It was 1968 and England captained by Colin Cowdrey had lost the first test to Bill Lawry's Australians and then drawn the next three. Underwood, who did not play in the defeat, bowled creditably in each succeeding game, but his hour of glory arrived literally at the last gasp. The final Test, played as tradition demands at the Oval, had been dictated by England. They had gained a first innings lead of 170 and, although England were dismissed the second time around for 181, Australia looked doomed when they went into lunch on the fifth day at 86 for 5. Their salvation seemed to arrive with a violent thunderstorm, which left the pitch and surrounds completely flooded. Further play looked to be out of the question but when the sun appeared, the groundstaff were joined by volunteers from the crowd in a frantic mopping-up operation. To Australia's dismay, the game resumed at 4.45 p.m. England had 15 minutes plus a final, desperate hour, in which to take the 5 wickets and square the series. For 40 minutes they were denied. Then, with time and hope fast diminishing, D'Olivera made the breakthrough. It was now 110 for 6. Half an hour later Australia were all out for 125, Underwood having taken the remaining four wickets to clinch the victory with just 5 minutes to spare. Cowdrey had recalled him immediately after the fall of the sixth wicket. Using the unusual conditions brilliantly, Underwood baffled each batsman in turn. Finally with every English fielder camped around the bat, opener John Inverarity, who had batted through the innings for 56, played no shot to Underwood's famous inswining "arm ball", and was out lbw. The crowd celebrated in style while televison viewers could scarcely credit the half hour of gripping sporting drama that they had just witnessed. The Wisden Book of Cricket Heroes - Alan Lee Related articles and news Ganguly, apologies, hair loss and Parmesan Tony (May 21, 2006) Underwood urges selectors to back Panesar (May 19, 2006) Digging their heels in (Apr 25, 2006) A wholly inadequate cover-up (Nov 12, 2005) Kent name Underwood as 2006 president (Nov 8, 2005) View the full list of 14 related articles Related images Derek Underwood bowling The England XII against Australia, 2nd Test, Lord's, July 1975 Ajit Wadekar is caught and bowled by Derek Underwood England XI for the opening Test against Rest of the World 1970 Derek Underwood traps John Inverarity lbw to secure a dramatic win View the full list of 7 related images

[Sharpe1ne]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07

Who were the players from the last Ashes that England won that are still around and can do some damage? Sometimes that is better to have no stand outs because it means its a team thing' date=' rather than individuals.[/quote'] You mean the series just gone cos if so the only bowler we are missing is Simon Jones otherwise it's exactly the same bowling line up we've got now. Hoggard Harmison Giles Jones Flintoff and the few odd overs from Collingwood. With the harder wickets in Australia I can see casualties in Harmison(back) Flintoff(ankle)Plunkett(side strains) Giles(dodgier hips than Thora Hird and a groin that can't have much left in it after so many operations)Anderson(back stress fractures) So maybe Broad will get his chance along with Mahmood and Tremlett also Tom Smith and hopefully Jamie Dalrymple.Good job we've an Academy side out there.

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Gutted about Tres. He's one of my favourite players especially being a Somerset lad too. Doubt's have to be cast as to whether he'll ever be 'mentally' fit to play test cricket again for England. He will be sorely missed at the top of the order. Logical replacement is Rob Key. Not many players can boast a test match 200 to their names. Good to see KP enjoying it today with the bat and Freddie getting some god runs behind him. Interesting to see how we fare in the final warm up. I guess it'll be the test team playing for that one. As for the comp beejay, I'll enter that too. Cheers.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Aye, tragic news for Tres. Without being nasty though it strengthens us you'd have to say. Cook, Bell and Collingwood have been superb for us in test cricket this year. I hope Marcus recovers to play for England again but if he's fallen out of love with the game as he's stated, he'll never get that back. Bob Key is the natural replacement for Tres, a) he's better than Joyce imo and b) he can open or play in the middle order. If they push Joyce up he can only bat in the middle order so if Cook or Strauss go lame we're fcuked for an opener. Beejay, the only 2 you need to worry about are KP and Fred son.

[stereoman]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Hmmm. Today's Bettingzone Market Moves: 1400: bet365 have cut James Anderson from 12/1 to 13/2 to finish top England bowler during the Ashes series. Their spokesman Steve Freeth said: "We had fancied Saj Mahmood to be above Anderson in the Ashes pecking order but his nightmare performance against the Prime Minister’s XI, where he got hit all over Canberra, has seen the punters go Anderson crazy. "He looks to be over his injury problems and his bowling against NSW will be a boost to his legions of backers who have got on at a juicy 12/1." bet365 have seen no support whatsoever for the England team to be triumphant down under and they have been forced to cut the Aussies to 2/9 to win the Ashes series. "Even the patriotic punters are deserting England. They look to have problems both on and off the pitch," added Freeth. Meanwhile Ed Joyce, called into the squad to replace Marcus Trescothick, is 9/2 with Hills to play in the first Test in Brisbane and 14/1 to score a hundred at some point in the series.

