Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
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Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 7, 2017 11:47:44 GMT
I was so nervous I literally couldn't watch the last two sessions of day 4. I watched it all unfold ball by ball on Cricbuzz text and the BBC sport blog! I just felt like as soon as I turned on the TV we'd lose a wicket. Anyhow, great resilience in that evening batting period on day 4, albeit with a slice of (overdue) luck. Great bowling earlier as well to take their batting apart. Not surprising that it unravelled on Day 5 really given the circumstances but would have been a win for the ages if they'd pulled it off but it wasn't to be.
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irishrover
Global Moderator
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Post by irishrover on Dec 7, 2017 17:51:42 GMT
I was so nervous I literally couldn't watch the last two sessions of day 4. I watched it all unfold ball by ball on Cricbuzz text and the BBC sport blog! I just felt like as soon as I turned on the TV we'd lose a wicket. Anyhow, great resilience in that evening batting period on day 4, albeit with a slice of (overdue) luck. Great bowling earlier as well to take their batting apart. Not surprising that it unravelled on Day 5 really given the circumstances but would have been a win for the ages if they'd pulled it off but it wasn't to be. Agreed-it was always likely to be too big an ask. Didn't stop me bloody well staying up till 5.30AM for it though! The break actually came at a good time for the Aussies really - allowed them to regroup, remember that they were still in the dominant position, clear their heads and then come back the next day and immediately take back the momentum. Pity, I still think we were closer to the tipping point than the end result suggests - if we'd have been able to survive the first hour then it could have gotten pretty interesting as the pressure on the Aussies would have come back with avengence. As it was it worked out as a pretty clinical effort by them. Ho-Hum - we come out of this with some kind of boost at least, let's hope we take that into Perth and record our 2nd ever win there. Hope springs eternal!
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 14, 2017 10:34:09 GMT
Terrific batting today. We could easily have folded at four down but Malan and Bairstow really stood up under immense pressure. Helped by a few dropped catches but not a lot has gone our way so far so happy to take the luck when it comes. Bravo!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2017 9:50:36 GMT
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 16, 2017 10:32:57 GMT
Yeah that didn't end well. We let Mitch Marsh push up his batting average by 7 in one day. Mitch Marsh!
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Dec 16, 2017 15:05:37 GMT
It all feels a bit sadly inevitable. Rather like the first test we end up setting ourselves a good base on the 2nd morning having done all the hard work and then fade away and give all the momentum to the Aussies. It sounds like rain may save us here but the bottom line so far has been that the Aussies have cashed in when they have built a solid base with the bat and we haven't.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 18, 2017 10:46:39 GMT
5-0 to Australia. Bookmark it. I'm just going to park this here.
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bluetornados
Predictions League
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Post by bluetornados on Dec 18, 2017 12:13:52 GMT
The 3RD TEST
Only Malan, Bairstow, Vince and Anderson (2 not out's too) can say they did their bit, Broad, Cook and Root were woeful.
Boycott & Vaughan were saying a year ago we are not settling with a side capable of winning the ashes....
Some pride has to be restored now, too late I know, but we have to stop a 5-0 drubbing.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Dec 18, 2017 13:18:01 GMT
We've had chances in all 3 tests. Ultimately we aren't scoring enough runs and our bowlers lack potency. The players on the periphery of the squad, namely Stoneman, Vince, Malan and Overton have all had decent series but our two best batsmen just haven't delivered. If Root or Cook had scored a big first innings hundred in any of the first three tests we'd probably still be in the series.
You don't need 4 genuine quicks to succeed in Australia. Australia had Harris and Siddle supplementing Johnson last time out and they weren't much quicker than our bowlers. We need to find at least one though as well as a quality spinner if we're going to win away from home. We also need to find a batting unit who can consistently score a 500 on flat pitches. I always feel England end up with 80% of par in the first innings which leaves us chasing the game. At home our bowlers are good enough to get us out of trouble, but not at away.
