Somerset vs AUS

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Somerset

Marcus Trescothick (C)
Nick Compton
Christopher Jones
James Hildreth
Craig Kieswetter
Alexander Barrow (W)
Peter Trego
Craig Meschede
George Dockrell
Jamie Overton
Gemaal Hussain


Australia

Edward Cowan
Shane Watson
Phillip Hughes
Usman Khawaja
Michael Clarke (C)
James Faulkner
Bradley Haddin (W)
Peter Siddle
James Pattinson
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon

Essex 231/9 in reply to England's 413.

Joe Root - 20/2/57/4  

Duty281 wrote:Swann doesn't have a fracture and will return to the field later in the game.

And breatheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

good
even if he didn't England's found a replacement in Root

Swann seems to be alright. As KPF said, he certainly is the single most undisputed difference between the 2 sides.
And Steven Finn took 3 wickets as well, hopefully that'll be enough to prevent any atrocities from the management!!.
And young Joe with 4 wickets.

My only fear regarding the bresnan v finn situation is that the management will overvalue the benefit of bresnan's batting ability. Especially given his ton here.

LivinginItaly wrote:My only fear regarding the bresnan v finn situation is that the management will overvalue the benefit of bresnan's batting ability.  Especially given his ton here.

If England approach their selections with such a mindset, it will be a recipe for disaster.

The Australian coach Darren Lehmann has not only indicated that Chris Rogers will be opening with Shane Watson, but also suggested that he is considering a 5 man bowling attack. If Australia go that route, then James Faulkner is very likely to debut. The tour game will be very important for him, a decent showing with bat and ball should really strengthen his case.

Fahwad Ahmed has been successfully fast tracked through citizenship so he can play for the Aussies.

The Next Shane Warne v78 ready to rip it up.

Gotta say unless Bairstow does something spectacular in the 2nd innings, you would think Compton would start.

Root doing ok opening, but not great as he goes for 26

Watson tears apart Worcs mediocre looking bolwing in a 160 run stand with Rogers.

Must say Aus getting much much more out of their practise and pre-ashes games compared to England's Morale dampening CT final and the moderate Essex game

KP_fan wrote:Watson tears apart Worcs mediocre looking bolwing in a 160 run stand with Rogers.

Must say Aus getting much much more out of their practise and pre-ashes games compared to England's Morale dampening CT final and the moderate Essex game

Really?
Is smashing about what is, basically, little more than club standard bowling, really good preparation for test cricket?

If England's loss in the final was morale dampening what on earth was Australia's spanking in the CT  

Australia looked down and out for the count after they crashed out of the CT and the sacking of the coach and the indiscretion from David Warner. However, Darren Lehmann has been able to change at least some perceptions at least, and the vibes coming out of the Australian camp sound a lot more promising at the moment. Think Lehman has got a few calls right as well, promoting Watson up to open seems to have worked wonders for Watson's confidence, and regardless of his less than average output in the last couple of years, he does remain Australia's 2nd best batsman in the side. And runs under the belt, even if against mediocre bowling, can do a world of good to the players going into a test match, and Watson is more of a confidence player it has to be remembered.
Still England remain the favorites for the series, but I certainly feel Australia will put up a much improved show than what they managed in India, and if England batting doesn't sort itself out very quickly, we could be in for a very tough series.

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

KP_fan wrote:Watson tears apart Worcs mediocre looking bolwing in a 160 run stand with Rogers.

Must say Aus getting much much more out of their practise and pre-ashes games compared to England's Morale dampening CT final and the moderate Essex game

Really?
Is smashing about what is, basically, little more than club standard bowling, really good preparation for test cricket?

you want to believe this is not psoitive preparation...OK
basically one can only play to the difficulty level of opposition thrown in frotn of him

Olly wrote:If England's loss in the final was morale dampening what on earth was Australia's spanking in the CT  

they hit rock bottom...blamed it all on coach...fired the coach.....got a new coach.....and psychologically are making a fresh start with no baggage.

