England v Australia - Test 1, Cardiff 8th - 12th July

by **LondonTiger** Wed 08 Jul 2015, 9:56 am

First topic message reminder :

England

Lyth
Cook
Ballance
Bell
Root
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Broad
Wood
Anderson

Australia

Warner
Rogers
Smith
Clarke
Voges
Watson
Haddin
Johnson
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood

Officials

Umpires - HDPK Dharmasena and M Erasmus
TV umpire - CB Gaffaney
Match referee - RS Madugalle
Reserve umpire - NGB Cook

Toss

Won by England who choose to bat.

by trebellbobaggins Sat 11 Jul 2015, 5:31 pm

Amazing how Johnson has become such a dangerous and fast bowler. Says a lot for him bouncing back from early struggles.

With him and mini Mitch they have two very fast bowlers who will surely do damage on quick pitches.

by SimonofSurrey Sat 11 Jul 2015, 5:33 pm

Steffan wrote:
trebellbobaggins wrote:
Steffan wrote:
trebellbobaggins wrote:What is an "Uncle Taff"?
A Welshman who sucks up and bows down to English people. I'm just looking for a few quiet pints tomorrow in town

oh right. in all my years with a Welsh partner I don't think I met any of those. Proud folk.
Good. Most Welsh people are proud apart from a few who support England in cricket, England in football (but will no doubt jump on the Welsh bandwagon if we qualify for next Euros) and anti-devolutionists

Steffan wrote:

Those Welsh people who 'support England in cricket' may be proud - after this 1st Test win today - but they're certaionly more knowledgeable than you, Steffan. The full name of the ECB is actually the England AND WALES Cricket Board.

Whoops.

by SimonofSurrey Sat 11 Jul 2015, 5:34 pm

Steffan wrote:
trebellbobaggins wrote:
Steffan wrote:
trebellbobaggins wrote:What is an "Uncle Taff"?
A Welshman who sucks up and bows down to English people. I'm just looking for a few quiet pints tomorrow in town

oh right. in all my years with a Welsh partner I don't think I met any of those. Proud folk.
Good. Most Welsh people are proud apart from a few who support England in cricket, England in football (but will no doubt jump on the Welsh bandwagon if we qualify for next Euros) and anti-devolutionists

Steffan wrote:

Those Welsh people who 'support England in cricket' may be proud - after this 1st Test win today - but they're certaionly more knowledgeable than you, Steffan. The full name of the ECB is actually the England AND WALES Cricket Board.

Whoops.

by Duty281 Sat 11 Jul 2015, 5:54 pm

Good, expected win for England to start the series. clap

Some areas for England to improve on, notably the top order, but I am confident that the thrashing I predicted beforehand will materialise.

Unsure how to feel about Lord's. 2009 was a good victory for England, 2013 was a 300+ run thrashing, but before that Australia were a very intimidating force at that ground for about 6 decades! I think the pitch will be quicker, an advantage to the Australians, but the quick turn-around in tests will suit England.

11/10 odds on England winning the Ashes - bloody mad, I tell you!

And let's salute KP_fan for another gem:

KP_fan wrote:England cannot win under Cook as a captain.
And here I don't mean the series.
But even a single test match in this series.

Nevertheless may Eng compete and we see a good series

by Nakatomi Plaza Sat 11 Jul 2015, 5:54 pm

Root quite rightly named man of the match. My scores out of ten;

Cook - 6.5 - Got two starts, but got out to poor shots. Took some good catches, and captained more aggressively then we've previously seen. Most changes came off for him.

Lyth - 5 - Out cheaply first innings. Look ok in second innings, but failed to get to fifty.

Ballance 5.5 - Ugly fifty in first innings. Out for a duck second time around

Bell 5.5 - Got a jaffer early on from Starc first time around. Classy sixty when England were under a little bit of pressure in the second.

