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

[Mind the windows Tino.]

First topic message reminder :

James Bracey? Admittedly looked painfully bad vs NZ in the summer, but if we are wanting to give guys a chance then he shouldn’t be forgotten about so quickly. Especially as he was batting out of position. Better FC record than Hameed and made a half century for the Lions in Aus in 2020 and a ton this time. But he was flown home because English scoring runs just isn’t on!

Fair. Had forgotten about him actually and he was thrown a suicide pass in the summer against the best test team in the world. He probably does deserve another shot in the near future.

[KP_fan]

If a visiting  side cannot or does not want to field an 11 due to Covid then they have to agree to forefiet or reschedule the game per the precedence we saw in Eng Ind series
The home side will always be able to find an 11 to field
The laws are not clear on what happens if Covid positive players are found in the midst of a game
Does the covid positive side forefeit ?
Or the game called off or rescheduled

Forfeiture though is not as big an issue in the context of this series given scoreline and extraploated results  unlike the Eng Ind knife edge score line of 2-1 in Eng's home conditions

[GSC]

Was there not a provision that you could substitute a player who tested positive with a like for like replacement or did I imagine that? I imagine it came up all the way back when we had the first series post COVID?

[KP_fan]

Was there not a provision that you could substitute a player who tested positive with a like for like replacement or did I imagine that? I imagine it came up all the way back when we had the first series post COVID?

It's makes sense to have a substituion rule although I don't believe one exists
However it's likely to be of limited help, because once a guy in the 11 is positive he is likely to have come inn close proximity of others in the 11
OR touched the ball that others would have touched too
It's game over if one in 11 is positive
Is it Forfeiture or rescheduled or just called off is what they need to figure out

[alfie]

In the aftermath of a (very quiet !) New Year's Eve , I have had some time to consider what is exactly wrong with England at the moment - and what might be done about it. A lot to include so splitting it into three segments seems sensible...

With a long term view , I think most would agree there are problems endemic in the England domestic and international strategy/management which will need to be addressed if any sort of return to top of the table across formats is desired. I am leaving this for now : have already seen others on here with proposals and I'm sure we can and will have further discussions over the next few weeks and months. Whatever is done won't bring instant results anyway.

Medium term : the question as to why this team appears to have plunged from being a decent if not top line Test side (home wins over Pakistan and West Indies ; six successive away wins - SA , Sri Lanka and India) before dropping off a cliff in 2021 is perhaps worth considering. And going along with this is the matter of rebuilding after this tour is over.  Again I am deferring for the time being.

And of course short term : Sydney and Hobart and how can a team drag itself back from the depths of despair written on all their faces at the end in Melbourne to put up a fight for some semblance of honour ? This we surely need to treat first.

Silverwood is (temporarily) out of the frame. Will be interesting to see if this actually helps ! (not just being snarky : sometimes a bit of change in the dressing room can bring about a lift just through the novelty factor. Might Root feel a bit freer ? Not claiming to have any inside knowledge so just idle speculation)

Duty on the previous page seemed to be suggesting a complete change of the three pace bowlers as the only change likely. While I can see his reasoning I have to say it would be a strange way to react to a humbling defeat like that - by removing in its entirety the only part of the team that actually functioned , while doing nothing to improve the departments that were clearly not fit for purpose !
Obviously the dearth of attractive options is a problem ; but I'd imagine they will still be considering some tweaks to the batting. Only those close to the team are in a position to assess the mental states of the players ; and I think it should be that more than anything else that decides just what changes are made. Burns could return (I would actually have preferred him over Hameed last week but others reasonably enough thought the other way] but only if he is "ready" mentally.  Lawrence I suppose might be worth a try - but of course has had no cricket for weeks and again - as with Pope - there is the question as to whether getting put through the wringer here is going to do these young players more harm than good. Good luck making the choices .

As to the bowling I would first (once again) advocate swapping in Bess for Leach - unless they have decided he is just totally unselectable , in which case I do not see why he was brought on the tour at all ! Not suggesting he will wreck the Aussie batting but he would arguably offer no less than Leach with the ball in terms of giving the pace men a rest - and he could bat at eight allowing the pace selections to be made without half an eye to their batting skills.
I do by the way have sympathy for Leach who has not had an easy time of late. But while he is certainly always a threat to any team on a real spinning and fizzing track , and would likely do a good job even in Australia defending 350 on a fifth day pitch, he is just not going to meet either of those situations in the current circumstances. Unless England suddenly learn how to make 500...

