Cricket Thread

[Romey 1878]

England should have won that.

[Bailey]

Anderson replaces Robinson for the next test.

Hopefully Jimmy gets the result his career deserves on his home ground.

[Romey 1878]

Shame that Ali is going to have an even more enhanced role in this Test, batting at 3.

He's such an unreliable batter so it's annoying me that he's going to play in such an important position for us. Every now and then he hits a big score to mask how much of a balloon he is that gets out stupidly over and over.

[Bailey]

6 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

Shame that Ali is going to have an even more enhanced role in this Test, batting at 3.

He's such an unreliable batter so it's annoying me that he's going to play in such an important position for us. Every now and then he hits a big score to mask how much of a balloon he is that gets out stupidly over and over.

I don't really get the hype about Ali to be honest. Some of the talk about him from the commentators makes him sound like he is an England great but I agree that he is just completely unreliable with the bat. No 3 shouldnt have an average of 30, which is even more shocking (both bat and ball) against the Aussies.

I guess the hope his, he comes out smashes a quick 50 to put the Aussies on the back foot.

[Formby]

27 minutes ago, Bailey said:

I don't really get the hype about Ali to be honest. Some of the talk about him from the commentators makes him sound like he is an England great but I agree that he is just completely unreliable with the bat. No 3 shouldnt have an average of 30, which is even more shocking (both bat and ball) against the Aussies.

I guess the hope his, he comes out smashes a quick 50 to put the Aussies on the back foot.

It's been largely downhill since that fantastic series he had against SA in 2017. He has lovely batting technique and was a decent enough spinner but, as you've both said, just throws away his wicket. Having him at 3 is too much of a gamble to me but we'll see. In sha Allah, he proves me wrong.   

[Palfy]

He is a strange choice for me to be in the English team at all, he’s not what I would call a good all rounder, he’s definitely not a high order batsman so he’s been brought back in mainly for his bowling which hasn’t been much to write home about so far this series. 
I would be contemplating putting Root at number 3 in the hope he tries to look after his wicket a bit more, and he builds himself a good innings.  

[Bailey]

18 hours ago, Palfy said:

He is a strange choice for me to be in the English team at all, he’s not what I would call a good all rounder, he’s definitely not a high order batsman so he’s been brought back in mainly for his bowling which hasn’t been much to write home about so far this series. 
I would be contemplating putting Root at number 3 in the hope he tries to look after his wicket a bit more, and he builds himself a good innings.  

Root at 3 certainly seems the most logical/traditional thing to do.

I suppose the one thing Stokes and McCullum have earned the right to do is try out these mad ideas every now and then!

[Romey 1878]

Fairly even after the Aussie's first innings I feel.

Bat well please!

[Romey 1878]

Not bad this attacking cricket, is it?

[MikeO]

What a session!

178 off 25 overs.

[MikeO]

Crawley out for 189; shame, 200 would've been bice. Great innings though.

[MikeO]

Back in the days when one day games were sixty overs a side England set the highest score (334-4) in 1975 (previous record was 266). That stood until Pakistan broke it in 1983 with 338-5.

Today we hit 347-3 off the first sixty overs in an Ashes test match. Crazy.

[Palfy]

31 minutes ago, MikeO said:

Back in the days when one day games were sixty overs a side England set the highest score (334-4) in 1975 (previous record was 266). That stood until the Pakistan broke it in 1983 with 338-5.

Today we hit 347-3 off the first sixty overs in an Ashes test match. Crazy.

Who said test cricket isn’t exciting to watch, if you go out with the right game plan and mentality you create a spectacle that people will want to watch win or lose. Attack against good bowling is the best form of defence. Bazball all the way for me.  

[Palfy]

The Ginger Ninja is really fired up shouting like a man possessed. 

[Romey 1878]

A certain someone has been very quiet in this thread lately.

[MikeO]

Would be a crying shame if the weather decided this one, which it may well do.

Epic series going to a winner take all final match would be incredible.

[Cornish Steve]

6 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

A certain someone has been very quiet in this thread lately.

I've been traveling (in 108-degree heat, I might add). I used to travel internationally every week and think nothing of it, but these days I struggle with the tiredness of arriving home at 2:30 in the morning. Still, that's another topic...

Thank goodness England have learned from their earlier mistakes and are making a game of these Ashes. Instead of the arrogance of earlier tests, they've demonstrated patience when patience is needed and attacked when the pitch calls for that. Switching out Robinson was a smart move. If England want to win the series, though, they need to maintain this discipline and not return to their former attitude. This is a great series and has shown the importance of psychology, momentum, strategy, as well as ability. As Mike wrote, let's hope the weather doesn't spoil things since a draw means the Ashes are over.

[Cornish Steve]

By the way, I find it a little odd that England batted so long today when they knew bad weather was on its way. In the first test, they declared too soon. Maybe today they were nervous about that, but they could have achieved so much more with a couple of hours more to bowl.

[Palfy]

22 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

By the way, I find it a little odd that England batted so long today when they knew bad weather was on its way. In the first test, they declared too soon. Maybe today they were nervous about that, but they could have achieved so much more with a couple of hours more to bowl.

