Starc strikes, Cook out.
1/2.
Excellent catch by Handscomb but I was surprised that the keeper didn't go for it.
Nothing at all in the pitch. Seems to be a regular things in Australian summers recently.
Not surprised that Mitchell is moving on... serves up a road for the first test. Given what our blokes face overseas we are far too sporting a nation... pace heavy attack and he serves that crap up. No wonder test cricket is struggling.
Lack a fifth bowler who can break partnerships........Starc and crew are traditional bowlers, we lack that Mitchell Johnson aggressive bowler who can intimidate and get wickets with invention and less conventional methods.
Credit to England though...Vince looks a classy player with a real tight technique and Stoneman is that fighting type who wont give his wicket away cheaply and will take a few hits to the body and not flinch..
Not sure Lyons rubbish talk pre-match did us much good either, looked like it only hardened the Poms up a bit...expect us to do better after lunch with some more planning...I got the idea we thought just 4 bowlers and rolling our arms over would be enough to run through the no name English batsman...
Locals think it's a good toss to win, lately they think the pitch becomes harder to bat on by the 3rd or 4th day.
The opposite of what we are used to up there.
I don't give a stuff how fast or accurate they are, if you cannot do something with the pill in otherwise ideal batting conditions you are an average bowler. This is the difference between bowlers like Lillee, McGrath, Hadlee, Dev, Khan, Flintoff, Botham, Garner, Roberts, Ambrose, etc., were so much better than average.
Those who claim 'everybody' doctors pitches to benefit their side have obviously not batted much in Australia. In recent years we have dealt up a LOT of roads, some of them real Freeways. Maybe they are worried we might find a batsman?
How do you end up with a Gabba pitch that does nothing for the bowlers on the first day.
F me!
How do you end up with a Gabba pitch that does nothing for the bowlers on the first day.
F me!
Reckon the English have batted well, we just lack the usual aggression both in the field and with our planning....
Smiths field placing have been strange...watching no third slip but Lyon fielding in a wide third man where the ball isnt looking like going there.
We dont seem to have figured Vince is going to cart anything full but for some reason wont attack his body...I have seen him lift his back leg
when the ball is short and I'd be attacking his body more...
Zero planning IMO and just an expectation that England will fold up....
Reckon the English have batted well, we just lack the usual aggression both in the field and with our planning....
Smiths field placing have been strange...watching no third slip but Lyon fielding in a wide third man where the ball isnt looking like going there.
We dont seem to have figured Vince is going to cart anything full but for some reason wont attack his body...I have seen him lift his back leg
when the ball is short and I'd be attacking his body more...
Zero planning IMO and just an expectation that England will fold up....
Still nothing in the pitch. Reckon I can bat well on it.
Still nothing in the pitch. Reckon I can bat well on it.
Reckon If Johnson and Steyn were bowling England would be 5 for not many......these two batsman average less than 30 in test cricket, they are county hackers.
Starc and Hazlewood have been getting hat tricks and wickets galore in shield cricket, just been off in intensity IMO...no fire at all..
You would make runs today. ;)...been that many half volleys....
Nice ball from Cummins..seamed back nicely......
Reckon If Johnson and Steyn were bowling England would be 5 for not many......these two batsman average less than 30 in test cricket, they are county hackers.
Starc and Hazlewood have been getting hat tricks and wickets galore in shield cricket, just been off in intensity IMO...no fire at all..
You would make runs today. ;)...been that many half volleys....
Nice ball from Cummins..seamed back nicely......
Not sure they would be. Too easy to bat on.
To me it was just like bowling a tennis ball at brick walls. Nothing in the pitch was helping the bowlers. If County hackers were getting runs then it shows the pitch is easy to bat on. Our bowlers aren't exactly crap. As a group are the best going around.
Those who claim 'everybody' doctors pitches to benefit their side have obviously not batted much in Australia. In recent years we have dealt up a LOT of roads, some of them real Freeways. Maybe they are worried we might find a batsman?