Root - 9.75 - Misses out on a ten due to dropping Warner early in Aus second innings. Made Haddin pay for dropping him early to get another century. Couple of late wickets helped sealed England's victory

Stokes 7 - Batted with typical aggression in both innings which helped lay the foundation for England.

Buttler 4 - Two poor shots to get out in both innings. Looked in good touch in the first session and will have better days. Kept ok.

Moeen 8 - Great knock in the first, batting aggressively with the tail. Five wickets in the match. Came into the match under pressure due to Rashid's performances in the ODIs, but answered his critics superbly.

Broad 7.5 - Showed his mettle when getting some short stuff from Johnson. Bowled like a dream at the start of the second innings.

Wood 8 - Looks a great find. England's quickest bowler, and put in really entertaining knock in the second innings.

Anderson - 6.5 - Bowled well without getting reward in the second innings. Augurs well that he took a back seat but England won.

Australia

Rogers 7- Agonizingly close to a century, but out cheaply when the heat was on.

Warner 6 - Disappointed to get out before lunch to Ali today.

Smith 5 - Out for 33 in both innings. Showed glimpses of class.

Clarke 4.5 - Another Aussie who paid the price for taking liberties with Moeen.

Voges 3 - Averaged 16. Not good enough in this test

Leg before Watson 3 - Talented player, but method of dismissals is becoming a bit of a joke. Offered little with the ball. Place is under serious jeopardy for Lords

Haddin 1 - Dropping Root was the turning point. Out of nick with the bat. I'd be surprised if he lasts the series.

Johnson 6 - Took ribbing from Barmy army in good humour, and recovered well after bowling a poor spell after tea on the first day. Credible knock in losing circumstances.

Starc 6.5 - Played through the pain in England's second innings, and was probably Aussies best bowler in that innings. Only bowler to pick up five-for.

Hazelwood 6.5 - Most accurate Aussie bowler.

Lyon 5.5 - Not the liability that he's been painted in some circles, but lacks the class to make a real impact.

by guildfordbat Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:04 pm

alfie wrote:Great team effort : no bowler took more than three wickets in either innings , but the combination did the job beautifully .

No justice that Anderson went wicketless today ; but he won't mind. Think Moeen has proved a point or two.

Strongly go along with all that. Very encouraging going into the second Test that we won so comfortably here and that we topped the Australian totals in both innings.

by **LondonTiger** Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:06 pm

Nathan Lyon was Australia's most economical bowler and with 6 wickets I reckon he did his job well. For me he was their best bowler across the match. first aussie off spinner to get 150 test wickets too.

I thought that Broad was our best bowler in both innings.

by sirfredperry Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:11 pm

This is the time for England to beware. I was at Lord's in 1997, Eng - unexpectedly - had won the first Test at Birmingham by nine wickets. Lo and behold at Lord's - all out for 77 and only the weather saved them, with only 90 minutes play possible on the first two days.
Having said all that, this was a terrific win for England and the only criticism I have is that Australia should have been chasing 500 and not 400. Eng rather threw their wickets away in the second innings.
It also goes to show just how hard it is to win Tests away from home. Very much doubt we'd have been 1-0 up in Australia.

by SimonofSurrey Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:14 pm

Buttler's '4' is harsh. He did little wrong behind the stumps and, even though he got himself out twice (the second time when England were way ahead and looking to push on), he looked completely at home in his First Ashes Test.

by CaledonianCraig Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:20 pm

Well that was really quite a surprise. Pre-series Australia came into it as warm favourites and confidence up. England came in to it after a very turbulent last year with lots of behind the scenes bickering and changes. The general opinion was that this would be very tough for England but the First Test has not panned out like that.

As Ricky Ponting said England were better in all departments and Australia have to improve. Another worry for Australia are injuries. They've already suffered a blow losing Ryan Harris and now worries abound about Mitchell Starc and questions are being asked form-wise about Watson and Haddin's future.

