Thread started.
Pom's under the pump from Ireland. ;D
Aussie bats struggling in warm up game. :-[
M Marsh making a claim for a spot in the first test along with Siddle. :o
Predictions:
Result - Australia 3-2
Leading Run Scorer for the series - Smith 530
Leading Wicket Taker for the series - Cummins - 36 Wickets
Man of the Series - Cummins
can't see us winning.
Not much quality in the batting, Smith aside...
can't see us winning.
Not much quality in the batting, Smith aside...
Poms getting flogged by Ireland in the practice test....
Wood out for series, Archer will probably miss a test or two and Anderson battling to be fit for the first test....
Their openers are also undecided, they will probably give Jason Roy his first test and we all know he can play limited overs very well but test cricket
is different and their other probable opener is Rory Burns who averages 25. Will bat deep with Butler, Ali, Woakes but will
probably have to play a new quick in Lewis Gregory or Ollie Stone...the latter is very swift but erratic and Gregory is more your county reliable swing/seamer type who can bat a bit.
Aussies to win the first test IMO but England will probably regroup when they get a few injured players back....
Warner man of match in the first test....
We need to pick the best side though EB, Langer hasn't proven to me that he can pick the blokes that should be playing. We have a history (in the last couple of series) of not picking the right blokes in England. I really pity the selectors this time though. For example, Langer loooooves Bancroft and Mitch Marsh. But are they the best options for us? Dunno about that. Marsh has burned us before ("but he can bowl" pfft, so can my aunt) and Bancroft was a marginal player prior to his suspension.
I mean, Pattinson is bowling up a storm and Starc is bowling rope. Who'd you go for? Siddle isn't fashionable but he won't spray it around. Starc might be a match winner....or take 0/97 off 15.
Warner will get a Guernsey...because he's Warner but his test record over there is average.
I think a proper, balanced side always has a specialist spinner...a green day one pitch (which might dry quickly BTW) might push them towards pace, yet the GOAT is the best performed Oz bowler of recent times. Or do you pick Labusgne, who is batting solidly, a gun fielder and useful bowler?
And if Khawaja isn't fit I wouldn't be hanging out to pick him. Needs to play cricket before being selected IMO I remember his crap recent test form based on playing straight from rehab with no build up work.
I wouldn't want to to be a selector but Id be going for solidity, not going all out to ace the first rubber Its a series after all.
can't see us winning.
Not much quality in the batting, Smith aside...
Flyboy, their batting is woeful.
Sure they can score quickly, but that means favourable wickets for our batters, who bat much better in test conditions than theirs.
We need to pick a side to win the Ashes, not pick favourites.
Pattinson in for Starc at times.
Maybe Siddle too.
Hazlewoods form has been scratchy for 12 months.
Deadset stunner of a decision not to include this kid Carey!
We need to pick the best side though EB, Langer hasn't proven to me that he can pick the blokes that should be playing. We have a history (in the last couple of series) of not picking the right blokes in England. I really pity the selectors this time though. For example, Langer loooooves Bancroft and Mitch Marsh. But are they the best options for us? Dunno about that. Marsh has burned us before ("but he can bowl" pfft, so can my aunt) and Bancroft was a marginal player prior to his suspension.
I mean, Pattinson is bowling up a storm and Starc is bowling rope. Who'd you go for? Siddle isn't fashionable but he won't spray it around. Starc might be a match winner....or take 0/97 off 15.
Warner will get a Guernsey...because he's Warner but his test record over there is average.
I think a proper, balanced side always has a specialist spinner...a green day one pitch (which might dry quickly BTW) might push them towards pace, yet the GOAT is the best performed Oz bowler of recent times. Or do you pick Labusgne, who is batting solidly, a gun fielder and useful bowler?
And if Khawaja isn't fit I wouldn't be hanging out to pick him. Needs to play cricket before being selected IMO I remember his crap recent test form based on playing straight from rehab with no build up work.
I wouldn't want to to be a selector but Id be going for solidity, not going all out to ace the first rubber Its a series after all.
Warner actually averaged 46 there last series.
The current game is tough to use for selection. Pommy curator gave us a raging green seamer for the practice game making it impossible for batsmen. Sure that was done on purpose.
Warner actually averaged 46 there last series.
The current game is tough to use for selection. Pommy curator gave us a raging green seamer for the practice game making it impossible for batsmen. Sure that was done on purpose.
In 8 tests he averages 37 with a high score of 85.
They seem to get him going hard at the ball and caught in gully a lot, which is not surprising on their decks
According to David Hussey, the pitches will all be very bowler friendly as the Poms believe that preventing our batsmen from getting away gives them their best chance.
If so, I would expect wickets to tumble and tests to finish within 4 days - unless we pick batsmen with good defensive technique against swing and seam.
Love the pitches to be prepared so that scores of mid to high 200s are the norm. Makes for tough, close cricket
According to David Hussey, the pitches will all be very bowler friendly as the Poms believe that preventing our batsmen from getting away gives them their best chance.
I agree, poor wickets favor consistent bowlers.
The blokes who spray it can still have bad days on poor wickets, and Starc is the prime global candidate for a bowler who can have a bad day on a crap wicket!
Thommo was a classic for this, some days on any wicket including Indian or West Indian roads he was unplayable, but he was just as likely to go at 0/100 on a Gabba green top!
Someone like Siddle or Hazlewood, even Behrendorff could be unplayable on a sticky wicket.
We need to pick the best side though EB, Langer hasn't proven to me that he can pick the blokes that should be playing. We have a history (in the last couple of series) of not picking the right blokes in England. I really pity the selectors this time though. For example, Langer loooooves Bancroft and Mitch Marsh. But are they the best options for us? Dunno about that. Marsh has burned us before ("but he can bowl" pfft, so can my aunt) and Bancroft was a marginal player prior to his suspension.
I mean, Pattinson is bowling up a storm and Starc is bowling rope. Who'd you go for? Siddle isn't fashionable but he won't spray it around. Starc might be a match winner....or take 0/97 off 15.
Warner will get a Guernsey...because he's Warner but his test record over there is average.
I think a proper, balanced side always has a specialist spinner...a green day one pitch (which might dry quickly BTW) might push them towards pace, yet the GOAT is the best performed Oz bowler of recent times. Or do you pick Labusgne, who is batting solidly, a gun fielder and useful bowler?
And if Khawaja isn't fit I wouldn't be hanging out to pick him. Needs to play cricket before being selected IMO I remember his crap recent test form based on playing straight from rehab with no build up work.
I wouldn't want to to be a selector but Id be going for solidity, not going all out to ace the first rubber Its a series after all.
Take your point Prof...Poms are really playing a one day team with Roy, Denly, Stokes, Butler and their reliable's in Root and Bairstow in the top order, reckon Lyon is a lock to play given that lot play the quicks ok and are aggressive hitters in the main. Think we will go with Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon first up, I'm a Pattinson fan as he is aggressive, takes wickets plus handy with the willow and probably prefer him to Hazelwood but he struggles to stay on the park and Hazelwood has that reliability factor about him
Think we need to win that first test, when they have Archer(145-150kph) and Anderson fit I think its going to get a lot harder and they will be preparing some real Anderson friendly wickets in typical english fashion.
Hoping they are a bit cocky and still wallowing in their world cup victory(steal) and not switched on and we surprise them....
Starc and Hazelwood worry me EB. Both have been underwhelming for a while and given the frailty of both Audra's batting, bowling is going to be key. On green decks 3/30 is the kind of figures you need to return, not 4/135.
In 8 tests he averages 37 with a high score of 85.
They seem to get him going hard at the ball and caught in gully a lot, which is not surprising on their decks
Last series he averaged 46 with 5 half centuries.
Other 3 Tests were way back. Batted down the order after missing the first two Test for punching Joe Root.
Starc and Hazelwood worry me EB. Both have been underwhelming for a while and given the frailty of both Audra's batting, bowling is going to be key. On green decks 3/30 is the kind of figures you need to return, not 4/135.
They might be lucky to play. Pattinson and Cummins will play and it's possibly they may even play Neser or Siddle as the 3rd bowler, two players who might be well suited in England. One of Starc or Hazelwood will likely play but it's no certainty.
Take your point Prof...Poms are really playing a one day team with Roy, Denly, Stokes, Butler and their reliable's in Root and Bairstow in the top order, reckon Lyon is a lock to play given that lot play the quicks ok and are aggressive hitters in the main. Think we will go with Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon first up, I'm a Pattinson fan as he is aggressive, takes wickets plus handy with the willow and probably prefer him to Hazelwood but he struggles to stay on the park and Hazelwood has that reliability factor about him
Think we need to win that first test, when they have Archer(145-150kph) and Anderson fit I think its going to get a lot harder and they will be preparing some real Anderson friendly wickets in typical english fashion.
Hoping they are a bit cocky and still wallowing in their world cup victory(steal) and not switched on and we surprise them....
Huge, huge mistake if they leave Pattinson out. He's the best bowler of the entire group, especially in England.
Poms might think twice about green wickets after last night..lol.
The Irish bowled the Poms out for less than 100 about Lunch time. That suggests to me that a green top is a poor choice for them.
Love your theory Jim but Starc seems to have a mortgage with the new ball, can't see CA omitting a NSW incumbent. Pattinson reminds me of Steyn with that length and away movement....and enough pace to be nasty. I'd pick him in a flash. Hazelwoodor Siddle, not both.
I reckon they'll pick all the NSW boys, Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon. I'd prefer Pattinson to all of the above except Cummins, but can't see them selecting him. Siddle would also be more reliable than either Starc or Hazlewood
Should be Cummins, Hazelwood, Pattinson and Starc.
Should Marsh be played as an all rounder?
I hear he's back bowling 140+.... and moving it a bit.
Bancroft batting himself back into the opening gig!
I agree, poor wickets favor consistent bowlers.
The blokes who spray it can still have bad days on poor wickets, and Starc is the prime global candidate for a bowler who can have a bad day on a crap wicket!
Thommo was a classic for this, some days on any wicket including Indian or West Indian roads he was unplayable, but he was just as likely to go at 0/100 on a Gabba green top!
Someone like Siddle or Hazlewood, even Behrendorff could be unplayable on a sticky wicket.
Hussey reckons Siddle will be in contention if the Poms dish up a green top. His first choice bowlers are Cummins and Pattinson.
Starc must play the 1st Test if fit....
I know he can bowl garbage at times but he is a wicket taker and a lefty.And he scares them.
If he fails he gets dropped - just like everyone else?
Warner and Bancrott batted extremely well on that deck as did Laburschagne in the first innings. Warner said he's never come across a pitch like it. Up and down, lots of sideways and a heap of swing both ways. The whole lot, which he said was rare.
I like what I see in Marnus, real effort player, plays with real energy and application. Wouldn't be surprised if he plays and the Goat carries the drinks.
Warner and Bancrott batted extremely well on that deck as did Laburschagne in the first innings. Warner said he's never come across a pitch like it. Up and down, lots of sideways and a heap of swing both ways. The whole lot, which he said was rare.
There will be a sh..tload of sandpaper sold in London next week if Warner and Bancroft get picked!
There will be a sh..tload of sandpaper sold in London next week if Warner and Bancroft get picked!
First test is at Edgebaston.....in Birmingham...right in the middle of the Barmy Army/football hooligan stronghold......you reckon this scheduling was an accident ?
so it is, you get my drift nonetheless!
English second dig fall away rapidly as well. There's hope.
Australia's Ashes squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
That's the biggest squad ever.
That's the biggest squad ever.
Might need them all...England have Ireland 8-36...Woakes and Broad doing the damage.....Looks like Joffra Archer will be fit for the 1st test and will play in a T20 game for Sussex.
Woakes is that typically annoying bits and pieces pommy player who looks pedestrian much of the time, then puts in a performance like that. In the 90's our batters "broke" such blokes early and they became pie chuckers..... Can't see that happening this tour, he'll have his day out at some stage.
Woakes is that typically annoying bits and pieces pommy player who looks pedestrian much of the time, then puts in a performance like that. In the 90's our batters "broke" such blokes early and they became pie chuckers..... Can't see that happening this tour, he'll have his day out at some stage.
Woakes was a spud but is a decent cricketer now, seems to be bowling quicker and also moving the ball both ways, is also handy with the bat and an excellent fielder.
I think he will take over from Anderson as their front line swing bowler and will have one or two days out this test series. Broad also seems back to his best, the Irish are rubbish
batters but I was more interested in how Broad was bowling the right length and getting movement both ways, no short or wide stuff either, everything at the stumps, he isnt quick anymore but his
height still makes him awkward.
The thing that really sticks out for me is the pommy fielding, they dont have many dud fielders and they catch everything so our blokes need to be tight in technique and not waving the bat or they wont get many second chances.
Australia's Ashes squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
FMD, no Carey!
FMD, no Carey!
Can't fit them all in unfortunately. Carey's First Class average is just 29.
While many of us old enough loved the era of watching Lillie and Thompson turn The Poms into a puddle of pitch jelly, and we were all probably mesmerised by Warne's magic acts, there is something strangely compelling about the Ashes series starting tonight.
It feels like I'll be watching a Sir David Attenborough "Survival of the Fittest on the Serengeti" type documentary with the dishevelled rising on their last legs for one final shot at a winner take all battle in enemy territory!
As a result, I suspect it could go one of two ways with nothing much in between, The Rumble in the Jungle(Ali v Foreman) or Once and For All(Tyson v Spinks)!
I really hope they don't make the mistake of having a batting lineup dominated by lefties......unfortunately this is exactly what looks like happening with Langer virtually assuring Kawahja's spot. How he can do this is mind boggling.....Kawajah is just not the bloke you want to be batting 3 in an Ashes series....he just saps us of all momentum, or digs a bigger hole if we lose an early one.
Starc or Hazelwood to miss out hopefully.
I really hope they don't make the mistake of having a batting lineup dominated by lefties......unfortunately this is exactly what looks like happening with Langer virtually assuring Kawahja's spot. How he can do this is mind boggling.....Kawajah is just not the bloke you want to be batting 3 in an Ashes series....he just saps us of all momentum, or digs a bigger hole if we lose an early one.
Starc or Hazelwood to miss out hopefully.
Really?
Warner
Bancroft
Khawaja
Smith
Head
Wade
Paine
3 of those 7 are right handed?
Really?
Warner
Bancroft
Khawaja
Smith
Head
Wade
Paine
3 of those 7 are right handed?
All the talk is about playing Harris as opener as well though... that would make it 5 out of 7...and 5 out of 6 specialist batsmen. I hope they don't pick him quite frankly. You line up is pretty much the same as the one I'd go for.
Carey must be having nightmares, on form he is a mile ahead of half that lineup, including the captain!
All the talk is about playing Harris as opener as well though... that would make it 5 out of 7...and 5 out of 6 specialist batsmen. I hope they don't pick him quite frankly. You line up is pretty much the same as the one I'd go for.
Bancroft is Langer's boy - he's a shoe in.
The more predictable you are at the selection table the easier it is to plan your demise, we have a welded on selection approach.
Langer seems to favor experience, repetition and opportunity over form lines. I suspect this mentality delivers sporadic big victories, but it doesn't necessarily get you a series win, and the Ashes is a series not a single point of victory.
Carey must be having nightmares, on form he is a mile ahead of half that lineup, including the captain!
Red ball and white ball cricket are alot different. Carey averages 29 in first class cricket. Paine averages 35 in Test Cricket.
Who would he replace?
Red ball and white ball cricket are alot different. Carey averages 29 in first class cricket. Paine averages 35 in Test Cricket.
Who would he replace?
I don't give a stuff about red vs white ball cricket primarily because people lump T20 in with ODI, I think the difference between ODI and Test is greatly overstated and all the genuinely likely candidates can bat 50 overs in either version which is nearly a ton up!
Bancroft, Head and Paine are lucky to still be in the squad as far as I am concerned. I suspect Paine will continue to get the nod regardless of form because of ACB desires to build an image and not much else.
While I wasn't a fan of Khawaja in the ODI, I'm for him in the test arena as long as he bats reliably, I don't care about his run rate. I think we need him and Smith to anchor the innings.
I don't give a stuff about red vs white ball cricket primarily because people lump T20 in with ODI, I think the difference between ODI and Test is greatly overstated and all the genuinely likely candidates can bat 50 overs in either version which is nearly a ton up!
Bancroft, Head and Paine are lucky to still be in the squad as far as I am concerned. I suspect Paine will continue to get the nod regardless of form because of ACB desires to build an image and not much else.
While I wasn't a fan of Khawaja in the ODI, I'm for him in the test arena as long as he bats reliably, I don't care about his run rate. I think we need him and Smith to anchor the innings.
There's a huge difference difference between Test and ODI. Saying you don't give a stuff about it is showing a real lack of knowledge. Techniques are different, seam on the ball different, field placings are different and not restricted, tactics are different. How do your not know that?
