Cricket 2024

[andrewjohnsmith]

Looks like we've decided to drop anchor for today.

I thought we had all of our batsmen well in and they should all have been looking to score big hundreds on this pitch.

But they've all thrown their wickets away, which is really disappointing.

I think this pitch is so good, and with Lyon out, if Brook, Stokes and Barstow apply themselves they can all get hundreds here.

These Aussie quicks will be knackered if we can bat most of tomorrow.

No need to play this like a 20/20.

You know they will. Looks like they're playing for stumps tonight. But they'll come out again aggressive tomorrow.

[Madron]

Looks like we've decided to drop anchor for today.

I thought we had all of our batsmen well in and they should all have been looking to score big hundreds on this pitch.

But they've all thrown their wickets away, which is really disappointing.

I think this pitch is so good, and with Lyon out, if Brook, Stokes and Barstow apply themselves they can all get hundreds here.

These Aussie quicks will be knackered if we can bat most of tomorrow.

No need to play this like a 20/20.

Agreed.
Got to look at batting all day tomorrow if possible so no need to go too crazy.
Think we should target Lyons stand in(s) to keep them out of the attack and therefore wear out their 4 bowlers.
Another good day tomorrow.

[White Riot]

Agreed.
Got to look at batting all day tomorrow if possible so no need to go too crazy.
Think we should target Lyons stand in(s) to keep them out of the attack and therefore wear out their 4 bowlers.
Another good day tomorrow.

Absolutely Ron

Just play smart and we can win this.

Should be easy to smash Smith or Head out of their bowling and then let their fast bowlers do the donkey work.

But if we throw wickets away again then we'll lose the match and the series too.

We should be looking to bat all day tomorrow.

That is a peach of a pitch and their bowlers are old and already tired.

[Anderson]

Well that was reckless entertainment.Please Mr Stokes have a strong word with young Harry,please bat sensibly,do not give your wicket away as our tail starts at 8 with mr Broad.

[weasel]

A bit of a double edged sword today. I could see what they were doing by trying to splay the bouncers as if it had have worked it would have left Australia with nowhere to bowl to. As it turned out though it was couple of poor shots. I felt Pope was unlucky, he just dodn't quite hit it cleanly or it would have been a 6. Most disappointing was Root after his no ball reprieve. Still an excellent day for England and great to see runs for Duckett and Pope, think all our batsmen have now made at least 1 decent score in the 2 test matches yet which should give them all confidence.

[The Subhuman]

I could of course start a contentious topic on this cricketing thread - oh.... what the hell .... here goes:

So.... in my (less than) humble opinion, the greatest test cricket team is one most of the world never saw - the 1970 Springboks, who absolutely thrashed Bill Lawrie's Aussies.
Captained by Ali Bacher, with all time greats like Barry Richards, Mike Procter, Graeme and Peter Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Dennis Lindsay, Eddie Irvine and a few others, this was a team of immense talent.
I suppose, in hindsight, politics was right to intervene, but what a shame the world never really got to see the likes of Richards and Pollock in full cry at the crease. I've been fortunate to have seen many of the great batsmen - Lara, Ponting, Border (never saw Sobers - sadly), and I can tell you none compared to Pollock or Richards (sorry guys - even Joe Root).

Steve Smith today at Lords did play some Richards like off and cover drives. But not with the grace of Richards - poetry in motion chaps.

OK - go on then .... beat me up on this one.

As a Hampshire fan since around 68 I saw a lot of Barry Richards and the great Gordon Greenidge, two of my early sporting heroes and you're right there's never been a batsman as good since as BR

[White Riot]

Aussies only bowling tactic is the short stuff, and Brook is our latest batsman to be well set and just gift them a wicket.

We're making this series way too easy for their bowlers, brainless cricket.

[White Riot]

Awful shot by Barstow.
Aussies will roll through the tail.
Bat forever.
Then skittle us out with the short stuff.
Easy for the Aussies.

[White Riot]

Went out to do a quick bit of work in the garden, sweating like a pig

Came back and our w**kers are all out, wtf.

Very poor batting effort on this dead pitch.

Aussies now have the formula to roll us throughout the series.

Forget the Ashes, this will be a whitewash.

I'd heard a lot of hot air about Bazball, but for me this is the same bunch of bottlejobs.

The Aussies must be laughing their c**ks off

Shambles

[weasel]

No doubt loads of people will use this collapse as a reason to slam Bazball but they totally miss te point. We simply aren't able to defend. When we do we lose wickets and don't add any runs. We then struggle along making no headway and then either get out to a good ball or panic cos we aren't good at defending and play a poor shot to get out. This team needs to go all out attack as we simply aren't technical enough to bat for time like the Aussies can do, Regardless of how we play the team will likely be out for some point between 60 and 90 overs but at least by scoring quickly we can post a reasonable total. Even yesterday when we were getting out to reckless shots at least we were moving the scoreboard on - if we'd have simply defended we'd have still likely lost our wickets but just added far fewer runs. The idea yesterday for us was right - to try to smack the bouncers all over, if we'd have succeeded then the Aussies would have had to revert back to normal stuff, unfortunately cos we dealt with it poorly it just meant the Aussies kept doing it. It reminds me of teams playing against the great West Indies sides with 4 pacemen bowling fast bouncers. You either go into your shell and get no runs and then get out or you have to try to take them on.

