da supremo： Usually in the biggest contests it is the senior members who hold the most power over the result, but in this series the teams will expect much more from their inexperienced picks to help grab them the urn
da bet7： Peter English at Cardiff07-Jul-2009Usually in the biggest contests it is the senior members who hold the most power over the result, but in this series the teams will expect much more from their inexperienced picks to help grab them the urn. Almost half of the players at Sophia Gardens will be on their Ashes debut, with Australia considering giving six men their first taste against England and the hosts picking up to five greenhorns against the baggy greens.The tourists have ten guys in their 16-man squad who have never faced the old enemy and the group is led by Mitchell Johnson, who was 12th man for all five Tests of the 2006-07 encounter. Phillip Hughes and Brad Haddin are other newbies to England and will have crucial roles in determining which side finishes on top at The Oval next month.Ricky Ponting, the godfather of the visit, is on his fourth tour and even his deputy Michael Clarke is leaning on him for knowledge of the Old Dart. “I’ve done a lot of sitting and listening,” Clarke, who was here in 2005, said. Before play the Australians have been outlining their favourite Ashes memories in an effort to inspire and remind each other of the importance of the century-old rivalry.Informal mentoring sessions have also been occurring to prepare the younger members of the squad for the hype and attention. “I’ve spoken to a few of the guys about my experience,” Clarke said. “The whole group has a different take on what the Ashes means to them.”The younger guys are enjoying talking to the more senior players about what it’s like to be part of an Ashes tour. It’s still special for Ricky, who has played about 140 Tests [131] and is an amazing player. He’s as excited as I’ve ever seen him in my career. I certainly look up to that and think he’s keen as mustard for this series – and he’s not on his own.”Ravi Bopara, England’s No. 3, holds an intimidating role and will play in the country’s most significant contest after only six Tests. Graham Onions (2 games) and Graeme Swann (7) are also relative newcomers while Stuart Broad and Matt Prior are established members of the team, which has its first chance to reply after the 5-0 loss in 2006-07.Over the past 20 years there have been some grand Ashes entrances, with Mark Taylor taking 839 runs from England in 1989 and Shane Warne starting with the Ball of the Century four years later on the way to 34 wickets. In 2005 Kevin Pietersen averaged 52.55 after the first five Tests of his career and the former captain will be an important sounding board for England’s wide-eyed boys.
MatchesPerformancesRavi Bopara6 Tests397 runs @ 49.62Stuart Broad17 Tests533 runs @ 31.35, 46 wickets @ 37.95Graham Onions2 Tests10 wickets @ 20.00Matt Prior18 Tests1065 runs @ 48.40, 40 catches, 1 stumpingGraeme Swann7 Tests105 runs @ 35.00, 34 wickets @ 26.23
MatchesPerformancesPhillip Hughes3 Tests415 runs @ 69.16Marcus North2 Tests160 runs @ 40.00, 2 wickets @ 49.00Brad Haddin15 Tests901 runs @ 37.54, 55 catches, 1 stumpingMitchell Johnson21 Tests694 runs @ 34.70, 94 wickets @ 28.01Nathan Hauritz4 Tests72 runs @ 12.00, 14 wickets @ 32.28Peter Siddle7 Tests106 runs @ 11.77, 29 wickets @ 27.65Andrew McDonald4 Tests107 runs @ 21.40, 9 wickets @ 33.33Ben Hilfenhaus3 Tests28 runs @ 7.00, 7 wickets @ 52.28Shane Watson8 Tests257 runs @ 19.76, 14 wickets @ 35.57Graham Manou0 Tests
