11 Reasons Why Australia will win the Ashes

[catcozmo]

With me no longer caring about football (geelong such a promising year, such a disgrace at this stage)
i thought i would look foward to the Ashes. and i have come up with 11 reasons as too why i believe the Aussies will regain the Urn.
(in no particular order.)

1. Home Ground- We will play in front of our crowd, and will have far greater knowledge and experiance on our soil. While the Poms will be supported by the Army(geez i love the army, they put our boys to shame when it comes to chants.) we should just have too much advantage with conditions.

2. Not as much reverse - With out conditions and the good old Kookaburra ball, the poms shouldnt be able to reverse swing the ball as much as they did, which caused us soo many problems.

3. Flintoff factor- as good a player as he is, i cannot see him having as great an impact as he did last series. which will really undermine the poms. also he could be blown out by the time it comes around with the workload he is currently undertaking.

4. Hussey - we have Hussey instead of katich,so much more reliable, so much better, massive advantage.

5. Leg Spin- the poms cannot play leg spin, and we have the 2 best in the world, so while i doubt Warne can be as good as he was against the last time, i dont think we will make the mistake of not playing Macgill like we did last time.

6. Gilly - surely he cannot have as poor a series with the bat as he did last time, (also add Hayden to that.)

7. Mcgrath (assuming available because of improvements with his wife, something i think all supporters want and people in general is for her to get better, she seems to be such a fighter and will hopefully overcome this again) he should play all test as close to full fitness as possible, giving us a massive boost.

8. Lee- he is bowling better then he did last time, and will hopefully continue this, will also he aided by havin Glenn there.

9. Tatics - surely Ponting has learned a thing or two since there, as well as selectors and coach, allowing us to have better tatics then we did last time, ie feild placements, team selections. also the batsmen have better ways of playing there bowlers, ie give respect, dont try to hit out.

10. Fear - if we lose, there will be massive consequences, and i dont think anybody will want to be part of a team who lost the ashes at home.

11. England mentally and phsyically - from what i have seen and heard, England has struggled mentally since the win, and may not be up for another huge fight, also they seem to be having injury problems, with SJones, Vaughn and Harmison all not playing currently, also Harimson has problems with been away from home.

there are some reasons why i believe we will regain the ashes. Some of these issues, i would imagine overcoming and been up for it, but still not enough to win.

[F/D]

Two reason why England will win it.

A South African and a Giant.

[Cooldude]

A reason why England won't win it

Injuries

[YOTC]

I can give you the best reason of all

Hussey in
Katich out

[F/D]

Two reasons why Australia wont win it.

Brett Lee and Michael Clarke.

[Browney]

Two reasons why Australia wont win it.

Brett Lee and Michael Clarke.
You can add Gilchrist to that, he will fail again, England are jst to dominant against the left handers, and Gilchrist when you bowl the right balls to him is rubbish.

Hayden will play a lot better this series though.

[Cooldude]

If Michael Clarke starts the first Test of the Ashes then the selectors have lost it

[F/D]

You can add Gilchrist to that, he will fail again, England are jst to dominant against the left handers, and Gilchrist when you bowl the right balls to him is rubbish.

Hayden will play a lot better this series though.
True, Freddy will sort him out around the wicket.

[Browney]

With me no longer caring about football (geelong such a promising year, such a disgrace at this stage)
i thought i would look foward to the Ashes. and i have come up with 11 reasons as too why i believe the Aussies will regain the Urn.
(in no particular order.)

1. Home Ground- We will play in front of our crowd, and will have far greater knowledge and experiance on our soil. While the Poms will be supported by the Army(geez i love the army, they put our boys to shame when it comes to chants.) we should just have too much advantage with conditions.

2. Not as much reverse - With out conditions and the good old Kookaburra ball, the poms shouldnt be able to reverse swing the ball as much as they did, which caused us soo many problems.

3. Flintoff factor- as good a player as he is, i cannot see him having as great an impact as he did last series. which will really undermine the poms. also he could be blown out by the time it comes around with the workload he is currently undertaking.