Bancroft has done enough, no one else you can say is better, some maybe equal. Led our runs scorers in South Africa. Maybe you think Carey should opening the batting...lol Head led our runs scorers against India so it's plain stupid to say he's lucky as it stands right now, and Paine averages 35 in Test Cricket. Carey will likely end up better with the bat than Paine eventually, not with the gloves, but he needs to average better than 29 in first class cricket before he gets in ahead of Paine. Paine is a much better actual keeper, you know, the position they are vying for.
Still haven't said who Carey replaces? All you've done is mention a pile of names who you think is lucky.
Techniques are different, seam on the ball different, field placings are different and not restricted, tactics are different. How do your not know that?
The seam being different is a complete urban myth started by players trying to make a case to use their preferred brand of ball, it was debunked by the manufacturers years ago with all first class makers stating the only difference between first class cricket balls is the colour of the dye used. If you use Duke first class balls they are all the same regardless of colour, same applies to Kookaburra first class balls.
(When WSC originally started there was an issue because only one supplier made white cricket balls so the brand could change with the change of colour.)
It's no kiddy cricket!
Carey batted through the ODI World Cup is mostly a classic manner, he wasn't leveraging field placings and kept the ball on the ground for the bulk of his innings.
The issue of tactics means jack crap when a classical batsmen is in good form! Now if you made the same comments about cross bat hacks like Warner, Finch or Maxwell that is a different argument, but Carey is as correct as any batsmen on the planet!
As a batsmen/keeper Carey can replace any of Bancroft, Head or Paine, even Wade, take your pick!
Lot of faith being shown in Khawaja, Wade and Bancroft. I hope that faith is justified.
Warner fails.
1/12.
The other sand paper man gone. Feeble stroke.
2/17
>:( Very brittle
... and Usman falls ....
Warner...continues his woeful record in England.
Bancroft..... Langer loves his "mental strength". I thought he in was in the side to make runs? Needs to show something very fast.
Khawaja.... Most over rated Oz bat I can think of since..... Graham Woood. One innings of substance in the last two years. Why do we keep rushing this bloke back from injury? Why? I just don't get it. Is it because he bats in a pretty manner?
Warner...continues his woeful record in England.
Bancroft..... Langer loves his "mental strength". I thought he in was in the side to make runs? Needs to show something very fast.
Khawaja.... Most over rated Oz bat I can think of since..... Graham Woood. One innings of substance in the last two years. Why do we keep rushing this bloke back from injury? Why? I just don't get it. Is it because he bats in a pretty manner?
Bancroft had done nothing to be in the team IMO....apart from be another Langar pet from WA.
I guess Cummins will have to save the day again.
Yep. Token Western Australian representative. Inexcusable dismissal from a so called opener.
Absolutely staggered why we keep going back to Khawaja.
Has under delivered for ten years. He just gets out in such soft ways. It's test cricket: make them get you out not throwing it away nicking off to crap.
Stokes and Ali took the foot off our throat late in that session. Dunno how much fuel Broad and Jimmy have in the tank.
Stokes and Ali took the foot off our throat late in that session. Dunno how much fuel Broad and Jimmy have in the tank.
I think Woakes will do a lot of the hack work, Stokes is a good cricketer but rates himself a bit too much and can bowl a bit of carp when he gets carried away.
Reckon Anderson will be 4 overs at a time only. Broad has surprised me, thought he was retirement material after seeing him out in Aus last time.
Ali is just rubbish IMO, dont know how he gets wickets or remains the teams No 1 spinner(roller), maybe I am a biased Aussie but getting out to him is a crime IMO, hope they bowl him
for a long spell after lunch.
Seriously EB!
Stokes' head is so far up his own butt it's laughable....he'll never be any good at test level.
Ali - yep, joke.
Jimmy and Broad - last hurrah? They'll make the pitches to suit these two...
Seriously EB!
Stokes' head is so far up his own butt it's laughable....he'll never be any good at test level.
Ali - yep, joke.
Jimmy and Broad - last hurrah? They'll make the pitches to suit these two...
Fly, I rate Stokes, as a kid stood up to Mitch Johnson bowling@150k and made good runs, is a great gully field and his bowling can be handy, he is smart Ar$e for sure
but he can play decent cricket and while he averages only around 34 at test level he seems to make runs when it matters and I'll be glad to see the back of him
when the Poms bat.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27300901/anderson-hands-england-early-ashes-injury-worry
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27300901/anderson-hands-england-early-ashes-injury-worry
Yep...gone IMO for this test and probably a couple more....
Head is heading back to the pavilion lbw Woakes...disappointing given Anderson is off the ground and we really just needed to see off Broad and Woakes...
Wade joining Head and heading back to the sheds same way as Head lbw to Woakes who has really improved after being a spud most of his career.
Broad and Woakes have ripped us a new one to be 8-129...Smith on 49 no.....
Stokes got Cummins...its been a LBW fest as our blokes are using their pads more than their bats..
Smith does what smith does
140 to get us 280
Freak
Farking freak
Smith is unorthodox but a great.
Basically every other selection gamble failed. Wade? Really? Longer should rip the collective a new one.
Stokes is a flog and is lucky not to be doing time. Using sandpaper seems to be more reprehensible to the Poms than bashing people.
I'll cut the Aussie players some slack because it was possibly the worst day of cricket umpiring and chance in Test history. But they would want to boucne back significantly.
Smith is and always will be a star, in my opinion letting him be hung out to dry the way the ACB did was more criminal than the sandpaper incident!
We might be lucky that England bet on Anderson and lost! Regardless of match outcome Australia should become ruthless tactically run Broad, Woakes and Stokes into the ground during this test, it's exactly the sort of rubbish England would do instead of playing for the single win they can play to shape the series. Keeping in mind Archer's fitness is also questionable!
Hung out to dry? He good as admitted he knew what was going on and did nothing, as Captain, to stop it?
Why was the DRS introduced again ? To eliminate the howlers wasn't it ?
well....it aint working....& will never work with the 2 review system. And honestly, how does Alem Dar continue to get test matches. He is the worst international umpire in world cricket. I'd rather the best English umpires do the whole series.
Hung out to dry? He good as admitted he knew what was going on and did nothing, as Captain, to stop it?
I'm not talking about the offence and the penalties, I'm talking about how the ACB left them to the mercy of the international media.
But on the offence, maybe he should have had a rough patch sewn in their pocket and it would have been a wet lettuce leaf instead of a public hanging!
Why was the DRS introduced again ? To eliminate the howlers wasn't it ?
well....it aint working....& will never work with the 2 review system. And honestly, how does Alem Dar continue to get test matches. He is the worst international umpire in world cricket. I'd rather the best English umpires do the whole series.
I also hate that bloody decision to have neutral umpires. Home tests, home grown.
... and we had perhaps the finest in the world.
And honestly, how does Alem Dar continue to get test matches.
I think he's OK but perhaps he is too easily influenced by home crowds, but he's not on his lonesome in this regard!
I suspect that is why England love him, because he can be "got at" by the chants and screams of the Balmy Army! Aussie supporters are like Church Mice by comparison!
PS; Anyone else notice the Carlton caps appearing regularly in the crowd coverage overnight, it must have given Sheedy an overnight stomach ulcer! Does the club still have that campaign running of getting your Carlton jumper or cap on social media coverage around the world?
PS; Anyone else notice the Carlton caps appearing regularly in the crowd coverage overnight, it must have given Sheedy an overnight stomach ulcer! Does the club still have that campaign running of getting your Carlton jumper or cap on social media coverage around the world?
Given that the Carlton cap-wearers probably planned their trips for the Ashes some time ago, it might just be a comment on the fact that they didn't see much value in hanging out at the MCG or Marvel stadium in August! Sheedy would say the Essendon supporters are all getting ready to attend finals matches.....
I also hate that bloody decision to have neutral umpires. Home tests, home grown.
... and we had perhaps the finest in the world.
If we aren’t careful all umpires will be Indian
Self righteous pricks these poms... Headlines like "should have banned him for life"!
Didn't see such indignation when Atherton got done for rubbing dirt on the pill, or using mints to extract swing, or a bloke bashing blokes outside a nightclub.
English tabloids are only suitable for wrapping fish or lining the bottom of your birdcage.
Just cheap trash.
Self righteous pricks these poms... Headlines like "should have banned him for life"!
Didn't see such indignation when Atherton got done for rubbing dirt on the pill, or using mints to extract swing, or a bloke bashing blokes outside a nightclub.
Worst is Faf, seems to get fined/suspended every series for some dodgy activity but his credibility remains intact.
Be interesting to see if Paine can keep his spot in the team, both Wade and Carey are better with the bat but not with the gloves.
Would the ACB go back to Smith as captain if Paine lost his place? Smith has genuine remorse for his actions but I'm not sure the ACB
would take the punt on him again.
Warner and Bancroft have been decidedly underwhelming this test. Both need to put up or get *****ed off. No time for passengers.
Another pretty cameo from Khawaja when a more extended dig was required. Disappointing.
We are seriously deficient in the top order.
Pathetic to get real about it.
Bancrofts technique in English conditions isn't going to work, not sure why Harris didn't play who seems that Chris Rogers/Rory Burns
style of fighter who will grind out the runs against the moving ball.
Interesting seeing Smith in defacto captain mode marshalling the troops from 1st slip, don't see Paine lasting as captain and while
you need input from senior players I think its out of order for him to be giving directions in such a bold manner.
Game is evenly poised and with Anderson out we can win Imo.
The Bancroft selection is downright bizarre.
The Bancroft selection is downright bizarre.
Not really
Right handed.
Harris has issues outside off.
Gets out wafting.
Line ball decision I reckon
Not really
Right handed.
Harris has issues outside off.
Gets out wafting.
Line ball decision I reckon
Not sure what he did to get back in the team, footwork is very average....dismissal was very soft to Ali, that was a gift to England.
That dismissal to Ali stamped his papers. Not good enough.
Want a right hander pick Burns.
well how's that for a turnaround.
Centuries to Smith and Wade, good digs from Head, Paine, Patto etc etc
Declaring at 7/470 odd.
Poms need 350+ to win on a turning wicket (0/10 odd at stumps).
It was far more than odd fly .... it was bloody stupid. Should have just blasted whatever we could muster.
well how's that for a turnaround.
Centuries to Smith and Wade, good digs from Head, Paine, Patto etc etc
Declaring at 7/470 odd.
Poms need 350+ to win on a turning wicket (0/10 odd at stumps).
It’s time rather than runs ... and an opportunity to knock over an opener before stumps. Giving the new ball to Siddle was odd!
Giving the new ball to Siddle was odd!
Maybe, but he doesn't waste it!
It’s time rather than runs ... and an opportunity to knock over an opener before stumps. Giving the new ball to Siddle was odd!
Thinking it was a light issue. We opened with Siddle and Lyon. Probably why we batted so long.
Warner and Bancroft have been decidedly underwhelming this test. Both need to put up or get *****ed off. No time for passengers.
Another pretty cameo from Khawaja when a more extended dig was required. Disappointing.
Warner was a bit stiff in the 2nd dig. Withdrew his bat and caught the edge. Always unlucky. Bancroft's dismissal was ordinary.
It’s time rather than runs ... and an opportunity to knock over an opener before stumps. Giving the new ball to Siddle was odd!
i meant odd to mean roughly, rather than strange! ;D
Thinking it was a light issue. We opened with Siddle and Lyon. Probably why we batted so long.
It was far more than odd fly .... it was bloody stupid. Should have just blasted whatever we could muster.
When Siddle opened I had an online tête-à-tête with a mate last night, my mate claiming this is where not picking Starc bites us on the ar5e. But I pointed out, Starc might get 2 for 10 off 3 overs, but he could also be 0 for 30 at stumps and leave The Poms with only 320 runs to get tomorrow. 385 in a day versus 350 is a world of difference on a degraded pitch!
Get in there Aussies
Well played.
Margin flattered the poms.
We had a large number of those terrible decisions go against us.
The opener was lbw on 11.
Warner not out
Pattinson not out
Still prevailed comfortably
Bring on lords
Roy, Denly, Butler...not sure the English have figured out its test cricket and these one day players dont belong. How Ali keeps getting a game is beyond me.
Full credit to Smith, kept us the game and given the pressure he was under it was a wonderful batting display, also was the defacto captain.
Matthew Wade was the surprise batting at 6, didnt expect that and Travis Head has become a very reliable player.
Onto Lords, cant see us making many changes...Poms need to make about 5...
Our players that get paid to make runs with the bat in the higher order need to be more composed and score more consistently. That can’t have Smith, Siddle and Wade carry the side making most of the runs. Not saying it was a huge problem in this test, but our upper order don’t set a good platform for a decent score often enough.
What a turnaround from 8 for 122!
We’ll played ????????
That'll shut up the booing from the Poms.
That'll shut up the booing from the Poms.
You're winding me up are you! :o
What's the equivalent of booing at Lords, nasty tennis claps?
Steve Smith -what a bat.
And let's not forget the balding GOAT....
You're winding me up are you! :o
What's the equivalent of booing at Lords, nasty tennis claps?
Never been one to count my chickens (test cricket in particular) but one up in the series, it was some karma after their rag newspapers suggested life bans for Warner and Smith but did nothing about Atherton.
Anyway, great to see Lyon making Moeen Ali look like an idiot. On HIS pitch
Steve Smith -what a bat.
And let's not forget the balding GOAT....
Imagine if they actually selected some extra in form players around them, instead of carrying half the squad they would be boosting it?
Our players that get paid to make runs with the bat in the higher order need to be more composed and score more consistently. That can’t have Smith, Siddle and Wade carry the side making most of the runs. Not saying it was a huge problem in this test, but our upper order don’t set a good platform for a decent score often enough.
They all made runs in the 2nd dig bar the openers and even then Warner was unlucky trying to withdraw the bat but still catch the edge. First innings was pretty poor though. Hopefully we aren't 8/122 too often.
The interesting thing when you line up the 2 sides today it feels to me like the Aussies have a much stronger and more balanced squad. This will count for a lot in a 5 test series.
One way to think about it is on Sunday when the English selectors sit down to pick their side for the 2nd test, if the Australian 'bench' was available almost all of them would be walk up starts to the English team. Right now Hazlewood, Starc, Harriss, Carey & probably Labuschange would all get into the English 11. Root and Stokes are the only test quality batsmen in form, and Broad is there only bowler who threatens on a flat deck.
Archer is going to have to do something amazing to get them back into the series as without Anderson or a half decent spinner the bowling is too thin.
They all made runs in the 2nd dig bar the openers and even then Warner was unlucky trying to withdraw the bat but still catch the edge. First innings was pretty poor though. Hopefully we aren't 8/122 too often.
Given quite a few of our dismissals were not out if we had appealed, I suspect we won't have that sort of luck two tests running and England won't get a run like that again this series.
Fancy having all that luck go your way and still losing, ............ it must be devastating!
(https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2015/08/06/18/Broad1.jpg?w968h681)
Given quite a few of our dismissals were not out if we had appealed, I suspect we won't have that sort of luck two tests running and England won't get a run like that again this series.
Fancy having all that luck go your way and still losing, ............ it must be devastating!
(https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2015/08/06/18/Broad1.jpg?w968h681)
Think they will change their attack up a bit...my tip is Joffra Archer and Jack Leach in for the injured Anderson and out of form and favorite Lyon bunny in Ali.
Archer is a good bowler, real quick and accurate as we have seen in the BB and WC so given Anderson didnt bowl I think runs will be harder to get as the attacking but loose Stokes wont bowl as much and Ali wont be playing.
Leach is a left arm orthodox spinner and will be selected for Smith imo as his type are about the only bowlers that Smith seems to struggle with at times, Leach is your old county pro
and while no threat of running through a team will be harder to get away.
Also think they might ease Bairstow's load and allow him to play as a batsman only and bring in Ben Foakes who is a good keeper and very decent hard hitting batsman...Butler might go out.
Reckon they will go with Roy again as they dont have many opening options and when he is on he is very destructive but he doesnt come across as test material to me and they might give Denly one more game.
Tells you something when we have Smith at No 4 doing Bradman like stuff and the English have Denly at 4 who averages around 23 in test cricket.....
Reckon the Poms will be better at Lords but it would be a big surprise to me if they win....I think we will stick with Siddle and Pattinson and refuse the temptation to play Starc.
I think well avoid Starc because we won, but I suspect if we'd lost we would bring him straight in.
Which is why I think they'll bring in Archer even though his Test Match durability is just as questionable as Anderson.
The risk is that Archer breaks down and they lose another test, if that happens I suspect Trevor Bayliss is a goner!
Pattinson, as much as I like him, bowl poo! But I agree, I think Pattinson's secure for now which is a bit sad for Siddle, given Siddle's batting basically helped win the test! How Siddle didn't end up with 3 or 4 wickets is a dead set mystery of sport, he was all over them like a rash and couldn't hit a stump, find an edge or luck an umpire's call!