Australia have a few days to regroup and re-organize before the Second Test and mull over the team make-up and assess injuries. England will go into that match fuelled up on confidence and chomping at the bit and team selection-wise things rock steady. A whole different complexion already has been cast on this series.

I know there is a mighty long way to go but if England don't start to believe from this point then there is no hope for them.

by guildfordbat Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:21 pm

Nakatomi - too much of winner's justice there together with a bit of CF randomness.

In line with previous posts from myself and 'Sleeping Contentedly' Alfie plus the one just now from Tiger, feel you must have been watching a different game for Lyon's rating.

by SimonofSurrey Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:23 pm

Worth noting also that B Haddin Esq currently has an impressive batting average of -60, as follows:

Innings played: 2
Runs scored: 22 + 7 = +29
Catches missed: 1st Innings - Root on 0 -> made 134; 2nd Innings - Mooen on 0 -> made 15) = -149
Net score: -120 over two innings

Couldn't have happened to a nicer. more deserving gent of the game.

by sirfredperry Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:23 pm

Having mentioned England's win at Edgbaston in 1997, I reckon one of the other most surprising Ashes 1st Test results was at Brisbane in 1958 (yes, some of us can remember it) when Benaud's unheralded Aussies thumped England.
England had been described as the strongest England side ever to leave for Australia (including May, Cowdrey, Graveney, Lock, Laker, Bailey, Evans, Trueman, Statham, Tyson and Loader.) Overall result? 4-0 to Australia.

by Nakatomi Plaza Sat 11 Jul 2015, 6:26 pm

guildfordbat wrote:Nakatomi - too much of winner's justice there together with a bit of CF randomness.

In line with previous posts from myself and 'Sleeping Contentedly' Alfie plus the one just now from Tiger, feel you must have been watching a different game for Lyon's rating.

I only saw Lyon bowl from tea in the first innings, and most of the second. I'll admit I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys, but have scored how I saw fit. I hoped my comments justified my views.

by kingraf Sat 11 Jul 2015, 7:12 pm

It was as close to.the perfect game as England's gotten to recently. I think some of us (myself included) overestimated Australia based on home performances. Outside of South Africa (conditions being basically a carbon copy of Aussie conditions), and west indies (unfortunately series' there are gimmes for everyone except England), I don't think Australia has won an away series for decade?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sat 11 Jul 2015, 7:57 pm

I think I'm beginning to really really like this England side - such an array of talent and potential on show.

Now without wishing to put a damp cloth on proceedings, we have had good performances in Windies and against NZ and followed both up with a loss.

Can't let that happen here - Lords has been a happy hunting ground historically for the Aussies, can't let them back into the series at the first go

by msp83 Sat 11 Jul 2015, 8:22 pm

Fine win for England. They were indeed better in all departments. The bowling was particularly good and that was one area where it was thought the Australians were way ahead.
Joe Root batted as good as he ever did. James Anderson and Stuart Broad showed their class with the ball. Wood gives the attack a bit of an edge and would be a fine bowler if he can keep himself fit. Ian Bell and Garry Ballance also made half-centuries.
The one player who had a lot of justifiable questions around him produced a very good overall performance. 77 with the bat in the first innings, and 5 wickets in the game. Moeen Ali justified his place in the side for this game. Not saying he has nailed the first spinner position as such as he still was going at a very high rate and served up a lot of hit me stuff, and it would be interesting as to how he would adjust when the batsmen temper their approach for the inevitable hit me ball rather than hitting him out of the attack. But this has been a very fine overall return, and as one of his critics I would say he has earned for himself a few more games.......
Ballance too has some credit left in the bank and he toughed it out for a 50 in the first innings and should stay on. Ian Bell just about saved his career with that 60, but unless he produces a more substantive score pretty soon,England should take a tough call.

