Adam Hollioake yeah. I definitely think that its the way forward. Its the first time that its been done, i just think it shows that the england selectors are starting to think a bit more about there selections. I've been in favour of this for a very long time, and I'm just very pleased to see it happen.

j-sree: AdamH: Thanks. I hope it catches on. (I wouldn't want my country India to be left behind :-))

Ali: After the performance in Ashes, what do you think is the future of england team ?

Adam Hollioake: Well, i know that we lost 3-2, but there's a lot of positive things to take out of the series against Australia.

Adam Hollioake: I think they are the best side in the world and thats commonly accepted, there were some individuals who came through, namely Dean Headley, and a couple of others who proved their world class status, Graham Thorpe and others established themselves. This is good for English cricket, a settled team is going to do a lot better than one which is changing all the time.

Adam Hollioake: on Ramps: I think Mark Ramprakash is a fine player, I'm a huge fan of his, over the last three years he's been the best player in county cricket For some reason unknown to me he hasn't gone on to reproduce that form in Tests. I think you have to stick with him, you have to tell him you're playing every Test, not likely to be dropped after one Test, and he's likely to come good, as I said, a settled side is important.

Toby: Much was made of your Australian background. Did you ever consider returning to Australia to play there?

Adam Hollioake: Toby: No, I've never considered returning to Australia at all. I learnt my cricket in England in the English system, and if I was to return back to Australia I think I'd be biting the hand which feeds me, in some ways I'd be a traitor. I know my blood is Australian, but I've learnt all my cricket in England.

Nicole: Where did you begin playing cricket?

Adam Hollioake: Nicole: funnily enough, I first started playing cricket in Hong Kong! I was about 9 years old when I first came here, I used to spend.. I'm not talking games, but nets.. I used to play in the nets all the time. The first time I played was in Hong Kong, then I spent a year in Australia for about a year before going on to England, and playing the last 15 years there.

Pak: How would you approach a ODI against sri lanka when batting first - if u were captain?

Adam Hollioake: Pak: when you say batting first, I presume you mean we're batting first... basically I would adopt very similar tactics to theirs.. I think they've taken the game forward with the pinch hitting role and the rest of the world really has to learn of it. We have some fine pinch hitters in England who have been selected for Sharjah and hopefully the people out there will see us adopt a similar tactic to that which Sri Lanka have.

j-sree: AdamH: do you think that sometime in the future many players will start rating ODIs over Tests? Right now, I think almost every players says Test cricket is the real thing

Adam Hollioake: jsree: I dont believe that any one form of cricket is more important than any other form. Cricket is a game which is competitive, anytime you put on your national jersey/jumper, you should be trying 100% and it's as important whether it's the HK Sixes, a Test match or a one day international.

saad: Earlier u said you'd prefer a stable team? English selectors have always been criticized for being too late to notice talent, incorporate it into their squad. stable team means you'd lose potentially good years from great players...?

Adam Hollioake: saad: I'd like to answer the question and say, you have to go through a rebuilding stage, which England clearly at the moment need to do. We're kidding ourselves if we think we're going to be the best in a couple of months. We have to start picking youngsters, and if that is at the expense of some older players, then im all for that. In terms of one-day cricket, we need to build towards the 1999 world cup, and the same applies in test cricket

fawaz: Whom would you rate as the world's top batsmen? and bowlers?

Adam Hollioake: fawaz: i think there's probably 4 batsmen that spring to mind for me, and there's one that stands out alone as the best, I think Steve Waugh has proven that he's the best player in all situations. Brian Lara and Tendulkar are obviously talented, but Steve Waugh does it when the pressure is on, and the other one, who is rated #2 by C&L at the moment is my Surrey teammate Graham Thorpe.

Adam Hollioake: The bowlers, obviously Glenn Mcgrath bowled very well recently, as did Shane Warne,... you've always got Wasim, and Waqar Younis... and then Ambrose and Walsh of course, there's a lot of good bowlers around and another whom I think hopefully going to burst on the scene is another Surrey player, Saqlain Mushtaq.

Adam Hollioake: next q j-sree: AdamH thanks for answering my prev qns. It is a great honour to talk with you. My next qn is how much do bowling machines help? Do you use them?

Adam Hollioake: jsree: umm, I'm a big fan of bowling machines, probably because I can't find anyone to bowl to me in the nets half the time... I think they're crucial when you've only got the two people to practice.

panther: Adam who do you think has the best bowling attack at present?

Adam Hollioake: panther: If you're talking Test cricket, I think Australia have proven by their record of games won in the past few years, they consistently bowl people out.. they have an incredible record of only drawing one or two games in the last 20 tests or so because they bowl people out.

farzi: what do you think of the australian attitude towards sledging, are they the worst of all?? did you get a lot of it during the tests?

Adam Hollioake: farzi: All I'd like to say about the Australian attitude is that I think it's a very good attitude.. They play it very hard on the pitch, but off the pitch they are prepared to have a drink with you after the game.. I know it's callled sledging but its part of cricket, if you're not mentally strong enough then maybe you shouldnt be playing... go and play tiddlywinks, or something like that !

Alpha: What do u think is england's biggest weakness?

Adam Hollioake: I think Englands biggest weakness is the one day captain they've just announced!!

Adam Hollioake: only joking :-) Thanks guys.

stemmo: hello Ben, hows things

Ben Hollioake: good.. looking forward to the weekend

Garyth: Do you think some countries play to many games against some teams, and too little against others?

Ben Hollioake: don't know, haven't really been playing international cricket long enough to gve an answer on that...

WGG: Have you played 6s before?

Ben Hollioake: No, this is the first time, but I'm sure it's going to be fun.

Windian: Are there any players you are in awe of - bowlers / batsmen that are playing currently ?

Ben Hollioake: yes, I wouldn't say in awe of.. but some that I have the deepest respect for, like the Waugh brothers, and obviously some of the West Indian and Pakistani bowlers..

WGG: Have you ever used the Internet CricInfo before ?

Ben Hollioake: never.. this is the first time I'm on the internet.. my dad uses it

Keith: Do you have any feelings about maybe being the English future captain ?

Ben Hollioake: Keith: not really at the momet, if I'm lucky enough to play for England I'll play under whoever's captain.

Windian: Ben...do you believe that young players like Owais Shah and Alex Tudor are good enough to play for the senior side ?

Ben Hollioake: I don't know at the moment, but I'm sure they will be.