Anderson surely should play again. With no second innings in Melbourne and nine days rest he should be fine to go again. And it is pretty clear that even at 39 he remains the best bowler in the squad so why not use him when you can ? He can have a nice rest once these Tests are over.
Wood ? Ask the physio.  Same goes for Robinson.

But Broad should be champing at the bit so his inclusion is a must. His omission from two of the first three matches is the one thing that most totally baffles me about the whole selection business on this tour. Not suggesting leaving him out in Brisbane cost them The Ashes : but it was surely a huge factor in ensuring that match was the worst possible start to a tour as compressed as this one. Have heard Aussie bats saying he was England's best bowler in Adelaide : perhaps someone in the England camp didn't agree ?

Anyway that will do me for now. Not picking a team because as I say it should be down to where their heads are and I just don't claim to know. But I hope they will put together what they think is the best combination for this game rather than fussing over rotation or development or anything else - as I do believe there has been a touch of overthinking around lately. (Can't blame them too much for that as I was guilty of similar in my pre-series musings on bowler use - even if I didn't make the mistake of committing them to posting !)

And let us hope there aren't any more ill-timed Covid strikes...

[alfie]

Apologies for the long rambling post. Have thoughts on the medium term" matters as well but prefer to leave them at least until after this Test as it might give some more clarity.

[Lowlandbrit]

Burns could return (I would actually have preferred him over Hameed last week but others reasonably enough thought the other way] but only if he is "ready" mentally.  Lawrence I suppose might be worth a try - but of course has had no cricket for weeks and again - as with Pope - there is the question as to whether getting put through the wringer here is going to do these young players more harm than good. Good luck making the choices .

As to the bowling I would first (once again) advocate swapping in Bess for Leach - unless they have decided he is just totally unselectable , in which case I do not see why he was brought on the tour at all !

I didn't and don't understand why they selected Crawley instead of Sibley as the reserve opener for this tour. Even if you think he has more long term potential (as I do), he was also clearly in more need of time to rebuild his confidence/game (and clearly hadn't yet in the few opportunities given). In general, I'd like to see them stop trying to find batters for the next 10 years and just select for a series and/or season. And as I've said before; I think they need to embrace the fact that young talented players are more likely to be on the T20 circuit than playing regular red ball cricket, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't suited for it or don't like it.

As for Bess; my ongoing theory is that the selectors in general like him a lot more than Root does, which is why he keeps getting picked but not getting used (because Root considers himself at least as good).

[Jetty]

I would like to see Root letting Stokes captain the last 2 Tests
1 Burns
2 Malan
3 Crawley
4 Root
5 Stokes
6 Lawrence
7 Bairstow
8 Robinson
9 Wood
10 Broad
11 Anderson

Storms, winds and showers for all five days. Root and Malan to bowl spin

[Duty281]

Weather does look bad for Sydney, and the draw is a narrow favourite with the bookmakers, but it won't take that long for Australia to take 20 wickets!

[Pal Joey]

Weather does look bad for Sydney, and the draw is a narrow favourite with the bookmakers, but it won't take that long for Australia to take 20 wickets!

Perfect sunny days here since Christmas... with barely a cloud in the sky. However, as Cyclone Seth (which is more than 1000km away off the Gold Coast at the moment) starts to break up and more moisture starts to move further south, there is some chance it will interrupt this nice stretch of sunny weather.

Unless a major low forms off the coast I think it's more likely we get local afternoon thunderstorms and not continuous rain setting in. It's hard to trust a weather prediction right now but of course things can change very quickly. I just hope the forecast is a bit out - and if there is some rain - then it should dry out again very quickly. Thursday and Sunday look the worst... Wednesday, Friday and Saturday looks OK. I think a result is a better chance than a draw if the low fizzles out over northern NSW... and doesn't build up strength and head south and start lashing the coast off Sydney later in the week.

[msp83]

As Chris Silverwood is also now tested Covid positive, is it right to continue with the series? A player in the squad, and a key support staff already. What's the point of taking such a chance?

