The Ashes

alderz

I feel confident tbh

Slacker

As my Yorkshire wife would say:
“Proper knickergripping innit?”

thornburyiron

Stokes gone now. Aussies favourites again now. We’re throwing this away again.

Slacker

alderz said:

I feel confident tbh

You can’t say that on here!😉

buffybegood

Stokes caught down the leg-side as well, not good, he's gone for 13. 161-5, 90 more needed.

BubblesNeverDies

Another waft down the leg side and Stokes is gone. Stupid.

buffybegood

Bairstow plays on, 171-6, 80 needed.

thornburyiron

Bairstow gone. No batters left now so it’s down to Brook and the tail. What a waste of space Bairstow’s been this series. He’s cost us hundreds of runs and contributed practically nothing.

BubblesNeverDies

England need a miracle now.

BubblesNeverDies

I blame it on Root for giving his wicket away. England were cruising.

buffybegood

Woakes is a better batsman than this, he shouldn't be swinging wildly at everything given the state of the match.

IronHerb

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

buffybegood

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Slacker

BubblesNeverDies said:

England need a miracle now.

Eh?

thornburyiron

Brook gone now and we are still 21 runs short.

buffybegood

We're certainly not making it easy for ourselves, 230-7 at the fall of Brook's wicket, 21 still needed.

thornburyiron

Woakes and Wood get us over the line

buffybegood

Not exactly a stress-free chase, but ultimately a successful one 😊😊😊.

IronHerb

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Catches are dropped in cricket.

Slacker

I really don’t know what some you lot want from Test Cricket.
This match , and the whole series so far, has been nothing but wonderful sporting drama.
It really doesn’t get much better,two really good sides going full tilt at each other, brilliant stuff.

Slacker

Yeoldhammer said:

Ashes lost. 5-0 Whitewash on the cards.

👍

buffybegood

IronHerb said:

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Catches are dropped in cricket.

Indeed, but as slip catches go, that was pretty straightforward; the best teams don't drop many like that or they don't continue to be the best teams.

IronHerb

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Catches are dropped in cricket.

Indeed, but as slip catches go, that was pretty straightforward; the best teams don't drop many like that or they don't continue to be the best teams.

I seen easier catches than that dropped, haven't you? All teams drop dollies but not all drops are so expensive. Marsh scored 118 off 118 balls, that is just brilliant.

BubblesNeverDies

IronHerb said:

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Catches are dropped in cricket.

Runs are scored in cricket.

EXETERHAMMER

Bairstow needs yo be dropped for next Test. It is now a no brainer.

Dodger58

I heard yesterday that we have already missed 20 chances for wickets in the 3 tests, that’s getting all the Aussies out twice in one match. It isn’t Bazball, but our fielding that has let us down.

I have always hated not picking the best wicketkeeper - we never appear to learn. Bairstow willbe very fortunate if he keeps his place.

buffybegood

Dodger58 said:

I heard yesterday that we have already missed 20 chances for wickets in the 3 tests, that’s getting all the Aussies out twice in one match. It isn’t Bazball, but our fielding that has let us down.

I have always hated not picking the best wicketkeeper - we never appear to learn. Bairstow willbe very fortunate if he keeps his place.

Bairstow should be very fortunate to keep his place, but I see a stubborness with McCullum and Stokes that suggests they're not going to admit they were wrong in dropping Foakes.

I admire a degree of loyalty from selectors; in the past we've chopped and changed too much, but I'm not sure Bairstow has done enough since his accident to justify his place, and he's certainly done nothing to suggest he should be keeping wicket, quite the reverse in fact.

It seems Stokes is unlikely to bowl again this series, so it seems we've got to re-examine the balance of the team. Old Trafford tends to have a bit more turn than some other grounds, so it seems unlikely we'll go without a spinner; will Moeen Ali be available (there was mention of his sore finger again in this Test)? Will we risk Robinson given his back issues in this Test? Unlikely I woulda thought.

Ultimately, we'll need 4 seamers and Moeen, and then just 5 batsmen and whoever keeps. I just can't see Stokes and McCullum going with Foakes in those circumstances; if Stokes could be trusted to be the 4th seamer then I think there's more chance of Foakes coming back in, but I think the indications are that Stokes won't be able to bowl again. If Wood is able to play again, then I think we'll see the same side again, with either Tongue, who seems to have overtaken Potts is the minds of the selectors, or Anderson coming in for Robinson; realistically I think it's more likely to be Tongue as I'm not sure I'd want Anderson and Wood in the same team given neither would want to be bowling long spells.

IronHerb

BubblesNeverDies said:

IronHerb said:

buffybegood said:

IronHerb said:

I blame Marsh for playing a blinding innings.

Not Root for dropping him early on?

Catches are dropped in cricket.

Runs are scored in cricket.

Not sure of your point. We scored more runs and won.

BubblesNeverDies

Stating the obvious.
Catches are dropped in cricket.

Fortuneseeker

Maybe somebody could calculate how many catches Australia have dropped compared with England as I reckon we have dropped more?