178-5
Results 451 to 477 of 477
Thread: The Ashes 2019!!!!!!!
-
-
-
12-09-2019 04:00 PM #453This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
-
-
13-09-2019 10:25 AM #455
Buttler out for 70 trying for another heave. Surely he didn't have to be quite so gung-ho with Jack Leach going along fine at the other end?
294/9
Should Leach be promoted to (at least) number 8?
-
13-09-2019 10:30 AM #456
Soon as I've finished typing, Leach plays on
Eng all out for 294. Good fightback from Buttler/Leach but it should be a much, much bigger score.
-
13-09-2019 10:46 AM #457
Shock! Warner out for 5 ... but not to Broad!!!!!
Super Jof on the board. Not long until the Steve Smith show now ...
5/1
-
13-09-2019 11:06 AM #458
Well that's the openers out the way (speedily as usual). Harris out for 3.
14/2
Labuschagne/Smith now so don't expect any updates until after lunch ...
-
13-09-2019 01:37 PM #459
Labuschagne out for 48.
83/3, Super Jof has all 3.
Smith bats serenely on ...
-
13-09-2019 01:44 PM #460
Good coverage JMS! I think I read that the highest opening stand in the series is something ridiculously low, or the average certainly is.
On a different note, does Sam Curran not look like he is bunking off school?
I have been watching and listening to the match but not able to post at any length. Hopeful of sharing my rambling drivel tonight.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
-
13-09-2019 01:53 PM #461This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Burns/Denly's 27 yesterday is the highest of the series.
Aussies just got to 100.
-
13-09-2019 02:55 PM #462
Smith looks well set for yet another ton. His form is just outstanding.
HIBERNIAN FC - ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY SINCE 1875
-
13-09-2019 03:50 PM #463
Aussie collapsing apart from Smith, he really has been the difference between the sides.
166/7
Curran on a hat-trick!
-
-
13-09-2019 04:27 PM #465
Smith FAILS!!!!!!!
A paltry 80.
Aus 187/8. England's total not looking so bad now.
-
13-09-2019 04:29 PM #466This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show QuoteHIBERNIAN FC - ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY SINCE 1875
-
-
15-09-2019 05:07 PM #468
Well done England and particularly Joe Root for plugging away. Things can only get better.
-
16-09-2019 12:49 AM #469
I have very much neglected this final Test on here and that is a shame because it was another good game, perhaps slightly anti-climactic after all we have been treated to, but still, a very decent Test match IMO with lots to enjoy.
Final series matches at The Oval often seem to throw a curve ball and this was no different in throwing up the first drawn Ashes series since 1972. For Australia, they have retained the Ashes on English soil for the first time in a long time (2001?) but they would have loved a series victory to go with it. And thinking about how the matches played out, there were so many instances which could have turned innings and turned games and saw Australia win the series comfortably. Likewise, England had similar moments and it would be churlish not to acknowledge the loss of Jimmy Anderson. I don’t think he would have been fit enough to open the bowling in five Tests so it would have been intriguing to see how England managed him, but quite clearly they missed him.
As to the match itself, it was always a big ask for Australia. After Old Trafford they looked like a side with one foot on the plane, despite any desire to not just retain the urn but win the series. For England, Jofra Archer shone yet again, what a young talent at 24 and I am loving the prospect of seeing what he can do on Australian pitches in the next Ashes series, Perth especially, but the Gabba too. I also reckon he won’t dislike the SCG, MCG and Adelaide. It should be tasty!
So, as summaries go, let’s start with Australia.
Steve Smith returned to the Test arena after a twelve month suspension. He batted on bowler-friendly wickets and knocked up 774 runs in seven innings. I believe he scored 333 runs more than the next-highest scoring batsman (Stokes). As much as anything he was a talisman, England never looked like they knew how to get him out, despite experiments with fine legs and whatever’s. Ultimately he was dismissed by his own mistakes, but usually after accumulating match-changing scores.
What shouldn’t be neglected is his slip fielding. Absolutely magnificent, I think he took twelve catches (and in fairness, spilled a few more). That’s a tremendous return from three and a half matches.
Otherwise batting, Warner has had a miserable time of it, especially at the hands of Broad. He is a lot better than this though and will bounce back. His one consolation is he fielded well, he has incredible pace chasing a ball down.
Wade did well today for a gritty century and I expect to see him continue as a specialist batsman given that Paine is indicating he will carry on and there is a readymade WK replacement in Carey. Khawaja might yet return but I fail to see what he can actually offer to the team, other than a middling 20 or 30, bumped up on home soil. Harris had a torrid time, and I feel for him. His travails May open the door for Bancroft returning but it doesn’t feel like Australia are confident about who opens with Warner.
The breakout player for Australia is clearly Marnus Labuschagne. A number of great innings, so unlucky not to progress to a century. He has also fielded very well and his part-time spin has produced a few zingers, not least of all the critical wicket of Leach at OT.
As for the bowlers, it is impossible to criticise. Cummins was immense, Hazlewood nearly as good, but different in that he offered tidiness and consistency, against Patty’s sheer aggression. Pattinson, Siddle and Starc all complemented, at various points, while Lyon was indefatigable holding down an end and allowing the seamers to rotate. Gazza has quietly and steadily built up his tally to the point where he is now Australia’s second leading wicket taker by spin IIRC.
