Ashes 2013/14

[PaulWinch again]

Carberry has earned his chance and he deserves his shot at the first Test, but I wish he'd change his batting helmet.

[tomd2103]

Carberry has earned his chance and he deserves his shot at the first Test, but I wish he'd change his batting helmet.

Agree on both counts!!  Root at six will help him as well.

[Villan For Life]

Carberry has earned his chance and he deserves his shot at the first Test, but I wish he'd change his batting helmet.

Agree on both counts!!  Root at six will help him as well.

Maybe he thinks its aerodynamic shape helps him run faster?

[PaulWinch again]

The weather is pretty much rubber stamping Carberry's place at the moment.

[PaulWinch again]

I see Warne is slating Cook again, we should drop his as Captain apparently. Yes Shane, we'll drop the Captain who has only lost one out of 15 tests.

[Villan For Life]

I see Warne is slating Cook again, we should drop his as Captain apparently. Yes Shane, we'll drop the Captain who has only lost one out of 15 tests.

Warne seems to have taken Glenn McGrath's place as the peddler of pre-series absurd comments.

[Meanwood Villa]

Cook/Flower do err on the side of caution and could be deemed negative, indeed they have been criticised on these pages as such in the past. However this constant criticising and frankly ridiculous comments being spouted by Warne serve only one purpose - to get him in the papers. And it's working, without the need for Liz Hurley as well. Well done Shane.

[paul_e]

I think it's more trying to get Cook to make a mistake and be more aggressive.

I've said before I do believe Flower is coming towards the end of his time, he been an excellent coach but I don't know how much longer will be right for him to continue.  We need someone a little more aggressive involved at some point, Morgan and Broad being the shorter form captains helps though, as they are both far more aggressive and that will have some impact on our approach over time.

[OCD]

I think there are times when Cook lacks creativity and is perhaps overcautious but it's not like there's outstanding rival that jumps off the page at you. And it's not that often those traits even become apparent. I thought they did at Old Trafford in the last Ashes series but you can't really question the end result. He's still young for a captain too so there's time to work on his weak points.

[Villan For Life]

Cook and Strauss before him were both accused of being negative. Conservative tactics inevitably work against average test sides but when you come up against a good side it holds you back. Think South Africa's performance in England in 2012. We looked decidedly average under Strauss's conservative leadership and lost a 3 match series 2-0.

[PaulWinch again]

Ballance's failure will pretty much confirm the batting line up now. Tremlett bowled well in his little spell as well.

[taylorsworkrate]

Ballance's failure will pretty much confirm the batting line up now. Tremlett bowled well in his little spell as well.

What was Tremletts pace like?

From what I saw from the backend of the summer for Surrey, he was only around 80-81 mph. If he's around that pace still he doesn't merit selection

[bilsim]

Ballance's failure will pretty much confirm the batting line up now. Tremlett bowled well in his little spell as well.

What was Tremletts pace like?

From what I saw from the backend of the summer for Surrey, he was only around 80-81 mph. If he's around that pace still he doesn't merit selection

Not so sure I agree. Tremlett's extra height and control on the bouncy Aussie wickets will still be a hanful for their batsmen, even if he has lost a bit of nip.

[Villan For Life]

Prior's injury and KP's knee problem flaring up again are worrying. We can survive without KP, we have before and will again. Prior would be a huge loss.

[PaulWinch again]

KP and Prior being injured is a problem, I'm hoping they recover. Tremlett's pace was down a bit, but he's never been lightening fast.