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Australia V England , 4th Test, 25.12. 2025, 23:30


NorthCountryBoy said:
It’s a huge leap to say that Bethell will be a future star. Never scored a red ball hundred. Let’s not be seduced by a quick 40 today. Smith (despite bad tour) and Brook I agree with.

Re summer 2027, you have to factor in that Stokes’ ability to bowl will be even more at risk by then. If that’s the case that’s right up there with anything they’re losing.
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Bethel needs a place in the line up first. He's never a number 3 especially coming in after the similar Duckett and Crawley.

Stokes, Brook and Smith are good for another few years, Root for at least a couple.
 
MM_15 said:
They are estimating Cricket Australia has lost almost $12m. And that’s not counting cash spent in the ground
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As funny as it might be, that’s a hell of a lot of travelling people to both Perth and Melbourne who have seen very little cricket having spent a lot of money to get there for it.

It’s also not good for the format of test cricket.

England did well to chase that down on that pitch and I’m pleased the whitewash is avoided but I feel cheated out of a proper test match in one of cricket’s great arenas.
 
Nasser Butt-Head said:
Crazy 2 days. Hard to get that excited for a dead rubber though. Still, well done to the bowlers!
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Yep just a happy sigh of relief for me.

If the series had been live at 130am I'd have stayed up. But just caught up the remainder as live this morning.

Brilliant from our bowling unit with a man down to keep the pressure on after a bad start from Carse/Gus.

Only two Aussies to score more than 200 runs in the series. Hazlewood not involved, Cummins and Lyon involvement in pretty much just 1 test.

Their batting lineup all over the place and Smith not involved for a game either.

Just a desperately disappointing series a missed opportunity as was 2023. But in both series we completely shot ourselves in our the foot in the first two games and we went one further in the third test here.

You cannot give the Aussies a sniff and far too often we've let them off the hook when the games been in the balance.

On to Sydney in a week! Frankly I don't want 3-2 as it papers over the cracks. A Root double ton and a draw would do me just fine.
 
MM_15 said:
They are estimating Cricket Australia has lost almost $12m. And that’s not counting cash spent in the ground
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I'd be livid if I were CA. Unacceptable. We all go off it when India or Sub continent teams play on raging bunsens from day1. This is no different really. I'd be sacking the groundsmen for a start.
mackembhoy said:
Yep just a happy sigh of relief for me.

If the series had been live at 130am I'd have stayed up. But just caught up the remainder as live this morning.

Brilliant from our bowling unit with a man down to keep the pressure on after a bad start from Carse/Gus.

Only two Aussies to score more than 200 runs in the series. Hazlewood not involved, Cummins and Lyon involvement in pretty much just 1 test.

Their batting lineup all over the place and Smith not involved for a game either.

Just a desperately disappointing series a missed opportunity as was 2023. But in both series we completely shot ourselves in our the foot in the first two games and we went one further in the third test here.

You cannot give the Aussies a sniff and far too often we've let them off the hook when the games been in the balance.

On to Sydney in a week! Frankly I don't want 3-2 as it papers over the cracks. A Root double ton and a draw would do me just fine.
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Good post.

I think most if not all knew that having no tour games and a t20 series in New Zealand wasn't the best of preparations for The Ashes.

They should have won the 1st test and probably the 2nd and 3rd if they held their catches. This with 0 prep.

They need to turn the arrogance dial a notch or 2 and realise that test cricket isn't just an elongated form of T20. I do believe we have some good players. It's the management I'm less certain of.

Listening to Rob Key the other day just proved how useless he is at the job. No accountability at all.
 
mackembhoy said:
Yep just a happy sigh of relief for me.

If the series had been live at 130am I'd have stayed up. But just caught up the remainder as live this morning.

Brilliant from our bowling unit with a man down to keep the pressure on after a bad start from Carse/Gus.

Only two Aussies to score more than 200 runs in the series. Hazlewood not involved, Cummins and Lyon involvement in pretty much just 1 test.

Their batting lineup all over the place and Smith not involved for a game either.

Just a desperately disappointing series a missed opportunity as was 2023. But in both series we completely shot ourselves in our the foot in the first two games and we went one further in the third test here.

You cannot give the Aussies a sniff and far too often we've let them off the hook when the games been in the balance.

On to Sydney in a week! Frankly I don't want 3-2 as it papers over the cracks. A Root double ton and a draw would do me just fine.
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Always want England to win, don’t think it will paper over the cracks as been such a missed opportunity which all cannot fail to see.

Although I wouldn’t make massive changes to the actual players.

For example as much as Brook and Smith have been disappointing both quality players and no idea still where any decent opening batsman in this country.

