England XI for First Test

[Bugz]

There is a thread for Australia's...

Here's mine.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson (Think he is better than Mahmood)
Panesar

[Sylvia Saint]

There is a thread for Australia's...

Here's mine.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson (Think he is better than Mahmood)
Panesar
I think McGrath might be right. :D

[raikkonen]

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Pieterson
Bell
Freddie
Jones
Giles (he's fit isnt he?)
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson

Giles gets my vote ahead of Monty based purely on the fact Giles has the experience against us. Monty may be overwhelemed on his first tour here, and the crowds will be amongst the most boistorous ever seen at international cricket in this country. MCG chockers for 3 days + will be one of the great sites of this Ashes series.

[Bugz]

Panesar must play.

Australia will have trouble against him. For the simple reason, that he actually spins it.

[CrazyQ]

I think McGrath might be right. :D
Cook is better than any Aussie young batsmen.

Probably the best young bat in the world, he wont have THAT much trouble V McGrath.

[Cooldude]

While I think Cook has a weakness that Brett Lee should exploit, he is so good that he should be more than well equiped enough to surprise a lot of people. Rate him extremely highly

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Read
Hoggard
Mahmood
Harmison
Panesar

If I am an English selector, Harmison wouldn't get a game ahead of Anderson, but that's the most likely team at this stage

[ALwaysNorth]

Cook is better than any Aussie young batsmen.

Probably the best young bat in the world, he wont have THAT much trouble V McGrath.

Based on what ?????

[davey_magik]

While I think Cook has a weakness that Brett Lee should exploit, he is so good that he should be more than well equiped enough to surprise a lot of people. Rate him extremely highly

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Read
Hoggard
Mahmood
Harmison
Panesar

If I am an English selector, Harmison wouldn't get a game ahead of Anderson, but that's the most likely team at this stage

I think Cook's real weakness will be Warney. Cook plays pace very well.
Anyone see how he faced Kaneria in the recent Test series?
:o

It will be (IMO):
Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Read
Mahmood
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar
12th man - Collingwood

[Cooldude]

You can just about say that all of English batsmen's weakness will be Warnie though ;)

[Sylvia Saint]

Cook is better than any Aussie young batsmen.

Most of our batsmen are nearing 40 so you're probably right there!

[CrazyQ]

Based on what ?????
Didnt he make 200 V Australia?

I think he did.

[eddiesmith]

Tresco
Strauss
Cook
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Flintoff (c)
Read
Harmison
Hoggard
Panesar

I reckon we should go with just the 4 bowlers, no point playing Mahmood or Anderson and giving them 5-10 overs an innings at most

[Bugz]

You are probably right Eddie. But I don't think the selctors will agree with you.:(

[Browney2006]

Tresco
Strauss
Cook
Pietersen
Collingwood
Bell
Flintoff (c)
Read
Harmison
Hoggard
Panesar

I reckon we should go with just the 4 bowlers, no point playing Mahmood or Anderson and giving them 5-10 overs an innings at most

Eddie thats ridiculous and you know it. There is no point in playing both Collingwood & Bell just because they both warrant selection, Going into the side with a weakened bowling attack and also injury concerns over nearly all of our bowlers and you want to go in with 3 bowlers and an all-rounder? Harmison has questions over his recent form and Flintoff will not be 100% coming into the first test. England have to take 20 wickets and they will not do that with only 3 Specialist bowlers + Flintoff. Bell gets the nod ahead of Collingwood, and Colly misses out unfortunately. To play both Colly and Bell would be suicidel, yes it strengthens our Batting line-up but it weaknes our bowling stocks immensly, and bowlers are what win you test matches.

Anyways this is my side and what i believe the selctors will line up with for the first test.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Read
Hoggard
Mahmood
Panesar (;))
Harmison

Although i would love to see Gilo get a go, he is just not gunna do it for us with the ball, yes he MAY add 20-30 runs down the order, but Monty has the ability to grab 3 wickets as apposed to Giles' none. I have picked Read ahead of Jones because he is about twice the keeper that Jones is and Jones' recent form with the bat has been absolutely appauling, Read is a much more capable test batsmen and is a more capable keeper. I have picked Mahmood ahead of Anderson because i think Mahmood adds more vareity to the attack, he creates some reverse swing and with no Jones in the side this year this is something the bowling attack will be lacking. Mahmood will bowl well this series and will be right up there in the wickets, Hoggard will be Englands leading wicket taker this series, he will be damaging with the new ball.

