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.

[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*

Bah forgot to factor in the weather forecast but the right general idea at least

[alfie]

Partnership now at 55 with Harris actually looking the more fluent at present. Marnus started quickly but has rather dialled it back and is doing a lot of leaving and defending (along with annoying sound effects).
Anderson not giving much away , as usual - but the nearest they've come to a wicket lately was a bit of a running mixup.

Here's Leach. Wonder how Harris will play him ? Probably not as aggressively as Warner or Head...

[alfie]

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.

Interesting you fancied a bit of the body line attack , PJ . I take it you weren't advocating overdoing the short ball , so much as being straight rather than trying to entice the outside edge ? I thought they did allow too many deliveries to be left outside off. I always like to see a short leg side catcher in but they don't seem to have taken that approach much at all.

All gone a bit quiet lately. Leach tidy but unthreatening , and Anderson concentrating on line and length...

Or not...draws the edge and Harris caught at slip ! Nelson does the trick ...111/2

[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.

Interesting you fancied a bit of the body line attack , PJ . I take it you weren't advocating overdoing the short ball , so much as being straight rather than trying to entice the outside edge ? I thought they did allow too many deliveries to be left outside off. I always like to see a short leg side catcher in but they don't seem to have taken that approach much at all.

All gone a bit quiet lately. Leach tidy but unthreatening , and Anderson concentrating on line and length...

Or not...draws the edge and Harris caught at slip !  Nelson does the trick ...111/2

That bit, alfie.
Just a bit more fuller and straighter and closer to the body forcing the batsman to play at it. Much like Jimmy's wicket just now.

[alfie]

What do you make of Harris , PJ ? That 76 in Melbourne was hard fought , and vital for Australia, but was arguably rather lucky just for the extraordinary number of times he played and somehow missed . Today he looked more solid , I thought : but he's fallen short of a proper score . Been a fair few matches now without much in the way of real achievement. Future ?

Marnus gone now ...edging Wood behind ! Good bowling change...

117/3 Quite interesting.

[Pal Joey]

It's all happening now. Perfect delivery from Wood finds the edge and Marnus is unable to leave that one.

[alfie]

Key period in the day perhaps. This has been an excellent spell from Anderson - 7 overs 1/12 - and he just beat Smith with a beauty. But you'd think his spell must be getting towards an end now ?
Presumably Broad to come back.

Wood going hard at Khawaja. Keeping him on nought...

[alfie]

Hmm. Stokes rather than Broad replacing Jimmy. England really need him to be on the ball - can't afford to let the pressure off with no balls and loose stuff.

[Pal Joey]

What do you make of Harris , PJ ?  That 76 in Melbourne was hard fought , and vital for Australia, but was arguably rather lucky just for the extraordinary number of times he played and somehow missed . Today he looked more solid , I thought : but he's fallen short of a proper score . Been a fair few matches now without much in the way of real achievement.  Future ?

Yeah, but the runs are still on the board I guess.for that 76 in Melbourne. He's had to work hard and doesn't take too many risks. I was just quietly thinking before (during the rain break) that if Pope was still in the mix, then he could perhaps learn something from Harris' application. Both have some degree of technical batting skill and can score runs at FC level; Tests are that little bit harder for them naturally. Both are similar; shortish and stocky batsmen with that hint of pugnacity... but with Pope being a RH bat of course. Too late now for Pope...  but if he had survived until this Test, then I could see him doing better on this pitch with the sun out. I know a few will disagree with me on Pope but I acknowledge the way he went about his batting here hasn't helped his cause.

[alfie]

Yes I guess not everyone can be a Smith or a Root . And I am all for giving a promising young player time to learn...but Harris averages just 24 after 13 Tests - and under forty at FC level. I suspect Australia will want something a bit better as an opener going forward , especially as Warner can't go on forever.

Whether they have a viable alternative I suppose is a question. Pucovski has a lot of fans ; but his record of head injuries is a bit concerning.

Certainly Harris will play in Hobart. I guess we can review further then.

Play called off for the day. Smith looked happy enough to get off and set himself for tomorrow. Even at the moment I think at 126/3.

[Pal Joey]

Stumps called with Australia 126/3.

Let's hope the rain stays away and they can get out there earlier tomorrow. Felt they were fluffing around too much this morning when it was sunny at 10:30am. These rain showers are quite short. Only 47 overs bowled today when they possibly could have squeezed in 60 today. The rain has now stopped.

[Gooseberry]

Says a lot that this cold be englands best day of the series

[Afro]

Says a lot about the series that Australia will probably be a bit disappointed to be 126/3, whereas if England had been batting and been 126/3, we'd have all been delighted!!!

