God alone knows. Part of me thinks Moeen if he's up for it because:
His test average is about the same as JL's.
He has the experience to deal with getting tonked when a new lad might go into his shell. He's dealt with pressure before.
He can bat at 8, and that's where our weakness is without Woakes.
He'll be good against their left-handers {though we miss JL for Smith and Laba-Shane.}
He's always been a Bazball batter, bit like Stuey B was there ahead of the curve.
And it would be a great redemption arc. Moeen resurrected by Bazball for one last Ashes-winning hurrah!.
I could see Stokes/Baz going with that young Ahmed kid. I just think they'd have wanted to bed him in a bit more instead of dropping him into an Ashes series.
Will Jacks has the same FC average as Joe Root, so no point in him given he's an offie like Root.
Ask for green seamers and go with Jimmy, Olly, Broad and Wood? With Stokes if poss for a few overs of reverse? Don't think they will. Think they like a spinner. So Mo, if not young Raheem. {Obviously, I like sub-continental descendants in the side.}
What about you?
I agree. But how has Woakes been this season? His record in this country is astounding, and give him green seamers at Edgbaston and Lords and he could be a real handful, with Root to attack the lefties.
But the damnable Convicts are sadly looking good with both bat and ball against my boys atm. And they have an all-rounder now when we might not get any overs out of the skipper. If you think how hard they've been to beat when we've had Both/Freddie/Stokes and they haven't had one, with the boot on the other foot, we could be screwed.
I still worry about Zak, so it would have been hard even with a fully fit Stokes and Leach. JL may have gone for 38 runs a wicket since Bazball started but he's taken 45 wickets and we reckon we can knock off 380 runs every time, so he's been great for us.
Basically, we need all the batsmen to fire to some degree, we need Stokes to be able to bowl with the old ball and get it reversing and we need a Mo fairytale ending. Or Harold Larwood and no helmets.
Yup. Ollie will be up for his first Ashes at home. Margate boy to boot. {I live here now.}
If we had a fit Joffra {and Stokes and JL} I'd be happier. Root broke his shiny new toy, didn't he, with that 42 over game. Waited all my life for Eng to get a pwoppa WI quick and won {lost} Ashes and won {one} WC later and he's just a fading memory.