Producing roads doesn't produce batsmen.
FFS, we have a country full of drop in pitches that might as well be self-leveling teflon filled concrete, no deviation, no uneven bounce, and no variation from venue to venue, yet most of the spuds still cannot make runs!
From what I can tell early in the Shield season the curators offered up some pitches with life in them and our countries best batting stocks turn to pudding faces, almost as quickly as the Scott brothers when the opposition get a free kick! Shield teams were all out for not much!
Are we are suffering from having too many batsmen involved in the running cricket around the country?
Give them some real pitches, pitches they have to work hard on to get runs, not the 20/20 batting surfaces that currently get served up, and we will really cut the men from the boys!
Reckon If Johnson and Steyn were bowling England would be 5 for not many......these two batsman average less than 30 in test cricket, they are county hackers.
Starc and Hazlewood have been getting hat tricks and wickets galore in shield cricket, just been off in intensity IMO...no fire at all..
You would make runs today. ;)...been that many half volleys....
Nice ball from Cummins..seamed back nicely......
I thought the bowling was too routine and the Poms batted well. Johnson and Steyn would have been trying something different to get a wicket and I guess that's where Smith falls down; he is an unimaginative skipper.
Apparently, Bayliss has a simple philosophy; bat longer than the other team. Unless our bowlers and skipper lift their games, the Poms could do just that.
I'm tired of only one team batting to win... At least we score fast enough to move the game along. Other sides bat time, placing us under pressure to try and score faster to force a result.
I'm tired of only one team batting to win... At least we score fast enough to move the game along. Other sides bat time, placing us under pressure to try and score faster to force a result.
Tactics seem to be to grind us into the ground.....Malan is a nice stroke maker and impressive, unusual to see Ali so patient....
Really lack that 5th bowler...
They're batting to only bat once, crap old-school tactics designed to not lose a test and flog our bowlers.
Can see our side being changed for the next test.. bowlers will be stuffed.
Kevin Mitchell - poor effort. It would want to be a better pitch when the Indians come out next time.
They're batting to only bat once, crap old-school tactics designed to not lose a test and flog our bowlers.
Can see our side being changed for the next test.. bowlers will be stuffed.
Kevin Mitchell - poor effort. It would want to be a better pitch when the Indians come out next time.
Tactics changed, more aggression with shorter pitched bowling and better results....we just bowled too nice yesterday.
Maybe got carried away and gave Broad some extra runs but had to laugh when Anderson came out to bat and got sledged every ball.
Shaun Marsh would want to make some runs...both he and Khwaja are passengers in the field..
From all reports, Starc and Hazelwood bowled like D divisions bowlers yesterday.
302 is a great result for us.
Bancroft knicked a ball he should have left well alone....
From all reports, Starc and Hazelwood bowled like D divisions bowlers yesterday.
302 is a great result for us.
Bancroft knicked a ball he should have left well alone....
Khwaja out to Ali.....his mind is shot playing spin......
Poms have seen Bancroft in county cricket and seemed to know where to bowl and set the field to him.
We should have used Dukes instead of Kookaburra, at least we'd have something to blame! ::)
Puck me, if you've got a problem DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Khawaja against off spin is embarrassing. He couldn't survive against a park spinner ATM. A!aaaaaaaargh he craps me no end, bloody passenger.
The Big Show now 160no in the Shield Game....
Kudos to Shaun Marsh for sticking with his skipper after the others gave their wickets up very lamely!
The Big Show now 160no in the Shield Game....
All too late for him, I like him as he has an X-Factor but in reality he should need to do that for a year of cricket to get back in now!
On this test, we've been sucked in to playing nice, who's idea was that?
Great innings by Smith! I may question his captaincy at times but his batting is elite.
The Big Show now 160no in the Shield Game....
Ended up on 278!
Ended up on 278!
It's bad luck the Vics didn't bat him up the order in the previous game.
