The Ashes 2.

[cheeky]

Wasted 40 minute walk to the oval that was, just in time to see Monty go! Barmy Army were good though. Thoroughly outnumbered, we'd just lost, but were still 10 times louder than the Aussies with their one song.

[Bycarsbill]

Johnson is not bowling straight. Watch in slowmo the balls that bowled Cooke, Broad, Anderson and Panesar, the movement is there and subtle but at >90mph together with the angle its tough to deal with. Extreme pace alone is hard to deal with, add to that movement, however subtle, and the angle of a left armer and its mega problematic.

 

Pieterson is a big disappointment, Prior is out of form.

 

Both Prior & Pietersen scored 50's at long last in the 2nd innings--let's hope that will give them an element of confidence, gooness knows we need every on of the top order to start firing again--preferably batting in pairs. So far, we've seen too many clusters of wickets falling in quick succession!

[Boslem Boy]

Sorry for laboring this point but it is moving and the movement is late which is also a huge factor. If you look at the ball that got Cooke in particular, it angles into him and straightens at the last split second, its just impossible to react/adjust at that speed. Given the max width of a cricket bat is 4.25" it doesn't have to move much, especially late, to beat/take the edge.

 

I'm a huge "Sir Geoffrey" fan but I can't agree with him on that one. Virtually no batsmen in the world could stand up to the great fast bowlers, the likes of Holding, Marshall, Garner, Lillee, Thompson etc in their prime, it was more about the quality, speed and hostility of the bowling rather than bottle. Tongue in cheek, Boycott's exile from test cricket co-incided with Lillee, Thomson and Holding in their prime so perhaps he knows more than most about bottle although he did face the West Indies in the late 70's.

 

I agree with Boycott about Johnson & the Aussies.

 

Boycott says our top order are playing as though it's a 50 overs match and trying to hit everything for 4's & 6's. The best way to play Johnson (whether he is bowling straight or as you say with movement) is to block! If the ball is wide of the wicket you leave well alone. When Johnson bowls a poor delivery then play it. As he rightly says, it really is that simple.

 

Johnson is bowling at 90mph but he rarely delivers a jaffa so England need to block or leave the majority of what he bowls. In 4/5 overs he will tire and his stint will be over.

 

Lets not forget Boycott was facing deliveries of 100mph with most of his career spent without a helmet. I don't think Johnson is half the bowler of say Michael Holding, yet Boycott's average was just shy of 50 against world class fast bowlers. Johnson is nothing like as fast or as accurate as the legends, so regardless of your explanation of the ball turning in a split second etc etc, Boycott has seen it, lived it and dealt with it and he thinks England's batsmen are lacking quality rather than it being the brillance of Johnson's bowling being world class that has caused problems.

 

I don't think the Aussies will have it all their own way if Cook & Co take Boycott's advice and get back to the basics and defend. Even if we lose the 3rd test it won't be a hammering like the first two.

[Paul6754]

I agree with Boycott about Johnson & the Aussies.

 

Boycott says our top order are playing as though it's a 50 overs match and trying to hit everything for 4's & 6's. The best way to play Johnson (whether he is bowling straight or as you say with movement) is to block! If the ball is wide of the wicket you leave well alone. When Johnson bowls a poor delivery then play it. As he rightly says, it really is that simple.

 

Johnson is bowling at 90mph but he rarely delivers a jaffa so England need to block or leave the majority of what he bowls. In 4/5 overs he will tire and his stint will be over.

 

Lets not forget Boycott was facing deliveries of 100mph with most of his career spent without a helmet. I don't think Johnson is half the bowler of say Michael Holding, yet Boycott's average was just shy of 50 against world class fast bowlers. Johnson is nothing like as fast or as accurate as the legends, so regardless of your explanation of the ball turning in a split second etc etc, Boycott has seen it, lived it and dealt with it and he thinks England's batsmen are lacking quality rather than it being the brillance of Johnson's bowling being world class that has caused problems.

 

I don't think the Aussies will have it all their own way if Cook & Co take Boycott's advice and get back to the basics and defend. Even if we lose the 3rd test it won't be a hammering like the first two.

 

If what you've written is what Boycott has said then I agree. It's poor shot selection rather than a lack of bottle that's been the 'cause of England's batting problems together with the dropped chances in the 1st innings. In the 2nd innings, four batsmen were out hooking/pulling, the riskiest shot of all. Joe Root showed how to play Johnson in the 2nd innings although he did play and miss many times (the ball doing too much/too quick) and he didn't attempt to play the short ball.

 

Most of Johnson's deliveries were clocked between 150kph to 154kmp (=93 to 96mph) so he is right up there in speed, also he's a left armer which is an awkward line for the batsmen and they don't face many left armers who bowl at that pace. I agree Johnson isn't half the bowler of Holding, but in these last two tests he's been at the very top of his game, lets hope he loses it in Perth.

[For Us All]

Isn't Perth,Johnson's home track?If so we can expect pretty much of the same,with England having a poor record there and only ever winning once.

[Boslem Boy]

If what you've written is what Boycott has said then I agree. It's poor shot selection rather than a lack of bottle that's been the 'cause of England's batting problems together with the dropped chances in the 1st innings. In the 2nd innings, four batsmen were out hooking/pulling, the riskiest shot of all. Joe Root showed how to play Johnson in the 2nd innings although he did play and miss many times (the ball doing too much/too quick) and he didn't attempt to play the short ball.