As for England, this series has answered some questions and thrown up others. Rory Burns seems set now, he has shown enough at opening bat. There is a lot of chat about the youngster Dominic Sibley being drafted in alongside him. He is a talent but it is a roll of the dice. Joe Denly has done enough to justify a trip to NZ for the autumn series but the question is where he plays?
In times gone by, the order shuffled to allow you to blood youngsters at six, while the rest of the team moved up a slot. Denly isn’t a youngster but is inexperienced at Test level. My preference would be for Root to stick at three, in the same way Ponting did. Best player, most critical position. If that means relinquishing the captaincy then so be it. Denly or Stokes at four/five, either way round.
This then raises the Bairstow question. If he is keeping wicket should he bat at seven and let Jos Buttler in at six? Or perhaps more importantly, what do you do with Ben Foakes, who is maybe the best keeper of the lot and a fine red-ball batsman?
Bowler-wise, Stuart Broad was magnificent but obviously time-limited, yet still managed to become the first Englishman to take 20 or more wickets in four Ashes series. He can really nurture the likes of Archer. Pace wise, it is a case of England managing injuries. Archer played with a strain and the other five or six pace picks were all nursing something or other. In the spin department, Leach has come on well and is hugely popular with the support. I guess a lot depends on how Moeen responds to his summer. I genuinely hope he bounces back.
Interesting times for England, a two-Test trip to New Zealand and then four Tests across the turn of the year in South Africa. They will be challenging matches.Last edited by Mibbes Aye; 16-09-2019 at 01:03 AM.
There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
-
17-09-2019 12:56 PM #470
Some cool photography here:
https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...ettable-summer
-
17-09-2019 01:03 PM #471This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Good stuff, MA.
One thing you haven't mentioned is the importance of the toss. It's quite striking I think, that where teams are fairly even matched at least, it's very hard to be chasing in the last innings.
Edgbaston - Aus bat, comfortable win
Lord's - Eng bat, on top and probably would've won without rain delays
Headingley - Aus bat, Eng win *but* they had perfect weather conditions in gloomy first day and then sunshine, and even then they needed a miracle!
OT - Aus bat, on top and wore out Eng resistance
Oval - Eng bat, comfortable win
So Tim Paine really threw away the series win at the end there
-
18-09-2019 06:27 PM #472This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Yes, good point. I have rarely if ever talked about the toss - it’s cause I’m old-school, Steve Waugh-style, don’t care what the toss is and never enforce the follow-on
But seriously, you are absolutely right, the toss is massive, massive anywhere but you can really see the significance in England as well as in places like the Gabba. And with both teams having balanced bowling units then batting fourth becomes very difficult.
Another theme that I or we have probably not given much attention to is the new ball and the impact it can have, dependent on when it becomes available in the innings. It can turn games very quickly.
And likewise the weather conditions. I touched upon it to an extent when posting from Manchester but it is incredible how an half-hour spell of cloud cover, with a tepid to warm temperature can completely change the way the ball moves. Lucky you if you are bowling and your best swingers are fit to go and haven’t just put down ten overs!
My personal favourite under-referenced theme is the part-time spinner. Root and Labuschagne both delivered vital interventions during this series, despite not being frontline bowlers.
I think that is part of the attraction of cricket, there are so many variables, so many subjective, so many things that you can’t control but can utilise if they fall your way at the right time.
But even accepting that, you still have scope for individual brilliance. Smith and Stokes, Cummins and Broad, rising above all the other factors and imposing themselves on matches through sheer will allied with extraordinary talent.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
-
19-09-2019 12:28 AM #473
Just looking ahead we have India vs South Africa next month, which looks tasty. T20 in the Caribbean, which will see a few international stars flaunting their stuff. And I have not followed it closely but I believe Essex and Somerset are going head to head next week to decide the County Championship.
If I find the space I might post a bit on the T20. I will definitely be trying to watch the Tests in India. Desperate to see Bumrah bowling on home soil and likewise how Rabada and Ngidi do. Being in India there is always scope for batsmen and spinners so that will be fascinating too. I’m a bit busy through October but if I can start a thread for the Tests I will and if I can’t then someone else should feel free.
Great World Cup, great Ashes, now back to the norm of hoping for good Test series, ODIs and the various T20 tournamentsThere's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
-
20-09-2019 09:31 AM #474This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
-
20-09-2019 06:30 PM #475This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Last edited by Mibbes Aye; 20-09-2019 at 06:32 PM.
-
24-09-2019 04:50 PM #476This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Anyway, after 2 rain interrupted days, it's:
Somerset 203 all out - tremendous 59 partnership for the last wicket, otherwise they might be already more or less out of it.
Essex 25/0 - patient first 11 overs from Essex openers including a certain Sir Alastair Cook.
-
24-09-2019 05:57 PM #477This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Botham and Richards were at Somerset along with Joel Garner, under the captaincy of Brian Close. During the Ashes I watched at home, they put on a few pre-recorded slots during rain breaks, featuring Ian Botham interviewing Viv Richards about their time together at Taunton. It was good, for some reason Botham doesn’t come across well on commentary but in the one-to-one interview he was fine.
The Kevin Pietersen documentary has been good too, there was a bit of that today during the rain break. Pretty honest stuff from most of those involved in what was a bitter and sour debacle.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
Log in to remove the advert |
Bookmarks