Tom Curran will replace Craig Overton. Will certainly add depth to the batting but still lacking that speed with the bowling. Wood must certainly be unfit if not being played.
England Cricket Winter 2017/18 - Ashes & NZ
- Thread starter ArmchairCritic
- Start date
Great too see Curren in the side, wish Cook, Broad and Ali had also been replaced.
England have lost the toss and Aussies are 79/0 Warner already on 60
Warner out on 99 but it was no ball.Tom Curren with an Overton, bowled Steve Smith to take his 1st test wicket
Good 100 by Cook! Chuffed for him. What a relief it must be. Class batsman.
Legit wanted to bet on a ton from Warner yesterday - it was almost guaranteed. Didn't.
Legit wanted to take a punt on a ton from Cook today - just a punt. Didn't.
Hate the misses in life. Cook was tidy odds too, Warner only like 7/4 though.
Legit wanted to take a punt on a ton from Cook today - just a punt. Didn't.
Hate the misses in life. Cook was tidy odds too, Warner only like 7/4 though.
Well that was nice to wake up to. I wonder how we’ll managed to feck this one up 
Of course cook goes big now that the series is over
Well in Cook, hope he kicks on from here and this is not an exception to the norm.
No Starc probably a bigger factor
Cook has now scored a century at all of the main Australian grounds, very impressive.
How brain dead can you be, WTF was that shot from Root
Absolutely terrible shot from Root.
Converting 50's into 100's is a real problem now for him
Converting 50's into 100's is a real problem now for him
Thought he hit it, replays proved me right, why didn’t he review it? Both Vince and now Malan wrongly given out, is Cook telling them not to review them or what
Inconsequential but that has to be one of the worst decisions by a third umpire..
Me slagging off Cook here saying he's stopped scoring centuries t has made him get one.
Looks like England have finally have won every session in the day. Think they will win this match,Smith is bound to fail sometime.
Looks like England have finally have won every session in the day. Think they will win this match,Smith is bound to fail sometime.
Happy for Cook, classy batsman.
England in a strong position. Chuffed for Cook. Great player and very disciplined. Middled 90% of the deliveries he played at. Mountains of concentration at a time he hadn't been playing well.
Cook now averages 55 for the series
Dead rubber and all that, but heartening to see Cook get runs.
For me, the best opening batsman of the last 30 years and a solid sports person. Liked seeing Broad celebrating when Cook got to the 200.
For me, the best opening batsman of the last 30 years and a solid sports person. Liked seeing Broad celebrating when Cook got to the 200.
Yeah I like Cook, took himself further up the most test runs board too with that knock.
Fair play to Broad too, great effort at the end with that 50, we’d be in a much worse position without that.
Shame when it mattered he couldn't score any.
No Starc and a slow pitch contributory factors also but there's no such thing as a dead rubber when you're facing a potential whitewash and careers are on the line.
He went from England’s 8th highest run scorer to England’s highest run scorer this Ashes seriesCook now averages 55 for the series
Also has the 2 highest test inning scores this year (just a shame about his other 18)
Excellent stuff by George Dobell, who has covered this series terrifically:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21909055/the-ashes-sinking-mire-own-bullshit
Found the reactionary nature of analysis by the BT Sport team pretty jarring as well, so bad in fact I have no inclination to watch it all. I find a large number of recent pros turned pundits are not very objective and end up offering little insight at all.
This Ashes tour has irked me in the way it's been played and reported at large. Just get on the pitch and execute, this fascination with sledging and getting inside the heads of the opposition is childish and boring and detracts from the skill of the players.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21909055/the-ashes-sinking-mire-own-bullshit
Found the reactionary nature of analysis by the BT Sport team pretty jarring as well, so bad in fact I have no inclination to watch it all. I find a large number of recent pros turned pundits are not very objective and end up offering little insight at all.
This Ashes tour has irked me in the way it's been played and reported at large. Just get on the pitch and execute, this fascination with sledging and getting inside the heads of the opposition is childish and boring and detracts from the skill of the players.
Yeah. Many of them turn into supporters in possession of a commentators microphone nowadays. Here, we have three radio stations covering the series. Mark Waugh, an Aussie selector, is providing commentary on the series for triple m radio. Out the window goes impartiality, out the window goes the idea of a commentator being objective too. It's a conflict of interest. Sledging is interesting but to a point and i doubt it's of any interest outside Australia tbh.
You can’t beat Sky Sports’ coverage when it comes to cricket. Hate that twat Vaughan the most, always sensationalist with everything he ever says.
So if the day was cancelled, do they add on another day at the end?
Nope.
He really is a vile and despicable twat. Loves posting controversial stuff on social media and when anyone questions him, he bans them. One minute he's slagging off a player then up his arse .
KP is awful too.
Agreed, but dropping him in the next couple of years would be suicidal for England. We've tried multiple partners in the top 2 with none sticking long term at the moment. Now is not the time to drop the opener who is capable of doing the job (regardless of overall form) when we've taken years to find someone decent to open batting with him with no success.
Go on Root
You get 80k in to watch a test match and they're rewarded with such a pathetic pitch.
Barely any Oz fans today. They didn't bother turning up. I can't believe they'd make a road like drop in pitch for the Boxing Day Test which is one of the most prominent sporting events in Australia.
Smith is Bradman reincarnated
Steve Smith in numbers:
Mat 60
Inns 110
NO 16
Runs 5974
HS 239
Ave 63.55
BF 10703
SR 55.81
100 23
50 22
4s 660
6s 34
Mat 60
Inns 110
NO 16
Runs 5974
HS 239
Ave 63.55
BF 10703
SR 55.81
100 23
50 22
4s 660
6s 34
Mason Crane in for Woakes for the Sidney test. I've seen a bit of Crane and I think this guy is the real deal. He gives the ball some serious spin. And I mean a very serious amount of revs. Far and away the most promising bowler I've ever seen from England. Watch this space!
Let's hope Crane fares better than the last England spinner to get a debut in the 5th test of an Ashes.