TOPIC:

England also have a lot of players in their mid 30s but they seem to be doing the generational change stuff a lot better. They have introduced Crawley, Duckett, Pope and Brook who are all going to be around for the next 10 years alongside the experience of Root and Stokes who they can learn from. In the bowling department they have given some opportunities to Tongue and Potts who both have performed well. The only gap I see is in the spin bowling department where England went back to Moeen rather than blood a new spinner in the absence of Leach

Mike the Aussies players Wife's,Girlfriends ect where over for the Oval test.Dont recon any of the players went to the Pomy,nightclub. 
After waiting 4 hours in there changrooms. And realising they had been snubbed. 
Ross Taylor has realised a book about his time in Cricket. And has a few bad things to say about Baz MCcullum. 

gtr, I have read Ross Taylor's  book, really shows Baz up as an arrogant sort, who has a high opinion of himself.

mikeh, don't dispute what you say mate, but folk forget as the likes of Smith, Uzzie and Warner have progressed into their 30's, Aust has introduced generational change in Head, Labuschagne, Harris, Bancroft, Pucovski and Green into the team to learn off them. With Head, Labuschagne and Green having more success over the other 3. 

Look how many players Eng have used in the last 2 years in their top six, before finding success with Brook, Pope, Duckett and Crawley.....Sibley, Denly, Hameed, Lawrence, Malan, Stoneham, Vince and Burns have all crashed and burned in the last few years....is that what Aust fans want...aimless selections, in the hope a diamond in the rough is found?
 

Thanks Freeze.Is Rosses book a good read.Allways like him as a batsman/cricketer.If you give the thumbs up I will buy a copy.

Brendon McCullum spent a decent time playing Sydney grade cricket before his NZ career - he ended up marrying a NSW lady
NSW educated him in their art of brutal sledging , on-field abuse and how to get under the skin of your opponent if all else fails
he's probably got more Aussie in his cricket
no doubt that would have ruffled KIWI feathers at times

If he was a good coach he would teach them to field, fielding having cost England the series. Stokes, himself, dropped four or five catches including Cummings in the first, whom went on to win the test. 

that early declaration & some reckless shots by batsmen as well mate

Apologies gtr for not getting back to you sooner mate 

Australia might be thankful they didn't bowl as many overs as England did
the appallingly slow over rates have seen England docked 19 championship points and Australia 10 championship points

That decision around over rates and docking points makes a farce of the test championship - how can you promote the final as a game between the best two sides in the last cycle, when the ladder is influenced by deducted points.

Make it either a certain number of runs per over short or simply make the fielding team play through breaks. For example, if lunch is due and the fielding team has only gotten through 27 overs, they need to bowl three more before lunch, and then play resumes at the correct time after lunch (the lunch break isn't extended. This might also push batters more into respecting opposition captains, i don't think they ask the other captain anymore if they can change gloves or get a drink i think they just bring people onto the field to do this. If batters know all these short breaks stop them getting a longer break between sessions maybe, they will think about it more and change gloves less or call for more drinks.....
Just a thought because i dont know how often the first session of a test match in the past few years has only had 24 overs bowled but i reckon it would be a high proportion of games