| The Ashes 22:43 - Dec 7 with 19092 views | stowmarketrange |
The Ashes start in less than 90 mins,and I wondered what people thought of our chances this time?
It will be strange not to be able to have the barmy army in force out there this winter.Although I can’t see us winning the urn back,I think it will be closer than 4 years ago.Just a shame that I can’t be over there for a month like I was 4 years ago.
I think it might’ve been closer then if we’d taken Stokes along,but that’s history now.I hope we put up more of a fight this time around.
Come on the poms. [Post edited 19 Dec 2021 8:32]
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| The Ashes on 21:27 - Dec 8 with 2307 views | Logman |
| The Ashes on 20:56 - Dec 8 by Superhoops2808 |
Been a member at Kent CCC for several years now, and this is an issue regularly discussed. The ECB need to hang their heads in shame - There is very little if any red ball cricket and when there is its in freezing cold months of April May and tail end of September. The focus has been solely on white ball cricket because as someone on here said it is all about chasing the pound signs.
When was the last time a quality spinner came through the ranks for England? And dont say Leach, Ali or Bess because they are nowhere near world class. Because no one plays spin in April or May!!
The county championship has been burnt at the expense of the 100, something that the majority of real cricket fans despise. We had the T20 and One day Cup, both popular, the last thing we needed was another white ball tournament. But again its all about the pound signs.
And then, today when we had the ideal conditions for English bowlers, our captain decides to Bat. I agree we shouldn't judge until both sides have had a bat, but what a huge boost to the Aussies when Burns decided to go walkabout in his crease. As a captain Morgan reads the game so well, but sometimes I feel Root is so far out of his depth its beyond belief. Cummins must have thought he had won the lottery on his first day as captain. But if we bin Root, again as someone else said here, who is out there to replace him. Dont want Butler or Stokes carrying the heavy burden of that, look what it did to Flintoff and KP.
To drop Broad, when he has had more rest than Robinson/Woakes is madness and I can only hope it does as it has before and riles Broad up to perform like a man possessed. Also, I may be biased, but Crawley is in his element when the ball is coming on to him at pace and he was the only one to make any significant runs during the limited warm up time they did have. Pitches in Australia are well known for that style of batting but he didn't even make the 12.
The only thing the ECB cannot be blamed for is the shambolic warm up (or lack of) that England have had. The weather put paid to that really and no one has any control over that.
I was optimistic that the series would be 2-1 either way, but that day one will have done a lot for each teams confidence... And in Englands case it will be a negative effect.
By the way, anyone who does want to watch it, you can buy a months pass from BT rather than sign up for a contract. Dont know how much it is as I have BT for WRC so have not looked. [Post edited 8 Dec 2021 20:57]
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Good post Superhoops2808, I agree.
But I am also a Kent supporter and on the basis of what I have seen, I would not recommend Crawley to open the batting for England in Test cricket. I saw him play in quite a few of our County games last season (albeit online) and he goes for his shots far too early and does not yet have the instincts to fend off the best bowlers in the world at the red ball game.
That said, he is a better option than Burns whose technique is completely flawed.
I'd think about putting Bairstow in as an opener. He is big game player. |  | | |
| The Ashes on 21:51 - Dec 8 with 2278 views | SydneyRs |
| The Ashes on 10:38 - Dec 8 by sprocket |
5-0 - end of Roooooot as captain perhaps |
Don't agree with this. It may well be 5-0 but England are pretty average at the moment, under prepared and simply don't want to be here. He's been brilliant up to now and I don't exactly see many obvious alternative options. | | | |
| The Ashes on 21:52 - Dec 8 with 2276 views | SydneyRs |
| The Ashes on 11:15 - Dec 8 by TheChef |
It's a microcosm of everything wrong with the ECB and the ICC/international cricket in general - focus has massively shifted to white ball cricket (largely due to the $$$$$$ and TV/sponsors), the players barely get any break (let alone dealing with covid/bubbles etc.) and then they're supposed to adapt their game at the drop of a hat without any decent prep.
In any case in the last 35 years we have only won twice in Australia.