Meanwhile, Smith's favourite district cricketer Hughes is opening the batting and Cowan is coming in at 6 ::)
Smith made a great century, that wasnt an easy wicket to bat on and then Hazlewood really bent his back and removed Cook and the in form Vince with some ripper bowling.
Really enjoyed the last session, tough test cricket....Root got hit by Starc and it was nasty stuff with part of his helmet getting smashed off, thought he looked a bit punchy after that but he managed to stick it out and survive till stumps.
England are 2 for 9 in reality and we have the upper hand, dont expect the poms to go down without a fight but we should win this test IMO....reckon Warner can hit us to victory in the 2nd innings....
Thinking Stokes will be on a plane to Aus in a couple of days....
Ended up on 278!
So many have suspected he is capable of that, why did it take get the kibosh from the test team for him to finally show what he is capable of! It reminds me of some footballers we know, the guys who always seems to leave their very best until it's contract signing time!
As for the Brisbane test, Kudos to Smith, he is clearly the best batsmen in the world at the moment. But.....
He again exposed his lack of imagination as a captain, when we took the field he could have really turned the screws, but instead he went through the motions. In contrast, Root's captaincy was a blessing for test cricket, and something the ACB should be learning from!
If I wasn't fearful that Smith's batting would decline if we removed his captaincy, I'd do it tomorrow!
Puck me, if you've got a problem DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Khawaja against off spin is embarrassing. He couldn't survive against a park spinner ATM. A!aaaaaaaargh he craps me no end, bloody passenger.
He averages 45 in test cricket. That's no mean feat.
Maybe the selectors should stop panicking and stick with him. His confidence will grow if they do
Warner couldn't make a run on the sub continent but they play him still.
LP, what was wrong with Smith's captaincy yesterday?
Australia 0/114 at stumps needing just another 56 to win the Test match.
Australia 0/114 at stumps needing just another 56 to win the Test match.
Disappointing finish!
I would have preferred to see at least two sessions tomorrow.
The Poms' tail needs docking.
Disappointing finish!
I would have preferred to see at least two sessions tomorrow.
The Poms' tail needs docking.
Bounced out with not much effort were the Poms...Anderson needs speaking to by the English management, bowled like he couldnt give a rats clacker late in the day including a wild off spinning
full toss, no effort from him and was struggling to bowl 130kmh then threw the ball at Bancroft striking him with little apology.
He just couldnt bothered trying and must be here for the money and the sun tan .....
Bounced out with not much effort were the Poms...Anderson needs speaking to by the English management, bowled like he couldnt give a rats clacker late in the day including a wild off spinning
full toss, no effort from him and was struggling to bowl 130kmh then threw the ball at Bancroft striking him with little apology.
He just couldnt bothered trying and must be here for the money and the sun tan .....
He is a very strange unit.
500 wickets but only on his terms
He is a very strange unit.
500 wickets but only on his terms
Bit of a incident in a bar earlier in the tour where Bairstow and Bancroft tangled....Bairstow been accused of headbutting Bancroft.
Maybe that explains the lack of love for Bancroft from the Englishmen....
Our blokes rocked up not switched on, when they did turn on the poms were revealed to be a side with a couple of very good players plus more than a couple of blokes just making up the numbers. Even with the warm up matches they aren't playing as a unit - some of the dismals were very soft, park cricket stuff. On paper they should bat to 9 but reality is that they don't.
When they are still interested Broad and Anderson make some of our blokes look like monkeys but they have little or no support. When Stokes arrives they will be a much better balanced unit.
At the same time we aren't a great side either, we're fortunate to have a sprinkling of absolute top liners within the team.
Bit of a incident in a bar earlier in the tour where Bairstow and Bancroft tangled....Bairstow been accused of headbutting Bancroft.
Maybe that explains the lack of love for Bancroft from the Englishmen....