4. Hussey - we have Hussey instead of katich,so much more reliable, so much better, massive advantage.

5. Leg Spin- the poms cannot play leg spin, and we have the 2 best in the world, so while i doubt Warne can be as good as he was against the last time, i dont think we will make the mistake of not playing Macgill like we did last time.

6. Gilly - surely he cannot have as poor a series with the bat as he did last time, (also add Hayden to that.)

7. Mcgrath (assuming available because of improvements with his wife, something i think all supporters want and people in general is for her to get better, she seems to be such a fighter and will hopefully overcome this again) he should play all test as close to full fitness as possible, giving us a massive boost.

8. Lee- he is bowling better then he did last time, and will hopefully continue this, will also he aided by havin Glenn there.

9. Tatics - surely Ponting has learned a thing or two since there, as well as selectors and coach, allowing us to have better tatics then we did last time, ie feild placements, team selections. also the batsmen have better ways of playing there bowlers, ie give respect, dont try to hit out.

10. Fear - if we lose, there will be massive consequences, and i dont think anybody will want to be part of a team who lost the ashes at home.

11. England mentally and phsyically - from what i have seen and heard, England has struggled mentally since the win, and may not be up for another huge fight, also they seem to be having injury problems, with SJones, Vaughn and Harmison all not playing currently, also Harimson has problems with been away from home.

there are some reasons why i believe we will regain the ashes. Some of these issues, i would imagine overcoming and been up for it, but still not enough to win.


Good post, when i first saw this thread i was expecting a lot worse, but you make some valid points.

Ok, firstly i agree that the home ground advantage will make a huge amount of difference, because the Australian conditions are a lot different to the English conditions, The crowd will not play a part, because the English crowd will be louder than the Australian crowd. But yes defiantely agree with the conditons much more suited to the Aussies, but Hoggard and Jones will still be bending the ball back onto the pads of the lefties no matter what ball is used. Flintoff will still play a vital role, but the thing is flintoff did not carry us through the ashes at all, many were saying a 'one man team' etc, but this was far from the case. Even with Flintoff not firing we still have plenty that can get the job done, but whose to say he wont fire ;)

Agree with Hussey over Katich, but he still has to prove himself against a decent oppostion, the English bowling attack is a little harder than Bangladesh and the Windies attacks (if you can call them that). But Hussey will be a greater threat than Clarke/Katich etc. Leg spin will be a problem for the poms, but Warney took 40 wickets last time and we still won didnt we? Gilly and Lee are not reasons why Australia will win at all, England handled them with ease last time and they will do so again this time. Gilly wont get past 50 this series. Pontings captaincy will be another factor that will play into the Poms hands, he just cant captain simple.

[linger_isgod]

Flintoff didn't carry England - but he pushed them across the line at the important moments.

Fear is not a helpful factor towards winning. Ponting feared being the captain who lost the Ashes last time.

Injuries are to be a big factor and it seems as though all touring sides who come to Aus get them. Maybe the harder grounds and pitches cause a few problems, put extra stress on joints, etc. which cause it.

[catcozmo]

Yes Warne did get 40 wickets, and england still won, but i think this time Macgill will play as well, which will mean he would be more likely to get wickets then our 3rd seamers last time, beacuse we had Warne with 40, Lee with 20, then i doubt anybody else got above 12, If Macgill plays he will get wickets because of Englands lack of ability v spin, thus giving as the edge .

The Gilly thing, while i dont think he will be able to dominate games, i think he will certainly improve from his last series, and will most likely get at least 2 fifties, and maybe a ton.

Flintoff may not have carried england, but he was clearly the difference, and in a series that ended up been so close, if he is not as good then, there will be a massive hole.

KP is certainly a danger for us, and while many of us may think he is a tosser, the truth is he can bat, and he looks like he can handle Pace and spin, we will need to make sure we can nulify him.

The fear factor may not be a big reason, but combined with the fact we will have more respect it certainly should play a part.

[Dipper]

I reckon that you have to make Australia big favourites but I'm telling you don't underestimate the effect of McGrath not being able to get back on the money after such a long break, at his age there's no guarantee he'll be back into the groove.

Remove his potency & there's a real soft underbelly to the Australian fast bowling department.

