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Predicting the 2015 Ashes sides

James Faulkner has seriously slipped in his ODI form. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Expert
20th December, 2013
109
3481 Reads

No Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Ryan Harris, Chris Rogers, Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior or James Anderson.

Australia and England could both field very different line-ups for the 2015 Ashes, with a host of veterans likely to retire.

Those Aussie big names may well be absent, replaced by the likes of Jordan Silk, Chris Lynn, Joe Burns, Nic Maddinson, Pat Cummins, Alister McDermott or Sam Whiteman.

The similarly well-known English players listed above could also be gone and in their place greenhorns like James Taylor, Moeen Ali, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan or Simon Kerrigan.

England’s third successive capitulation at the WACA this week has triggered an avalanche of media speculation about the futures of their elder statesmen.

Losing the Ashes in straight sets tends to have such an effect.

The potential departures of Swann, Pietersen, Trott, Prior or Anderson would truly represent a changing of the guard for England, with that group all having competed in the last four Ashes series.

Swann turns 36 in the year of the next Ashes, while Pietersen turns 35, Trott 34 and Prior and Anderson 33.

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Members of the British press have suggested several of that group could well play no part in the 2015 series.

There does, however, remain a very slim chance that all of them will still be around to try to regain the Ashes.

Despite the doom and gloom in the English media, Prior and Anderson, in particular, are durable athletes whose significant talent should allow them to rebound from their abysmal returns in the current Ashes.

Pietersen’s hunger may well be tested though.

At times this series the bombastic strokemaker has looked disinterested.

As one of the most sought-after T20 players in the world, it will be interesting to see how long he continues to front up for Test cricket.

He is well aware he can earn just as much money while expending a fraction of the energy as a T20 mercenary, travelling the globe playing in national leagues.

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Swann has had ongoing problems with his elbow and he too may not last another 18 months in Test cricket.

Trott, meanwhile, faces an arduous journey back to international competition after leaving this current tour with a stress-related illness.

As far as the Aussies are concerned, Haddin and Rogers will very likely have retired by the next Ashes considering they both turn 38 that year.

Harris, too, will probably have succumbed to the passage of time given his fragile body.

Shane Watson has a similarly troublesome chassis and there are no guarantees he will still be playing Test cricket at age 34.

There is every chance then that as many as seven or eight well-known Ashes combatants may be missing from the team sheets in 2015.

Granted, it is impossible to accurately predict Test line-ups 18 months in advance.

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But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fascinating exercise.

I’ve had a crack at naming the Ashes teams for 2015. Now name yours Roarers!

Australia:
1. David Warner
2. Jordan Silk
3. Alex Doolan
4. Michael Clarke
5. Steve Smith
6. Chris Lynn
7. Tim Paine
8. James Pattinson
9. Peter Siddle
10. Mitchell Johnson
11. Nathan Lyon
12. James Faulkner

England:
1. Joe Root
2. Alastair Cook
3. James Taylor
4. Ian Bell
5. Gary Ballance
6. Ben Stokes
7. Matt Prior
8. Stuart Broad
9. Tim Bresnan
10. Simon Kerrigan
11. James Anderson
12. Moeen Ali

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