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Australia v England - 2nd Ashes Test, Adelaide

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Aberdeen Angus said:
Psychologically destroyed now. Once that happens ability goes out of the window.
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We'll do very well to avoid a 5-0 whitewash from here.

Heads must roll over this. Flower has come to the end (I think he wants to anyway TBH) and the team has become too complacent, chummy and clubby.

We've coasted along in a complacent bubble and it's come back to haunt us. What's most annoying is that I don't even think this Australia team are very good, certainly nowhere near their teams of the 1990s and early 2000s.[DOUBLEPOST=1386408167][/DOUBLEPOST]
Narraback said:
I'm glad I was too pissed to watch this last night. What a f***ing shambles.
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I watched the first hour and a half.

TBH, although we crawled along run rate wise (until Bell came in), we didn't really look in much trouble but Root and Pietersen just played stupid shots to get out. When I turned off to go to sleep, Bell and Carberry (who had his 50) were opening up and going well.

The collapse with the rest I found this morning when I woke up and put the TV on though was no surprise. We are as weak as piss, as if we've never seen anyone bowl >90mph before.
 
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Wise Man Says said:
We'll do very well to avoid a 5-0 whitewash from here.

Heads must roll over this. Flower has come to the end (I think he wants to anyway TBH) and the team has become too complacent, chummy and clubby.

We've coasted along in a complacent bubble and it's come back to haunt us. What's most annoying is that I don't even think this Australia team are very good, certainly nowhere near their teams of the 1990s and early 2000s.[DOUBLEPOST=1386408167][/DOUBLEPOST]
I watched the first hour and a half.

TBH, although we crawled along run rate wise (until Bell came in), we didn't really look in much trouble but Root and Pietersen just played stupid shots to get out. When I turned off to go to sleep, Bell and Carberry (who had his 50) were opening up and going well.

The collapse with the rest I found this morning when I woke up and put the TV on though was no surprise. We are as weak as piss, as if we've never seen anyone bowl >90mph before.
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We are missing the likes of Strauss and Collingwood on this tour. Though neither of them were in particularly good nick at the end, they were both very mentally tough. The 06/07 whitewash occurred because we were poorly led, poorly prepared and were facing a truly world class side (albeit coming to the end) who were highly motivated following 05. This Australia side are by no means world class and they've done a complete job on us. Preparation and psychology has lost this for us
 
LJS 2013 said:
So why not put england in?

England are a f***ing joke, too many batsmen that look world class when we're battering shite like the west indies but look like school kids against teams like south africa
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Aussies don't make teams follow on usually.[DOUBLEPOST=1386411860][/DOUBLEPOST]
Aberdeen Angus said:
Psychologically destroyed now. Once that happens ability goes out of the window.
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This. And Johnson has been brutal.
 
Watching the highlights and this is abysmal from England. I usually try and stay positive but this is awful.
 
It's going to be a long old series now. I don't know what's happened to us to make us stop batting with an intent to score runs. Occupying the crease is all very well, but it's a tactic we've been employing for the last 12 months now and all it's achieved is to make us lose cheap wickets. For all Strauss's failings with the bat towards the end of his career, at least he tried to play with some positivity and keep the scoreboard ticking.

It's got to the stage with our batting now that it feels like the only time we would have a chance is if we bowl them out for next to nothing so that we don't need a big innings from any of our batsmen to be in the game going into the 3rd innings.
 
BIG BAZ said:
Mentally we're weak as piss in this series....No leadership whatsoever
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All controlled top to bottom by Flower, the bloke is a control freak by his own admission. Not unlike SAFC under PDC, when things are not going to plan they look powerless and clueless to change things.
 
chelt_mackem said:
It's going to be a long old series now. I don't know what's happened to us to make us stop batting with an intent to score runs. Occupying the crease is all very well, but it's a tactic we've been employing for the last 12 months now and all it's achieved is to make us lose cheap wickets. For all Strauss's failings with the bat towards the end of his career, at least he tried to play with some positivity and keep the scoreboard ticking.

It's got to the stage with our batting now that it feels like the only time we would have a chance is if we bowl them out for next to nothing so that we don't need a big innings from any of our batsmen to be in the game going into the 3rd innings.
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We are taking the sitting duck approach. Cook, Carberry, Compton, Root and Trott at the top of the order are setting the tone for every innings. There is so little aggression and attacking intent that they are allowing the opposition to settle and relentlessly attack. It may not work out but someone at the top of the order is going to have to take risks to try and ease pressure. Attack with positive intent early doors and then there wont be as many dismissals like Root's and Pietersen's who made unwise decisions in an attempt to release pressure.