[Pal Joey]

No players have tested positive yet and luckily Silverwood and the key support staff remain isolated in Melbourne. I think they'll somehow manage to keep the series going. Perrottet (the NSW Premier) seems hell bent on it going ahead with no restrictions but at the same time his government is covering themselves by saying "everyone will get it at some stage" and "we will not be going into full lockdown again." All the risk is on the individual in other words.

Infection numbers are growing at an alarming rate here though. Of course it's much easier for Australia to sub in players if someone tests positive. It's much harder for England though with limited squad players available now.

[guildfordbat]

Hi all - a belated Happy New Year. I've been meaning for a while to respond to some of the excellent posts from Carlos (particularly in reply to mine of early Christmas Eve on page 1 which I'll try not to repeat too much), Duty, Alfie and others about our disastrous Ashes series and struggling County Championship. Apologies for not doing so until now - I'll hide behind the excuses of festive family stuff, some good countryside walks and three and a bit hours enjoying another viewing of The Great Escape!

I'll kick off by hanging a few things on the words of Stuart Broad this weekend:
''Unfortunately our displays have reflected our preparation. Imagine Tiger Woods rocking up at The Masters having not played for four months, spending time in a biosecure bubble and then seeing his entire practice rained off. He hasn't played a single round of golf, yet he's still expecting to win. Would you bet on him in those circumstances? No, you wouldn't.''

That's not an unfair analogy and goes some way to explaining our problems on this tour as does Broad's further comment:
''The reality is we turned up undercooked while Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschange, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland and Jhye Richardson were playing state cricket.''

For me, a lot rests on this last point. Test players need to be playing a sufficient amount of good quality first class matches to be ready for a Test series. That means there being at least two proper matches on tour and not some 14 a side jolly. When England are playing a home series, I would like to see our players performing in Championship matches more than they are currently. Admittedly, a sensible balance needs to be drawn for Test cricket between preparation (by playing CC matches) and rest with each player's needs being determined on an individual basis.

Whilst I appear to be in a minority amongst posters and pundits (although Harmison is one who is with me), I don't want there to be a reduction in the size of the Championship or its matches. By making Test players more available to play CC matches, the surrounding interest and quality of it should increase. Especially, if played throughout the summer and not so much under the usually leaden skies of April and September. Imo we get a stronger Test side with a stronger Championship. To achieve this - and I concede this may be cloud cuckoo land, in the hope that money doesn't always prevail - the number of Test matches and other internationals would almost certainly need to reduce. Failing that, something else would have to give and may still do anyway.

I'm not a Hundred hater - like Carlos, I enjoy all formats - but would question whether we really benefit from having that and the T20 in the same domestic season. Duty suggests pushing the RL 50 to the edges of the calendar and slimming it down. Maybe but don't forget we are the world champions in 50 over cricket - do we want to see that go? As always, more difficult questions than easy answers.

I appreciate others do want the Championship to reduce, if not even be disbanded. All I would ask of those who want to proceed in that direction is to be as sure as possible that what is being proposed instead will work rather than just being a hopeful idea. Simply because something has always happened that way is not a reason in itself for keeping it going - I unquestionably accept that. However, it should be recognised that once it is gone, it will be gone forever. A tournament that has existed since 1890 and been followed keenly by many during the following years deserves that at least.

Following up on a related point from Carlos, I'm not against central contracts but do believe they would be more effective if used to rest players from domestic cricket when such rest is genuinely needed rather than, as it seems now, to pull them out almost for the sake of it. I take the view that you generally get better at something by doing more of it. The same undoubtedly relates to captaincy. Duty understandably is critical of Root's role as captain and wants him replaced. The question arising then is - who by? Again, there isn't an obvious answer. Very few England players nowadays get to learn the important skill of captaincy (and here I have some sympathy with Root notwithstanding his failings as skipper) in the quieter backwaters of county cricket. This is actually a double handicap for Root - inadequate experience himself and lack of captaincy experience from others in his Test side to call on for an informed view. Contrast that with Illingworth, a ''solid player and outstanding captain'' per David Lloyd, as recently praised for his leadership by Alfie and Carlos. So true and so unfair! Unlike Root, Illy was a natural leader and rarely needed or wanted any input although he often had three or four county captains in his team in the unlikely case of him wanting guidance.

One thing Broad didn't mention - and I understand his diplomatic silence at this stage - is the current England management and coaching set up. I've come round to Duty's ''Scorched Earth'' approach for this the more this tour has gone on. Never possible to fully judge from this distance but some changes are clearly essential. I've rambled on too long already but a bit extra on that tonight.

