The Ashes 2015

[Mogden]

Knuckle down, yes head towards 400/500. Play as if the Aussies still have a very good chance. Cockiness is the danger word for tomorrow. I'm assuming we'll be out by declaration or play tomorrow then it'll be a steady knockoff of wickets til they all tumble.

An equally poor performance from them tomorrow and I forsee a close to end or end of the game. But only if we don't get cocky.

 

[Mogden]

Incidentally is 2 days the shortest ever Ashes match barring off for bad weather?

 

[brogdale]

 

[SpookyFrank]

A mate just rang me up asking if I wanted a spare ticket for Trent Bridge tomorrow.

I think this is the happiest I've ever been

 

[JTG]

I want 600+

Grind em into the dirt

 

[paulhackett]

Incidentally is 2 days the shortest ever Ashes match barring off for bad weather?

I wouldn't think so? Perhaps in the modern era of 5 day matches but 19th century matches would have finished in 2 days? I imagine the last 2 day Test may have been England West Indies at Lord's in 2000? The 1878 England Australia match (not recognised as a Test) finished in 4 hours. Spofforth and Boyle ripped through England twice in an afternoon.

 

[Teaboy]

I want 600+

Grind em into the dirt

Yeah, just bat as long as possible. There's so much time in the game left so just aim to bat once.

That being said England's lower middle order are very aggressive and crease occupation is not something that concerns them unduly so I can see Oz batting at some point today.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Is there much virtue at all in declaring today? Only thing that occurs to me (a right novice) is that claiming all 10 wickets would give them a little more spirit than if we denied them the chance. Other than that...?

 

[The Octagon]

I think we might see a few useful cameos from the likes of Stokes and Ali, with hopefully Root getting a daddy hundred before making them bat around mid-afternoon. Knackered fielders make nervy batsmen.

Wouldn't strain ourselves to finish it today though, if we're still batting by the close I won't mind.

 

[Teaboy]

Is there much virtue at all in declaring today? Only thing that occurs to me (a right novice) is that claiming all 10 wickets would give them a little more spirit than if we denied them the chance. Other than that...?

Well, there were some suggesting yesterday that England should have faced one ball and then declared just to rub their noses in it, but I think that would fallen into the lack of respect category.

I see no point at all in declaring today because of the amount of time left to play. Keep them out in the field as long as possible and exhaust them physically and mentally. There is also the chance (albeit extraordinarily unlikely) that if England declare with say a 500 lead that a couple of the aussie batsman get stuck in and England find themselves having to chase a small total on a wearing pitch.

Bat as long as possible and bat them out of the game, there are few things more demoralising than an innings defeat, as we English fans know all too well.

 

[Santino]

Keep batting but keep an eye on the weather - if it looks like there's going to be a couple of hours of cloud cover in the afternoon and there's already a 400+ run lead they might as well take advantage of the conditions.

 

[Lord Camomile]

There is also the chance (albeit extraordinarily unlikely) that if England declare with say a 500 lead that a couple of the aussie batsman get stuck in and England find themselves having to chase a small total on a wearing pitch.

There is that contrary part of me that would take a perverse glee if Australia were to somehow miraculously draw this match (not win ) by batting slow and steady and strangling the time out for us to beat them

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Is there much virtue at all in declaring today? Only thing that occurs to me (a right novice) is that claiming all 10 wickets would give them a little more spirit than if we denied them the chance. Other than that...?

No need to declare at all. There's 4 days left with no rain forecast except for a bit of drizzle on day 5. What we should do is put 600 odd on the board, we really do need to keep our boots on their throat and keep adding pressure to it. If we do that it'll scar 'em for a long time to come. There's nothing disrespectful about it it's just domination. It's no different to what they would do and have done before.

 

[Teaboy]

Keep batting but keep an eye on the weather - if it looks like there's going to be a couple of hours of cloud cover in the afternoon and there's already a 400+ run lead they might as well take advantage of the conditions.

Unless rain is forecast then why bother? Why even give them a break? All they want to do now is get off the field as quick as possible, keep them out there, make them suffer, ram home the point they dropped a bowler and now have to bowl part timers. Mitchell Johnson is already beginning to break again, last time England did for him it took him years to get it back, this time he hasn't got the time. When they're down etc etc

We could still be batting at tea tomorrow and have 7 sessions to bowl them out, no modern team can bat for over two days let alone this aussie team.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Is there much virtue at all in declaring today? Only thing that occurs to me (a right novice) is that claiming all 10 wickets would give them a little more spirit than if we denied them the chance. Other than that...?

What the others said. Today's a great opportunity for the team to just bat with no pressure - scoreboard, time or anything else. Just try and steadily pile on as many runs as possible.

The aggressive declaration is the first (and often only) resort of the armchair tactical genius.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

I've been posting several sarcastic comments on Facebook about Extras being a bold new addition to the Australian side, how the half century was a real team effort and so on, all in a bid to get a rise out of my Australian relatives. They haven't breathed a word in response

 

[Lord Camomile]

Yesterday Alastair Cook came out, spent five minutes looking at the pitch and then went back to the dressing room. The England team then came out and played a relaxed game of football.

Are they allowed to play football on a match pitch?!

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Couple of early boundaries from Mark Wood. Nothing like a good innings from the nightwatchman to really rub it in.

 

[Teaboy]

Are they allowed to play football on a match pitch?!

Its better then using it as a urinal.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Its better then using it as a urinal.

For a second I misread that as funeral, and counted it as a dig against the Aus

Ah bugger, Root

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Nightwatchman Mark Wood up past the highest Aussie scorer. On this evidence he'd open for them.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Just Stokes, Buttler, Moeen and Stuart Broad (who presumably feels like he could walk on water at the moment). Pretty much into the tail then, Australia.

 

[JTG]

Are they allowed to play football on a match pitch?!

You can do anything you like on the outfield. Not so much the square

Anyway, enough of the talk of declarations, piss-takey or otherwise. We destroy them by batting for as long as possible, then we leave them two days plus to survive in hopeless circumstances. Then we win. We do it exactly the way they'd do it to us - not by disrespecting them, trying to do it in record time etc etc but by long, steady domination

 

[Lord Camomile]

Anyway, enough of the talk of declarations, piss-takey or otherwise. We destroy them by batting for as long as possible, then we leave them two days plus to survive in hopeless circumstances. Then we win. We do it exactly the way they'd do it to us - not by disrespecting them, trying to do it in record time etc etc but by long, steady domination

From what I gather, the England cricket team are much like most other English sports teams in that they're not very good at dominating and hammering home an advantage, so it would be as good for England from that point of view as dispiriting the Ozzies.

We don't seem to be wanting to hang around though

 

[Ponyutd]

It's just extremely nice when someone else is the laughing stock.....for a change

 

[Santino]

Australia have mopped up the tail. Just the middle order to get rid of now.

 

[twentythreedom]

Fuck, I was at sea all day yesterday and missed the excitement

Fucking incredible figures

Crush the aussies, grind their faces into the dirt

 

[Teaboy]

This morning is why all talk of batting all day or declaring is irrelevant, this England team only have one gear at the moment. England will be bowled out and the aussies will be batting today, it just depends on when.

 

[Lord Camomile]

See, this is just getting the Australians' tail up! Should have declared and not given them the chance!

 

[MrSki]

Lucky to have a lead of 300 at this rate.