TOPIC:

Good to see the poms take yet another defeat so well.

Yeah Cummins is no tatical genius, but Aust are 2 zip up, through a team effort, and holding their nerve at the end of both tests. Not sure what luck teally has got to do with it TBH. Hopefully England's luck runs out with batting and bowling in the better conditions, after winning both tosses. The Cummin's haters are just gonna hate I guess.

Moving on to Headingley, I hope Aust with that win, dont get sucked in and go in with the same bowling attack. Is Murphy a monty to even play? Head can bowl a few overs of spin or Marnus if needed. Perhaps Boland and Neser both come in for Hazlewood and Lyon. 5 quicks these days I know isn't the norm.....but it's not as though Eng are going to produce a raging turner to get back into this series....their strength is with their seamers and greenish pitches one would of thought.

What a game of test cricket, full of ebbs and flows. In the end though it was the team that had been on top for the majority of the match won the game.

Day 1 - Australia battled through some tough conditions when they could have capitulated.
Day 2 belonged to England although some late strikes by the Aussies brought them back into it. Day 3 was dominated by Australia even though once again they had to bat in murky conditions. Day 4 England fought back using short pitched bowling before their top order was blown away late in the day.
Then Day 5 had everything. One of the greatest innings in a losing cause ever, the Aussies sticking to their guns and finally prevailing.
Some great individual performances. Batting wise, Steve Smith, Ussie, Head, Warner for Australia and Stokes of course along with Duckett.

Starc certainly justified his selection just by that burst on day 4 and the pace bowlers all did their bit. For England Tongue showed a lot of promise and Broad bowled very cleverly. The courage (borderline stupidity?) of Nathan Lyon when he came out to bat added to the drama and those 15 runs he added with Starc were crucial.

It is unfortunate that the Bairstow dismissal is dominating the talk rather than the excellence of this test match. I do feel a little uncomfortable with it even though strictly it was out although I have to say I was amused by all this talk by the Poms about spirit of cricket when Bairstow himself was trying to do the same thing to Labuschagne in the same match, They ran out De grandhomme last year when appealing for LBW and he wandered out of his crease in confusion and the coach did exactly the same thing to Collingwood when he was playing and also ran out Murali when he left his crease to celebrate with a partner who had just made a ton. And then we had  Broad chuntering about fair play after that 2013 catch that was clearly taken and he refused to walk. Spare me!  

The next test at Headingly will be spicy methinks. Depends on the pitch but I would certainly select Murphy given his performance in India. They will target him but I think he has the temperament to go with it and enjoy the challenge.

Bairstow would be spewing at leaving himself wide open - it's not really in the spirit of things but when you try it on yourself then inexplicably just walk out of the crease ???
Well Australia was obviously waiting for him to do it

Good game of cricket to watch
We batted well in trying conditions in the first innings.
Poms batted terribly when they had the game there for the taking in both innings. Even last night if they played the long game they would have won.
I don't think Australia bowled well and i agree their plans were confusing. Why we didnt bowl more balls at the stumps to the tail is beyond me. Simple, they miss and we hit

Under the letter of the law correct decision for Starc catch - the ball touched the ground
Under the letter of the law correct decision on the run out - dont leave your crease until the ball is dead or the ump calls over - we all learn that in back yard cricket. Hell the poms have a history of doing it (McCallum has done it twice during his test career) and Bairstow tried to do it on day 3 to get Spare Bus Change out.

Umps have been shithouse in this series so far - a number of decisions overturned on DRS in all innings of both tests. Its not that hard is it.

Poms bowled about 45 overs more than the aussies - that figure is now over 100 across the first two tests.

I would rather be 2 nil up than 2 nil down - some decent English weather in the coming days and we could own the ashes again

 I am guessing the short stuff to the tail  rather than bowling at the stumps was to give them a taste of their own medicine. Not taking the new ball may have been symbolic too. In the end Tongue was clean bowled once it was decided enough was enough.

Given the current issues in English cricket about racism I hope whatever was said that made Uzzie react wasn't of a racist nature. He is a pretty laid back and casual guy so to react like that something really upset him and it was clear in his interview afterwards he was still emotionally caught up in it all.

Stokes blew it at the end, had to continue knocking one an over, Even at that rate of scorring England would have won or drawn the match by stumps, going to Leeds won 1-0 down at the worst. Too much bravado by Bairstow and the two New Zealanders. There is an old saying in cricket ' play every ball on its merits'.

premiership hangover wrote:

Given the current issues in English cricket about racism I hope whatever was said that made Uzzie react wasn't of a racist nature. He is a pretty laid back and casual guy so to react like that something really upset him and it was clear in his interview afterwards he was still emotionally caught up in it all.




Yes I was thinking that too PH. Not like Ussie to get that fired up and he was still fuming at the end of the game

ArkRoyal wrote:

Stokes blew it at the end, had to continue knocking one an over, Even at that rate of scorring England would have won or drawn the match by stumps, going to Leeds won 1-0 down at the worst. Too much bravado by Bairstow and the two New Zealanders. There is an old saying in cricket ' play every ball on its merits'.


I think Foakes needs to come in for the 3rd test. The difference between the two keepers is quite marked. Foakes is also a pretty useful batsman who doesnt get caught up in the octane fuelled bazball stuff and is a good foil for the guys that like to hit big.