Bit harsh on root if you ask me as he brought much needed energy to the game that Compton wouldn't of. Also has some great bowlimg figures to boot!

Possibly on Root - I had him down for 6 but remove Lords and his average was poor. He has the talent and is good enough for England but needs to work on his footwork. If it was Lords alone he'd have a 9

Root lucky to get a 6. If he was caught for 8 his series would have been extremely pathetic.

Tour stats
Anderson: W 22, av 29.6, sr 56
Broad: W 22, av 27.4, sr 50
----------------------------------------
Career stats
Anderson: M87, w329, av30.1, sr58
Broad: M62, w217, av30.6, sr59

Whichever way you look at the numbers, it is hard to argue that one is much better than the other.

Not to forget batting averages for the series.
Anderson: 7.2
Broad: 25.6

Didn't broad get 8 of his wickets when the Aussies where in quick run scoring mode at old Trafford and the oval?

Apart from the 4th test he has looked limp and has rescued his place by getting them 11 wickets.

To me Anderson strikes as top order wicket taker. Broad is more of a wicket accumulator. Either ways Broad might do better than Anderson in Australia as wickers are more bouncy there.

I don't disagree that Anderson is a very good bowler and that Broad can be very ordinary at times.

Nevertheless, over time (62 to 87 matches), their stats are almost identical, probably because Anderson was mediocre outside England in the first half of his career.

I think Broad is at least better than Ishant Sharma.

Root a 5?

At least three of his dismissals were debatable, you're being far too harsh there, the lad needs time and support like was afforded to Bell in his early international career.

I am not advocating he gets the chop based on this series. Bell was terrible in 05 and did spend some time on the sidelines before returning with some improved performances. He is on record as saying he doubted himself after that Series

As for Root, one can debate the veracity of his dismissals - he wasn't the only one to suffer on that front - but it goes deeper than that. His footwork and propensity to play off the backfoot have been exposed at this level.

As I mentioned, this needs to be addressed if he is to prosper as an opener at Test level. Bar Lords and his knock yesterday, he has struggled.

Reason Anderson is better than broad is consistency

Over 5 games they will take the same amount if wickets but

Anderson will get them 5,5,4,4,5

Whilst broad will get them 2,3,2,12,3

Should pick Ballance at 6.Tremlett alongside Broad/Anderson/Swann and Tredwell as the 2nd spinner for the Ashes down under.

Either of Ballance or Taylor needs to be given a go now.
They both, and Only they are the young english batsmen with potential to be great batsmen down the line with 12000+runs at around 50 avg.

This series was a lot closer than many imagined. My memories are that no player really stood out (except Bell).

But when it came to the "shoot out at the OK Corral" scenario England won hands down. The Aussies "could" have won games 1 & 4 but lost both and almost threw away game 5 (in a roles reversal of the 4th test).

If Cook and/or Trott remembers how to bat then it will be a long summer for the Aussies.

BTW, can I suggest Comps is due a recall and drop Root down the order?

United,
Nice explanation why Anderson's and Broad's career bowling stats look similar.

Root was the second highest scoring batsman for England

Root second highest scorer?was it not pietersen?

Oh yeah sorry still a decent return for someone rated lower than trott, cook and prior.

also for the record I thought cook had a poor series

Root 2
Bairstow 1
Prior 2

The rest 6

Except Bell 9