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Shocked by Ed Joyce's call up to replace Tres, especially as all he has to his name is 3 ODI's and no tests. At lest Chubby Key has some test experience behind him, not that Joyce will play unless theres an injury of course. Reckon Jimmy's reduction must be down to his efforts in Sydney. I'll look into that market after the final warm up game. Need to see how Harmy's coping out there before commiting.

[meatman]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 stunned by Joyce's call up here why not Key ffs???????

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Do Fletcher and Graveney think we're daft? Fine if they are calling up Joyce, there's not too much between them although I do think Key is the better batsman but do they have to tell us that it's because Joyce can cover more positions in the batting order when that is quite clearly not the case? I've no problems with Anderson playing, I think he's a quality bowler. My only query with it is it will mean there's no place for Monty in the side because he's not going to play all 4 non batting bowlers. I think that's a mistake. I think Monty will trouble them more than Giles. I still think Mahmood will play a significant part in the series, whether that's because Anderson goes round the park or because Hoggard's effectiveness is nil I'm not sure but I fancy Saj to get in somehow.

[maj69er]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Richie and his bikini babe http://blogs.cricinfo.com/surfer/archives/2006/11/richie_and_his.php

[Sharpe1ne]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Regarding the debate over Key V Joyce. IMO Joyce is the far better choice by a country mile.A loss of form by Key over last year really diminished his chances of ever getting back in the side also he has put the weight back on this is why fletcher is not keen on picking him.Then take into account Joyce who over the last 3 years has consistently performed batting and fielding.Joyce can bat any position from 1-6, he's opened in youth cricket and also 1 dayers for middlesex.(But with Cook and Bell moving up to opener he will not be needed for that postion)Fletcher wants the fielders to be fit and Key can only really field at slip where as Joyce has the energy to field in any number of positions(plus he won't have a big red shiny face after running around in the field all day.) ---------Key 2006 stats. Joyce Matches -14 --------------12 Innings --25--------------- 21 N.0 -------2 ---------------1 Runs ----731 -------------1162 H.S -----136*------------- 211 Ave -----31.78------------ 58.10 Hun ------1---------------- 3 50's ------2---------------- 6 2005 -----------Key------------ Joyce Matches ---15 --------------16 Inn.------- 27 ---------------29 n.o --------1---------------- 2 runs -----1556------------- 1668 h.s ------189 ---------------192 ave------ 59.84------------ 61.77 hun------- 4 -----------------3 50 --------8 -----------------13 Everybody deserve's a chance.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 You do have to consider though that Key captains Kent which will effect his batting form. As I said earlier in the piece I think overall on these pitches Key is the better player. He's got a double ton to his name and has toured Australia before. He can also open. Joyce wouldn't be able to open out there. Opening in ODI's (where he doesn't even average 15) is a different story to opening in tests. Here come the injuries! Harmison's hip is missing his mum so he's a major doubt but to combat that it's highly unlikely Watson will be fit for Australia and Martyn is a doubt with his tendonitis again. A good day for England today, bowling well on a good deck. Only downer would be Strauss making a duck but he's good enough to bounce back from that.

