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Post by philh on Dec 5, 2017 21:53:58 GMT
England just have to draw the series to retain the Ashes. When I was at the Brisbane Test, the announcer repeatedly referred to the Aussie victory over the England Women - it was, in fact, a tie but they retained the Women’s Ashes. Presumably, if we did draw this series, we could claim a win. On a similar topic, there were regular things on the big screen asking fans to use the hashtag #beatengland. Its frequency dropped when England were doing well but increased when English wickets fell.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Dec 6, 2017 13:13:17 GMT
This "tie" is looking ever more unlikely, even though, Root says England are still in the Ashes. I commented before about the vulnerability of Steve Smith and here is another example. Would Ponting, Waugh, Border or all the other great Aussie Captains have taken a sleeping pill the night before a tense cricket day because they were worried about making a wrong decision? I don't think so and the more "chirping" Anderson does to Smith during this series the better. Seek out any frailty, in my view. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/42249529
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 9, 2017 11:38:18 GMT
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Dec 14, 2017 18:23:57 GMT
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 16, 2017 8:34:43 GMT
England have been a disgrace! The England XI are not fit to wear the England shirt! Bring them home and send out women's team as they will show more balls than this England team has!
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 16, 2017 10:34:11 GMT
England cricket RIP!
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Post by philh on Dec 18, 2017 17:05:43 GMT
All calm on here today when I was expecting a few blasts at the England team. I suppose we knew we were losing The Ashes to The Australians well before we woke up this morning.
It's tempting to say that we need to get rid of several of the players that have failed, but that's not easy either. There isn't a queue of replacements ready to take their chance. The ones who arguably looked weaknesses before the series, namely Stoneman, Malan and Vince, have performed better than most - all three have averages in excess of Root and Cook.
Cook has had a dreadful series so far, but is it premature to axe him? Anderson has bowled pretty well and doesn't look too old to me. Broad has been patchier, but far better than Ball, for example.
I am not sure where we go from here. You can shuffle the pack a bit, bring in one or two peripheral players, but the basic problem is that at Test level, we are short of talent right now, particularly when playing away from home.
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Post by joe on Dec 20, 2017 12:36:47 GMT
I can’t understand why we haven’t played Crane. He is the one player in the squad who has had success in Australia in recent times. There was an outcry from England when Hants didn’t play him at the beginning of the season and preferred to play their all rounder spinner Dawson, now England are doing the same thing playing their spinning all rounder Ali. If Crane can take 5 wickets in the match for NSW then surely he’s worth a go?
For Melbourne I’d play Curran for Broad and Crane for Ali and if Overton is injured I’d bring Foakes in with the gloves to strengthen the batting and push Bairstow up the order.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Dec 21, 2017 13:12:05 GMT
After losing the Ashes - - the seventh of the last eight to be won by Australia at home - the predictable, nay, tedious criticisms of the ECB and county cricket begin. What's going to happen if England now win the last two Tests? Hollow and embarrassing rants come to mind. It is no surprise that the anti City-Based Tournament journos are in full cry using the 3-0 defeat as any excuse to open up a chink in the ECB armour. Typical of these scribes is George Dobell whom along with Lizzy Ammon are firing off salvos for their supporters like its November 5th. In this feature for Cricinfo, Dobell blames the ECB for their recent attention on T20 and says it is not these tournaments that will bring salvation but County Cricket. By now the traditionalists are crowing all the way to the past days of non-covered pitches. Although, Dobell then strikes an own goal by also blaming county cricket groundsmen. I thought such hardened souls are the hit of the county juke box jury brigade? Dobell swipes away the phenomenal SKY deal where the CBT plays an important role by stating, "If the ECB are judged by anything but financial criteria, they are a failure. But in modern sport the bottom line counts more than the top of the league and the fact is the new broadcast deal - £1.1 billion - is deemed a successful outcome. Losing in Australia and India (and the UAE and Sri Lanka) might be deemed collateral damage." Australia winning at Home is pretty much a done deal and always has been; and why England winning the 2010/11 Ashes away was an extraordinary achievement and totally out of character. Meanwhile, England have won at home since 2005. The idea that England had even a hint of beating the Aussies in this Ashes series was pure heresy to reason and logic. Home conditions now play a vital role for both sides. The pitches of Australia which suit any bowler who can sling the ball at 90mph+ and the swinging conditions in England which offer great help to those seamers who can manage 80mph+. The idea of blaming the CBT for the present failure is like chiding a seat cover for a motorway multiple pile-up. Q: Do England possess any genuinely fast bowlers? A: No. If there are any hopefuls they usually break down with injury. One could argue that cricketers are not physically built like those from the old days and why so many seamers today get injured. Mark Wood being a typical example. I fully expect England to win the next Ashes series at home, just as I fully expect Australia to keep winning at home. It is a sad state of affairs but true. The primary problem the ECB now has is finding a replacement for Anderson. Meanwhile, when your top batsman in Cook can't find a run and your new Captain Root, is still finding his feet; then throw in the impotence of Ali compared to his counterpart Lyon and the disappearance of Stokes and this Ashes series was a no-hoper from the moment England stepped on Australian shores. At least, imho, the ODIs should be far more closely contested and I greatly look forward to watching them. www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21805721/ecb-decade-errors-led-ashes-failure
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 21, 2017 15:26:58 GMT
The usual suspects have started to blame England's tour travails on the county schedule, likely doing a copy and paste from the last time they wrote it, which was when we last lost a series. It's funny, when we win, no one says it is because of the excellent grounding on the county circuit, but when we lose, it's like they are being made to work the pit face, naked, with a knife and fork for tools.
