What's tendulker got to do with ashes ?

Al mentioned earlier, if you read up that this thread is for Test Cricket. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you can make a new thread for Cricket so we don't clog up this Ashes thread.

One of the best batsmen of all time and a gentleman too who always liked to see the game properly.

Now your turn to praise an England player.

Ha Ha!

Great compliment from you Jim, wouldn't have expected anything less. Will be a weird feeling not seeing Sachin on the team sheet. However, enough players who can fill his role and fingers crossed, we can unearth another master.

Anyway, an emphatic win over the Aussies today thanks to some brilliant hitting from Yuvraj. Evident why they lost the Test series. Very poor bowling when you can't defend a score of 200. A huge worry for them.

Lennox Lewis ‏@LennoxLewis 1m

A hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question does NOT equal reality. #NoComeback #Rediculous

lol well that puts that one to bed

The fact he can't spell ridiculous?

19th in average figures and not a patch on Bradman.

Why not mention every other stat which he is number 1 in?

Highest run scorer.

Most number of centuries.

Most ODI runs.

Most Test Runs

100 centuries in all forms of the game.

Endless list.

Sachin Tendulkar announces his retirement from Test cricket. A HUGE loss to test cricket. The greatest batsmen ever and a fantastic player to watch.

Priveleged to have met and watched a true cricketing legend.

Tyson Fury - great name, but what a bellend. He should just change his name to Tommy Gunn and make the transformation complete.

On Lennox Lewis though:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2451488/Lennox-Lewis-wants-100m-comeback-Klitschko-brothers.html

A 48 year old Lewis against either of the Klitschko brothers? It would have to be a rematch with Vatali surely? There's only 6 years age difference to make up then rather than 10. Wladimir would be too much for him if he came back. Be a shame to watch a true legend like Lewis getting put on his arse like that.

I'm sure Lewis won't mind with a $100m purse. Money talks!

HotSpot has been dropped for the Ashes series. Interesting. I thought it was HawkEye that was the most controversial in the series.

Happy?

Looks like Tyson Fury has lost the plot on twitter tonight. Absolute idiot.

There is a whole topic on this in the correct section. This topic is for Test Cricket.

I didn't want to ruin a thread with cricket in the football section.

Interesting reading Jack Wilshere's latest comments, that only English players should play for England.

What are the thoughts on here?

I believe a lot would agree with Wilshere and at the same time more than willing to cheer on Pietersen and co.

Weird isn't it? Close to two billion people on the Indian sub continent and there isn't a decent footballer amongst em. Never has been either to the best of my knowledge. Can only be down to genetics at a guess.

This is the Ashes thread. Don't bring your agenda against Indians or Pakistani's into this.

If you support the other lot against England I'll be on you like a ton of bricks.

If by the other lot you mean Australia, I'd love for them to wallop the English cricket team. Nothing would make me happier.

It'll go 3 or 4 rounds max imo, can't see Floyd allowing it to go any further.

Apparently it's going to be shown on Vine. Fight won't last longer than 7 seconds!!

Mmmmm... I thought so, grudging admiration for Pietersen but no one else and not even Bell, a class act who was the best batsman by miles on either side this summer. I look forward to you backing England all the way this winter.

I'm still not entirely convinced by Ian Bell. He has the ability to be a great batsmen, something he showed in the Ashes series just gone by, however there are times when his batting is pretty dreadful. He has survived the chop many times with a big innings. I'd like a bit more consistency from him if I'm being perfectly honest.

As for backing England. I don't know which would be worst, supporting the England cricket team or Burnley.

Khan is in a win-win situation and any boxing fan knows that he has been wanting this fight for a long time simply because of the lucrative pay packet. Who can blame him though?

Mayweather will be a class above and will annihilate Khan.

Guaranteed my tickets for the next 4 Mayweather fights thanks to a lovely client, which means 4 trips to the USA in the next 2 years! Can't wait!

Forget all that. Name me your favourite England players of non-Indian descent in terms of skill, watchability etc.

I quite enjoy watching Pietersen. Think he brings a new dimension to the England side and more importantly is feared by all the international sides unless you have a quality leg spinner.

Other than that, there isn't much in that team that excites me. Nobody that is worth of the world class tag yet. Maybe the Ashes down under might change my mind, but I doubt it.

