Cricket

[ainsworth74]

I love cricket, I’m very very happy after that ending.

But not sure how England managed to throw that one away.

Can’t wait for the next four!

I'm absolutely gutted, but it was certainly a hell of a game and a reminder why Tests are brilliant.

 

[Purple Train]

I'm a purist at heart, and I did initially think the first-innings declaration was foolish. But England had as many wickets remaining as Australia won by, so I doubt it would have made much of a difference. If England had declared on 393-6 I would have more sympathy with the naysayers.
Splendid batting by Cummins, and an excellent couple of innings by Khawaja as well: I now feel slightly vindicated in preferring Sibley to Duckett. I am really concerned about our bowling attack though.

 

[SteveM70]

But England had as many wickets remaining as Australia won by, so I doubt it would have made much of a difference

All ifs and buts, of course, but remember Joe Root was still batting when England declared so arguably the potential of their last two wickets was the greater

But credit to Cummins and Lyon, I thought they batted brilliantly

One other observation:

Australia bowled 4 no-balls; England bowled 23. That's pretty basic stuff to be getting wrong so often at the highest level

 

[75A]

In addition to the 'no balls' what about the dropped catches? Jonny Bairstow's pantomime performance in the Australian 1st innings, and the 2 occasions on the last day where an England fielder made sure the ball touched the ropes to give the Aussies 4 instead of the 2 they had run?
It's not that often that a Test Match concludes because of a poor piece of fielding is it?
Add to this Ben Stokes declaration in the first innings when Joe Root was scoring freely and his decision to give Ollie Robinson the second new ball rather than James Anderson, no wonder England lost.

 

[GS250]

Pick a proper wicketkeeper and this doesn’t happen

That was just a part of England's problem. Foakes had done absolutely nothing wrong yet finds himself jettisoned. Our winning run was with him in the side. No doubt England have improved tenfold under Stokes captaincy. However he reverted to traditional English bad habits in picking his best mates than the best team.

Other than that this isn't a vintage England side at all. They've caught some reasonable teams out with their new swashbuckling style. However we're probably a fair way behind India and Australia. No spinner of any note and a top 3 that constantly fails to deliver. You can't compete with the best with 3-4 weak links.

 

[Busaholic]

Australia bowled 4 no-balls; England bowled 23. That's pretty basic stuff to be getting wrong so often at the highest level

One of those English no-balls would otherwise have got a wicket too.

Australia deserved to win imo, with every player providing something, other than Warner. Duckett wasn't the only under-performer in the English side. Jimmy Anderson will remember this match no more fondly than his last Ashes appearance here and, whisper it if you dare, but has he gone on one series too long, like so many greats? Hope I'm proved wrong. Now Nathan Lyon can be remembered for more than the guy who fumbled the run-out at Headingley 2019. Cummins scored the winning runs just as he did in his first test in South Africa, Appropriate that Robinson bowled the ball that finally lost the game: now he should lose a good percentage of his match fee too.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Where's @Pakenhamtrain got to? I figure they'd be here by now gloating telling us how it was inevitable that Australia would win and England are rubbish

I was in bed. 0500 start!

England aren't that rubbish. It did look like things were in dire straights after Carey gave Root come catching practice. Cummins found the right time to realize he can bat. Turns out those number 11s Robinson referred to in Boland and Lyon can also bat of required.

To do what we did without the likes of Smith and Labs not firing is amazing. It's not something we do often.

The deceleration sold England a few runs short in the end. Not bowling Broad and Anderson with the newer ball is bizarre.

For all the talk of bazball:

https://twitter.com/RicFinlay/status/1671282575439187968

Fairly even. The difference is England bowled a few more overs to get to the same point.



Nothing does beat the drama of test cricket.

 

[Whistler40145]

Did England lose the plot once they got Australia 8 wickets down?

 

[birchesgreen]

That extra over of Root that went for plenty was key, it changed the momentum. I would have gone for the new ball immediately personally but hey ho, its easy in hindsight.

 

[Whistler40145]

Will England be looking for another spinner, especially that Joe Root was bowling more in the 2nd innings?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What England should have remembered from the first innings totals of both sides, was that England needed to post a similar sized score (or more) in their second innings. Remember that much play was lost to rain at the latter part of the fourth day and the whole morning session on the fifth day and if play had been possible in those time periods, Australia would have won far easier.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Did England lose the plot once they got Australia 8 wickets down?

