The International Cricket Thread

[paul_e]

Yep, could see a swap of Carse for Atkinson and with how Pope fell off after the first test of the summer (and his club form since) that he's at least going to have to earn that spot. Bethell coming in for him wouldn't be a huge shock for me, England clearly see him as an important player for the future and he probably deserves something after wasting half the summer carrying drinks even before the 2 top drawer ODI performances.

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

Agree, it's a case of when Bethell replaces Pope, not if. I just think first Test of an Ashes series isn't the time to gamble, it wouldn't be a major shock if Baz & Ben think otherwise.

I'm sure and hope that Atkinson will play a significant role in the series, I think it'll be a 'horse for courses' selection at times, as it absolutely should be. With how weak the Aussie batting line up currently looks it would be great to see Archer and Wood get stuck into them in the first Test, if Archer bowls as he did yesterday he's as good as anyone.

[dcdavecollett]

They've more or less tied themselves into picking Pope and Bashir for the start of the series.

I hope Rehan Ahmed gets a squad place; he's had a good season with bat and ball.

[PaulWinch again]

Pope does generally start very well and tail off - it depends on on acting if/when that tail starts.

[TheTimVilla]

The Lions will also be touring so not too far away if we need matchfit cover

I checked for that but couldn't find anything confirming that they're touring this winter other than 1 warm-up against England.

https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4322011/england-lions-to-tour-australia-during-mens-ashes-202526

I think this is the interesting bit:

The Lions will additionally play two four-day matches against a Cricket Australia XI in Perth and against Australia A in Brisbane at the same time as the first and second Test matches in both cities.

[paul_e]

AHH, that's good then, makes injury cover much simpler.