[guildfordbat]

It never rains but it pours!

Following Silverwood and other coaching and support staff being in isolation due to covid, Adam Hollioake was due to step in from his Australian home and assist with England's coaching for the coming Test - and I was getting ready to say a few good things about the former England ODI and Surrey skipper. Now Hollioake has had to drop out due to being a close contact of someone who has tested positive for covid!

One of the people already out and whom Hollioake was intended to partly replace is fast bowling coach Jon Lewis. It was Lewis who complained during the first Test when Stokes bowled Warner only for the batsman to be reprieved on review for overstepping and a no ball to be called instead. Replays showed Stokes had also overstepped with earlier balls which had not been called. Lewis squarely lay the blame at the door of the tv umpire saying Stokes should have been called the first time it happened so he could make the necessary adjustment. I certainly agree that the tv umpire wasn't doing his job; however, he wasn't the only one. Lewis whinged, ''What a fast bowler needs is some sort of understanding of where their feet are.'' I quite agree but feel that is really the responsibility of the bowler and his coach.

Incidentally, Australia had far more right to complain there than England. The non calling of illegal deliveries denied them runs in the form of extras to which they were entitled and the additional balls having to be bowled by Stokes which may have impacted his fitness and effectiveness.

[Pal Joey]

Australia:
Warner, Harris, Labuschagne, Smith, Khawaja, Green, Carey†, Cummins*, Starc, Lyon, Boland.

England:
Hameed, Crawley, Malan, Root*, Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler†, Wood, Leach, Broad, Anderson.

The SCG has historically been a good ground for England. Played 56: Aus 27, England 22, 7 draws.

Concerns about the weather. It's just starting to cloud over a bit more now but not huge amounts of rain are expected tomorrow. There will most likely be some rain interruptions though.

I see Smith has called for Adam Lewis to shave a bit of grass off the pitch but that is obviously not an instruction! There could be some life in it if the curator decides to leave more grass on there and it gets some rain on it tomorrow morning. It would be tougher for the spinners later on, however.

[alfie]

So Australia make just the one - forced - change , as expected. And England the obvious switch of Broad belatedly back in for Robinson who did look in need of a rest. Nothing done about the sub-standard batting though : blind faith ; unwillingness to try things - or a belief that nothing they did would make any difference ? Couple of players lucky to be still there - or perhaps unlucky as the weather and pitch reports suggest batting may not be unmitigated fun again...

[guildfordbat]

Australia:
Warner, Harris, Labuschagne, Smith, Khawaja, Green, Carey†, Cummins*, Starc, Lyon, Boland.

England:
Hameed, Crawley, Malan, Root*, Stokes, Bairstow, Buttler†, Wood, Leach, Broad, Anderson.

The SCG has historically been a good ground for England. Played 56: Aus 27, England 22, 7 draws.

Concerns about the weather. It's just starting to cloud over a bit more now but not huge amounts of rain are expected tomorrow. There will most likely be some rain interruptions though.

I see Smith has called for Adam Lewis to shave a bit of grass off the pitch but that is obviously not an instruction! There could be some life in it if the curator decides to leave more grass on there and it gets some rain on it tomorrow morning. It would be tougher for the spinners later on, however.

Historical footnote - one of those England wins was the seventh Test in the 1970-71 series to regain the Ashes 2-0. The only time there has ever been a seven match Test series in any country. This was to make up for the third Test which, following the toss won by Illingworth who chose to field, was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to continuous rain. The decision to have a seventh Test was made mid series by Australian and English 'suits'. Illingworth and the players were not consulted. A match against a state side and a rest day were sacrificed to squeeze in the additional Test - perhaps things weren't so different then!

[Duty281]

Looks like the rain will win this one, saving England from 5-0. But if England get shot out for two digits again...who knows? Actually, yes, Australia will still win this I think!

England's preparations for this test have reminded me of that scene in the Mike Bassett film, where they practice for a World Cup game with invisible footballs because they've misplaced the real ones (England lose 4-0 in that one).

Teams mostly as expected, though I am surprised Starc is playing again. I wonder if Anderson will be able to play the pink-ball test that follows this one? One success of England this series (!) is they've kept Smith quiet, but he has a stupendous recent record at this ground and may find a return to his best.

