Stokes and Buttler to plunder 100 odd in 20 overs tomorrow. Then declare and bowl them out for 45. End this in under two days.
English cricket 2015 - NZ, The Ashes, Pak and SA
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Walked in, smacked on the TV and saw Warner bowling dibbly-dobblers 
. Glorious.
. Glorious.Play an extra batsman, have the oppositions best bowler out, get knocked over for 60, get spanked round and think 'gee we could do with an extra bowler'. This is so, so beautiful.
Worried about these back problems with Root though.
What the feck! How did I miss this carnage?
Clarke's average has slipped below 50 now.
Which is a fair representation of his career which is likely to be over. He was a good batsmen who had some outstanding series but not in the class of "greats". It's harsh to call him a home track bully since he's got runs away, but generally he's always churned loads of runs on home surfaces which means having what typically is an average away series isn't reflected on his statistics. Much like Steve Smith is doing now. Number 1 batsman in the world? Not even the number 1 in his team.
Which is a fair representation of his career which is likely to be over. He was a good batsmen who had some outstanding series but not in the class of "greats". It's harsh to call him a home track bully since he's got runs away, but generally he's always churned loads of runs on home surfaces which means having what typically is an average away series isn't reflected on his statistics. Much like Steve Smith is doing now. Number 1 batsman in the world? Not even the number 1 in his team.
feck me, even the FT is leading on the cricket and they supposedly never cover sport!
England's best day of test cricket ever?
Put a team in, bowl them out for 60 and then score at over 4 an over to lead by 214 by the end of the first day.
Also Joe Root is a better batsman than Steve Smith.
Excellent pitch. England didn't even bowl particularly well; Broad was excellent but had he been supported from an Anderson from the other end Australia would have struggled to get to 40, Finn and Wood really didn't bowl much better than ok.
Not the pitches fault Australia can't bat.
Put a team in, bowl them out for 60 and then score at over 4 an over to lead by 214 by the end of the first day.
Also Joe Root is a better batsman than Steve Smith.
Excellent pitch. England didn't even bowl particularly well; Broad was excellent but had he been supported from an Anderson from the other end Australia would have struggled to get to 40, Finn and Wood really didn't bowl much better than ok.
Not the pitches fault Australia can't bat.
Neither have been tested adequately. Last time Joe Root came up against the Aussies in Australia, he crumbled like a biscuit. As for Smith, he's still to prove himself in difficult conditions, too.
This catch is unbelievable.
Whilst true Joe Root's improvement as a batsman has been in the year or so since then. I'm convinced he'd be absolutely fine there now.
Problem is there's not really a good enough bowling attack in world cricket for them to prove themselves, Smith did well in South Africa but he looks completely clueless against the moving ball here and next time we go to Australia we're likely to be facing a bowling attack without Johnson and (obviously) Harris.
I think they'll both rack up remarkable numbers, but Root's technically better.
Smith, Root and Williamson are all phenomenal IMO. Think Root's a completely different batsman now without Flower and co., always felt he was too slow to score and the attritional nature of Flower's England was detrimental to Root, now he's a lot freer. Smith will be fine, best Aussie batsman in South Africa, West Indies and UAE, he'll learn. Kohli's pretty darn good too but he was absolutely shite in England last year, apart from that he has a really good away test record I think.
Easy to forget Smith and Root have hardly been around 5 minutes, particularly Smith at 3, never had him down as the player he is now 2-3 years back when he was plodding around the IPL and was better known for his fielding.
I don't agree, just yet.
Cricket is at it's worst with regards to touring teams, and Australia are demonstrating just that. I think Smith toured SA just before his purple patch began, and he had a decent tour. However, neither has proven themselves in the sub-continent and on pitches which actually provide assistance to the spinners. Going by recent years, I don't expect either to perform at the levels they're currently displaying now.
Yeah his improvement is unreal.
He's definitely not a number 3 though, you might get away with it if the ball doesn't swing or if your openers see it off but his technique against the moving ball is horrific.
I'd back him to improve if he got the chance though, but I don't see where that's going to come from, maybe he can play CC after the IPL next year, not sure if the Aussies have a window though.