Anyway, bring on the months of soul searching, management and playing personnel changes. I suspect what we actually need is to play some more domestic red ball cricket on good pitches which encourage spin and fast bowling rather than pushing cricket to the margins of the season.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Dec 21, 2017 14:57:08 GMT
We've had chances in all 3 tests. Ultimately we aren't scoring enough runs and our bowlers lack potency. The players on the periphery of the squad, namely Stoneman, Vince, Malan and Overton have all had decent series but our two best batsmen just haven't delivered. If Root or Cook had scored a big first innings hundred in any of the first three tests we'd probably still be in the series. You don't need 4 genuine quicks to succeed in Australia. Australia had Harris and Siddle supplementing Johnson last time out and they weren't much quicker than our bowlers. We need to find at least one though as well as a quality spinner if we're going to win away from home. We also need to find a batting unit who can consistently score a 500 on flat pitches. I always feel England end up with 80% of par in the first innings which leaves us chasing the game. At home our bowlers are good enough to get us out of trouble, but not at away. Anyway, bring on the months of soul searching, management and playing personnel changes. I suspect what we actually need is to play some more domestic red ball cricket on good pitches which encourage spin and fast bowling rather than pushing cricket to the margins of the season. That sounds about right to me. We haven't played that badly - contrary to the off-field narrative I feel like this isn't the ominshambles of the last tour or the mismatch of the Flintoff one. We're just underpowered in those conditions. When the lights were down and the ball was swinging we showed that the gap between the teams is pretty minimal and that in English conditions we'd probably still have a decent edge over them. But to win in Australia you have to play above yourselves and we just haven't done that. You can add Broad to the senior players who have been a massive disapointment. The truth is that we have quite an average team - it's not just Australia, we don't really beat anyone away from home but we beat most teams at home (and will probably do so again v India and Pakistan this summer, although Pakistan are definitely the best set-up to challenge us in English conditions). That is the very definition of average in international cricket. I think the Aussies are quite an average team too really but in home conditions that adds up to a comfortable advantage over us. I also think timing matters - it strikes me that the Aussies had Smith in the form of his life, Lyon probably at his peak and a seam bowling unit fully fit in very good form and near to the top of their careers too. That covered the fact that they have a bit of an issue in the rest of the batting lineup. England on the other hand had 3 senior players who look like they're on the wrong side of their careers, a champion batsman in the midst of a bad run, a spinner who is injured and probably not up to it in those unfriendly conditions anyway and a backup seam attack still making its way at that level. With that in mind I feel like it could have been a lot worse but the supporting cast for England have actually done a pretty sterling job. I'm not sure this is a soul-searching throw everything away and start again moment (I wouldn't sack Bayliss and Root for example - I'm not really sure what else they could have done). Just an acknowledgement that this particular generation of the England team is probably not as good as the last 2 generations and that the hold-overs from the previous era may finally be reaching the end of the road. No disgrace, no systematic failure. But possibly we need to acknowledge the need to pass on the torch. I'd be dissapointed if the likes of Hameed, Crane, Jamie Overton, etc did not start to be phased into the side over the next year.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 23, 2017 9:54:11 GMT
