Preview: Third Ashes Test – England hope for early Christmas present (Part 2)
Contd. from part 2
Continuing our discussion we take a look at the probable teams that will be played, Stats and Trivia, Pitch information and Team news along with player quotes.
Team news:
The million dollar question for Australia is whether they should go ahead and play Peter Siddle who started off with six wickets in the opening match, however went wicketless in the next encounter, whereas Ryan Harris bowled really
well at Adelaide. If Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus make it to the team then in most probability Siddle will miss out. However Siddle’s inclusion will be dependent upon the selection of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Beer-c1949. If Ponting decides to pick him, then Siddle will sit out, however
Australia have not announced their squad yet, for Ponting wants to take a look at the wicket before he makes that decision.
Australia (probable) 1 Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Phillip-Hughes-c2185, 3 Ricky Ponting (Capt.), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Steven Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Michael Beer, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Ben
Hilfenhaus.
It is likely that either Tremlett or Bresnan will make it into the squad as a replacement for Broad. Tremlett offers extra bounce given his height, whereas Bresnan would give the batting more depth as he is an all rounder. Whoever
gets selected will have a crucial role to play with the likes of Swann, Finn and Anderson.
England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (Capt.), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 James Anderson, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Steven
Finn.
Michael Beers inclusion has earned the Australians much criticism. Many have even gone on to state that it was a panic selection by the selectors. Beer has played only three matches at Perth and he could either perform a Houdini
for the desperate Aussies, or prove to be disappointing for the Australians. Beer acknowledges that he is not ready for the Test challenge since he has played only a few shield matches. Former Australian captain, Steve Waugh has heavily castigated the selectors
for the lack of stability, which is leading to desperate times for the cricket team.
England are set to rewrite the Ashes history, however the Aussies will not go down without a fight. Ricky Ponting needs to up the ante and play a captains innings for his side along with Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 who is beginning to find
his lost form. Clarke scored an 80 in the last Adelaide Test that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 went on to lose by an innings and 71 runs.
Pitch Conditions
Perth has a reputation for being heaven for fast bowlers due to its grassy wickets however the last few years have been more than disappointing. This year the pitch is expected to start off with a tinge of green however as the
match progresses it will start to crack, which would worry the batsmen. Sunny conditions have been forecasted throughout the match, with temperatures staying above 30C.
Stats and trivia
England have won only one out of the 11 Tests that they have played at Perth, with the last victory coming in during 1978-79.
Australia in comparison have won 21 out of the 39 games they have played at the WACA. They have lost only 9 games at the ground, 5 of which came against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760.
Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain is the highest run scorer at Perth with 933 runs, one more than Allan Border. The best an overseas player has managed to achieve there was David Gower who scored 471 runs in only 5 matches.
If Alastair Cook aims to add the highest score at WACA to his record at the Gabba, he will have to beat the 380 runs scored by Matthew Hayden against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045.
Quotes
"We are priming ourselves to play our best game so far in the series and we know we have to do it by a long way if we want to win the game."
Ricky Ponting
"I feel like its part of my job as a bowler and I see myself as the leader of the attack here, so it's important I think about what went right for us in the last two games and what we can improve on for this game."
James Anderson
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