[alfie]

Anyway I am glad to see Broad back : but not too happy at the reported remarks around selection by Thorpe . OK he talked of Broad as "a caged tiger" ; but also referred to minor niggles affecting Robinson and Woakes ("bit of a risk going in with a couple of guys carrying niggles so it was right to bring Stuart back" ) as if to imply that Broad owed his inclusion only to injuries to others !

But maybe he is just trying to wind Stuart up...

Not sure what role Leach is meant to play if the weather forecast is remotely accurate ? Night watchman ?

[guildfordbat]

So Australia make just the one - forced - change , as expected. And England the obvious switch of Broad belatedly back in for Robinson who did look in need of a rest. Nothing done about the sub-standard batting though : blind faith ; unwillingness to try things - or a belief that nothing they did would make any difference ? Couple of players lucky to be still there - or perhaps unlucky as the weather and pitch reports suggest batting may not be unmitigated fun again...

Talking of sub-standard performances, hoping Stokes can now produce something meaningful. In this series currently averaging under 17 with the bat and over 62 with the ball. Hmmm.

[Mind the windows Tino.]

Night watchman ?

Otherwise known as middle order batsman.

[guildfordbat]

Night watchman ?

Otherwise known as middle order batsman.

Tino - Good answer. I suspect Alfie only asked the question to wind me up!

[JDizzle]

Any chance of play starting on time Alfie or Joey? The weather reports I am seeing on Twitter don’t look too promising! Might be an early night for a change…

[Pal Joey]

Any chance of play starting on time Alfie or Joey? The weather reports I am seeing on Twitter don’t look too promising! Might be an early night for a change…

Probably be a delay. I got woken about 4am by the sound of rain on the roof. It eased off by about 8am. It's supposed to be heavier where I am (about 7 miles away) but looking at the live pictures they're all carrying umbrellas at the ground.

Hang on... Gilchrist is saying we might start on time. Moving the covers off as I type. Rain isn't that heavy... it's just the annoying lingering type.

Jimmy is such a good bloke. Having a chat with that annoying Howie out in the middle. No umbrella. I hope he does well. Broad too.
I almost want him to get a 5-fer on probably his last match at this ground. Even an England win wouldn't be the end of the world for me.

Feels like it could be one of those matches with an unexpected result.

[JuliusHMarx]

The good news is that the rain delay means that even if we bat first, we won't be 3 wickets down by midnight. Happy days!

[alfie]

So Australia make just the one - forced - change , as expected. And England the obvious switch of Broad belatedly back in for Robinson who did look in need of a rest. Nothing done about the sub-standard batting though : blind faith ; unwillingness to try things - or a belief that nothing they did would make any difference ? Couple of players lucky to be still there - or perhaps unlucky as the weather and pitch reports suggest batting may not be unmitigated fun again...

Talking of sub-standard performances, hoping Stokes can now produce something meaningful. In this series currently averaging under 17 with the bat and over 62 with the ball. Hmmm.

Hopefully means Stokes is set for a super match ? Was probably unreasonable to expect much from him after his time out of the game but I'd have hoped for better than we've seen so far. He has bowled quite well at times ; but has looked rather uncertain with the bat . I get the feeling he is constrained by the failings around him to the point he doesn't sense when to play his shots - and this has allowed the bowlers to dictate to him in a manner he's just not used to. In short it's mainly down to lack of confidence : not something that has bothered him much in the past !

Maybe this week...

[alfie]

Doesn't appear we will be delayed too long - at least for the start of play. Toss in ten minutes.

[alfie]

Cummins chooses to bat - so at least I have got that right in the Tipping Comp

Could be an interesting morning.

[Duty281]

Would have thought Australia would want to bowl first in these conditions, and set about ravaging the dreadful English batting. But batting first is fine. It means us English can delude ourselves that it's game on when Australia are 280/7 at stumps.

[alfie]

Well at least for the moment we can still hope for a contest. Perhaps take a leaf from Derek Randall 1979 playbook : declaring "we should rise like a pheasant from the Ashes " ... told it was actually a phoenix he replied "I knew it were a bird starting with an F"...

He got the spirit right - and made a matchwinning 150. Is there a Randall in the ranks ?

