Cricket

[RobertT]

Trouble is, we go 2.0 here, which at the moment is looking likely, then you could say that’s series over.

Lets be honest, the squad is not much different to 2021.  While it's frustrating to see wickets tumble, they did back then as well but for a lot less runs.  We didn't suddenly find a bunch of world class batsmen overnight, we just gave them a way of getting 50% more runs from the same number of balls they still face each innings.  Australia are just a little bit better in each department, so can handle us getting 300-350 in quick fashion without needing to panic or change their own approach.  They know they'll likely chip that score off.

[Posh Red]

How many do we think Australia need to take the game beyond England?

[Nemo]

How many do we think Australia need to take the game beyond England?

England like fourth innings targets, they've made an art of it. I think Aus want 350+ lead to feel comfortable, maybe more without Lyon.

[Nemo]

Labuschagne plum lbw and we don't review because Broad thinks everything is out so he just gets ignored now. It's not going well.

[Nomoreheroes]

Labuschagne plum lbw and we don't review because Broad thinks everything is out so he just gets ignored now. It's not going well.

It was going down leg!

But no, it’s not going well!

[Nemo]

It was going down leg!

But no, it’s not going well!

Not that one, the one that was out.

[Wobbly Bob]

Much like football teams that are ill equipped to play out from the back & the opposition can just bide their time apply a press & wait for the mistakes to come.
Maybe Bazball is in need of a touch of pragmatism when it comes to an Ashes series?
Someone that will tie down one end when batting and just score at a more traditional rate for test cricket & the other end can just hammer away.

Were it not for an extremely dodgy elbow then it would have been fun to see the Aussies hopping around on the purpose built low slow pitches.
Hopefully the return of Wood will make a difference.

Series not over yet, but England might need to bat this one out in order to save the day.
Not sure that it's in the current DNA though.

[swindon74]

It was disappointing to see root get sucked into the ‘Let’s try smash the fuck out of anything short’ game yesterday. He doesn’t need to change his game! Just duck and weave and they will soon go back to bowling full again! We need to find a balance between attacking and being a little bit more sensible when needed!

[RobertT]

We don't have anyone, other than Root, able to do that though.  The prior year or two showed that our ability to play the regular Test game had fallen to Atherton/Hussein captaincy period lows.  Look at Crawley when he isn't free to just hit the thing - he gets 10-20 and nicks one to the Keeper.  At least this way he gets 30 or 40 before doing the same.

Root is the only one who struggles at times with the new approach, he should indeed just do him, he always had a decent strike rate anyway.  Any innings where he has just settled into a rhythm, he has looked great.  Whenever he has gone chasing he has looked at the same level as the rest of them.

I think we have to stick with it and find a spinner, maybe another decent batsman comes onto the scene in the next year or so.  Stokes is a conundrum - he has always been a better short form player, his average as a batsman is meh and he can't bowl for long periods.  He'd barely scratch into the team on stats - BUT, Root showed what a big difference there can be in the way the game is played under a great vs poor captain.  Can we not just pick someone else and then sub a fielder off for Stokes when we are bowling?

[Robinz]

Simple facts... Brendan MaCuĺlam style of test match  cricket can and is successful against teams like Pakistan Sri Lanka and lreland. Even possibly South Africa. However the two heavy weights namely Australia and India will get a handle over these tactics 9 times out of ten.
Yesterday was a terrible day .Brooks and Bairstows dismissals showed a  lack of experience for red ball cricket. Sorry Brendan test  match cricket is 15 sessions and you generally you need to win athe major majority  to win the game.
Bazball is a game of chance and a gamble.. A game played by teams that generally can't match it with the true professionals of test match cricket.

[Nemo]

We beat India playing like this last summer. They're clearly not simple facts, they're your opinion and that's fine.

We weren't beating Australia playing 'normal' cricket either. It's all a bit Kevin Keegan plays football - naïve in the extreme, but suddenly lots of people seem to think we were anything other than below average playing 'normally' with basically the same team. Can we improve? Of course, but not by burning everything to the ground and starting again.

Three and a half tests to go. Let's hold off on the funeral just yet and give them a chance to turn things round.

[Ides of March]

What I will say is that I think they have bought in to having to take Bazball to the extreme just because it’s the ashes. Pre that final test in New Zealand, the approach was built on calculated risks and smart, aggressive cricket. If they had to sit in, they would. So far this series, they’ve shown that they’ll just go for it regardless, and the only reason I can think of doing that, is because they’ve fallen into the trap of getting caught on the ashes hype train.

[Nomoreheroes]

There is Bazball and there is stupidity.

Brook's exit was stupidity. Root needs to calm down. He was pumped up when bowling in the first innings and batted stupidly. Being given a let off from the no ball should have focussed him. The collapse  was pathetic.

The Aussie will bounce everyone in the second innings. I hope the England batsmen have the nous to leave those and punish the bad balls.

[dalumpimunki]

This game is not over. There are going to be days like yesterday if you adopt the kind of approach to the game that England have. But it is working more often than not.

Hearing Vaughn moaning on about it over the last few days is becoming increasingly annoying. His "it can't just be about entertainment, it's about winning"  line would fly a bit better if England in their first 14 tests under Stokes hadn't already racked up about half the number of wins that they managed under Vaughn in more than 50 games. Yes Michael fans do want to see England win. They really don't want to see 50% of tests end in a draw, and to be clearly heading for a draw within 3 days of play. You know like they did when you were in charge.

[Nomoreheroes]

This game is not over. There are going to be days like yesterday if you adopt the kind of approach to the game that England have. But it is working more often than not.

Hearing Vaughn moaning on about it over the last few days is becoming increasingly annoying. His "it can't just be about entertainment, it's about winning"  line would fly a bit better if England in their first 14 tests under Stokes hadn't already racked up about half the number of wins that they managed under Vaughn in more than 50 games. Yes Michael fans do want to see England win. They really don't want to see 50% of tests end in a draw, and to be clearly heading for a draw within 3 days of play. You know like they did when you were in charge.

Pretty sure it is over! Over 260 ahead with 8 wickets remaining and neither batsman looking in trouble.