Apparently the Poms are investigating. It will be a disaster for the Poms if Bairstow is suspended or sent home. Not that they are making the best use of him batting him so low in the order.
Apparently the Poms are investigating. It will be a disaster for the Poms if Bairstow is suspended or sent home. Not that they are making the best use of him batting him so low in the order.
If they are conducting their own investigation then should we expect any significant outcome, perhaps not?
LP, what was wrong with Smith's captaincy yesterday?
Nothing, he basically did nothing different from what he would do if it was the first ball of the first day or the last ball of the last day. He does the same things he does systematically just about every game. For all his batting prowess, his captaincy shows about as much flair as a hockey puck, and he misses opportunities to turn the screws which eventually must bite the team!
I think he plays it safe, to understand my criticism you have to compare the pressure cooker environment created by captains like Taylor and Ponting. Winning at test cricket isn't just about taking wickets, it's about damaging your opponent for the remainder of a test series. It's easy to argue about the calibre of players, but not matter how good they are if you don;t use them wisely you won;t get the best out of them.
Smith applies very little pressure, and that shows up as variability on the apparent intensity of the bowling attack. You shouldn't just go with the flow if a bowler is a little off, you have to be proactive and flexible in the tactics used, and it's not too hard to do that without putting the bowler off-side.
For example, it was clear from his first over Saturday afternoon that Starc was off his game, he was all over the shop and worrying about footholds and shape of the ball. All clear signs to a captain that the bowler isn't in the right head-space and is looking for distractions or excuses. Hazelwood had them on the griddle at the other end, and Starc was letting them off the hook, yet Smith kept to the formula and bowled Starc into the 10th or 12th over before bringing on Lyon and Cummins. I realise that Smith might have been a bit fatigued after a long and spectacular innings, but that should never be an excuse. FWIW, it also tells me something about vice captain, because in those situations he should be stepping up to push hard when the captain is a bit flat.
I think his current bowling attack as a group, is potentially as good as any we've had in the last 20 years, it's should be far more damaging than it appears. To me a lot of that is due to the captaincy.
The thing now will be we've had an easy win against a folding opponent, all will be forgiven, until Sth Africa or India stick another rocket up our ar5e!
Massive psychological blow to the Poms.
We were pretty ordinary and still belted them...
Expect Stokes to arrive in the next few days....
Bit of a incident in a bar earlier in the tour where Bairstow and Bancroft tangled....Bairstow been accused of headbutting Bancroft.
Maybe that explains the lack of love for Bancroft from the Englishmen....
There's Bancroft's after match interview. Clears it up a bit. Interesting greeting as a way of say "hello", which apparently all it was. Sound's a weird cat Bairstow is.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/cricket/the-ashes/it-was-a-good-hit-play-on!654231
There's Bancroft's after match interview. Clears it up a bit. Interesting greeting as a way of say "hello", which apparently all it was. Sound's a weird cat Bairstow is.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/cricket/the-ashes/it-was-a-good-hit-play-on!654231
Think Bancroft played a straight bat, reckon Bairstow clocked him one and meant it.....watched a interview with Bairstow and I reckon he is still badly affected by his fathers death and the circumstances.
Dont think it would take much to trigger him into a fight and there was a rumour he might have had another incident around the time of the Ben Stokes punch fest but it was let go and no charges laid.
Think Bancroft played a straight bat, reckon Bairstow clocked him one and meant it.....watched a interview with Bairstow and I reckon he is still badly affected by his fathers death and the circumstances.
Shizen, that was 20 years ago!
I'd think if he's got a problem now it's more to do with his own mental health rather than what his father went through.
Shizen, that was 20 years ago!
I'd think if he's got a problem now it's more to do with his own mental health rather than what his father went through.
He has just put out a book where he talks about his father and how he coped etc....its still fresh.... but I agree his own mental health is probably an issue..
I'd like to think other players dont use that to their advantage, hence his problems with Bancroft and others...??
Very well played, Bancroft. Said enough without being explicit - and was quite funny too.
