Ashes HQ

[Burgey]

You should have a go anyway Dixon. Don't be shy.

Can so tell this bloke is an Uppercut duplicate

 

[Furball]

Makes you realise the bonus of having a player such as Flintoff that gives a side much greater balance. Don't think we've a good enough player to enable us to play a five-man attack without appreciably weakening our batting in theory. I don't think we should play a five-man attack in Perth but I can certainly recognise the advantages of having such bowling options at our disposal.

Nah, for the most part Flintoff unbalanced the side IMO.

 

[Woodster]

Nah, for the most part Flintoff unbalanced the side IMO.

No idea how you reach such a conclusion but I'm willing to listen if you wish to divulge ?

 

[GIMH]

I guess because he weakened the batting

 

[Woodster]

I guess because he weakened the batting

Not a bad player to have coming in at seven though, had they batted him there. I agree his batting may have been overrated at times, but I don't think he significantly weakened the batting and what he offered with the ball was immense. Well, let's look at our options now, that should give us some perspective on what Freddie gave us.

 

[vcs]

At his peak (2003-2006) Flintoff would have improved any side in the world. Outside that period, he unbalanced the team.

 

[vic_orthdox]

At his peak (2003-2006) Flintoff would have improved any side in the world. Outside that period, he unbalanced the team.

Yeah, agree with this. Now, he'd slot in well at 7 and force Prior to bat at 6, and its a toss-up as to whether it's a better side or not. But at the time, England had a series of guys who would do well to average 28+ keeping for them.

 

[Woodster]

Flintoff's bowling is obviously not in question, so he would have played solely as a bowler. The fact he had such ability with the bat, even though he never made the most of it for one reason or another, meant he gave us a five bowler option. We would most probably have struggled to bowl out teams with the four bowlers we were likely to select.

Surely any batsman (or bowler) that has a poor run of form is unbalancing the side. Flintoff always delivered in one discipline, I don't buy into him unbalancing the side in any way.

 

[andyc]

When you're playing him as one member of a three man pace attack though, you're really relying on him bowling a lot of overs and not breaking down. Reckon that if he didn't have those four other bowlers in the team with him, his career would've been shortened even more.

 

[marc71178]

Yeah, but I think that by including him it took pressure off the likes of Broad (and even Jimmeh to a degree), enabling them to settle into Test Cricket to the extent that they're now Test-class bowlers, no matter what some people will try to say to the contrary.

 

[Uppercut]

It's the 'Flintoff Dilemma'- you can't pick him as part of a four-man attack because he's not fit enough, you can't pick him as part of a five-man attack because his batting isn't up to it and you can't leave him out because he's too damn good.

 

[Spark]

I reckon England not having a test-standard #7 for a long time did more to unbalance the side than Flintoff tbh.

 

[andyc]

Yeah, if they had Prior playing as he has been recently, plus Broad and Swann, it'd be a much more balanced side, with something like

6. Flintoff
7. Prior
8. Broad
9. Swann
10. Anderson
11. Finn/Tremlett/etc.

Obviously having two more than capable tailenders in Broad and Swann, and Anderson who can hang around for a bit, means that Flintoff at 6 isn't suddenly the liability that it could be.

 

[morgieb]

Yeah, if they had Prior playing as he has been recently, plus Broad and Swann, it'd be a much more balanced side, with something like

6. Flintoff
7. Prior
8. Broad
9. Swann
10. Anderson
11. Finn/Tremlett/etc.

Obviously having two more than capable tailenders in Broad and Swann, and Anderson who can hang around for a bit, means that Flintoff at 6 isn't suddenly the liability that it could be.

Yeah good call. Would probably play Flintoff @ 7 in that lineup though.

 

[James]

The Johnson Enigma

by Cameron Burge

What transforms a player in three short weeks from a caricature of himself to a human wrecking ball?

 

[Spark]

The Johnson Enigma

by Cameron Burge

What transforms a player in three short weeks from a caricature of himself to a human wrecking ball?

Great article.

 

[Uppercut]

Really good read, that.

 

[GIMH]

Cricket Web - Ashes HQ 2010-2011: A Traveller's Tale - Melbourne 2010

Mr Pickup's thoughts before and after the MCG Test

 

[James]

Cricket Web - Ashes HQ 2010-2011: England's Training Session At The Sydney Cricket Ground - Photos

 

[vic_orthdox]

Couldn't think of anywhere else to put this:

Usman Khawaja on being the first Muslim to play for Australia:

You can make something up of anything. You could say Michael Beer is the first person who sticks his tongue out 24-7 to play for Australia."