Botham you CLOWN

[Simster]

What IS he playing at:

BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | Botham predicts 'easy' Ashes win

He's gone public saying we'll "easily" beat Australia over here in the Ashes series.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

No real surprise.

Amazing cricketeer.

Great CHARIDEE stuff and that.

Utter, utter KNOB.

 

[Storer68]

I seem to recall he said something similar aboiut the last Ashes series

 

[seagull_special]

Can pretty well forgive Botham anything, drugs, shagging around, being a bit of a knob cos he he is the greatest English cricketer ever and for me in the world top 5 of all time

 

[Tooting Gull]

And, of course, the Ashes Tour really starts at HOVE for the Aussies. Marvellous, can't wait.

 

[Statto]

I dont agree with that, but I do think we have a realistic chance of winning the series. They are not the side they were. We beat a much better australian team in 2005.

 

[Seagull over NZ]

I couldn't believe it when I saw that. He is a chump. Australia's top 6 is still better than ours. FACT. Stuart Clark will bowl well in English conditions and Brett Lee is still quality. Spinners generally don't win you games in England unless you are Shane Warne so less of an issue.

I thik we have a good chance and maybe you could say we start as marginal favourites but thats at best.

Lets see how England do against India first maybe.

Also, Australia play SA home and away before coming to England, that will be a good yardstick to how they will perform against us.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

. We beat a much better australian team in 2005.

That is true, though it could also be argued that it was a much stronger England team [Hoggard and Harmison at their peak, a brilliant and irreplaceable Simon Jones, Flintoff before he forgot how to bat, and Vaughan in his prime].

 

[Billy the Fish]

It will be close, there's no doubt about that. It hinges on many factors though, Flintoff and GBH need to be fit and on form and our top order need to find a bit of form. If that happens then I think we'll do it. Watching the convicts in India, they are lacking a bowler who can swing the ball consistantly and a spinner, which is still important on day 4 and 5 of a test match in ANY country, so hopefully they'll bring cameron white over.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think Botham's laying it on a bit thick there. A lot has to happen for England to be clear favourites, including a fit Flintoff and Simon Jones, a return to peak form for Harmison, a wicketkeeper that can keep AND score a few runs, Panesar to perfom, Strauss/Bell/Cook to stand up and be counted under the pressure.

Too many ifs and buts for my liking. An injured Ponting or Flintoff could swing it either way, but I agree with Botham that Pietersen, the crowd and a fit quartet of fast bowlers should be too much for the Aussies.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

We can't beat South Africa at home (who didn't have a spinner), so beating the Aussies will be much harder. Botham is a COCK