I do also enjoy watching Broad bowl, but only to Yuvraj! ;-)

I like him too but his Test temperament is suspect. But how about the Anglo players ? Come on, you can do it.

Don't know who the Anglo players are these days with England. I'd say Pitersen but isn't South African. Maybe Trott, but I'm sure he's South African too. I give up.

Tell me, who are your favourite England players ?

The Indian, Bopara.

Michael Clarke unsure if he'll be fit for the 1st Ashes test. Real shame if he doesn't play.

Clarke team don't have McGrath with the new ball or Warne as the spinner. Clarke doesn.'t have Langer and Hayden opening, he doesn't have players like Ponting, Hussey, Martyn, Symonds and Gilchrist in the middle order. Ponting's record is better but you only look at the players he captained you would expect it to be you don't really need to be a good captain to win game with those players. Clarke is a very good captain but he just has a very average group of players to captain hence why results haven't been good, if Clarke had captained when Ponting did his record would be fantastic. It's foolish and to simplistic to say that someone is not a good captain just on results.

Nail. On. Head.

Stupid to call Clarke an average captain. He has made some brave decisions and cracking bowling changes in order to take wickets at crucial times.

His form with the bat has also been brilliant whilst he has been captain and it has been known that players struggle when handed the pressure of captaincy. However Clarke has thrived under the pressure and in my view is a superb captain.

Come of it South Africa are by far the best team in the world. The BCCI know that hence why they are messing CSA about and scared to play a 3 test series in SA and would rather play home ODI's against the West Indies.

You're being silly, Clarke is a much better captain than Ponting (although Ponting's record is far better) and in the Ashes he easily out captained Cook but he doesn't have as good players to captain as those two.

We're playing 7 ODI's against Australia. Number 1 ODI team is India. My statement was correct.

And Clarke is not a great captain - his record proves that. He's also just got stuffed this summer 3-0.

You're being silly again.

The way his team performs is not down to him. He made some brilliant decisions in the Ashes series and with a better team around him, the contest would have been a lot closer. I enjoy watching him bat and always enjoy his decision making. I'd say he's better than the over cautious Cook.

Oh the irony. You really are a brilliant advert for birth control.

I admit winding people up on here prior to my warning. Since then I have stopped and would like an opinion on a ex-drunk that has been selected by England, which for me could play a pivotal role in the upcoming Ashes series.

Only Jim has had the decency to construct a good enough response to the debate and if you ask me, you guys are just clogging up the thread with drivel, so please stop.

Just seen Clarke has been ruled out for the India series. Shame as I was looking forward to seeing him play against the best team in the world. Hopefully he'll be fit for the Ashes series. A great captain.

Around a shisha pipe by any chance Blue n white rover?

No Theno, in my lounge if you must know.

You're not intrigued at all. You described it as no surprise so that you can have yet another pop at English cricket. If you want a sensible answer, ask a sensible question and not some more of your bitter, pathetic propaganda disguised as a question.

Please don't make assumptions on what I think or do not think. If you have nothing constructive to add to this debate then please do not post. Thank you.

Panesar gives the appearance of being mentally unstable. In the recent past his marriage has fallen apart because of his volatile behaviour; Sussex kicked him out after he admitted urinating on a nighclub bouncer. Essex gave him another chance and in his first match he was involved in two serious on-field spats with Worcestershire players. He's not a "drunken imbecile" as the India-supporting hypocrite says but I'm very surprised England have picked him for the Ashes. He is only backup for Swann and there's a good chance he will play hardly any cricket on the tour. The likelihood in his current mental state he will crack at some point through boredom or through some perceived slight. I doubt he will finish the tour and will be on an early plane home.

Thank you Jim for a well constructed reply. I too was surprised that he was picked and the 'drunken imbecile' was what he said about himself.

He did go on to say that the Ashes call up has somewhat revived his career and maybe the ECB gave him a helping hand? Who knows but it is a bizarre situation and if he does play, the Aussies will be all over him as well as the home crowd.

That's prejudiced, stupid wumming from a prejudiced stupid wum.

If you read the article he also claimed himself that he was a drunken idiot. Like I said, I'm just intrigued as to whether you would want him in your team.