I think he'll figure it out, too many of these Aussie batsmen push too hard at the ball, normally Smith is good at playing late but I honestly think a lot of this Aussie funk right now is to do with this whole aggressive mindset they seem keen to persist with. They want to dominate too much and England to their credit are pitching it up, which is something they didn't do enough in previous years. Leaving the ball is a lost art now. Voges has played shitloads of CC and can't do shit right now, Smith will learn.
Whilst the Australian batsmen are getting a pounding I think their bowlers aren't getting enough criticism at all, 3 of the 4 tests so far they've shown a lack of control and haven't extracted nearly as much as their English counterparts. It's all in flashes and all with brute force and speed, not much nuance or craft (it's not that ruddy hard to seam it is it?) to anyone in their attack at all (Lyon was leading wicket taker before this test I believe).
What an embarrassing innings that was from us. Disgraceful really. None of them (except Rogers) know how to bat at Test level. They swing at everything! Some big changes will have to be made.
Bring back Watson! His 20 or 30 would have been handy
Bring back Watson! His 20 or 30 would have been handy
What an embarrassing innings that was from us. Disgraceful really. None of them (except Rogers) know how to bat at Test level. They swing at everything! Some big changes will have to be made.
Bring back Watson! His 20 or 30 would have been handy
That guy Extras did okay. Top scorer.
Got there quickly too. Took only 9 deliveries or so to score 14. Carried his bat through the innings. Is he the new Bradman?
I personally think Williamson is a class above the rest out of the new lot, but bags of potential all round for sure.
Aussies need to find the next Slasher Mackay and get him in the team pronto.
Kohli is amazing in the ODI format; needs to do more in test cricket. Mind you, was phenomenal in Australia when we visited them the last time, and did well in South Africa too.
The four you mentioned are the leading young batsmen in world cricket. Each of them have had their issues in one or two series, still have plenty time on their side to get the records straight.
Among the Indian ones, Rahane is a really good young cricketer too, just doesn't have the stardust of the Big 4 (if I can call them that). I would die wondering why it didn't happen for him, if Pujara's career follows the trajectory it has followed the last couple of seasons.
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England have been outstanding the last two tests, especially after losing the second so badly. Didn't think the Aussies were all that, but never would have imagined such capitulation.
Always fun watching the Aussies reel, a very very rare event, only dampener is that it's England on the other side.
Root’s 2013 Australia tour at a very young age. He was still the pick of England’s batsman on that tour IMO, in which England got white washed 5-0. Root has developed since then and is already a much better player nowadays (which is to be expected considering his age). Root’s debut was in India at the final test in 2012 btw, where he scored 73 and 20 not out. Root is an excellent player of spin. In fact, Root doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses. Root’s got it all, temperament, technique and talent.
I don't debate anything you state, here. Root seems to be an incredibly talented player, however, we seem to be in the era of home bullies and away cowards, which is why I don't fully expect Root or Smith to be as good in testing conditions. You never know, though, I could be completely wrong. Smith will get his chance in 2016 (India) and Root plays SA, UAE and India in the next two winters.
Well played root Very good 130
Come on Starc, get 9.
I'd like Broad to hit a very slow 60 now.
Didn't know you could take the new ball half way through an over, always thought you had to wait till the start of a new one.
Get a wicket before lunch and it will be a great choice from cook
Anytime you want after 80.
Fantastic bowling by Broad here
Just looked at the score thank feck i was out tonight
They've beaten their 1st innings score!
Sloppy from England. Dropped catches and wicket of a no ball. If Australia can finish the day 50 odd runs behind with only a couple of wickets down, this game is well and truly on.4 down in 20 minutes after my post. I jinxed that one.
Marsh in for Marsh, stupid decision.
Marsh in for Marsh, stupid decision.
Why the feck did they select S.Marsh?
This is genuinely an absolute joke from Australia.
Bye bye to the Ashes, have to wait until the 2017-18 summer to potentially win them back. Far out that's a long time.
That's good. This is the 5th Ashes in six years, it's getting overkill.
Clarke's most likely done after the next game.