The Ashes.

[only1billybonds]

Just been announced that Josh Hazlewood will miss the first test due to start in Perth next Friday. This is a big blow to the Australians as they will already be without their captain and no.1 pace bowler Pat Cummins.

Englands preparations for the tour has been questioned by many as they have opted to play no warm up games aside from a one off against the English lions. 

Many are saying that its crucial that we get of to a good start in Perth which basically means we cant afford to lose seeing as the 2nd test in Brisbane is a day/night game ( fucking ridiculous) where the Aussies are strongly fancied.

Looking forward to this now but really unsure of how it will play out, I guess I'd still make them slight favourites due to home advantage. Going to be a few all nighters in the coming weeks for me, let's hope it'll be worth it.

[only1billybonds]

Well an innings defeat has been avoided but the only thing that will fill yesterday's ( and Perths) cracks is a repeat of Headingly 81. 
Be the biggest shock in cricket history if it gets even close to happening.

I listened to a few cricket podcasts yesterday and all the pundits/ex pros said the same thing. Australias 9/10 and 11 showed a greater understanding of whats needed in their situation than our lot could only dream of. The team isnt ( mentally) match fit and we are getting destroyed by what is a bang average test side. England's predicament isn't about talent, its a lack of discipline and in game management.

And to think Cummins and Lyon have yet to feature in this series.

And yes, I'm a fucking idiot. Despite what i said yesterday, my alarm was set for 4am. The Mrs suggests i get tested for some sort of disorder and its very hard to argue against that.

[Nutsin]

How many times have England actually won the Ashes in the last 20 years, anyone know?

[Fauxstralian]

England playing proper Test cricket valuing their wickets!
 

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

Adelaide next up..
shuffle the pack because we're done already... put Rew in for Smith .
Potts   for The Jamaican or Atkinson.

Shambles 
 

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

I miss blowers and  all the chaps from the TMS old school days.

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

How good is Starc though. He's proper on one this series bowling out of his skin. Don't even need Lyon's or Cummins the way he's going.

This England squad are knackered already 

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

How good is Starc though. He's proper on one this series bowling out of his skin. Don't even need Lyon's or Cummins the way he's going.

Yea he's good...(Starc)...but not that good .
Boland/dogshite/neser..really  ..???..
 Starc has literally won the ashes on his jack .
35 and after batting for an afternoon ...then destroys a spineless bunch of spazzers not worthy to  wear the shirt.
A  lazy arsed  Jamaican sick note  as your main strike bowler says it all with these wankers .
My prediction is this series will go down as the worst ever English ashes squad  to visit  Australia EVER 
Fuckin cunts
I had no idea Trescothick was so fuckin gormless...I do now.
ITS ALL PATHETIC AND UNFORGIVABLE.

[Takashi Miike]

[Massive Attack]

How good is Starc though. He's proper on one this series bowling out of his skin. Don't even need Lyon's or Cummins the way he's going.

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

Entitled to stand your ground if you don’t think you’ve hit it or given not out but a couple of those were BIG edges & they must have known they were out. Just makes you look stupid 
Brook one where he rightly reviewed & then the umpire lost his bottle next ball and didn’t give an obvious edge was amusing 

Stokes will stay as captain next summer as there isn’t an obvious replacement 
Root will want to concentrate on getting past Tendulkars total
I saw Starc went past Wasim Akram as the leading left arm wicket taker in Tests. Interviewer told him he was now the GOAT of left armers
Starc wasn’t having it & said it was and will always be Wasim
Doing a great job carrying the 4 man attack (Cummins Hazlewood Starc & Lyon) on his own

 

Stokes will be mentally finished by the end of this fuck up  of all fuck ups 

I thought the Flintoff tour could ever be trumped for taking the piss...but these spineless wankers are going to make that squad look like bodyline in comparison.
Total fannies and beta men ...when Joe Root is your Alpha male you know youre  in serious strife

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

Spineless cunts...the end .
 

[Fauxstralian]

Cummins is the Captain so will obviously resume if as expected he is fit for Adelaide
Imagine Cummins & Lyon will replace Doggett & Neser in the XI
Adding an extra 850 Test wickets

[southbankbornnbred]

There ARE county players who can play proper red ball cricket
Theyve just been sidelined because they aren’t ‘exciting’ enough

First step would be an English coach who actually cares about England winning Test matches & the Ashes
McCullum? Having a fun time counting his money but will walk away not particularly bothered 
Trying to play positive cricket is a good thing but there are times in 5 days where you have to resist or grind the other team 
That requires some subtlety & nuance. Relying on a New Zealander for that ? Now THAT is brainless

Totally agree with the Plastic Ponting!

