England v Australia: 3rd Test, Edgbaston

First topic message reminder :

England:
A Lyth, AN Cook*, IR Bell, JE Root, JM Bairstow, BA Stokes, JC Buttler†, MM Ali, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, ST Finn

Australia:
CJL Rogers, DA Warner, SPD Smith, MJ Clarke*, AC Voges, MR Marsh, PM Nevill†, MG Johnson, MA Starc, JR Hazlewood, NM Lyon

Wanting to be aggressive is great, but put a price on your wicket. Thrown away a chance to put this game out of reach

Well well....I come in late this morning and find three things :

1/ Fears that a fresh Australian attack would grab early wickets realized
2/ The old knee jerk on BBC comments is alive and well ("this proves Bairstow just isn't up to it , never pick him again" ) : blimey ; I'd like to have seen 9 out of 10 batsmen play that one first thing in a morning !
3/ You don't win a Test Match in one day....plenty to do today still.

And now after a flurry of runs alas Root has gone too ! Thought it was supposed to be a batting day ...

Crap... audio via youtube not working today

Looking at this pitch though and it is still doing something then a lead of even just 100 is a very good advantage to have.

Come on England - 152 needed for victory!

AlciG wrote:Crap... audio via youtube not working today

Working now

Have to agree with comment above that a couple of wickets have been rather thrown away....OK I didn't ever see the Bell dismissal last night , but I've read enough about it ....and Root who was playing so well rewarded Starc for bowling rubbish...

You can't do too much about losing wickets to almost perfect bouncers delivered to new batsmen - sometimes going to happen. But it is unfortunate when those are bookended by well set batsmen engineering their own demise.
On the other hand : you can't salute the new aggressive approach and then complain when things go awry sometimes.
Striking the perfect balance isn't so easy.

Look on the bright side : fifty in front and still a few wickets in hand...and it appears there will be something there for the bowlers for a while yet - maybe throughout the match ?

Game moving on...

Be lucky to get a lead of 70..

Hard to say what a good lead will be. Maybe 200 is a par score on here?

If England don't win this after having them 90-odd for 7 I don't see where another win is coming from in the series

Lyon has a golden arm this week it seems.

Predicted path was over the stumps

Jammy Aussies....

We'll be lucky to get a lead over 80

And without wishing to be too much of a smart Alec , I did feel when looking at the overnight position that the early finish yesterday coupled with the loss of Bell moments earlier had slightly opened the door for an Australian comeback this morning.
Maybe should have used a night watchman ! Though I guess they didn't know they'd only have a few minutes before they went off...

Buttler falls to Lyon and the hopes of a solid lead are just about shot Why the devil didn't he review it ? Was he saving the reviews for Broad ? Not surprised it was going over....

You could see him saying "you think that was out" to Ali so chances are he's had some bad advice, still....last full time batsman and should have reviewed it.

it doesn't look like going over a 100 this lead.......Eng have dug a hole for themselves here and...have given Aus a chance to claw back into the game.

this is heading for a thrilling 200-250 chase on D4

KP_fan wrote:it doesn't look like going over a 100 this lead.......Eng have dug a hole for themselves here and...have given Aus a chance to claw back into the game.

this is heading for a thrilling 200-250 chase on D4

Runs on the board are what I'd take right now and at the moment England have the advantage of a first innings lead of 66 and counting. Sure before start of play England would have been eyeing a lead of around 200 but going into the test yesterday after such a mauling in the second test then they'd have taken such a situation after the first innings at the drop of a hat.

VTR wrote:Hard to say what a good lead will be. Maybe 200 is a par score on here?

If England don't win this after having them 90-odd for 7 I don't see where another win is coming from in the series

Wouldn't have thought 200 is anything like par. If you look at the wickets in this innings : three have been thrown away , one was an almighty fluke , one shouldn't have been given out and just two were claimed by absolute snorters - which MJ is apt to produce at times.

Certainly disappointing because a more careful approach had the potential to bat Australia out of the game and that can't happen now. But with the makeup of this England team something like this was always possible : with a bit of luck they'd have got away with some of those loose shots and they'd be racing away at 220/ 4 by now...
Does seem like opportunity lost ; but England can still win this - though the bowlers are going to be in action again earlier than they'd like : with it all to do again.

A lead of 100 could still be very useful on this pitch which is still offering help to the bowlers and is also showing some signs of turn. obviously the aussies have come back into this game but it is still advantage England

Yeah, perhaps I was being a bit hopeful 200 is par! England really seem to have lost some belief with the bat, which was terminal in the last Ashes series

The pitch isn't bad!

Most wickets have fallen to poor shot selection, or the odd good ball. Most of the seam movement is dying after 20 or so overs.

Australia have fallen woefully short of par, England are falling short.

Duty281 wrote:The pitch isn't bad!

Most wickets have fallen to poor shot selection, or the odd good ball. Most of the seam movement is dying after 20 or so overs.

Australia have fallen woefully short of par, England are falling short.

That's worrying - you wouldn't expect the Aussies to bat so badly again, a couple of partnerships would build a good lead and we will be toast

He averages only 30 with the bat....but Ali's runs from the No.8 spot are quite decisive and add to that his 41 wickets from 12 tests at 34.....he ain't a bad package

VTR wrote:

Duty281 wrote:The pitch isn't bad!

Most wickets have fallen to poor shot selection, or the odd good ball. Most of the seam movement is dying after 20 or so overs.

Australia have fallen woefully short of par, England are falling short.

That's worrying - you wouldn't expect the Aussies to bat so badly again, a couple of partnerships would build a good lead and we will be toast

True. I wouldn't want England to be chasing anything over 200, given their past history (I still remember that second test in the U.A.E.!), so getting this lead to 150 and up is essential.

