Why this could be the closest Ashes series in more than a decade

Frank D, there is a lot one could discuss in your posts (by which i mean dispute) but just to take one statement - "superior pommy bowling (Broad and Anderson marginally pip Hazelwood and Cummins)". I think you might have got to the Gabba bar about a month too early. based on what? have a look at the track records of both broad and anderson in Australia. really, really ordinary. and we can then add another four years on to that and expect them to front up in a long series in a stinking hot Aussie summer? give me a break. meanwhile, Halzlewood and Cummins. take a look at their records. a bit of loyalty to your team is nice but a touch of reality never hurts either.

cheap wickets presumably mean that the batsman has simply thrown his wicket away (or do we have different definitions). you honestly believe, in saying that "England don’t need to take twenty wickets three times, there is a very good chance they will handed 18-19 cheap wickets at least twice", that the Australians, in an Ashes series, will be so irresponsible, so cavalier, that all of the team (bar one or two batsmen at most) will throw away their wickets? not just once but twice? we are living on different planets. england are going to have to work for the wickets. your scenario has both smith and labaschange throwing away their wickets not once but twice (most likely) and then doing it a second time? when was the last time you saw either player throw his wicket away, let alone in an Ashes test? why would they start now? they may not succeed every innings but that will be because an england bowler got the better of them, not because they threw their wicket away. i find the suggestion extraordinary.

There are lads in the mix that deserve a crack at the XI but sadly the selectors dont have enough hair on their peaches to make a change from the tired old XI that was trundled out in each test in the disasterous series last season. The bowler boys who deserve a go are: Neser Steketee Do not include Boland (kevin bacon lookalike) Starc, Hoff and Cummins will play each test and AUS will pay the price of a series loss. ENG will smartly rotate their bowlers and reap the benefits! Move on from the so-called "Big 3" bowlers Aussie selectors. Starc is cooked and cannot play every test.

This will be "close" but ENG will take the goodie bag home: * wafer thin Aussie batting (they have picked Harris already after all) * superior pommy bowling (Broad and Anderson marginally pip Hazelwood and Cummins) * better pommy opening pair (hammede/burns vs warner/harris) * the La Nina conditions will suit the poms in all facts * Mitch Marsh to be picked alongside Green due to his T20 heroics,,,,just makes the batting lineup weaker sorrry BIG question is: when exactly does the AUS squad get annouced? Less than a month now and we are floundering in pointless One day domestic games and clown cricket T20 poke n bash? (well done to oz overnight)

The temptation is there to do exactly that, if the pitch is anything like the one used in the recent Shield game. Tough to see a spinner getting much joy out of that wicket, whereas the quicks had a field day.

I remember some years ago, the curators at the SCG played funny buggers with the Bulli soil used on the pitches since the ground hosted it's first cricket game. They said they deposits of that soil were running out and they wanted to find alternatives. The end result was dead ordinary pitches and I'm not sure they've every got it right again. In the modern era, what I don't get is why they don't create test pitches of maybe 3 metres square, using a variety of clays/soils and work on those exactly as they would for a first class game. I'd have thought it would quickly become apparent which combinations worked best in different conditions.

Mmmm… would we go 4 quicks in Brisbane and bowl Marnus and head as the spinner? England might not expect that. And we get cover for Starc Also allows Green to focus on batting in the first game Just a thought…

Yes England need to clone Robinson a couple of times I reckon

You don't need to "take" the wickets that are handed to you. Both sides are more than capable of crumbling without trace without the bowling being deserving of wickets.

That's right, it all comes down to what you make it of and how you make. And then how that reacts to the local environment. From the 60s through the 90s, the WACA was made of clay sourced from the bank of the of the Murray River, with about 75-85% clay intermixed with sand. Then the square was relaid and from 1990 to 2007 but they used a different clay source and reduced the clay content to 55-65%. Both squares seeded with couch grass. Because of the Perth sun and heat, the higher clay content would not only harden more densely, but would also pull apart more, creating those big cracks and plates. The wickets at Perth stadium have gone back to that 60s clay source and similar clay/soil composition. Given the Test is later this year, in mid-January, it will be interesting to see if it's more prone to bounce and cracking due to the longer exposure to the summer heat than the last Test 2 years ago which was in mid December. A lot will come down to the watering in the months leading up for root growth and binding the deck and then in the days before re retained moisture content.

Interestingly Jhye’s only played two FC matches with the pink ball – one Test, one Shield. – But the small sample size has him with good returns: – 3-64 & 1-17 ; 3-26 & 2-19 – 9 wkts @ 14 – And perhaps concerningly for future opponents – and I think I have this correct – all but 5 of those overs were bowled during daylight. So he’s never really been given the opportunity for a long run under the lights.

I reckon if any of the quicks has even a slight niggle, he's got to come in. I reckon he's close to his very best, with bat and ball. Gee he looks good getting through the crease and he's generating plenty of pace with seemingly little effort, which is a sign he's feeling good. If not in Brsbane, he'd be a serious handful under lights in Adelaide.

"Can you imagine a game similar to that at Headingley at the Gabba? A frantic finish, both sides going for the win, everyone racing to a pub to find a screen to watch the game." Sure, the last Test played at the ground.

"Not sure why drop in wickets still get raised as being an issue. When there is a lifeless pitch, it’s the preparation that’s the issue". Exactly. That top 6 inches is the critical part when looking at pitch characteristics. I theory, depending on you build that top 6 inches and prepare it, you could have a Perth type wicket at the SCG or a raging turner at the WACA.

That also assumes we don't have a squad of about 15 guys, which I reckon they'd be smart to pick.

The pitches will be flat and English bowlers are proven canon fodder in those conditions. I can’t see it being close as Australia have a better bowling line up for lifeless roads. You talk horses for courses with the night test, but surely Richardson would be a handful at night? I am tired of Starc getting picked on name, not form.

"England don’t need to take twenty wickets three times, there is a very good chance they will handed 18-19 cheap wickets at least twice". Really? Who is going to do that in two Tests? Specifially, which English bowlers will be the ones to help take 18-19 cheap wickets twice?

Probably better to be coming off clown cricket than no cricket like the England replacements will face

No way can England come close! The pitches will be flat as a pancake, if England persevere with Anderson and Broad expects their retirements to be brought hastily forward!