So while I hope for some changes just hope they think with clear heads and any changes made are not just a reaction to this disappointment but with best interests of the team going forward.

Just changing half the team without looking at the deeper issues would be a mistake imo
 
Voice of fair play said:
Always want England to win, don’t think it will paper over the cracks as been such a missed opportunity which all cannot fail to see.

Although I wouldn’t make massive changes to the actual players.

For example as much as Brook and Smith have been disappointing both quality players and no idea still where any decent opening batsman in this country.

So while I hope for some changes just hope they think with clear heads and any changes made are not just a reaction to this disappointment but with best interests of the team going forward.

Just changing half the team without looking at the deeper issues would be a mistake imo
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When i'm taking about papering over the cracks I'm on about the setup, makes them look a bit better when they should be replaced.

We've been after bazball with brains for 2 and half years now. I think the setup took this group of players as far as they could go a while back.

There needs to be a change above the players to take them on the next step.

Do we want to just be a more entertaining side than previous England setups or do we want to be the best team in the world.

Brook and Smith as you mention cannot keep having laissez-faire approach from the top down. They are too talented for me to waste it by just going that's the way we play mate.
 
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mackembhoy said:
When i'm taking about papering over the cracks I'm on about the setup, makes them look a bit better when they should be replaced.

We've been after bazball with brains for 2 and half years now. I think the setup took this group of players as far as they could go a while back.

There needs to be a change above the players to take them on the next step.

Do we want to just be a more entertaining side than previous England setups or do we want to be the best team in the world.

Brook and Smith as you mention cannot keep having laissez-faire approach from the top down. They are too talented for me to waste it by just going that's the way we play mate.
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Yeah absolutely it’s all about getting the balance right.

And it clearly hasn’t been recently.

I don’t want a regime where players scared to play shots or frightened of getting dropped to quickly as can’t be the best of themselves.

But at the same time a top team needs to adapt in game and this team has shown it can’t.

Guess want a perfect balance between the two.

But do think a high majority of the current players the right ones to take this team forward with the right guidance
 
I'm struggling to enjoy this pyrrhic victory on a shambolic and farcical lottery of a test match, where they just had to slog to win.

Papering over the cracks is exactly what this does, and from the narrative even on here "if they'd only had a warm up game" "if they'd only held their catches in Perth" "if snicko was working properly" they'd be 2-2. Along with "3-2 would be a pretty good tour" and "I'm backing Brendon" from senior squad and management, it seems inevitable that nothing will change, especially if somehow they win the fifth.

This one test match win doesn't show the progress we've made, it will put us back years... it gives enough of a meaningless illusion of adequacy, and will be used to vindicate this rotten and dogmatic setup and justify everything they are doing to the game, the "pathway" the "culture" the "no team meetings", the arrogant entitlement, the selection of players with no experience, the selection of a poor spin bowler for years to prepare for the Ashes and not play him, and the denigration of our county game that should be and is nurturing talent, that is being ignored and sidelined because their face doesn't fit.

I want to celebrate this and I want to think it is the death throes of a dying regime that will soon be replaced, but the utterly specious message is very clear.

"We got so close". Sorry, but not for me you didn't.
 
Fantastic win on a minefield the game could have really gone either way. Australia fought all the way to the end even though they weren't quite at it in this game, especially their batting. You can't really fault England's character in the past couple of tests. Frustrating that England weren't ready for the first 2 tests :lol: .
 
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Sea to Shining Sea said:
As funny as it might be, that’s a hell of a lot of travelling people to both Perth and Melbourne who have seen very little cricket having spent a lot of money to get there for it.

It’s also not good for the format of test cricket.

England did well to chase that down on that pitch and I’m pleased the whitewash is avoided but I feel cheated out of a proper test match in one of cricket’s great arenas.
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Spot on.

Test cricket is at its best when it goes the full five days and any result is possible.

Being done in under two is not good for any one.
 
MM_15 said:
They are estimating Cricket Australia has lost almost $12m. And that’s not counting cash spent in the ground
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Disaster for test cricket frankly.

The greed of the the big 1 and the others that make up the big 3 is already bad enough.

Them haemorrhaging money only strengthens the BCCI grip and weakens the global product.
 
Thought it was nailed on for 5-0 after the last couple of weeks. Nice to get a test win over there. Hopefully back it up in Sydney just as something for the fans.

Thought Tongue was really good and a great knock from Bethell 2nd innings. Looked like he has some quality and mentality about him. Needs some red ball games next year.

Rooty and Stokes are too good of players to not have a test win in Oz on their CV’s so most happy for those two tbh.
 
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