Cricket - The Ashes

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

I think it's a bit simpler than that REP,we can't cope with fast aggressive bowling when we go down under and the Aussies have the same problem with swing bowling over here.

It's fast becoming all too predictable.

 

The sad problem is that it wasn’t all that fast today and certainly not on day 2 and in reality we were undone by a line and length bowler in Hazlewood and a spinner who we simply allowed to bowl at us (Ali aside) rather than challenging his lines and lengths. Starc was poor and had 0-43 then all of a sudden because of another collapse had 3-51 with an old ball bowling in the low 140’s. Dread to think if they can’t handle that what will happen at the WACA in a few weeks.

 

 

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[cheshirevaliant]

I see your point regarding Cook but then how do we reason his second innings dismissal?

 

 

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A poor shot made after 130 overs in the field?

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

A poor shot made after 130 overs in the field?

 

And yet Smith played the conditions not being lured into big shots / traps after about the same time. Just highlights a killer instinct they have. We gave away some crazy wickets today.

 

 

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[cheshirevaliant]

And yet Smith played the conditions not being lured into big shots / traps after about the same time. Just highlights a killer instinct they have. We gave away some crazy wickets today.

 

 

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Small sample size, REP. Smith is undoubtedly a very fine player, perhaps the best Test batsman in the world currently, but he has also played poor shots throughout his career.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Small sample size, REP. Smith is undoubtedly a very fine player, perhaps the best Test batsman in the world currently, but he has also played poor shots throughout his career.

 

I agree that why I was referring to the mental disintegration of our batting side which has happened on regular occasions both at home and abroad. In the second innings we had batsmen letting bowlers bowl to them waiting to get them out (Stoneman and Malan) with no counter, we had two crazy shots (Cook and Bairstow), we had players switching off (Root and Ali) and giving their wickets away and worst of all we had scared players who it was abundantly clear didn’t want to be batting (Broad and Ball).

 

 

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[cheshirevaliant]

It's a good job you aren't Australian commenting after their capitulations at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in the last series!

 

Enjoy the rest of Brisbane. A fine city, along with Adelaide my favourite city in Australia.

[Paul6754]

Nothing to do with mental toughness everything to do with their experience of the conditions and their bowlers performed better than Englands'.

 

Their bowling attack looks more potent than England's overall, eg compare Nathan Lyons to Moeen Ali, Lyons is the 3rd leading wicket taker in test cricket this year. Lyons will give England's lefties a tough time with his drift, amount of spin and bounce he gets.

[Bea Smith]

It's good to see that there are cricket scapegoats as well as football ones.

 

Australia were better, and will win the Ashes easily this time - it is not a disaster, or cause for outraged anguish.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Nothing to do with mental toughness everything to do with their experience of the conditions and their bowlers performed better than Englands'.

 

Their bowling attack looks more potent than England's overall, eg compare Nathan Lyons to Moeen Ali, Lyons is the 3rd leading wicket taker in test cricket this year. Lyons will give England's lefties a tough time with his drift, amount of spin and bounce he gets.

 

All to do with mental toughness, the conditions had little or no effect for 3 days and despite us having the upper hand periodically through those days we never nailed them when we did.

 

Our batsmen failed to make Lyon change he line and simply let him bowl at them, that changed when Ali came to the crease and did exactly that. Bairstow and then Ali put the nail in our coffin with brainless decisions in the second innings which allowed Ball and Broad to show how scared they were.

 

Ali was also injured so was never going to be effective as Lyon who even the locals were surprised by his success at the Gabba.

 

Most dismissals were eminently avoidable.

 

 

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[Robbie Earle's Perm]

It's a good job you aren't Australian commenting after their capitulations at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in the last series!

 

Enjoy the rest of Brisbane. A fine city, along with Adelaide my favourite city in Australia.

 

But then they came back fighting and very narrowly lost the last series, that’s the element of mental strength I’m talking about.

 

Brisbane is indeed an awesome city, not so sure I agree on your verdict of Adelaide though as it’s more of a town in reality that seems to close at 9pm however it does have two redeeming features, the Barossa and the Crows

 

 

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[For Us All]

We don't help ourselves with headbutt greetings when we meet the opposition.It's obviously been blown out of proportion to help the Aussie cause but we never seem to learn?