How can batsmen like Carberry and Root dodder on like they have been? Root is a batsman who knocked 180 in a day at Durham and Carberry is a highly effective List A and T20 batsman. We need to launch a counter attack and fast.
 
Wise Man Says said:
When I turned off to go to sleep, Bell and Carberry (who had his 50) were opening up and going well.

The collapse with the rest I found this morning when I woke up and put the TV on though was no surprise. We are as weak as piss, as if we've never seen anyone bowl >90mph before.
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Same here, mate. Even by England's recent standards I couldn't believe it.

Their technique to Johnson is both abysmal and flabbergasting. Hopping around as if they've never played against someone who can bowl 90mph. I don't remember us struggling this much against Dale Steyn - someone I consider to be twice the bowler Johnson is.
 
chelt_mackem said:
It's going to be a long old series now. I don't know what's happened to us to make us stop batting with an intent to score runs. Occupying the crease is all very well, but it's a tactic we've been employing for the last 12 months now and all it's achieved is to make us lose cheap wickets. For all Strauss's failings with the bat towards the end of his career, at least he tried to play with some positivity and keep the scoreboard ticking.

It's got to the stage with our batting now that it feels like the only time we would have a chance is if we bowl them out for next to nothing so that we don't need a big innings from any of our batsmen to be in the game going into the 3rd innings.
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The problem is batsmen trying to play shots and chucking away their wickets when they should be occupying the crease. We need players of the mental toughness of Boycott who can dig in and see off bowlers with their tails up. I am starting to sound like a stuck record but Compton is one of our few players of this ilk so should be shipped out post haste. Carberry for his faults seems to be providing some resistance so maybe drop Cook down to three.
 
I don't think this team was ever as good as what it and probably us thought it was.
All our batsmen Ian Bell apart struggled against the Aussie attack in the summer.
He was basically the difference between the sides.
 
Aberdeen Angus said:
We are taking the sitting duck approach. Cook, Carberry, Compton, Root and Trott at the top of the order are setting the tone for every innings. There is so little aggression and attacking intent that they are allowing the opposition to settle and relentlessly attack. It may not work out but someone at the top of the order is going to have to take risks to try and ease pressure. Attack with positive intent early doors and then there wont be as many dismissals like Root's and Pietersen's who made unwise decisions in an attempt to release pressure.

How can batsmen like Carberry and Root dodder on like they have been? Root is a batsman who knocked 180 in a day at Durham and Carberry is a highly effective List A and T20 batsman. We need to launch a counter attack and fast.
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It's test cricket not 20:20. Pietesen has got out three times in a row trying to attack the bowling. Root getting out trying to hit the spinner down the ground. Carberry has never looked all that comfortable but to his credit he has dug in and made some acceptable scores.
 
smoker said:
The problem is batsmen trying to play shots and chucking away their wickets when they should be occupying the crease. We need players of the mental toughness of Boycott who can dig in and see off bowlers with their tails up. I am starting to sound like a stuck record but Compton is one of our few players of this ilk so should be shipped out post haste. Carberry for his faults seems to be providing some resistance so maybe drop Cook down to three.
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I agree with the principle of occupying the crease, but we need to do so while keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Inching along at 1.5 an over doesn't put the fielding side under any kind of pressure. Bell's innings today is a good example of what positivity can do, the Aussies didn't know how to bowl to him and had to rely on waiting to get Monty on strike. I'm not advocating going into hit and giggle mode, but if we don't score runs, we won't win games.
 
smoker said:
It's test cricket not 20:20. Pietesen has got out three times in a row trying to attack the bowling. Root getting out trying to hit the spinner down the ground. Carberry has never looked all that comfortable but to his credit he has dug in and made some acceptable scores.
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How many times have Cook, Trott, Root and Compton got stuck in a hole now through lack of positive intent?

I am by no means saying go out and give it a swing from ball one. That isn't what is required but positive body language, intent and aggression certainly is. Twenty overs the other night and England made it absolutely clear to the Aussies that they were planning on nothing more than survival. No gauntlet thrown down, no counter attack, no positivity. Sitting duck mentality and it allows the Aussies to walk all over us
 
Occupy the crease and the runs will follow though. You're not going to win when they've racked up 570. Bat time and frustrate the bowlers. It's test cricket, all the time in the world and batsmen need to dig in and show some mettle. It's a philosophy that we've lost in modern test cricket though.
 
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