From the abyss to the..................

You could always go for 11 new faces for the next series but that's not realistic. When Clarke has dug in he's looked good but every time he loses concentration he gets out. Trott and Cook never lost concentration and therefore got huge tons.

I haven't heard Skull talk about Hughes but I think the guy can do it, whether his temperament can improve enough I'm not sure. He's worked on his technique but shot selection has brought his downfall - like most of our batsmen - and therefore I don't think you can be harder on him than anyone else. Watson is infuriating; more often than not gets Aus off to a great start but throws it away either by edging or running himself/others out.

My 15 going forward for the next 2 years:

Hughes
Watson
Shaun Marsh
Khawaja
Clarke
Mike Hussey
David Hussey
Haddin/Paine
Hauritz
O'Keefe
Starc
Siddle
Peter George
Mark Cameron
James Pattinson

Hughes is obviously a contentious issue but in my view there isn't many opening options around the country at present. Cosgrove could be one of few others.

I think Haddin is important and Paine has time to make his mark. Keeping some senior players is vital which is why I've included Mike Hussey but fear he'll retire before 2 years is up. David Hussey is 32 and could well do what his brother did upon entering the Aus set up.

Quicks are around - who knows who will stand up and grab some poles? If Johnson wants back in he has to find consistency. Noone is expecting him to bowl like McGrath but bloody hell he can't keep bowling like an uncoordinated under 10!

Spin is a major issue and I fear the main role for a spinner for the next 2 years will be a container rather than a strike bowler. I guess Swann didn't take the game apart during the Ashes but still bowled well as the series wore on and played a part keeping pressure on.

Watson, Khawaja and the Husseys form a group you can plan your batting around. If Marsh can open you can have Watson, Marsh, Khawaja, Hussey and Hussey as your top 5. Not bad in my view. Obviously Clarke would not bat at 6 but if he's not in form anyway...........

As Border did, time to draw a line in the sand and move forward. Honest appraisals and determination to do better. If the bowling is good it may get you out but you just cannot gift it to them. Too often Aus' batsmen have succumbed to the pressure by England's bowlers by fishing outside off when there was no need to play a shot. Our bowlers lacked pressure and innovation, getting into modes of just putting it up there without any consistency. You may not win many test matches against a team like England with the personnel Aus has got but you can fight and 3 innings losses in a 5 test series smacks of folding when it gets hard.

Well done England who deserve the rewards for excellent planning and execution.

Ashes - bowling our way to victory

Great stuff by Nospmas to initiate the anticipation of the highly expected and long-awaited Ashes. See how excited I am - how many unnecessary words does it take to fill a sentence? In keeping with analytical tradition I thought we could run through the various aspects of competing in test series': starting with bowling.

Seamer friendly, slower and softer pitches in Eng with the Duke ball need to be considered in the same way that dusty turners in India are. My list of challengers for (let's say) 4 bowling spots are:

1. Mitchell Johnson
2. Doug (the rug) Bollinger
3. Peter (hey diddle) Siddle
4. Stuart (um....) Clark
5. Brett (I'm ready cos I say so and should get the new ball cos I'm Brett Lee) Lee
6. Ben (arrrrr) Hilfenhaus
7. Nathan (I'm an offie) Hauritz
8. Shane (ah my back) Watson - I realise this would occur in an allrounder capacity if selected and if it was one or the other he'd be picked as a batsman
9. Dirk (jaz) Nannes

Personally I'd go for Johnson, Hauritz, Siddle and Bollinger. I would say Katich, North and Clarke are good for 15 - 20 overs between them if necessary and Watson chiming in: what do you know - that's 8! Maybe give Haddin a bowl too as the selectors seem to feel he can do anything. I've probably let a cat out of the bag re batting but I'll leave a tempter out there. There are many discussion points that will influence selection: eg allrounder vs specialist number 6 batsman so over to you guys and gals.