The England batting isn't great but they can definitely get on top of whoever else is gonna bowl pace.

Of course they'll continue to struggle with Warne, will need a bit of luck in regards to winning key tosses etc, not sure MacGill will terrorise us like he once did.

To me the series will be about how England's batsmen deal with Warne & what the English quicks can do to the Aussie batting.

The lack of reverse swing will be a big factor but we've got big blokes who generate a lot of pace & they should like the extra pace & bounce that they get over there.If Langer plays he'll have his scone rattled on a regular basis.

[Cooldude]

England's chances depends on what the Aus selectors do

If they're stupid enough to pick McGrath and possibly Dizzy together with Lee, and then not pick Macgill. Then England has a huge chance

And also if they're stupid enough to pick either one of Symonds or Clarke

After a long layoff with no cricket and having not solved anything in regards to the team to play the Ashes, the selection come this summer's gonna be most interesting

Selecting Martyn was already a blunder, he's gonna get killed by the England quicks

As I said though, injuries are gonna play a part for England, if they play somewhere near their best bowlers, we'll struggle. We have not advanced much since we lost the Ashes apart from getting Hussey in

[Power21]

Two reasons why Australia wont win it.

Brett Lee and Michael Clarke.

You really have no idea do you.

[usalion]

1. Home Ground-

2. Not as much reverse -

3. Flintoff factor-

4. Hussey -

5. Leg Spin-

6. Gilly -

7. Mcgrath (

8. Lee-

9. Tatics -

10. Fear -

11. England mentally and phsyically -

there are some reasons why i believe we will regain the ashes. Some of these issues, i would imagine overcoming and been up for it, but still not enough to win.

OK- point by point

1. Huge advantage- bigger grounds, we'll get the pitches prepared for our team, and we will have numerical superiority in the crowd- hopefully, we will out shout the BA

2. Let's see how the Poms handle the Kooka ball...

3. Freddie played out of his skin, and he has yet to show that dominance since the Ashes. If he is still captain when the Ashes begin, it could well affect his performance. Who will step up with the bat and ball? Pieterson playing better, but against weak opposition.

4. Hussey- an improvement, obviously, but he will be facing good bowling. Problem is, we have not settled the other two batting spots.

5. Will we play both Warne and Magilla together? At the SCG, sure...but Warne on his own is a dominant figure. Monty seems to be doing some nice things with the ball- could help to balance things out

6.Nope- don't see it- Gilly has seen his best years and the keeping is taking a toll on him. We should have been blooding Haddin to see if he could give extra pop down the order. Gilly will retire from tests after the Ashes, so we need to get a replacement in soon.

7. Big question mark. The guy clearly has the heart, but won't have played competitively for a long patch- are a few Shield games (or even worse, the Mickey Mouse Cup) going to get him back firing- if he even returns? Hope he returns to the form of Lords last year, but that is a huge if.

8. Maybe- Lee will have to give the good line and length, and not bowling bouncers all the time- a couple can be effective. If he averaes around 30 for the series, Australia should win.

9. Punter has shown little that he has learned much on tactics....just hope if he loses his top bat half an hour before the game with a torn hamstring, he doesn't go out and say "We'll have a bat, thanks..."

10.Not a positive characteristic- I think the Aussies will be fired up to get back what is theirs....and they will...

11. This is the key- very difficult to turn on and off the spigot when it comes to top class play. Think England will suffer because of this, and exacerbate things because of the other factors

I'll still say 3-1 to the Aussies- wins at Brisbane and Sydney- third one wither Perth or Adelaide

[catcozmo]

Another quick point.
How many poms played well belowed par the series?
for the Aussies Hayden, Clarke, Marytn, Gilchrist Gillespie/Kaspa, and even Mcgrath had no where near the effect they would normally have, but this was mostly to the fact that England would let them, i.e had the tatics for Gilly and Haydos.
Where as for england i think they all played either above there best, or had an average-good series for their standards.
So will england be able to replicate this feat? and will the Aussies be that bad?
And even if Flintoff is not as good as he was, he still is a frieghting bowler to be facing up to, and makes me uneasy when he has the pill.

