5th Ashes Test, Sydney

First topic message reminder :

January 3-7, Sydney Cricket Ground
Start time 1030 (2330 GMT)

Australia:
CJL Rogers, DA Warner, SR Watson, MJ Clarke*, SPD Smith, GJ Bailey, BJ Haddin†, MG Johnson, PM Siddle, RJ Harris, NM Lyon

England:
AN Cook*, MA Carberry, IR Bell, KP Pietersen, GS Ballance, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow†, SG Borthwick, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, WB Rankin


The grassy SCG pitch should offer some assistance for the pace bowlers early on. Some grip there for the spinners too. It's not going to be too hot and there is the chance of a few showers over the 5 days - but nothing too substantial. Some cloud cover and high humidity though.

Cook, Carberry, Bell and Pietersen - 12 runs
Rankin - 13 runs

We should obvioussy reverse the batting order #funky

Oh and linebreaker, normally I would be jealous of you being at the game but today is a day I was happy to be in bed sleeping while this was going on

Bet you had a great day there, how was the new stand?

was watching our rugby team vs the cricket team in a T20 friendly yesterday... I'm shocked at Richard Hadlee's silence regarding the life threatening situation the poor rugger buggers were put in.

alfie wrote:Good day for Australia ( where have I heard that before   

Linebreaker will have enjoyed it .

Yes it was great thanks, Alfie!   
What a day....

Early in the morning at the S.C.G.


Spot the SpiderCam...  no it's not a watermark!
(all the important people doing their thing around the pitch - mostly Ch 9 people. Nass and SkySports crew there too)


I sat just to the left of the guy with the light blue shirt on the left.


Ian Bell gave me an evil, steely stare just before this... Carbs in the foreground.


Aussies doing their pre-match routines


Warner doing some leg slip practice


Stokes in the nets - (he hits them hard...!)


Cookie cursing himself...


Poor KP!


View from atop of the new Bradman Stand - it's so high up there!


Looking down on the Members and Ladies Stands


That scoreboard...


Jimmy to Buck


Stokes fires one down...


Broad calmly walks back to his mark...


Clarke makes the lonely walk off to the Pavilion after scoring 6 runs

fantastic shots, LB. Shoulda done this at the Wanderers, unfortunately the minute I got into the suite, my first words were, 'Whiskey, on the rocks... make it a double"

Nice pics linebreaker. Looks like you had a great day there.

Raf,

I had about 5 or 6 beers only. Missed some of the money shots... no wonder!

Also had 2 bottles of water, a couple of coffees and some really nice linguine for lunch.

Oh, and a tasty pie of course....

Fantastic new facilities and food outlets (like a posh supermarket). Out the back there is a decent sized lawn area; more beer, coffee and food. Large screens everywhere and an army of catering staff.

There are not many cricket grounds like it... it's a great place to be on a sunny summer's day when the Aussie are doing well.

Looking out the back towards Allianz Stadium. Grass bit extends both ways either side. Hall of Fame statues dotted amongst it all.


Sheilas with cricket bats only allowed in there! (only in Oz)   

Once again are batsmen offer nothing. There is not a single one of them I would back under pressure.

Looks amazing LB!!!

You going to anymore days?

I started off with the whiskey, and forgot there was a game by drinks. Days 3 & 4 were a little more relaxed, met up with Pollock, Sunny Gavaskar, Dravid, some player Wags. I gained five Kilos in those four days. It's my new years resolution to drop that weight sharpish.

The Wanderers is sadly, still quite outdated. More flea market than Supermarket, I'm afraid. Does add to the charm somewhat, if I'm honest. MCG and SCG resemble little towns rather than stadia.

Olly wrote:Looks amazing LB!!!

You going to anymore days?

Unfortunately no, Olly. Today was it for me. I'm feeling pretty knackered now actually.

Only 5 or 6 beers and you're knackered ? Must have been the pie...

Good pics ...hope you didn't miss too many of the big moments. Thirteen wickets in the day ...same as I got in Melbourne   

Didn't know Ian Bell did evil steely glares. Sounds like a fun day   

alfie wrote:Only 5 or 6 beers and you're knackered ? Must have been the pie...