Good to see Moeen and Broad trying to apply themselves.

41 wickets from 1 Test is incredible.

England reach lunch on 221 for 7 and the lead stands at 85.

Australia's session by some margin but England still have that first innings advantage.

No telling - yet! - how crucial these 31 runs (and counting) from Broad and Moeen could be.

Still 71 overs left in the day - might England be in there second innings at stumps? [It's only a half-joke, as well!]

Lead at 85. Another 65 would make England slightly more comfortable. 115 more...game over?

Blasted out for a lead of 100? Only a slight advantage, at most.

Yes Eng still ahead in the game....they need a 50 from Ali here, 20 from Broad and 10s from Finn and Anderson and they would have scrapped themselves to a handy lead

Just popped to the boozer to watch the last hour before lunch. Ali's runs useful but sheesh he was bad. Feel he'll have a very short test career by being groomed as a frontline spinner.

Broad was visually sh!tting himself against Johnson (I say that as someone who would require a tank to face someone that hostile).

VTR wrote:Hard to say what a good lead will be. Maybe 200 is a par score on here?

If England don't win this after having them 90-odd for 7 I don't see where another win is coming from in the series

Wouldn't have thought 200 is anything like par.  If you look at the wickets in this innings : three have been thrown away , one was an almighty fluke , one shouldn't have been given out and just two were claimed by absolute snorters - which MJ is apt to produce at times.

Certainly disappointing because a more careful approach had the potential to bat Australia out of the game and that can't happen now.  But with the makeup of this England team something like this was always possible : with a bit of luck they'd have got away with some of those loose shots and they'd be racing away at 220/ 4 by now...
Does seem like opportunity lost ; but England can still win this - though the bowlers are going to be in action again earlier than they'd like : with it all to do again.

seanmichaels wrote:Just popped to the boozer to watch the last hour before lunch. Ali's runs useful but sheesh he was bad. Feel he'll have a very short test career by being groomed as a frontline spinner.

Broad was visually sh!tting himself against Johnson (I say that as someone who would require a tank to face someone that hostile).

It does sound like a lucky innings so far. But I suppose Rogers rode his luck for Australia and made a 50. I feel for the likes of Broad, because he made a few runs once he is expected to bail us out for the umpteenth time. He will be out bowling with no rest again, and must wonder what the eff the likes of Lyth and Buttler are up to.

England's lead up to 92 now and this partnership is proving to be like gold dust.

In the end 88/4 from the session ...very much Australia's . Thought this morning that although England dominated day one it would only take two very good sessions for Australia to get them back in the match - that was one of them !
Conversely two very good sessions for England would be almost game over. Despite this morning , that is probably still the case .

Not game to make predictions ; but a lot depends on how the conditions develop. If bowlers continue to be favored this match could finish tomorrow ! But if things gradually flatten out we may well see Australia haul in the eventual deficit and go on to set England a stiff chase in the fourth innings. Of course if batting is easier they might well get it ...
Back to the action.

Ali has to go up the order.

LivinginItaly wrote:A lead of 100 could still be very useful on this pitch which is still offering help to the bowlers and is also showing some signs of turn. obviously the aussies have come back into this game but it is still advantage England

Well they have that at least !

Though batting is looking a bit easier so maybe it isn't that significant... Still can't help thinking too many wickets have been down to bad shots ; so maybe we will see two much larger second innings ?

Rather have a lead than be conceding one : just hope whatever it is will make up for batting last

TightHEAD wrote:Ali has to go up the order.

Why ? He is doing a great job where he is , no ?

TightHEAD wrote:Ali has to go up the order.

Remember when we said this about Broad? He averages 31. He's a 7 at best.

I guess the decision was made at lunch to have a dart on the assumption there is a ball with your name on it soon enough

37 runs added in twenty minutes. #pivotal

Moeen has played some streaky shots - but also some lovely on drives. He is putting the bad ball away well , and doing his team a great service. I really like him as a player ; and I hope his bowling develops so he can seal his spot as an allrounder.
At the moment , I don't want to bat him up the order...though I might in the UAE. Importantly , he seems to be getting the hang of batting with the tail.
I do wish Buttler would master that skill !

This partnership could be a match changer.It is now pushing the lead up over 130 and runs are flowing. The century partnership is now not too far away either.

still think we'll need 200 lead.

need to be really positive with the last 14 overs off the old ball.

Certainly a vital stand.

What does it prove , I wonder ? That the pitch has now become a road and batting henceforth will be easy ? Or that when the ball gets old and the bowlers tire , competent batsmen can cash in ?

Not boring , this game...

And Broad skies one and is caught at mid-on and is out for 31. 277 for 8 with the lead at 141.

Great partnership. Now Finn and Anderson need to dead-bat, let Ali have a swing. Criminal if Moeen is not out here

Broad got a bit carried away in the end , alas ..

Got the lead up to 140 , at least . Well played Partnership of 87 most welcome.

Now can Finn and Anderson see Moeen to his century ?

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Be lucky to get a lead of 70..

Doubly lucky , then

And Ali is caught at third man and England may fall short of that 150 lead. Vital knock that from Ali.

alfie wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Be lucky to get a lead of 70..

Doubly lucky , then

Moeen has performed better then expected, as did Broad.

Finn and Anderson need to let Ali do the work now and not attack anything stupid.

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

alfie wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Be lucky to get a lead of 70..

Doubly lucky , then

Moeen has performed better then expected, as did Broad.

Finn and Anderson need to let Ali do the work now and not attack anything stupid.

Oh FFS.............