Cricket

[Leysy Days]

The other thing England need to do is get Foakes into the side with the gloves.

Jonny can stay as a batsman, probably opening.

You can't have a keeper missing 4 fairly regulation chances.

 

[Carter]

Happy to be educated on the merits of Bazball. Good posting Posh, Jazz and others.

But I still think England are pulling the wrong rein here.

Broad and Anderson have *consistently* troubled our best batsmen on their home decks with good, honest seam and sideways. Been happening for years.

Conversely, English batsmen are raised on seam and sideways.

Why on earth would you ask for a flat, fast track in the name of Bazball? Just doesn’t make sense.

Considering how tight and uncertain the Aussies were, a greenish wicket would’ve done us. Cold.

In any case, Australia have the first blow and I see them going on from here.

England will need a performance for the ages to win at Lords.

 

[MD Jazz]

Yeah true it wasn't swinging a lot, but Broad was still beating the bat regularly enough outside off to warrant a second slip against a number 10.

Personally think the short ball approach was a better chance of getting Lyon. He couldn't stop hooking!!

 

[mrposhman]

The other thing England need to do is get Foakes into the side with the gloves.

Jonny can stay as a batsman, probably opening.

You can't have a keeper missing 4 fairly regulation chances.

Those 4 missed chances were probably game defining in the end.

 

[MD Jazz]

How much is hype and how much is substance in terms of actually playing cricket is an interesting debate, but regardless BB has been a success IMO. Generated interest and made the Poms more competitive. If BB wasn't a thing and they played 'normal' we would have won by a bigger margin.

Or a draw would have ensued. As it did often with Root at the helm.

 

[tigersnake]

Why on earth would you ask for a flat, fast track in the name of Bazball? Just doesn’t make sense.

Because they would have to face Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood on it, and Lyon on the last day if they lose the toss.

 

[spook]

I hope they ask for another flat deck at Lord's, we win the toss and Smith and Marnus put on 400.

 

[tigersnake]

Or a draw would have ensued. As it did often with Root at the helm.

Maybe. Who knows? My view is the flat deck and the surprise element of encountering BB first-up evened things up. But yeah, the flat deck with a conservative approach could have been a boring draw, or a boring, but great, easy win by us.

The only way is up for the Aussies IMO, Smith and Marnus won't both fail again, Starc in, hard to see the pitch being that dead again, hopefully we win a toss or two, poms will have to lift to win.

 

[Carter]

Because they would have to face Cummins, Starc and Hazelwood on it, and Lyon on the last day if they lose the toss.

Sure.

I just think their advantage lay in what Broad and co. have done to us in the past

I suppose whichever way you cut it, they probably privately concluded that we had the edge in both batting and bowling and acted accordingly

 

[tigersnake]

Been thinking, on chants. Now don't get me wrong, Poms chant, we don't (other than Lillee, Dusty etc), and thats fine. I'd never advocate or want to get into a chanting duel with the Poms if I was at the ground, they invented it, and we're outnumbered.

HOWEVER, I do think a couple of well-timed chants could deliver some rewards. For example, soon after the winning runs were hit, and the Poms were making for the exits, I would have unleashed the following, single handedly if need be, I can project well:

(To the tune of Guantanamera)
One Paddy Cummins,
There's only Paddy Cummins
One Paddy Carr-mins
There's only one Paddy Cummins.....etc.

Another one that could get a reaction, to the tune of Waltzing Matilda:
Usman Kawaja, Usman Kawaja,
You'll come a Usman Kawaja with me,
And we sang as we watched as we waited 'till he hit a ton,
You'll come a Usman Kawaja with me!

 

[tigerman]

I bet Broad and the other quicks, will be calling for a better track at Lords. They'll be cooked before the series is over if they keep getting dished up roads. The England quicks bowled 45 more overs than the Aussies, the equivalent of about I & 1/2 sessions

It can't be easy having to bowl on every day of a test match, which is what the England bowlers had to do, granted they only bowled 4 overs on day one.

Actually the more I think about it, more roads England, more roads, the Aussies will grind ya quicks into the ground.

 

[bigwow]

Ollie Robinson is an annoying, arrogant *smile*, for a bloke who's achieved 3 parts of *smile* all.