[usalion]

Eddie thats ridiculous and you know it. There is no point in playing both Collingwood & Bell just because they both warrant selection, Going into the side with a weakened bowling attack and also injury concerns over nearly all of our bowlers and you want to go in with 3 bowlers and an all-rounder? Harmison has questions over his recent form and Flintoff will not be 100% coming into the first test. England have to take 20 wickets and they will not do that with only 3 Specialist bowlers + Flintoff. Bell gets the nod ahead of Collingwood, and Colly misses out unfortunately. To play both Colly and Bell would be suicidel, yes it strengthens our Batting line-up but it weaknes our bowling stocks immensly, and bowlers are what win you test matches.



Have to agree with you, Browney- the injury clouds over the attack mean you must have four bowlers and Freddie. Eddie's hero Slopster misses out, but he WILL see plenty of action, as your lot will be heading for the dressing room all the time to put your feet up (hope the umps keep an eye on this)- Slopster can be the supersub for your lot....

Mahmood or anderson- dunno...probably Mahmood for me.

[Romeo]

Cook appears to struggle more against spin at this stage than pace.

Graham Thorpe on Inside Cricket tonight was adamant that Monty has to be selected ahead of Giles, although he conceded that Fletcher is concerned about what it does to their tail. But you should always pick your specialists first.

[Bugz]

Has a team ever selected their specialist spinner on their batting?

[Monty Panestar]

Cook didn't appear to struggle against MacGill last year:

http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_ESSEX_03-04SEP2005.html

[Romeo]

Has a team ever selected their specialist spinner on their batting?

You could make a case for Giles though he did perform a bit better with the ball than expected at times in the Ashes. But evidently that's what Fletcher is weighing up at the moment, the damage to the batting the absence of Giles would mean. The problem for them is that he's had so little cricket since last Ashes he's surely not even going to be up to his normal standard. I think over the years it's probably happened more with wicketkeepers though. Rod Marsh for instance apparently got the nod over John Maclean for this reason.

[eddiesmith]

Eddie thats ridiculous and you know it. There is no point in playing both Collingwood & Bell just because they both warrant selection, Going into the side with a weakened bowling attack and also injury concerns over nearly all of our bowlers and you want to go in with 3 bowlers and an all-rounder? Harmison has questions over his recent form and Flintoff will not be 100% coming into the first test. England have to take 20 wickets and they will not do that with only 3 Specialist bowlers + Flintoff. Bell gets the nod ahead of Collingwood, and Colly misses out unfortunately. To play both Colly and Bell would be suicidel, yes it strengthens our Batting line-up but it weaknes our bowling stocks immensly, and bowlers are what win you test matches.


Yeah you are probably right, we have no hope without Mahmood bowling 10 overs, 0/50, how could I leave him out :rolleyes:

Our 5 bowlers worked in the past because we had 5 decent bowlers, Mahmood and Anderson have shown nothing, obviously if you are worried about fitness then Anderson cant play so that leaves Mahmood, the Aussies will love that

We wont win if we dont make more runs, look at Lords, our bowling attack ripped apart their batting, then our batting lineup failed. I have 100% faith in our batsman never failing with Freddie at 7 but have no doubt we will lose atleast 1 test due to a shocking collapse with the 5 batsman.

Its time to give up on 5 bowlers because now we have no decent batsman amongst the bowlers and we no longer have 5 bowlers worthy of selection unless you pick Giles as the 5th option which would be the stupidest selection decision of the century

[DIG]

I think Monty should play.

But seriously if Harmison plays and starts spraying them everywhere like he did in India england have no hope. Their bowling will just be too weak unless Monty can confuse the Aussie batsmen and Flintoff's at his best.