[stereoman]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 More Bettingzone Market Updates: 1400: Hills are betting on the winner of the Ashes Man of the Series and make Shane Warne 5/1 favourite to land the Compton-Miller Medal. Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting is 7/1 second favourite while England captain Andrew Flintoff is 12/1 alongside Kevin Pietersen. Australian players occupy the first four places in the betting with Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee joint third favourites at 10/1. Alongside Fintoff and Pietersen at 12s are Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist. Hills also offer: 16/1 Martyn, 20/1 Harmison, Hussey, Strauss, 25/1 Panesar, Hoggard, 33/1 Clark, Jacques, Collingwood, Clarke, Bell, Symonds, Cook, 40/1 Watson, Johnson, 66/1 Jones, Giles, 80/1 Anderson, Joyce. 1300: The Ashes will see a record betting turnover for an England away Test Series of up to £30million, predict William Hill. "The last Ashes Series produced a world record betting turnover for cricket of almost £50 million, which will not be matched because of the viewer-unfriendly timing of the games this time round, but we confidently expect the industry to see at least a £25million turnover and almost certainly well in excess of that," said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe. And, unexpectedly, the biggest bet yet placed on England winning the Series has been struck by an Aussie from New South Wales, who has bet 2700 Aussie dollars - just over £1000 - on England beating his country. "He has not given us permission to publicise his name - as he is probably too embarrassed to be the only Aussie who gives England a chance of victory," added Sharpe. Meanwhile, with England 5/1 outsiders to win the series and 3/1 to retain the Ashes, Hills are giving optimistic England supporters the chance to place a bet to leave their grand-children - offering 1000/1 that England will retain the Ashes for the rest of the century and still hold them on January 1, 2100. "Okay, it seems unlikely, but if England avoid defeat this time round the balance of power will have changed and who knows how long it could stay in England's favour. We have already taken over £100 on the bet and there are far worse 1000/1 shots to be had," said Sharpe. England are 33/1 to hold the Ashes for another 20 years or longer with Hills who go 1/12 for England to have lost them on or before October 1, 2011. Australia are now short-priced 2/9 favourites to regain the treasured urn with a drawn series quoted at 13/2. There has been a rush of support for an Australian whitewash, prompted by Glenn McGrath's boast that they will win the series 5-0, and that is now an 11/2 shot. England are 125s to win 5-0. England are 5/1 to win the first Test with Hills, who make the Aussies 4/9 favourites with the draw 3/1.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Tour match ends in draw England captain Andrew Flintoff is bowled for 47 as wicketkeeper Shane Deitz watches on during the tour match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval. England can now turn its full attention to the Ashes series against Australia after it drew its final warm-up match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. SA was 2-164 in its second innings, trailing England by four runs, when the teams agreed to call an early end to the three-day match. The tourists fly to Brisbane tomorrow to prepare for the first Test against Australia, which starts Thursday. England was bowled out for 415 before lunch, but gained little else from the middle and final sessions, as the Redbacks gained batting practice. Opener Daniel Harris finished unbeaten on 71 and Callum Ferguson seven not out. Matthew Elliott (55) made his first first-class half-century of the season, before he was out to left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who is vying with Ashley Giles to play in the first Test. Panesar took 1-34 today, while part-timer Kevin Pietersen (1-24) claimed a wicket when Cameron Borgas (27) hit a long hop straight to deep mid-wicket. Although England remains winless on its tour, it has improved its performances in each hit-out against NSW and SA after being thrashed by the Prime Minister's XI first up. The tourists can also take some encouraging individual efforts into the first Test. All six Test batsmen have scored at least one-half century from a maximum three innings, while Kevin Pietersen (against NSW) and Ian Bell (SA) have posted centuries. Aside from Harmison, who bowled 25 overs against NSW but sat this game out, all of the bowlers have sent down plenty of overs, although wickets have generally been in short supply. Pacemen James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard have 12 between them from five innings bowled, but captain Andrew Flintoff has struck only twice from 47 overs on tour. South Australia 1st Innings 7 (dec)-247 England 1st Innings A STRAUSS lbw b Tait 0 A COOK c Deitz b Gillespie 12 M HOGGARD c Deitz b Tait 10 I BELL c Lehmann b Tait 132 P COLLINGWOOD c Deitz b Bailey 80 K PIETERSEN b Gillespie 32 A FLINTOFF b Bailey 47 G JONES c Cosgrove b Cullen 33 S MAHMOOD st Deitz b Lehmann 41 J ANDERSON c Deitz b Bailey 9 M PANESAR not out 0 Sundries (4lb 5w 10nb) 19 Total 415 Fall: 5, 29, 34, 212, 282, 282, 348, 401, 415, 415. Bowling: S Tait 25.4-6-87-3 (5w 9nb), J Gillespie 24-7-38-2 (1nb), C Bailey 28.1-0-128-3, D Harris 13.2-7-24-0, D Cullen 28-3-122-1, M Cosgrove 1-0-3-0, D Lehmann 4-0-9-1. Batting time: 504 mins. Overs: 124.1. South Australia 2nd Innings D HARRIS not out 71 M ELLIOTT c Anderson b Panesar 55 C BORGAS c sub (Giles) b Pietersen 27 C FERGUSON not out 7 Sundries (1lb 3nb) 4 Two wickets for 164 Fall: 94, 137. Bowling: M Hoggard 9-0-32-0, J Anderson 10-3-26-0, S Mahmood 5-1-29-0 (2nb), M Panesar 13-4-34-1, A Flintoff 6-1-18-0 (1nb), K Pietersen 3-0-24-1. Batting time: 187 mins. Overs: 46. Match drawn Umpires: S Davis A Collins. Crowd (aggregate): 18,248. Looks like the poms are starting to show a bit of form going into thursday's First Test. Shane Watson of Australia has an injured hamstring and will be missing, most likely replaced by Michael Clarke.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh is known for his love of a bet and he has given his thoughts over here on who might be a good bet for the coming Ashes tour. Ashes Intro by: Mark Waugh G'day, Like all cricket followers I'm really looking forward to this summer's Ashes contest. I'm excited about what is the most eagerly anticipated series in Australia for many years. While I'd love to be out in the middle, I hope I can draw on my many years of experience to provide some expert analysis and also tip you a few winners along the way! England holds the Ashes after their dramatic comeback in the UK last year. This time around however, Australia will start short priced favourites to grab that little urn back and rightly so! Australia will be better prepared and certainly won't be underestimating England like they did last time around. Being on home soil, in front of sell-out crowds will also boost the Aussie cause. England on the other hand has had very patchy form since their Ashes triumph. Injuries to key players Michael Vaughn and Simon Jones won't help them either. I really like Australia to comfortably win this series, either 4-1 or 4-0. The summer starts in Brisbane with Australia $1.40 favourites, which to me looks to be a great bet. Australia always plays well up north and a bouncy, pacey wicket early on in the tour, could unsettle the Poms and catch them on the hop. As far as key players for the series; I expect Brett Lee to take a lot of wickets for Australia and at around $3.50 he represents better value than Shane Warne, although Warne will be very much in the mix. Batting wise I think there'll be plenty of runs flowing from Australian's bats. It's tough to pick a standout but I reckon Mike Hussey aka ‘Mr. Cricket' at $6.00 looks to be good value. He's such a consistent performer and looks set to have another big summer. For England, a number of their squad will tour Australia for the first time. Mahmood, Panesar and Anderson are all relative new comers, but have potential and might be worth a gamble to overshadow the experienced bowlers in Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff. Anderson and Mahmood both at 11.00 to take the most wickets for England could be well worth a small investment. There are a few question marks over the English batting line-up but I'm sticking with Andrew Strauss to be the leading scorer. He's a good, tough competitor and around the $4.00 mark he'll give you a good sight.