[linda]

Usalion has been through each point and answered them pretty well .If I could do the same with a possible bit of English blue sky thinking .

Home ground
I realise that your players are more aware of the conditions but I keep hearing that your pitches are changing .Also the majority of our top 11 have played there before .Im sure you will only have to watch the World cup in the next few weeks to see how English fans always seem to get hold of tickets .I dont know how its done our fans will be there in their thousands .

Revese

I may be wrong but Flintoff managed to get the ball going in those charity matches for the ROW .Also him and Harmison were able to knock over your batters

Flintoff .

At the moment he is bowling well within himself but batting in a more responsible way .Whether he can bowl as well again is possibly in doubt I refer to the above but there is no doubt he can do more this time with the bat .

Hussey

Has he played to many top draw bowlers and perhaps he like Strauss who couldnt fail will have a dip in form .I do rate him by the way

Leg spin

Without doubt Warne will be a massive factor but he is another year older and the tests are very close toghether how many tests can he go bowling 35 overs a day.MacGill is well known to the English due to his county cricket .Being a Notts fan I used to watch him often at first he was lethal but slowly he become more and more ineffective when the batters became aware of his tricks

Gilchrist

I may be wrong but surely he only has the occasional monster innings in him and he also is another year older

McGrath

I have said this before I hope he plays because that will mean his wife is doing well .On the cricketing front he has is aura but will he still be able to do it also another year older

Lee

I dont think Lee holds any terrors for England apart from the occasional spell of ferocity .Your pitches have slowed down supposedly so our batsmen will be thinking same again 4 an over thanks .Im pretty sure he is due an injury as well although I dont wish that on anyone (well perhaps a couple of little ones for Warne

Tactics
Usalion answered that and I simply dont think he is a good captain leads by example not tactics

Fear

The fear is all Australias the expectation is all with Aus and perhaps they will be over psyched .You watch the way they Harangue the umps

England Mentally and Physically

Physically all has gone at once but the signs are that things are slowly dropping into place .Vaughan has played today Harmison is rested and ready to go not quite test match fit though .Giles is not far away .Anderson will be ready come the winter .My worry is Jones I have a nagging feeling he wont play again ,Hope Im wrong .
Mentally I have banged on about this endlessly at the moment they are not at the races yet they still got a draw in iNDIA and dominated SL so far .Yet they threw away the series in Pakistan through sheer carelessness if they had won the first test the Paks fragility would have probably exploded .You also have to remebmer how much mental strength it took to beat Aus last time they have it in abundance

In a later point it was said that England won because all their players were on top form and Aus players underperformed .For England Bell Vaughan GJones Harmison were all poor .Also maybe the reason the Aus players were poor was that England made them play poor

I said at the start I had an English slant and whilever Warne is in your team you have to be considered favourites

[Benno From Berwick]

[QUOTE=F/D]True, Freddy will sort him out around the wicket.[/QUOTE

Not on our wickets!

[John Gent]

Giles is not far away .Anderson will be ready come the winter .

What a frightening prospect.

[Star]

6. Gilly - surely he cannot have as poor a series with the bat as he did last time, (also add Hayden to that.)Amen

[eddiesmith]

Why cant Gilly have another poor series? he hasnt done much since the Ashes to show it was a one off

As for Hayden, it wasnt a case of a poor series, he wass simply not good enough

[davey_magik]

I actually did a comparison between players with a mate today and it was 5 each with a draw.

Some things in Englands favour
- Far, far better pace attack. If they all get on the park it will be very hard to make a very good score.
- Brett Lee is not that good a bowler. He has never really fired against a good batting lineup. If he did go well in the Ashes this year I would see him as one of the best in the world, but he gets spanked too much by good batsmen for me.
- A young side who will have improved with experience. I'm not sure if they have multiple players who are over 30. Players like Harmison, S Jones and Panesar will have improved massively by November.
- Although Australia were certainly down in the Ashes, excluding Hussey and Ponting they haven't really improved that much. They have played WI and RSA, two average Test sides and don't play a Test against a good side until the Ashes.
- Australia's lack of fast bowling depth. Gillespie is still a good bowler, but if one of McGrath or Lee go down Aussies are in a lot of trouble.