We've had chances in all 3 tests. Ultimately we aren't scoring enough runs and our bowlers lack potency. The players on the periphery of the squad, namely Stoneman, Vince, Malan and Overton have all had decent series but our two best batsmen just haven't delivered. If Root or Cook had scored a big first innings hundred in any of the first three tests we'd probably still be in the series. You don't need 4 genuine quicks to succeed in Australia. Australia had Harris and Siddle supplementing Johnson last time out and they weren't much quicker than our bowlers. We need to find at least one though as well as a quality spinner if we're going to win away from home. We also need to find a batting unit who can consistently score a 500 on flat pitches. I always feel England end up with 80% of par in the first innings which leaves us chasing the game. At home our bowlers are good enough to get us out of trouble, but not at away. Anyway, bring on the months of soul searching, management and playing personnel changes. I suspect what we actually need is to play some more domestic red ball cricket on good pitches which encourage spin and fast bowling rather than pushing cricket to the margins of the season. That sounds about right to me. We haven't played that badly - contrary to the off-field narrative I feel like this isn't the ominshambles of the last tour or the mismatch of the Flintoff one. We're just underpowered in those conditions. When the lights were down and the ball was swinging we showed that the gap between the teams is pretty minimal and that in English conditions we'd probably still have a decent edge over them. But to win in Australia you have to play above yourselves and we just haven't done that. You can add Broad to the senior players who have been a massive disapointment. The truth is that we have quite an average team - it's not just Australia, we don't really beat anyone away from home but we beat most teams at home (and will probably do so again v India and Pakistan this summer, although Pakistan are definitely the best set-up to challenge us in English conditions). That is the very definition of average in international cricket. I think the Aussies are quite an average team too really but in home conditions that adds up to a comfortable advantage over us. I also think timing matters - it strikes me that the Aussies had Smith in the form of his life, Lyon probably at his peak and a seam bowling unit fully fit in very good form and near to the top of their careers too. That covered the fact that they have a bit of an issue in the rest of the batting lineup. England on the other hand had 3 senior players who look like they're on the wrong side of their careers, a champion batsman in the midst of a bad run, a spinner who is injured and probably not up to it in those unfriendly conditions anyway and a backup seam attack still making its way at that level. With that in mind I feel like it could have been a lot worse but the supporting cast for England have actually done a pretty sterling job. I'm not sure this is a soul-searching throw everything away and start again moment (I wouldn't sack Bayliss and Root for example - I'm not really sure what else they could have done). Just an acknowledgement that this particular generation of the England team is probably not as good as the last 2 generations and that the hold-overs from the previous era may finally be reaching the end of the road. No disgrace, no systematic failure. But possibly we need to acknowledge the need to pass on the torch. I'd be dissapointed if the likes of Hameed, Crane, Jamie Overton, etc did not start to be phased into the side over the next year. I think you've both got that pretty much spot on. There are definitely grounds for encouragement in this series, unlike some previous whitewashes. If even a few of our top line players had been able to perform (I'm looking at you Stuart Broad, Joe Root and Alastair Cook) then we'd have been in this series up to our necks - because the lesser players have stood up pretty well. But at key moments we've been found wanting.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
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Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 25, 2017 0:50:52 GMT
Starc out for the Boxing Day test but all a little immaterial now. They've struggled to get results on the G at shield matches recently so word is they're going to leave this wicket a little greener too.
Jimmy still taking potshots at their bowling attack, he does love to spice it up a bit. I can imagine he'd now be pretty keen to finish his career on a high in the next Ashes series in England but presumably it's just going to be a step too far.