The tactics were strange. They sent the field out and it meant Australia could just play without risk.

 

[Cletus]

25 no-balls (plus runs scored from the extra balls?) bowled mainly by Stokes and Broad was my biggest problem with that test match.

 

[Lost property]

25 no-balls (plus runs scored from the extra balls?) bowled mainly by Stokes and Broad was my biggest problem with that test match.

Now that is a very good point, in particular the generosity of the latter whose over elevated opinion of himself is shared by the media.

Any Test match that reaches the final session and a potential result can only be viewed as a Test match of note.

Overall, I enjoyed the dynamic displayed by England, far removed from their former capitulate with barely any resistance days and Anderson's opening shot showed this change as starkly as those from Crawley and Root.

The downside, was, as others have said, the outburst from Robinson who should now be dropped as a result. We have other bowlers who can replace him.

To paraphrase the lyrics from "Convoy "..."mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a Test series ! "

 

[DarloRich]

argh - England threw that one away. I thought we were short of runs but at 227-8 England should have closed that out. Full marks to Khawaja & Cummins for seeing Australia home.

Was the Lyon dropped catch the moment it went away? I thought some of the England bowling at the tail was poor bordering on brainless ( new ball lads, NEW BALL!) and the field placings odd. That's Bazball I guess!

I wasn't too concerned about the declaration - it put the pressure back onto the Aussies at a time our bowlers might have done something.

The downside, was, as others have said, the outburst from Robinson who should now be dropped as a result.

No he shouldn't - he gave the Aussies a bit of thier own medicine and the media didn't like it! The more stupid quote was the 4 x number 11 that has made him look a bit silly!

 

[birchesgreen]

I've found England often struggle finishing the opposition off, so many times over the years they've got an opposition down to 7 or 8 and all the plans which worked perfectly up until then seem to be thrown away. I always feel that tail enders are there for a reason, their batting technique is not as good, so test it by bowling on the stumps or the sinister corridor of uncertainty, instead of repeatedly trying to knock their heads off.

Still i suppose if England had won we'd be calling them geniuses.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

No he shouldn't - he gave the Aussies a bit of thier own medicine and the media didn't like it! The more stupid quote was the 4 x number 11 that has made him look a bit silly!

That and he carried on like a pork chop after getting a bloke out after making *Checks notes* 140.
Let's be honest he had a reputation for being a flog and did nothing to improve on it.

 

[DarloRich]

That and he carried on like a pork chop after getting a bloke out after making *Checks notes* 140.
Let's be honest he had a reputation for being a flog and did nothing to improve on it.

Your lads have been doing that to us for years, although usually for 7 not 140! . Waugh x 2, Ponting, Warne, Healy etc etc etc. Nice to see them get a bit of it back! I am all for it.

(McGrath was a good sledger as well - but he seems like such a nice bloke I cant really include him)

 

[Busaholic]

Will England be looking for another spinner, especially that Joe Root was bowling more in the 2nd innings?

England had the chance a few years ago to pick Simon Harmer, who had qualified to play for them years before South Africa showed interest, but chose not to (a) because the dearth of English-born spinners wasn't quite so bad then and, probably, (b} the Pietersen saga had a negative influence. Sam Hain at Warwickshire probably suffered through (b) too as a potential would-be successor to Jonathan Trott.

Mooen Ali's presence at Lords is by no means a dead cert, even if he were still willing to commit. Let's face it, his batting has gone, so it's only the bowling that counts. England's policy under previous management of choosing spinners based either on how many wickets they could take on a spinning wicket at Taunton (first Leach, then Bess} or they played for freespending Surrey has come back to bite it on the bum. Yes, Leach was worth persevering with, but the others? Bess is now a later order batsman who can bowl a bit when the stars align, but it only happens once in a blue moon. Virdi passed without trace, Gareth Batty never was more than second rate. I've a feeling the Lesser Parkinson (Callum of Leicestershire) rather than Matt of Lancashire, soon to be Kent, might surprise with his effectiveness if given a chance, but I certainly hope Rehan Ahmed the leggie is given further opportunities, but not in the next test. Jacks just might be considered, perhaps if an opening position became available. Oval test?