But it could go either way and will be an awesome series.

[pluga_4]

one got one real reason.

aussies haven't been beat in their last 24 home series.

only three drawn series in this time and possibly englands best chance is a drawn series to retain them. england will NEED to win at least 2 tests.

australia's home record since 93/94.....
played 77
won 55
lost 8
drawn 14

[usalion]

I actually did a comparison between players with a mate today and it was 5 each with a draw.

Some things in Englands favour
- Far, far better pace attack. If they all get on the park it will be very hard to make a very good score.
- Brett Lee is not that good a bowler. He has never really fired against a good batting lineup. If he did go well in the Ashes this year I would see him as one of the best in the world, but he gets spanked too much by good batsmen for me.
- A young side who will have improved with experience. I'm not sure if they have multiple players who are over 30. Players like Harmison, S Jones and Panesar will have improved massively by November.
- Although Australia were certainly down in the Ashes, excluding Hussey and Ponting they haven't really improved that much. They have played WI and RSA, two average Test sides and don't play a Test against a good side until the Ashes.
- Australia's lack of fast bowling depth. Gillespie is still a good bowler, but if one of McGrath or Lee go down Aussies are in a lot of trouble.

But it could go either way and will be an awesome series.


England's quicks- key word is "if". Will they have the right combination? Hoggard a definite, Freddie (a bit diminished, it seems) the allrounder- who are the other two. Simon Jones would be the one I would fear, but his return has to be in doubt...Harmisson? Not that dangerous....Plunkett or Mahmood- still raw....could wilt like Bell in the Ashes spotlight. Anderson? Get real....

Lee- IF he bowls the line and length he bowled last summer, he'll be fine

Youth- yup, on england's side- Tresco, Vaughan, obe and Collingdud are the only ones in the 30 age bracket, I think.

um, Hussey didn't play in the Ashes last year- if he had, there might have been a different result (Ashes still in aussie hands)

Aussie fast bowling- well, we shall see....

[eddiesmith]

England's quicks- key word is "if". Will they have the right combination? Hoggard a definite, Freddie (a bit diminished, it seems) the allrounder- who are the other two. Simon Jones would be the one I would fear, but his return has to be in doubt...Harmisson? Not that dangerous....Plunkett or Mahmood- still raw....could wilt like Bell in the Ashes spotlight. Anderson? Get real....

Lee- IF he bowls the line and length he bowled last summer, he'll be fine

Youth- yup, on england's side- Tresco, Vaughan, obe and Collingdud are the only ones in the 30 age bracket, I think.

um, Hussey didn't play in the Ashes last year- if he had, there might have been a different result (Ashes still in aussie hands)

Aussie fast bowling- well, we shall see....
You're dreaming if you honestly believe 1 man would have made the difference :rolleyes:

[eddiesmith]

one got one real reason.

aussies haven't been beat in their last 24 home series.

only three drawn series in this time and possibly englands best chance is a drawn series to retain them. england will NEED to win at least 2 tests.

australia's home record since 93/94.....
played 77
won 55
lost 8
drawn 14
Australia drew the last time the World no2 travelled down under in a series where it took a miracle draw for the Aussies to not lose the series and they celebrated it like a win even though Aussies claim they never celebrate Draws :rolleyes:

[usalion]

You're dreaming if you honestly believe 1 man would have made the difference :rolleyes:

Last I checked, the result was 2-1....one man COULD have turned one Test match- witness Butterfingers a couple days ago.... 2-2, Ashes stay where they belong. Take your pick of Edgbaston, Old trafford or trent Bridge....

[Browney]

Last I checked, the result was 2-1....one man COULD have turned one Test match- witness Butterfingers a couple days ago.... 2-2, Ashes stay where they belong. Take your pick of Edgbaston, Old trafford or trent Bridge....
Thats a ridiculous assumption

[eddiesmith]

Last I checked, the result was 2-1....one man COULD have turned one Test match- witness Butterfingers a couple days ago.... 2-2, Ashes stay where they belong. Take your pick of Edgbaston, Old trafford or trent Bridge....
We might have replaced Bell with Collingwood and won by even more, whats the point of what ifs? Fact is 12 months ago Hussey was no where near the Aussie test side as for him to get a game Aussies would have had to dump both Katich and Clarke or possibly dropped Hayden or Langer

[usalion]

Thats a ridiculous assumption

So, Butterfingers did not win the Test match that just ended with his batting? Tell that to Freddie, who would have been on his knees thanking the Saffie for saving his captaincy....