[whiteswan]

Went out to do a quick bit of work in the garden, sweating like a pig

Came back and our w**kers are all out, wtf.

Very poor batting effort on this dead pitch.

Aussies now have the formula to roll us throughout the series.

Forget the Ashes, this will be a whitewash.

I'd heard a lot of hot air about Bazball, but for me this is the same bunch of bottlejobs.

The Aussies must be laughing their c**ks off

Shambles

An absolute shambles Riot. I took houndie out and my phone was ping ping ping ping with England wickets....

[White Riot]

An absolute shambles Riot. I took houndie out and my phone was ping ping ping ping with England wickets....

Disgrace the lot of them Swannie

We've made this so easy for the Aussies

Cummins must be pinching himself, he can't stop smiling

All you can say is well done Australia, completely sussed us out and outplayed us in minus time

[Barlow Boy]

Batting suicide.

[White Riot]

Batting suicide.

It's crackers, we've handed the Aussies the Ashes on a plate.

I don't think the Aussies have had to play well at all to beat us.

If they had produced amazing cricket then fair dos, but they haven't they have just played way smarter than us

It will get worse as they have really got their tails up now.

I'm expecting a battering for us now.

[Barlow Boy]

It's crackers, we've handed the Aussies the Ashes on a plate.

I don't think the Aussies have had to play well at all to beat us.

If they had produced amazing cricket then fair dos, but they haven't they have just played way smarter than us

It will get worse as they have really got their tails up now.

I'm expecting a battering for us now.

I’m all for this entertaining and attacking cricket, but it has to have its limits surely, especially in the Ashes.

[White Riot]

I’m all for this entertaining and attacking cricket, but it has to have its limits surely, especially in the Ashes.

Yeah, I was hoping for a good Ashes and us winning.

But throwing wickets away to the Aussies goes against the grain for me.

All our batsmen got well set and then just played themselves out.

We should have been making their bowlers work hard for the win, but they've hardly broken sweat and are still fresh for the other three wins after this test.

[Prisoner37]

Listening to the England players interviews it sounds to me like they have joined a cult.

They seem to be blindly following a belief without noticing the reality of what is happening around them. It is like they are not allowed to doubt the word of Bazball.

I hope the Bazball ideology proves to be right but I can't see it against the Assies, who know how to keep their foot on your thoat.

It will most likely take a whitewash for us to wake up to our naivety.

[Anderson]

Weasel ,there is a big difference between going into your shell, and taking them on.It’s called the middle ground ,trouble is we have not found it.Take Brooks dismissal,village cricket at best.Every one of our batsmen apart from Stokes has given their wicket away something the Aussies don’t do apart from their number3.

[weasel]

Weasel ,there is a big difference between going into your shell, and taking them on.It’s called the middle ground ,trouble is we have not found it.Take Brooks dismissal,village cricket at best.Every one of our batsmen apart from Stokes has given their wicket away something the Aussies don’t do apart from their number3.

The thing is Brooks was like a startled bunny. He didn't know what to do, wasn't used to bouncers etc. He isn't used to defending, he tried to defend, f*cked up his head and gets out. So no matter what the bowling, what shots he plays he is going to get out so it is better that he tries to whack a few fours and sixes and makes some runs before he gets out. It is the 'attack is the best form of defene' method and if you have no defence then play to your strengths and attack.

If we'd played 'sensibly' the whole innings then all that would have happened is that we'd have probably been all out for somewhere between 150 and 200. Playing attackingly you have the hope that whilst several may get out one or two might make decent scores, as it was our best scores came at the top of the order rather than how in most recent matches those bigger scores have come from the middle order. The only really stupid dismissal was Root's because he has the technique to be able to play defensive and simply pick off the bad balls, however there have been loads of times when we have seen England players over the years getting out playing reckless shots when there was simply no need - so many times when we have been batting on the last day and simply needing to make sure we didn't lose all our wickets, runs weren't a factor yet players would get out to hook shots etc, playing a ball which didn't need to e played. All these commentators, Vaughan, Pietersn, Hussain, Straus etc have all been out stupidly many times.

Yes I was as disappointed as everyone else was the way we crumbled from a great start but I certainly don't think if they'd all played sensible test match cricket that we'd have done any better, we'd have simply seen lower scores for a few and maybe slightly higher for a few but likely a far lower total overall.

The few years prior to 'Bazball' showed we don't have the batsmen to play Graham Thorpe like innings, solid in defence, able punish loose bowling and able to bat for long periods. We have players that are suited to 20/20 cricket where they don't have time to build an innings but come in and play shots and if they get out the next man does the same. We're playing somewhere between 20/20 and 50 over cricket. Not as frenetic as 20/20 but still looking to go along at 5 or 6 an over and reach at least 300 to be in the game.

[Overman]

Men against boys stuff. The convicts are in full control here with England playing with very little intelligence, applying Mickey Mouse cricket to a test format, will rarely ever work.

Now where's Boycott.