Good pics ...hope you didn't miss too many of the big moments.  Thirteen wickets in the day ...same as I got in Melbourne   

Didn't know Ian Bell did evil steely glares.  Sounds like a fun day   

ha ha. Think it was the sun.... and walked mile upon mile upon mile.

Watching the local BB derby? Are you a Stars or a Renegade man?

Linebreaker wrote:

alfie wrote:Only 5 or 6 beers and you're knackered ? Must have been the pie...

Good pics ...hope you didn't miss too many of the big moments.  Thirteen wickets in the day ...same as I got in Melbourne   

Didn't know Ian Bell did evil steely glares.  Sounds like a fun day   

ha ha. Think it was the sun.... and walked mile upon mile upon mile.

Watching the local BB derby? Are you a Stars or a Renegade man?  

Anybody who doesn't support Green Sydney is dead to me

I support the Green Ones... cos I live there now.   
It would be nice if they could win a bloody game though!

I could never follow a team with Marcus North in it!


(although Dilshan worries me. Always looks as though he's about to burst into tears!)

Linebreaker wrote:I support the Green Ones... cos I live there now.   
It would be nice if they could win a bloody game though!

I could never follow a team with Marcus North in it!


(although Dilshan worries me. Always looks as though he's about to burst into tears!)

A combination of Eoin Morgan and the colour green has drawn me towards the Thunder. Plus they're inability to win a game, what is it nearly 20 losses in a row now? Majestic stuff.

Raf I bet you're hoping Bailey makes some runs tomorrow. Will keep him in the side for SA

Do you mean that literally, or figuratively, Olly? If literally, that's funny.. if not... our relationship is in a spot of bother....

Not a fan of mercenary cricket, but I like watching the Scorchers

kingraf wrote:Do you mean that literally, or figuratively, Olly? If literally, that's funny.. if not... our relationship is in a spot of bother....

Not a fan of mercenary cricket, but I like watching the Scorchers

I meant it figuratively      

Lovely pics Linebreaker. Glad you had a great day. Quite a lot happening so it was a packed day.

Glad someone on here is enjoying things, Linebreaker.   Thanks for sharing some of your experiences, if not the beers and the pie.

No one can fairly blame England's debutants for the continuation of this train crash of a tour. However, neither Borthwick or Rankin look the part of Test cricketers to me, even with trying to allow for the dreadful environment they've just entered and some understandable nerves. Yes, it is incredibly early days and hopefully I'll be proved wrong but I'm really struggling to see even sufficient promise in Rankin whilst Borthwick's selection seems just a muddle with uncertainty surrounding his role and purpose.

Ballance at least seems far more suited to the Test arena and showed some composure after being thrust onto the bigger stage in the most difficult of circumstances. Credit to him for steadying the ship for a short while although it already by then had too many holes in the hull.

So concerning that the proven England players are horribly out of form and seem incapable of changing that. Too awful to contemplate where we would be now if Stokes hadn't clicked almost from the off.

Saw an interview with Gooch on the Sky breakfast programme - he was forthright and realistic about our batting failures in this Test and the series but clearly had no magic (or any other) solutions.  Interestingly, he said that he thought Australia's first innings score ''was way above par'' and referred to ''it being a 200 to 250 wicket''. I'll leave others to judge whether that was honest assessment, covering his own back or a bit of both.

Once more, we shouldn't forget there is still one side playing some very fine cricket in this series. A stand out spell of top quality bowling to start the day being the absolute highlight.

I'm at my grandma's house for the weekend... 46 degree heat... no satellite tv (no cricket)... slow internet connection... I'm becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that I'm reliant on you lot for entertainment.

kingraf wrote:I'm at my grandma's house for the weekend... 46 degree heat... no satellite tv (no cricket)... slow internet connection... I'm becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that I'm reliant on you lot for entertainment.

Bad luck on all fronts, eh Raf?

guildfordbat wrote:

kingraf wrote:I'm at my grandma's house for the weekend... 46 degree heat... no satellite tv (no cricket)... slow internet connection... I'm becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that I'm reliant on you lot for entertainment.