[Duty281]

Not a bad effort from England, but not a good one either. Far more play happened than I expected based on the forecast, so maybe that augurs well for the rest of the test? Will be interesting to see how aggressive Australia are with the bat on day two.

[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.

Well, not a bad day for England as it turned out which, in line with Afro's post above, is an absolutely brilliant one compared to what has gone before it on this tour.

Particularly pleasing to see catches stick in England hands and gloves and three Australian batsmen to get in but not go on. Had that been day one of the first Test, we might now be looking towards day two with a bit of optimism rather than fully expecting it to still all go wrong!

One main gripe though - 16 runs gifted to the hosts in no balls and wides. That's more than one-eighth of Australia's total so far. Sloppy and further evidence as to why fast bowling coach should be included in Duty's Scorched Earth policy! Don't give me any of that ''he wasn't there yesterday'' - damage done before then.

Just one quizzical observation - however well and fast Wood bowls, he never seems to take more than one or two wickets. Will that change, I wonder.

As for Randall, the future Mrs Bat and myself saw 'Rags' playing for Notts against Sussex at Hove in the late '80s. When fielding near the boundary, he happily chatted to the locals in the crowd asking for a recommendation as to where he and his team mates should go out to eat that evening and taking directions!

I did a quick stalk of Randall's career last night. Surprised to learn that he made his fc debut for Notts in the same side as Gary Sobers. That was in 1972. Fifteen years separate them so not that unusual although my immediate thought was that they would have played in different eras and not overlapped.

[Pal Joey]

One hell of a storm here last night. I think that was the main rain cell passing over. Now it's quite gusty though and still overcast.

Check out the radar below (note the 24 hour rainfall tab).
I had 60mm of rain in 4-5 hours. The pool overflowed, the road gutters were like 5m wide fast flowing rivers. Scary thunder and lightning.
It was very intense!

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR713.loop.shtml#skip

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

[Pal Joey]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

Pat Cummins made it clear that there would be none of the silly nonsense Paine thought was clever 'talk'. That all backfired in his face.
There might be some 'friendly' banter but generally speaking... sledging is out. Think it's much better that way. More psychological pressure instead.

Are you back yet, Dolph? I hope all is OK with you and the family. The Gong misses you!

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

Pat Cummins made it clear that there would be none of the silly nonsense Paine thought was clever 'talk'. That all backfired in his face.
There might be some 'friendly' banter but generally speaking... sledging is out. Think it's much better that way. More psychological pressure instead.

Are you back yet, Dolph? I hope all is OK with you and the family. The Gong misses you!

Does seem it. There was that bit with Stokes and the batsmen, maybe Head (?), when he asked if he'd nicked it and basically said he didn't think so but thought snicko was Poopie. I guess some of these lot have spent a bit of time around each other over the years and, especially with Covid, are quite happy to just be playing. I do prefer it this way, any bite generally is real in tension and rather than this forced nonsense. Never seen the need.

Sadly not, it has not been easy to get anything moving! Trying to find a way in soon, but whilst I have the vaccine, I'm not sure the exceptional talent part is there for me to sneak in. Not two years yet, but not far off now.

[alfie]

Didn't take too long for the rain to return...I was caught out by the initial dry and early start and missed the first over this morning. Deluded enough to think we might get lucky today !
Doesn't look too awful at the moment anyway. Might be a short break.

[alfie]

Guildford has touched on a couple of points above that bother me a bit too : the no balls and wides are such an unnecessary feature that has bedevilled England this trip. Apart from giving away runs it's cost two big wickets already ! Oddly enough all the wides yesterday were from bouncers that just flew too high ; so I can excuse the first set on the grounds that the bounce surprised the bowler - but they really ought to have learned from that one.

And Wood as a one and two wicket man only : unfortunately a feature of his career I think. Perhaps largely down to his inability- or never being allowed - to bowl more than a few overs at a time ? Only three times in Test Cricket has he taken more than three wickets in an innings - and two of these were in the same match in Johannesburg. For all he often looks threatening , it is a limitation.

Ah...back on with the show...

[alfie]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

Pat Cummins made it clear that there would be none of the silly nonsense Paine thought was clever 'talk'. That all backfired in his face.
There might be some 'friendly' banter but generally speaking... sledging is out. Think it's much better that way. More psychological pressure instead.

Are you back yet, Dolph? I hope all is OK with you and the family. The Gong misses you!

Agree the Cummins approach is far better than Paine's pseudo tough stuff...it certainly doesn't seem to have diminished the effectiveness of the Australian bowling attack ! And a far better example to kids.