by msp83 Sat 11 Jul 2015, 8:29 pm

As for Australia, they were 2nd best in all departments in this game. The batting and bowling lacked the much discipline for this track. Hazelwood and Lyon bowled well, and Mitchell Starc was a wickettaking threat throughout. It took Mitchell Johnson 3 days to turn up for the game, and by the time he made a solid contribution to the side, the match had already gone. But his latter spells in the England 2nd innings and that 77 might give him greater confidence for the next game. But if Starc can't make it to the next game, that will be a massive setback to Australia, particularly as there is no Ryan Harris to come into the side. Would be interesting to see who would Australia opt for if Starc indeed can't make it. Will it be the super fast and exciting but injury prone Pat Cummins or will it be the tried and tested the steady rather than spectacular Peter Siddle?

by msp83 Sat 11 Jul 2015, 8:31 pm

They should make Shane Watson retire and call up James Faulkner as his replacement and play him in the next game! Not happening, so drop Watson and get Mitchell Marsh in.

by The Great Aukster Sun 12 Jul 2015, 10:38 am

Will that guy Mitchell be singing the blues?

by dummy_half Sun 12 Jul 2015, 1:23 pm

Some big questions for Australia to answer for the next match:

1 - If Starc isn't fit, who comes in? Siddle is a good 'steady eddie' with lots of experience, but I wouldn't fear him running through us the way the two Mitchells could. Not seen much of Cummins, but I understand he is quick and a bit raw. Can you go with that while Mitch J is in his 'bowls to the left, bowls to the right' mode?

2 - Watson. How many times does he have to show he cannot reliably make big scores simply because he plants his left foot on off stump and misses in-cutting deliveries. Is Marsh going to score more runs, and is his bowling good enough to be the 4th seamer?

3 - Haddin. Looks more like Brad Had It to me at the moment. Didin't contribute with the bat and his keeping has gone downhill markedly. The drop of Root on the first morning was probably the turning point of the match.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 12 Jul 2015, 1:30 pm

1. You go with Siddle imo - he's a proven performer, had good success against England and is not too bad with the bat either.

And with siddle coming in, I think that allows you to bring in the inexperienced marsh.

And on 3. Who even is the Aussie back up keeper? How bad must be be if haddin is still in ahead of him!

by Duty281 Sun 12 Jul 2015, 1:32 pm

This chap is in the Australian side as back-up keeper:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2015/content/player/6973.html

by trebellbobaggins Sun 12 Jul 2015, 1:50 pm

how come Aussie are producing more pure quicks than Eng now? is it something the Eng set-up needs to do something about?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 12 Jul 2015, 2:02 pm

Duty281 wrote:This chap is in the Australian side as back-up keeper:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2015/content/player/6973.html

Not bad first class stats tbf

by **LondonTiger** Sun 12 Jul 2015, 2:57 pm

trebellbobaggins wrote:how come Aussie are producing more pure quicks than Eng now? is it something the Eng set-up needs to do something about?

Pitches in England pretty much from Test level down to village and school offer nothing to quicks. In large part that is down to climate. Conditions favour swing and seam so that is what we develop from a young age.

by trebellbobaggins Sun 12 Jul 2015, 3:00 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
trebellbobaggins wrote:how come Aussie are producing more pure quicks than Eng now? is it something the Eng set-up needs to do something about?

Pitches in England pretty much from Test level down to village and school offer nothing to quicks. In large part that is down to climate. Conditions favour swing and seam so that is what we develop from a young age.