Hazlewood back....Roy playing one day cricket and he is back too...in the pavilion. No idea why England are playing this bloke as he wouldnt know what a defensive shot looked
like. 1st ball a wild cut shot, then two angled bat no idea defensive shots and knicked the last one, England please keep playing this test dud.....
Hazlewood back....Roy playing one day cricket and he is back too...in the pavilion. No idea why England are playing this bloke as he wouldnt know what a defensive shot looked
like. 1st ball a wild cut shot, then two angled bat no idea defensive shots and knicked the last one, England please keep playing this test dud.....
x 2!
Cummins and Siddle spraying it a bit, we could have played Starc!
Hazlewood’s selection is justified :)
I think that Starc should have been in the 11 for this Test. The pitch, and slope, would have suited his bowling.
Warner having a bad run
He's getting picked on reputation not runs. Needs to put some up very soon. Remember Justin, team comes first.
Siddle got picked off, might see him replaced next test.
We parody England for Roy, then Warner walks out to bat! :-[ Both are flat track no swing bullies with techniques suspect at test level, in the meantime we have a future classical batsmen in Carey carting the oranges!
I realise in the right conditions Warner can win you a match, but when those conditions are there England have Roy, Bairstow and Buttler! It's like spin the bottle test cricket!
Khawaja needs runs this test, it's basically an SCG pitch, the type of pitch he grew up on!
The press are bagging England, but it's a 280 run four day result deck and we've still 250 more to get, some random pills are flying through at ear height off a good length, while others break the keepers ankles!
We parody England for Roy, then Warner walks out to bat! :-[ Both are flat track no swing bullies with techniques suspect at test level,
Yeah, can't agree with you there.. I was at a Test at Bellerive against NZ in 2011....Greentop, overcast conditions, Boult, Southee & Bracewell were swinging it around corners. Aust lost by 7 runs..Warner scored 123 out of 233......the next highest score in the entire Test was 56. So don't tell me he can't bat in swinging conditions. Everyone gets out to good balls occasionally.....maybe he's not quite the player now that he was then though.
Yeah, can't agree with you there.. I was at a Test at Bellerive against NZ in 2011....Greentop, overcast conditions, Boult, Southee & Bracewell were swinging it around corners. Aust lost by 7 runs..Warner scored 123 out of 233......the next highest score in the entire Test was 56. So don't tell me he can't bat in swinging conditions. Everyone gets out to good balls occasionally.....maybe he's not quite the player now that he was then though.
Smith hardly has a technique one would think would work against a seaming ball. And yet.....
Another fail in the second innings questions will be asked.
That said, all batters were crap last Test bar Smith, Wade and Siddle (Head had a 50 i recall too)?
Yeah, can't agree with you there.. I was at a Test at Bellerive against NZ in 2011....Greentop, overcast conditions, Boult, Southee & Bracewell were swinging it around corners. Aust lost by 7 runs..Warner scored 123 out of 233......the next highest score in the entire Test was 56. So don't tell me he can't bat in swinging conditions. Everyone gets out to good balls occasionally.....maybe he's not quite the player now that he was then though.
Agree, I no Warner fan but Jason Roy is a spud.
Warner averages 47 in test cricket
I'm not going to dispute Warner's averages, but there is a bit of a key difference given Roy has only four innings;
David Warner
http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerBatGraph.asp?PlayerID=3637
Jason Roy
http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerBatGraph.asp?PlayerID=4325
I'm not going to dispute Warner's averages, but there is a bit of a key difference given Roy has only four innings;
David Warner
http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerBatGraph.asp?PlayerID=3637
Jason Roy
http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Players/PlayerBatGraph.asp?PlayerID=4325
He is 29 years old.
There is a good reason he only has 4 innings.
He's a spud
He is 29 years old.
There is a good reason he only has 4 innings.
He's a spud
Fair enough.
I can't see much difference in technique other than one being left and the other right, I think on a flat track they'd be equally damaging.
But that is the problem I have, you have to select or manufacture conditions that suit them, as test batsmen they aren't like Smith, Punter, Tubby or Border!
I feel the public has become obsessed with fast scoring, as a result of the flood of ODI and T20 cricket, blokes get criticized for going at 3 runs an over! Players like Roy and Warner often go faster, but only every 3rd or 4th innings!
I don't feel the commentary is consistent. For example many bag a player like Maxwell for only doing great every 3rd or 4th ODI innings, then give another player a pass for much the same success rate in Test cricket!
Well if a player like a Maxwell played that much Test cricket, and scored every 3rd or 4th innings at the rate he can score with players hanging around him for long enough, what would his average be? But we do not know because the opportunity never arises, because when he comes in early enough the pitch is usually crap, or if the pitch is good he comes in at a time that it's hammer time, even if he comes in early enough he is surrounded by blokes who won't be there for long!
If you don't like Maxwell, make it a name like Finch, Maddinson or Lynn.
Ironically, the T20s are a pretty good "tell" because they deliver close to parity of opportunity for players like that.
He is 29 years old.
There is a good reason he only has 4 innings.
He's a spud
To be a fair he is a spud at test cricket but in the shorter formats he is a gun, shows how the county system has fallen away in the long game and
how its all about short format cricket now..
re: Warner...ball came back but he was beaten for pace, Broad seems to have an extra spring in his step bowling to Warner.
Think the sandpaper gate stuff has lingered with Warner too and the continual booing etc has got to him even though he is all smiles.
Aus 4-80 at lunch, English quicks all over us....we cant get the ball off the square and they are seaming it around everywhere.
Smith in with Wade and need them to stay there...Bancroft hasnt improved his technique and got pinned on the stumps by one that
gave his Archer his first test wicket. Langar tried talking Archer down in the pre pressers but the kid is real quick and accurate and I see
him being able to bowl long spells given he doesnt run in very far.
Khawaja played a few good shots but played a poor limp drive at Woakes and Head like Bancroft got pinned on the stumps by Broad.
Going to be tough work from here but with Smith still in anything can happen.
I’m starting to realise that Smith is a rare talent. Perhaps he will achieve greater levels without the burden of the captaincy.
Cameos Khawaja strikes again. It must be a concentration thing, looks set and finds a way to get out.
I’m starting to realise that Smith is a rare talent. Perhaps he will achieve greater levels without the burden of the captaincy.
;D
If he does that we will see some amazing things
His average when captain was around 70 IIRC
I hope you’re prediction is correct
I’m starting to realise that Smith is a rare talent. Perhaps he will achieve greater levels without the burden of the captaincy.
I think he still is the captain, the other bloke tosses the coin and does the interviews....
We're lucky to be able to watch Smith, he bats like an eccentric genius. You get a sense that at Lords the English are beginning to appreciate him for what he is.
Will England bitch when Archer gets some comeuppance, something for Starc or Patto to aim for?
Quid Pro Quo Mr Archer!
Dangerous pitch with variable bounce, they're the scary ones to bat on.
Yep, I'm sure Cummins ET Al will have filed Archer's efforts away. It will come, just need to keep him guessing as to when he's going to need that helmet.....
Dangerous pitch with variable bounce, they're the scary ones to bat on.
Yep, I'm sure Cummins ET Al will have filed Archer's efforts away. It will come, just need to keep him guessing as to when he's going to need that helmet.....
Prof, I think Cummins was the one who bounced Archer first as well as bouncing Woakes and Broad....the whole intimidation thing has got out of hand IMO and
the umpires need to put a stop to four or five bouncers and over before someone does get hurt badly. We probably over did it to start with and now they have the quicker Archer
the Poms think they can give it back but both Archer and Cummins were sending down way too many per over.
That ball that hit Smith reminded me of Phil Hughes getting hit in an unprotected area on the back of the head/neck and Smith could have been seriously hurt.
Langar is also to blame for pre match stuff about Archer not being able to sustain his pace etc etc and should have kept his mouth shut, Archer just wanted to prove he could bowl
quicker and quicker for a long period and was deliberately over bowled for intimidation reasons only....plus he and Butler seemed to be laughing about hitting Smith which is disgraceful.
Both captains should be told to end the over use of the short pitch stuff....
I think he still is the captain, the other bloke tosses the coin and does the interviews....
Not according to the interview I heard Paine give the other day. He explained how he feels it's an advantage to be captain and keeper as he knows exactly when bowlers need a spell, what the ball/pitch is doing and can pick up on batsmen's vulnerabilities. He captained as a fielder in the last tour game and didn't feel as confident calling the shots.
Smith has a bit to say, as you'd expect from a senior player, but Paine is calling the shots and has done an excellent job of rebuilding a fragile group.
How much longer must we have to tolerate Khawaja.
Labuschagne ... great knock. Root, you're a lying cheat
How much longer must we have to tolerate Khawaja.
Labuschagne ... great knock. Root, you're a lying cheat
I think Warner might go first.
Technically suspect and really struggling to survive
Khawaja also in trouble though
Harris, labuschagne and Pattinson in?
I don't get the players being hit side on, the best test player of the short ball in the world is Kholi, and he does it the correct way and basically tucks his chin into his chest and lets the ball smash the top of his helmet. Facing the ball and tucking his chin into his chest protects all critical surfaces and because you prepare for the hit it's generally not an issue.
At juniors we've been training kids to "headbutt" the short ball for years, we have a drill in which they pair off and one throws the ball at the other and they are asked to headbutt it back like a soccer ball. Or another drill is that three with one in the middle just offering a little weave left or righto get out of the way. It trains the kids to use their helmet as a defensive weapon.
I don't get how blokes get to 1st Class level and can't perform the sort of basics.
How much longer must we have to tolerate Khawaja.
Labuschagne ... great knock. Root, you're a lying cheat
Khawaa, Bancroft, Waner. Heck, Wade bar one innings has been schizen.
The catch - unfathomable that a third umpire would give that out....
Can't add anything more other than Labuschagne was in my first test side and he showed why.
Fancy these blokes getting out to that tweaker. FMD. Embarrassing.
Warner is deadset hopeless in England and Khawaja is a crab. Both have to go, but there isn't a line up of candidates. Maybe dump Warner and open with Khawaja.
Harris must be close to a run. Where's Burns at?
Khawaa, Bancroft, Waner. Heck, Wade bar one innings has been schizen.
The catch - unfathomable that a third umpire would give that out....
Agree on the catch.
How does that bloke officiate in any position after a dozen errors in the first test.
Surely after this, they replace him.
No, I actually think he is back on field in the next test.
How much longer must we have to tolerate Khawaja.
Labuschagne ... great knock. Root, you're a lying cheat
Pretty much sums my feeling up exactly cap.......assuming that Smith plays, one of those top 3 has to go. Marnus showed the grit that has been sadly lacking from the 3 amigos at the top there.
Oh.....and can we all booo Root now that he's a cheat as well ?
I'd like to see the Aussie fans scream "Howzat" every time Root fields a bump or ground ball!
Disgraceful from Root and the umpires!
Disgraceful from Root and the umpires!
Yep..looks like lawn bowls, how could the umpire give that out, any doubt has to go to the batsman
fingers underneath the ball my butt.
Anyone who has played any cricket knows that was a grounded ball....
The Lord's grass is cut so short it's like loop pile carpet, the grass is dense and isn't even long enough to stick up between the players fingers! It's like playing on a billiard table.
btw.; I spent most of my time when I wasn't bowling fielding at 1st slip, you always know as you can tell from the way the ball feels as it impacts your fingers if it was before or after the bounce for the obvious reason it's either falling or rising. A near catch or near miss is not a subtle difference as a catch jams your fingers into the ground while a miss runs the ball up into your palm with hardly any force on your fingertips!
Root is Rooted!
I forgive a guy who are occasional slips fieldsmen, but not a professional cricketer who spends all day in the field standing in the slips!
Pretty much sums my feeling up exactly cap.......assuming that Smith plays, one of those top 3 has to go. Marnus showed the grit that has been sadly lacking from the 3 amigos at the top there.
Oh.....and can we all booo Root now that he's a cheat as well ?
Possible they could open with Harris and Khawaja batting Labuschagne at 3. Bancroft's technique has been worked out and Warner is having an all-time shocker. Warner may get another Test as he is liable to come good but he wouldn't want to fail again. Pattinson will came back in, i'd say for Siddle, who hasn't done alot wrong just that the others are better.
Imagine how much we would celebrate Archer if he played for the Aussies. Read that he bowled an over with only one ball under 150 ks. Thats seriously quick and scary!
Cummins will be rested for the next test I reckon. Batting lineup will stay the same
Cummins will be rested for the next test I reckon. Batting lineup will stay the same
No chance Cummins will be rested unless injured.
If we lost that test, after resting Cummins, Justin Langer could pack his bags.
Warner needs to be dropped.
Khawaja and Bancroft also will be looked at.
Let’s be honest, Langer needs to stop playing favourites.
Dropping catches and not making runs equals a bloke who is horribly out of form... And reflexes might be going.
Warner is close to cooked.
Dropping catches and not making runs equals a bloke who is horribly out of form... And reflexes might be going.
Warner is close to cooked.
I am quite surprised after his excellent 1 day form. However, his batting form has dropped away significantly. And dropping catches is very unlike Warner. I'd say he is lacking confidence. What to do about it is another question, but if either his batting or fielding clicks, he could well be back in form very quickly.
Bancroft and Khawaja are probably in worse knick, but they do not get the attention that Warner has. Confidence is a very slippery thing.
Possible they could open with Harris and Khawaja batting Labuschagne at 3. Bancroft's technique has been worked out and Warner is having an all-time shocker. Warner may get another Test as he is liable to come good but he wouldn't want to fail again. Pattinson will came back in, i'd say for Siddle, who hasn't done alot wrong just that the others are better.
Bancroft doesnt have a technique, falls across the crease and plays around his pad, not sure about Labuschange at 3, got a bit lucky and played and missed a lot, prefer him at 4 or 5.
I think Head is technically better than most and has a cool head(pardon the pun ) under pressure and could play 3, Warner has to play as he might come good like you say.
Be Harris in for Bancroft and Marnus for Smith...dont want Mitch Marsh at this stage. Khawaja didnt want to get in behind Archer at all and isnt No 3 material, plus he is a very average fielder IMO.
I'd play him at 4 only because we dont have much else, agree on Pattinson....Siddle bowled ok when the pitch was doing something but as soon as it got flat Stokes took him apart and treated him
like he was bowling a tennis ball. Temptation is to play Starc given Archer is so much quicker than our bowlers and scaring our blokes but I'd be going the consistent types and play Cummins, Hazlewood
and Pattinson. Archer will break down IMO as Root will over bowl him, they are probably pouring water and manure all over the Leeds pitch as we speak trying to make it grassy and quicker...
Hopefully the umpiring will be better and the suedo bodyline stuff controlled in this test....someone will get badly hurt if they dont. They also need to do something about the helmets and add protection around the lower head/neck area, that blow to Smith could have been another Phil Hughes tragedy.
Imagine how much we would celebrate Archer if he played for the Aussies. Read that he bowled an over with only one ball under 150 ks. Thats seriously quick and scary!
Absolutely!
The intimidation factor is now with the Poms and I think that means that Starc will play in the next test.
Absolutely!
The intimidation factor is now with the Poms and I think that means that Starc will play in the next test.
Bit more than intimidation IMO, he is bowling to hit blokes and then waiting at the top of his mark laughing as they lay on the ground.....its got out of hand.
We probably started it with Cummins doing some enforcing but Root has taken it to a new level with Archer and he is delighting in opposing players getting hurt and to me its
not exciting but dangerous.
Bit more than intimidation IMO, he is bowling to hit blokes and then waiting at the top of his mark laughing as they lay on the ground.....its got out of hand.
We probably started it with Cummins doing some enforcing but Root has taken it to a new level with Archer and he is delighting in opposing players getting hurt and to me its
not exciting but dangerous.
I think that we started it with Lillee and Thommo (if you ignore the bodyline series) but, you’re right, it is getting out of hand. The umpires really need to clamp down on intimidatory bowling but that would require the best umpires to be officiating rather than the incompetent neutrals.
That peanut who abused Smith was in the Long Room is lucky that he wasn't dropped on the spot. Happy to bag Smith but probably applauded Root, who is a bare faced liar and a cheat.
That peanut who abused Smith was in the Long Room is lucky that he wasn't dropped on the spot. Happy to bag Smith but probably applauded Root, who is a bare faced liar and a cheat.
Root will forever be remembered by this cheating moment - and nothing else!
I don't mind any fast bowling at all ... never have ... but Archer's attitude to it after he's downed a batsman? If you take some vindictive pleasure in hurting people, that's a totally different thing. Particularly when you know he'll keep it up, perhaps even at tailenders.
I don't think the Aussies will give a flying hoot if Archer continues this type of attack....doesn't get top level batsmen out & of all countries, we grow up on this stuff. of the all the great players of short pitched bowling over the years, the vast majority of them are Aussies, for very good reason. if there are any batsmen in our top order who CANT handle this....their spot should be vacated.
Gee...what would I give to see Punter in his prime take on this joker.....& lets face it, Archer is still over 10kph slower than the likes of Lee & Akhtar.