 

Most of Johnson's deliveries were clocked between 150kph to 154kmp (=93 to 96mph) so he is right up there in speed, also he's a left armer which is an awkward line for the batsmen and they don't face many left armers who bowl at that pace. I agree Johnson isn't half the bowler of Holding, but in these last two tests he's been at the very top of his game, lets hope he loses it in Perth.

 

I don't know if you live in the Uk but the media were quoting Boycott all day on Monday (BBC News/text) I heard his interview in part on Radio 5 live at 10pm. The way that Boycott explained England's batting problems made a lot of sense especially as he told it as he saw it.

 

You have stated yourself that Root "did play and miss many times" which proves Boycotts criticism. Why play the shot if it's missing the wicket and it must have missed many times as you can only get out the once in an innings. Root would have been better leaving those wayward balls thus saving his own energy whilst Johnson wasted his own.

 

Johnson I admit, is up there with speed but how many balls does he bowl in a test that are "unplayable?" Even a headless chicken will hit something sooner or later, given time!!

 

I hope England take on board what Boycott has said and get back to basics. Hopefully we can win the toss, be mentally right and start batting defensively from the outset. If the openers play as professionally as we know they can, Root and KP play intelligently against a tiring attack using an old ball then we should be able to put the Aussies under pressure for the 1st time in this series.

 

I admit it's "ifs and maybe's" but I agree with Boycott, the problem is not Johnson, it's the way our batsmen play him.

[Paul6754]

I don't know if you live in the Uk but the media were quoting Boycott all day on Monday (BBC News/text) I heard his interview in part on Radio 5 live at 10pm. The way that Boycott explained England's batting problems made a lot of sense especially as he told it as he saw it.

 

You have stated yourself that Root "did play and miss many times" which proves Boycotts criticism. Why play the shot if it's missing the wicket and it must have missed many times as you can only get out the once in an innings. Root would have been better leaving those wayward balls thus saving his own energy whilst Johnson wasted his own.

 

Johnson I admit, is up there with speed but how many balls does he bowl in a test that are "unplayable?" Even a headless chicken will hit something sooner or later, given time!!

 

I hope England take on board what Boycott has said and get back to basics. Hopefully we can win the toss, be mentally right and start batting defensively from the outset. If the openers play as professionally as we know they can, Root and KP play intelligently against a tiring attack using an old ball then we should be able to put the Aussies under pressure for the 1st time in this series.

 

I admit it's "ifs and maybe's" but I agree with Boycott, the problem is not Johnson, it's the way our batsmen play him.

 

I don't live in the UK, we get mainly Australian commentators, Ian Chappell, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Michael Slater etc (plus Mark Nicholas) on tv.

 

Root played and missed at balls that were bowled on a line and length where the batsman doesn't know whether its going to hit the wicket or not (Boycott's famed corridor of uncertainty), hence a batsman can't leave them. For me Johnson has been bowling many unplayable balls, the one that got Cook in the 1st innings, the Yorker bowled at Prior in the 2nd innings which straightened and missed off stick by a whisker were superb etc etc, he's been getting just enough movement with the angle and pace he bowls to cause the problems, you don't get 7 for 40 bowling military medium.

 

I think its both, its shot selection of our batsmen and Johnson's bowling. In the 2nd innings he only got one wicket but Ian Chappell made the point that someone bowling that fast even from only one end frazzles the mind and leads to poor shot selection no matter who the bowler. Lets hope Johnson doesn't perform in Perth.

[cheeky]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3241[/ATTACH]Boycott was on my flight from Adelaide to Perth.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Funnily enough he's just posted that Cheeky was on his flight form Adelaide to Perth

[Paul6754]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3241[/ATTACH]Boycott was on my flight from Adelaide to Perth.

 

Was he the pilot.

 

[Warren]

England batsmen have been unprofessional. Can they turn it around?

[paultvale]

Darren Gough assured me on the radio that we would draw the series 2-2 and retain The Ashes.

Drawing in Brisbane :rolleyes:

Winning in Adelaide :(

Losing in Perth and Sydney and winning in Melbourne.

So I bet accordingly to his wisdom.

Let`s hope he continues to be so wrong!

[For Us All]

The Aussies seem to have the psychological edge over us at the moment and unless we can overcome the 'Mitchell Johnson' factor on his own turf,I can only see much of the same coming our way.We need a couple of our top order batsman to step up to the plate.

[paultvale]

Seems we need a Stoke City representative to call the coin toss,Captain Cook`s lost it again :(

[Paul6754]

Good effort from England's fast bowlers on the first day, pity we couldn't finish them off. I still can't understand why Steve Finn, our quickest bowler, isn't playing. He has that extra touch of pace and bounce that would knock over the likes of Steve Smith and the tail enders. I presume he's out of form but the only place to find form is in the middle and Perth is the track for him to do that.

 

Having said that, the Aussie batsmen are enjoying the rub of the green, 4 inside edges onto pad and not one hit the stumps, both Smith and Haddin both slashed wildly twice early on in their innings and the ball spooned up between fielders.