[Cooldude]

Monty will get truckload of overs this summer

The only trap he could fall into is darting it in and bowling too quick on these Aussie pitches. If he lets his natural flight do the talking and with a bit of rough outside the left handers' off stump, he could be very dangerous, very very dangerous

The comtempt in which Matty Hayden has treated him going by some of his comments is a worry from the Aussie's perspective, he's their best bowler and a genuine threat especially to right handers

[usalion]

Yeah you are probably right, we have no hope without Mahmood bowling 10 overs, 0/50, how could I leave him out :rolleyes:

Our 5 bowlers worked in the past because we had 5 decent bowlers, Mahmood and Anderson have shown nothing, obviously if you are worried about fitness then Anderson cant play so that leaves Mahmood, the Aussies will love that

We wont win if we dont make more runs, look at Lords, our bowling attack ripped apart their batting, then our batting lineup failed. I have 100% faith in our batsman never failing with Freddie at 7 but have no doubt we will lose atleast 1 test due to a shocking collapse with the 5 batsman.

Its time to give up on 5 bowlers because now we have no decent batsman amongst the bowlers and we no longer have 5 bowlers worthy of selection unless you pick Giles as the 5th option which would be the stupidest selection decision of the century

Understand where you're coming from, but how many overs can Flintoff expect 6to bowl? Hoggard has also had a niggle....is he really fully fit and ready to go?

What if Harmisson goes belly up? Think you guys need four bowlers plus freddie- perhaps for the first two Tests. Remember, you'll also be in the hot QLD sun, not the cool confines of wet old Manchester.....

And I agree- Giles as the fifth bowler would eb idiotic- although Dunc may well pick him in front of Monty, which to my mind would eb even stupider.....

[Ray Nolan]

1. Trescothick
2. Strauss
3. Cook
4. Pietersen
5. Bell
6. Flintoff (C)
7. Read +
8. Hoggard
9. Mahmood
10. Harmison
11. Panesar

12: Collingwood

[the_mighty_pies_3733]

I think Cook's real weakness will be Warney. Cook plays pace very well.
Anyone see how he faced Kaneria in the recent Test series?

Dont know bout Cook playing pace very well. Has a big weakness against the ball swinging into the pads, tends to fall over to the off side. Saw him get out bowled and LBW a number of times against Pakistan. Also he did struggle against Kaneria on occasions.

[usalion]

Fletch goes with five...do we see Giles? Going to be a fun couple of weeks- I still say England should have sent Freddie early to get acclimatised and playing some matches, instead of the silly ICC....which they didn't care about anyway....

************

Flintoff fitness worries Fletcher

Flintoff has been working hard but has not bowled much since June
England coach Duncan Fletcher admits he is concerned about captain Andrew Flintoff's bowling fitness ahead of the first Ashes Test against Australia.
The tourists had planned to play six batsmen, plus the wicket-keeper and Flintoff, in Brisbane on 23 November.

But as the skipper has bowled only five overs for England since ankle surgery in June they will play five bowlers.

"If we were confident of him getting through lots of overs we could probably look at four bowlers," Fletcher said.

"But with Flintoff not bowling many, we've got to go in with five."


Squad selector: Pick your England side
Flintoff starred in England's 2-1 Ashes triumph over Australia last year, taking 24 wickets and scoring more than 400 runs in the five Tests.

He had insisted on arrival in Australia that three warm-up games before the first Test would be enough for him to play a full part at the Gabba.

I was quite convinced what we'd require even before we came out here - we've got a good idea what we want


But Fletcher is worried about whether the Lancashire all-rounder can bowl the long spells needed in five-day cricket.

The England coach is also concerned about boosting England's batting, which can be fragile down the order.

Wicket-keepers Geraint Jones and Chris Read both average under 30, while Ashley Giles has the best average of the bowlers, with 21.

To play five bowlers, one of Ian Bell, Alastair Cook or Paul Collingwood would have to miss out in Brisbane.

"That's the thing we've really got to look at in the next couple of games we play in," Fletcher said.

England's first game is a one-dayer against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Friday, followed by three-day matches against New South Wales in Sydney and South Australia in Adelaide.

Fletcher said he, Flintoff, batting coach Matthew Maynard and bowling coach Kevin Shine were close to finalising the Test team.

"I was quite convinced what we'd require even before we came out here - we've got a good idea what we want," he added.

[TorresIsGod]

1. Trescothick
2. Strauss
3. Cook
4. Pietersen
5. Bell
6. Flintoff
7. Jones
8. Panesar
9. Anderson
10. Hoggard
11. Hamrison

Wouldn't be surprised to see Collingwood in there though.