*sigh*
Let's just hope our bowlers can do a similar job tomorrow. |
Worth pointing out that the Aussies have not won in England for 20 years also. | | | |
| The Ashes on 21:56 - Dec 8 with 2273 views | SydneyRs |
| The Ashes on 13:59 - Dec 8 by stowmarketrange |
Having a population of 1 billion people might mean that you have a better chance of finding 11 good cricketers.Population numbers isn’t everything as Australia and New Zealand will testify too,but being able to go out and play cricket for more than the 3 months we can do over here helps too.And the fact that a lot of kids play cricket on every occasion and every surface in india might help a bit too.Kids in England tend to play more football than cricket,if they ever go outside and play at all,so I can’t see the situation improving any time soon. |
Population of 1 billion and also cricket is really the only sport they care about. In Australia its also far more popular than in the UK and played by more kids. Of course they have better/more consistent weather for it too which adds to participation. | | | |
| The Ashes on 23:02 - Dec 8 with 2213 views | thame_hoops |
| The Ashes on 20:56 - Dec 8 by Superhoops2808 |
Been a member at Kent CCC for several years now, and this is an issue regularly discussed. The ECB need to hang their heads in shame - There is very little if any red ball cricket and when there is its in freezing cold months of April May and tail end of September. The focus has been solely on white ball cricket because as someone on here said it is all about chasing the pound signs.
When was the last time a quality spinner came through the ranks for England? And dont say Leach, Ali or Bess because they are nowhere near world class. Because no one plays spin in April or May!!
The county championship has been burnt at the expense of the 100, something that the majority of real cricket fans despise. We had the T20 and One day Cup, both popular, the last thing we needed was another white ball tournament. But again its all about the pound signs.
And then, today when we had the ideal conditions for English bowlers, our captain decides to Bat. I agree we shouldn't judge until both sides have had a bat, but what a huge boost to the Aussies when Burns decided to go walkabout in his crease. As a captain Morgan reads the game so well, but sometimes I feel Root is so far out of his depth its beyond belief. Cummins must have thought he had won the lottery on his first day as captain. But if we bin Root, again as someone else said here, who is out there to replace him. Dont want Butler or Stokes carrying the heavy burden of that, look what it did to Flintoff and KP.
To drop Broad, when he has had more rest than Robinson/Woakes is madness and I can only hope it does as it has before and riles Broad up to perform like a man possessed. Also, I may be biased, but Crawley is in his element when the ball is coming on to him at pace and he was the only one to make any significant runs during the limited warm up time they did have. Pitches in Australia are well known for that style of batting but he didn't even make the 12.
The only thing the ECB cannot be blamed for is the shambolic warm up (or lack of) that England have had. The weather put paid to that really and no one has any control over that.
I was optimistic that the series would be 2-1 either way, but that day one will have done a lot for each teams confidence... And in Englands case it will be a negative effect.
By the way, anyone who does want to watch it, you can buy a months pass from BT rather than sign up for a contract. Dont know how much it is as I have BT for WRC so have not looked. [Post edited 8 Dec 2021 20:57]
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Great points raised, as a Middlesex Ccc member I concur entirely.
Also with BT Sport, you can get good deals with your EE phone. I added it to my EE bill for £10 a month and I use the app on the Samsung TV |  | | |
| The Ashes on 02:13 - Dec 9 with 2148 views | ozexile |
Leech is gonna have to be taken out of the attack here. | | | |
| The Ashes on 07:09 - Dec 9 with 2075 views | BlackAndGoldRanger |
I found the Leach selection over Broad baffling. I know it gives the quicks some relief and another option but I'm not sure he's up to it down under. More poor performances by England and some brutal batting from the Aussies has taken the game away. Where's the rest of that rain we were promised. | | | |
| The Ashes on 09:16 - Dec 9 with 1996 views | ozexile |
| The Ashes on 07:09 - Dec 9 by BlackAndGoldRanger |
I found the Leach selection over Broad baffling. I know it gives the quicks some relief and another option but I'm not sure he's up to it down under. More poor performances by England and some brutal batting from the Aussies has taken the game away. Where's the rest of that rain we were promised. |
As I posted yesterday I'm baffled by it. Look at how well Broad bowls to left handers.
Today Warner 94 and Head with a ton. | | | |
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| The Ashes on 09:42 - Dec 9 with 1957 views | BlackAndGoldRanger |
| The Ashes on 09:16 - Dec 9 by ozexile |
As I posted yesterday I'm baffled by it. Look at how well Broad bowls to left handers.