[Beejayville]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07

Harmison in doubt: Fletcher

England fast bowler Steve Harmison remains in doubt for the first Ashes Test in Brisbane after suffering a recurrence of a side strain, according to coach Duncan Fletcher. Harmison withdrew from England's final warm-up tour match against South Australia after waking up sore on the morning of the match, and was replaced by Sajid Mahmood. Fletcher said the injury was similar to the left side strain that forced Harmison out of England's one-day series against Pakistan earlier this year, and that he is still in doubt for the Ashes opener. "It looks very similar to what he had in the (English) summer - in the back (of the left side)," Fletcher said.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 I thought you Aussies were meant to be ahead of us :unsure . That was news 3 days ago! He fielded today and has been in the nets bowling at full pelt last 2 days. All the talk is he'll be fine for Thursday.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 Time for a few more Ashes series bets. 10pts Lay Australia to win The Ashes 1.21 Betfair England won The Ashes last year quite a fair bit more comfortably than the scoreline suggested and I've seen nothing since last summer to suggest Australia should be such huge favourites for this series. Last summer the Aussie batsmen simply could not cope with Flintoff, they could not cope with Harmison and their bowlers simply could not stop Kevin Pietersen. England have stuttered a little in test matches since that series but that is down to the massive levels of energy put into that series. We looked back to our best in demolishing Pakistan 3-0 in the summer and despite a slow start to the tour things appear to be ticking along nicely for the tourists now. Australia in contrast will for the 1st time have scars about facing these Englishmen due to the beating they took last summer and while they continue to keep chirping all that does is put more pressure on them to win this series, as if there wasn't enough already. Home advantage will definitely help the Aussies but England have a bowling attack like no other in the World. They will keep England competitive and at this price Australia must be layed for the series.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 5pts ew I.Bell Top England Series Bat 9/2 Ladbrokes (1/4 1,2,3) Ian Bell is a very talented batsman, quite possibly England's most talented batsman and after a dodgy Ashes series last summer he bounced back and showed his class in Pakistan. He then followed that up by hitting centuries in 3 sucessive tests. All of those coming when his place was meant to be under threat showing he has the temperament to perform under pressure. He has made a great 132 in the recent warmup match so he's coming into the series in good form. I certainly no see him being out of the top 3 which makes him an ew shot to nothing and there's every chance that batting at 3 he'll top score.

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: The Ashes 2006/07 My Plays for the series: Kevin Pietersen Under 340 runs @ 3.5 Premierbet England to win a test @ 2.06 betfair Number 11 batsmens total runs 0-75 @ 1.83 Premierbet Top Aus Series Batsmen Michael Hussey (Each Way) @ 6.0 expekt 1/4 123 Top Eng Series Batsmen Ian Bell (Each Way) @ 6.0 bet365 1/4 123 Top Eng Series Bowler Jimmy Anderson (Each Way) @ 9.0 betdirect 1/4 123 All of these are just small stakes for my own interest during the series.