Who will be Australia's Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin in these Ashes?

Credit where credit due, Don. More than happy to acknowledge a good performance, but these stats don't need to be found. They are there for all to see. You obviously just can't understand them. Voges, for example, had a good first class career and eventually made the test side, coinciding with the richest form of his life, averaging 61.87 from 20 tests. That's an exceptional average and well done Adam. If only he had been dropped before the Sri Lankan tour. He would have averaged 95. It does need to be noted that he played 5 of his 20 tests against a hapless West Indies side and his test record is inflated accordingly. However, you can only play the opposition of the time. Still, nobody with even half a cricket brain thinks Voges is the second best test batsmen of all time. Is that point of view negative. Seems more realist than pessimist. I doubt we will ever view through the same eyes as I don't see 36 runs as a score to get all excited about. I want players to deserve their test selection through consistent first class performances. You don't. Two good shield seasons. One to announce their arrival and the 2nd to back up their success now that opposition have studied their strengths and weaknesses. Then, we can be hopeful of some success at test level for we have actually set the player up for success, not failure. I doubt there is any state player averaging under 40 at domestic level, who truly believe they belong in a test side as a specialist batsman. They know its not good enough. Whoever is wearing the baggy green, I hope find success and I wish them all the best, even Matt Wade. Do I believe all of them have done enough to be in the side. Not a chance. Did Renshaw deserve to be in the test side, having played so little first class cricket and with an average of just over 41? Others probably had stronger claims at the time of his debut. He has had some success but will be under pressure this Ashes series to keep his spot. If that's negative. I can live with it.

pick marcus stoinis in no 6,fr wk cameron bancroft/alex carry, number three position fr kurtis patterson,problem solved

The problem with glass half empty people is that even when the boys step up and star, you'll be looking for the only sub-par performance you can find and go digging for a stat to support it. Why? So you can feel sad? It's really weird why people do that.

Actually, M Hussey's FC stats are better than his test stats. Still, that does mean he doesn't align with your theory. Gilchrist is certainly an exception but a test career of less than 1500 runs hardly puts Voges in a place to be a fair measure, when he played tests for 18 months on the flattest pitches ever seen in Australian test history. Chris Rogers perhaps? Nope. Damien Martyn? Nope. Darren Lehmann? Nope. Hayden? Nope. Langer? Nope.Even Steve Waugh had a slightly better FC than test average, despite playing more of his FC cricket in his early all-rounder days. Keep dreaming about our batting riches, Don.

That's 2 cricketers. Many more go the other way. Hussey, Voges, Gilchrist...

Your use of of speculative conditional sentences adds little to the conversation. You don't really know how well they would perform, do you Nostradamus? On another note, its good to see Bancroft get a start. Fingers crossed he rediscovers some form and makes a big score.

He did score 29 runs at 14.50 in that test, as well as taking five catches. What more does he have to do to win "Man of the Series"?

Please explain where our very strong batting stocks are. I agree with your comments about Peter Nevill, but can't reconcile your interpretation of our batting without further details. Our batting is fragile when the ball seams around, regardless of whether looking at young batsmen with promise or senior players with experience. First class averages are poor across the board, with very few players averaging 45+, despite having less lively pitches for much of the past few shield seasons. Crash Craddock's comments that "We don't have 6 test quality batsmen in Australia", seems closer to the truth. Many of the batsmen spoken about as possible test players, simply don't have consistent performances on the board to warrant selection. This is why Hilton Cartwright's selection should be a no-brainer. He is one a the very few that deserves to be picked, not on potential or promise but on the weight of first class runs. This doesn't assure test success but it makes more sense than picking a guy averaging 35 for his state and hoping he gets lucky. Mark Waugh averaged 57 in FC (test figures excluded) for a 41 test average and Phil Hughes almost 51in FC for a 32 test average. These two careers show how much tougher test cricket can be. It amazes me that reality seems completely forgotten and we expect test success from players no better than mediocre at state level.

Depends on the wickets really. If we get the roads that have been on offer the last couple of years then it will be tough for any bowlers to dominate. If we get some wickets with pace and bounce I can see Starc and cummins ending the series with pretty good figures. With the bat I'm backing handscombe to have a good series.

Thought I'd get a bite. Not 'easily' at all. If any of Behrendorff, NCN or Mackin got a game, they would perform just as well.

Come on Don, I value your posts mate but at times your Western Australian bias borders on rediculous. Those 3 are easily our best three bowlers.

While he may not be Haddin, I think Nevill has what it takes to at least stop the rot. He did it twice in the lead up to being dropped and showed straight after that he has what it takes to make big scores if he has someone to bat with. The innings with Smith is one I keep thinking of before the rest fell around him with him left 60* if I remember correctly.

I agree Burgy but in this case, Wade isn’t even close to being a decent keeper. I think Nevill certainly is that, at least “decent”.

Hopefully Nobody. I really hope it won't be a 2-man job Ashes cos that means everyone else failed. Especially Haddin. He came out and saved Australia so many times. I just hope we don't need saving.

We have Hazlewood. Every bit as good as Harris' 2 good seasons and soooo much better than Siddle. You might find Simon Mackin does it even better than Hazlewood.

Starc is not our best bowler. He just bowls lots of potent balls. Cummins and Hazlewood are better (and they are not even the best quicks in the country!) The sun is still shining in the West when all the rest of the country is in darkness.

Cartwright's my call to provide some steel from #6 if he gets the gig. Cummins will out-Johnson Johnson. If Cartwright misses the first test, he'll miss the rest because this will be a series so dominated by the Aussies that the team for the first test is unlikely to change for the series.

I agree, but the bowling team as a whole may work well. Hazelwood is capable of being a work horse and better than that. Lyon bowled beautifully at times in tandem with Johnson in that series, so he could do that again with one of the seamers. He uses the bounce well in Aus. Starc is very inconsistent, I still can't see a stock ball that works with him, but he might come up ok with other accurate bowlers around him. At least in the day night test, he'll rip through them.

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