To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Cookies may be used for personalisation of ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Posted by 
“Biggest egos in cricket XI” anybody? KP at 4, Roach to open the bowling. If they can be coaxed away from their Twitters.
Boycott to open with Hayden, Ponting at 3.
And the spinner would probably be Warne… It’s going to end up being “2005 Australians plus”, isn’t it?
You could make a full tournament, round robin and 3 stage knockout, just using various Baggy Green Ashes squads. Perhaps with a “Sky Sports Commentators XI” to make up the numbers.
There has to be a slot for Chris Gayle. Hayden’s motivations for anything are utterly incomprehensible, he’s as likely to be a glue sniffer as an ego-maniac. For mine, he can captain the nob-end’s eleven with Danny Morrison opening the bowling.
Little Bertina couldn’t stop laughing.
Back in the mists of time, when I learned that the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, had named his daughter Nigella, I thought that was the ultimate in big swinging egotism.
I also thought that the poor child could never live such a name down and so would never make anything of herself.
I once came down with a nasty case of Kemaria while backpacking around Peru.
Isn’t Kemaria that Pakistani leggie?
Nah, that guy’s Danish.
They’re here all week, ladies and gents. Try the bacon.
More questions than answers in England’s innings. Question 1 – who gets dropped to give the captain his place back, given that Taylor and Morgan both outperformed him?
Hales. Until Taylor has a bad score, then he’s gone and Hales is back in.
Or Bell. Probably Bell.
They’ve already dropped Bell. They can’t have -1 Ian Bells in the team so that Cook can slot in.
Will you please stop deploying logic around here, Balladeer?
Some of us find it most disconcerting.
Cook was already the worst batsman in the team. It’s not like he was there on merit.
So just drop whoever comes from the worst sort of family.
Presumably they drop Ravi on the “I know you had 2 great innings trying to win us the game but today you ballsed it up so go away” principle.
I meant Bell would be back in instead of Hales once Taylor had a bad score, but that’s already about seven comments up the chain so this probably doesn’t make any sense
So are they trying to win the series? In which case, why did they field Stokes instead of Tredwell?
Or are they trying to determine their squad for the World Cup? In which case, why are they playing in rainy tropical spin-favouring Sri Lanka?
Because they don’t want to send their players to anywhere pace friendly in case they remember they can’t play fast bowling. At least once the world cup’s started, no-one will care because England being crap in the WC is the way of he world.
England are playing a one-day series in Australia immediately before the World Cup. There are only so many places to play cricket in the world.
See, that was a colossal tactical error. All it will do is remind the England top order that they have forgotten how to deal with fast bowlers before the World Cup.
It’s been a strange and terrible fortnight cricket-wise, but the Australia-India test series starts tonight. I think it’s worth setting out exactly what I feel:
Michael Clarke has proved himself to be a man and a leader of huge character, strength and integrity, and I am delighted that he will be leading Australia in the test.
Because of these things, I feel he deserves something special. A century for Clarke would be fitting, and I will be cheering as loudly as any Aussie should he achieve this.
So, just to reiterate, that’s Australia to be all out for 101 before tea.