What on earth are the Journos doing. If this was an issue it would have come out weeks ago. Interesting that the Aussies used this against Bairstow when he was batting...
I think he plays it safe, to understand my criticism you have to compare the pressure cooker environment created by captains like Taylor and Ponting.
Ponting is not a great example.
Taylor was a genius.
Ponting didn't create pressure he released it with defensive fields.
Probably found it hard to adjust after he lost McGrath I guess
Ponting is not a great example.
Taylor was a genius.
Ponting didn't create pressure he released it with defensive fields.
Probably found it hard to adjust after he lost McGrath I guess
Yes, as great as batsman as Ponting was he certainly struggled with the captaincy. That showed up after we started to lose the champions players. Ian Chappell, Taylor and Clarke were the best 3 I come across, closely followed by Border, who took a while to grow into the role but when he did he was very good.
I think Border, Ponting, Hughes and Yallop were under-rated, and I think Clarke, Waugh, Gilchrist and Greg Chappell were over-rated, but they are all clearly better than Smith.
In fairness it's hard to get a clear handle on Waugh, Ponting and Gilchrist, because if not for his issues and feck-ups Warne would clearly have been captain from a pure cricketing perspective.
It's too easy to judge captaincy based on individual performance, Waugh, Gilchrist and Smith are examples of the positive influence great individual performances have on the assessment of their captaincy. While Yallop and Hughes are perfect examples of how bad individual form can cruel your reputation, not matter what sort of cake you make form the crap around you!
I think Border, Ponting, Hughes and Yallop were under-rated, and I think Clarke, Waugh, Gilchrist and Greg Chappell were over-rated, but they are all clearly better than Smith.
In fairness it's hard to get a clear handle on Waugh, Ponting and Gilchrist, because if not for his issues and feck-ups Warne would clearly have been captain from a pure cricketing perspective.
It's too easy to judge captaincy based on individual performance, Waugh, Gilchrist and Smith are examples of the positive influence great individual performances have on the assessment of their captaincy. While Yallop and Hughes are perfect examples of how bad individual form can cruel your reputation, not matter what sort of cake you make form the crap around you!
Ponting, Hughes and Yallop a better captain than Smith? Are you kidding? They we awful. Smith's a solid captain, not poor but not going to be one of the great ones either. Better than those 3 though.
Waugh was never a great on-field captain, always too rigid and narrow in his thinking and could never think outside the box. His fault we lost in India in a series that should've been well won in 2001. Captained the greatest team we had and did lead by example and really was able to get the players behind him.
Gilchrist only filled-in as captain but won the series in India in 2004 in Ponting absence.
Clarke was a great captain. Given a very ordinary team well down the rankings but got them back to world no.1 eventually. Very smart on-field.
Waugh Smith was never a great on-field captain, always too rigid and narrow in his thinking and could never think outside the box.
Change Waugh to Smith and you've nailed it! ;)
The current contrast between Smith and Root is there for all to see, if Joe Root had the Australian bowling line up to captain we'd be in all sorts of sh1te!
Stokes at the airport but bound for a holiday in NZ...just close enough to fly in as a messiah when England go 2-0...
Stokes at the airport but bound for a holiday in NZ...just close enough to fly in as a messiah when England go 2-0...
The boy's will be drooling for the second sledging opportunity. :)
The boy's will be drooling for the second sledging opportunity. :)
Stokes is one Pom who seems to fire up when the heat is on....had to be impressed in past series when Johnson was bowling well and a young Stokes stood up
to him. A lot of players mentally disintegrate but Stokes is more the type who wants to punch on....pardon the pun.
Broad is another who seems to be able to handle everything thrown at him and still perform...
I'd be targeting Root, Anderson and Bairstow....Anderson looks like he over the tour already and wouldnt need much encouraging to go home...
Root is a young bloke and like Cook given the captains job very early in their career...its finished Cook and I reckon Root is on slow simmer to break as well....
