Smith gets his well-deserved century, real leadership stuff from the Aussie captain.
Lots of credit to Pat Cummins too, he's been a stalwart holding down his end. Over the last couple of decades the Aussies have been good at turning their quickies into decent tail-enders, Cummins may well be the next in that line.
Results 61 to 90 of 413
Thread: The 2017-18 Ashes
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25-11-2017 03:07 AM #61There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 03:33 AM #62
Cummins finally goes, but what a performance! He held his end down, while Smith drew back England's lead, and stuck a fair few runs on the board while he was at it. I get the impression he will be fired up when he gets to bowl again!
There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 04:04 AM #63
Tea, third day, First Test, judgement:
England pros - Root looks a good captain in the field; Anderson and Broad are predictably capable; the newbies have batted well
England cons - Moeen hasn't shown up yet on a friendly wicket, neither has Woakes
Australia pros - Lyon looks good, the skipper is in very good form, an under-pressure pick in Marsh batted decently and Cummins batted like the tail-ender you dream of.
Australia cons - look weak in critical places (opening bat and number three especially); doubts about Paine at WK
Verdict - close, but still see Australia edging it at the very least. I think their bowlers will do more over the five Tests. And when it comes down to it, bowling twenty wickets is the key.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 04:30 AM #64
Good, steady going by Australia, but patience from Moeen yields the wicket of Hazlewood.
Aussies four runs behind as Lyon comes in.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 04:43 AM #65
Australians take a first-innings lead with a sumptious boundary from the captain
Smith especially, and Cummins deserve credit for moving things on.
I think there's still a victory in this pitch for either side, though the draw is very plausible.
A lot will depend on how good Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon do on day four.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 07:06 AM #67
Easy Aussie win now, England had them at 200 odd for 7, Ben Stokes is a huge miss
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25-11-2017 08:03 AM #68This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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25-11-2017 11:19 AM #69This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Can you imagine what the Aussie media and fans would be subjecting him to right now if he were out there? They'd be having a field day.
And would you trust him not to lose the plot and at the very least embarrass himself and the team? He's a terrific cricketer but one with a serious attitude problem. There's no way he should have been made vice-captain. One of Bairstow, Broad or Anderson - senior professionals - would have made sense.
Oh yes, and he's also fragile under pressure - remember a certain T20 Final? Cricket's odd - a team game, but one where individual confrontations are crucial. In that T20 England as a team played really well and should have won, except that when the contest was Stokes v. Brathwaite, Stokes broke and lost it.
They couldn't have taken him - I imagine the police and CPS would have had something to say anyway about him being out of the country while the case was proceeding - because bottom line, right now he's far more of a liability than an asset.
Anyhow - they had Australia on the brink and seem to have bottled it again. Match is still finely balanced, though. Tomorrow may have a few more surprises for us.
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25-11-2017 09:03 PM #70
Moeen Ali batting at 6 is going to really hamper England, there’s too much pressure on him. Main spinner and a specialised batsman. He used to bat at 8 behind stokes and Bairstow
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25-11-2017 09:15 PM #71This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
I think what we are seeing with Moeen is the impact of Stokes not being available. That's possibly stating the obvious but I think Bairstow is lower because he's maybe seen as better at nursing the tailenders.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 09:26 PM #72This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
It's been a curious game. The important thing from yesterday for me was the ending. Hazlewood is a metronomic bowler, he doesn't quite have the same in-your-face aggression of Starc or Cummins. He's probably the closest of them all to the great McGrath. Now that the pitch is starting to do more for the seamers I think they could wrap things up relatively quickly and Hazlewood will benefit from bowling the other end to the real quickies.
Smith played a key role and a leader's role yesterday, but I will reiterate that Cummins deserves enormous credit. Three important wickets in the first innings and then he played more balls than anyone other than Smith and Marsh (and by a long chalk) to not just hold down an end but to contribute runs, which gave that huge psychological advantage of a first-innings lead.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 09:55 PM #73This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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25-11-2017 10:04 PM #74This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
It's grade cricket, so not even Sheffield Shield, let alone Test, but he has probably more experience of batting on Australian pitches than anyone else in the England squad, albeit against weaker attacks.
He's likely to do better when the tourists head south - Adelaide in particular will suit him I think, but by the same token it looks like the Aussie seamers are starting to get their act together and Lyon has been on fire in 2017.
As it stands, I think Australia will win comfortably at the MCG and SCG and will probably be strong enough at the WACA. Adelaide is a bit more uncertain and England perhaps have a touch more experience of day-night games.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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25-11-2017 10:41 PM #75This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
United we stand here....
