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Archie Duda Goal Machine wrote:

Great stats, Beas.
I'm estimating that I have a decade on you in the "Age Stakes", so I can add:
1970/71- ENG won 2-0 (4 draws, ignoring the 3rd Test that was washed out without a ball being bowled)
1974/75- AUS won 4-1 (1 draw)
1976/77- AUS won 1-0 (this was the Centenary Test)
1978/79- ENG won 5-1 
Of course, the Australian side of the late 1970s was decimated by World Series Cricket, but the 1978-79 England team would've been a pretty good outfit in any era.
Combining these stats with yours gives:
AUS- 43 Test wins
ENG- 17 Test wins
Drawn- 17
A late addition to the England stonewallers' list: Colin Cowdrey (I admired his courage as a 42-year-old facing Jeff Thomson)


 

Great stats. Also sad to hear of the death of Ray Illingworth who was the last English Captain to regain the ashes in Australia (70 - 71). His record is safe for at least another 4 years

Good points, Mike, about the detrimental effect on England's Test performances from having both the 20/20 and 100-ball-an-innings competitions.
I would've thought that just 20/20 was sufficient, though England's move to reduce their domestic limited-overs comp from 50 to 40 overs was, I believe, a very good one.
I have vague recollections of double-wicket competitions being popular in England and even played in a few during my extremely modest club career (lower grades) when I lived in Canberra. 
I agree with you about the ideal progression for a five-day Test match.
On that basis, there's probably been no better match at the MCG than the 1982 Ashes Test (notwithstanding this was yet another close Australian loss, by just three runs).
Eng 284 and 294 versus Australia 287 and 288.
I nearly went into cardiac arrest when I saw that Chris Tavare scored 89 from a very respectable 165 balls, including 15 fours. 
Scorecard - 1982-1983 Australia v England - 26/12/1982 (howstat.com)
Yes, Rest In Peace, Ray Illingworth, who I hope will remain the most recent England captain to regain the Ashes in Australia for many years to come. 

Archie Duda Goal Machine wrote:

Good points, Mike, about the detrimental effect on England's Test performances from having both the 20/20 and 100-ball-an-innings competitions.
I would've thought that just 20/20 was sufficient, though England's move to reduce their domestic limited-overs comp from 50 to 40 overs was, I believe, a very good one.
I have vague recollections of double-wicket competitions being popular in England and even played in a few during my extremely modest club career (lower grades) when I lived in Canberra. 
I agree with you about the ideal progression for a five-day Test match.
On that basis, there's probably been no better match at the MCG than the 1982 Ashes Test (notwithstanding this was yet another close Australian loss, by just three runs).
Eng 284 and 294 versus Australia 287 and 288.
I nearly went into cardiac arrest when I saw that Chris Tavare scored 89 from a very respectable 165 balls, including 15 fours. 
Scorecard - 1982-1983 Australia v England - 26/12/1982 (howstat.com)
Yes, Rest In Peace, Ray Illingworth, who I hope will remain the most recent England captain to regain the Ashes in Australia for many years to come. 

I had to take a second look at that stat Arch.......my memory (albeit not fond) of Chris Tavare during that 1982/83 Summer out here was that he resembled being a corpse with pads!!!

Pommy press calling for the captain and coaches heads.  What’s the opinion of you cricket buffs, is this fair on them, or should they be spreading the blame a bit more?

England don't have the system to support 5 day formats anymore - they have been in limited over mode for years now
Geoff Boycott sums it up perfectly when he says the players don't have the ticker to guts things out when the chips are down and the selectors cannot recognise younger talent nor promote them well enough
Their Batsmen illustrate it glaringly

Now they don’t have a coach for the next game!!

58....you got to feel for Joe Root.....he has had a standout calender year personally....scored some big runs, whilst those around him have done fark all.....I see extras is Eng 3rd top run scorer this year.....and there is a 1200 gap between Root and Eng second top scorer in 2021.
I guess it's part  n parcel of being the skipper.....the buck stops with you....would think managing the egos of Broad and Jimmy wouldn't be easy either.

Be interesting to see who takes over from Root if he is made to step down......Stokes obviously in the gun, but with his recent MH issues, would he even want it? Reckon there will be more pain before Eng see's any gain TBH.....quite nice not having Aust self imploding TBH....whilst early days....but Cummins looks like a fantastic choice......no surprises to see Green find his bowling mojo under Paddy.....just hoping Green can finish of this series strongly with the willow...

There's some talk going around about a huge rift in the English test side.Between Captain Joe Root and James Anderson +Stewart Broad.
Both bowlers dropped for the first test in Brisbane.And Broad dropped again for Melbourne.
We have seen this before in the Australian team.Kim Hughes vs Chapple,Marsh+Lillee.

The headaches for Australia are nice ones, which bowlers to play in the last two tests. May be worth having a look at Swepson in Sydney or Hobart with a view to the Pakistan tour. If Hazlewood is fit, maybe give Starc a break? Boland no guarantee of playing in Sydney despite his record breaking performance, you have to give Bailey and the selectors credit for that inspired "horses for courses" choice. Richardson should come back for Sydney given his performance in the 2nd test. Our stocks of pace bowlers have never looked better. There is also Riley Meredith floating around as a genuine quick and I'm sure he will get his opportunity at some stage as well.

Still not convinced about Harris but I have to admit that he showed a fair bit of courage and skill in his innings with the ball jagging around. I will be looking at him to follow up with a ton on a better batting pitch in Sydney or Hobart before I am prepared to admit he has a future.

As for England, it is really a case of shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. Their bowling is good but apart from Root and Malan, their batting is a disaster. I would drop Hameed and Butler and bring back Burns and Pope, which means that they would give the Wicketkeeping gloves to Bairstow who is at least as good a keeper as Buttler and a better batsman, but really they are clutching at straws.

Even as an Aussie supporter who wants the green and gold to win, I have been left with a hollow feeling in this series. The Ashes are about tradition, rivalry and having to fight tooth and nail for wins. These factors have been totally absent this summer. Being a Foxtel subscriber I have been able to watch the Boxing day test in South Africa and the contrast with the Ashes test is quite telling. Even though it is clear that India are the superior team, South Africa have fought hard and made India earn every run and wicket that they have got. India will probably still end up victors but they will know they have been in a contest and that will make the win more special for them. 

Travis Head has tested positive to COVID .Now there's a rumour a second player but no statement made yet.
Josh Englis and Mitch Marsh called up for the Sydney squad.Maby Alex Carey is the second player.