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The Ashes 2021/22

I'm SO deflated! Couldn't even bring myself to post last night :mad: . Been anticipating this for so long, and we haven't fucked it completely, but all the worst fears of losing the mental game as well as the material on-field capitilation/bad-luck as well as the shocking decision-making of leaving Broad and Anderson out....

After turning it off at lunch yesterday, waking up to 147 feels like a bit of a victory tbh.

It feels like the weather will be the main thing saving us from a Mitchell Johnson series.

I think the Broad omission impacted me most of all, SO disappointing, if for nothing else than his status as a fan favourite. The Burns wicket barely registered the outraged 'wtf' comments in my cricket teams whatsapp group in comparison.

We are looking to shoot ourselves in the foot...During the anthems there were 2 different teams, you could feel the loss of 2 quick wickets in the apprehension on all the faces.

And no one fucking gloats like the Aussies. Urgh!

Not much to look forward to for these 8 long weeks. But I will continue to hope! :D :p :thumbs:
 
Chins up!

Forecast remains dodgy, so Aus could still get into trouble when they bat. Yes, leaving out Broad is weird, but Robinson was England's best bowler in helpful conditions in the summer. I suspect Woakes got the nod cos of his batting.

And yes, perhaps batting first was the wrong choice, but tbh they could, and probably should, have batted a whole lot better in the morning session and ended the shortened day on something like 150-4, game on. Sun came out in the afternoon. It only looks like the wrong choice because the top order failed in the first hour.

Most disappointing thing of the whole day for me was that first ball. Could you imagine Cook doing that in 1,000 years of test cricket? Yes, Burns is particularly vulnerable, it seems, in his first few balls, but that was a sign of a scrambled mind. Clip that nicely for four, as Cook surely would have done, and that could have been a whole different day for everyone. Frustrating.
 
Mumbles274 said:
My prediction for this series is 6-0 to the aussies
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They do actually have two quality bowlers in the squad so it could get better, particularly under lights. They're carrying the drinks though, as you do.

The decision to get rid of actual selectors does seem a bonkers one. They were doing quite well before that.
 
It's the equivalent of NZ deciding to oh, lets just rest Boult and Southee, these conditions are perfect for them so let's not play them
 
Petcha said:
It's the equivalent of NZ deciding to oh, lets just rest Boult and Southee, these conditions are perfect for them so let's not play them
Click to expand...
I don't agree with the decision, but it hasn't actually failed yet. Is all.

More generally, I don't like England's new rotation policy. It got them in a total mess in India, leaving out Anderson right after he'd just worked some total reverse-swing magic. Pick the best team available for each match, rest players through the series if they need it. Doing other than that is overthinking things imo.
 
I agree, the rotation system is stupid although the amount of cricket these guys are playing if they're T20 players is crazy. I assume there were some personal issues behind the scenes with Ed Smith (who allegedly has quite the ego) and the team management for this new setup to come into force. I don't think any other major nation has ditched selectors?
 
In the cold light of day I'm not that concerned about the low scores from the top order. They've had fuck all practice and Australia were magnificent. However, what is of concern was Australia's dominance of the pace of the match. England needed to slow things down, be stubborn, own the crease. Jonathon Trott has been working with the side but it appears his obstinacy, in restricting when the bowler can bowl has not been passed on.

The alleged debate within the camp of playing either Broad or Leach is alarming. Both should have played by dropping Woakes. Chris's probable 15 extra runs he provides over Broad is not compensation for Malfoy's terrorism of Australia's left-handers. The real world advantage of Broad and the psychological pressure it creates for key opposition players is a desperately needed asset. By not picking Broad resulted in having no option but to bat on a comedy green seamer under heavy cloud after winning toss. This surrendered the series before a ball had been bowled.

If Root and Silverwood wanted to pull the trick of winding Broad up so he has super human performance later in the series then they're fools. Whatever anger Broad feels is likely to be met with equal levels of misery which would likely inhibit the desired spark.
 
RileyOBlimey said:
In the cold light of day I'm not that concerned about the low scores from the top order. They've had fuck all practice and Australia were magnificent. However, what is of concern was Australia's dominance of the pace of the match. England needed to slow things down, be stubborn, own the crease. Jonathon Trott has been working with the side but it appears his obstinacy, in restricting when the bowler can bowl has not been passed on.

The alleged debate within the camp of playing either Broad or Leach is alarming. Both should have played by dropping Woakes. Chris's probable 15 extra runs he provides over Broad is not compensation for Malfoy's terrorism of Australia's left-handers. The real world advantage of Broad and the psychological pressure it creates for key opposition players is a desperately needed asset. By not picking Broad resulted in having no option but to bat on a comedy green seamer under heavy cloud after winning toss. This surrendered the series before a ball had been bowled.