 

[year of the tiger]

My question was 'was it that different to the 05 Edgbaston test?' You said Check the run rates, of the Edgbaston Test, I did that, and to even my surprise, they were remarkably similar:

first innins England 05 - 5.14, 23 - 5.03
second inns England 05 - 3.49 23 - 4.11

first inns Aus 05 - 4.05, 23 - 3.32
second inns Aus 05 - 4.32, 23 - 3.04

There is no definitive difference there, there are elements you could put down to Bazball sure, slower Aussie rate is main one, but you could also put them down to the flat pitch or the different nature of the Poms bowling attacks, real pace and hooping swing in 05, v regulation middle pace in 23.

A lot of the hype, an I thought your point, were assuming the Poms run rate is through the roof, this suggests not really.

as for the rest of the series, lets see how we go, we can't compare yet.

Hype, gimmick, I agree.

Test cricket was on the nose so lets just call it something different and let the masses know that this is not test cricket as we knew it, it’s BAAAAAAAZZZZBAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL.

I am actually glad the poms are throwing everything at it, they may think that this gives them a mental advantage, who knows but a more attacking cricket is the way to go and as other posters have correctly corrected me, Viv Richard’s and Slater were doing this individually and Ponting, Gilchrist as captains were doing it.

I am now really interested to see how the series pans out, there will be momentum swings over a 5 test series, can the poms hold this ‘new’ tone or will they crack and revert to normal, will the local crowds and media let them hold the course if they start to see the urn slip away - interesting times.

7 days ago I didn’t even realise this series was on, now I am engaged which is good for cricket.

 

[DjJazzyPete]

the English cricket team remind me of Geelong ..

incredible win by the baggy green, and test cricket at it's finest..

Khawaja over 200 runs in total - he won it for us .. Cummins at the end and his bowling spell yesterday ..

Yeah I like the English cricket team about the same level as I Like Geelong FC both

 

[Carter]

As things stand now Starc for Boland a no brainer for the second test

Was happy with a consistent seam attack at Edgbaston but of course rotations are critical over five tests and also, I concede the balance wasn’t quite right.

Boland did little wrong except have his consistent length exploited at times. His night watchman work was rock solid.

Also, we need Starc to blast a wicket or two as Cummins was the only one who could blast a wicket in that first test.

Cummins. Can blast wickets (eg that searing yorker) can get nicks, can lead with calm, collaborative authority, can save matches with the bat.

Is there anything this man cannot do?

 

[Brodders17]

For all the talk of a flat pitch, the test ended in a result on Day 5- that makes it an almost perfect pitch- at least between these 2 teams.

Hopefully the rest of the series is similar.

 

[tigerman]

Just looking at the scorecard, Australia bowled 4 no-balls to England's 23, with the closeness of the test, those 23 runs were very handy.
Also, i wonder how many runs were scored off the extra 23 balls that England had to bowl. Broad was the main offender, he bowled 11 for the test, and also gave Uzzi a life on 112 when he bowled him off a no-ball, Uzzi went on to make 141.

Bowling no-balls is poor cricket, and in this test it cost England the test match.

 

[tigertim]

 

[IanG]

Interesting article about the current Australian team:

Treated like adults, Australia’s cricketers now play like them

Since Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald were placed together as captain and coach last year, they have built an atmosphere of empowerment and adult decisions among their players.

www.theage.com.au

 

[year of the tiger]

I still think Bazball is a gimmick in name only.

According to Ric Finlay - the Aus statistician

Australia scored 668 runs, lost 18 wickets, hit 68 fours and 11 sixes
England scored 666 runs, lost 18 wickets, hit 67 fours and 7 sixes.

Thats as even as it gets and surprisingly, despite the ‘hype’ of bazball, Australia hit more boundaries.

The only key statistical difference is that Australia faced 384 more balls, that’s 64 more overs ‘ouch’

So, the balanced, well informed person would conclude there was no way the poms would win with the ‘devils number‘ of runs in 666.

Seriously, we can’t also underestimate the extra workload the pommie bowlers endured - not good for an aging bowling attack and a condensed series.