Gee...what would I give to see Punter in his prime take on this joker.....& lets face it, Archer is still over 10kph slower than the likes of Lee & Akhtar.
Not really, like it or not Archer if injury free will be a top fast bowler for the next decade.
Fast bowling is a problem for Australia, the Warne era has seen a generation grow up as spinners, we've too many Warnes and not enough Lillees at the moment!
Secondly, the Phil Hughes thing put the wind up the Aussie cricketers, not only the batsmen but the bowlers. We don't play that aggressive anymore, and our attitude has changed. We've gone from one extreme to the other!
In the Thommo/Lillee era we were the ones smirking when the batsmen got hit so we shouldn't be hypocrites now, but we should be prepared to get even which I doubt we have in us anymore! It's sport, blokes shouldn't be a risk of dying from a legitimate part of the game.
The other question is whether the neck guards be compulsory across all helmet manufacturers. Then applied to all batsmen.
Makes one wonder about the antiquated batting gloves of the mid 60's green pimpled rubbish and comparing them to today's equivalent.
And then, back to basics of defence.
I don't think the Aussies will give a flying hoot if Archer continues this type of attack....doesn't get top level batsmen out & of all countries, we grow up on this stuff. of the all the great players of short pitched bowling over the years, the vast majority of them are Aussies, for very good reason. if there are any batsmen in our top order who CANT handle this....their spot should be vacated.
Gee...what would I give to see Punter in his prime take on this joker.....& lets face it, Archer is still over 10kph slower than the likes of Lee & Akhtar.
The danger with Archer is his accuracy and ability to get
the ball up off a length. Andy Roberts is the bowler that Archer is being compared to and he bowled in similar fashion and a lot of good batsman said Roberts had the most dangerous bouncer out of all the top quicks in that era.
The danger with Archer is his accuracy and ability to get
the ball up off a length. Andy Roberts is the bowler that Archer is being compared to and he bowled in similar fashion and a lot of good batsman said Roberts had the most dangerous bouncer out of all the top quicks in that era.
He broke Hooke's jaw. Incredible bowler
And then, back to basics of defence.
Don't take your eye off the ball, weave left or right, keep the guards and helmet between your face and the pill.
Never, ever, turn your back or head on the ball!
Don't take your eye off the ball, weave left or right, keep the guards and helmet between your face and the pill.
Never, ever, turn your back or head on the ball!
And your bat high as a last split second reflex line.
And your bat high as a last split second reflex line.
I had a coach that taught me to remove the bottom hand and you could basically get the shoulder of the bat above your head and play the ball to ground one-handed. You could use your lower arm forearm as a brace behind the bat. That skill also helped greatly with back foot drives, see any Steve Waugh highlights when he is back-foot driving with the blade of the bat basically coming down past his lower hand elbow.
Not many test players do it, they are poorly coached in my opinion. It makes dealing with the short delivery so much easier because the risk of being hit in the face is greatly reduced and you stay in control.
Another strange thing some test players do is bat deep in the crease, straight away they can't move back freely and they get pinged by short deliveries.
Helmets (& yes, I accept that they are a necessary part of the game now) have actually contributed to more & more batsmen getting hit in modern cricket. Batting techniques are far too reliant on the safety net of the helmet & the first move is that push onto the front foot before the ball is even delivered......from that point...they are a sitting duck for the well directed short ball.
Batsmen in the pre-helmet days just didn't have that safety net & so their technique was far better developed to deal with short pitched bowling, their footwork was better, & they used the bat to repel the ball from a better defensive position going back to the short ball, not forwards. There are at least 3 or 4 helmet hits per test it seems now, yet a batsman getting hit on the head pre-helmet days was a rarity & a shock when it did happen.
I certainly don't have a problem with bowlers bowling short at times (not the only method of attack mind you), they need to have some comeback against the ridiculous power in modern bats, roped in boundaries & batsmen who happily prop on the front foot safe in the knowledge that if they stuff up, they're not (usually) going to injured anyway.
Helmets (& yes, I accept that they are a necessary part of the game now) have actually contributed to more & more batsmen getting hit in modern cricket. Batting techniques are far too reliant on the safety net of the helmet & the first move is that push onto the front foot before the ball is even delivered......from that point...they are a sitting duck for the well directed short ball.
Batsmen in the pre-helmet days just didn't have that safety net & so their technique was far better developed to deal with short pitched bowling, their footwork was better, & they used the bat to repel the ball from a better defensive position going back to the short ball, not forwards. There are at least 3 or 4 helmet hits per test it seems now, yet a batsman getting hit on the head pre-helmet days was a rarity & a shock when it did happen.
I certainly don't have a problem with bowlers bowling short at times (not the only method of attack mind you), they need to have some comeback against the ridiculous power in modern bats, roped in boundaries & batsmen who happily prop on the front foot safe in the knowledge that if they stuff up, they're not (usually) going to injured anyway.
I agree with Malo, helmets have enabled poor techniques, but they shouldn't be an excuse for poor techniques!
I had a coach that taught me to remove the bottom hand and you could basically get the shoulder of the bat above your head and play the ball to ground one-handed. You could use your lower arm forearm as a brace behind the bat. That skill also helped greatly with back foot drives, see any Steve Waugh highlights when he is back-foot driving with the blade of the bat basically coming down past his lower hand elbow.
Not many test players do it, they are poorly coached in my opinion. It makes dealing with the short delivery so much easier because the risk of being hit in the face is greatly reduced and you stay in control.
Another strange thing some test players do is bat deep in the crease, straight away they can't move back freely and they get pinged by short deliveries.
Had a very quick one at my throat once and did EXACTLY as you described but jumped as well to fend off the ball.
I agree with Malo, helmets have enabled poor techniques, but they shouldn't be an excuse for poor techniques!
Yes and yes.
I agree with Malo, helmets have enabled poor techniques, but they shouldn't be an excuse for poor techniques!
I was lucky enough to be involved in a coaching course many years ago...during which we had a guest talk from Sir Garfield Sobers. I don't think even then that I appreciated how special that was ! Anyway, his thoughts on technique were very interesting at the time , particularly regarding playing short balls. The traditional theory is that Cricket is a side on game....particularly batting. His thoughts were that a batsman trying to stay side on to a short ball limits the height that their front arm can be raised & also limits the options & range of movement of an attacking (pull/hook) shot (Try it yourself).
If a batsmen moves across & back with a more front on (2 eyes towards the ball) stance, the front arm can reach far higher for a defensive shot, your range of options for an attacking shot become far greater, you have a far better view of the ball, you can quite easily just duck under a ball that is too good.
Even with my limited batting ability I could see the sense of what he was saying....and any advice from a bloke who (up until recently) was the greatest batsman outside of Bradman should be taken extremely seriously !
cheers
I was lucky enough to be involved in a coaching course many years ago...during which we had a guest talk from Sir Garfield Sobers. I don't think even then that I appreciated how special that was ! Anyway, his thoughts on technique were very interesting at the time , particularly regarding playing short balls. The traditional theory is that Cricket is a side on game....particularly batting. His thoughts were that a batsman trying to stay side on to a short ball limits the height that their front arm can be raised & also limits the options & range of movement of an attacking (pull/hook) shot (Try it yourself).
If a batsmen moves across & back with a more front on (2 eyes towards the ball) stance, the front arm can reach far higher for a defensive shot, your range of options for an attacking shot become far greater, you have a far better view of the ball, you can quite easily just duck under a ball that is too good.
Even with my limited batting ability I could see the sense of what he was saying....and any advice from a bloke who (up until recently) was the greatest batsman outside of Bradman should be taken extremely seriously !
cheers
Well bugger me Malo, guess who one of my junior coaches was? The same person I was talking about when I discussed being coached to get one arm high and get my other elbow behind the bat, Sir Gary! (He hated being called Sir, if you called him Sir..... he'd reply "Call me Gary" in that gruff voice! ;D )
I can tell you it works a treat? ;D
Well bugger me Malo, guess who one of my junior coaches was? The same person I was talking about when I discussed being coached to get one arm high and get my other elbow behind the bat, Sir Gary! (He hated being called Sir, if you called him Sir..... he'd reply "Call me Gary" in that gruff voice! ;D )
I can tell you it works a treat? ;D
Unbelieveable !...yeah, you sort of have to pinch yourself when you look back & think about the calibre of player/gentleman who was involved ! Earlier on in that decade, he actually came up to our local high school (little school in Hobart !!) and gave a talk to our cricket side in 1984 ! How he was there & who organised it, I still have no idea, but for the whole time he was there talking, you could hear a pin drop among a bunch of usually rowdy grade 10s !
Unbelieveable !...yeah, you sort of have to pinch yourself when you look back & think about the calibre of player/gentleman who was involved ! Earlier on in that decade, he actually came up to our local high school (little school in Hobart !!) and gave a talk to our cricket side in 1984 ! How he was there & who organised it, I still have no idea, but for the whole time he was there talking, you could hear a pin drop among a bunch of usually rowdy grade 10s !
You know what made him a great coach, he didn't try to remodel every kid into a classic batsmen, he'd see what worked for them and tune it up to work against top quality bowlers.
Bad day at the office ... AGAIN.
Khawaja MUST be dropped. He has NO idea
Too many left handers, too many with rancid techniques.
Bad toss to loose.
England won the ashes when Smudge got hit.
6 for 19.
Bad day at the office ... AGAIN.
Khawaja MUST be dropped. He has NO idea
Yep, well Labuschagne has made it impossible to drop him when Smith comes back...so, yep bye bye Kahwaja.
& ...way too many leftys. Wade really is not the bloke I want to see coming in at 6 in a tight situation. Paine, doing a great job as skipper atm.....but showing what we miss with a good keeper batsman, even of Haddens skill & fight.
Yep, well Labuschagne has made it impossible to drop him when Smith comes back...so, yep bye bye Kahwaja.
& ...way too many leftys. Wade really is not the bloke I want to see coming in at 6 in a tight situation. Paine, doing a great job as skipper atm.....but showing what we miss with a good keeper batsman, even of Haddens skill & fight.
Heads must roll, Langer's included!
Gillespie was easily the better choice as coach. Langer's a CA stooge.
No wonder I don’t watch us play test cricket because we are sh1t. Who the hell taught these guys basic batting technique? I stayed up late for nothing. Not that it took long to fall apart. Get Bolton to teach them the basics. It couldn’t get any worse.
Been telling you blokes for ages, Langer is a stooge and picks mates.
When it's dry (=Australian conditions) and the balls doing little we are the superior side with bat and ball. When it's moving we're rubbish.
Really like Markus, plays like he gives a $'!# and it means something. Khawaja has been an inconsistent, under performer for ten years. Simply has to go.
6 for 19.
They were 2-136 when Warner went.
So , 8 for 43.
They were 2-136 when Warner went.
So , 8 for 43.
To be fair, pretty tough conditions to bat under. The ball was bobbling all over the place, and at speed. In fact, early on it was almost moving too much - the ball missed the outside edge of Warner's bat by big margins (and not because he didn't offer a shot). Once the movement was not so pronounced, it was more dangerous.
If we can get the same sort of conditions on Day 2, Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood will be a real handful - 179 might look like a good score, because their batting is hardly top-shelf either.
To be fair, pretty tough conditions to bat under. The ball was bobbling all over the place, and at speed. In fact, early on it was almost moving too much - the ball missed the outside edge of Warner's bat by big margins (and not because he didn't offer a shot). Once the movement was not so pronounced, it was more dangerous.
If we can get the same sort of conditions on Day 2, Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood will be a real handful - 179 might look like a good score, because their batting is hardly top-shelf either.
And yet a relative newcomer scored 71.....
The ball was swinging and seaming around corners. Warner and Labuschagne did a great job under the circumstances. Hopefully with similar conditions our bowlers use them well. You never know until the other side bats.
And yet a relative newcomer scored 71.....
Their opener Burns got a ton in the first test with one of the worst techniques ever. Sometimes it's just about luck.
Having said that, I think Labuschagne is a talent. About time we found some middle order batters.....
Their opener Burns got a ton in the first test with one of the worst techniques ever. Sometimes it's just about luck.
Having said that, I think Labuschagne is a talent. About time we found some middle order batters.....
Sometimes it is....but our blokes look remarkably out of form, pretty much all of them.
Warner was lucky to reach double figures.
Khawaja must go. Ditto Paine (Carey is a much, much, much better bat).....but being Captain helps!
Cummins played a terrible shot - he's a better bat than that.
Sometimes it is....but our blokes look remarkably out of form, pretty much all of them.
Warner was lucky to reach double figures.
Khawaja must go. Ditto Paine (Carey is a much, much, much better bat).....but being Captain helps!
Cummins played a terrible shot - he's a better bat than that.
I actually think Carey is better with the gloves as well - Paine has grassed a few
Can't drop the skipper. Don't be surprised though if Paine gets a "finger injury" that means he has to miss a couple of tests
I actually think Carey is better with the gloves as well - Paine has grassed a few
Paine's been a great keeper but now he is about to touch 35yo as well so time may be up soon.
Making a mess of the Poms .... LOVELY
4 down and no-one in double figures
6/54 at lunch. Relentless bowlung. Warner with 4 catches. Psyne the other two
The fourth innings is going to be played on a day 3 pitch !!!! Another 60 odd to us will probably rule out an England victory.
If we can get the same sort of conditions on Day 2, Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood will be a real handful - 179 might look like a good score, because their batting is hardly top-shelf either.
Little did we know that our first dig of 179 would be almost 3 times greater than the Poms could muster....
I thought a lot of it was downright deplorable batting against good, accurate bowling backed up by excellent catching. Didnt see too many jaffa's, although I did like the one from Patto that tailed away late. Real swing, haven't seen that from an Australian right arm bowler for a while. I'd want at least another 50 to feel confident - can't see the poms playing the same get out shots in the second dig.
England is rattled by consistent fast bowling, never knowing what's coming next. Our batting is nothing to write home about, but theirs is vulnerable in the extreme.
Ben Stokes. A blistering 2 off 50 balls ..
But we needed those additional runs to our overnight score.
Ben Stokes. A blistering 2 off 50 balls ..
But we needed those additional runs to our overnight score.
Prefer the reckless Stokes to the concentrating one, if he gets a ton they will win imo, need to get him and Root out pronto.
We should win easily but the Poms have dug in and we miss that 5th bowler...
He's making Chris Tavare look fast :) But yep, agree. An early wicket will hurt them immensely.
The Poms are gambling on the pitch improving for batting as each day passes, it's a possibility at this venue as it's happened before that the highest scores come in the 4th innings.
In reality, we wasted the ball a bit yesterday, bowlers excluding Hazelwood got their line and lengths wrong, I'm not sure why they wanted to change anything form the 2nd innings.
Also I think Paine showed a lack of experience, he tried to have a bit each way in terms of field setting and tactics, some attack with some scoreline defending. We could easily had two or three more wickets if we'd not had half/half field settings. In fairness to Paine, the bowlers were a bit off which didn't make things any easier.
We tend to bowl a touch short and get carried away when it flies. The lad who got injured (Richardson?) would have been a real handful on this deck with his skiddy pace and fuller length. Need to err on the fuller side.
More poo~!
Waisting the new ball, not applying any pressure, we are defending it's madness!
How weak and humiliating is Australian test cricket. P1ss f@cking weak. What a joke. Take off the baggy green. You don’t deserve it. Pfft. Useless flogs.
Poor use of referrals and a late dropped catch didn't help.
... and sometimes, cricket justice deserts you.
Annoyed is an understatement
When they were 2 for 15, the betting odds on them winning would have been
astronomical.
Not the result I was expecting but an exciting finish and great batting from Stokes.
It was a very strange decision to waste our last review on a delivery that clearly couldn’t be given out.
The Australian Test Team is suffering the very same fate that Carlton suffers, it's allowed itself to be bullied into playing fair by a bunch of crooked opponents.
It's a no win scenario!
It's our own fault, for taking the finger-pointing cheating accusations from countries like India and South Africa seriously, and then overreacting. It won't be until Australian Cricket gets sick of being duded that it returns to peak form.
In professional sport there is no winning from being nice, money ensures that isn't the case!
Wasted the new ball, lack a serious fifth bowling option and Stokes was too good. Sometimes the other mob is just a bit better.
Got carried away when they got rolled for 67. That's wasn't going to happen twice.
Disappointing result but Stokes is one of the premier all rounders in
the world and credit where its due he seems to stand up when England need him.
Smith in for Khawaja next test and I reckon Starc might play too.
I think Australia is just a good side and everyone thinks we should be a great side like we were from 1995-2007.
Those days are long gone now.
Idiot after idiot stuffed that up. Harris's missed runout with about 40 runs to go, bowlers having no idea where to bowl and just bowled junk, Lyon missing a runout so simple that a 10yo would've taken the ball, idiot Paine having no screwing idea what to do under pressure, making bad decision after bad decision, that idiot decision to review something that was never going to be out meant when that stupid fool umpire Wilson gave the plumbest of LBWs not out we had no reviews left. Just choke after choke.