Bad luck on all fronts, eh Raf?

To make matters worse, I guess there's no brake fluid!   

I tend to think Gooch was about right . 250 would have been an adequate first day score...and England really should have done better than that from 97/5 . Losing the third - or fourth - bowler ; no reliable spinner : and you have to give Haddin and Smith massive credit.
England would still be struggling though.

Ballance showed a bit of ticker anyway , though I was a bit disappointed with his dismissal - felt it was coming as he allowed Lyon to dictate. Waiting to see more of Borthwick.
As you say , guildford , where would we be without Stokes ? Um ...probably still down 0-4 actually   
But I know what you mean.

It has sort of ceased to hurt, since that great position at Melbourne was squandered. Just looking for little good signs and relieved it will all be over soon. Australia have been terrific , surfing a wave all the way from Brisbane. How much they can carry that on we may see next month in SA but for now they can rightly celebrate.

As for England , I am not a doom and gloom type. Some of the form in this series has to be an aberration - players don't just disappear in a couple of months. Not this many players... But the coming home summer will present some challenges for coach , captain and all. Swann will be a huge loss (Trott too , assuming that is it for him ; and you'd think it will be ) but when the dust settles I reckon a new team can be cobbled together from the old core players - who will appreciate a rest before the next Test series - and the youngsters coming through. Might not be "fixed" overnight , but I am not panicking.

guildfordbat wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:

kingraf wrote:I'm at my grandma's house for the weekend... 46 degree heat... no satellite tv (no cricket)... slow internet connection... I'm becoming increasingly resigned to the fact that I'm reliant on you lot for entertainment.

Bad luck on all fronts, eh Raf?

Horrible luck mate... I'm 2000m above sea level, 46 degree weather, It's hot inside, outside, and the place is more like a retirement village, so I cant even go out... I could sob uncontrollably right now, but the tears would dry as they leave the ducts.

To make matters worse, I guess there's no brake fluid!

Now now, GB - the brake fluid is only for special occasions! I have a car to take care of as well, okay... I can't be siphoning off all the fluid while I still drive on South African roads!

Absolutely bollockless. Pathetic. Spineless. Awful. Terrible. Gutless.

The worst test series for England since....?

Good that a 5-0 is on its way. Only changes at the top can allow England to move forward.

0-5 against India (if its 5) is a very real possibility if we keep Flower and Gooch.

Ballance didn't look too bad though.

Duty281 wrote:Absolutely bollockless. Pathetic. Spineless. Awful. Terrible. Gutless.

The worst test series for England since....?

Good that a 5-0 is on its way. Only changes at the top can allow England to move forward.

0-5 against India (if its 5) is a very real possibility if we keep Flower and Gooch.

Ballance didn't look too bad though.

If India's pop gun attack beats England, I'll fall of my chair...

Duty281 wrote:Absolutely bollockless. Pathetic. Spineless. Awful. Terrible. Gutless.

C'mon we all dislike KPfan but you shouldnt talk about him like that it only encourages him.


Pity we arent playing the West Indies really. I guess the difference is most of our players at least care that they are failing, you get the feeling with some of the Windies they are hoping they got dropped from test cricket but retain contracts for the limited overs games.

Speaking of which you realize this tour is far from over... should they send Cook home ahead of the one dayers?
Warner must be licking his lips at the thought of Borthwick and Stokes bowling in tandem ( Im assuming no-ones going to be daft enough to pick Rank again on this tour?)


Of course its not over yet/This is test cricket anything can happen/ remember that time Ian Botham invented sliced bread ....... honestly can anyone remember a test so dishearteningly predictably going to script?
I do feel for KP and Balance having Carberry, Cook (broken version), Bell as a top 3 to "see off the new ball" and "lay a platform". It could only have been worse by having Root in with them.

Gerry SA wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Absolutely bollockless. Pathetic. Spineless. Awful. Terrible. Gutless.

The worst test series for England since....?

Good that a 5-0 is on its way. Only changes at the top can allow England to move forward.

0-5 against India (if its 5) is a very real possibility if we keep Flower and Gooch.

Ballance didn't look too bad though.

If India's pop gun attack beats England, I'll fall of my chair...

