I know right now that Pietersen is the darling of every English fan. He did make a strong case for himself to be included and did so at the expense of Thorpe, who is a top notch player in my book. But, I feel this English middle order is too inexperineced and too attacking. Bell, Petersen and Flintoff makes a very compelling middle order, when on song, can tear into any attack. What I would like to see is how they respond if the openers fail . Thorpe was a master of grafting, a solid player, who had the ability to play according to the situation. And, if the sitauion was bad, you could count on him to rebuild the innings. Pietersen and Flintoff are an unknown commodity under such situations. It remains to be seen how they hold up at the first sign of trouble. We will find out in this Ashes. Actualy, I would have played Thorpe, Peietersen and Flintoff, all three of them. Freddie batting at seven, GO as eight and three bowlers. Simon Jones sitting out !
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