Ashes 2021/22 and other cricket through the winter of 2021 thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Thought I'd start a new thread for the winter cricket of 2021 that we (covid depending) have ahead of us. Obviously the World T20, but that has it's own thread...

The main event being the Ashes, with the dates below

Men's Ashes schedule
First Test: 8-12 December - Gabba, Brisbane (00:00 GMT)
Second Test: 16-20 December - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (d/n - 04:00 GMT)
Third Test: 26-30 December - MCG, Melbourne (23:30 GMT, 25 December)
Fourth Test: 5-9 January - SCG, Sydney (23:30 GMT, 4 January)
Fifth Test: 14-18 January - Optus Stadium, Perth (02:30 GMT) (subject to change)

Women's Ashes schedule
Test: 27-30 January - Manuka Oval, Canberra (23:00 GMT, 26 January)
First T20: 4 February - North Sydney Oval, Sydney (08:10 GMT)
Second T20: 6 February - North Sydney Oval, Sydney (08:10 GMT)
Third T20: 10 February - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (08:10 GMT)
First ODl: 13 February - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (23:05 GMT, 12 February)
Second ODl: 16 February - Junction Oval, Melbourne (23:05 GMT, 15 February)
Third ODI: 19 February - Junction Oval, Melbourne (23:05 GMT, 18 February)

India have a busy winter, with New Zealand touring in November/December and then India head to South Africa for the boxing day test/January.
There's an interesting test series between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Bangladesh in Nov/Dec, which should be an entertaining watch. Unfortunately I don't see much cricket on the schedule for Pakistan/Sri Lanka (unless I am missing something!)
A few others on the future tours programme, but not confirmed yet as far as I see...

[king_carlos]

[alfie]

50 for Warner. He's judged the situation very well indeed.

Stokes already looking knackered from this Wagner impression.

It's the second session of D1. I have concerns.

Think Root probably does too. England really haven't done much wrong : could argue they might have pitched up more - but with little swing on offer that might have been costly. Have beaten the bat often enough without finding an edge - and Stokes short stuff has kept Marnus rather uncomfortable. But only one missed chance , plus possibly a run out opportunity early on... Just hasn't happened for them really.

Have to give credit to the bats. Been patient ; soaked up the pressure. Can England do the same when it's their turn ? Because they might be chasing a fair few...

[king_carlos]

Labuschagne with a strike rate of 20. He's performing the Pujara role. Just forcing the seamers to exhaust themselves in the Adelaide heat.

It's an absolute road so even England will have a chance at getting first innings runs. Whether they do especially with potential scoreboard pressure is a different story.

That's me punching out sadly as I'm away to work. Enjoy Alfie and all those who will presumably be waking up imminently!

[msp83]

Warner and Labuschagne building up nicely for Australia. England still keeping things tight and nice, and a couple of wickets can quickly turn an advantage to a disaster to Australia. But the Australian batters doing well to reach where they have. Remember Warner was inspired by Sehwag and not Boycott as a test opener, and yet, unlike the flashy 20-Somethings that England keep hyping up, he has shown reserves of mental strength and patience to compile a 2nd consecutive half-century for the series. Apart from some Stokes created difficulties, Labuschagne has largely looked comfortable out there...

[alfie]

Hundred partnership

Australia had all the bad (injury , Covid) news before the match. But since this morning it's pretty much gone to plan : good toss to win ; solid resistance to some good early bowling - and now a partnership blossoming ; with a fair bit of batting to come.

Will England be starting to have visions of the game from the last tour : Australia making 400 odd and them trying to play catch up from then on ?

[alfie]

Blimey...Root nearly got the break then ! Chance that Stokes might take on another day...then Warner nearly gets himself out playing a reverse sweep ...

All happening. England might be wondering if they are ever going to get any of these "near things" actually go for them .

Fifty for Marnus

[Afro]

Discovered one unexpected benefit of the Booster jab is that I have woken just before 4 for the last two mornings, so watched an hour and a bit this morning.

Thought Broad looked good first up, but other than that, it didn't really look like much happening. No real chances and not many runs - think Warner took 20 odd balls to get off the mark and was on 1 from 30 balls at one point.

I do have to thanks Alfie for his updates. I kept checking back to make sure I hadn't dozed off and missed anything!