[Romeo]

1. Trescothick
2. Strauss
3. Cook
4. Pietersen
5. Bell
6. Flintoff
7. Jones
8. Panesar
9. Anderson
10. Hoggard
11. Hamrison

Wouldn't be surprised to see Collingwood in there though.

Collingwood could only be there instead of Bell and Bell's performances warrant his selection more than Piewood.

[Romeo]

England may start with five bowlers.

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/267121.html

[Cooldude]

What's wrong with Duncan Fletcher?

England's been playing five bowlers most of the time for the past two years and it has proven to be successful for them, let it go

Hoggard and Mahmood, even Harmison, provides enough cover in the tail.

They need to take 20 wickets, England, with Freddie not fit, their best hope of doing that is playing 5 bowlers (Which includes Freddie). However long a tail ain't gonna save them

[embleygirl]

Didnt he make 200 V Australia?

I think he did.

On what was an absolute road and I'm pretty sure McGrath didn't play that match.

I remember though MacGill got canned.

[Romeo]

On what was an absolute road and I'm pretty sure McGrath didn't play that match.

I remember though MacGill got canned.

Or even got caned.:D

[JerryWexler]

1. Trescothick
2. Strauss
3. Cook
4. Pietersen
5. Bell
6. Flintoff
7. Jones
8. Panesar
9. Anderson
10. Hoggard
11. Hamrison

Wouldn't be surprised to see Collingwood in there though.
If Panesar is a better bat than the three he's ahead of, we'll have them out by lunch, first day.

[JerryWexler]

Or even got caned.:D
Yes but he would've got canned after he got caned.Anyway embleygirl, don't pay any attention to CrazyQ.He just has a hate on for the Aussies.You could bring up any Australian player and they would all be sh*t as far as he is concerned.Shame they keep winning I guess.

[Browney2006]

Flintoffs fitness is really starting to worry me, the bowling line-up just looks far to dodgy at this stage. Hoggard isnt exactly fit either.

[usalion]

Flintoffs fitness is really starting to worry me, the bowling line-up just looks far to dodgy at this stage. Hoggard isnt exactly fit either.

Yeah- what di8d Hoggard do? Wasn't it a side strain? Harmisson also had an injury in the summer- was he being affected by it in the ICC? Anderson- well, he's coming back.....

Hope Monty is ready to bowl....

[linda]

Yeah- what di8d Hoggard do? Wasn't it a side strain? Harmisson also had an injury in the summer- was he being affected by it in the ICC? Anderson- well, he's coming back.....

Hope Monty is ready to bowl....


We will both have a bowler who bowls half the overs every day ;)

I think all the bowlers will be fit and ready to go whether match fit thats another story .As you know Flintoff is the important one his fitness affects the whole balance of the team.I really do feel that with S Jones being out England want to play 4 bowlers problem being can Flintoff handle 20 overs a day .Therefore without doubt they will play 5 bowlers thus weakening the batting with Flintoff and Read at 6-7.Although being more attacking will give us more chance of victory because if we sit back and play defensively Warne will have his day .

[Bugz]

Reading a few quotes today, it seems Fat-head Fletcher has his mind set on Giles.:(

[Grimwood]

Reading a few quotes today, it seems Fat-head Fletcher has his mind set on Giles.:(

Colonel Kurtz in the Gruaniad.

"He knows his team for the first test and it would be a surprise if he had not known it for a while. Alastair Cook and Sajid Mahmood will come in for Michael Vaughan and Simon jones respectively and, with Ashley Giles set to go and Geraint Jones set to return, it will not be far removed in balance or personnel from that which played the first four matches of the last Ashes series."

Feck off.

Sack Fletcher, sell Pratt.

[Cooldude]

Nassar Hussain set the fastest record of time to lose the Ashes when he lost it at the toss in the 1st Test, but if Duncan Fletcher picks Giles and drops Monty, then he'll set a new record, losing the Ashes even before the toss

[Grimwood]

Nassar Hussain set the fastest record of time to lose the Ashes when he lost it at the toss in the 1st Test, but if Duncan Fletcher picks Giles and drops Monty, then he'll set a new record, losing the Ashes even before the toss

He'll probably find a way to drop Bell for Collingwood as well and then, as soon as he's fit, bring in Vaughan for Cook.