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Post by warehamgas on Dec 26, 2017 11:23:43 GMT
Have been away out of internet coverage for a few weeks so out of the loop a bit. Watching this morning seemed to me that the sooner the series is over the better for the England players. I thought it was an Australian thing bowling people out only to see it was a no ball. Obviously not! The Aussies have won the big moments and their bowlers are far better in the conditions as were their batsmen. Lots of positives, Mark Stoneman, Bairstow, even James Vince has done ok, Craig Overton. But they won the big occasions and turned into big scores and with Steve Smith have the current best batsman in the world, although Virat Kohli might argue. Might sound strange but I hope we don’t get a wholesale clear out of players because we don’t need one. Cook has been disappointing but blimey we’ve struggled finding one opener let’s not turn it into a search for two. Come May and June in different conditions our team will be winning again. They’re not excuses but whereas for the first time, and at the right time for them, Australia have had Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood fit we lost Finn, Roland Jones and Mark Wood. All bowlers who could have worried the Aussies esp Finn with a bit of extra pace. Having seen a lot of Jamie Overton at Somerset who is a yard or two faster than Craig even he has been a miss and a year ago would have been the most likely of the brothers to play for England. The main issues facing England are no different really than those they faced before the tour started. Long term finding replacements for Anderson and Broad, knowing that overseas Moeen Ali is not a good enough spinner and we need a good spinner to do his work. I think Stoneman has done enough to have earned the right to be Cooks partner for the foreseeable future so that is one problem that imo has been resolved. The last point I would make is that some of this has been self inflicted. Why is Ben Stokes able to play cricket in New Zealand but not for England in Australia? Is there a higher moral expectation to play cricket in England rather than New Zealand? I understand that many will disagree with me but until he has been found guilty then he remains innocent and as such is innocent. I understand the wheels of justice grind very slowly but for the ECB saying it might be 8-12 months before it is resolved is a horrendous indictment upon our justice system. I suspect there was a need to collect between 20-50 statements, if that, from witnesses and then the powers that be in the CPS decide if a case is possible. Why is it, has it, taken so long? The ECB and Strauss should be looking at what is best for English cricket and the one player we really needed was a combative Ben Stokes. Ponting was right Root has looked a bit lost at times without Stokes to be the combative side of England facing up to Australia. No one else, except Broad, is likely to be returning fire with fire and we know what might have happened if Broad had done so. The Aussies hate him after not walking some years ago so he was always going to keep a low profile. Without Ben Stokes we have been bullied and have allowed it to happen. Had Stokes been there I’m sure he would have given similar back. Looking back at my predictions I’m both right and wrong. Each has been close but in the end it might be 5-0, 4-0 or 4-1 but in each match for three days it has been close. After this morning, not likely to be 2-3!
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 26, 2017 22:45:06 GMT
On the train to Melbourne. Looking forward to seeing the Smith double century.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 27, 2017 2:07:42 GMT
Great first session. Ball a bit slow coming on to the bat which has helped our bowlers.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 27, 2017 2:37:04 GMT
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 27, 2017 8:40:31 GMT
Couldn't have asked for a much better day than that to be honest. Aussies skittled for 7-70 odd with three chopping on. Then a terrific, gritty and patient Alastair Cook century. A 70K crowd, 35 degree weather, mid-strength flowing and a couple of pints in my old stamping ground after the game.
Well played boys, well played!
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Post by warehamgas on Dec 27, 2017 9:19:15 GMT
Just spoken to my son who is there. He said it was a much better day, obviously! He was there for day one as well and he said the most exciting thing to happen from his point of view was seeing a gashead in the quarters at the match. Well done to that man! 😀
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Dec 27, 2017 10:53:08 GMT
Couldn't have asked for a much better day than that to be honest. Aussies skittled for 7-70 odd with three chopping on. Then a terrific, gritty and patient Alastair Cook century. A 70K crowd, 35 degree weather, mid-strength flowing and a couple of pints in my old stamping ground after the game. Well played boys, well played! You lucky sod! Sounds like the best day of the series to attend so far from an Englishman's perspective. I hope we can push on tomorrow and score 500 and at the very least ensure we avoid the whitewash.
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Captain Jayho
Andy Tillson
Straight outta burrington...
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 472
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Post by Captain Jayho on Dec 27, 2017 11:01:53 GMT
Couldn't have asked for a much better day than that to be honest. Aussies skittled for 7-70 odd with three chopping on. Then a terrific, gritty and patient Alastair Cook century. A 70K crowd, 35 degree weather, mid-strength flowing and a couple of pints in my old stamping ground after the game. Well played boys, well played! You lucky sod! Sounds like the best day of the series to attend so far from an Englishman's perspective. I hope we can push on tomorrow and score 500 and at the very least ensure we avoid the whitewash. Fear not, there's still plenty of time for us to capitulate to 250 all out... Was a great day though. Nearly welled up when Cook got his ton at the end. Good of Steve Smith to gift it to him with his last over buffet mind you!
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