:D

Er, they’re pretty good. We’re shit, but they are decent tbf

No rain yet ?

An England opener has passed 50. As the old bag once said "rejoice at that news"

Poor batter, looks scared

**** sake 2 down

Two sessions. not worth hoping really.

England 150-3 with 50 overs left. Just stuck a fiver on Aus to win. That oughta do it.

EDIT : Ah, Root out. Sorry chaps…

13 overs for us to bat and 3 wickets for Australia to take.

I am bricking myself as I post this….tension is unbearable

We deserve a 5 nil thrashing but fingers crossed we avoid it in the next hour or so.. I somehow doubt it though

Oh, I dunno - I'm watching as well, but it's pretty embarrassing to be hanging on for a draw when you're already 3-0 down in the series.

Good effort from Crawley, Stokes and Bairstow, though.

I agree, Crawley done well he read what Jim posted (ahem) and faced 100 balls for his 77.

That is the type of positive batting we need. Don’t need to play like Boycott, just play your natural game and just wait for the loose or bad balls they come in dozens and play them…..anyhoo back to watching cricket

10.5 overs to avoid losing two wickets..not a chance in hell

These two look competent so far.

Looks like you'll battle this one out, well played!

Or perhaps there is

Some one on TV made a comment that England had improved since they left Silverwood behind in Melbourne.

This field is a fantastic image

Jesus

Well that was pretty tense.

Yeah, pretty easy in the end Jim.

It was tight, but you got there.

Declaring after Uzzies second ton, might have given us a few more overs, but balancing it out with trying to give your youngest player a chance to make a debut century is understandable.
Roll on Hobart.

It's a bit embarrassing to celebrate a draw, but that was tense :D . Watching Zac Crawley earlier, he looked really good and it's a shame he didn't go on to score a hundred.

Buttler definitely going home because of his injury

What a shame, I am surprised he managed to catch an injury :)


I shouldn’t jest all the best t butler and hope he gets well soon

Well at least won’t be 5-0, 4-0 or like Worksop said 3-1….

Roll on Hobart

Undeniably correct...unbeaten since

Wow....... Now thats why we love test cricket. Brilliant match that was fairly absorbing at times. Well done to the English, wonderful effort on a tough pitch and with both internal and external pressure. Bairstow has made a difference to your batting lineup. Tough, gritty but can still score. Very adaptable cricketer.

Not worried that we didn't win. I think that is the sort of match where everyone won. Supporters of both sides should be happy enough with the result tbf. Cliche, but cricket was the winner there.
****en Nathan Lyon though, overpitched nearly every delivery in his last 4 overs.....wanker. The moment got the better of him tbh.

Or 3-0 of course....but not 5-0, which strangely seems like a minor victory

Yes it is a hollow victory but we shown some grit which makes me happy

Yup agree and even agree a key Nathan Lyon.

Bairstow has his moments I will say, he took some hit and flak from the crowd but he played well

Just woke up. Thought it was gonna piss down all day?

The English players are looking forward to getting pissed…..going forward, but they need to go through tons of spreadsheet data first :)


I did check the weather too and woke up at 4 to see what is happening and weather people lied to us. Disgusting:)

It was pissing it down at lunch, so I went to sleep for a while. Though that was that.

Finally a bit of application and resistance. Great effort in the end. Can we build on this? Maybe. But we desperately need top-order runs. Let's give it a real go in Hobart.

Oh, and can the Aussies hang on to Silverwood or even deport him with Novax? We do a lot better without his 'input'

He wants to gain asylum here but the government have declined his request quicker than they took Novax's visa.
He's all yours:lux:

Crawley is the long term answer. Hameed is not

Watched till lunchtime there and went to bed dreaming of the draw. Well done England!

Crawley was fantastic!

