The Winter Cricket Thread 2013/14 - The Ashes Down Under

[Reg Smeeton]

I'm stunned.

Pick Scott Borthwick.

Borthwick, like Rashid has worked last season on becoming a batsman who bowls a bit. 

Kerrigan, if not mentally scarred by The Oval, will be looked at again.  I like Tredders, but he barely got a first class wicket last season.  I've mentioned Rayner before as one maybe maturing.

[TheMajorSTFC]

Complete shock to me, a great bowler for England taking 250+ wickets in 60odd test matches and as Michael Vaughan said, probably the hardest player for England to replace over last 20 years. Batsman/Bowlers come and go, but specialist spinners are hard to find (Look at Aus/Warne when he retired - they're still looking. Lyon isn't a Warne or even a Swann in my opinion, but he's outbowled our spinners this series). Panesar gets the nod from me until the end of the series, see if he takes a few wickets and makes the spinners spot his own. I liked the look of Ollie Rayner last year as well Reg, Kerrigan probably needs a year or 2 before he returns to the test match stage and Borthwick has become a batsman who can bowl (similar to Steve Smith for Aus). No mention of Danny Briggs anywhere online this morning? He could have some potential but if I remember struggled to make the championship side last season? Big decision to be made going forward! I don't think Swann will be the last name to retire/leave during this series.

[Bathtime]

Great player for England of the last few years - however this is not the way to go...goes to show you never know a sportsman`s real personality from the short interviews you see on the TV or in the papers....reckon it is totally selfish and not in the spirit of the team especially in the position they are in....strange how nobody ever retires when leading in the series......what a way to be remembered - best spinner England have had for years - throwing in the towel half way through an overseas tour because we were losing - Cheers Graham 

[Reg Smeeton]

Complete shock to me, a great bowler for England taking 250+ wickets in 60odd test matches and as Michael Vaughan said, probably the hardest player for England to replace over last 20 years. Batsman/Bowlers come and go, but specialist spinners are hard to find (Look at Aus/Warne when he retired - they're still looking. Lyon isn't a Warne or even a Swann in my opinion, but he's outbowled our spinners this series). Panesar gets the nod from me until the end of the series, see if he takes a few wickets and makes the spinners spot his own. I liked the look of Ollie Rayner last year as well Reg, Kerrigan probably needs a year or 2 before he returns to the test match stage and Borthwick has become a batsman who can bowl (similar to Steve Smith for Aus). No mention of Danny Briggs anywhere online this morning? He could have some potential but if I remember struggled to make the championship side last season? Big decision to be made going forward! I don't think Swann will be the last name to retire/leave during this series.

More or less pre Swann, we had the King of Spain, who was a steady bowler, but it worked as Flintoff allowed it to be 4 quicks. Giles could keep it tight and get a few wickets....Stokes just might enable a return to that strategy, with Monty in place. The old Wheelie Bin could bat a bit though which is a help in your spinner....

[sonicyouth]

Swann had a chronic elbow injury that required surgery earlier in the year and required constant management. I don't think he felt he was as effective as he could have been.

Timing will always raise questions but I feel that he owes us very little really.

I have a feeling he won't be the last England player to retire in the next few weeks.

[Nomoreheroes]

Swann had a chronic elbow injury that required surgery earlier in the year and required constant management. I don't think he felt he was as effective as he could have been.

Timing will always raise questions but I feel that he owes us very little really.

I have a feeling he won't be the last England player to retire in the next few weeks.

I think that this is probably right. Bowing out with 2 games to go sounds more selfless than selfish to me.

As for who will be his successor: I think that it has been touched upon earlier, but the King of Spain was a defensive bowler and someone to bring on to dry up runs and rattle through a few overs. Swann was used as an attacking wicket taker.

I think you modify your strategy to suit your available options. If its not a big turner, I wouldn't be surprised to see England bolster the batting with Ballance instead of playing Swann in the next test. Then they can rely on Root and Pietersen for a spin option. Maybe Prior will then make way for Bairstow, but I doubt it.

[red sheldon]

I think that battling to get your team back to respectability is incredibly selfless, it's like all those players who turn out in a team of eight so that they don't let their mates down, sometimes you just have to do what you can.  If they can get a couple of draws it won't be disastrous, as tours go, if we lose 5 - 0 with Trott going, Swann retiring it turns into one of the worst for a long time, it looks like a shambles.

[TheMajorSTFC]

Just met up with a couple of mates who got back from Aus on Thursday (they watched the first 3 tests - said there was no coverage over there until the Aussies went 1-0 up, then it went a bit mental!) and said they'd heard Boyd Rankin will be given a chance before the series is out. Finn must really be out of confidence!

[Summerof69]

Finn must really be out of confidence!

Finny's not been the same bowler since they bought in 'the Finn' rule, and he's changed his run-up to try and stop hitting the stumps.

[fittons_coaching_badge]

Borthwick and Tredwell added to ashes squad for last 2 tests.

England need to get another 2 years out of Panesar because that spin cupboard really does look frighteningly bare.

[Paolo69]

Borthwick and Tredwell added to ashes squad for last 2 tests.

England need to get another 2 years out of Panesar because that spin cupboard really does look frighteningly bare.

Agree about Monty but he's as close as any team is going to get to a decent replacement for a player who not that long ago was the best spinner in the world. No team is going to be able to replace that overnight. To say the spin cupboard is bare is a bit mental as there seems to be quite a few coming through from what I can gather. Yes none of them are anywhere near the finished article but who is without playing a test?!

[Bewster]

What are the chance of Swann appearing in the IPL anytime soon ?? 

[RedRag]

He'd have a ready answer, I'm sure

Who can forget that it was Swanny who when charged with drink driving (begore getting off) came up with the excuse that he had been on a mercy dash to buy a screwdriver to loosen a floorboard fixing to free his cat who had become trapped beneath the floor?

A short-ish test career and he has surpassed all England's spinners bar Derek Underwood in terms of test wickets taken, so too damned right, he WILL be difficult to replace but there are a number of interesting possibilities.

[RedRag]

On a separate note, I think England has shown itself a little weak mentally and have indeed been to ready to see themselves as world beaters for winning the Ashes against an Australian team in transition. 

A dedicated team would not see winning the Ashes as bigger than India or South Africa (regardless of the special Ashes atmosphere) and for me the Nasser Hussain legacy and some talented individuals have contributed more to England's success than the likes of Strauss or Cook or even Vaughan as captains.

If anyone has dipped into South Africa against India they will have seen a fantastic test match with South Africa just 8 runs short of a record winning total in a second innings

[DMR]

You'd have seen the Saffas need 16 off 13 balls at one stage, for a world record, and then shut up shop with 3 wickets in hand. That's more of an embarrassment than any of the tripe England have produced this winter.

Standard SA bottle.