And eddie- I said he could have- yeah, you could have brought Collingdud in, and you could have still had the Black Hole at 3-4....Point is, playing Hussey COULD have made a difference- there is a difference between COULD and WOULD, in case your uni lecturers have not explained that to you....

England won the series 2-1...FACT

[YOTC]

1 man did win the series for England. His name was Billy Bowden.

Got lost in the moment and made the wrong call in the 2nd test.

Oh yeah Ponting too, so two men.

[eddiesmith]

So, Butterfingers did not win the Test match that just ended with his batting? Tell that to Freddie, who would have been on his knees thanking the Saffie for saving his captaincy....

And eddie- I said he could have- yeah, you could have brought Collingdud in, and you could have still had the Black Hole at 3-4....Point is, playing Hussey COULD have made a difference- there is a difference between COULD and WOULD, in case your uni lecturers have not explained that to you....

England won the series 2-1...FACT
Exactly, we won, stop with the what ifs

For every what if that is good there is always a what if that could have helped us

What if Bowden wasnt a cheat and Australia lost the 2nd test by 60 odd runs instead of 2, would that change anything?

[usalion]

Exactly, we won, stop with the what ifs

For every what if that is good there is always a what if that could have helped us

What if Bowden wasnt a cheat and Australia lost the 2nd test by 60 odd runs instead of 2, would that change anything?

Well, ed, you are not a true student of the game without the "what ifs"....am I whjinging about Australia losing- hell, no...England beat us fair and square.... and your boys better be ready for a tussle come November, when we reclaim what is rightfully ours.

Somebody posted that Hussey did well in the Ashes- I simply pointed out that he was not in the squad, and most people were calling for either Hussey or Hodge last year when the batting sucked....

[Browney]

So, Butterfingers did not win the Test match that just ended with his batting? Tell that to Freddie, who would have been on his knees thanking the Saffie for saving his captaincy....

And eddie- I said he could have- yeah, you could have brought Collingdud in, and you could have still had the Black Hole at 3-4....Point is, playing Hussey COULD have made a difference- there is a difference between COULD and WOULD, in case your uni lecturers have not explained that to you....

England won the series 2-1...FACT
I'm saying it is a ridiculous assumption to say that if Australia had played Hussey they would have won the Ashes, Hussey could have failed worse than Katich or Clarke.

[YOTC]

I'm saying it is a ridiculous assumption to say that if Australia had played Hussey they would have won the Ashes, Hussey could have failed worse than Katich or Clarke.
This is Hussey we are talking about.

You know. The Man. Our Saviour. The Almighty one. HE WHO RARELY FAILS.

[usalion]

I'm saying it is a ridiculous assumption to say that if Australia had played Hussey they would have won the Ashes, Hussey could have failed worse than Katich or Clarke.


Work on your English, mate- I did NOT say there would have been a different result, I said the result might have been different. As I pointed out, the series ended 2-1- I think we have shown that one man CAN change the course of one Test match- therefore, 2-2....Ashes to Australia.....COULD have happened...not WOULD. If in doubt, check your dictionary......

But as I said to eddie, not a whinge, just an observation in reaction to somebody saying that Hussey had a good Ashes series....

[Browney]

Work on your English, mate- I did NOT say there would have been a different result, I said the result might have been different. As I pointed out, the series ended 2-1- I think we have shown that one man CAN change the course of one Test match- therefore, 2-2....Ashes to Australia.....COULD have happened...not WOULD. If in doubt, check your dictionary......

But as I said to eddie, not a whinge, just an observation in reaction to somebody saying that Hussey had a good Ashes series....

Could have fooled me.

I thought the what-ifs ended a few months ago.

[usalion]

Could have fooled me.

