Whaaaaaaaat?? That's exactly what he didnt do...he got himself in in the first innings and then, as ever, got himself out to a daft waft of a shot then in the second innings, when everyone knew what was coming, he got out to the short ball from Johnson...still not good enough.



He bats at number 3 for Essex and has done for the past 2-3 years...where this myth comes from that he isn't a number 3 batsman I don't know.

Bar half an hour yesterday what has Harmison done to deserve being retained? It's to the credit of Broad and Swann that England managed to win that game with basically a two-man bowling attack.

You might only be half-joking with some of those. Steven Moore is clearly on the selectors' radar after his successful selection for the Lions match a few weeks back. Craig Kieswetter is the best young wicketkeeper in the country and has been making useful runs with the bat this summer - I'd take him as Prior's understudy this winter. Stuart Meaker bowls seriously fast and is an outstanding fielder. He's only played a handful of Championship matches and is aged just 20, but may well feature in a few years' time.

The selectors clearly want a squad mentality and at times the team selections have almost resembled a closed shop so I wouldn't expect too many radical choices for this winter. Of the eleven who featured at the Oval I'll be surprised if any is omitted other than Flintoff obviously, while Panesar, Sidebottom and Onions were all in the squad for that game and Pietersen will obviously return barring complications with his injury. It would be wise to include an addtional top order batsman capable of opening if necessary (also with Flintoff's departure they'll probably want the option of six specialist batsmen in the event of Prior getting injured or Broad not making sufficientruns at 7), and the back-up wicketkeeper's position could be wide open after Tim Ambrose's failure to establish himself ahead of numerous other candidates, some of whom have already been tried in the past.

I hope they will be bold enough to pick Adil Rashid ahead of Panesar, and I'd like to see Craig Kieswetter get the second wicketkeeping place.

Well in the second inngs Harmison took 3 wickets so we can ignore that if you want but I don't see why. Okay then compare Plunkett/Harmison on their county form and Harmison still wins.

I know you and a few others don't like Harmison but I just think he still has something to offer. Especially now with Freddie going, Harmison/Anderson for the new ball with Broad/Onions first/second change and either Swann/Rashid as the spinner. It means Broad batting at 7 but with Swann/Rashid at 8 there is still some depth.

poms want the rugby league ashes now ENGLAND captain Jamie Peacock has called for rugby league's Ashes to be put on the line when his men take on Australia during this year's Four Nations tournament. Excited by the hype surrounding the current cricket series, the Leeds star said over the weekend it would be a big bonus for league if its version was on the line at Wigan on October 31, a one off game to decide a title Australia has held for 36 years. "The cricket Ashes this summer has been massive and really captured the imagination of everyone around the country,'' Peacock said. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5765392911

poms want the rugby league ashes now ENGLAND captain Jamie Peacock has called for rugby league's Ashes to be put on the line when his men take on Australia during this year's Four Nations tournament. Excited by the hype surrounding the current cricket series, the Leeds star said over the weekend it would be a big bonus for league if its version was on the line at Wigan on October 31, a one off game to decide a title Australia has held for 36 years. "The cricket Ashes this summer has been massive and really captured the imagination of everyone around the country,'' Peacock said. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5765392911

When does Kieswetter qualify, isn't it next year?

Look at the wickets he took - Johnson, Siddle and Clark.

The Australian top order played him with relative ease in both innings, on a pitch that should have suited him down to the ground. Time to move on IMO, and Plunkett now is a significantly better bowler than he was when he first got his chance with England.

I mistakenly thought he was already eligible. His profile on Cricinfo classifies him as South African and says he "has decided to qualify for England" without specifying when this will happen. He played for SA in the 2005/6 Under-19's World Cup, so if he's been resident here since then (he was educated in England) he should be eligible at the start of next season.

Tim Ambrose didn't really grasp the nettle; I expect the selectors will go for James Foster or Steven Davies instead.

Personally I'd give serious consideration to picking other candidates ahead of Bell, Collingwood and Harmison, though I don't expect the selectors will leave any of those off the plane. It's going to be at least as tough a series as the one just ended, so as Bopara has just been rested following poor form against testing opposition it would be a nonsense to recall him immediately.

Simple solution to the number three problem, get a steady reliable partner for Strauss up the order. If the number three is coming in to face a ball which is 40 overs old every time, with the score 120/1, whats the difference between batting there or batting at four / five?

If he could exorcise his current demons, and we find a new opener, Alistair Cook himself would be the ideal choice at number 3 IMO.

Yeah but the thing is mate County Championship bowlers are nowhere near the quality of international bowlers. I think Bopara is a very good player and shouldnt be discarded bat him lower down at 5/6 facing a old ball that isnt swinging and he will get tons of runs. The swinging ball has caused him trouble hes not going to sort that by playing CC give him a run lower down the order. Agree with the Kieswetter call hes been very impressive and gets the nod over Foster has Foster wont get you has many runs. That's test match by the way i would have Foster in the ODI and play Prior as a batter '"

pontings comming back home

Well no one else was managing to take those wickets were they? If we have a better option than Harmison then great, but Plunkett is not it, just seems to be an expensive bolwer to me. If he is the best alternative we have then Harmy should go to SA.