[msp83]

Australia very much in control at Tea. Warner and Labuschagne giving nothing away. England tried everything, including 5 overs from their 6th bowler, lots of short-pitched bowling... Root even tried a short ball himself for good measure!
Unless there is a dramatic final session, they would have their back to the wall by end of day one itself.
And, only 53 overs by the end of the 2nd session. When are they going to police this nonsense in a meaningful way?!

[VTR]

Might have been mentioned already, and yes I know its an emergency, but is it acceptable that Smith is captain?

As for the actual cricket, predictable that England have been able to keep it fairly tight without creating much drama. I think the team selection was correct, but that's more due to the paucity of the spin options. There's maybe scope for a draw from here, but I expect a hammering by a lot of runs is more likely

[Soul Requiem]

Might have been mentioned already, and yes I know its an emergency, but is it acceptable that Smith is captain?

As for the actual cricket, predictable that England have been able to keep it fairly tight without creating much drama. I think the team selection was correct, but that's more due to the paucity of the spin options. There's maybe scope for a draw from here, but I expect a hammering by a lot of runs is more likely

No, as far as i'm concerned ball tampering is the same as doping. Those involved should have been banned from all international cricket for life, as Atherton should have been.

[msp83]

Might have been mentioned already, and yes I know its an emergency, but is it acceptable that Smith is captain?

As for the actual cricket, predictable that England have been able to keep it fairly tight without creating much drama. I think the team selection was correct, but that's more due to the paucity of the spin options. There's maybe scope for a draw from here, but I expect a hammering by a lot of runs is more likely

If Smith could be vice-captain, there is nothing wrong in him being captain for today. But should he have been vice-captain? Not in my book! But perhaps its alright for Cricket Australia, Elite Honesty and all that!

[Mind the windows Tino.]

Might have been mentioned already, and yes I know its an emergency, but is it acceptable that Smith is captain?

As for the actual cricket, predictable that England have been able to keep it fairly tight without creating much drama. I think the team selection was correct, but that's more due to the paucity of the spin options. There's maybe scope for a draw from here, but I expect a hammering by a lot of runs is more likely

No, as far as i'm concerned ball tampering is the same as doping. Those involved should have been banned from all international cricket for life, as Atherton should have been.

I don't think he should have been banned for life, but certainly don't agree with him being in any sort of leadership role again.

But sport does, increasingly so as the money in professional sport ramps up, view itself as above "societies" moral compass so I'm not in the least bit surprised he is out there as skipper.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Going to be absolutely textbook England that we're getting through overs so slowly we won't get the new ball under the lights

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Hundred partnership

Australia had all the bad (injury , Covid) news before the match. But since this morning it's pretty much gone to plan : good toss to win ; solid resistance to some good early bowling - and now a partnership blossoming ; with a fair bit of batting to come.

Will England be starting to have visions of the game from the last tour : Australia making 400 odd and them trying to play catch up from then on ?

I'd take a 4-0 series defeat right here right now if offered!

[alfie]

Hundred partnership

Australia had all the bad (injury , Covid) news before the match. But since this morning it's pretty much gone to plan : good toss to win ; solid resistance to some good early bowling - and now a partnership blossoming ; with a fair bit of batting to come.

Will England be starting to have visions of the game from the last tour : Australia making 400 odd and them trying to play catch up from then on ?

I'd take a 4-0 series defeat right here right now if offered!

Not looking good , is it , Olly ?

Was pretty hopeful early on : bowlers had Warner stuck on no score for ages , ball was beating bat/ hitting pads ...score going nowhere and it seemed a wicket was surely coming soon... But it all flattened out in every sense of the word ...

Currently not sure where a wicket might come from I'm afraid.

[Soul Requiem]

With Stone and Archer injured combined with Wood being so fragile this is all very predictable, the bowlers just aren't good enough in these conditions.

[Mind the windows Tino.]

With Stone and Archer injured combined with Wood being so fragile this is all very predictable, the bowlers just aren't good enough in these conditions.

Good job we have such a robust batting line up then.

[Soul Requiem]

On another note I do not understand Labuschagne; I watch him and he looks terrible, constantly getting beaten but somehow has an average over 60. It makes no sense whatsoever.