Why was that fool umpiring after 10 bad decisions in the First Test. ICC need top be held responsible. To not give that LBW was incompetence in the extreme. To not have a review to cover for that fool was just as incompetent.
If Paine can't captain a side properly he has no business being there. At 35yo he's not as good as he was with the bat so he's now no value.
I presume a lot of people posting have seen how this ended, as Jim describes above it was a farce!
There was no being outplayed, we made Alan Donald look calm and collected!
Disappointing result but Stokes is one of the premier all rounders in
the world and credit where its due he seems to stand up when England need him.
Smith in for Khawaja next test and I reckon Starc might play too.
One of the great innings but he shouldn't have been there for the winning runs. That LBW was hit middle and leg half way up. Both the umpire and Paine are f'ups.
One of the great innings but he shouldn't have been there for the winning runs. That LBW was hit middle and leg half way up. Both the umpire and Paine are f'ups.
We dished up the equivalent of 4 or 5 match winning goals missed from inside the goal square!
I appreciate it's hard to appreciate the pressure of the moment, but some of those are career ending mistakes, coach killers!
Wasted the new ball, lack a serious fifth bowling option and Stokes was too good. Sometimes the other mob is just a bit better.
Got carried away when they got rolled for 67. That's wasn't going to happen twice.
Our bowlers were stuffed and there’s a sameness about the three quicks. A genuine bowling all rounder would be a huge improvement.
Our bowlers were stuffed and there’s a sameness about the three quicks. A genuine bowling all rounder would be a huge improvement.
I don't get this at all, moderate or even mild conditions by our standards, players trained better and more professionally than ever before with many support staff. And not one of them capable of enduring bowling stints that blokes like Lillee, Walker or Gilmore would rack up three decade ago in-between a packet of gaspers!
If Paine can't captain a side properly he has no business being there. At 35yo he's not as good as he was with the bat so he's now no value.
Oh, for a Mark Taylor. The DRS system is still seriously flawed. It's a match we should
NEVER have lost.
Some thoughts ...
Yep, choked.
Like a footy match where everyone focuses on the last controversial free kick, there were many other moments which proved telling. Always thought we needed another 30 or 40 runs. Labuschagne's run out was just stupid.
I don't have the stats to back it up but are Australia the WORST users of the DRS? Biggest problem is that Umpires are scared to make a decision.
And finally, ...
"Ben Stokes knocked two men unconscious in a street brawl after flicking a cigarette butt at gay men he mocked outside a nightclub, the prosecution has said at the England cricket star's trial."
So this guy is now a national hero while we are hated and pilloried for rubbing a ball with sandpaper?
Can't wait for the movie, "England. The undeserving."
Our bowlers were stuffed and there’s a sameness about the three quicks. A genuine bowling all rounder would be a huge improvement.
A certain leftie may have helped our cause.....known for his ability to pluck wickets out of nowhere and to clean up tails!
Tests aren't about conserving runs, they're about taking wickets.
And let's be honest, but for Paine being Captain, he would be dropped for Carey in a heartbeat.
In an ideal world - ins for 4th Test - Starc, Smith and Carey.
Out - Khawaja, Pattinson and Paine.
Even Carey in for Wade or Head tbh!
I was boosting Carey before the 1st test and people on here bagged me!
I think he looks to have the best all-round game of any batting candidate on the ACB roster.
There was no plan how to handle the situation.
Paine turned it into a one-day game which is Stokes' forte. In a partnership of 73 off 62 balls, Jack Leach faced only 17 balls. They let Stokes milk the strike with no idea how to stop it. They kept bowling back of a length to a guy who was smashing them over the point and square leg fence - why no yorkers....!!!????
And then, they review an LBW shout that pitched so far outside leg that it's even lucky it hit a pad. I was screaming at the tele, 'don't do it' - if I can see it from 10,000 km away how come they can't?
Just plain dumb, and 3 hours of sleep I will never get back.
There was no plan how to handle the situation.
Paine turned it into a one-day game which is Stokes' forte. In a partnership of 73 off 62 balls, Jack Leach faced only 17 balls. They let Stokes milk the strike with no idea how to stop it. They kept bowling back of a length to a guy who was smashing them over the point and square leg fence - why no yorkers....!!!????
And then, they review an LBW shout that pitched so far outside leg that it's even lucky it hit a pad. I was screaming at the tele, 'don't do it' - if I can see it from 10,000 km away how come they can't?
Just plain dumb, and 3 hours of sleep I will never get back.
Kudos for actually watching it....I was cooked after a 4am finish on saturday morning !....just as well probably, my TV would have had a remote sized hole in it yesterday.
However, we are in the position of being able to bring in fresh, world class fast bowlers...Starc will play next test. Poms bowlers are going to be flatter with every Test.....if we win the next test then Stokes innings & everything that went on that final day becomes completely irrelevant. We need to use that as motivation.
Paine could've finished his cricket career, when he retired, with a the legacy as a captain who retained the Ashes on English soil for the first time in 17 years. Through a a lack of composure though it's now possible he could be the man that cost Australia the Ashes through absolute stupidity.
At least he has two Tests to win one of them and still retain the Ashes. He now has to learn from his mistakes.
Kudos to Smith, put the Ashes ahead of a worthless tour match.
I can't believe the hypocrisy of the commentary, claiming Smith has devalued cricket by leaving the field to get meaningful net practise. So Smith demeans the sport they claim.
But the ECB can organise a tour match full of spinners and mediocre part-time medium pacers for Smith to practise against pre-Archer or Broad.
The commentators and the ECB are the hypocrites.
Smith has put the Ashes and cricket in general well ahead of meaningless stats playing against a half-arsed tour match squad full of weekend warriors!
Kudos to Smith, put the Ashes ahead of a worthless tour match.
I can't believe the hypocrisy of the commentary, claiming Smith has devalued cricket by leaving the field to get meaningful net practise. So Smith demeans the sport they claim.
But the ECB can organise a tour match full of spinners and mediocre part-time medium pacers for Smith to practise against pre-Archer.
The commentators and the ECB are the hypocrites.
Smith has put the Ashes and cricket in general well ahead of meaningless stats playing against a half-arsed tour match squad full of weekend warriors!
Smith reportedly lost 3-5 mill being out of cricket for his suspended period and its rumored he has demanded a truckload of money from the ACB if they want to make him captain again..
No way should he ever be Captain.
And he wasn't even a good Captain imo (though better than Paine)
Steve Smith might have lost 3-5 mill from cricket but a $100k investment in the Koala Mattress company has netted him 12 million, looks like he has been sleeping like a baby, who said cheats dont prosper.... 8)
Steve Smith might have lost 3-5 mill from cricket but a $100k investment in the Koala Mattress company has netted him 12 million, looks like he has been sleeping like a baby, who said cheats dont prosper.... 8)
Well done Steve Smith.
Thank God they've picked Starc.
... and dropped Khawaja. Far too many chances
... and dropped Khawaja. Far too many chances
Others should have gone before him. D. Warner for one.
Others should have gone before him. D. Warner for one.
His 61 from from a total of 179 keeps him in this time.
His 61 from from a total of 179 keeps him in this time.
Oh, I see that - just and admittedly I an no Warner fan.
They have all been terrible really, Smith aside.
Oh, I see that - just and admittedly I an no Warner fan.
They have all been terrible really, Smith aside.
Warner could have been out 20 times in that innings.
Admittedly, it was pretty tough batting, the ball was doing plenty, which, oddly, is probably what saved him.
Other than Smith, Labuschagne is the other to do very well.
They really should have had Carey in the squad
Warner could have been out 20 times in that innings.
Admittedly, it was pretty tough batting, the ball was doing plenty, which, oddly, is probably what saved him.
Other than Smith, Labuschagne is the other to do very well.
They really should have had Carey in the squad
Yes my bad, Lab.... has done very well indeed. And shown up all those vastly more experienced types - which shows it is an application issue ps I also note Siddle's average....
Wonder if Langer will have the stones to drop Warner.... should never have been on this tour, his record in England is crap and getting worse.
Warner is the first top-six batsman to be out in single figures six times in a series since ...
Virat Kohli v England, 2014
(Stolen from CricInfo)
Wonder if Langer will have the stones to drop Warner.... should never have been on this tour, his record in England is crap and getting worse.
Should have gone before Khawaja quite frankly.
How many balls did he last today? Two?
Harris is just as bad... another Warner clone - mashes it through the line but clueless if the ball deviates a millimetre.
I agree with you on one thing Fly, I'm not a Khawaja fan but I'd have played that crab before Warner and/or Harris. Too many flighty left handers in this side.
Pity the selectors burned Renshaw, at least he looked like an opener unlike these pretenders.
Wonder if Langer will have the stones to drop Warner.... should never have been on this tour, his record in England is crap and getting worse.
Warner's looking lost against Broad. Doesn't know whether to play or leave. His 61 last Test saved him and the only way he'll play the next Test is if he has a good 2nd innings. Right now prefer a Khawaja 20 than a Warner duck.
To be fair he Warner did average 46 with 5 half centuries on the last tour to England but he is right out of form now.
Warner's looking lost against Broad. Doesn't know whether to play or leave. His 61 last Test saved him and the only way he'll play the next Test is if he has a good 2nd innings. Right now prefer a Khawaja 20 than a Warner duck.
To be fair he Warner did average 46 with 5 half centuries on the last tour to England but he is right out of form now.
To be fair he has never made a hundred in England either.
He never looked “in” on that last tour because his technique doesn’t stack up on moving decks.
That’s why he’s shot now, doesn’t have any plan against the moving ball.
To be fair he has never made a hundred in England either.
He never looked “in” on that last tour because his technique doesn’t stack up on moving decks.
That’s why he’s shot now, doesn’t have any plan against the moving ball.
He might as well just go the slog. He can't even do that presently.
Yep, quintessential flat track bully. Has always relied upon brute force over technique and can't adjust if the ball seams and swings. Problem now is that we can't drop him, because there are no replacements on the horizon.
What's the saying "swing if it swings, bat if it's flat" ? Warner may as well to get a few away because he's a sitting duck anchored to the crease with heavy feet.
Where Warner got it right last Test he just played straight down the line and if it swung he missed it. Went back to being hesitant last night and nicked it.
England almost did Australia a favor knocking out Smith at Lords. It brought in Marcus Labuschagne making our batting so much stronger.
Where Warner got it right last Test he just played straight down the line and if it swung he missed it. Went back to being hesitant last night and nicked it.
He was simply lucky it was doing so much.
He struggles in England.
Can't deny that
I was listening to the radio when Warner got out, and the English commentators remarked that Warner was 'clearly not in good nick this series'.
That is a load of rubbish, as Warner is in the best 'nick' of his career, seeing as that's about the only shot he has played consistently in this series.
The reality is Warner has never been good against good seam or swing bowling. He's quite good at dealing with pace and bounce, but sideways gets him time after time.
People talk about some previous tour in which he scored, but they neglect to highlight that the various cricket boards change the specification of pitches and balls each series to suit their own attacks or batting line ups. It's not clear at all if in those earlier series Warner had to deal with much sideways movement.
I think he has missed a trick, he's trying too hard to bat for the long innings, a bit like Joe Root. I think Warner should go out there and bat like it's an ODI and if he gets set he's then got the opportunity to continue. That way he is at least likely to get a few decent 30 to 50 run starts!
Reality...Broad is bowling well to Warner, he looked finished in Aus but has regained some pace and on English wickets is hard work as he is swinging/seaming the ball every match
and knows his craft. Warner is a fine player as his record suggests but the bowlers are dominating this series and only Smith who is an eccentric talent and Marnus loose bus change are able to graft and build an innings. Warner has the twice the talent of the gritty Marnus but grafting and grinding isnt his go, doesnt help either that his two partners in Bancroft and Harris cant get the ball of the square either and dont hang around long enough to rotate the strike and get Warner away from Broad.
We are well positioned with runs on the board and Smith in charge, the pitch is flat and at the end of the day we can take our time as England have to win the series
and we can hang in and draw these next two tests if we have to. Stokes cant keep saving and winning games for England and Archer looked like he couldnt be bothered
stretching the muscles in the cold weather and was at half rat power.
Reality...Broad is bowling well to Warner, he looked finished in Aus but has regained some pace and on English wickets is hard work as he is swinging/seaming the ball every match
and knows his craft. Warner is a fine player as his record suggests but the bowlers are dominating this series and only Smith who is an eccentric talent and Marnus loose bus change are able to graft and build an innings. Warner has the twice the talent of the gritty Marnus but grafting and grinding isnt his go, doesnt help either that his two partners in Bancroft and Harris cant get the ball of the square either and dont hang around long enough to rotate the strike and get Warner away from Broad.
We are well positioned with runs on the board and Smith in charge, the pitch is flat and at the end of the day we can take our time as England have to win the series
and we can hang in and draw these next two tests if we have to. Stokes cant keep saving and winning games for England and Archer looked like he couldnt be bothered
stretching the muscles in the cold weather and was at half rat power.
X2. Good summary EB.
All we have to do now is draw.
As for David Warner, he would be in any other test side in the world if he was available to them.
He does struggle in England but they still worry about him.
X2. Good summary EB.
All we have to do now is draw.
As for David Warner, he would be in any other test side in the world if he was available to them.
He does struggle in England but they still worry about him.
I would disagree.
He strikes me as a very divisive type, even discounting sand paper.
Wade showed why he won't be in the side going forwards. Idiotic stuff.
Four left handers in the top six... All on thin ice.
Without Smith (and young Marnus) we would be laughable....
Without Smith (and young Marnus) we would be laughable....
Without Broad and stokes so would England
Steve Smith is NOW the highest test run scorer in 2019.
4 innings
Well, that'll shut England up for a while. Trouble is I can only see a draw at this point.
Without Broad and stokes so would England
Agreed.
211 for Smith, now averages 64.64, not quite 99.94 but getting there!
Only the 3rd batsman in history to score 3 or more 200s in Ashes series (Hammond 4, Bradman 8).
Even Captain Paine produced an innings of note.
Now for Starc to show what he can do....
Now for Starc to show what he can do....
Hopefully, but that can go one of two ways!
Without Smith (and young Marnus) we would be laughable....
Batting wise yes, but our bowlers can bowl.
Agreed.
211 for Smith, now averages 64.64, not quite 99.94 but getting there!
Only the 3rd batsman in history to score 3 or more 200s in Ashes series (Hammond 4, Bradman 8).
Even Captain Paine produced an innings of note.
Now for Starc to show what he can do....
Smith is a freak, no traditional technique, but has an eye like a
dead fish and defies all batting logic, it's great to watch how he
he goes about it.
Paine was better but was dropped twice and they were easy catches.
He is lucky he is the captain and has Smith covering the cracks.
Starc played well, English bowling was as flat as the pitch which helped, Stokes has a buggered shoulder so that might help us too. Can't see us losing and only the weather can save the Poms...
Warner 0, Harris 13, Head 19, Wade 16 and still make 500.
Smith is a freak, no traditional technique, but has an eye like a
dead fish and defies all batting logic, it's great to watch how he
he goes about it.
Paine was better but was dropped twice and they were easy catches.
He is lucky he is the captain and has Smith covering the cracks.
Starc played well, English bowling was as flat as the pitch which helped, Stokes has a buggered shoulder so that might help us too. Can't see us losing and only the weather can save the Poms...
Did Archer manage to bowl one over 140 this Test yet?
Did Archer manage to bowl one over 140 this Test yet?
Archer stunk.
Looks sore.
I doubt he plays the 5th test, but hopefully he does, as he will struggle.
Starc bowled the same garbage last night that kept him out of the first three tests.
If he doesn't improve this test, he won't play again for some time.
The selectors have finally worked out he is just as much of a liability as he is a weapon.
Why he opened, I will never know.
Did Archer manage to bowl one over 140 this Test yet?
He cranked it up alot more yesterday.
Archer stunk.
Looks sore.
I doubt he plays the 5th test, but hopefully he does, as he will struggle.
Starc bowled the same garbage last night that kept him out of the first three tests.
If he doesn't improve this test, he won't play again for some time.
The selectors have finally worked out he is just as much of a liability as he is a weapon.
Why he opened, I will never know.
I think Starc is more like Mitch Johnson in that he needs to come in first change so he can better control the ball.
I think Starc is more like Mitch Johnson in that he needs to come in first change so he can better control the ball.
I think he needs to play shield cricket for a season and
1 - demonstrate that he understands what the expectation is and
2 - that he can actually deliver
Bowling 3 balls an over, at best, in good areas is not test standard bowling
I think Starc is more like Mitch Johnson in that he needs to come in first change so he can better control the ball.
Johnson put the fear of god into batsmen, Starc delivers the fear of the unknown!
It's like picking who you want to face, Lillee or Thompson, who are you more likely to have a good day against?
Smith said it best about Archer, "He can hit me and hurt me but he doesn't get me out!"