 

[Purple Train]

Will England be looking for another spinner, especially that Joe Root was bowling more in the 2nd innings?

They could pick me! My bowling is so dreadful the Aussies won't know what's hit them... if I even manage to bowl it that far/that close to the wicket

On a more serious note, why not Liam Dawson? As a left-armer he's most similar to Leach, he's not a part-timer like Jacks, and he's not too young (Ahmed) or too rusty (Moeen).

 

[Whistler40145]

They could pick me! My bowling is so dreadful the Aussies won't know what's hit them... if I even manage to bowl it that far/that close to the wicket

On a more serious note, why not Liam Dawson? As a left-armer he's most similar to Leach, he's not a part-timer like Jacks, and he's not too young (Ahmed) or too rusty (Moeen).

Good choice with Liam Dawson, shame that Adil Rashid retired from Red Ball Cricket

Does anyone know if Dominic Bess has gone off the boil?

 

[Busaholic]

Good choice with Liam Dawson, shame that Adil Rashid retired from Red Ball Cricket

Does anyone know if Dominic Bess has gone off the boil?

Yes to the last question, though Yorkshire still pick him. His batting helped secure Yorkshire's first championship win in thirteen months last week, but it was only against Derbyshire in Division 2, hardly fearsome opposition.

 

[JD2168]

If the rest of the Ashes series is as good as the first test then we’re in for a treat this summer with the Edgbaston test coming down to the end of the 5th day.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Having watched a couple of interviews with Pat Cummins, he seems quite a likeable person (for an Australian Captain), very different from any other captain in my lifetime.
Does anyone else agree? How does he go down in Australia @Pakenhamtrain? (The answer is probably very well as long as he keeps winning!)

 

[Bald Rick]

I've found England often struggle finishing the opposition off, so many times over the years they've got an opposition down to 7 or 8 and all the plans which worked perfectly up until then seem to be thrown away.

*checks Aus first innings scorecard*

 

[Busaholic]

Having watched a couple of interviews with Pat Cummins, he seems quite a likeable person (for an Australian Captain), very different from any other captain in my lifetime.
Does anyone else agree? How does he go down in Australia @Pakenhamtrain? (The answer is probably very well as long as he keeps winning!)

Being a fast bowler makes him very different for a start. I doubt he'll do an Imran Khan and seek to lead his nation, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job on the cricket field. He's almost certainly more of an intellectual than Ben Stokes, but then with all due respect that wouldn't be too difficult. I think it was easy to choose him to replace Paine, given that Smith was out of the equation and others. like Steve Marsh, could not be certain of selection in their best XI.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Being a fast bowler makes him very different for a start. I doubt he'll do an Imran Khan and seek to lead his nation, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job on the cricket field. He's almost certainly more of an intellectual than Ben Stokes, but then with all due respect that wouldn't be too difficult. I think it was easy to choose him to replace Paine, given that Smith was out of the equation and others. like Steve Marsh, could not be certain of selection in their best XI.

Well, yes, but I wasn't really comparing him to Stokes (and thankfully one doesn't have to be an intellectual to be a good captain!). I agree that there wasn't a great deal of choice when Paine did what he did (do you mean Mitch Marsh?), I found myself actually watching the whole of his interviews, whereas with other captains Ponting, Clarke, Taylor for example I'd (mentally) switch off.
He seems at ease with himself.

 

[75A]

I think most of Pat Cummins decisions are made with a lot of input from Steve Smith.

 

[Meole]

Will Australia's best 2 batters fail to produce serious innings again ?

 

[Busaholic]

Well, yes, but I wasn't really comparing him to Stokes (and thankfully one doesn't have to be an intellectual to be a good captain!). I agree that there wasn't a great deal of choice when Paine did what he did (do you mean Mitch Marsh?), I found myself actually watching the whole of his interviews, whereas with other captains Ponting, Clarke, Taylor for example I'd (mentally) switch off.
He seems at ease with himself.

I can't do links and in any case can't get the 28 minute programme to play for me but ''The Making of Pat Cummins'' by Kayo (Fox Cricket) appears by googling.