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Would have thought Australia would want to bowl first in these conditions, and set about ravaging the dreadful English batting. But batting first is fine. It means us English can delude ourselves that it's game on when Australia are 280/7 at stumps.

Optimism on the BBC Live Text, many saying they would’ve bowled first…only one way this ends today

Australia 275-4, Warner 107, Smith 54*

[guildfordbat]

Would have thought Australia would want to bowl first in these conditions, and set about ravaging the dreadful English batting. But batting first is fine. It means us English can delude ourselves that it's game on when Australia are 280/7 at stumps.

Yep, that was my thinking for the comp. As reasoning has been explained, I'm trusting Joey will give me some extra points for that.

[guildfordbat]

Well at least for the moment we can still hope for a contest.  Perhaps take a leaf from Derek Randall 1979 playbook :  declaring "we should rise like a pheasant from the Ashes " ... told it was actually a phoenix he replied "I knew it were a bird starting with an F"...

He got the spirit right - and made a matchwinning 150. Is there a Randall in the ranks ?

Incidentally, Mrs Bat's favourite all-time cricketer and that story is one reason.

[Pal Joey]

Well at least for the moment we can still hope for a contest.  Perhaps take a leaf from Derek Randall 1979 playbook :  declaring "we should rise like a pheasant from the Ashes " ... told it was actually a phoenix he replied "I knew it were a bird starting with an F"...

He got the spirit right - and made a matchwinning 150. Is there a Randall in the ranks ?

Incidentally, Mrs Bat's favourite all-time cricketer and that story is one reason.

One of my all-time favourite players for England too. I was at this ground... in late '79 and he had the crowd in absolute stitches. He was doing the warm up exercises (way before Merv Hughes became famous for it) and making funny gestures and doing exaggerated contorted stretches. A few weeks before he had taken that amazing catch to dismiss Andy Roberts. Also remember him carrying on and doffing his floppy hat in an extravagant way. The locals loved him.

Re: the toss decision. I thought you might have thought about it and then decided to bat. Actually, I was thinking the same. Worth sending the opposition into bat in these conditions but I trust Pat knows what he's doing. Who knows; after this little break there could be a couple of quick wickets?

[alfie]

One of my favourites too , guildford.  Surprisingly modest Test average of just 33 (would fit in well today!) but he really liked playing down in this hemisphere : five of his seven centuries in Australia and NZ. Not many England bats have their best batting average (nearly forty) in Australia.

I was fortunate to be in the MCG to watch all his Centenary Test 174 over the last two days of that game : was a remarkable innings and so nearly led to what would have been an extraordinary victory.

Great fieldsman too. And quite the character.

[alfie]

Solid first ten for Australia. Ball hasn't swung much and England haven't made them play enough. Looks like the correct call by Cummins to bat.
Warner has been generally watchful but when he's seen one to drive he's picked it off well. Likes batting in Sydney...

[alfie]

And another rain break...

Going to be one of those annoying days , isn't it ? We can't say we weren't warned.

Australia will be happy to suffer no damage in that first 12 overs.

[guildfordbat]

Well at least for the moment we can still hope for a contest.  Perhaps take a leaf from Derek Randall 1979 playbook :  declaring "we should rise like a pheasant from the Ashes " ... told it was actually a phoenix he replied "I knew it were a bird starting with an F"...

He got the spirit right - and made a matchwinning 150. Is there a Randall in the ranks ?

Incidentally, Mrs Bat's favourite all-time cricketer and that story is one reason.

One of my all-time favourite players for England too. I was at this ground... in late '79 and he had the crowd in absolute stitches. He was doing the warm up exercises (way before Merv Hughes became famous for it) and making funny gestures and doing exaggerated contorted stretches. A few weeks before he had taken that amazing catch to dismiss Andy Roberts. Also remember him carrying on and doffing his floppy hat in an extravagant way. The locals loved him.

Re: the toss decision. I thought you might have thought about it and then decided to bat. Actually, I was thinking the same. Worth sending the opposition into bat in these conditions but I trust Pat knows what he's doing. Who knows; after this little break there could be a couple of quick wickets?

Oh yes, Joey, that absolutely would have been me with the toss decision. Tbf though, I was saying what I thought your Pat would decide. Didn't realise he had been listening to me so much!

Steady start for Australia. Warner in particular looking good.

Bed for me now. Back with a bit more about Randall and any thoughts on this one after play has finished and I've watched the highlights.