Today Warner 94 and Head with a ton. |
And factor in that Warner is Broads absolute bunny.....he rode his luck with the no-ball wicket, dropped catch and missed run out! | | | |
| The Ashes on 09:59 - Dec 9 with 1936 views | Antti_Heinola |
| The Ashes on 09:16 - Dec 9 by ozexile |
As I posted yesterday I'm baffled by it. Look at how well Broad bowls to left handers.
Today Warner 94 and Head with a ton. |
yep, hacing seen it last night, have to admit I was wrong - although I would've played Broad, I was looking for reasons why he would be left out rather than agreeing with the decision!
Warner rode his luck though.
Looks very, very bleak for the series. Stokes possibly injured, Burns after that dropped catch and golden duck going to have zero confidence. Eurgh. |  |
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| The Ashes on 10:34 - Dec 9 with 1894 views | ozexile |
| The Ashes on 09:59 - Dec 9 by Antti_Heinola |
yep, hacing seen it last night, have to admit I was wrong - although I would've played Broad, I was looking for reasons why he would be left out rather than agreeing with the decision!
Warner rode his luck though.
Looks very, very bleak for the series. Stokes possibly injured, Burns after that dropped catch and golden duck going to have zero confidence. Eurgh. |
Vince is out here playing Big Bash if we're stuck. And Curran if Stokes is out. Options anyway. | | | |
| The Ashes on 11:49 - Dec 9 with 1847 views | timeforheroes |
Talk about the county championship misses the fact that the standard just isn't that good- you have 18 counties competing, far too many professional players for popularity of the game in this country. As a result of this, in an effort to win teams produce green pitches and field bowling line ups of 70mph trundling seamers who are brutally effective and mean that batting is incredibly difficult, so players have no time to hone their technique and the players coming through are the likes of Crawley who look to score fairly quickly and play shots knowing that a ball with their name on it is in the post, or players like Sibley who hone their technique to try and not play unless they have to. Neither are suited to test cricket. Playing in April and September makes those conditions but towards the beginning of last season's championship there were more runs than through the middle and back end of the season. Australia have 6 teams in their domestic red ball competition, we have 18 and they are overwhelming composed of players from the small portion of the population who attend a private school. Unfortunately the county system needs to be looked at and the ECB need to do something about pitches. |  | | |
| The Ashes on 13:45 - Dec 9 with 1768 views | R_from_afar |
| The Ashes on 20:56 - Dec 8 by Superhoops2808 |
Been a member at Kent CCC for several years now, and this is an issue regularly discussed. The ECB need to hang their heads in shame - There is very little if any red ball cricket and when there is its in freezing cold months of April May and tail end of September. The focus has been solely on white ball cricket because as someone on here said it is all about chasing the pound signs.
When was the last time a quality spinner came through the ranks for England? And dont say Leach, Ali or Bess because they are nowhere near world class. Because no one plays spin in April or May!!
The county championship has been burnt at the expense of the 100, something that the majority of real cricket fans despise. We had the T20 and One day Cup, both popular, the last thing we needed was another white ball tournament. But again its all about the pound signs.
And then, today when we had the ideal conditions for English bowlers, our captain decides to Bat. I agree we shouldn't judge until both sides have had a bat, but what a huge boost to the Aussies when Burns decided to go walkabout in his crease. As a captain Morgan reads the game so well, but sometimes I feel Root is so far out of his depth its beyond belief. Cummins must have thought he had won the lottery on his first day as captain. But if we bin Root, again as someone else said here, who is out there to replace him. Dont want Butler or Stokes carrying the heavy burden of that, look what it did to Flintoff and KP.
To drop Broad, when he has had more rest than Robinson/Woakes is madness and I can only hope it does as it has before and riles Broad up to perform like a man possessed. Also, I may be biased, but Crawley is in his element when the ball is coming on to him at pace and he was the only one to make any significant runs during the limited warm up time they did have. Pitches in Australia are well known for that style of batting but he didn't even make the 12.
The only thing the ECB cannot be blamed for is the shambolic warm up (or lack of) that England have had. The weather put paid to that really and no one has any control over that.
I was optimistic that the series would be 2-1 either way, but that day one will have done a lot for each teams confidence... And in Englands case it will be a negative effect.
