Forum | Th'Ashes Down Under by D_Alien

Th'Ashes Down Under on 06:14 - Jan 5 with 1020 views

Nigeriamark

Th'Ashes Down Under on 04:08 - Jan 5 by TalkingSutty
Root doing what Root does, he looked on for a century the moment he walked to the crease. A competitive score for England in their first innings, let's see if our bowlers can hit the right length now and get Travis Head out early. Edit..Duckett drops a dolly and gives Head a lifeline. Bowling all over the place again. [Post edited 5 Jan 5:05]

Head and Labuschane making it look as if we are at least 75 runs light. Tiny bit in the pitch but we have bowled some rank bad balls. Need one of these out in the last 50 minutes otherwise they could get close to reducing the lead to under 200 in just 1 session with 9 wickets left!!

We lost our first 3 wickets for 59 and the last 4 for 9 runs ( i will give Root a pass!!). All on a good wicket. Brook will be happy that Smith’s shot has overtaken a number of his for the worse one in the series. Root was on for a double ton untill it all fell apart around him.

[Post edited 5 Jan 6:16]

Th'Ashes Down Under on 06:36 - Jan 5 with 987 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 06:14 - Jan 5 by Nigeriamark

[Post edited 5 Jan 6:16]

The shot that led to Smith's dismissal just about summed up the cavalier attitude of this England team. The England bowling has been a disgrace, leg side, off side, too short, over pitched, full toss. They can't even set a field and bowl one side of the wicket.

[Post edited 5 Jan 6:40]

Th'Ashes Down Under on 08:29 - Jan 5 with 919 views

EllDale

Smith’s dismissal was appalling to a parttime bowler.
He and Brook just seem to have this self destruct button.
The defining moment of this series may well have been Head’s switch to opener before Australia’s second innings in Perth.
For all the preseries hype the overall standard hasn’t impressed especially where England’s erratic bowling is concerned.

Th'Ashes Down Under on 10:11 - Jan 5 with 836 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 08:29 - Jan 5 by EllDale
Smith’s dismissal was appalling to a parttime bowler. He and Brook just seem to have this self destruct button. The defining moment of this series may well have been Head’s switch to opener before Australia’s second innings in Perth. For all the preseries hype the overall standard hasn’t impressed especially where England’s erratic bowling is concerned.

Head's highest score was just 40 runs in twenty first class innings leading into this series.

Th'Ashes Down Under on 11:34 - Jan 5 with 762 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 08:29 - Jan 5 by EllDale
Smith’s dismissal was appalling to a parttime bowler. He and Brook just seem to have this self destruct button. The defining moment of this series may well have been Head’s switch to opener before Australia’s second innings in Perth. For all the preseries hype the overall standard hasn’t impressed especially where England’s erratic bowling is concerned.

If Smith's glovework was exceptional, he might be forgiven but it isn't

Time for a new keeper, perhaps Rew

Poll:

Th'Ashes Down Under on 01:48 - Jan 6 with 505 views

Nigeriamark

Th'Ashes Down Under on 08:29 - Jan 5 by EllDale
Smith’s dismissal was appalling to a parttime bowler. He and Brook just seem to have this self destruct button. The defining moment of this series may well have been Head’s switch to opener before Australia’s second innings in Perth. For all the preseries hype the overall standard hasn’t impressed especially where England’s erratic bowling is concerned.

We are getting worse session by session after a decent opening day . The night watchman lasts an hour and 45 minutes, we drop a dolly of Head + 2 tougher ones (5 drops in the innings and 16 for the tour). We burn our last 2 reviews, neither that close ( the initial appeals weren’t even that strong). Potts looks like he has just stepped up from junior cricket. They have accumulated over 100 runs too.

New ball in 15 overs. Need to do well with that otherwise they are going for 500+ runs

Edit. Or secret agent Bethell!!!

[Post edited 6 Jan 2:24]

Th'Ashes Down Under on 06:59 - Jan 6 with 456 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 01:48 - Jan 6 by Nigeriamark

[Post edited 6 Jan 2:24]

My money is on a innings defeat. This is what happens when you base your bowling attack around two sick notes...Archer and Wood. It didn't take a rocket science to know that they wouldn't last the series, it was all very predictable.

Th'Ashes Down Under on 10:01 - Jan 6 with 381 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 06:59 - Jan 6 by TalkingSutty
My money is on a innings defeat. This is what happens when you base your bowling attack around two sick notes...Archer and Wood. It didn't take a rocket science to know that they wouldn't last the series, it was all very predictable.

And then expecting Potts, who's had a respectable start to his test career, to come in after hardly bowling a ball in anger for months, and perform in the heat of Ashes cricket

The lad's probably angry alright, and gutted that his dream when selected for the tour has turned out a nightmare

[Post edited 6 Jan 10:03]

Poll:

Th'Ashes Down Under on 11:15 - Jan 6 with 323 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 10:01 - Jan 6 by D_Alien
And then expecting Potts, who's had a respectable start to his test career, to come in after hardly bowling a ball in anger for months, and perform in the heat of Ashes cricket The lad's probably angry alright, and gutted that his dream when selected for the tour has turned out a nightmare [Post edited 6 Jan 10:03]

It's been a shambles from start to finish and the hierachy need to be held to account. A lack of planning, poor selection, poor preperation, no accountability, players in their comfort zone with the security of a central contract. Radical changes need to be made from top to bottom including county cricket. I suspect it's all about the money though and the shorter format of the game, the bean counters and those making the decisions probably have no appetite for Test Match cricket. I also wonder if deep down most of the players have, do they really value it?

[Post edited 6 Jan 11:17]

Th'Ashes Down Under on 11:49 - Jan 6 with 281 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 11:15 - Jan 6 by TalkingSutty

[Post edited 6 Jan 11:17]

There's no doubt test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game, the format that defines any player

Who remembers the ten-a-penny slash'n'bash innings in the shorter formats, apart from the limited overs world cup finals? Players may retire wealthy, but if they haven't impacted their national test side, unfulfilled

The younger lot (Brooks, Smith being the prime examples) don't yet seem to appreciate this. the central contracts were intended to prevent players from having their heads turned by the money on offer elsewhere, but the result is a lack of first class cricket and doing the hard yards that make the difference when you're up against it. This applies in any walk of life

Test-class players have to get back to playing more regular cricket. Bethell - a prospect just as good as Brooks - has hardly played any first class cricket at all. Whether the current shoddy administrative setup in England can come up with the right solutions to this is an even bigger ask than expecting miracles down under from underprepared show ponies

Poll:

Th'Ashes Down Under on 00:10 - Jan 7 with 97 views

Sandyman

Crawley gone for one.

Th'Ashes Down Under on 01:42 - Jan 7 with 68 views

Th'Ashes Down Under on 00:10 - Jan 7 by Sandyman
Crawley gone for one.

A bit unlucky, he was trying to leave the outswinger, which swung back in... Starc at his best

Duckett very lucky, but just a glimmer of hope at lunch. Can we set the Aussies a target?

Poll:

Th'Ashes Down Under on 04:02 - Jan 7 with 29 views