what did Eng do to dump the baggage......on the contrary the clever ones in the Aussie media and helped by England's own media have pinned chokers tag on Cook's team  

msp83 wrote:Australia looked down and out for the count after they crashed out of the CT and the sacking of the coach and the indiscretion from David Warner. However, Darren Lehmann has been able to change at least some perceptions at least, and the vibes coming out of the Australian camp sound a lot more promising at the moment. Think Lehman has got a few calls right as well, promoting Watson up to open seems to have worked wonders for Watson's confidence, and regardless of his less than average output in the last couple of years, he does remain Australia's 2nd best batsman in the side. And runs under the belt, even if against mediocre bowling, can do a world of good to the players going into a test match, and Watson is more of a confidence player it has to be remembered.
Still England remain the favorites for the series, but I certainly feel Australia will put up a much improved show than what they managed in India, and if England batting doesn't sort itself out very quickly, we could be in for a very tough series.

you get it right.....as you usually do:thumbsup: 
because you are neitehr panicking nor subconciously tyring to turn a blind eye.......to the ascendancy of Australia...being a neutral fan
Unlike a lot more emotionally attached fans here.....

The ascendancy of Australia? They've scored some runs against Worcs and suddenly they've turned the tide

Olly wrote:The ascendancy of Australia? They've scored some runs against Worcs and suddenly they've turned the tide

I won't describe Australia's preformances in fancy terms, but they certainly look better. Australia may have scored all the runs against a less than impressive bowling unit, but we have to remember none of England's top order batters were able to put up a similar show against an average county bowling unit in their practice game, and they have had a collapse or 2 against New Zealand in the recent series as well. The likes of Ian Bell has had an inconsistent last 2 years, the opening and the number 6 positions do remain a matter of concern. England have to really stay focused and play their A game consistently to avoid surprises, and a realistic approach rather than overconfidence could be a start.

KP_fan wrote:

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

KP_fan wrote:Watson tears apart Worcs mediocre looking bolwing in a 160 run stand with Rogers.

Must say Aus getting much much more out of their practise and pre-ashes games compared to England's Morale dampening CT final and the moderate Essex game

Really?
Is smashing about what is, basically, little more than club standard bowling, really good preparation for test cricket?

you want to believe this is not psoitive preparation...OK
basically one can only play to the difficulty level of opposition thrown in frotn of him

Don't see Australia's preparation as being any more positive than England's, no. Don't think these warm-up games prove much either way, to be honest.

Trott looks in great touch

msp83 wrote: but we have to remember none of England's top order batters were able to put up a similar show against an average county bowling unit in their practice game, .

181-1 in the second innings against them at the mo.

KP_fan wrote:
you get it right.....as you usually do:thumbsup: 
because you are neitehr panicking nor subconciously tyring to turn a blind eye.......to the ascendancy of Australia...being a neutral fanUnlike a lot more emotionally attached fans here.....

Except you're not neutral are you - you constantly snipe at pretty much everything England do. Bizarre and tiresome behaviour given you are a "KP Fan"

Ed Cowan enhances his chances of being picked for the First Test by running out Michael Clarke  

Oh Clarke is back then. Massive for the Aussies and possibly a man who will make the difference in the Ashes.

England 3 down now after retirements.

Rain again ruining the cricket. Jonny Bairstow would really love to have runs under his belt, but the stupid rain has other ideas. Compton has a chance against the Australians tomorrow.

VTR wrote:

KP_fan wrote:
you get it right.....as you usually do 
because you are neitehr panicking nor subconciously tyring to turn a blind eye.......to the ascendancy of Australia...being a neutral fanUnlike a lot more emotionally attached fans here.....

Except you're not neutral are you - you constantly snipe at pretty much everything England do. Bizarre and tiresome behaviour given you are a "KP Fan"

I criticize India also amply and whole heartedly.
Being a fan doesn't  mean you go blind to the folies of your side or any others that you follow...unless off-course you are called "Duty281"

Was at the Worcs game today. Firstly, Club Standard bowling is a little harsh, it was pretty much our first choice attack apart from Charlie Morris playing instead of Richardson.

Watson looked very good, albeit Compton dropped a tough chance when he was on about 40. Rogers seemed to be struggling for timing, though that might just have been in comparison to the way Watson was batting.

Cowan got a decent score but he did get tied down for a little while by our "club bowlers" and he didn't look particularly brilliant imo, especially early on. Clarke certainly looked in imperious form once he got going, though he too was tied down for a little while by Morris, nearly caught at 2nd slip but after that looked really good.