I think our bowlers are OK, as long as the captain and fielders do not panic around them. We lost the last test due to perceived pressure, when all it really needed was for someone to calm down and turn the pressure back onto the Poms! We needed that Warne moment, when he would stop in the run-up and call a senior player conference, before bowling the straight one that gets the batsmen out because they are too busy wondering what was said!
Tubby Taylor was also a master at reflecting/deflecting pressure onto opponents, move a fielder here, switch a bowler there, just enough to cause an error!
Did Archer manage to bowl one over 140 this Test yet?
He bowled a bit quicker later in the day but without menace, he is either injured or cant be bothered.
Body language was poor and he looks like test cricket is a bit of a drag for him when you have to
work on a flat pitch and bend your back. Think he likes the shorter formats where its done in a day
and he can get back to getting the hair done and kicking back. He reminds me of a fast bowling version of
Chris Gayle where he is just too cool to be put through a hard days test cricket...
I think he needs to play shield cricket for a season and
1 - demonstrate that he understands what the expectation is and
2 - that he can actually deliver
Bowling 3 balls an over, at best, in good areas is not test standard bowling
It is if 1 or 2 of those balls are wicket taking balls ;)
It is if 1 or 2 of those balls are wicket taking balls ;)
But they aren't and that's the problem.
Starc is great when he's great and excrement otherwise, there is nothing in-between!
Which is a problem, because when Starc is in the team we are reliant on him, and his bad doesn't just bring himself undone it brings everyone around him undone, because his excessive release of excrement lets the pressure out! ;D
If it had been Starc instead of McGrath bowling in tandem with Warne, Warne would probably only have half the record!
But in fairness to Starc, I can't see him bowling more or less excrement than Pattinson, Pattinson was very disappointing!
It would be fairly hypocritical of Aussie fans to claim Starc is the mustard while discussing the excrement Archer offers up!
The most effective wicket taking delivery is a good length.
If Starc hits a good length it's by accident.
The most effective wicket taking delivery is a good length.
If Starc hits a good length it's by accident.
Starcs problem is consistency...on one match and then off for the next couple, you get away with that when you play rubbish like
England are at the moment with one day bozo's like Roy, Denly, Butler masquerading as test cricketers but when its India, South Africa
who play it hard and wont give you an inch then he becomes a liability because like Archer he gets that couldnt give a feck attitude
and I'll just roll the arm over for a few overs and then take the rest of the day off and I'll let grunts like Siddle do the work until the new ball is due and I have the tail to bowl at.
Bowlers like McGrath, Ambrose, Steyn etc were greats because even on a flat pitch they would give you nothing even if wickets were scarce.
But they aren't and that's the problem.
Starc is great when he's great and excrement otherwise, there is nothing in-between!
Which is a problem, because when Starc is in the team we are reliant on him, and his bad doesn't just bring himself undone it brings everyone around him undone, because his excessive release of excrement lets the pressure out! ;D
If it had been Starc instead of McGrath bowling in tandem with Warne, Warne would probably only have half the record!
But in fairness to Starc, I can't see him bowling more or less excrement than Pattinson, Pattinson was very disappointing!
It would be fairly hypocritical of Aussie fans to claim Starc is the mustard while discussing the excrement Archer offers up!
Alot of excrement happening there...lol.
He reminds me of an earlier days Mitch Johnson, great or $hit except Johnson worked harder until one day it clicked. Remains to be seem if Starc can ever gert his $hit together.
And I agree with most of all of the above, it remains a fact that Starc's best is still easily world best.
No reason you can't carry his bad stuff with Cummins and Hazelwood (the new McGrath) as the other quicks.
If you're suggesting that Siddle or Pattinson are better options you're smoking some bad weed....
Starcs best is great. When are we going to see it?
Starcs best is great. When are we going to see it?
In an hour's time with luck.
We need 15 wickets in a day. Not entirely impossible....
my bad, 2 days!!!
Starc's on fire today. Two Starc's.....good Starc and bad Starc. Yesterday bad Starc, today good Starc.
Thanks and Goodbye David.
Thanks and Goodbye David.
not entirely sure it works that way but hear the man can be troublesome in the camp. Hate to say it but he may well provide the second or third most runs this summer, as usual. Critics may wish to ponder how we go about winning at home. I'd not have him or Khawaja in the squad without a year in county cricket, AShes or otherwise, when we go on tour. Personally can't wait for more new generation. Was a Khawaja fan earlier but been disillusioned the past few years
Looking at our second innings, we are going to lose this test. What a batting collapse by us.
Broad is a quality bowler and Archer appears to have pulled the finger out after the press highlighted his lack of rapport with his captain.
Its all down to Smith again...whats new?
Broad is a quality bowler and Archer appears to have pulled the finger out after the press highlighted his lack of rapport with his captain.
Its all down to Smith again...whats new?
Needs to have huge shoulders like Judd had for our football club. Must be difficult carrying an entire side, game after game, after game.
How Erasmus couldn't give Leach out to a GLARING and obvious LBW (thereby inviting the follow on) was a VERY poor decision.
But 365 with 2 down? England will not get that
How Erasmus couldn't give Leach out to a GLARING and obvious LBW (thereby inviting the follow on) was a VERY poor decision.
But 365 with 2 down? England will not get that
Then he's quick to fire out our blokes when Broad bowls around the wicket.
Umpiring has been worse than our batting, and that's saying something.
Thanks and Goodbye David.
Reminds me of a proverb, ........... all that glitters isn't gold!
The ACB in it's guise as a neptoistic bunch of NSWelshmen were smitten with this bloke. What I find really shocking is that it took so long for international opposition bowlers to work him and various other cross bat hacks out! I suppose that says something about the drop in the quality of test cricket under the influence of the shorter forms!
FFS, I can't wait until Carey gets a run at starting a serious Test career!
Then he's quick to fire out our blokes when Broad bowls around the wicket.
Warner is shot mentally against Broad, Erasmus and crew have been quick but the problem is its also been easy as
Warner, Harris etc have been back on the stumps and squared up.
Time for another right hander like Joe Burns to open, cant understand how Bancroft actually got picked to tour, worst technique
of any opener I have seen for ages.
It’s interesting that we seem to be picking bowlers on form and pitch but remain reluctant to change the batsmen ????
It’s interesting that we seem to be picking bowlers on form and pitch but remain reluctant to change the batsmen ????
We’ve got great bowling options, as for batting.....not so sure.
It’s interesting that we seem to be picking bowlers on form and pitch but remain reluctant to change the batsmen ????
When on tour you have only so many choices. We can only replace the openers with Bancroft and Khawaja, so the only thing is they'll likely hang around a bit longer even if they don't make alot. Khawaja does average 96 as an opener, including a couple of big ones overseas. Only other batting choice left is Mitch Marsh.
Maybe open with Smith and Labuschagne and play 6 bowlers, who'll also likely make more runs as well as bowl anyway...lol.
It’s interesting that we seem to be picking bowlers on form and pitch but remain reluctant to change the batsmen ????
Reluctant?
They have dropped 2 x top order batsmen already?
Agree, they need more options but you can only have so many on tour.
Why Bancroft and M Marsh were originally selected to tour is more the issue
Happy to be proven wrong but i'm voting for a draw on this one... pitch isn't doing enough, Nafun isn't getting much and Starc hasn't come to the party. Going to struggle to create 8 chances in 3 sessions.
Reluctant?
They have dropped 2 x top order batsmen already?
Agree, they need more options but you can only have so many on tour.
Why Bancroft and M Marsh were originally selected to tour is more the issue
Bancroft had every right to be picked, do your homework JH:
17, 93* Hick XII v Haddin XII Southampton 23 Jul 2019 Other
8, 28 Durham v Worcs Chester-le-Street 13 Jul 2019 FC
36, 109 Durham v Leics Leicester 7 Jul 2019 FC
77, 92* Durham v Lancashire Sedbergh 30 Jun 2019 FC
158, 5 Durham v Sussex Hove 24 Jun 2019 FC
Bancroft had every right to be picked, do your homework JH:
17, 93* Hick XII v Haddin XII Southampton 23 Jul 2019 Other
8, 28 Durham v Worcs Chester-le-Street 13 Jul 2019 FC
36, 109 Durham v Leics Leicester 7 Jul 2019 FC
77, 92* Durham v Lancashire Sedbergh 30 Jun 2019 FC
158, 5 Durham v Sussex Hove 24 Jun 2019 FC
Issue with Bancroft is his technique, hasnt changed, test average of 26
Joe Burns has a test average of 40 with 4 centuries....Bancroft got a gig thanks to Langar.
Burns should have been in the touring party if you are going on stats...
Bancroft had every right to be picked, do your homework JH:
17, 93* Hick XII v Haddin XII Southampton 23 Jul 2019 Other
8, 28 Durham v Worcs Chester-le-Street 13 Jul 2019 FC
36, 109 Durham v Leics Leicester 7 Jul 2019 FC
77, 92* Durham v Lancashire Sedbergh 30 Jun 2019 FC
158, 5 Durham v Sussex Hove 24 Jun 2019 FC
What he does in county cricket doesn’t necessarily prove he can bat.
Stats only tell part of the story
His technique is ordinary at best
15 overs to go to get the last wicket. This will be a test of accuracy with the bowling versus ability to hold your composure with the bat. Australia cannot waste deliveries. Otherwise they will f#ck up their opportunity to win this test.
We've won.
Great effort from a side that has been criticised since it was announced.
Special mention for Steve Smith, the best batsman in the world right now.
... and NO special mention to that B*****D Erasmus who wouldn't give Stokes out when he was caught behind. Stokes did the right thing and walked ... simply embarrassed the fat tub of lard.
Issue with Bancroft is his technique, hasnt changed, test average of 26
Joe Burns has a test average of 40 with 4 centuries....Bancroft got a gig thanks to Langar.
Burns should have been in the touring party if you are going on stats...
Can't agree - he had his chances to shine, he didn't.
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
18, 0 Hick XII v Haddin XII Southampton 23 Jul 2019 Other
19, 9 Aust XI v Eng Lions Canterbury 14 Jul 2019 FC
133, 0* Australia A v Sussex Arundel 7 Jul 2019 FC
10 Lancashire v Northants Manchester 14 May 2019 FC
We've won.
Great effort from a side that has been criticised since it was announced.
Special mention for Steve Smith, the best batsman in the world right now.
X2
I thought that Paine captained with more confidence than he showed on the last day of the last Test. Perhaps he has learnt from the experience.
X2
I thought that Paine captained with more confidence than he showed on the last day of the last Test. Perhaps he has learnt from the experience.
I agree he was better, but in fairness I don't think he has been bad.
Although I think he has one major flaw, he is a bit too much OH&S, which means he won't put his foot on the oppositions throat! That leaves any team he leads open to what happened in the 3rd Test, being some bastards roadkill!
(Sorry, not meaning to be derogatory to OH&S types!)
We've pretty comprehensively outplayed England with effectively 2 bowlers & 2 batsmen performing....and only 1 of those batsmen & bowlers playing all four tests so far !
We need to develop & encourage more batsmen with sound, solid techniques (preferably the majority Right Handed) to replace the useless 20/20 focused leftys in the rest of the batting order.
The worst thing we can do is to give the likes of Warner & Harris another chance in the next summer series here....of course they'll score runs.
X2
I thought that Paine captained with more confidence than he showed on the last day of the last Test. Perhaps he has learnt from the experience.
It's called experience ;)
X2
I thought that Paine captained with more confidence than he showed on the last day of the last Test. Perhaps he has learnt from the experience.
x3....look like he learned a bit from the Stokes massacre and didnt let the game drift.
Liked his quick bowling changes and how he was happy to bowl a few part timers to change things up.
Mind you with only 81 balls left he was cutting it a bit fine, we have the better attack with more contributors and I think that was the difference.
England probably got unlucky losing Wood and Anderson who paired with Broad and Archer would have been a handful on these seaming tracks
but thats how the luck goes sometimes.
Root also didnt help his bowlers by being negative too often, fortune favours the brave and Paine for most of the time kept attacking fields and
reaped the rewards.
It's called experience ;)
Might also be called having the previous captain standing in slips beside him..... can't help thinking the last day at Leeds would have been different if Smith had been in a position to offer his opinion.
Might also be called having the previous captain standing in slips beside him..... can't help thinking the last day at Leeds would have been different if Smith had been in a position to offer his opinion.
Agreed ... Smith may as well have been captain last night.
So, did Starc do enough to stay in the side for the next test?
So, did Starc do enough to stay in the side for the next test?
When the game was there to be won, I thought he was pathetic.
He just doesn’t bend his back anywhere near enough.
Cummins comes on and makes things happen, Starc floats the ball down the track hoping they happen.
If they are over there I'd be running at least one of the back up bowlers now, Neser, Richardson or Behrendorff.
Maybe even give Lloyd Pope a run as the leg spinner.
If they are over there I'd be running at least one of the back up bowlers now, Neser, Richardson or Behrendorff.
Maybe even give Lloyd Pope a run as the leg spinner.
Lyon isn't the same bowler after that horror ending in the third test.
So, did Starc do enough to stay in the side for the next test?
Absolutely!
His batting in the first innings was crucial. His bowling in the Pom's first innings removed three of the most troublesome batsmen cheaply and was a critical factor in setting up our victory.
Starc provides a point of difference in our attack and he creates the rough for Lyon. He has to stay in the side!
So, did Starc do enough to stay in the side for the next test?
Definately !!!
Absolutely!
His batting in the first innings was crucial. His bowling in the Pom's first innings removed three of the most troublesome batsmen cheaply and was a critical factor in setting up our victory.
Starc provides a point of difference in our attack and he creates the rough for Lyon. He has to stay in the side!
x100.
So, did Starc do enough to stay in the side for the next test?
50/50. Was ok, not great with the ball. Terrific with the bat last Test but we pick him to bowl.
50/50. Was ok, not great with the ball. Terrific with the bat last Test but we pick him to bowl.
Yet the batting probably saves him, if he could reliably knock out 30 - 50 runs each innings you'd pick him as a change bowler 100% of the time!
We can't judge him relative to a batting all-rounder like Mitch Marsh, or some other batting all-rounder, that would be unfair. Despite my reservations about his bowling if he's picked as a bowling all-rounder he probably makes the cut.
Cricket is a team sport, and relies on all players contributing to the result, so even if Starc just creates rough patches and offers a different angle that's something. But I would like more wickets.
At the moment he's the quintessential one trick pony. It's a good trick but he needs to develop other wicket taking strategies. That means playing a lot more four day cricket , in different places. He also needs to work on his short stuff and get the ball at troubling heights more often as high bumpers are nothing more than a waste of energy and low bumpers are fruit for the scoreboard.
I don't think its a coincidence that his best days occurred when a certain left handed opener spent a lot of time on "ball management". All players must evolve to improve and he has work to do. Even just better control would make him more effective.
I also note that I was very critical of our bowling crew against India and the lack of ball movement. The refusal to employ the off cutter against India, a much easier delivery to bowl than swing or leg cutters, was frustrating. The off cutter was used with tremendous skill and effect by Cummins et al. and the amount they got the ball to jag was alarming - just as difficult to play as late swing I reckon. Hazelwood also got a few to tail both ways but I didn't see a lot of true swing, though I didn't expect it. I wonder if the Duke's ball, with the very hard and proud seam promotes seams as well as swing?
Cricket is a team sport, and relies on all players contributing to the result, so even if Starc just creates rough patches and offers a different angle that's something. But I would like more wickets.
I suppose that's also an argument for Behrendorff getting a run!
Smith let himself down with the Jack Leach/Rogers? impersonation...the first impression would be he his mocking Leach so why do it, the Rogers excuse doesnt make sense.
Unless Leach had unkind words for Smith then I dont get it. Celebrate for sure but respect the opposition and even if you meant it some another way just have more awareness.
It's a form of suggestive pareidolia, the UK media know that suggesting Smith was impersonating Leach will result in most people thinking Smith was impersonating Leach. It's a technique used frequently by media organisations.
It didn't matter what Smith did, the minute the media suggested it looked like a parody of Leach it was set in stone in everybody's consciousness, and nobody who read or saw those reports can undo the effect even if after you are aware of it.
We are all slaves to our own consciousness, internet memes rely on this effect!
Smith let himself down with the Jack Leach/Rogers? impersonation...the first impression would be he his mocking Leach so why do it, the Rogers excuse doesnt make sense.
Unless Leach had unkind words for Smith then I dont get it. Celebrate for sure but respect the opposition and even if you meant it some another way just have more awareness.
Poms have been mocking him, like Archer did, he's putting up with the crowd booing him, mocking him crying with face masks so screw the Poms, they are good at dishing it but can't take it.
Poms have been mocking him, like Archer did, he's putting up with the crowd booing him, mocking him crying with face masks so screw the Poms, they are good at dishing it but can't take it.
Jim, Dont mind him donning the corn rows and the Mr T chains for some well deserved Archer retribution but I think the vision impaired and very demure Jack Leach was a fairly soft target if that was the plan.
