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pggtips

Listed below are comments made by pggtips between Sunday, 20th July 2008 and Saturday, 18th July 2009.

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Aussies collapse to revitalised England 12:32pm on 18 Jul 2009 Brilliant decision by England not to follow-on.

Australia only have two fully-fit bowlers, one of whom hasn't yet bowled a decent length all tour. Siddle is maybe 3/4s fit and Hauritz isn't even 1/3rd fit.

If England can bat until noon tomorrow, they'll have a lead of 500. 30 kamikaze minutes later and they'll have 5 sessions and 6 overs to get 10 wickets.
Made off with all our money 1:43pm on 20 Dec 2008 Comment 225

"As Mrs Thatcher used to say "trust but verify"."

Mrs Thatcher may well have said but she certainly didn't put the legislation in place that would have forced all companies to adopt her noble values.

Neither did her heroes in the Labour Party or across the pond.

Neither did Milton Friedmann encourage people to adopt this strategy, indicating the system would otherwise fail.
Pietersen hides cracks in England batting 9:26pm on 08 Aug 2008 28

CC and Test Matches are different levels. Ronnie Irani averaged 40+ at first class level but didn't even look like getting half that at Test level or he would have played many more games for England.

If Essex feed Ambrose's back foot shots, he'll score plenty besides the pressure of batting for a county and England v Australia is miles apart.
Pietersen hides cracks in England batting 9:14pm on 08 Aug 2008 The batting line-up I've shown will prompt people to ask for Chris Read, but the question I would ask is, is he the best keeper in England.

Anytime I've seen him play, he's been dodgy batting as well as behind the stumps.

The question should become, who is the best keeper who can also stand the pressure of the Ashes, or the subcontinent.

Read has certainly weakened under pressure. Foster played well in Australia without scoring many runs but I don't remember many howlers with the gloves, he could be the man.

Geraint Jones kept better than many gave him credit for.

It's open, but my pick wouldn't be Read.

Is anyone aware of how good a keeper Davies of Worcestershire is? He's a fine batsman but I wonder about his keeping, how many byes has he conceded in how many games?
Pietersen hides cracks in England batting 9:06pm on 08 Aug 2008 11

Mark Davies is a out-and-out swing bowler like Martin Saggers who thrives on English conditions, particularly around April and May.

Might be the kind of bowler to play for England in May, or in New Zealand but doubtful elsewhere.

Other thoughts

Rashid getting a 7-for is great news, his batting has deteriorated a bit this season but if his bowling is improving its a great sign as England will probably be looking for him to play at 6, 7 or 8.

I would pick Swann and Rashid. Panesar simply isn't a good enough cricketer and hasn't shown the necessary discipline to improve (or the management haven't helped him improve, either scenario is worrying) the weakest aspects of his game.

If England are to beat Australia, the best cricketers have to play and Panesar is too much of a joke figure, immediately handing Australia a big advantage.

Similarly Simon Jones must come back into the reckoning, but Broad I feel, although a terrific batsmen off the back foot needs a bowling coach to help him bowl more than one length. It was less than 12 months ago that Broad was hit for 6 sixes in an over, it may have been 20-20 but you can be sure Ajantha Mendis wouldn't be hit for 6 sixes in an over against any batsman, at any level of competition.

If Broad improves his full-pitched bowling you have a possible batting line-up of:

6: Flintoff
7: Prior
8: Broad
9: Rashid
10: Harmison
11: Simon Jones

It's then only the top order you have to sort out. :-)
Prepare for class war 10:30pm on 22 Jul 2008 Yet again we have the BBC and its reporters and its sycophants who are popping up here deterring democracy in exactly the same would Chomsky indicated they would.

Someone mentions class and the aspirational lower-middle and middle-middle go into a mad frenzy.

If the British Social Attitudes survey (which is widely held to be the best and most comprehensive in the business) indicates, and has done now for about 20 years that class remains, and is increasingly the biggest issue in the UK. Then it is.

The BBC has one survey of 1000 people and we are expected to take it as fact, the Social Attitudes survey publishes what it has been saying for more than 20 years and it is generally ignored by the media, frankly I find it unbelievable it made it here.

Still, that must be some kind of progress.
Five batsmen not enough for England 8:52pm on 21 Jul 2008 I'm surprised Gooch hasn't asked for ten Doeschate (sp???) to be picked.

Is he any good, is he eligible?

His averages look great but it could be just lies or damned lies.
Five batsmen not enough for England 8:45pm on 21 Jul 2008 Yesterday Gooch indicated England's bowlers aren't good enough to take twenty wickets, now they need 6 batsmen, unfortunately England can't play 12 players, in fact England should be allowed to play 13 players whereas the other team should only have 10 players, simply because England are England and everyone else are simply 2nd class.

In picking players, I would definitely bring Hoggard back as he will be able to bowl 25 overs per day, Simon Jones must come in to contention as he is simply the best bowler in the country and truly the only player feared by Australia for his bowling (Flintoff is feared as an all-rounder), even if it means only bowling 15 overs/day.

Flintoff is in competition with Broad for the #7 spot and Swann or Rashid should come in at #8.

The last slot should probably go to Sidebottom ahead of Harmison as he can bowl more overs and be more consistent if less destructive.
South Africa hold whip hand 10:34am on 20 Jul 2008 additional

England's inability to take twenty wickets with 4 specialist bowlers is the result of Duncan Fletcher denying the likes of Bell, Collingwood and Pietersen the chance to improve their bowling.

Australia's secret was that when McGrath, Warne or Gillespie weren't firing on all cylinders, which was rare, they could still get a few overs from Martyn, Ponting, Hayden and Clarke so that an end be tied up and give the strike bowlers a chance to refresh.

Either of Bell, Collingwood or Pietersen have/had the ability to have a better average than the 49 currently achieved by Broad.
South Africa hold whip hand 10:27am on 20 Jul 2008 Jonathon, your comments are grossly unfair, it isn't only Pattinson who is not of Test class as a bowler.

Broad is averaging 49 after bowling 279 overs and only has 18 wickets, a wicket every 15 1/2 overs.

Apart from that the batters, batted poorly, all the so-called experts predicted how hard it would be to remain at the crease, yet Prince and de Villiers have more than made a mockery of that assertion.

If Broad continues to play it must be at the expense of Flintoff, and you also need an additional bowler who can bat, possibly Swann or Rashid to replace Panesar with Anderson, Sidebottom and another b/w Hoggard, Jones and Harmison means England's tale begins at 9, or 8 if Panesar is included.

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