You seen much of Joe Leach Mat? Or any ideas how he's thought of by the clubs hierachy?

Mat wrote:Was at the Worcs game today. Firstly, Club Standard bowling is a little harsh, it was pretty much our first choice attack apart from Charlie Morris playing instead of Richardson.

Watson looked very good, albeit Compton dropped a tough chance when he was on about 40. Rogers seemed to be struggling for timing, though that might just have been in comparison to the way Watson was batting.

Cowan got a decent score but he did get tied down for a little while by our "club bowlers" and he didn't look particularly brilliant imo, especially early on. Clarke certainly looked in imperious form once he got going, though he too was tied down for a little while by Morris, nearly caught at 2nd slip but after that looked really good.

Exactly. Club bowlers

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mat wrote:Was at the Worcs game today. Firstly, Club Standard bowling is a little harsh, it was pretty much our first choice attack apart from Charlie Morris playing instead of Richardson.

Watson looked very good, albeit Compton dropped a tough chance when he was on about 40. Rogers seemed to be struggling for timing, though that might just have been in comparison to the way Watson was batting.

Cowan got a decent score but he did get tied down for a little while by our "club bowlers" and he didn't look particularly brilliant imo, especially early on. Clarke certainly looked in imperious form once he got going, though he too was tied down for a little while by Morris, nearly caught at 2nd slip but after that looked really good.

Exactly. Club bowlers

It is Worcs. after all Fists.
What else should we expect

Graham Onions just reminding everryone, especially Finn and Bresnan, that he can still bowl pretty well too. Very doubtful he'll be considered for the first Test, but good to know he is in a bit of form.

JDizzle wrote:Graham Onions just reminding everryone, especially Finn and Bresnan, that he can still bowl pretty well too. Very doubtful he'll be considered for the first Test, but good to know he is in a bit of form.

Certainly a good man to have 'on the bench', as it were.
Him, Tremlett and Rankin as back ups to the main 4 seamers, is pretty good bench strength.

Good variety in the back up too. Onions more the kiss the deck and skid on bowler who would probably replace Jimmy if, God forbid, anything happened to him and then you have have the Rankin's and Tremlett's of the world who are more like for like with Finn/Broad.

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

Fists of Fury wrote:

Mat wrote:Was at the Worcs game today. Firstly, Club Standard bowling is a little harsh, it was pretty much our first choice attack apart from Charlie Morris playing instead of Richardson.

Watson looked very good, albeit Compton dropped a tough chance when he was on about 40. Rogers seemed to be struggling for timing, though that might just have been in comparison to the way Watson was batting.

Cowan got a decent score but he did get tied down for a little while by our "club bowlers" and he didn't look particularly brilliant imo, especially early on. Clarke certainly looked in imperious form once he got going, though he too was tied down for a little while by Morris, nearly caught at 2nd slip but after that looked really good.

Exactly. Club bowlers

It is Worcs. after all Fists.
What else should we expect

They were still good enough to beat the Bears this season, so what that makes your batting I don't know

Regarding Joe Leach, he seems quite highly rated. Doesn't play a lot of the One Day or T20 stuff, but has the happy knack of coming into the attack and taking a couple of wickets in first class games. Not got many runs as of yet batting in the lower middle order, but can't have it all.

Compton gone for 79.

England bowled out Essex pretty well this evening.

Compton has made a bit of a case for himself here.

With Root hardly starring in the openers role against Essex , and Bairstow not getting a serious score in either innings , might te selectors reconsider ?

As I said, a hundred would have made it really very difficult for the selectors to ignore Compton, considering neither Root nor Bairstow producing anything substantive. But Compton couldn't quite go on to that 3 figure score and as such it is pretty much 50-50 in my view as far as his chance goes.

I really don't get it with Bairstow. Not comfortable with him at 6 at all. Would rather Taylor in at 6 or Compton in to open and Root to 6.

Compton himself doesn't reckon that he's in with a chance despite scoring runs after he was asked to go back and do exactly that after the New Zealand test series.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013/content/current/story/647437.html

I do agree its harsh, and if we were due to play SL or the like this summer I imagine he'd still be opening.

But the selectors have shown they're willing to roll the dice a bit more when it comes to Ashes series. Still, get his head down, few failures from Root, series in the balance and he'll get his chance.