I would have given it to Root who did a bit of cheating of his own and refuses to acknowledge we are the better team....
Jim, Dont mind him donning the corn rows and the Mr T chains for some well deserved Archer retribution but I think the vision impaired and very demure Jack Leach was a fairly soft target if that was the plan.
I would have given it to Root who did a bit of cheating of his own and refuses to acknowledge we are the better team....
talk about a beat up....less than a storm in a tea cup!
Makes me laugh when the Poms call us cheats....there's a roll call of less than salubrious incidents the Poms have been in. Plus Root can't seem to figure out that a grassed ball isn't a catch. Never has been, never will be.
I agree with the glasses thing not being a good look but screw the poms, maybe they should as Agent Starling retorted "turn that incisive intellect on themselves".
Makes me laugh when the Poms call us cheats....there's a roll call of less than salubrious incidents the Poms have been in. Plus Root can't seem to figure out that a grassed ball isn't a catch. Never has been, never will be.
I agree with the glasses thing not being a good look but screw the poms, maybe they should as Agent Starling retorted "turn that incisive intellect on themselves".
Darn I forgot about that grassed catch when arguing with a Pommie mate the other day!
I'm not much of a batsman or bowler, can I be recalled to the test side too?
I'm not much of a batsman or bowler, can I be recalled to the test side too?
A mate summed up the Test team selection quite well: “Two things will survive a nuclear war; cockroaches and Mitch Marsh!”
I'm not much of a batsman or bowler, can I be recalled to the test side too?
yep, I'm with you there.....& Travis Head sacrificial lamb!
....good grief. Warner & Harris will possibly go down in history as statistically worst opening combination we have ever had in a Test Series..and they both still get a gong.
And.....perfect opportunity to give Pucovski a go with little pressure on......but no....no imagination shown at all.
yep, I'm with you there.....& Travis Head sacrificial lamb!
....good grief. Warner & Harris will possibly go down in history as statistically worst opening combination we have ever had in a Test Series..and they both still get a gong.
And.....perfect opportunity to give Pucovski a go with little pressure on......but no....no imagination shown at all.
They are clearly worried about workload for the bowlers, since the Oval is generally the flattest track in the UK. With this Ashes series finishing so close to the Aussie summer, the last thing they need to do is grind Cummins, Hazlewood et al into the dust.
Clearly playing for a draw here.....
Makes me laugh when the Poms call us cheats....there's a roll call of less than salubrious incidents the Poms have been in. Plus Root can't seem to figure out that a grassed ball isn't a catch. Never has been, never will be.
I’m fascinated at how quickly the Poms are engaging in revisionist history.
It might be churlish (and maybe, just maybe) sour grapes, but to me the 3rd test will hereafter be known as ‘The Joel Wilson Test’.
While reading up on the Ashes via google my eye was caught by a link - clearly clickbait, but what the hell - promising to rank Wilson’s howlers.
Lo and behold, they were all to the detriment of English batsman. Stokes’ plumb LBW not even listed! :o
Kids - don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
I’m fascinated at how quickly the Poms are engaging in revisionist history.
It might be churlish (and maybe, just maybe) sour grapes, but to me the 3rd test will hereafter be known as ‘The Joel Wilson Test’.
While reading up on the Ashes via google my eye was caught by a link - clearly clickbait, but what the hell - promising to rank Wilson’s howlers.
Lo and behold, they were all to the detriment of English batsman. Stokes’ plumb LBW not even listed! :o
Kids - don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
I don;t have a problem with umpire making mistakes in any sport, it's the Full HD Slow Motion replay and disgruntled punters that cause all the problems.
Get on with the game and stuff the replays, perhaps even ban the broadcasters from using slow motion replays. It's making recruitment of umpires and officials almost impossible!
I would have rested Cummins and played Pattinson, Langar just can let a series go by without playing a Marsh......
Shame Roy has been dropped, only bugs bunny was a bigger batting bunny than Roy, England have probably done
what they should have done earlier and played Sam Curran, handy with the willow and swings the ball a long way
and would have given them something different to bowl at Smith.
Thought they might have picked county wonder kid Ollie Pope but have resisted the temptation, Poms have some good kids in Crawley and Sibley who are both openers and I cant believe they didnt get games into them given their batting is so horrendous...
Bowling crap and dropping catches....we're not up for this game.
Bowling crap and dropping catches....we're not up for this game.
The Oval a renowned batting wicket - it's early days.
How many dropped catches?
Bowling crap and dropping catches....we're not up for this game.
Yep, we are hung over from the last test and look ordinary apart from Cummins. Rory Burns ain't pretty but you have to admire how he digs in and has been impressive, I think he will be a decent test player. Root has been lucky and is a No 4 not a No 3 imo.
Need Lyon and Siddle to fire up and support Cummins who must be tired, probably the wrong move to bowl.
Yep, we are hung over from the last test and look ordinary apart from Cummins. Rory Burns ain't pretty but you have to admire how he digs in and has been impressive, I think he will be a decent test player. Root has been lucky and is a No 4 not a No 3 imo.
Need Lyon and Siddle to fire up and support Cummins who must be tired, probably the wrong move to bowl.
They probably are hungover - literally.
A day of cricket sweating the carp out of their bodies and they'll be god to go - Day 2.
And dropping more catches :(
I know that we’ve had some fun with the Mitch Marsh selection but how on earth does Peter Siddle get a gig?
He is a Victorian but he bowls at half rat power and was unimpressive in his last Test (I reckon that his bowling pace dropped off when he went vegan). Surely Starc or Pattinson would be better options :-\
Agree with the Vegan thing but also Siddle's 35 in November - he should never hsave been in the squad.
Many better performed (young blokes) overlooked.
I think the selectors were expecting Jhye Richardson to be in the squad?
The young man's a star in the making.
Mitch holds a sharp chance! ;)
Are we now singing 'Mitchell Marsh walk on water....'?
:o ;D :D
Two things.
1 - Why bowl first? Makes no sense at all.
2 - Why play Siddle? If M Marsh is in the side, you can play Pattinson.
Bizarre goings on over in London
Two things.
1 - Why bowl first? Makes no sense at all.
2 - Why play Siddle? If M Marsh is in the side, you can play Pattinson.
Bizarre goings on over in London
3 - why was Starc dropped after performing well with bat & ball.....and his lefties offer much needed variation.
Picking Siddle must be a farewell teat gesture....can't think of any other reason!
I "get" the bowling first bit .... i.e. don't lose this test and England were open season.
2 and 3? Yep, agreed
3 - why was Starc dropped after performing well with bat & ball.....and his lefties offer much needed variation.
Picking Siddle must be a farewell teat gesture....can't think of any other reason!
Firstly, I think adjusted point 3 is correct.
Secondly, the Siddle selection assertion might be correct, it's a nothing game really and most of the Aussie squad would be flat from hangovers. So a farewell to The Ashes, given Siddle won't get a run in the Australian leg, probably!
Firstly, I think adjusted point 3 is correct.
Secondly, the Siddle selection assertion might be correct, it's a nothing game really and most of the Aussie squad would be flat from hangovers. So a farewell to The Ashes, given Siddle won't get a run in the Australian leg, probably!
What would constitute a "something" game?
One where we want to win it to ensure we win the series?
What would constitute a "something" game?
One where we want to win it to ensure we win the series?
We've won The Ashes, primarily that's all that matters, we can try to win the series as a bonus but it doesn't change The Ashes result.
Winning this test might be like winning a ODI series with a clean sweep, nice but not necessary! As I said earlier I would have used this test to give a bowler like Behrendorff or Lloyd Pope a taste of the big stage to see if they can step up. Especially, given the fragility and age of many of our current bowlers, getting experience into some youth or backup players is invaluable! Why the feck not give Carey a run, it's not like he doesn't deserve it? (I best recommend that to our coach! ;D )
Secondly, you have the opportunity to put Root to the sword if he finishes the series leading a team beaten by the backups!
By the way, I hope Warner takes a leaf out of Buttler's book, and hammers his way into some form rather than blocking his way to oblivion!
We've won The Ashes, primarily that's all that matters, we can try to win the series as a bonus but it doesn't change The Ashes result.
Winning this test might be like winning a ODI series with a clean sweep, nice but not necessary! As I said earlier I would have used this test to give a bowler like Behrendorff or Lloyd Pope a taste of the big stage to see if they can step up. Especially, given the fragility and age of many of our current bowlers, getting experience into some youth or backup players is invaluable! Why the feck not give Carey a run, it's not like he doesn't deserve it? (I best recommend that to our coach! ;D )
Secondly, you have the opportunity to put Root to the sword if he finishes the series leading a team beaten by the backups!
By the way, I hope Warner takes a leaf out of Buttler's book, and hammers his way into some form rather than blocking his way to oblivion!
I couldn't imagine anyone would be content retaining the ashes.
Winning the series has been mentioned plenty of times by Paine, Langer and many others.
Why go to all the effort to draw the series?
I don't think Steve Waugh would be in the dressing room saying well done boys, you can kick back now, we've retained the ashes
I couldn't imagine anyone would be content retaining the ashes.
Winning the series has been mentioned plenty of times by Paine, Langer and many others.
Why go to all the effort to draw the series?
I don't think Steve Waugh would be in the dressing room saying well done boys, you can kick back now, we've retained the ashes
I agree with the desire to win the series, but we already have a 2-1 lead.
If the Aussies bat well enough (and you have to think some of them are due), the best the Poms could hope for in this test is a draw - that makes it a 2-1 series win.
If we push too hard going for a win in this test, it may end up as a 2-2 series tie.
By all means, if we get a big first innings lead and the Poms are on their knees, then go for the kill. But if we push the accelerator too soon, it could go pear-shaped.
I couldn't imagine anyone would be content retaining the ashes.
Winning the series has been mentioned plenty of times by Paine, Langer and many others.
Why go to all the effort to draw the series?
I don't think Steve Waugh would be in the dressing room saying well done boys, you can kick back now, we've retained the ashes
Do see your point but in England I would've killed for a 2-2 before the series started. Much prefer if we get a 3-1, and pissed off that Paine has made that harder for us this Test by sending them in, but 2-2 is a good result.
The way they celebrated retaining the Ashes, Steve Waugh, who was there, might've joined in that celebration. They celebrated like there was no tomorrow. Wouldn't be surprised we weren't switched on yesterday because of that. We were very sloppy.
It's pretty obvious a change in player attitude, some of the Poms have thrown caution to the wind while others look disinterested. Half our team were asleep in the field, it's just a show!
The bowlers will be hoping our batsmen makes 750 so they never have to take the field again!
It's a dead rubber, we should have used it for training or experience to build list depth!
It's pretty obvious a change in player attitude, some of the Poms have thrown caution to the wind while others look disinterested. Half our team were asleep in the field, it's just a show!
The bowlers will be hoping our batsmen makes 750 so they never have to take the field again!
It's a dead rubber, we should have used it for training or experience to build list depth!
Make 750 then roll them for under 100 again to win the match.....
Mitch Marsh hats off.
18.2 overs, 3 maidens, 5 for 46.
Nor for a Smith 300 (and a Warner duck)...
Yep, Mitch pulled the potatoes from the fire.
Siddle needs to buy him a beer, and Warner can clean his kit, because he's a an absolute passenger. Contributing nothing.
Yep, Mitch pulled the potatoes from the fire.
Siddle needs to buy him a beer, and Warner can clean his kit, because he's a an absolute passenger. Contributing nothing.
F..n disgrace that Warner got picked for this Test.
It's pretty obvious a change in player attitude, some of the Poms have thrown caution to the wind while others look disinterested. Half our team were asleep in the field, it's just a show!
The bowlers will be hoping our batsmen makes 750 so they never have to take the field again!
It's a dead rubber, we should have used it for training or experience to build list depth!
You still reckon it’s a dead rubber and some players look disinterested?
Dumbest decision in years to bowl first.
Talk about giving a sucker an even break
Pathetic score by Australia. Weak and far from ordinary. No wonder I don’t waste me time watching test cricket. My favourite pass time many years ago.
You still reckon it’s a dead rubber and some players look disinterested?
Dumbest decision in years to bowl first.
Talk about giving a sucker an even break
I reckon the Aussies laid a few bets before picking Warner, Siddle et al.
Then doubled down after bowling first.
All Smith's superlative batting has done is show up how deadset rank the other blokes are. How blokes like Warner, Khawaja, Bancroft ET AL even made the squad beggars description. Even Harris was very marginal.
Warner and khawaja have never made runs there and never will. DO NOT resurrect these craptrucks in the home summer.
Should have used this test to promote some new blood. Burns. Pucovski. Neser. Why do we keep going back to crabs? I just don't get it.
Simply the WRONG squad. Apart from Smith who's been outstanding, Labuschagne (really consistent) precious few batsmen have had a great impact. Warner has been pathetic.
The openers.... OMG the horror! The horror!
They don't last long enough for the bowlers to even get warmed up. Their primary job and they couldn't do it.
Bancroft's dismissals were horribly soft but at least he lasted longer than one over.
We copped the good Archer and the baby faced little boy Curran is a skillful bowler who should have played earlier. Our batting is dumb
and lacks technique. The pitch wasn't bad and yep the ball swings
In England so stop playing back and straddling the crease.
Warner played a poor shot to wide ball.. enough said, he looks sick of test cricket imo and will just play the IPL etc.
Can't see us being able to win or draw this test unless Cummins and Smith can save us again..
We copped the good Archer and the baby faced little boy Curran is a skillful bowler who should have played earlier. Our batting is dumb
and lacks technique. The pitch wasn't bad and yep the ball swings
In England so stop playing back and straddling the crease.
Warner played a poor shot to wide ball.. enough said, he looks sick of test cricket imo and will just play the IPL etc.
Can't see us being able to win or draw this test unless Cummins and Smith can save us again..
Could not put it better myself. Our cricket stinks big time. We are sure to lose a test we were should win. Too many passengers getting paid too much to offer too little to the game. Sure the bowling to us was good but we offer very poor stroke shots. Very disappointed with Warner. The entire series has been rubbish. Without Smith we would be completely smashed. I miss Alan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh and similar types. Game breaking champions we might never ever see again. Smith can’t be expected to carry this p1ss poor excuse for a squad. Makes me hate watching the best form of cricket I have enjoyed for many years . Australian test cricket is a joke. Not funny at all. Not entertaining either.
We copped the good Archer and the baby faced little boy Curran is a skillful bowler who should have played earlier. Our batting is dumb
and lacks technique. The pitch wasn't bad and yep the ball swings
In England so stop playing back and straddling the crease.
Warner played a poor shot to wide ball.. enough said, he looks sick of test cricket imo and will just play the IPL etc.
Can't see us being able to win or draw this test unless Cummins and Smith can save us again..
To be fair to Warner in this innings he certainly didn't hit the ball. Clear space between bat and ball. When you're out of form your luck goes out the window too.
Paine has to be very accountable here. What idiot would send them in on this pitch. Plainly stupid and probably cost us a series win.
Yep, common sense went out the window after the ashes were retained. Had to bat.
Warner is cooked at test level. His technique is poor and now his thoughts are muddled so agreed, he'll slide off into the sunset as a highly paid short form gun. Too late in his career to change now, and why would he want to?
Could not put it better myself. Our cricket stinks big time. We are sure to lose a test we were should win. Too many passengers getting paid too much to offer too little to the game. Sure the bowling to us was good but we offer very poor stroke shots. Very disappointed with Warner. The entire series has been rubbish. Without Smith we would be completely smashed. I miss Alan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh and similar types. Game breaking champions we might never ever see again. Smith can’t be expected to carry this p1ss poor excuse for a squad. Makes me hate watching the best form of cricket I have enjoyed for many years . Australian test cricket is a joke. Not funny at all. Not entertaining either.
Hardly all doom and gloom.
Some great bowlers, Siddle aside - who got picked on charity as his last Test ever.
Labuschgne (sp?) clearly a player (Smith goes without saying).
Carey for Paine, no brainer.
So, need to find 3 more decent, Test quality batsman.
Find two kids who can score big runs and put them in the team....
Wade, Head, Harris not the answer seemingly.
Hardly all doom and gloom.
Some great bowlers, Siddle aside - who got picked on charity as his last Test ever.
Labuschgne (sp?) clearly a player (Smith goes without saying).
Carey for Paine, no brainer.
So, need to find 3 more decent, Test quality batsman.
Find two kids who can score big runs and put them in the team....
Wade, Head, Harris not the answer seemingly.
Purcovski will be one.
Looks like we got the spiky end of the pineapple again with the umpires, David got a poor one and Wade hit the cover off it.
Why was warner picked for this test? Couldn't have been on recent form....
Purcovski will be one.
Patterson and Carey should help.
Need two openers with solid techniques that can bat time, not give up when it gets tough
Looks like we got the spiky end of the pineapple again with the umpires, David got a poor one and Wade hit the cover off it.