I don’t think so, they set a target that they believe they can bowl Australia out before they reach it, which means they will not require to bat again, so hopefully will only need 4-6 hours of play in the next two days to win the test, which will of course still rely on the weather, but without doubt they have given themselves the opportunity to win.  Also you failed to acknowledge England have been far superior with the bat and the ball in the last 3 days, and Stokes has been way a head of Cummings when it comes down to being a Captain and a leader through out the series. 

[Romey 1878]

Desperately need someone to make a breakthrough here.

[Romey 1878]

20 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

Desperately need someone to make a breakthrough here.

And we got it.

[Romey 1878]

More rain .

[Romey 1878]

What a rubbish way for it to be decided.

[Formby]

1 hour ago, Romey 1878 said:

What a rubbish way for it to be decided.

Was always on the cards this week. Hugely impressed with the performance. I think all fair-minded Aussie fans from Brisbane to Perth, Melbourne to er...Cornwall will acknowledge how close this series has been! 

[Palfy]

30 minutes ago, Formby said:

Was always on the cards this week. Hugely impressed with the performance. I think all fair-minded Aussie fans from Brisbane to Perth, Melbourne to er...Cornwall will acknowledge how close this series has been! 

It won’t stop them gloating though their followers are like their team unsportsmanlike

[Cornish Steve]

My reflections on the Ashes, now that Australia have retained them.

1) These are two well-matched teams. I don't agree that one team, or one captain, is superior to the other. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. I'd love to see another series between these two teams.

2) England began with arrogance, assuming that their Bazball tactic would win the day. Robinson, in particular, was obnoxious - and they lost those games. The moment England adopted a more flexible strategy, they did better. They won the third test and should have won the fourth.

3) England's declaration on the first day was foolhardy, and maybe arrogance was part of it. They lost the game in large part because of it. Unless the weather is known to be poor (as in the fourth test), I really can't think of a good reason why any team would want to declare on the first day of a 5-day test. In the fourth test, it was the complete opposite. Everyone knew that weather was closing in, and everyone knew that, for England, a win was the only acceptable outcome. They should have declared at around 450, or at 500 tops. Maybe Stokes was reacting to his mistake in the first test, but he was much too cautious in the fourth.

4) The whole kerfuffle about Australia being unsportsmanlike is nonsense. In the second test, Bairstow attempted to run out Warner in the very same way as Carey ran out Bairstow, but he missed the stumps. Does anyone believe that England would have forgone the 'out'? Of course they wouldn't. Both teams wanted to win, and both teams made good use of rules to do so.

5) Extras. Has anyone else pointed this out? In the first two tests, England actually had the better batting numbers, but they lost in part because of giving up so many extras. And dropped catches. They cost England dearly.

6) I'm so glad that England learned the lessons of the first two tests and made a series of it. If they had continued with the same strategy in all games, this might have been 5-0. Confidence and momentum are huge positives, but arrogance is a weakness. In sport, as in life, a little humility can go a long way.

Anyway, it's a real shame to see the series end due to bad weather. It would have been great to see a 'winner takes all' final match at the Oval.

[Btay]

I think most Aussies like myself feel if that didn’t get rained out the ashes were going to England in this series. Great series so far despite the disappointment of rain in the last match. England should hold their heads up high - you guys are building a seriously good test team and I just love the way they play the game.

[Formby]

17 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

2) England began with arrogance, assuming that their Bazball tactic would win the day. Robinson, in particular, was obnoxious - and they lost those games. The moment England adopted a more flexible strategy, they did better. They won the third test and should have won the fourth.

Arrogance suggests they had no respect for their opponents. I don't believe that to be the case. I think they were instilled with self-belief, which all winning teams have (and Australia in abundance). If they made a mistake declaring on that first day, I think it was because they thought they could get some wickets that evening.

Continually going hard at Australia has paid real dividends, and without the rain, the series would be level. The loss of Lyon and the addition of Wood has been pivotal, too. Wood has been brilliant. Ponting compared him to prime Mitchell Johnson at OT, which is high praise indeed. Australia have not looked comfortable at all out there and I believe that is because England have kept up the intensity, the BazBall, if you like. 

[Bailey]

2 hours ago, Formby said:

Arrogance suggests they had no respect for their opponents. I don't believe that to be the case. I think they were instilled with self-belief, which all winning teams have (and Australia in abundance). If they made a mistake declaring on that first day, I think it was because they thought they could get some wickets that evening.

Continually going hard at Australia has paid real dividends, and without the rain, the series would be level. The loss of Lyon and the addition of Wood has been pivotal, too. Wood has been brilliant. Ponting compared him to prime Mitchell Johnson at OT, which is high praise indeed. Australia have not looked comfortable at all out there and I believe that is because England have kept up the intensity, the BazBall, if you like. 

I think that last part hits the nail on the head.

It must be exhausting to be the Aussies in this series. Bazball is relentless and it must be mentally draining to be up against that way of playing, knowing that if you aren't at it for even one session, you will find yourselves well and truly on the back foot with bat or ball.

Hopefully we have another cracker in the last test.

[Cornish Steve]

1 hour ago, Bailey said:

I think that last part hits the nail on the head.

It must be exhausting to be the Aussies in this series. Bazball is relentless and it must be mentally draining to be up against that way of playing, knowing that if you aren't at it for even one session, you will find yourselves well and truly on the back foot with bat or ball.

Hopefully we have another cracker in the last test.

I certainly hope so. England will certainly have a point to prove.