Ashes 2015

byronbay2

bilston wrote: »

Beyond pathetic from England.

30/4

Ha ha. Yeah, I was not expecting that! The match has basically been lost in the first 45 mins of their innings.

Beefy78

Never dull watching England. At least I've not flown 11,000 miles for this this time.

riffmongous

All it takes is one big partnership though to take the sting out of the bowlers, what's the follow-on target?

bilston

riffmongous wrote: »

All it takes is one big partnership though to take the sting out of the bowlers, what's the follow-on target?

366

bilston

Australia are bowling very well it has to be said.

bilston

riffmongous wrote: »

All it takes is one big partnership though to take the sting out of the bowlers, what's the follow-on target?

It would need a massive partnership. Probably 200+ from Cook and Stokes just to be in with a chance of making the follow on. Stay in and make hay when the ball gets old, but not so old that Lyons becomes a factor.

I can't see England saving this match now to be honest. This could be humiliating for them actually.

bilston

I should point out that Australia were 230/7 today so maybe the wicket isn't as easy as Smith and Rogers made it look yesterday.

KevIRL

Clarke not enforcing the follow on

BarryD

KevIRL wrote: »

Clarke not enforcing the follow on

Much of a muchness, I guess. But will he try and set an attractive target?

blackcard

BarryD wrote: »

Much of a muchness, I guess. But will he try and set an attractive target?

I would think he should be aiming to declare around lunchtime tomorrow with a lead of 450 unless the weather forecast is poor

bilston

Australia to declare around 200.

Lyth just dropped Warner. Frustrating for England.

KevIRL

Aussies completely dominant. Looking forward to some fireworks in the morning as they try to get to 500 ahead as quick as possible

KevIRL

Hope Rodgers is alright

bilston

Steve Smith is a class act.

I still think if England's batsmen show a bit of cojones they can bat for five sessions on this wicket. They have to get through the new ball though. Do that they and they have a chance. However I question whether Lyth, Ballance and on current form Bell can do that. Although in Bell's defence it would help if he didn't keep coming in at 20/2.

Edit - as soon as I post that Smith gets out.

BarryD

England taking a pasting now!!!

bilston

BarryD wrote: »

England taking a pasting now!!!

If they batted 5 sessions they probably wouldn't be far away! But that would mean smashing a few records.

Anyway I wouldn't be surprised if Australia skittled through the weaker members of their top order. England will do well to make it to lunch tomorrow if their 1st innings is anything to go by.

BarryD

Hmm.. England will have c.150 overs? to get 508 - 3.4 an over. Not impossible but hard to sustain.

Skid X

England have got to lunch with no wickets lost, should be handy enough for them now!

It is situations like this where someone can step up and make an era defining innings. Like when Mike Atherton batted for nearly two days to save a test against South Africa http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket-645-minutes-492-balls-185-runs-1524253.html

BarryD

Cook gone - surely curtains now unless the weather comes to the rescue

bilston

BarryD wrote: »

Cook gone - surely curtains now unless the weather comes to the rescue

No chance. Losing Cook means game over. I still think once the new ball wares out they will probably hold firm for a bit but it will be to little too late.

paulie21

Lyth's place has to be in jeopardy now. Presumably Bairstow would come in, maybe move Bell to opener?

bilston

paulie21 wrote: »

Lyth's place has to be in jeopardy now. Presumably Bairstow would come in, maybe move Bell to opener?

Moeen Ali could open as well.

The issue with Lyth is he just isn't doing the job of an opener. His ton against NZ aside he has done nothing. He gets out cheaply. Openers are openers for a reason. They can deal with the new ball.

Then again you need to give people a chance. He is obviously talented and does havw a century to his credit against a good NZ side so I suspect they will persevere with Lyth for another test at least.

It would probably help his cause if Bell and Balance can score runs here. You can carry one batsman in ropey form, but not three.

Luckycharms_74

England collapse to 64-5 at tea

Skid X

England all out for 103, Australia win by 405 runs.

Credit to Australia, but that is a woeful batting display on a flat pitch.

BarryD

BarryD wrote: »

Hmm.. England will have c.150 overs? to get 508 - 3.4 an over. Not impossible but hard to sustain.

I didn't the above scenario was very likely but would never have imagined that England would capitulate so easily in the end.

bilston

Really really poor spineless display from England. It may be 1-1 in the series but the manner of the two defeats are polls apart. Australia at least fought hard in their 4th innings at Cardiff, England were a shambles.

Not sure about changes for the third test. Do they persevere with Lyth? I like Alex Hales myself, but I don't know if he can convert his attacking limited overs form to test cricket. He is averaging 45 in the county championship this year which is good but not exceptional.

I'd stick with Ballance, he has talent, and has shown he can score big runs at test level. I'm not sure about Bell, he probably has enough credit in the bank to be stuck with though for now.

paulie21

Bairstow replaces Ballance in the squad. Bell to bat at 3

y0ssar1an22

Is there a case for Butler to be dropped now and let Bairstow took over wicketkeeping duties? Either bring in a specialist batsman or an all-rounder such as Rashid?

Rjd2

y0ssar1an22 wrote: »

Is there a case for Butler to be dropped now and let Bairstow took over wicketkeeping duties? Either bring in a specialist batsman or an all-rounder such as Rashid?

Not sure Rashid will offer to much unless Australia get hyper aggressive against him, I'd persist with Joss, but yeah he has looked poor in this test summer.:(

TrueDub

3rd Test starts today in Edgbaston. Full TMS coverage free-to-air on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcqmnmNl8QI