Warner was out IMO and I reckon he knew it and didnt complain, agree on Wade and it looked to be sliding leg side.
Played for the swing and fell over to off did Wade and once again average technique , old school but the theory is get well forward
to the swinging ball .Smith can play back because he has an eye like a dead fish but the others need to get well forward to Curran who like Marsh bowled
full length balls...Cummins can bat but his was a classic example of not having a clue footwork wise.
Pakistan have three left armers who swing the ball and Riaz is quick so there is going to have to be a change in technique or personnel for those first two tests
of the summer and we need to find some decent openers.
Need some good slip fielders too....
Glad it’s just a bit of fun this test.
Not important and the players are taking it easy
Warner was out IMO and I reckon he knew it and didnt complain, agree on Wade and it looked to be sliding leg side.
Played for the swing and fell over to off did Wade and once again average technique , old school but the theory is get well forward
to the swinging ball .Smith can play back because he has an eye like a dead fish but the others need to get well forward to Curran who like Marsh bowled
full length balls...Cummins can bat but his was a classic example of not having a clue footwork wise.
Pakistan have three left armers who swing the ball and Riaz is quick so there is going to have to be a change in technique or personnel for those first two tests
of the summer and we need to find some decent openers.
Need some good slip fielders too....
With Warner, that shadow of the bat and ball had the ball well away from the bat. The position was the shadow was great timing.
Looks like we were happy just to retain the Ashes, celebrate hard then turn up for this Test just to get it out of the way so they can go home. Haven't been the slightest bit switched on this game. Going to be a cheap 2nd innings, all out 200, only because Smith makes a 100 and Labuschagne 50.
Noticed Erasmus f***ed up again. He is dead set biased against Australia and I would not play another test under him if he is officiating. Hate his guts
Noticed Erasmus f***ed up again. He is dead set biased against Australia and I would not play another test if he is officiating. Hate his guts
Umpiring has been terrible and our use of the DRS has been affected as we dont know when and when not to challenge...
Erasmus is meant to be the best umpire :o IMO the DRS has also messed with the umpires who have that added pressure with every decision replayed/scrutinised
and then tend to favor the home team IMO. Paine also isnt a great judge of where the ball is travelling which doesnt help, some of his challenges have never looked like being out.
Glad it’s just a bit of fun this test.
Not important and the players are taking it easy
They are crappy as hell, they were all hoping to be on the plane home by now! ;D
Side on shots were illuminating... Showed how bad our openers are. Won't make runs at any level batting like that.
This'll be over by stumps
Smith gone, so it’s time to fly home. Nothing happening here. Nothing to see.
Thoughts of home taking precedence over pride in one’s performance?
Thoughts of home taking precedence over pride in one’s performance?
Yes it's a long tour, and with The Ashes decided the final game is meaningless, it's almost the type definition of Pagan's dancing with your sister!
Thoughts of home taking precedence over pride in one’s performance?
You must be right, Matthew Wade threw the towel in. ::)
Last test showed up everything wrong with Aus Cricket. Limped to the line instead of being smart and using this final test with an eye to the future.
Picked wrong openers for tour. Stuck with them. Warner, no red ball time, showed up big time. Harris.... Seen enough, bugger off and learn how to read the line and play a defensive shot. No more double left hand combinations against RH quicks in seaming conditions. Dumb dumb dumb.
Mitch Marsh.... I can see why he was picked to help the bowlers but he is not a test level bat. Maybe number eight? Made side very unbalanced. Tease at best.
Bowler rotation policy went out the window when required most. Why pick Siddle when we had two fresh quicks, albeit neither in great nick. But Siddle was never going to run through England. So we just flogged Cummins and Hazelwood harder. The tactics to the English tail were idiotic.
Persisted with injured Lyon. Critical in home series, now injured.
Then Timmy won't bat first (I can see why with out crap batting) and can't use the DRS right. I like him and what he has done but needs to make the right decisions more consistently.
So overall we won the urn but get ready for some mediocre cricket and horror losses with this group. They're only one wicket away from being bowled out for not many....
So overall we won the urn but get ready for some mediocre cricket and horror losses with this group. They're only one wicket away from being bowled out for not many....
There is a bit of a feel about it, Smith, Cummins and Hazelwood won The Ashes versus England, pretty much those three surrounded by passengers, that's about all you can write isn't it?
There is some irony in winning The Ashes yet still feeling disappointed! As a team we look so far away from the cricket teams of old, England are even worse! No doubt T20 and ODI has gone a long way to kill off 1st class 5 day skills! Despite that we did have some thrilling games and sessions.
How the feck a guy like Carey wasn't rewarded with a spot in the last test is a dead-set mystery!
Last test showed up everything wrong with Aus Cricket. Limped to the line instead of being smart and using this final test with an eye to the future.
Picked wrong openers for tour. Stuck with them. Warner, no red ball time, showed up big time. Harris.... Seen enough, bugger off and learn how to read the line and play a defensive shot. No more double left hand combinations against RH quicks in seaming conditions. Dumb dumb dumb.
Mitch Marsh.... I can see why he was picked to help the bowlers but he is not a test level bat. Maybe number eight? Made side very unbalanced. Tease at best.
Bowler rotation policy went out the window when required most. Why pick Siddle when we had two fresh quicks, albeit neither in great nick. But Siddle was never going to run through England. So we just flogged Cummins and Hazelwood harder. The tactics to the English tail were idiotic.
Persisted with injured Lyon. Critical in home series, now injured.
Then Timmy won't bat first (I can see why with out crap batting) and can't use the DRS right. I like him and what he has done but needs to make the right decisions more consistently.
So overall we won the urn but get ready for some mediocre cricket and horror losses with this group. They're only one wicket away from being bowled out for not many....
Agree with most except the last bit.
If CA are serious there will be a lot of changes, not least the selectors.
Greg Chappel is done.
Warner should be too.
We need 2 x openers.
Burns is 1. Stick with him.
Renshaw should be given a chance
Purcovski at 5 - Not many blokes have the patience these days to make BIG scores
Patterson at 6
Carey at 7
Significantly improved batting line up.
Wade played well this innings but two and a bit scores doesn't make him secure imo.
Reckon they will persist with Mitch Marsh too while Langar is coach.
Paine will continue to keep and captain but his batting isn't good enough vs high quality bowling.
Burns and Warner will open in Brisbane next test imo.
Siddle is finished.. Pattinson should play but given there will be
a fetish for left arm pace bowlers to combat Smith we might want our own to counter with.
Khawaja will play in Aus where he makes runs...I would make changes like JH suggested but it's a boys club selection wise and
newbies have to be bashing down the door to get in not just knocking.
Agree with most except the last bit.
If CA are serious there will be a lot of changes, not least the selectors.
Greg Chappel is done.
Warner should be too.
We need 2 x openers.
Burns is 1. Stick with him.
Renshaw should be given a chance
Purcovski at 5 - Not many blokes have the patience these days to make BIG scores
Patterson at 6
Carey at 7
Significantly improved batting line up.
Yep, I'm pretty much in agreement with that side Jon...Burns really hasn't done much wrong & should be given at least as much of a run as Harris (who just doesn't have the technique). Warner, should be done & dusted.
I really liked the look of Renshaw...but he just needs to score some RUNS !
Pucowski, yes, get him in for the home series....I think Wade has done enough to get a gig first home test.
And as a proud Tassie supporter....Painey needs to hand over the gloves & get Carey in sooner rather than later (ie, well before the next Ashes series !). of course, that does come with it's own problem of captaincy.
But Australia has always had the tradition of picking your best side & then selecting the captain......England were always known for picking blokes with poor test records just for their captaincy. (Denness, Brearley etc)
Fast Bowlers.....Core group of Cummins, Hazelwood Richardson, Pattinson.........bit of a distance then Starc.
Not sure where Marsh fits into this if at all. If Carey is keeper the batting lookes stronger, so soemone like Marsh could be carried....not my ideal scenario though.
Lets face it, we retained the Ashes with 1 batsman & two bowlers.....POMS are in real trouble....particularly when broad & anderson are gone.
Chappell was done as a selector a long time ago.
CA should be very worried about the upcoming summer test series and the attendances. The quality of the game at the highest level is in a very poor state.
CA should be very worried about the upcoming summer test series and the attendances. The quality of the game at the highest level is in a very poor state.
The quality of Test cricket is a result of the money in ODI and 20/20 which changes techniques and patience of batsmen.
It is why we need guys like Burns, Renshaw and Purcovski who can bat for longer periods.
India showed us last year that the patience and technique of Pujara is required to succeed in Test cricket
It is bizarre that our bowlers have managed to maintain test standards, but most of our batsmen can't handle batting longer than an hour
Yep, I'm pretty much in agreement with that side Jon...Burns really hasn't done much wrong & should be given at least as much of a run as Harris (who just doesn't have the technique). Warner, should be done & dusted.
I really liked the look of Renshaw...but he just needs to score some RUNS !
Pucowski, yes, get him in for the home series....I think Wade has done enough to get a gig first home test.
And as a proud Tassie supporter....Painey needs to hand over the gloves & get Carey in sooner rather than later (ie, well before the next Ashes series !). of course, that does come with it's own problem of captaincy.
But Australia has always had the tradition of picking your best side & then selecting the captain......England were always known for picking blokes with poor test records just for their captaincy. (Denness, Brearley etc)
Fast Bowlers.....Core group of Cummins, Hazelwood Richardson, Pattinson.........bit of a distance then Starc.
Not sure where Marsh fits into this if at all. If Carey is keeper the batting lookes stronger, so soemone like Marsh could be carried....not my ideal scenario though.
Lets face it, we retained the Ashes with 1 batsman & two bowlers.....POMS are in real trouble....particularly when broad & anderson are gone.
Poms have some good kids in Pope, Crawley and Sibley to blood as batsman plus have a new generation fast bowler in Archer and another kid Ollie Stone who is also quick.
The best keeper/bat in England is Ben Foakes who cant get a game because Bairstow is retained on the mates club basis.
They also have a boys club which denies kids getting games and promotes oldies like Denly instead, India are on top of world cricket because of money for sure but do they promote
their wonder kids early. We used to do that with Ponting, Clarke, Mcgrath, Warne etc but now just rotate one boys club member for another.
I would like to see 2 changes at CA.
1 - A separate coach for ODI and Test cricket.
2 - The coach should not be a selector (or a pseudo captain for that matter)
Paine must go - his decision to bowl cost us the Test match and the Series win.
What the f.. was he thinking? Very little.
Why the f... were Warner and Harris retained? Diabolical decisions.
Why was Starc overlooked for the 125k an hour man Siddle. Stupefying.
Foakes isn't playing for England as you can't have Foakes, Woakes and Stokes in the same side (although they have).
One thing that isn't mentioned is the notion of the test world championship that is going on. There will be mysterious points and rankings, however it does mean that there is no such thing as a 'dead' test, as the result goes to the world championship.
The last test showed that we don't really care about it (maybe nor does the rest of the cricket world)
Paine must go - his decision to bowl cost us the Test match and the Series win.
What the f.. was he thinking? Very little.
Time Paine has always been a stop gap Captain until someone else comes out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, nobody really has as yet. Being Captain has hurt his game, both batting and fielding. His replacement as a keeper is probably not far away. But who will Captain after him is an issue with no obvious answer as yet.
As for your specific question, bowling first on this pitch was an extremely poor idea and it probably cost us the match. Instead of being able to bat our way to a decent total and control the game, we were reacting all of the time, not setting the agenda.
I think Paine will learn from his mistakes, but I am not sure he will be there long enough for that to be important.
Why the f... were Warner and Harris retained? Diabolical decisions.
Really, apart from Smith, and to a lesser affect Wade, the batting this tour has been very ordinary. Had Smith not been so dynamic, we would have lost, no two ways about it. The bowlers dominated the series on pitches that were bowler friendly.
I think you will notice that the batsmen will improve when we play at home. Warner, when the ball doesn't move around quite so much, will be a much stronger option.
The reality of the situation is simple: we have one top batsman in any conditions (Smith). The rest make up the numbers. We will see just which ones come to the party when the season starts in Australia.
Why was Starc overlooked for the 125k an hour man Siddle. Stupefying.
This was not a decision that I can explain. Sidds has been a warrior for a long time, but his present pace is questionable when there were guys like Starc available. I would like to have seen Starc play to get him back into decent form the the Summer.
My only suggestion is that this test, a dead rubber, was given to Sidds as a reward and a final game.
To be fair, I think the entire team was off the boil in this game. Having won the previous game and retained the Ashes, the overriding will to win just wasn't there.
Paine's 35. Carey should be playing ahead of him. Better batsman by some margin, equal or better keeper.
Pick the best 11 or 12, then pick the Captain from that group.
Dumb as that a players gets a gig because he's a 'good captain'.
Time Paine has always been a stop gap Captain until someone else comes out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, nobody really has as yet. Being Captain has hurt his game, both batting and fielding. His replacement as a keeper is probably not far away. But who will Captain after him is an issue with no obvious answer as yet.
As for your specific question, bowling first on this pitch was an extremely poor idea and it probably cost us the match. Instead of being able to bat our way to a decent total and control the game, we were reacting all of the time, not setting the agenda.
I think Paine will learn from his mistakes, but I am not sure he will be there long enough for that to be important.
He didn't learn from his mistakes with the DRS!!!
Really, apart from Smith, and to a lesser affect Wade, the batting this tour has been very ordinary. Labuschagne
Had Smith not been so dynamic, we would have lost, no two ways about it. The bowlers dominated the series on pitches that were bowler friendly.
I think you will notice that the batsmen will improve when we play at home. Warner, when the ball doesn't move around quite so much, will be a much stronger option.
The reality of the situation is simple: we have one top batsman in any conditions (Smith). The rest make up the numbers. We will see just which ones come to the party when the season starts in Australia.
This was not a decision that I can explain. Sidds has been a warrior for a long time, but his present pace is questionable when there were guys like Starc available. I would like to have seen Starc play to get him back into decent form the the Summer.
My only suggestion is that this test, a dead rubber, was given to Sidds as a reward and a final game.
To be fair, I think the entire team was off the boil in this game. Having won the previous game and retained the Ashes, the overriding will to win just wasn't there.
I just can't cop that. You think they didn't have the will to win the ashes? It's like their GF!!!
To be fair, I think the entire team was off the boil in this game. Having won the previous game and retained the Ashes, the overriding will to win just wasn't there.
I thought that the Test, as a whole, was as flat as a sh1t carter’s hat.
Paine must go - his decision to bowl cost us the Test match and the Series win.
That's a little simplistic, in reality...dropping a truckload of catches, appalling batting, useless umpiring (we got shafted all series) & our reviewing of those useless umpiring decisions cost us the win.
and, equally, with all those points above against us, I'm not sure batting first would have made a sceric of difference.
That's a little simplistic, in reality...dropping a truckload of catches, appalling batting, useless umpiring (we got shafted all series) & our reviewing of those useless umpiring decisions cost us the win.
and, equally, with all those points above against us, I'm not sure batting first would have made a sceric of difference.
Simplistic? Absolutely, but's it's cricket strategy 101....and he fluffed it.
Paine thought he was smarter than the cricket gods - he ain't.
Our bowlers would have had an extra day or so rest - our premier batter Smith averages 100 in first innings.....
Heard this but cannot say anything about the quality of the source, and frankly I don't believe it. The mystifying decision to bat first was because Paine was told this will be his last Test. They discussed before the toss and agreed to bat if they win it. Paine decided to bowl because he was p1ssed off, Langer was apparently furious
Heard this but cannot say anything about the quality of the source, and frankly I don't believe it. The mystifying decision to bat first was because Paine was told this will be his last Test. They discussed before the toss and agreed to bat if they win it. Paine decided to bowl because he was p1ssed off, Langer was apparently furious
Not much else makes sense!
Yep that what I thought too!
Unfortunately, on the last bit, it was obvious they weren't switched on. It seems they were happy just to retain the Ashes away from home, obviously seen by the massive celebration after. While I would've killed for 2-2 before the series started I preferred to win when the opportunity was there. Attitude to the game was disappointing. Looks like they just wanted to get the game over with and go home after a long tour unfortunately.
Paine getting the chop was always on the cards, they picked someone who no matter how well they captained wouldn't have the individual performance to back it up! All so when Smith walks back into the job there are no arguments!
Hopefully Smith has learned a bit about Captaincy, and won't be a slave to the coaches notes in the future!
Paine getting the chop was always on the cards, they picked someone who no matter how well they captained wouldn't have the individual performance to back it up! All so when Smith walks back into the job there are no arguments!
Hopefully Smith has learned a bit about Captaincy, and won't be a slave to the coaches notes in the future!
Smith wants a lot of extra money to take on the captains role is what I have been told....
Smith wants a lot of extra money to take on the captains role is what I have been told....
Has Carey ever Captained?
Has Carey ever Captained?
As a senior only in T20 as far as I know, I believe he captained one of his youth touring teams.
But make no mistake, he's all quality and is willing to work at it!