Ponting, Hughes and Yallop a better captain than Smith? Are you kidding? They we awful.
Seriously?......Ponting single handidly regrouped a World Cup side that lost their star bowler (Warne) on the eve of the 2003 World Cup due to an act of stupidity & got them to a World Cup victory. He also took them to wins against the strongest side in the world (SAF) in their own country in the era right after losing Warne, Magrath, Langer, Haydon from the side, with a bowling attack of Johnson, Siddle & Hilfy......He wasn't Mark Taylor, but he was certainly better than Smith, and probably equal to Waugh (who never had any challenges really).
Seriously?......Ponting single handidly regrouped a World Cup side that lost their star bowler (Warne) on the eve of the 2003 World Cup due to an act of stupidity & got them to a World Cup victory. He also took them to wins against the strongest side in the world (SAF) in their own country in the era right after losing Warne, Magrath, Langer, Haydon from the side, with a bowling attack of Johnson, Siddle & Hilfy......He wasn't Mark Taylor, but he was certainly better than Smith, and probably equal to Waugh (who never had any challenges really).
I'd agree with that.
Smith is a hopeless Captain, worst that I can remember.
Leading by example is great, but there must be more....
That said, at the time of his appointment there weren't many other options!
Seriously?......Ponting single handidly regrouped a World Cup side that lost their star bowler (Warne) on the eve of the 2003 World Cup due to an act of stupidity & got them to a World Cup victory. He also took them to wins against the strongest side in the world (SAF) in their own country in the era right after losing Warne, Magrath, Langer, Haydon from the side, with a bowling attack of Johnson, Siddle & Hilfy......He wasn't Mark Taylor, but he was certainly better than Smith, and probably equal to Waugh (who never had any challenges really).
I reckon Ponting is a long way ahead of Smith. The latter doesn't seem able to think on his feet and has a formulaic approach to captaincy.
I reckon Ponting is a long way ahead of Smith. The latter doesn't seem able to think on his feet and has a formulaic approach to captaincy.
We are on the same page.
When I watch Smith I get the feeling that Lehmann is captain and Smith is working off his notes, which he left in the locker room and cannot remember!
Things change after a drinks break, lunch or tea, but in between it's like watching a parrot speak and repeat the same slight mispronunciation over and over again. Things just aren't quite right and the tweak often comes too late, after everybody has walked away!
I reckon Ponting is a long way ahead of Smith. The latter doesn't seem able to think on his feet and has a formulaic approach to captaincy.
Can't go with you there. Ponting captaincy was plain awful at times. Used to just shake my head at times. He's lucky to be ahead of anyone other than Hughes and Yallop. We saw the difference soon as Clarke became captain. Smith at least seems solid tactically although not in the class of Taylor and Clarke, but certainly well ahead of Ponting.
Captaincy is difficult to quantify, and pointing to results simply ignores too much to do with it.
Captaincy is difficult to quantify, and pointing to results simply ignores too much to do with it.
Exactly, which is why I'm critical of Smith even though we had a win.
Smith is learning, bit hard to do everything right when you have to make all the runs, take all the catches and try and find a place for fielders like Marsh and Khawaja to hide in the field...this isnt a great team at the end of the day. Everyone wants to play IPL etc and the standard of the other test playing nations has slipped away, throw in rigged games, crape rigged pitches on the sub continent and its no fun playing test cricket and having to be captain in this era.
You look at the West Indies and they have a different captain every series, Cook has been broken by being captain, as was Strauss....Smith from SA gave it away as did AB De Villiers...Ross Taylor from NZ lasted one year, McCullum did 3 years and now Williamson has had the job for a couple...
Steve Smith has had the job for three years and is doing ok IMO...
The Stoke's situation got a bit more interesting overnight now that police have handed the case to prosecutors. They obviously think there are questions that need answering.
Might have put the spotlight onto his stealthy entrance to the Ashes.