Not sure about that , GSC.

The way he has been dropped suggests to me they have decided that , while adequate as an opener , he isn't seen as being good enough to help take the team forward , and therefore they are better off moving Root up to his position sooner rather than later and working on settling a number six for the future. In which case I imagine Compton would have been discarded with even less concern for a less "important" series...

Of course if Root doesn't succeed at the top of the order , the choice may come back to bite them...so the fact that they have gone this way indicates they have rather made up their minds. It will be hard to return to Compton in the short term - injuries apart - I would think.

The England coach hinted that he's happy to see Compton scoring some runs. However at the same time he did mentioned that Compton is an opener by trade, and that means that he won't be first in line if Bairstow doesn't get going in the series. I think the likes of Ravi Bopara or for that matter James Taylor might be a head of Compton in the pecking order in case of an opening in the middle order rather than them moving Root down the order and bringing Compton back in at the top or playing him in the middle order. As of now, it seems Compton's only chance is in an injury to any of the top 3 batters.

msp83 wrote:The England coach hinted that he's happy to see Compton scoring some runs. However at the same time he did mentioned that Compton is an opener by trade, and that means that he won't be first in line if Bairstow doesn't get going in the series. I think the likes of Ravi Bopara or for that matter James Taylor might be a head of Compton in the pecking order in case of an opening in the middle order rather than them moving Root down the order and bringing Compton back in at the top or playing him in the middle order. As of now, it seems Compton's only chance is in an injury to any of the top 3 batters.

you are right in reading the mind of english selectors......though it would be doubly negative for them:

the might have shaky starts
and lose the assured middle order runs coming from Root

just before T1....one team is on ascendancy and the other might lose 20% of it's potential because of flawed selections.

Good to hear about Leach Mat. He's a good cricketer and he deserves his chance and I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting some runs soon, good operator. And Worcs do love a dibbly dobbly all rounder.  

Sounds like KP_fan is putting his money on Australia  

Can't deny there isrisk involved in making changes to the team at this point , considering Root has been doing so well in the middle order. But there was risk involved in 2005 too , when England chose to pension off the reliable Thorpe and include Pietersen and Bell in their lineup...that one worked quite well.
No guarantees , and I am sure Flower and co will be kicked to death on here if it all goes pear shaped ; but whatever happens you can't accuse the selectors of taking the easy road...we will see over the next few weeks.

JDizzle wrote:Good to hear about Leach Mat. He's a good cricketer and he deserves his chance and I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting some runs soon, good operator. And Worcs do love a dibbly dobbly all rounder.  

It's our speciality!

I'm not really sure how people make the Aussies favs for the Ashes honestly.

We have the better batting line up.
We have the better bowling line up.
Our fielding is usually quality.

Olly wrote:I'm not really sure how people make the Aussies favs for the Ashes honestly.

We have the better batting line up.
We have the better bowling line up.
Our fielding is usually quality.

Pietersen, Cook, Trott and Prior, v Clarke certainly means England have the better batting lineup comparatively. Anderson, Broad, Finn and Swann v Pattinson, Siddle, Starc, Lyon, Faulkner and Watson. Anderson and Swann are unrivaled in terms of skill and experience. But both Finn and Pattinson are extremely talented young fast bowlers who could be match winners on their day. Broad and Starc also have their inconsistencies as well as quality performances, though Broad's greater experience has to be a favorable factor. But with Watson and Faulkner for backup, Australia are better served there. So eventually England are ahead, but not by all that much.
Now the interesting bit is that England's batting hasn't been as consistent as they were say 2 years ago. Besides, they are trying a new opening combination, and the number 6 position remains a concern. So pitted against a quality bowling unit, I don't think England can always expect a smooth riding. In such a backdrop, going in with Root at 6 would have meant that they had one less problem to resolve in their batting lineup. I just hope Steven Finn doesn't become a casualty of all these experiments in the batting lineup. If they play Bresnan ahead of Finn for the additional batting that the former brings in, I would be extremely annoyed. And young Jonny Bairstow has to really prove himself here. If he doesn't get going in the series, leaving Compton out, and ignoring his runs after he was asked to go away and score might come back to haunt Flower and the England management.