The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / Well done England

Comments

  2. Well the will probably give Siddle a bowl one test too late.
    the nest captain Steve Smith should hang his head in shame.
    maybe Haddin will get a game and Watto and them and pup won’t be playing tet cricket again.

  5. Is Smith nailed on to be next captain? That titanic innings at Lords aside, he’s not covered himself in glory on this tour. Can’t think of many other candidates in that XI, though?

  8. Smith will be captain for sure. A couple of dud innings won’t change that.

    Clarke has already announced he’s retiring – thank God he’s going on his own, and thank God he’s going the little prick.

  10. Punter reckon up to 8 won’t play test cricket again

    Hmmm

    Rogers ( ret )
    Pup ( ret )
    Watto
    Siddle
    Haddin
    Shaun Clark
    Voges maybe
    Mitch Clark possibly though hasn’t had much of a go.

    • Can’t see them giving Mitch Marsh the flick, far too early yet. Shaun, on the other hand, well his record of failures is remarkable (how does he keep getting selected?). Seems to score a century every 10 innings, and virtually nothing the rest of the time.
      As others have said, the main reason for the result is the failure of the Aus top order to come to terms with English conditions. Best way to show them how to do it is to sit them down in front of a recording of Kane Williamson’s innings for NZ earlier this ‘summer’ – an object lesson in letting the ball come to you and playing with soft hands, the polar opposite of the way Smith, Marsh etc have played. Looking forward to having KW back at Yorkshire for the last 4 games of the season. BTW, Glenn Maxwell scored a century for Yorkshire today…

  11. Just got back from week’s holiday and cannot believe what happened, the first day in particular. I never saw this happening at the start, but looking back Cardiff was crucial, England believed and irrespective of Lords, something had changed with England. There is promise there though we need to get a proper opening partner for Cook. I like Lyth, he has a few shots in him but his dismissals have been poor. Pleased to see Finn back and particularly pleased for Cook. He’s had a load of crap to deal with and he’s held himself up well. Well done sir. I see that arch prick Piers Moron has had something particularly ungracious to say. What an arse. Disappointed by Australia, they played better over here in 2013.

  13. Presumably Anderson won’t be risked in the final match now, with a tough winter coming up with away series against Pakistan and South Africa.
    Last chance for Lyth to impress maybe?
    As for the Aussies it’s the end of an era for a good number of this current squad. Harris retiring before the series began was a huge blow to them, but England played some fantastic cricket.
    One thing it does illustrate is how important home advantage/conditions are, and how it’s become increasingly difficult for visiting teams to win ‘away’ series.
    Let’s hope we can go out with a bang and make it a 4-1 victory!

  14. It soon became apparent that Australia had got it awfully wrong – selecting a squad in which one retires hurt, many were well passed their sell by date, and poorly coached and prepared. It was astonishing how they couldn’t adapt to conditions that are not exactly unknown or unexpected. There was a touch of over confidence and they clearly didn’t expect the quality of cricket that England offered up. The England bowling is in fine shape, and if you can bowl a side out twice you’re always in with a chance, and they’ve sharpened up the catching and fielding…at this level of sport, you have to take chances. The batting is dependant on Root, but what a player! A word about the sportsmanship – it has been a series played in a great spirit by both sides, which was refreshing.

  16. As Gideon Haig said we played with hard hands and soft heads.

    Not as if the conditions are from Mars . Most have had a few seasons of county cricket under there belts Clearly mentally weak.

    Smith is the mystery. I’d really like to know what he has to say for himself and something beyond platitudes is warranted.

  17. The really worrying thing from Australia’s perspective is the selectors actually did a good job picking the squad, given what they had available. Those picked really are the best we have. There is no one sitting at home with form that demanded selection but was overlooked.

    You may have heard pre-tour that Australia has an array of young fast bowlers that could walk into the Test side, that is absolutely true. In terms of depth it’s the best I’ve ever seen. However (and it’s a big however) the batting cupboard is virtually empty. There are young batsmen that you would describe as promising but no more. They may develop, they may not, but they are not test ready now.

    The thing that astonishes me in regards to batting is this. If you showed people who knew cricket but were unfamiliar with both men footage of Steve Smith and Peter Siddle each playing out a maiden. and then asked each viewer, “Which one is the tail-ender?” NO ONE would pick Siddle!

    Something is wrong with the coaching when all our bowlers can hold a bat and none of our batsmen can.

    • Spot on. Last night was a case in point with the Channel 5 coverage. Why the hell not show a re-run of the previous days, and a limit on the talk ? Try and go and see the cricket at a pub and they’ll invariably be showing some unimportant friendly football match from Malaysia. I hope the ECB are happy about this.

      • Yes, the ECB seems happy to emulate the tennis authorities. As long as you are generating lots of cash everything must be alright, mustn’t it ? Meanwhile, in neck of the woods, Weymouth ( pop 56,000) can’t field a second team and Bridport (pop 13,000) has had to withdraw from the league. I watched the Portland second XI playing the other day. There appeared to be one player under 30 out of the 22 on vieww.

        Nevermind, so long as the England team can cobble together a side drawn from public schools and assorted commonwealth countries ( and Ireland) then the ECB is content.

  19. Stokes and Wood’s disciplined bowling on the final morning, was a real highlight. Broad had said he now judges his day, not on wickets, but putting the ball, repeatedly, where he wants it. Stokes had shown on Friday, that he had learned that lesson, and had got his reward with the 5 wickets. For Wood to rein it back, and bowl maidens and take wickets, when the Ashes were so close, bodes well for his and England’s future. Especially, with the UAE and South African pitches around the corner.
    The future of test cricket ? Use the Duke ball in all tests, worldwide, and the Kookaburra can be used for all other formats. Economically, it should even itself out. The best test cricket, undeniably, is when there is a fair contest between bat and ball. The Duke would always give the bowlers a chance, even on flat, lifeless pitches (the attendance killers). A low score in a one day game though, is bad for business, so it suits the batsmen’s favourite, the Kookaburra. Everyone wins!
    If the Australian’s are serious about winning the Ashes over here, they will need to clear the schedules and have 4/5 county games beforehand.
    It will be 4-1.

  20. Good assessment Ali – apart from Lords, theEngland bowling was disciplined and that was the overall difference. Batting-wise, Eng are suspect but then, so are the Aussies when the pitch isn’t fast and flat. In announcing his retirement (prior to being pushed) Michael Clark has spoken about the importance of Australia ‘adapting to overseas conditions’ on future tours.
    Say what Pup? Like you didn’t know beforehand that might be a consideration?
    There’s something rotten in the state of the Au squad and I’m of the opinion the story might yet come out. Pup wasn’t a universally popular member of the dressing room – and it showed. Smith is yet to be tested as captain but it won’t be a cakewalk. His golden batting patch appears to be at an end and although the summer series with West Indies & New Zealand might not test him too, the fact is, The Ashes is the only that really matters.

    • There’s been stories in the UK press that discontent in the wives/girlfriend contingent accompanying the tour has led to fall outs between the players themselves – not sure how accurate that is of course.

Leave a Reply