Jeor Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 That was criminal from England. Even after those brain fades they had 6 wickets in hand and a decent chance of matching Australia's total, if not exceeding it, knowing Lyon is out. Instead they threw away more wickets with pull shots and gave two wickets to the part-time offspin of Travis Head. A 91 run lead isn't completely insurmountable but I don't really like their chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshwater Spartan Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Now the West Indies have lost to Scotland and will not be in the world cup. I believe this is the first time that this has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Think it's absolutely ridiculous for Lyon to go out to bat there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartIheartTesla Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Weird to see Bazball morph into Bounceball, particularly when the English pacers are probably a good 10 kmph slower on average than the Aussies. As I type this, Cummins made good use of a bouncer to get rid of Root. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 So, maybe for the first time ever during an Ashes series, I had the opportunity to watch today and didn't bother. England really have been great to watch since Stokes has taken over but they've been criminally bad in this test. Looking at the score it appears I made the correct decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 (edited) Wow, Starc got done dirty there. That catch looked clean, i think his fingers were underneath it but the angle/grass made it look like he was dragging it on the ground. Considering how long his fingers are and how wrapped around the ball it was, i thought it was really clean and under control. After Smith's catch stood, this decision is baffling. Edited July 1, 2023 by The Winged Shadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 (edited) 100% a catch. That was ridiculous. I don’t think England have been that bad in this test - just a lot of unforced errors. Australia much more measured and playing the long game. Edited July 1, 2023 by Paxter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 lmao how did they not give that catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 2 hours ago, Raja said: lmao how did they not give that catch Actually quite wild. If that had been given against England their would have been a pitch invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 Yes that was definitely a catch. I can see how a layman and the English crowd would have thought it wasn't, but you see his fingers around the ball when he brings it up off the ground and I'm pretty sure that would have been ruled a catch most days of the week. Hopefully it doesn't affect the result either way. You wouldn't think England have enough to get there, with a fairly long tail too, but stranger things have happened and they'll rest much easier once they get a couple of wickets and into the tail. It's an awfully long way to go with 250+ runs still to get. Starc is showing his value here. He took key wickets in the first innings and was the main with the early breakthroughs in this innings (Crawley and Pope). Not to mention his batting at 8 is more solid and aggressive than Cummins - not that he's scored many runs in this match, but you could see the potential there. You would think with the bowling form, Hazlewood might actually be the one to miss out next if he doesn't pick up some wickets this innings. 2/61 off 14 overs, 1/48 off 10 overs and 2/71 off 13 overs aren't awful figures but they're not fantastic - 4 wickets at an average of 45 and economy rate of 4.86 RPO. These are back-to-back Tests coming up and Hazlewood's coming back from injury. Mind you, Boland didn't do that well in the First Test either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 8 hours ago, Paxter said: 100% a catch. That was ridiculous. I don’t think England have been that bad in this test - just a lot of unforced errors. Australia much more measured and playing the long game. In terms of England, I also don't think they've been that bad - they've had very good passages of play (e.g. cleaning up the Australian tail in both innings when it looked like Australia was set for a big score) and Duckett has scored a lot of runs. However, it has looked really bad because so many wickets have come from over-aggressive pull shots. It's not really any different from gifting a couple of wickets with no-balls and getting a couple of people run out for no reason, which are pretty commonplace hiccups in a Test, but the imagery of ugly pull shots (e.g. Brook first innings) coupled with the Bazball hype makes it look much worse than it is. Not to mention that Australia haven't made the same glaring mistakes, a no-ball or two aside. In some ways it would be tough on England if they are 2-0 down after this, given they were in winning positions in the First Test (which was decided on the thinnest margins) and have been reasonably competitive (or at least stopped Australia running away with it) throughout the Second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 So on the Starc catch the MCC has released a clarification on the decision. By the sound of it giving it not out was technically correct but it’s also pretty stupid. Basically under the laws if Starc had been stood still and scraped the ball along the ground as he did it’s a catch but because he was sliding and thus ‘not in control of his own movement’ it wasn’t. They should change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 England putting on a partnership here. It's the hope that gets you, they say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Jeor said: England putting on a partnership here. It's the hope that gets you, they say... Thanks for that Jeor. So having watched the highlights of yesterday's play England really haven't done that badly in the second innings, both bowling and batting, to be fair. It's just the hole they dug themselves in the first innings which is the problem. They didn't bowl particularly well having won the toss and they really threw away a chance to get to at least parity with the bat. If they were chasing about 270 here this would be pretty nervy for the Australians. ETA: Heh, fuck off. That's just shit all round. Edited July 2, 2023 by ljkeane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 Bairstow in a controversial run-out now, being thrown out at the striker's end after the last ball of the over before the ball has gone dead. Isn't it funny how these things are all happening on the MCC's home ground. First the Starc non-catch and now this. In gentlemanly fashion I suppose you could have asked Australia to withdraw their appeal, but given the Starc ruling and the match situation, no one on the Aussie team would have been in a charitable frame of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 Well, look out! Stokes has just transformed into a complete beast and raced to a century in no time. Headingley II might be on the cards. There are 4 wickets in hand here which is more than was the case back then at a similar stage of the chase... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 (edited) England's tail aren't going to hang around long enough for Stokes to get a double hundred. Australia have managed to thoroughly piss the crowd off though. I don't think I've ever heard Lords like that for a test match. They're even getting into an argument with fans in the Long Room. Edited July 2, 2023 by ljkeane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 The English tail aren't actually that bad. I don't expect Broad to survive long but Robinson has some fight in him and apparently a first-class century. Yes, the crowd is definitely going to be extra support for England and Australia are going to have to be careful not to get carried away or lose their heads in a very hostile environment. Even with Green's over to Stokes, I wondered at the wisdom of bowling bouncer after bouncer to get hit for six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 Looks like it's going to be another close one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 2, 2023 Share Posted July 2, 2023 Tremendous batting by Stokes but some pretty poor bowling from Australia with all these short balls being served up - he's hit 9 sixes. England feel ahead in the game now, 4 wickets is quite a cushion when Stokes is still there and can get the runs quickly. His wicket is crucial if Australia are to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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