Genuine question - will Silverwood be allowed into Tasmania? No 'special cases', please,

You’re welcome! :p

Certainly agree with Crawley long term. He's technically correct, has some good fluent scoring shots, and is tall and imposing. Its taken him a few innings to find some form, hardly surprising given the ridiculous tour schedule with virtually no preparation. Hameed (baby Boycott) has talent and I might persevere. I think his confidence is shot, not surprising given the top quality bowling he's faced. An upcoming Windies tour might help gain some confidence. Going back to Burns and Sibley would be a joke, there must be other option in county cricket to look at if not. Any batter with a reasonably sound technique would do for now.

Heroic stuff. Absorbing last two hours. It's why I think those of us who put Test Cricket at the pinnacle of the game, value it most.

A draw in the gloom. Umpires instructing the Australian captain that fast bowlers against the last pair, 'wouldn't be cricket' (as such) all made the finish one of the best matches for drama I've ever seen.

Burns and Sibley are both a better bet than Hameed in my opinion.

The bloke is simply bereft of shot.

As is Sibley who has one leg side scoring shot and that's it. Burns may have a few more shots but is a walking wicket at Test level. Both have been found out as expected given their awful techniques. Hameed may not be the answer going forward, but he is young, technically sounder, and I think still has potential.

Didn't work this time.

Unlucky. :)

In the old days the test side and one day side were pretty much the same. What has changed?

Even Boycott opened the innings in the one day World Cup final.

It’s all about opinion.:p

Yeah, and we were about 100 for no wicket, after 40 odd overs chasing nearly 300 in 60 overs !!

The introduction of pinch hitters and fielding restrictions is the reason we have horses for courses

I am sure Gavaskar scored slower than Boycott in the World Cup (if ever that was possible) haha

I was at this match - First ever in the World Cup Eng/Ind at Lords. England got a huge score and Gavaskar decided India had no chance of chasing, so opted for batting practice - India made something like 130 for 4 off 60 overs and lost by over 150 runs !!

That was in 1975 - Christ, that makes me feel old:o

Totally agree

But I do also think Hemeed lacks the variety of shots needed to be a good opener. He just looks like his one aim is to not get out (which of course is part of his job) but he also needs to get the scoreboard moving. He doesn’t seem to be able to do that very well.

If you want to feel any younger I was born a year after that :)

The older generation of Indian team has so much baggage from the empire they always tried to either draw or loose to England Kapil Dev said in a documentary, apparently he came in and said sod this and went for wins

The current teams are nothing like them.

True also he appears to be very fragile mentally

Absolutely, and great to discuss and see yours and everyone's opinion :p

Yep, I think you might be right WP. Time will tell, but he does have this in his favour :p

It's my favourite ever scorecard. Gavaskar faced 174 balls for his 36, including 1x4. I'm guessing the ball flew off a length & caught the edge of his forward defensive, running down to the 3rd man boundary....

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...full-scorecard

There's also a good article on it here :

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/s...go-slow-500411

Thanks for the link to the article, the Indian team manager did not hold back in his criticism of Gavaskar's batting.

Apparenlty he was out caught behind the second ball, and did not walk......twat, poor Maiden had to endure the pain.

That last ball from Smith was almost as bad as Cummins’ to Stokes at Headingley.

Hameed probably has quite got the game to be playing in Australia just yet.

I think he’s much better than he’s allowed himself to look the last few weeks unfortunately. He’s playing devoid of any confidence which is causing him to reach and push for the ball.

I really hope a few young players see what’s happened and take the opportunity to play some Sheffield Shield games in the coming winters to prove themselves and gain that experience.

First one day game I saw when I moved here was against India. Gavaskar batted like it was a test from ball one , and carried his bat. It got so bad that the electric scoreboard which would say ,100 needed off 10 overs , just said . Runs needed a lot. Jeez it was boring.

They don't pick overseas players for the Shield any more. I have a feeling Botham was one of the last, could be wrong.

He had bowled really well up until that delivery. Especially for someone who genuinely never bowls any more.
Looked like he was trying to bowl the flipper but got it all 😑

I think so ... possibly Graeme Hick as well (at Queensland?).

The Ausiies must have a good domestic set up to produce talent as they do. Hopefully the ECB might take note.