That's a very fair point. I suppose you're going to develop to the conditions your grow up in. I wonder if they look to try to develop true quicks though in recognition of the global game and the need to tour so much?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 12 Jul 2015, 3:06 pm

We've tried to add pace to many young bowlers at Loughborough. And failed, thus ruining many along the way.

by trebellbobaggins Sun 12 Jul 2015, 3:37 pm

Olly wrote:We've tried to add pace to many young bowlers at Loughborough. And failed, thus ruining many along the way.

it's fair to say we've seen many where tinkering with them has just ruined their natural action and made them worse.

by The Great Aukster Sun 12 Jul 2015, 8:57 pm

The pace fetish is like a mugging in a multi-storey carpark - wrong on so many levels. There are very few bowlers who have acquired searing pace over and above their natural ability. Some bowlers have gained some pace but the vast majority lose it. Imran Khan was one who became a fast bowler from a batting medium pacer, but the Truemans, Marshalls, Donalds and Lees tend to be born not made.
Jeff Thompson was faster than Lillee, Shoaib Aktar faster than Wasim and Shaun Tait faster than McGrath but would anyone seriously take the former over the latter in each case?

It is exciting to have a Devon Malcolm, 'Syd' Lawrence or Saj Mahmood who can generate frightening pace but actually someone who can move the ball and put it in a place where the captain can set a field is far more important.

by trebellbobaggins Sun 12 Jul 2015, 9:03 pm

Good points cheers.

by CaledonianCraig Sun 12 Jul 2015, 9:05 pm

The Great Aukster wrote:The pace fetish is like a mugging in a multi-storey carpark - wrong on so many levels. There are very few bowlers who have acquired searing pace over and above their natural ability. Some bowlers have gained some pace but the vast majority lose it. Imran Khan was one who became a fast bowler from a batting medium pacer, but the Truemans, Marshalls, Donalds and Lees tend to be born not made.
Jeff Thompson was faster than Lillee, Shoaib Aktar faster than Wasim and Shaun Tait faster than McGrath but would anyone seriously take the former over the latter in each case?

It is exciting to have a Devon Malcolm, 'Syd' Lawrence or Saj Mahmood who can generate frightening pace but actually someone who can move the ball and put it in a place where the captain can set a field is far more important.

Precisely.

At the end of the day the aim of a bowler is to take wickets. I'd hazard a guess that Steve Finn is on average a faster bowler than Anderson but as for who takes more wickets it is no contest. It is akin to being a football fan and putting more stock on a striker who score ten spectacular goals a season over one that scores 30 mundane goals a season. The end product is what counts and not the trimmings so to speak.

by The Great Aukster Sun 12 Jul 2015, 9:34 pm

Finn has reduced his pace back to get his rhythm again, so it looks as thought there is a control v pace compromise to be reached. Tymal Mills looks to me as though he has started to reign it in a bit to avoid injury, whereas Woakes has upped his pace and suffered more injuries - not sure if that's consequential or not.

I love the speed gun but sometimes ask was it better when we left it up to our own imagination how fast a bowler was getting it down?

by Guest Mon 13 Jul 2015, 9:35 pm

Bit rude of the Australians to refuse a drinks invite after the first test. I know sport is competitive but refusing a post game drink is a bit pathetic. No wonder no one likes Australian cricket.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Mon 13 Jul 2015, 10:20 pm

Literally cannot think of anything more awkward than having a drink with the opposition team of an Ashes series - especially when one of them is David Warner

by Guest Mon 13 Jul 2015, 10:50 pm

Yeah, England probably offered it up knowing full well Australia would decline. Hope they have a drink after the series is all done and dusted though. Refusing a drink is a bit churlish and unbecoming of a sportsman/team. Apparently Ponting blamed post game drinks for the loss in 2005 which is grasping at straws.

by Steffan Tue 14 Jul 2015, 1:20 pm

ebop wrote:Bit rude of the Australians to refuse a drinks invite after the first test. I know sport is competitive but refusing a post game drink is a bit pathetic. No wonder no one likes Australian cricket

Sport is all about psychology and Australia are probably trying to keep the 'You are the enemy' mentality until the series is over. I'm sure they will all have a drink once the series is over. I doubt England would have been so keen for drinks had they lost the first test so emphatically either

When Wales...sorry I mean the Lions beat Australia in rugby in 2013 there was little post match mixing until after the third and final test. Pointless trying to be all pals when you have to try and beat each other again a week later

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