Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 Woakes didn't bowl at all that session and Stokes had to go for over an hour. Is there something wrong with him? In a session where you get only 1 wicket you think England would have gone to their opening bowler at least for one short spell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 One of the great individual test performances from Smith. I loathe the guy but he’s a modern master. I dunno if England can get much more than 200 batting last so it’s crunch time now. Obviously the bowling selection hasn’t worked out - they will have to make changes for Lord’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 Just now, Paxter said: Obviously the bowling selection hasn’t worked out - they will have to make changes for Lord’s. I dunno - they did have Australia at 8/122 on the first morning and the Anderson loss was a freak occurrence. They'll have to make a change for Anderson anyway - I assume Archer will make his way into the side. Maybe change the spinner, who knows. For all that, England still have a decent chance in this match. Get a wicket or two early on and they could restrict the target to less than 250, which would be feasible, if not necessarily easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Seeing numbers on the back of the shirts is a bit weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Another hundred for Smith. He's just looked completely untroubled throughout. England losing Anderson early has probably helped a bit but it's still been an absolutely fantastic performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 11 minutes ago, Jeor said: I dunno - they did have Australia at 8/122 on the first morning and the Anderson loss was a freak occurrence. They'll have to make a change for Anderson anyway - I assume Archer will make his way into the side. Maybe change the spinner, who knows. For all that, England still have a decent chance in this match. Get a wicket or two early on and they could restrict the target to less than 250, which would be feasible, if not necessarily easy. Is it certain that the Anderson injury was a freak occurrence? I was under the impression it was linked to his lack of match fitness in the past five weeks or so. ETA: I wouldn’t play Archer either if he can’t make it through a test. It will be too much of a workload for Stokes. Speaking of selection, I wonder if Hazlewood and/or Starc will play at Lord’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Just now, Paxter said: Is it certain that the Anderson injury was a freak occurrence? I was under the impression it was linked to his lack of match fitness in the past five weeks or so. It was obviously a bit of a gamble but he had passed the fitness tests. I'd still say it was a gamble worth taking given they've got Stokes in the side. I don't think it's the seam bowling that's really gone wrong, what they needed was Ali to be more of factor given the conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 He supposedly bowled alright in a fitness test, but yes in retrospect maybe he was rushed back too early. Great innings from Smith. Absolutely amazing he's now averaging 63+ in Tests and this is over a period of 65 Tests, it's not a small sample space! England had better figure out how to deal with him and Australia better figure out how to capitalise on his performances. Head batted well in both innings but Smith is miles ahead of anyone in the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jeor said: He supposedly bowled alright in a fitness test, but yes in retrospect maybe he was rushed back too early. Great innings from Smith. Absolutely amazing he's now averaging 63+ in Tests and this is over a period of 65 Tests, it's not a small sample space! England had better figure out how to deal with him and Australia better figure out how to capitalise on his performances. Head batted well in both innings but Smith is miles ahead of anyone in the team. Yes I think the arguments around Smith v Kohli v Williamson have been answered nowadays. Kohli is the better all-round player across formats, but Smith is the better test batsman. Conceivably Smith could maintain a 60+ average for his entire career now, making him the only player with over 50 tests to do so, apart from The Don and Herbert Sutcliffe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Impressive from Wade. Maybe Australia have finally solved their problems at number 6. Personally I think this game is out of reach for England now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 Yes, it's looking difficult for England from here. With the lead 253 and still 5 wickets in hand, Australia are nailed on to set something 300+. Good attacking innings from Wade. I'm glad for his sake that he got a score, he has been banging the door down to be selected and today he's at least secured himself selection for a good chunk of this series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desire Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 I would marry Smith even if he look's like a underage kid under that helmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 At least England finally got Smith out. But, yeah, Australia have won this. Lyon will bowl significantly better than Ali has and I can't see England's top order turning up two innings in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 1 minute ago, ljkeane said: But, yeah, Australia have won this Not so sure about that - supposedly there is going to be some weather around tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 I think it's heading towards a draw. Australia won't risk anything less than 300, but even a 300 target might feel risky with so many stroke players in England's lineup. Bairstow, Roy, Buttler, Stokes etc can be quite dangerous if they go ODI mode. But Aussies are definitely in the driving seat and has a better chance of winning than England. They need to bowl really well though. Hopefully the bowlers got plenty of rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desire Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Yeah our attack is lacking a bit in the sting department still could go either way. Let us see how it plays out after tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 I'm assuming Australia will declare at a point that allows them to bowl around 6 overs at the end of the day, hoping to pick up a wicket by stumps. Defending 300+ should be safe on a fifth day pitch, although I agree England's long batting lineup and attacking players will give Australia some pause. But if the English strokemakers want to go for it, that probably plays into Lyon's (and Australia's) hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desire Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Reckon they will Bring in Marsh ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 38 minutes ago, desire said: Reckon they will Bring in Marsh ? I think Head and Wade have done enough to retain their places - it would be harsh on Travis Head to be dropped. So that doesn't really allow room for Mitch Marsh to come in. I suppose they could make the case if it's a flat pitch and they need a fifth bowler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desire Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Yeah Wade batted really well. Head as well. I think it will be a draw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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