I hope you have a soft floor.

only a matter of time until Buttler gets a run in this test side, and i fancy it will happen against sri lanka....Bairstow has never ever looked convincing as a international batsman, and i doubt im the only one who gets nervous when he goes out to bat!

To me it has been clear that a big difference in the bowling attacks is the discipline. Australia have rigidly stuck to good line and length and so tied up the batsmen and eventually been rewarded with wickets. England, on the other hand, have been way more erratic and overdone the short stuff and made the batsmen's job much easier as no real pressure has been built up.

CF wrote:only a matter of time until Buttler gets a run in this test side, and i fancy it will happen against sri lanka....Bairstow has never ever looked convincing as a international batsman, and i doubt im the only one who gets nervous when he goes out to bat!

Hope Prior gets another shot, if he has a good start to the county season.

Bairstow took a slick catch today and okay with the bat he isn't scoring mega runs but was Prior? And I recall Prior also missing two big stumping chances as well in one test in this series.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

Gerry SA wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Absolutely bollockless. Pathetic. Spineless. Awful. Terrible. Gutless.

The worst test series for England since....?

Good that a 5-0 is on its way. Only changes at the top can allow England to move forward.

0-5 against India (if its 5) is a very real possibility if we keep Flower and Gooch.

Ballance didn't look too bad though.

If India's pop gun attack beats England, I'll fall of my chair...

I hope you have a soft floor.

India aren't beating England so I should be fine!

I'm sorry but England arent losing a series to India, in England. India's batsmen are a lot better than I thought they were, but their bowling especially their fast bowling is quite abject, I expect KP and co to create the illusion of a Lazarus-esque revival once Mitchell Johnson's name is replaced with the mighty Sharma.

I think Flower should get the chance to continue. Yes its been abysmal, but he's been a very successful coach, when he came in originally he turned us round, deserves a shot to do it with some fresh blood coming through.

Gooch needs to go.

Duty we ain't losing to India at home

Bairstow still doesn't appear reliable enough to hold down a place solely as a middle order batsman. His dismissal today was again poor (even though he lasted longer than the 16 balls Olly predicted!). Notwithstanding the odd good catch behind the stumps in this series, he's also some way off being the best available wicket keeper.

That doesn't automatically rule him out as a batsman-keeper (or even vice versa) but I do believe we should soon be considering whether there are better alternatives. That would certainly include keeping Prior and his form under review.

seems a fair few people on the England tour have successfully applied for their P45's.

Trebs,

You ain't losing to India at home.

Linebreaker wrote:Trebs,

You ain't losing to India at home.

whatever happens, they need to cut the can't bats and quickly and find a spine and find some heart.

it was all there to see in the summer.

kingraf wrote:I'm sorry but England arent losing a series to India, in England. India's batsmen are a lot better than I thought they were, but their bowling especially their fast bowling is quite abject, I expect KP and co to create the illusion of a Lazarus-esque revival once Mitchell Johnson's name is replaced with the mighty Sharma.

Why ever not? As it stands, England's batting is utterly, utterly abysmal. It has reached the abyss. Putting on an imposing first innings score is currently beyond them - even against New Zealand last year, England's batsman struggled. No reason why India can't do what New Zealand have done.

I'd put money on it, actually. No way is England failing (consistently) against a that attack! I fully expect England to edge Sri Lanka, beat India, and then you to say something like "If England played South Africa tomorrow, I think we'd win... something about Botham 1981... Some quote by Churchil... Nay! England is an unspeakable word..." ...you know all the nonsense you typed before hope was beaten out of you!

if they've even got Doody down then they are a mess.

see Doody.. this is why I ended up this way.  I saw decades of this Poopie from England.. I knew the little period of light could and would never last.

I do though wish I had enjoyed it more whilst it did.

In all the history of cricket.......India has won a series in 1971(1-0), another one in 1986(2-0) ...and a 3rd one in 2005-06( 1-0)

in around 2002-03 they drew a series in Eng

This is when Indian batting has been at peak and pitches seam friendly which props up the Indian seam attack reducing the differential between the seam attacks of two sides..

in 2014 it'a 5 test series and If India goes back with a 2-2 result they would be happy.
If we lose even 2-1........ I won't be too unhappy.

a 2-1 or 3-2 type win is also possible if India play out of their skin...but less likely.