When we read that Steven Finn has 'pace sucked out of him by the daily grind' there is an initial sympathy, until one explores further and sees he bowled less than 300 overs in the summer just past. There will be plenty of veterans who will laugh a little at that, and a good few for who that was around a month's bowling.
I don't pretend the life of a county cricketer is easy, because it isn't. Everyone wants a pop at you, thinks they could do as well, given opportunity and thinks you should score runs and take wickets every time you play. It doesn't work like that, but it also a life of privilege, as many realise when it is no longer there and an 'ordinary life' beckons.
The England squad, in my humble opinion, would be better served by appreciating what they have and not treating a tour like an all-expenses paid jolly, which this tour appears to have become. With privilege comes responsibility, certainly in personal conduct and, like anyone in the public eye, there will always be those out there who are ready and wanting to bring you down.
Making four-day cricket less of an unwelcome guest might help too. Playing four-day cricket in the early part of the year, when quick bowlers can't get warm and the dibbly-dobblies thrive is stupid. You won't win in Australia with Darren Stevens, even if he will get 30 wickets by the end of May on slow, green wickets as sure as night turns to day.
If the cricket authorities seriously want to win the Test series and see it as more prestigious than a T20 series win (which it is) then they need to show its importance with scheduling. I'd guess that Harold Rhodes and Bill Copson were more willing to let themselves go on a warm day when the muscles were loose and the wicket had a bit of bounce. When those conditions are available now, our bowlers want only to bowl wide yorkers and a range of slower balls.
Anyway, I can't change it any more than you and the suits at Lord's only want to increase the game's pulling power with a city-based T20, which for me remains doomed to failure.
On the bright side, if it succeeds there will be a lot more people interested in the game who will wonder why we are so poor as a touring side.
And start to ask questions themselves...
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 21, 2017 17:26:09 GMT
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Post by flashblade on Dec 21, 2017 19:39:14 GMT
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 21, 2017 20:04:57 GMT
England travel worse than Southern Rail.
Really? At least they don't go on strike every five seconds!
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Post by glosexile on Dec 21, 2017 20:25:45 GMT
S and F
On reading your post.....I found myself nodding vigorously, interspersed with the shaking of my head. So much so, that I have ended up with a bad neck!
Excellent summary from you regarding the Ashes situation. (The only real surprise was the fact that some people were apparently surprised at the outcome). The subsequent observations from Coverpoint were spot on. County Cricket always seems to get the blame when things go wrong. (Contrast with the back slapping, lauding of central contracts and supposed world class stars when we win at home).
No real idea why the George Dobell article on Cricinfo is moaned about. Personally, found it interesting and a worthy read. As for cricket groundsmen, Dobell actually comments as follows:
"the ECB have done nothing to improve the pudding-like nature of pitches that proliferates in England and Wales. Centrally-contracted groundsmen could and should have been introduced years ago".
Frankly, it seems a massive leap for you to somehow interpret this as "Dobell strikes an own goal by also blaming county cricket groundsmen". (Rather sounds like Borderman in his heyday, who was seemingly obsessed with the sport of Dobell bashing).
Do groundsmen dictate that 4 day cricket is played largely at the margins of the season? Were groundsmen responsible for the need to introduce the uncontested toss rule,or were they merely preparing green tops at the behest of their (home) paymasters? Similarly, do we blame the groundsmen or the local hierarchy, for the standard of the pitch prepared for the important Somerset v Middlesex match at the end of last season?
Personally, I can only see the thought of independent (centrally-contracted) groundsmen as being a positive step. It is not an attack on our groundsmen (who often have a thankless task), but something that appears to be good for cricket in this country.
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Post by coverpoint on Dec 22, 2017 6:28:36 GMT
They have made mincemeat of us. Anderson is talking utter rubbish! It's like saying we were beaten 10-0 but only lost because one player got all ten goals. Send Anderson to the loony bin. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05rr8vx
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