That Gavaskar story reminds me of a house cricket match at school. 20 overs per side and Spindle decided to use the match to practice his forward defence. The lads were going nuts on the boundary “ tell your ******* brother to score some runs or ******* get out “

Exactly, English players get very little opportunity to play anything other than big bash in Australia. We are way more accommodating in the county game. Rogers and labeshange are recent examples of when Australia needed batters who had played in England to step in.

Many come and play grade cricket in the main cities. These are strong comps and the pathway to state then national teams. For instance Smith , McGrath , Taylor and Jaques are players from my local grade club.

Will all depend on whether he gets through his COVID bout. Pretty sure he has it from reports. I would think after his 10 isolation they'll make a decision. I would personally doubt he'll make the trip but the rules change more often than your underwear down here.

So not very often then:D

Freeballer:p

I have watched him play on tv albeit he was closer to retire and he was just defence defence and he used to open with Srikanth who was like a pinch hitter.

My father used to say he was politically powerful and that is why the selectors were afraid to drop him.

Lol

Boycott is now calling for Butterfingers to be dropped from test cricket

Is he still going. Boring bat. Boring commentator . And a wanker supporter to boot. Makes Ian Chappell sound exciting.

Although I have thought for a long time that Buttler should not be playing test cricket the fact that Boycott has said it makes me question my long held view.....which broadcaster is still giving thus buffoon air time?

Does the second head/married to your cousin rules of entry to Tassie still apply Bones?

As a Yorkie Silverwood would be allowed in regardless, as that qualification over rides everything.

You raise some valid points regarding Hameed, but unfortunately i feel he just does not have the mental strength rather than the quality to cope at this level when the chips are down, can he overcome that aspect? is anyones guess. But then this issue possibly applies to quite a few of the England side aswell, sadly as we have seen all too often with our batting collapses an area we Must rectify asap, but then we will have to face up to the impossible task of replacing Anderson and Broad probably after this summer Tests, oh i forgot the need to find an Opening Pair plus a proper Spinner, quite an ask:rolleyes:
On our return from Australia, we will need to take a long hard look at these much needed changes and that Must start from the Top (Giles and Silverwood) as for players, i worry as the cupboard is pretty bare of genuine talent players capable of competing against the likes of India, NZ and Aussies.
To end on a bright note we will now thrash the Aussies in the last test and all will be forgotten.:)

I'd argue that Hameed has shown incredible resilience to bounce back from a broken finger that ended his early international career, and then having 2 years of terrible form has come back strong (and batted well enough in England).
He won't be the first batsman who has a lean run of form, and hopefully a few weeks away, and he'll come back firing. Look at Crawley as an example.
I think it should be remembered, that for me, Australia have the best new ball bowlers in the world.

Re: Sheffied Shield, I didn't realise that. I thought Pope had played in it, but must have been grade cricket.

My Br in law is from Tasmania and I screen shot this to him, he was like ‘meh’

Lol

The most important point to remember is when chosen to play Test cricket it is then how you cope with the step up from the County game to the Test arena, and unfortunately it is then when many of our batsmen get found out.
As i mentioned its only when you play the top sides like India, NZ and Australia that can you truly gauge the quality of the player either being average or top quality, and this is what is happening currently in this series and the players like Hameed are being found out, hence all the headlines of England being humilated etc etc.
However, no doubt all of this will be forgotten when we play the West Indies shortly and we are back to winning ways.:)

I can imagine. It's up there with Welsh and sheep shagging, or Scousers and petty theft. :)

Lol, I once did mention about sheep shaggers and his reply we feck then you eat them…which was funny :)

Anyway let’s digress before we upset some sheeps

oh definitely but he's had half decent scores against India home and away. MAybe this series came too soon for him.

Hopefully some good county starts and then a challenging start against New Zealand will be the chance for us to move on and allow a few players to (re!)establish themselves.