By the way, anyone who does want to watch it, you can buy a months pass from BT rather than sign up for a contract. Dont know how much it is as I have BT for WRC so have not looked. [Post edited 8 Dec 2021 20:57]
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Good point about the dearth of quality English spinners. I don't think we have had a top notch spinner since Swann (who retired from international cricket in 2013), although Adil Rashid is excellent in the limited overs games. Pity Rashid doesn't play test cricket. |  |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| The Ashes on 13:56 - Dec 9 with 1738 views | johnhoop |
Maybe if the series result is humiliating enough, which I have little doubt that it will be, it might prompt the ECB to take Test cricket seriously.
Then again, probably not. | | | |
| The Ashes on 13:57 - Dec 9 with 1738 views | CamberleyR |
| The Ashes on 13:45 - Dec 9 by R_from_afar |
Good point about the dearth of quality English spinners. I don't think we have had a top notch spinner since Swann (who retired from international cricket in 2013), although Adil Rashid is excellent in the limited overs games. Pity Rashid doesn't play test cricket. |
As I said in my earlier post, until domestic red ball cricket stops being marginalised into the colder, wetter spring and early autumn months of the season the dearth of spinners (and also top quality genuine quick bowlers) will continue.
Who needs to pick a spinner on damp greentops in those months when a 60-70 mph trundler will be more effective? Spinners need flatter, dry and hard pitches to perfect their craft as these are the types of conditions they will face in test cricket. |  |
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| The Ashes on 15:13 - Dec 9 with 1671 views | anan21 |
| The Ashes on 23:00 - Dec 7 by numptydumpty |
It's very rare we do well in Australia.
Shame Jofra Archer not involved but bet the return of Ben Stokes is massive.
Wondering how effective Broad and Anderson will be. It's a big ask but let's hope we start off on a positive note... |
I do agree with you. | | | |
| The Ashes on 15:13 - Dec 9 with 1671 views | themodfather |
well the GAbba is the aussies ground they DO NOT LOSE at , one game in 30 years or something, india won there. it is a graveyard for tourists, that aside, i am sure we all expected a bit better from England ! maybe the mentality was, we will be 1-0 down anyway so accept it? personally i would say " go and win here and make history" show em what we are and can do, | | | |
| The Ashes on 18:31 - Dec 9 with 1571 views | R_from_afar |
| The Ashes on 13:57 - Dec 9 by CamberleyR |
As I said in my earlier post, until domestic red ball cricket stops being marginalised into the colder, wetter spring and early autumn months of the season the dearth of spinners (and also top quality genuine quick bowlers) will continue.
Who needs to pick a spinner on damp greentops in those months when a 60-70 mph trundler will be more effective? Spinners need flatter, dry and hard pitches to perfect their craft as these are the types of conditions they will face in test cricket. |
As a spin bowler myself, I'll agree that wet conditions are tricky, not least because it is very difficult to grip a wet ball tightly enough to spin it a lot.
That said, for the first few years of secondary school cricket, our home wicket was a hard, shiny plastic wicket (dropped into a grass field) which offered next to no lateral movement. Luckily, spinners have a lot of weapons in their armoury in addition to spin, like flight, arm balls, changes of pace, and simple line and length. I got quite a few wickets through just bowling at the stumps on a good length and the batters playing inadvisable shots.
Talking about not spinners not spinning the ball, I was never good enough to get much turn* and at the end of one game when, somehow, I had got six wickets, a player I knew on the opposing team came over and said: "How did you get six wickets? I don't think you turned a single one". I replied, grinning: "Yeah, you're probably right". There's a lot to be said for having a good arm ball. I always used to check which way any breeze was blowing and try to get on at the end where the breeze would suit my arm ball.
* A notable exception was a dream scenario at the end of a long, hot summer. It was another dry day, with us fielding second, but during the tea interval, there was a brief shower. Our crafty skipper said: "Get ready, you're opening the bowling". I thought he was mad but he actually had the right idea: The rock hard wicket had been very dusty before the shower but the shower turned the dust into a sticky layer in which the ball gripped beautifully. I was soon skittling the opposition out and picking up six wickets as the ball bounced and turned wickedly. 95% conditions, 5% me LOL  | |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| The Ashes on 19:43 - Dec 9 with 1530 views | denhamhoop2 |
| The Ashes on 18:31 - Dec 9 by R_from_afar |
As a spin bowler myself, I'll agree that wet conditions are tricky, not least because it is very difficult to grip a wet ball tightly enough to spin it a lot.