Grrrrrrrr.

[eddiesmith]

For a bloke who has had a very good year it seems poor old Paul still cant get any respect from english fans

[TorresIsGod]

England are struggling very bad, and I'm not too sure about England's batting after Jones/Read at 7, so I just used The Aussie's order with Warne, then the three pace bowlers. I guess Fletcher has decided on Mahmood instead of Anderson? Which I think is a mistake, as I rate Anderson a much better bowler.

Monty has to play, if Giles plays the first test with absolutely no cricket for the best part of 16 months, what a joke.

[mark73]

For a bloke who has had a very good year it seems poor old Paul still cant get any respect from english fans

Well I'm an Australian fan eddie and he has my respect.In fact I'm dying for him to play. :)

[TorresIsGod]

Once Trescothick goes out for a pair in QLD, he'll be back on stress leave and Collingwood will be in there somewhere for the 2nd test.

[Grimwood]

England are struggling very bad.

The series hasn't actually, y'know, started yet.

[TorresIsGod]

It started when the last one finished, with all of England's injury worries, if they expect to win a test, they are dreaming, they are struggling so badly, they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat in the middle of the ocean.

Australia win will 5-0 quite comfortably, unless there is a repeat of last time out here, when Australia decided to play The 5th test @ 13.47%

[linda]

It started when the last one finished, with all of England's injury worries, if they expect to win a test, they are dreaming, they are struggling so badly, they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat in the middle of the ocean.

Australia win will 5-0 quite comfortably, unless there is a repeat of last time out here, when Australia decided to play The 5th test @ 13.47%

Should you not change your name to McGrath

[Cooldude]

Been rethinking about the team

If I'm an England selector this side would be picked:

Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pieterson
Collingwood
Flintoff
Read
Giles
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar

Trescothick will just be providing slip catching practice

[Partridge]

Nassar Hussain set the fastest record of time to lose the Ashes when he lost it at the toss in the 1st Test, but if Duncan Fletcher picks Giles and drops Monty, then he'll set a new record, losing the Ashes even before the toss

Exactly. England won the last series because they made bold selections and backed players to perform. It succeeded spectacularly with Pietersen. Again in this series, there are 2 obvious selections they must make - Panesar as the spinner and Read as the wicketkeeper. As some have already pointed out, their bowling strength must be the priority. Giles is honest but simply isn't going to worry the Australian batsmen, whereas Panesar might. Jones may be a better batsman than Read, but he's nowhere near the gloveman. Every chance the bowlers create must be taken - therefore they must have their best wicketkeeper in the side.

If England are to stand any chance, they must be bold and attack Australia. On the field and at the selection table. Conservative (and incorrect) choices like Giles and Jones will see them slaughtered. Besides, if England need to rely on their tail to make runs it means the top 6 aren't doing their job.

[eddiesmith]

After todays game my team stands

Tresco, Strauss, Cook, KP, Colly, Bell, Fred, Read, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar

[Freo Big Fella]

If they want to win

Tresco
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Read
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar

Who they'll play;

Tresco
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Jones
Giles
Hoggard
Mahmood
Harmison

[King Elvis]

You think they'll use a substitute fielder this year?

I hope like hell they don't - it was pretty much the only thing they did last serious that I thought detracted from their performance. They way they played the series earned them a hell of a lot of respect, but the sub fielder is rubbish.

[Big John]

I saw on the channel 7 news ticker than Dunc said they would play specialist fielders during the Ashes.

[TheBigUnit]

What's the news on Simon Jones? Will he be fit for the last few tests?

[King Elvis]

I saw on the channel 7 news ticker than Dunc said they would play specialist fielders during the Ashes.

If they do that, I hope we smash them.

As I said, I thought the way England handled themselves during the last Ashes series was fantastic, but I find the use of a sub fielder to be pathetic.

[heals]

After todays game my team stands

Tresco, Strauss, Cook, KP, Colly, Bell, Fred, Read, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar
How can you pick the full monty after only 3 crappy overs, poor captaincy IMO.

