English cricket thread

Smith is GOAT in tests. No one actually saw Don bat or the quality of bowlers he was up against so he doesn't count.
 
Apart from the obvious exception and Labschange, I can't get over how bad Australia's batsman are. They're somehow even worse than England's.
 
I've never seen anything like this.

It's like he's got a cheat code or something.

They've bowled better and Cummins is a brilliant brilliant bowler but Smith is why Australia have retained the ashes. If he wasn't so ridiculous I think England would have won it.
Yeah a friend of mine used the phrase 'cheat code' the other day. Sums it up really.
 
If Smith played at leeds he would have been a great shout to get 1000 runs.

He has had a bonkers series

When the game has been even he's been impossible to get out. Only after he's been concussed or if there's quick runs to be had has he really gotten out.
 
The decline has started!!

But seriously, how did Woakes do that? Smith flicks 90mph bowlers off his pads all day long.
 
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He's actually done it, the mad man. Warner's somehow had a worse series than Roy :lol:
 
Ah annoying tail end partnerships now.

Classic England

We've been awful bowling at the tail for as long as I can remember.
 
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3rd time in the series, England have held a first innings lead.
 
Good day for England today. Let’s hope the top order take a leaf out of Buttler’s book and attack the Aussies bowlers. Get a 300 plus lead and we should win and draw the series.
 
I understood... it’s just an injustice to Smith.

Considering Smith is also not unique in having a peculiar technique and scoring a volume of of runs (i.e. Chanderpaul) it is a very strange comparison. Smith's averaged 74 since his first test century at the Oval 6 years ago. The year out has allowed him to have surgery on a troublesome elbow and to rest (he complained of feeling fatigued after the India series in 2017), we should not be surprised that he appears to have gotten even better.

Batting is as much about, if not more, the mental aspect than the technical. Concentration, picking line and length, patience etc. If you combine these with excellent hands and a still head that are in alignment, the rest can almost become inconsequential.
 
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The batting, outside of Smith, Stokes, Labuschagne & at a stretch, Burns, have been truly abysmal this series. Warner and Harris both averaging under 10 :lol:

Any chance the volume of T20 cricket is having any sort of impact on test batting (mentality)?
 
The batting, outside of Smith, Stokes, Labuschagne & at a stretch, Burns, have been truly abysmal this series. Warner and Harris both averaging under 10 :lol:

Any chance the volume of T20 cricket is having any sort of impact on test batting (mentality)?

Jack Leach honestly looks to have a better and more secure defence than every other batsmen bar those you just mentioned.

It's been shocking.
 
Just bat all day.

Don't need to be racing along at 4 or 5 an over, just be sensible and bat all day and we should win this Test match.
 
The batting, outside of Smith, Stokes, Labuschagne & at a stretch, Burns, have been truly abysmal this series. Warner and Harris both averaging under 10 :lol:

Any chance the volume of T20 cricket is having any sort of impact on test batting (mentality)?

I think Burns has had an excellent series, especially when compared to the returns of literally everyone else at the top of the order.

Think he's got better as the series has gone on, too, even if his hundred was early.
 
Warne is awful. He's just said Lyon should have brought the field in and stopped Denly getting an easy single and challenged him to come down the pitch to him even though Denly has hit Lyon down the ground for 3 boundaries doing exactly that. Something about match awareness according to Warne.