That said, for the first few years of secondary school cricket, our home wicket was a hard, shiny plastic wicket (dropped into a grass field) which offered next to no lateral movement. Luckily, spinners have a lot of weapons in their armoury in addition to spin, like flight, arm balls, changes of pace, and simple line and length. I got quite a few wickets through just bowling at the stumps on a good length and the batters playing inadvisable shots.
Talking about not spinners not spinning the ball, I was never good enough to get much turn* and at the end of one game when, somehow, I had got six wickets, a player I knew on the opposing team came over and said: "How did you get six wickets? I don't think you turned a single one". I replied, grinning: "Yeah, you're probably right". There's a lot to be said for having a good arm ball. I always used to check which way any breeze was blowing and try to get on at the end where the breeze would suit my arm ball.
* A notable exception was a dream scenario at the end of a long, hot summer. It was another dry day, with us fielding second, but during the tea interval, there was a brief shower. Our crafty skipper said: "Get ready, you're opening the bowling". I thought he was mad but he actually had the right idea: The rock hard wicket had been very dusty before the shower but the shower turned the dust into a sticky layer in which the ball gripped beautifully. I was soon skittling the opposition out and picking up six wickets as the ball bounced and turned wickedly. 95% conditions, 5% me LOL |
Known as Sticky of which Deadly Derek Underwood was as fine an exponent of as any bowler in history. Which used to produce mad Declarations in the past and England captains to reverse batting orders totally | | | |
| The Ashes on 00:21 - Dec 10 with 1389 views | CamberleyR |
Can't see anything but defeat by an innings here. They were just about still in the game at 236-6 but that last session yesterday took it away from them. Take the medicine and move on to the next game. | |
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| The Ashes on 01:22 - Dec 10 with 1355 views | Hooparoo |
| The Ashes on 00:21 - Dec 10 by CamberleyR |
Can't see anything but defeat by an innings here. They were just about still in the game at 236-6 but that last session yesterday took it away from them. Take the medicine and move on to the next game. |
Don’t write it off yet mate. Best time to bat at the Gabba is always days 2 and 3. No reason you couldn’t make enough runs in the second innings to make it interesting. |  |
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| The Ashes on 07:41 - Dec 10 with 1249 views | ozexile |
| The Ashes on 01:22 - Dec 10 by Hooparoo |
Don’t write it off yet mate. Best time to bat at the Gabba is always days 2 and 3. No reason you couldn’t make enough runs in the second innings to make it interesting. |
Good call Hooparoo. | | | |
| The Ashes on 08:16 - Dec 10 with 1213 views | Hooparoo |
| The Ashes on 07:41 - Dec 10 by ozexile |
Good call Hooparoo. |
Obviously, I want Australia to win but I’d rather see a proper contest like the series in England always are. | |
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| The Ashes on 08:58 - Dec 10 with 1169 views | danehoop |
Think the main issue that England are facing at the moment is lack of competitive match practice in the conditions. In some part that is due to the weather washing things out, but inter squad practice games are not a substitute for time at the crease against competitive local opposition. Day 1 was really poor and seemed to show that problem up to full. I thought the England bowling was mixed on Day 2, but there was good signs that some of the quicker bowlers were beginning to get to grips with the conditions. Batting today has also looked much less frantic and rushed, pitch is certainly settling down a little, but credit where it is due, the batsman have clearly been working hard to get acclimatised and had better sight of the bowling.
That said, I don't think the squad looks that strong, as others have picked up on, slower bowler options aren't great (but probably best we have available?) and batting line up looks fragile. If the latter clicks it will score lots of runs, but over the past 2 years that hasn't been too often an occurrence. I think possibly a lot rested with Stokes and I'm not sure he is yet is the right place physically and mentally perhaps.
It may change over the tour, but suspect this will be one of brief periods of competitiveness, in an otherwise disappointing series for England. Maybe a blessing in disguise as it would encourage some changes in squad and set up. |  |
| Never knowingly understood |
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| The Ashes on 09:13 - Dec 10 with 1144 views | TheChef |
| The Ashes on 07:41 - Dec 10 by ozexile |
Good call Hooparoo. |
Indeed
Very pleasant surprise to wake up to. A lot more batting to be done but nice to see some fight! |  |
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