[alfie]

Warne and Vaughan rabbiting on a lot about what Leach should do and how Root should use him . But as has just been pointed out Leach averages something over sixty in the first innings of Tests ; so he seems unlikely to get a wicket unless someone commits suicide here...
Pretty obvious he is on just for a holding job.

The rain is doing a pretty good holding job too as we're off again...

[Duty281]

This is a lethargic, listless and lifeless start to proceedings. England look like they want to be at home. I don't blame 'em, it's drier here!

[guildfordbat]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

Pat Cummins made it clear that there would be none of the silly nonsense Paine thought was clever 'talk'. That all backfired in his face.
There might be some 'friendly' banter but generally speaking... sledging is out. Think it's much better that way. More psychological pressure instead.

Are you back yet, Dolph? I hope all is OK with you and the family. The Gong misses you!

Agree the Cummins approach is far better than Paine's pseudo tough stuff...it certainly doesn't seem to have diminished the effectiveness of the Australian bowling attack ! And a far better example to kids.

Yep, with you guys about the friendliness between the sides or at least the absence of manufactured aggro. Always hard to tell from this distance but some credit probably goes as well to the umpires. Sure, there's been the odd error but I get the impression that both Cummins and Root respect them and recognise they're decent people doing a very difficult job better than most others would. That certainly wasn't how England players viewed home umpires on Australian soil in the last century.

[compelling and rich]

these fields settings are trash

[alfie]

Anyway we've had 18 overs today for 49 runs and no real threat of a wicket. Pitch pretty bland and Australia are batting themselves into a sound position to push on later today towards an imposing total.

Lost time in the match - I imagine there will be more - means they probably would prefer to have scored a bit quicker ; but unless there is a clatter of wickets shortly it is already looking like a match in which only one team will have a realistic chance of winning after the first two days. Which will test England's resolve as they just aren't very good at "batting time".

[alfie]

Skipping most of the Gong, lovely!

Has this been the friendliest Ashes series ever? I don't remember much in the way of snarls, arguments, cross words.

Pat Cummins made it clear that there would be none of the silly nonsense Paine thought was clever 'talk'. That all backfired in his face.
There might be some 'friendly' banter but generally speaking... sledging is out. Think it's much better that way. More psychological pressure instead.

Are you back yet, Dolph? I hope all is OK with you and the family. The Gong misses you!

Agree the Cummins approach is far better than Paine's pseudo tough stuff...it certainly doesn't seem to have diminished the effectiveness of the Australian bowling attack ! And a far better example to kids.

Yep, with you guys about the friendliness between the sides or at least the absence of manufactured aggro. Always hard to tell from this distance but some credit probably goes as well to the umpires. Sure, there's been the odd error but I get the impression that both Cummins and Root respect them and recognise they're decent people doing a very difficult job better than most others would. That certainly wasn't how England players viewed home umpires on Australian soil in the last century.

Might also have a bit to do with Covid ? Bit of mutual respect for fellow sportsmen having to carry on in the face of all the extra pressures brought on by these difficult circumstances ? We are all in this together...

[Duty281]

What hope does Stokes have with these tactics?

Now Root drops one. Oh dear.

[Pal Joey]

Geez... now a double miss/drop from Buttler and Root. One of them should have swallowed that.

Now Stokes is off with a side injury. Looks painful. Things are just getting worse.

[alfie]

What hope does Stokes have with these tactics?

Now Root drops one. Oh dear.

Think Stokes has unsettled them a bit . I don't mind the tactic for a short burst. But he's injured himself now as he's (predictably) overdone it...

As for the drop - story of England's tour. Always miss the "moment". Australia haven't.

Bowler down now and heads are likely to go down too. Root looks glum.

[alfie]

200 up. Australia have dominated the session after the day started in a very even situation. That dropped catch a huge moment in the game. In terms of the scoreboard , and the morale.

New ball will be ready almost immediately after lunch. Last chance for England to keep things from getting right away.

[guildfordbat]

What time is lunch today please, folks?

[guildfordbat]

What time is lunch today please, folks?

Butcher saying about now. Thought it might be later.

[alfie]

Lunch at 209/3.  At least they got through 31 overs in the session in what was probably about the usual two hours given the interruptions - which is probably a record for this series

And Smith halfway to his usual SCG century...

[guildfordbat]

Urrrhhh!!! Any advantage we had last night has been reclaimed and more by Smith and Khawaja. 80+ runs added in the opening session without loss. To add salt into that last wound, Khawaja dropped off Leach. Oh, and Stokes off with an injury!

Time for bed. Leaving you guys to turn it round.