I thought the what-ifs ended a few months ago.

You're obviously easily fooled.....:D

[linda]

Im easily fooled but surely the only reason the ashes were close was Warne other than that it would have been a drubbing .Why is this fact in dispute .
Look forward not back both teams have changed (well Australias hasnt but that would ruin my point) enjoy talking about what is to come and I urge all Aus people to totally under estimate us again like most yet again seem to be doing

[usalion]

Im easily fooled but surely the only reason the ashes were close was Warne other than that it would have been a drubbing .Why is this fact in dispute .
Look forward not back both teams have changed (well Australias hasnt but that would ruin my point) enjoy talking about what is to come and I urge all Aus people to totally under estimate us again like most yet again seem to be doing

You need to read eddie's posts- he seems to be under estimating Australia....England have a very good team, and the series should be quite competitive....time to get the thread up for the England team.

[Lonie_from_50]

With me no longer caring about football (geelong such a promising year, such a disgrace at this stage)
i thought i would look foward to the Ashes. and i have come up with 11 reasons as too why i believe the Aussies will regain the Urn.
(in no particular order.)

1. Home Ground- We will play in front of our crowd, and will have far greater knowledge and experiance on our soil. While the Poms will be supported by the Army(geez i love the army, they put our boys to shame when it comes to chants.) we should just have too much advantage with conditions.

2. Not as much reverse - With out conditions and the good old Kookaburra ball, the poms shouldnt be able to reverse swing the ball as much as they did, which caused us soo many problems.

3. Flintoff factor- as good a player as he is, i cannot see him having as great an impact as he did last series. which will really undermine the poms. also he could be blown out by the time it comes around with the workload he is currently undertaking.

4. Hussey - we have Hussey instead of katich,so much more reliable, so much better, massive advantage.

5. Leg Spin- the poms cannot play leg spin, and we have the 2 best in the world, so while i doubt Warne can be as good as he was against the last time, i dont think we will make the mistake of not playing Macgill like we did last time.

6. Gilly - surely he cannot have as poor a series with the bat as he did last time, (also add Hayden to that.)

7. Mcgrath (assuming available because of improvements with his wife, something i think all supporters want and people in general is for her to get better, she seems to be such a fighter and will hopefully overcome this again) he should play all test as close to full fitness as possible, giving us a massive boost.

8. Lee- he is bowling better then he did last time, and will hopefully continue this, will also he aided by havin Glenn there.

9. Tatics - surely Ponting has learned a thing or two since there, as well as selectors and coach, allowing us to have better tatics then we did last time, ie feild placements, team selections. also the batsmen have better ways of playing there bowlers, ie give respect, dont try to hit out.

10. Fear - if we lose, there will be massive consequences, and i dont think anybody will want to be part of a team who lost the ashes at home.

11. England mentally and phsyically - from what i have seen and heard, England has struggled mentally since the win, and may not be up for another huge fight, also they seem to be having injury problems, with SJones, Vaughn and Harmison all not playing currently, also Harimson has problems with been away from home.

there are some reasons why i believe we will regain the ashes. Some of these issues, i would imagine overcoming and been up for it, but still not enough to win.


Good post. No cheap shots at England.

Pietersen and Harmison might think they can have an impact, but these factors are all valid points. :thumbsu:

[linda]

You need to read eddie's posts- he seems to be under estimating Australia....England have a very good team, and the series should be quite competitive....time to get the thread up for the England team.

I spend to much time at the moment worrying about the English team .I have said all along when Warne is in your team you are fjust favourites if all things are as both teams would want them to be

[utility]

Don't forget Dizzy is back and with a vengeance... no more middle-order collapses. :D

[paul scholes]

the aussies will win england have climbed the top of the mountain.No reverse swing better spinners,hopefully giles will make it. England bowling attack doesn't look as threatning without simon ''sick note'' jones. THe home record is simply brilliant, although the moronic eddie could somehow find something to pick. THe englanders seem to have continous injury problems also.

[catcozmo]

I rate Simo Jones very highly, and i reackon he would be highly missed if he didnt take part of the series, or even if he was not 100% fit, he is a top bolwer, and unlucky with injuries.