The Ashes 2023

[Idaho]

Watching the cricket when I should be mopping the kitchen floor. I'm actually starting to feel more tempted by the mopping.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

England look cooked here. Smith dismissing Anderson for three fours in an over. Nothing beating the bat so far. Making Anderson look very ordinary.

 

[Idaho]

Bairstow has had a few blunders this morning....

If we'd only just decided to have a boring 90 minutes on Thursday. Soak up some time and calories from their bowlers. They were starting to get desperate and we gifted them.

It's great to have a strategy of aggression, boldness and positivity going into a series or a match, or even a day - but tactics are about doing what the opponents don't want.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Khawaja tried to gift England a wicket. Smith looking very untroubled by the short stuff.

I suspect that Aus will be ruthless here and bat England completely out of the game if they can. Already 270 ahead. They could be 450 ahead by tea.

 

[pbsmooth]

Bazball does at least mean they will want to put a few more runs on than they might have done last time around. Make or break for England's batting to come.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Plus they're without Lyon. And they're 1-0 up in the series. I can see them giving England a chase of 500 or 110 overs to survive for a draw. There's no shame in a draw. With no rain forecast, it would be a fantastic result from here. It will be interesting to see what England do.

And as I write, what's happening here???

 

[pbsmooth]

Do well to get to 500!

 

[steveo87]

It will be interesting to see what England do.

Something inevitably batshit...

 

[Wilf]

After we lost the last test, I think McCullum (or perhaps Stokes) said we'll go at them even harder in the next one. Wonder what the approach will be for the 3rd test, coming out in Hannibal Lecter masks?

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Seventy eight miles per hour

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Cracking catch from Duckett mind.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Calling it now - carrot dangled run chase of about 350, 4 sessions.

Aussies look to strangle the run rate by continuing the short ball barrage. England look to score quickly and take it on. 5 down before halfway to the target. Belatedly England stop taking the bait and the last couple of recognised batsmen trickle ever closer as the Aussies realise they'll have to actually bowl somewhere near the stumps to take the wickets.

Then the tailenders try and smack their way to victory as time draws short, last 4 wickets for under 30 runs and about 80 short.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

WTF is Lyon playing at?

Is it a cunning ruse?

 

[Tones]

Surprised at Cummins. Putting Lyon in shows a lack of confidence in the total they've set, which can only boost England's morale.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Surprised at Cummins. Putting Lyon in shows a lack of confidence in the total they've set, which can only boost England's morale.

15 more runs. Who knows how important they will be.

I reckon the calculation is that Lyon's tour is over anyway. My guess is that Lyon himself asked to bat.

 

[Wilf]

Now England, ideally, don't do anything stupid...

 

[Wilf]

15 more runs. Who knows how important they will be.

I reckon the calculation is that Lyon's tour is over anyway. My guess is that Lyon himself asked to bat.

Doesn't suggest the team doctor has the power to override the team management.

 

[Petcha]

What is the actual point of umpires these days? I mean AI does it all. We could even read the light very easily with a sensor in the stumps.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

i can feel a



coming on

 

[Wilf]

For all the bad decisions by England in this match, Aus are just winning this by being better.

 

[planetgeli]

Pope.

How much longer?

 

[steveo87]

Still...footy preseason starts next week....

 

[pbsmooth]

This is the sort of bowling attack England thought they'd picked.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Good game to win from here

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Good game to win from here

A masterstroke in psychology from England. Imagine how down the Aussies will be when Duckett, Stokes and Bairstow knock off over 300 runs between them. Plus they've never seen anything like a day 5, 4th innings Nighthawk before.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Doesn't suggest the team doctor has the power to override the team management.

You’re thinking of Star Trek

 

[Wilf]

You’re thinking of Star Trek

'You cannae change the laws of cricket Ben'

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Twat. No need to go after that, with such a half arsed shot.

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Cheating slag Starc

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Correct decision. I can see how there was doubt with the Smith catch off Root, although I think he had fingers underneath the ball. But Starc clearly steadied himself by rubbing the ball on the grass. Not out.