[alfie]

Urrrhhh!!! Any advantage we had last night has been reclaimed and more by Smith and Khawaja. 80+ runs added in the opening session without loss. To add salt into that last wound, Khawaja dropped off Leach. Oh, and Stokes off with an injury!

Time for bed. Leaving you guys to turn it round.

Will do my best ! Not sure I can cure Stokes in time for Hobart though , alas

Maybe you could "dream" up some magic while getting a well earned bit of shut-eye , guildford ?

[king_carlos]

Rushing Stokes back for this tour has been pretty disastrous. I would've picked him back as well if passed fit, I'm not trying to pretend otherwise with hindsight. He's the only player England have that even vaguely balances a ridiculously conditions reliant side. But it has gone abysmally for Stokes and the team.

It really is depressing that the potential of rain preventing 5-0 feels like a coup in the circumstances.

It feels like a long long time ago that Tim Paine was making comments about the Ashes starting whether Root is here or not, pundits pointing out Australian cricketers might want to keep quiet on that front having not played an away Test in 2 years.

[alfie]

Easy to be picky ; but these two overs after lunch - 79 and 80 - bowled by Leach and Root , have just given the batsmen a nice little warm up for the new ball , plus 12 easy runs. Why not use them for the pace men to get warm ? Minor point ; but symptomatic of Root's approach , I think.

Anderson now.

[alfie]

Amazingly , Stokes is back on the field ! Cannot think we will see him bowling but the fact that he's out there says he is at least going to be OK for batting later.

Wasted review by England there . Was always going down leg , and not even umpires call. They're getting desperate- although it was a slightly risky leave by Smith.

Broad bowling well with the new ball though.

[alfie]

...and got him now ! Seamed away , drew the edge , and Buttler no mistake this time. Smith gone for 67 and it's 232/4

[alfie]

Wood on early for Anderson - good move I think . He ought to appreciate the harder ball ; and with Stokes out of action Root needs to rotate his three quicks for a while now. Certainly don't want to resort to an underwhelming spin option any time soon.

Wood draws an edge from Green which bounces just short and between first and second slip. On the one hand that's a half chance with no result - on the other it's a sign there is a bit happening at the moment. 242/4.

[alfie]

And Broad gets Green via a good low take by Crawley

Broad looks to be into one of his really good spells. More I see of him bowling here the more I rage over the stupidity of leaving him out in Brisbane

Chance to put some pressure on Carey now. 242/5.

[alfie]

Meanwhile, Khawaja has probably batted himself into the next touring squad for Sri Lanka. Over fifty now - albeit with a bit of luck earlier on - and he's doing a very good job for his team on his recall.

England might think if they could prise him out they would have a chance of rolling up the tail. Though the experience of the earlier games suggests this is no guaranteed outcome ! But if they don't break this pair apart quickly you can certainly expect these handy wickets to be rendered too little too late as the main bowlers tire...

So again a big half hour coming up.

[alfie]

Maybe Wood is just plain unlucky ? A fierce lifter completely confounds Carey - but flies off a big inside edge down to fine leg for four...

Ain't no justice.

And now a ball dies completely and scuttles through to the keeper - which might be ominous for England batting last.

Drinks after a hard fought hour . 257/5

[alfie]

An alarming statistic , if true : Jack Leach has just bowled his second maiden over in the series !

And yes , it is true. Two maidens out of 45 overs. Not exactly "control". And near zero as a wicket taking threat I'm afraid. Though in fairness he should have had one today.

[alfie]

Anderson continues to go at less than two per over ... But although he is giving Carey some uncomfortable moments he's not been able to get the break they desperately need.

Hundred overs down and 268/5 says some disciplined bowling. But also warns some late hitting could be on the way as the main bowlers have to give way to the "extras".

And here's Joe Root now..

[alfie]

Carey going after Root immediately. This looks ominous: Australia might be eyeing 400 and a rerun of Adelaide.

England might like some more rain breaks now !  Hosing down in Melbourne but that's not where they need it

Leach on for Jimmy , has just changed ends it seems. Spin from both ends and the Aussies are tucking in...five off Root's first , eleven off this from Leach. Hand brakes are off...

[alfie]

But hark !  Relief as Root strikes !  Carey got too excited - and an outstanding high ball catch by Bairstow running from mid on sees the sixth wicket down

285/6.  Root should bowl much more than he does.

[alfie]

I'd have Leach off smartly and attack the new man : and for once Root agrees.  Wood back on. Can they get the bowlers out for once ? The sort of task for which the 150k bowler is suited , you'd think.

Khawaja looks well set for his hundred so they really need to strike at the other end. But Cummins is no mug with the bat...

[Sponsored content]