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Australia v England, 3rd Test, 16th December , 23.30

GordonMuchallNo1Fan said:
Your weekly reminder that the ECB thought it would be a good idea to experiment the Kookaburra this year in England for county cricket, during a test series which meant no test players actually tested the ball.... genius
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That experiment was partially to improve the level of spin bowling in England too, in anticipation of this series, and England have picked a spinner who has never played with the Kookaburra ball and didn't play county cricket last season :lol:
 

Beau Peep said:
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Holy shit. We are at the infighting stage. It really has a feel of an imminent implosion of a moribund regime.


They can lose 5-0 now, if that's what it takes for the Key, Strauss and the rest of them to either change or go. They planned for this series for four years, everything they did was about either this series or the Hundred millions.

Where the hell do they go now? Another coach with the same "pathway" bollocks will have the same results, or are they actually going to respect and utilise the County Championship for which they have such disdain? Because this Chosen Few bollocks clearly isn't working.
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If that's true, and it seems to be, then its both shabby in attitude by Stokes, and poor captaincy.

Perhaps Jofra doesn't play golf or isn't part of the clique?
 
Australia are simply in a different class and England are not good enough to compete.
For me, the problems have been with the bowling, even more than the batting. The dismissal of Carse was instructive. He was bowled by a ball that he couldn’t deliver.
 
Beau Peep said:
You must be logged on to see external links




Holy shit. We are at the infighting stage. It really has a feel of an imminent implosion of a moribund regime.


They can lose 5-0 now, if that's what it takes for the Key, Strauss and the rest of them to either change or go. They planned for this series for four years, everything they did was about either this series or the Hundred millions.

Where the hell do they go now? Another coach with the same "pathway" bollocks will have the same results, or are they actually going to respect and utilise the County Championship for which they have such disdain? Because this Chosen Few bollocks clearly isn't working.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with that in your face style of captaincy in the heat of battle if the time, place and target is correctly selected. Judging by the way the two of them knuckled down batting together five hours later I don’t think it’s obviously done irreparable damage. It might even have done some good.

I’m wondering if a similar target of Stoke’s anger, following his decision in the previous test to go out and bat like a twat despite his captain’s example of how not to having just ended, was the man who was benched for this one. Rightly so and not before time if it was.
 
Parkside said:
He'll punish minor test bowling attacks as he's proved. His technique has been found lacking against top class attacks. No sign that he is able/prepared to make the necessary adjustments.Has he the desire?
Problem is there's nobody in the England coaching set up to provide the required guidance.
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What’s the point in test cricket if it isn’t to build up towards Ashes series, or maybe India?

Is anyone really arsed about watching us bully Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka?
 
Fleagle said:
Nothing wrong with that in your face style of captaincy in the heat of battle if the time, place and target is correctly selected. Judging by the way the two of them knuckled down batting together five hours later I don’t think it’s obviously done irreparable damage. It might even have done some good.

I’m wondering if a similar target of Stoke’s anger, following his decision in the previous test to go out and bat like a twat despite his captain’s example of how not to having just ended, was the man who was benched for this one. Rightly so and not before time if it was.
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I guess what I’m trying to say is that we all assume that it’s all tactics. But perhaps some of it is bad execution.

Let’s suppose that the skipper didn’t say this morning, tell you what Jof, try to bounce that number nine out, but instead suggested he tried to bowl at the top of our stump. Let’s suppose that the skipper didn’t say last week, tell you what Gus, I know I’ve just grafted for three hours but you just wave at a wide one outside off stump, but actually suggested that he might get his head down as well.

Sometimes, only a f@@@ off is enough.
 
Problem we have is prior to this test the only front line bowler picking up wickets was carse. So you then have the issue of deciding if going for a bit of tap is worth it to bowl the opposition out. Batting wise we just continue to collapse and getting to 300 is a massive achievement
 
GordonMuchallNo1Fan said:
Your weekly reminder that the ECB thought it would be a good idea to experiment the Kookaburra this year in England for county cricket, during a test series which meant no test players actually tested the ball.... genius
Click to expand...
Am I right in thinking that Key and McCullum are not Richard Thompson’s men? Hopefully he sacks both of the fuckers as soon as the final ball of the series is bowled.

Thompson is a cricket man having done an excellent job at Surrey so I hold out some hope he might appoint competent successors.
 
The Breen Machine said:
Gets a free pass from the Sky pundits because he's fat affable Rob Key. He should be under massive scrutiny and only Agnew and Prior at the moment seem willing to take this regime to task.
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To be fair Vaughan is piling in, as have Boycott and Bothan etc
Hussain and Atherton you can feel their frustration

Got to think the Aussie lads played three warm up games pre ashes England just played each other, absolute madness
 
Voice of fair play said:
There is no way mind that Smith is finished as a test player, he has bags of talent.

He will come again while agreeing he has terrible series.

Others I agree
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You thought the same about Pope, mind. ;)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England v Australia 🇦🇺 2nd Ashes Test - Lords - 28th June

Can’t do much with that It was a beaut but a proper forward defensive would have stopped it. There's about 4 inches between bat and leg and it hit his middle stump. I know it's unfashionable, but sometimes it's okay to defend.
www.readytogo.net www.readytogo.net

I do agree, though - Smith has talent and will have a role to play in the test side.

Pope has never been good enough and has got worse. Such an important position as well. To be fair, he's not the only one who needs discarding.
 
Voice of fair play said:
There is no way mind that Smith is finished as a test player, he has bags of talent.

He will come again while agreeing he has terrible series.

Others I agree
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One of the many irksome things about this whole set up is that we appear to be ruining Smith. Bethell maybe to some extent the same.

There just appears to be no flex in the system.

Smith has been elevated and left to flounder.

The whole 'no place for weak men in the dressing room' speech was illuminating.

Translation we are failing because you are failing and you are failing because you are weak.

Not, we cocked up the selection or the preparation or captaincy decisions on the field; it's because you are weak.

That style of man management went out the window last century.
 
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Parkside said:
He'll punish minor test bowling attacks as he's proved. His technique has been found lacking against top class attacks. No sign that he is able/prepared to make the necessary adjustments.Has he the desire?
Problem is there's nobody in the England coaching set up to provide the required guidance.
Click to expand...
I do think Smith is someone we need to back for the long term.

Young players tend to go through some inconsistencies, and he still young for the amount of test matches he has had.

Bags of talent imo
 
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