[Westham67]

Are we witnessing the end of Bazball? - Analysis
By
Stephan Shemilt
Chief Cricket Reporter

On this Saturday at the Gabba, we had Jofra Archer arriving with a pillow, Michael Vaughan refusing to down a pint with a group of Stormtroopers and Bluey beating Peppa Pig in a vote to be crowned the superior children's cartoon.All seemed more plausible events than an England display of steel, substance and fortitude.England are once again being slaughtered at the Gabbatoir and are left in need of a Christmas miracle on Vulture Street. They cannot lose the series here, but the Ashes will surely be gone before Father Christmas has checked his list twice.There will be a long, long time for recriminations and post-mortem - this series does not end until the second week of January.Are we witnessing the end of the Bazball project? There is a reasonable chance the men in charge of England - Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key - remain in post regardless of the result, though some deep soul-searching over what this team stands for will be required.Just as Darth Vader arrived in the crowd, Pat Cummins stalked through the media centre as a reminder England have been taking on a 'weakened' Australia team. There is ample opportunity for this tour to get much, much worse.This was supposed to be England's big chance to win in Australia, the most-anticipated Ashes in a generation.Instead, it will be as good as over inside six days and England will only be battling to avoid producing their worst performance in Australia this century.

C+P from BBEB

[only1billybonds]

Anyone know if Cummins will resume the captaincy upon his return or will they carry on with 60 grit Smith?

[Fauxstralian]

Entitled to stand your ground if you don’t think you’ve hit it or given not out but a couple of those were BIG edges & they must have known they were out. Just makes you look stupid 
Brook one where he rightly reviewed & then the umpire lost his bottle next ball and didn’t give an obvious edge was amusing 

Stokes will stay as captain next summer as there isn’t an obvious replacement 
Root will want to concentrate on getting past Tendulkars total
I saw Starc went past Wasim Akram as the leading left arm wicket taker in Tests. Interviewer told him he was now the GOAT of left armers
Starc wasn’t having it & said it was and will always be Wasim
Doing a great job carrying the 4 man attack (Cummins Hazlewood Starc & Lyon) on his own
 

[Come On You Irons]

 

Sorry, are they cheats or captain material? Given you appear to have such a problem with it they can't be both, surely?

They are chests just like the current Australia captain who was literally banned for cheating. Didn't stop him coming back to captain his side, did it.

 

But we're not talking about Australia, are we, so what the fuck has that got to do with it? Its not a question of whether world cricket allows it, it's all about you having such a problem with a batsman not walking 

Yeah, I do have a problem with batsman not walking when they have clearly nicked it. They waste reviews and it's clearly cheating.

I'm old school. When you know you have blatantly edged it you should walk. Simple at that.

[onsideman]

I'd ask Root to take up the captaincy again. If he doesn't want it then it'll have to be Brook I suppose. No other realistic candidates.

 

Sorry, are they cheats or captain material? Given you appear to have such a problem with it they can't be both, surely?

They are chests just like the current Australia captain who was literally banned for cheating. Didn't stop him coming back to captain his side, did it.

 

 

But we're not talking about Australia, are we, so what the fuck has that got to do with it? Its not a question of whether world cricket allows it, it's all about you having such a problem with a batsman not walking 

[Westham67]

There is a TMS podcast with Ryan Harris (Who retired due to a knee injury) about the 2010/11 Ashes series, which we won 3-1; he said we could not get them out. The Boxing Day test MCG we got 513 in our first innings and won by an innings and plenty

I was working in Malaysia with a few Aussies for 2010/11 and then the 2013/14? whitewash  . Johnson, Harris and Siddle

[Come On You Irons]

I'd ask Root to take up the captaincy again. If he doesn't want it then it'll have to be Brook I suppose. No other realistic candidates.

 

Sorry, are they cheats or captain material? Given you appear to have such a problem with it they can't be both, surely?

They are chests just like the current Australia captain who was literally banned for cheating. Didn't stop him coming back to captain his side, did it.

[onsideman]

I'd ask Root to take up the captaincy again. If he doesn't want it then it'll have to be Brook I suppose. No other realistic candidates.

 

 

Sorry, are they cheats or captain material? Given you appear to have such a problem with it they can't be both, surely?

[Fauxstralian]

There ARE county players who can play proper red ball cricket
Theyve just been sidelined because they aren’t ‘exciting’ enough

First step would be an English coach who actually cares about England winning Test matches & the Ashes
McCullum? Having a fun time counting his money but will walk away not particularly bothered 
Trying to play positive cricket is a good thing but there are times in 5 days where you have to resist or grind the other team 
That requires some subtlety & nuance. Relying on a New Zealander for that ? Now THAT is brainless

[southbankbornnbred]

Think we're stuck with Bazball until this tour ends,no way will Mcullum and Stokes ditch it now.
But once this tour is done, it needs to be binned for good. If peple want crash bang wallop cricket there is T20 and the hundred, leave test cricket alone. 

 

 

Yep - reckon you’re right, fella. Changing mid-tour might be problematic anyway: they’ve all been coached out of playing disciplined, technically correct cricket. With the exception of Root, who predates Bazball by a distance, they’re all pretty much groomed on slogging like fat Sunday players.

Even players who started out with decent techniques and mentalities, like Pope, Brook and even Stokes himself: they’re now coached/encouraged to waft at pretty much every delivery. They can’t really play in a disciplined way. It’ll take months to unpick that.

[Westham67]

I genuinely thought they would bat with more restraint for the Ashes 

They have the talent to win the Ashes, but not the nous and most of them not the willingness to graft to take control of the game.

[only1billybonds]

Think we're stuck with Bazball until this tour ends,no way will Mcullum and Stokes ditch it now.
But once this tour is done, it needs to be binned for good. If peple want crash bang wallop cricket there is T20 and the hundred, leave test cricket alone.