[alfie]

I actually think the bowling has been pretty good today. Really nothing in the pitch for any bowler , and it hasn't swung much either ; but they've never let the batsmen play with any real fluency. Just haven't been able to get the break , despite beating the edge on numerous occasions.
These two batsmen have done really well in not worrying about balls that beat them but just getting on with it - excellent concentration: very few flashy shots to risk gifting a wicket.
Extra pace to make a big difference ? Maybe. Hasn't always been the case on the flatter wickets that England have encountered recently though. Wood bowled very well in Brisbane : but he didn't manage to wreck the innings.
Of course if Australia make a big score everyone will be condemning the non selection of Leach

[alfie]

Abominable over rate again , of course. I realise with a lot of seamers you aren't getting through as quick as you might wish , but for some reason they're down at an absolutely glacial rate again today. Seems odd given there were plenty of dot balls in the early sessions which ought to have speeded things up.

Gift wicket for Stokes as long as he hasn't overstepped ! Warner will be really annoyed ... Misses his century again : but he's set his team up nicely

Needed that.

[alfie]

Labuschagne has had a bit of luck today but he's closing on a century...and his team near 200 for two.

This is a bit like Brisbane again. Main four bowlers fairly tight - Stokes and Root going at four an over (though of course Stokes has the wicket and indeed has created most of the recent half chances)

Usually reckon a lot of maiden overs eventually bring wickets - but it hasn't worked that way for England today. Not as if they had defensive fields in the early sessions either...but nothing they did got the break they needed.
Different this session : Stokes channelling Wagner seems the main "Plan F".

Only limited success too.

Australia will be fancying batting until tea tomorrow and getting England in under lights to torment further...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

This has been one seriously boring day of cricket

[msp83]

When are they banning Joe Root!? Disgraceful overrate! Absolutely pathetic!

[msp83]

Root has bowled 11 overs on day one of a test match, and even after that, they have managed such a terrible overrate!

[msp83]

Just about half-an-hour left for stumps with the extra time, and there still are 9 overs to come. England would have a half hour with the 2nd new ball, they haven't really let Australia run away with the scoreboard yet, so a couple of late wickets would put the game back in the balance. Can Anderson and Broad do it?

[alfie]

This has been one seriously boring day of cricket

I almost never find Test Cricket boring. Except those third innings situations where a team is just adding to an already huge lead while their opponents await a declaration...now that is boring even if they're hitting sixes everywhere.

Wouldn't call today exactly boring : plenty of tension early on made a slow session very watchable. Got a bit more comfortable looking for the bats later but there were enough incidents to keep interest.

Bit late now to the new ball due to the rotten over rate : but the last half hour might yet be interesting...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Not entirely sure how Labuschagne survived that Broad over

[msp83]

Broad has looked the best bowler for England today and probably deserves more than the one wicket he has got.. Anderson hasn't had much impact, though he hasn't let them take any liberties against him.

[compelling and rich]

wow thats a shocker

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

well if that doesn't sum it all up

[alfie]

One of his most important attributes is that Labuschagne seems to have mastered the art of never quite managing to get an edge on balls that completely beat him outside off.

Some players always seem to nick them ; he somehow never does. Good luck or what....

Oh no !!!  Jos Buttler has just dropped one my grandmother would have taken with her eyes shut

Poor Jimmy. Poor England. That will just about suck the life out of them...

That was definitely luck for Labuschagne.

[Pal Joey]

He took that brilliant catch earlier then the 2 snatches. It's almost as if he's over eager or had a lapse of concentration at the wrong time for those two drops. Don't think dew is a factor but it the new ball does look a little greasy.

[GSC]

England deficiencies with the bat are one thing but there isn't much excuse for how poor they've been in the field so far in this series

[VTR]

Dropped chances are so often a sign of a side playing with no belief. Almost a mindset of we are so inferior that the chances will never come, so not ready for them when they do

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I think with an innings defeat here (likely) we may hit the full house on "England in Australia" bingo after two test matches;

- Selecting a bunch of right arm medium fasts only
- Ruining our spinner
- Woeful fielding
- Woeful underperformance with the bat including collapsing on a pancake

What am I missing?

[msp83]

Robinson should speed things up for once, one last crack at Labuschagne they should strive for...

[GSC]

Someone retiring or being sent home midway through the series?

[Soul Requiem]

I've said it numerous times before but Buttler is not a good enough keeper at this level nor is his batting good enough to compensate for that fact.

[VTR]

Ill advised Pedalo outing?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I should have added the obvious head coach sacking and "new era" beginning in the summer is obviously coming too at the end of the 5 games

[alfie]

Really hope I'm wrong and they can bounce back tomorrow and make a contest of this...but I fear the heads have gone down and it might not take much to have them filleted properly over the next couple of days...

