All bets are off!! Monty WILL win Sports Personality 2007

An enthralling day at the WACA has left us all, whether Pom or Aussie, imagining what could have been.

Had England's hitherto idiotic selectors had a little more bottle than timidly playing a squad in Brisbane and Adelaide with the intention of RETAINING the Ashes then we might not have been in this dire situation.

For the Aussies, they're left thanking their lucky stars that we had a selection squad as inept as our players in the first two games.

Monty's fivefer came at a time where confidence in England's bowling attack couldn't have been lower. His inclusion seemed to brighten the spirits of all the players around him, and as a result even Freddy looked like he knew what he was doing.

The joy Monty brings to the game is boundless, whether watching or playing with him, I imagine that he is an infectious character. His demeanour today was in direct contrast to the times we have seen him glum-faced waiting near the boundary rope to bring the isotonics on-field.

His haul today, the third best by an Englishman, is a couple of fingers in the direction of the selectors - whoever does and doesn't select the team - and a big thumbs up to those who love him... Bring on the second innings....

The inclusion of Saj Mahmood is certainly another positive step for England. His batting on the tour so far silences those that encourage batting down the order, and his bowling today, although wicketless was quick and spritely by all accounts.

Ashes 2006: Roy of the Rovers...

As a Brit, I'm delighted to hear that Andrew Symonds has been included in the test match squad for the WACA test tommorow.

The tests that Symonds has participated in have been somewhat topsy-turvy. A couple of 50+ star turns have been accompanied by some stuttering, incompetent turns which have seen him dismissed 6 times for less than 10 in just 15 innings.

'Roy' is clearly a man of talent though. Nearly 4,000 runs in the one day format of the game and 118 wickets, have seen him acknowledged as one of the premier all-rounders over the course of 50 overs. He himself was quite upfront when asked about his poor test form and said that the big occasion had got to him at times, but he's hoping to rectify the situation.

Personally I'll be delighted if he doesn't do that well for obvious reasons, but to see him back in the Test arena has certainly brought a smile to my face, and the thought of a 6 hitting competition is making me VERY happy.

Ashes 2006: Cricinfo and England expect??

This is a little excerpt from a cricinfo e-mail I received a minute or too ago - Even those guys seem to be optimistic about Monty's inclusion in the next Test at the WACA... Do they know something we don't?

Monty Panesar

Surely, this time, there's no keeping Monty away from the action. He is absolutely climbing the walls in his desperation to get involved in this series, and Ashley Giles's sad performance in the second Test has undermined Duncan Fletcher's insistence that Monty is an inferior batsman and fielder. Both spinners dropped a catch against Western Australia, but Panesar's direct-hit run-out shows his fielding is improving. If he doesn't play, there is likely to be a mutiny among England's fans back home, who installed Panesar as one of the 10 nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. His time, surely, has arrived at last.

C Cricinfo 2006

Ashes 2006: What's going on on the BBC messageboards?

Here's a new feature for the Website - Every week I'm going to produce a collection of articles from the BBC messageboards, print them on here and hopefully generate some debate on the state of both squads.

"Harmison has does nothing in this series to remotely suggest he can bowl match-turning spells; when England needed fine bowling to save the last Test, Andrew Flintoff turned to Ashley Giles ahead of him. While it is true that he has a tendency to drift in and out of form without warning, can England actually afford to risk selecting him for a Test they cannot lose?" extratime

"I think on the evidence of the two day match agaianst Western Australia, Read, Mahmood and Pensar all deserve a chance to prove themselves in the third test." Akira9b

"Surely now even Duncan Fletcher is left with no choice - Read and Monty in, Jones and Giles out. If he's worried about the tail, fine - play Mahmood instead of Harmison. Sajid seems on much better batting FORM (a word Fletcher hasn't discovered yet) than Giles." TobyMar

"Monty Panesar can bat! He isn't a walking wicket like so many people say. He just hsn't been given a fair chance to showcase his skills yet. He has hit some really nice innings down a t Northants, including a 34 this season, in which the summary of the game (I didn't go) said that he looked like a proper batsmen, playing his shots and driving through the gaps. " no1northantsman

"Flintoff has been deficient so far in his winter reign as captain, and at times he has looked lost. Muddled bowling changes and tactics which represent his archetypal schoolboy image have given creedence to the widely held suspicions." theashesblog

So, what do we think? Opinions please.

Here it is

This is the quote from Strauss denying the claims today:

"We're all 100% behind Fred. He's done a very good job in some pretty
trying circumstances in these last two games.
"There are no divisions. I
don't know where those stories are coming from."

Not much to go on, I'm sure you'll agree, but will Strauss be thinking that he could have done better himself?

It seems like this tour is going to end in a series of postmortems, with the issue of captaincy being at the top of the list for dissection.

A weekend of intrigue, if nothing else...

First of all, some time needs to be taken to absorb the news that there is a reported 'captaincy battle' going on behind closed doors in the England camp.

As you would expect, all parties 'involved' have denied any split, fissure, or crack in a team they like to present as a cricketing equivalent of the Famous Five. But as we all know, especially with journalists, players and PR people working in such close proximity, there is little smoke without fire.

Andrew Strauss, who did so well in the summer tests against Pakistan is probably still feeling aggrieved that he was not picked as captain for the winter tour. However, if these rumours have started with Strauss, his timing is far from impeccable. Half way through a critical tour is not a time to raise concerns or to start Chinese whispers.

Flintoff has been deficient so far in his winter reign as captain, and at times he has looked lost. Muddled bowling changes and tactics which represent his archetypal schoolboy image have given creedence to the widely held suspicions.

With Trescothick absent for the forseeable future and Vaughan unlikely to return for the series at all, there is nobody for Flintoff to fall back on, tactically, apart from Strauss himself. If these two men, the only members of the squad with real captaincy experience can't let the cricket come ahead of their personal ambitions, then England's demise will be completed by the 4th day at the WACA.