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Cricket 36: Ashes to Ashes, Warner to Dust...


Jeor

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I knew the Aussie batting lineup would struggle, unfortunately as @Paxter has noted my "favourite" Marnus Labuschagne has managed some respectability among everyone else...never thought I'd write that sentence!

Apparently Khawaja is expected to be fit, so that gives the batting lineup a bit more experience. Warner, Khawaja and Smith are locks if fit which leaves three spots left - I expect Burns, Patterson and Wade. The former two scored centuries in Australia's most recent test and Wade is in good form. The only issue is whether the Aussies go for some silly all-rounder nonsense with Mitchell Marsh or my man Marnus... 

I don't know enough about the Ireland Test....except that (no disrespect to Ireland) it will probably be very good preparation for the English.

 

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@Paxter said: Anderson is a massive blow. I know England has a lot of bowling options, but you can't replace his record and experience. 

I totally agree. Much as I hate to admit this, Anderson in English conditions is giving the Aussie batsmen a taste of what England experienced with Glenn McGrath through the late 90s. Basically guaranteed a wicket (if not two) in every opening spell. Anderson would scythe through this weak Australian lineup like a hot knife through butter; although I note he's only out of the Ireland Test so far, not ruled out of the First Test yet?

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15 minutes ago, Jeor said:

@Paxter said: Anderson is a massive blow. I know England has a lot of bowling options, but you can't replace his record and experience. 

I totally agree. Much as I hate to admit this, Anderson in English conditions is giving the Aussie batsmen a taste of what England experienced with Glenn McGrath through the late 90s. Basically guaranteed a wicket (if not two) in every opening spell. Anderson would scythe through this weak Australian lineup like a hot knife through butter; although I note he's only out of the Ireland Test so far, not ruled out of the First Test yet?

There seem to be conflicting reports on whether he'll be fit for the Ashes opener, so we'll probably just have to wait and see.

Australia might be hoping that the current heatwave continues and the pitches end up being friendlier for batsmen than they were during the World Cup.

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I don’t see why Wood would be playing in English conditions ahead of Anderson, Broad, Sam Curran, Woakes or Archer anyway.

If Stone looks the part, then he, Archer and Wood makes a very good attack for batsman friendly pitches. A big change from even the first couple of tests in the Caribbean a couple of months ago.

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Broad will be the interesting one. He seems to have bounced back a bit from his career slump of 18 months ago and he has the advantage of seniority, but if he has a couple of bad opening Tests the others will be banging the door down, especially if Anderson is out and the others bowl well and then Anderson needs to come back in.

My worry, apart from the brittle Australian batting lineup, is that with a potentially low-scoring series dominated by the bowlers, some pivotal lower order fightbacks may also be crucial. England have lots of depth in their lower order batting, and while Australia have Cummins and Starc, they can't be expected to hold up too much against English bowlers in home conditions.

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Go Ireland! Let’s not forget that England’s most recent outing in test matches was a fairly stinging defeat against a middling West Indies team.

And boy that top three of Burns, Roy and Denly is a real joke. When is Root going to bite the bullet and get up there??

ETA: Also, how many ducks does Bairstow get! :P

ETA II: Murtaaaaaaagh!

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They're still in a good position. Although not as good as it could have been, Ireland would have torn your hand off if you offered them a 122-run lead at the end of the first day. I just hope they can finish off the job. Some of the older players like Kevin O'Brien should have the opportunity to enjoy a Test win.

In any case both Australia and the English are not dispelling the predictions of a low-scoring Test series. Looking forward to the wickets continuing to tumble in the Ashes!

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Yes there could be some very short contests. Batting first might be less of an automatic approach than it was in the World Cup.

I’ve noticed that Smith is having a few more troubles with getting lbw or bowled since his comeback. The conventional wisdom when bowling to him is to go fourth or fifth stump to negate his legside run-scoring opportunities. But perhaps England need to target his stumps a lot more this summer. 

Also lol at England opening with Leach. Understandable but funny.

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9 hours ago, Mosi Mynn said:

Oh I see what's happening: it's a four day Test - so England are in a hurry :rolleyes:

I don't think they're going to need all four days...

The selection is bizarre for England, they always looked at least one batsman light with Moeen coming in at 6, especially given the questions about the top 3. I'm not really sure they need two spinners either, especially since Root and Denly can bowl some spin.

9 hours ago, Paxter said:

And this Lord’s deck is tailor made for Ireland’s bowlers.

They did bowl well. Murtagh does seem like the perfect sort of bowler for these conditions, even before considering the fact he's taken 300 wickets at Lord's.

4 hours ago, ljkeane said:

First test wicket for Stone. Knocking middle stump out of the ground isn’t a bad way to do it either.

One of the few bright spots for England, he looks like he has a bit of fire.

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