Haha. My best mate is originally from Launceston. I'll have to ask the Taswegian for the answer as I'm not sure.
Should be a good conversation with him, if i can understand him.:D

Hobart is now full of recently migrated Melbourne inner suburbs Hipster and Green types.... plus a smaller smattering of the same from inner Sydney.... So multi millions of dollars has poured into the state. The food and eating scene there is fantastic, probably the 3rd best city in Australia for eating out now. It's got the best ART scene in the whole of AUS... largely due to the MONA types that have moved there. Produce is the best in Aus... The natural surrounds are second to none around the world... let alone Aus. Definitely the best-kept secret in Aus (Although hoards have woken up in the last decade) and probably the most underrated place in the English speaking world. Historically the most interesting state as well, particularly in local architecture.

It's a completely different vibe from what it used to be.

It still figures on my retirement downsizing list, but doubtful that I would pick it over the mainland.

I love Tassie, one of the best places I have ever visited. Please don't confuse my cliched Sydney mainlander joke for a dislike of the place

I don't disagree, however players like Hameed getting chucked in against Australia away should not then be written off if they fail. A couple of years playing the other test nations, some more comfortable home conditions and stability for him in the side as well as in the wider team could create a player well worth his place next time we tour down under. Constantly chopping and changing doesn't help anyone. The poor showing down under gives an opportunity to start to build from a base again and keeping Crawley and Hameed as openers for the next few series is the right thing to do in my opinion.

This!

Unless someone is smashing the door down to be selected by sheer weight of runs, you should build some stability and keep both of these two.

I hear where you are coming from and yes playing the Aussies on home soil in an Ashes series there is no better way to fire up their bowlers, so its always going to be a big ask and that is something the Selectors should always pay attention to when selecting their squad.
As for Hameed, we must not forget he was selected for England a few years ago and clearly did not quite make the grade then, and was then recalled for this series but again has shown he lacks the technique and probably mental strength to cope at this level and has now got found out again, and you still feel he has the ability to cope with the "big teams"? i am not so sure.
I totally agree that chopping and changing does no one any favours, but that is precisely what constantly happens with the selectors, and that only happens when they struggle to find players to fill the role.
I hate saying this but the reality is the cupboard regarding talent is currently fairly bare in England, and if we are hoping to challenge the top teams i.e India, NZ and Auss, but as for the other teams we are more than capable of competing against, but is not what we are aiming for.
Changes and importantly Patience will be needed, and like it or not starting with the removal of Giles and Silverwood, then Firstly we need to relieve our One true outstanding batsman Root of the Captaincy so as he can feel that pressure taken off his shoulders, we then need to find a genuine and not a makeshift pairing of Opening Batsmen who are able to provide a solid base to build from, a Test quality Spinner, and then somehow find replacements for a pair of pace bowlers who between them have taken over 1000 Test wickets and have carried our attack for years.
Can we? that is a whole new ball game to answer.

Is absolutely right. Graham Gooch made a pair on his test debut (against the Aussies as it happens), followed by two more failures before vbeing dropped from the team. I wonder what ever became of him?

I remember a James Anderson getting tonked all over the park on his first tour of Oz. What happenned to him?

I’m not sure this is entirely correct. I’d have to check the stats but I seem to recall him doing pretty well, scoring a couple of 50’s and getting close to a ton in one innings against, I think, India. I certainly don’t think he ‘failed’ and it was his injury that saw him miss out rather than his form.

I MAY be wrong (it's happened once already this week on this thread), but I'm pretty sure Hameed broke his finger quite badly which is why he stopped making the England squad.
But he had a fantastic start away to India.

His form then dipped dramatically on the county level which is why he didn't get back into the England set up. Then as is the way, as soon as he got any form he was put straight back in and scored two 50's against India.

Uh oh. I'm agreeing with Worksop!

I knew you’d come to your senses eventually mate. Just a matter of time.

;)

Absolute nonsense

Quite : England would kill to have an opener average 43 in this series.

They’d kill to have an opening partnership of 43

Things are on the up, the most recent one was 46 (which was more than all the opening partnerships in the first 3 Tests combined!)