[valiant_593]

All to do with mental toughness, the conditions had little or no effect for 3 days and despite us having the upper hand periodically through those days we never nailed them when we did.

 

Our batsmen failed to make Lyon change he line and simply let him bowl at them, that changed when Ali came to the crease and did exactly that. Bairstow and then Ali put the nail in our coffin with brainless decisions in the second innings which allowed Ball and Broad to show how scared they were.

 

Ali was also injured so was never going to be effective as Lyon who even the locals were surprised by his success at the Gabba.

 

Most dismissals were eminently avoidable.

 

 

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For me it's a mix of both. I do think they're attack as a whole is better. When Anderson and broad finish there isn't that much to worry the ausies so they can wait for the likes of ball to come on. Woakes is a good bowler but didn't look threatening and Ali is great but does bowl bad balls so they can wait for them. When hazelwood and starc finish you have Cummins and Lyon, there's no let up there for the batsman there's no or very few poor deliveries. That i think is a big difference between the sides. I do agree re Lyon though we have to attack him especially the left handers just to knock him off that length.

[cheshirevaliant]

But then they came back fighting and very narrowly lost the last series, that’s the element of mental strength I’m talking about.

 

Brisbane is indeed an awesome city, not so sure I agree on your verdict of Adelaide though as it’s more of a town in reality that seems to close at 9pm however it does have two redeeming features, the Barossa and the Crows

 

 

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They won a meaningless Test at the Oval after being hammered in 3 of the 4 previous matches. That's the same as we used to do against them in the 90s!

 

I have only been to Adelaide when the Test match is on, so I am perhaps overhyping it from a night out perspective. It's not too far up its own arse like a couple of bigger Australian cities I could name, it's small enough to walk around, used to have a great ground before they redeveloped it, plenty of good pubs, Glenelg beach is nice, Barossa as you say is very good too.

[Paul6754]

All to do with mental toughness' date=' the conditions had little or no effect for 3 days and despite us having the upper hand periodically through those days we never nailed them when we did.[/quote']

 

Our opinions differ so much on football and cricket.

 

To get to this level these guys already have mental toughness, many times in their careers they will have had to have gone out there and produced when it was needed else they wouldn't be at this level.

 

The only nail we couldn't nail was Steve Smith 'cause we don't really have a quality strike bowler in Australian conditions. He was content to play his game off the back foot, if Ali could spin and bounce the ball as much as Lyons he wouldn't have been able to do that.

 

 

Our batsmen failed to make Lyon change he line and simply let him bowl at them, that changed when Ali came to the crease and did exactly that. Bairstow and then Ali put the nail in our coffin with brainless decisions in the second innings which allowed Ball and Broad to show how scared they were.

 

Ali was also injured so was never going to be effective as Lyon who even the locals were surprised by his success at the Gabba.

 

Lyon is the third leading wicket taker and has the most wickets/test in 2017 so he is as good a strike bowler as there is at the moment in Test cricket. Lyon was spinning the ball prodigiously and getting much bounce and with his drift was very difficult to play, hard to make a bowler change when he's bowling so well.

 

Ali batted well against Lyon as he gets fully forward or fully back and he attacked Lyon but he still sucummed in the 2nd innings although IMO, he should have been given not out and the benefit of the doubt. Stoneman and Malan will have to adapt their technique and do the same against Lyon or they'll be easy meat. Broad has been having a look at the quicks from square leg for a few seasons now but he's picked for his bowling.

 

Lyon is a more penetrating bowler than Ali and in this match the Aussie quicks got more out of the pitch, they don't have anyone Michell Johnson fast so everything to do with technique IMHO.

[robf]

in this match the Aussie quicks got more out of the pitch, they don't have anyone Michell Johnson fast so everything to do with technique IMHO.

 

I'm no cricket expert (hands, up I'm an armchair fan) but I was surprised England didn't take anyone "different". To me, Ball and Overton are much the same - medium-fast - and even if Roland-Jones had been fit that would have been much the same.

 

So, I'm a bit surprised someone like Plunkett or (better in my opinion) Wood wasn't added as an option. For me, Wood has that big match temperament and was unlucky to be dropped for an off par performance when he was clearly only just back from injury. He can bat too...