If Root and Silverwood wanted to pull the trick of winding Broad up so he has super human performance later in the series then they're fools. Whatever anger Broad feels is likely to be met with equal levels of misery which would likely inhibit the desired spark.
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Good post. Yes, the Aussie attack is superb. Hazlewood in particular appears to have morphed into McGrath, his accuracy is ridiculous. He was even worth his weight in gold in the IPL despite not being able to bat.

It's going to be a long winter/summer.
 
The only thing I can think (leaving Broad out) is that England were trying to keep their 'powder dry' for the next test. The weather is meant to be shit for this test, so they're/we're pushing for a draw in this test and then hitting them on the day/nights in the next (when Anderson should be fit, too).
If it works, it's a master stroke. If it doesn't then, this has got 5-0/4-1 (at a push) written all over it.

Either way, it's all a bit soul destroying.
 
steveo87 said:
The only thing I can think (leaving Broad out) is that England were trying to keep their 'powder dry' for the next test. The weather is meant to be shit for this test, so they're/we're pushing for a draw in this test and then hitting them on the day/nights in the next (when Anderson should be fit, too).
If it works, it's a master stroke. If it doesn't then, this has got 5-0/4-1 (at a push) written all over it.

Either way, it's all a bit soul destroying.
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Problem with that ploy, aside from it being unbelievably negative, is that if you're angling for a draw, you bowl first. Bat first and the opposition doesn't have to make any wasted runs.

One thing I will say for the decision to bat - it was a confident thing to do. Whether or not that was foolish confidence is another matter.
 
steveo87 said:
The only thing I can think (leaving Broad out) is that England were trying to keep their 'powder dry' for the next test. The weather is meant to be shit for this test, so they're/we're pushing for a draw in this test and then hitting them on the day/nights in the next (when Anderson should be fit, too).
If it works, it's a master stroke. If it doesn't then, this has got 5-0/4-1 (at a push) written all over it.

Either way, it's all a bit soul destroying.
Click to expand...

The next one's a day/nighter which usually end in 3 days with the ball swinging like crazy after dark so he'll be busy then. But I'm sure Broady could have handled the likely four days required in Brisbane as well. Even with the weather in this test I think the Aussies will have ample time to knock em over.
 
Burns - LOL.

There. That's my first Burns LOL of the series. It won't be my last. Nothing says "England can't bat" as loud as Burns opening the batting. Burns assured of a place ahead of two people with about 1000 test wickets between them, on a green pitch.

Laughing stock. England, and Burns.
 
planetgeli said:
Burns - LOL.

There. That's my first Burns LOL of the series. It won't be my last. Nothing says "England can't bat" as loud as Burns opening the batting. Burns assured of a place ahead of two people with about 1000 test wickets between them, on a green pitch.

Laughing stock. England, and Burns.
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Got to feel a bit sorry for him. That's going to be remembered just like Harmison's wide to second slip.

Steve Harmison did lots of good things for England, but that's probably the stand-out memory of his career. Not the 2005 Ashes, not his 7-12 vs WI. :(
 
Yep Burns is garbage. An absolute roaster- back to the late 80s nadir of easily dismissed England openers. The shuffle acrioss the stumps and missing an ordinary loosener an absolute minter.

At least Haseeb Hameed looked up for it and played like a proper opener. Can only hope the goatee bearded impostor is jettisoned sooner rather than later. He looks like he's won a raffle to play in a Test Match.
 
He didn't shuffle. He threw himself across his stumps. A move that had absolutely nothing to do with the line, pace or length of the actual ball coming at him.

It was baffling. :(

ETA:

I think one of the problems with the opening partnership is that they're both nervous as hell at the start. I've watched Hameed live a couple of times and he is a bag of nervous energy. He would really benefit from the presence of someone like Cook at the other end. When I saw him bat in the summer, he looked better once he had Root to bat with.
 
Anyone know the forecast for start of play later? Is there going to be an early start at 11.30 or will it be raining?
 
Petcha said:
Good post. Yes, the Aussie attack is superb. Hazlewood in particular appears to have morphed into McGrath, his accuracy is ridiculous. He was even worth his weight in gold in the IPL despite not being able to bat.

It's going to be a long winter/summer.
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Am I allowed to go back to shitposting now?
 
I didnt accuse you of shitposting. But yeh, let's just talk about the match, there's another thread for the racism stuff.
 
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