Full credit to the Aussie bats , of course. They are as ruthless as ever - and when England are generous enough to give them extra lives they are always going to go big. Almost taken any prospect of an England win out of the question already. Draw should be possible but we know how England fade under scoreboard pressure.

I really should just accept the reality of Australian excellence at home
and admire their skills. But much as I love cricket , I can barely stand the thought of this series becoming yet another one sided whitewash. Seen that movie too often...

[msp83]

Labuschagne has looked the most insecure in this innings once he reached the 90s. He hardly makes good-looking runs and today hasn't been different, but in the 90s, he has not only got stuck, but looks like getting out any time, in fact he did just that only for Buttler... So he survives, for to restart on a fresh day.
Australia's day without question, they have a platform to bat really big and put up ahuge total on the board.
But the pitch is so flat, that even England's 20-Somethings must be fancying their chance. It is an opportunity for the likes of Oliver Pope to book in for at least another year of mediocrety, by putting up a big score whenever he gets the chance.
If 2 of their class acts, Joe Root and Ben Stokes, can get their act together, there are runs to be scored here. Its going to be the conditions in the air rather than those on the pitch that is going to be decisive for the next couple of days more at the very least, how much of can England bat?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I can already tell you how tomorrow goes

We get a wicket in the first 20 minutes, the provide that false hope. Maybe two in the first hour.
Cameron Green comes in and makes a 120 ball century.
Aussies declare for well over 500 with around an hour left of play

England are 20-2 at close

[Afro]

I should have added the obvious head coach sacking and "new era" beginning in the summer is obviously coming too at the end of the 5 games

You forgot the "Post-mortem by the ECB"

[JDizzle]

I think with an innings defeat here (likely) we may hit the full house on "England in Australia" bingo after two test matches;

- Selecting a bunch of right arm medium fasts only
- Ruining our spinner
- Woeful fielding
- Woeful underperformance with the bat including collapsing on a pancake

What am I missing?

Which leg spinner is making his only Test match appearance at Sydney Hobart?

[VTR]

I can already tell you how tomorrow goes

We get a wicket in the first 20 minutes, the provide that false hope. Maybe two in the first hour.
Cameron Green comes in and makes a 120 ball century.
Aussies declare for well over 500 with around an hour left of play

England are 20-2 at close

We get to 20 with only the two down? I'll shake on that one now!

[Afro]

I can already tell you how tomorrow goes

We get a wicket in the first 20 minutes, the provide that false hope. Maybe two in the first hour.
Cameron Green comes in and makes a 120 ball century.
Aussies declare for well over 500 with around an hour left of play

England are 20-2 at close

We get to 20 with only the two down? I'll shake on that one now!

It'll be 20-2 with Root n/o on 18 from 30 balls and Hammed n/o on 2 from 60

[KP_fan]

Aus's score looks impregnable but at only about 220 runs in a days play...Eng have not let them run away

And its a pity Butler put that down towards the end of the day.....one wkt there could have led to 2 and 220-4 would have been day even.

On a side  note Warne sounds increasingly Partisan.....more a low grade home squad cheer-leader than a commentator on a feed going to international audiences
Mark Waugh is worse ....smarter alec in his own eyes....an over-smart a.s-s in the yes of most others

[VTR]

I can already tell you how tomorrow goes

We get a wicket in the first 20 minutes, the provide that false hope. Maybe two in the first hour.
Cameron Green comes in and makes a 120 ball century.
Aussies declare for well over 500 with around an hour left of play

England are 20-2 at close

We get to 20 with only the two down? I'll shake on that one now!

It'll be 20-2 with Root n/o on 18 from 30 balls and Hammed n/o on 2 from 60

I'd go Malan and Robinson as nightwatchman at the crease. Robinson then going on to top score with a flashy 26

[Mind the windows Tino.]

I can already tell you how tomorrow goes

We get a wicket in the first 20 minutes, the provide that false hope. Maybe two in the first hour.
Cameron Green comes in and makes a 120 ball century.
Aussies declare for well over 500 with around an hour left of play

England are 20-2 at close

We get to 20 with only the two down? I'll shake on that one now!

It'll be 20-2 with Root n/o on 18 from 30 balls and Hammed n/o on 2 from 60

I'd go Malan and Robinson as nightwatchman at the crease. Robinson then going on to top score with a flashy 26

I'll go centuries from Strauss, Cook and Trott and England to be 517-1 at stumps on day 4.

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