5-0 or 4-0 or even 3-0 in favor of India in English conditions....naaahh...no way.

England would be best served if they don not make very green seaming pitches...
Instead they should have good batting surfaces  and have atleast two 90mph+ bowelrs

kingraf wrote:I'd put money on it, actually. No way is England failing (consistently) against a that attack! I fully expect England to edge Sri Lanka, beat India, and then you to say something like "If England played South Africa tomorrow, I think we'd win... something about Botham 1981... Some quote by Churchil... Nay! England is an unspeakable word..." ...you know all the nonsense you typed before hope was beaten out of you!

Nonsense? How dare you sir, that is English rhetoric! Which will probably be exhausted by the end of the World Cup at any rate.

Now England's scores, 1st and 2nd innings, in the 5 Tests against New Zealand home and away:

167, 421, 465, 204, 315/9, 232, 213, 354, 257/5.

That's not exactly filling me with confidence on the assumption that India's attack is better than New Zealand's- and I'm sure it is! - particularly when you consider that the first five scores on that list were made on the dead pitches of New Zealand.

Now a little change at the top, replace Flower and Gooch, will excitedly lead me to the point where I can declare - new summer, new England. And we can draw a line under the previous five years (near-enough)for the English cricket team.

yup batting coach has to go, main coach is tired and out of ideas and top order need a shake up. Keep Cook but take away the captain role so he can just bat.

The problem is lack of consistency. Throughout this series it has been apparent. These inconsistencies have been across the board such as:-

Perhaps only one batsman weighing in with an acceptable score per innings.

Perhaps only one bowler being on the ball per innings.

More often than not the batting has failed but when it hasn't the bowling has.

Today the top order was blown away whilst the tail wagged unlike previous tests - oh for a complete performance.

The bowlers also suffer great inconsistency in bowling to the optimum line or length whereas the Australians have been on the ball and stick rigidly to this line and length.

KP_fan wrote:In all the history of cricket.......India has won a series in 1971(1-0), another one in 1986(2-0) ...and a 3rd one in 2005-06( 1-0)

in around 2002-03 they drew a series in Eng

This is when Indian batting has been at peak and pitches seam friendly which props up the Indian seam attack reducing the differential between the seam attacks of two sides..

in 2014 it'a 5 test series and If India goes back with a 2-2 result they would be happy.
If we lose even 2-1........ I won't be too unhappy.

a 2-1 or 3-2 type win is also possible if India play out of their skin...but less likely.


5-0 or 4-0 or even 3-0 in favor of India in English conditions....naaahh...no way.

England would be best served if they don not make very green seaming pitches...
Instead they should have good batting surfaces  and have atleast two 90mph+ bowelrs

No point having 90mph+ bowlers if they aren't accurate.

Hoggy_Bear wrote:

KP_fan wrote:In all the history of cricket.......India has won a series in 1971(1-0), another one in 1986(2-0) ...and a 3rd one in 2005-06( 1-0)

in around 2002-03 they drew a series in Eng

This is when Indian batting has been at peak and pitches seam friendly which props up the Indian seam attack reducing the differential between the seam attacks of two sides..

in 2014 it'a 5 test series and If India goes back with a 2-2 result they would be happy.
If we lose even 2-1........ I won't be too unhappy.

a 2-1 or 3-2 type win is also possible if India play out of their skin...but less likely.


5-0 or 4-0 or even 3-0 in favor of India in English conditions....naaahh...no way.

England would be best served if they don not make very green seaming pitches...
Instead they should have good batting surfaces  and have atleast two 90mph+ bowelrs

No point having 90mph+ bowlers if they aren't accurate.

wasim akram say...accuracy, line-length can be taught and learnt throuhg practise.

but pace cannot be taught.

the job of all those coaches is to retain the pace bowlers pace and get him to bowl reasonably accurate

Trouble is kp_fan, there aren't many consistently 90mph+ English bowlers around, accurate or otherwise.