[kingraf]

What exactly is it about English conditions that beat the pace out of you? Watching Duanne Olivier, who left South Africa a 90mph tearaway, and has returned a work horse that struggles to break 80mph, I'm genuinely curious. Is it the fact that conditions are so good for bowling that one need only roll the arm with something resembling an upright seam and you're going to be there or thereabouts? Or does the incessant nature of play between the 15-16 first class games, List A games, T20s and now 100 games just cause an inevitable wilt in your conditioning?

[alfie]

Wood and Stokes resume after the long break. I am inclined to agree with Atherton here that either Anderson or Broad should be on ; but Root seems to captain in this manner most of the time. These two had just started bowling before so they must resume...he doesn't seem to be ready to vary plans as circumstances change.

Stokes has actually bowled a couple of good balls in amongst the wides and no balls ; but I'd always want my first choice bowlers up immediately after an interval unless they've been overworked already. And with all the rain breaks they certainly haven't.

And Stokes nearly gets the break then as an edge evades Crawley by an inch or two ! Warner adds insult by hitting the next ball for four...

48/0 and all Australia so far.

[alfie]

Of course, that near-impossible chance for Crawley would have been a sitter for a third slip. But there wasn't one .

Fifty stand up in 19 overs. Good start by the Aussie openers

[alfie]

I am rather glad to have a choice of two feeds for this with different commentary teams. More than a few minutes of Warne and Vaughan in tandem does my head in.

Warne is calling for a reduction in Counties - which wouldn't please a lot of people. Oh , and a recall for Mason Crane ...he's been giving him tips

Possibly not the ground at which Crane would want to come back to if and when he does get another go.

Broad back on - and that's it for Warner as he edges to Crawley ! 51/1

[alfie]

And almost immediately the rain is back at 56/1. You chaps in the UK did well in going for a sleep...

[alfie]

Warner had played rather well until then , I thought. He's somewhat remodelled his game this season I think ...less flamboyant at the start but still ready to take advantage of anything loose. Has been a big factor for Australia at the top of the order so that they've not been struggling from the start like England. Helped Harris to be with him too.

Hey , PJ : have you any guesses as to how the rain might treat us as the day goes on ?

[Pal Joey]

Warner had played rather well until then , I thought. He's somewhat remodelled his game this season I think ...less flamboyant at the start but still ready to take advantage of anything loose. Has been a big factor for Australia at the top of the order so that they've not been struggling from the start like England. Helped Harris to be with him too.

Hey , PJ : have you any guesses as to how the rain might treat us as the day goes on ?

It's been a bit miserable here for the last hour or so but it looks better at the ground. Lots of cloud around too so light will also be an issue.

[alfie]

Thanks , PJ  I see they are taking tea and hope to resume at 4. Not raining now so

Oh scratch that its raining again

[alfie]

Back on at last ! 4.20 so potential of nearly three hours still available...

[alfie]

Ball not done much since resumption...though as I type Marnus edges Broad wide of the third slip...

Labuschagne has raced to twelve with three boundaries of varying degrees of control : but is this worth a review for lbw ? No , little edge on it so good choice not to waste one. Good bit of bowling though.

[alfie]

Wood steaming in ...as high as 152k today. Certainly doesn't hold back with the effort.

76/1 and England will be disappointed not to have more than one yet. Despite the weather , you wouldn't say batting has looked particularly difficult , as we've not seen the sort of late movement that you'd be hoping for on a damp day like this.

They're getting a bit carried away with the bounce at times ...that is three sets of four wides given for height. Aussies really don't need late Christmas gifts...

[alfie]

Root shuffling his pace bowlers but at present not much is worrying the bats. The odd play and miss but generally they've looked increasingly comfortable and one wonders how England are going to get a break here. Imagine we will see spin soon for want of anything too threatening happening for the quicks.

100 up in 33 overs.

[Pal Joey]

Yes alfie, a frustrating day for England. Maybe they should have been more aggressive early on and tried to emulate the Larwood approach and bowled more at the body (line). Just think there was an opportunity missed when the batsmen were getting settled in... and the pitch looks to have a bit of grass on it.

Ha... the sun is now pouring in through my windows here. Might have to close the blinds. Not saying there won't be any more rain today but it's quite hot when the sun breaks through.

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