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25-11-2017 11:33 PM #79
England rotating the strike well here. Australia turning to Lyon.
United we stand here....
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26-11-2017 12:08 AM #80This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
At the same time, I can see how and why they would call him back in, especially like you say, if they were going to Perth 0-2 down.
I assume it would be replacing the spot Ball has and Overton wants. Not great for their morale and motivation.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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26-11-2017 12:10 AM #81This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Lots to play with though - as I type, England are essentially 42-3, Lyon is looking dangerous and the seamers are too good not to spark into life at some point. Fielding has been pretty sharp too.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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26-11-2017 12:21 AM #82
And Lyon strikes again. Real inroads being made now and England will need Root to emulate Smith with the bat I suspect.
Smith meanwhile is doing wonders in the field.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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26-11-2017 12:58 AM #83
Hazlewood finding joy, with his third and the crucial scalp of Joe Root. Someone posted earlier about how good Steve Smith is at converting half-centuries into centuries. Root is the opposite - his conversion rate is awful and the loss of his wicket there epitomised that.
Lead of 92, they need at least 150 to play with and probably 180 to stand any chance. I don't think they will reach either of those figures though.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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26-11-2017 10:41 PM #85
It's certainly set for Australia to wrap things up fairly quickly. Anderson and Broad are too proud and too long in the tooth to make it easy but it could easily be well over before lunch without the loss of a wicket.
Looks like Australia will retain that very impressive record at the Gabba. It's not just that they haven't lost there in nearly thirty years, when they had a transitional side and were up against literally one of the greatest teams ever in the late-80s iteration of the Windies - it's also the margin of victory. Over a third of the wins in the last thirty years have been innings victories or by nine or ten wickets - they just about match the scale of the victories at the WACA but have lost several games in Perth in that time.
I thought all the bowlers deserved credit against England in the second innings. It was clear how they operate as a unit, with the different styles complementing different phases - Hazlewood's discipline at the start, Lyon's trickery in the middle and Starc's sheer power at the end. I think Paine deserves credit too - he's proven to have quick gloves and it was his appeals that triggered the reviews of Moeen and Broad that led to their dismissals.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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27-11-2017 12:33 AM #86
And that's that. Nice for Cam Bancroft to get a decent bat and to score the winning runs on debut.
Interesting to see what England do for Adelaide, whether selection-wise, positions in the order, or tactics. Adelaide and possibly Perth are the two wickets expected to offer the most to Anderson and Broad but it looks like Moeen might be struggling a bit with his finger injury.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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27-11-2017 01:14 AM #87This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Saturday - I'd think it's doubtful whether Moeen's finger will be healed by then. He also apparently has a problem with his side. Been carrying an injury for a while. But he's really needed as a batsmen, so ....
The tail don't wag and the top order don't dig in and make real runs. I don't think they've learned a thing, and Bayliss was as shifty and inconclusive in his interview as ever. I do not like that man.
Anderson and Broad are as good as any in the world. Woakes is searching for form but at least we can be reasonably sure he has some form to find. Jake Ball? Anyone?
And I think we can be sure the Aussie press will keep the Bairstow 'story' going at least until Saturday. It's the Ashes, after all.
Commentators seem to be settling in the last couple of days. Don't like Swann, though, and Bloody Boycott needs to tone it down a bit. He's been hitting 7.0-7.5 on the EE-BAH-GOOM Register and it's doing my head in.Last edited by --------; 27-11-2017 at 02:35 PM.
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28-11-2017 01:13 PM #88
Stokes is in New Zealand to play for a local team. Clearly he’s being readied for a return to the England side if the charges against him are dropped.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...et-new-zealand
United we stand here....
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28-11-2017 06:20 PM #89This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
I guess if he is in NZ then there must be some indication that the CPS will make its decision before Melbourne, and more likely before Perth, and that it will be not to prosecute
The rights and wrongs aside, England desperately need him but if he comes he will face the finest sledgers of all the Test nations - should prove interesting!!
EDIT: rolled eyes about not prosecuting aren't directed at the decision, more that the ECB might appear to have advance infoLast edited by Mibbes Aye; 28-11-2017 at 06:27 PM.
There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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28-11-2017 06:23 PM #90This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
I liked Swann on TMS but I haven't taken to him so much on Sky, he's maybe trying a bit too hard. Ponting and Fleming have been fine though, and as stated earlier I think Gilchrist is great. Not given ABC a shot yet though, Jim Maxwell is back having recovered from a stroke, so I might tune into them for Adelaide.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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