[eddiesmith]

If they do that, I hope we smash them.

As I said, I thought the way England handled themselves during the last Ashes series was fantastic, but I find the use of a sub fielder to be pathetic.
Yet Ricky chose the time we were legitimately using one to complain, priceless :D

[usalion]

After todays game my team stands

Tresco, Strauss, Cook, KP, Colly, Bell, Fred, Read, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar

Well, thanks for handing us the First test- with Flintoff still working on fitness, you'd be nuts to have him as part of a four man bowling attack. Yes, Monty CAN bowl a lot of overs, but it will be his first Ashes test and you will be in the cauldron that is Fortress Gabba, where quicks wilt on the vine.

Four bowlers perhaps by the third Test, once freddie has gotten some real match time under his belt, not a leisurely ten overs a day.

After all, as you are constantly saying, the Gabba is for pace- you want an extra quick to take advantage of the superb Brissie conditions

[King Elvis]

Yet Ricky chose the time we were legitimately using one to complain, priceless :D

In all seriousness mate, do you think it's a valid, legitimate tactic?

[eddiesmith]

Well, thanks for handing us the First test- with Flintoff still working on fitness, you'd be nuts to have him as part of a four man bowling attack. Yes, Monty CAN bowl a lot of overs, but it will be his first Ashes test and you will be in the cauldron that is Fortress Gabba, where quicks wilt on the vine.

Four bowlers perhaps by the third Test, once freddie has gotten some real match time under his belt, not a leisurely ten overs a day.

After all, as you are constantly saying, the Gabba is for pace- you want an extra quick to take advantage of the superb Brissie conditions
Yeah cos Mahmood and Anderson showed how destructive they will be :rolleyes:

[eddiesmith]

In all seriousness mate, do you think it's a valid, legitimate tactic?
Teams use sub fielders all the time, Ricky cant prove if they use it properly and it doesnt help his case when he whinges whilst one of our players is off the field and hasnt played now for nearly 18 months

[King Elvis]

Teams use sub fielders all the time, Ricky cant prove if they use it properly and it doesnt help his case when he whinges whilst one of our players is off the field and hasnt played now for nearly 18 months

You didn't answer my question.

[rooboy_88]

There is a thread for Australia's...

Here's mine.

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pietersen
Flintoff
Jones
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson (Think he is better than Mahmood)
Panesar

Same as me

Only thing is that the tail is to long and if we get good early wickets we could bowl them out for low scores.

[Browney2006]

I cant see how anyone could want Jones ahead of Read, its ridiculous.

We all know the Read ********s on Jones as a Keeper...this isnt the debate. Its all about the batting, i dont understand why it is so 'clear cut' that Jones is miles ahead of Read in the batting department to go ahead of Read even with Read's keeping ability.

Jones' Last 10 innings before being dropped: 5, 1, 3, 11*, 4, 19, 6, 18, 16, 8 (Total of 91)

Read's 3 innings since replacing Jones (Before no doubt being dropped): 38, 55, 33 (Total of 126)

So Read has 35 more runs from 7 less innings! And he is 3 times the keeper.

What a load of ********ing bull******** Duncan Fletcher.

[eddiesmith]

You didn't answer my question.
Yes I did, there is no proof they used sub fielders outside of what the rules allow and complaining about it when used legally doesnt help their cause

[Cooldude]

Jones is Duncan Fletcher's lovechild, hence why he's picked. That is also the reason why Giles will be picked

That's what you get when you give your coach the full say in selection on the biggest Test series of all time.

[Browney2006]

Jones is Duncan Fletcher's lovechild, hence why he's picked. That is also the reason why Giles will be picked

That's what you get when you give your coach the full say in selection on the biggest Test series of all time.
Fletcher will be one of the reasons England will fail to be competitive in this Ashes series.

[TorresIsGod]

Seems as though the side is already picked

Trescothick
Strauss
Cook
Pietersen
Bell
Flintoff
Jones
Giles
Anderson
Hoggard
Harmison

Jones or Read: I would go Read, much better keeper, solid batsman
Giles or Panesar: I would go Panesar, Giles has played no cricket in ages, is not fit, and Panesar is a better bowler
Anderson or Mahmood: I would go Anderson, rate him better than Mahmood.