Ashes 2015

[farmerjo]

The talk of if Starc doesn't come up siddle may get a start.

For mine i would pick Cummings even with little match practise as he has an amazing ability to take wickets and hits the deck hard.

And out of left field i would include Mitch Marsh at the expense of Johnson unless its a very different pitch.

Mind you with all my talk about bowlers,we did take 20 wickets.Just didn't make the runs.

Edited July 13, 2015 by farmerjo

[Will27]

The talk of if Starc doesn't come up siddle may get a start.

For mine i would pick Cummings even with little match practise as he has an amazing ability to take wickets and hits the deck hard.

And out of left field i would include Mitch Marsh at the expense of Johnson unless its a very different pitch.

Mind you with all my talk about bowlers,we did take 20 wickets.Just didn't make the runs.

I agree with you about Cummings. Siddle is a plodder who can dry up an end.

Cummings can be explosive.

Leave out MJ

Apart from the fact that he's still the most dangerous and quickest, he

top scored in the 2nd innings.

MM in for Watson I reckon and haddin and Voges are on their last chance.

It wouldn't surprise me if they picked Shaun Marsh for Voges though.

The Lord pitch won't be the same as Cardiff.

[farmerjo]

The talk of if Starc doesn't come up siddle may get a start.

For mine i would pick Cummings even with little match practise as he has an amazing ability to take wickets and hits the deck hard.

And out of left field i would include Mitch Marsh at the expense of Johnson unless its a very different pitch.

Mind you with all my talk about bowlers,we did take 20 wickets.Just didn't make the runs.

I agree with you about Cummings. Siddle is a plodder who can dry up an end.

Cummings can be explosive.

Leave out MJ

Apart from the fact that he's still the most dangerous and quickest, he

top scored in the 2nd innings.

MM in for Watson I reckon and haddin and Voges are on their last chance.

It wouldn't surprise me if they picked Shaun Marsh for Voges though.

The Lord pitch won't be the same as Cardiff.

I'm probably being hard on Johnson but if the pitch doesn't allow him to rough up the batsmen,he just leaks to many runs trying to pitch it up all the time.

[7by7]

Johnson seems to be a one trick pony, and if the pitch isn't helping him he's very ordinary.

OK he top scored in Australia's second innings, but he's in the side to take wickets.

Starc carrying an injury and in obvious pain produced better figures (just) in England's second innings. I hope for Australia's sake he's fit for Lords.

Ashes 2015: Mitchell Starc winning Lord's fitness battle, says Clarke

Not sure if I would drop Haddin and Watson after just one game. Surely, though, they must be in the last chance saloon?

[7by7]

Yeah tbh i' m not big up on it, but when i watch england or countries touring abroad I constantly hear commentators say the ?! 'well the surface of ?? Doesnt suit our /there players' , so wouldnt it suit all to have pitch's that evened it out for all ie fairer.

rijit

As I said before; conditions vary from country to country, even in different parts of the same country. I'm no expert, but I believe it would be impossible to prepare identical pitches everywhere.

It would also, IMHO, make the game very boring as it would eliminate the variation in conditions and therefore the different skills required from both batters and bowlers to deal with those varying conditions.

I am also certain that pitches would be prepared to suit the batsmen, as they generally are in ODIs, resulting in lots of high scoring draws.

In Test cricket I want to see an equal contest between bat and ball; and a result!

<snip>

True, the pitch didn't help the Aussies, but if you start blaming pitches, you're clutching at straws IMO.

Not that I think the Aussie team did complain.

This is what Darren Lehmann had to say

On the subject of conditions for the series, Lehmann did little to hid his distaste for the pitch prepared in Cardiff, even if there seems little evidence that it was anything other than a typical pitch at Sophia Gardens, or that the England management had expressly requested the type of surface they played on.

"We know the conditions really well. We didn't play them really well this game," he said. "But the bonus is we're going to places we've been to a couple of years ago, most of our guys, and know what we're going to get in terms of wickets. Everyone talks about loving more pace. Yes, that would be true but we're not going to get it so there's no point asking."

Pointedly, Lehmann suggested that he expected the "home of cricket" at Lord's to provide a pitch more in tune with how he views the game, and with how Australia's spearhead Mitchell Johnson most often succeeds. "You'd hope so at the Home of Cricket," he said. "I'd just like to see you be able to bowl a bouncer on day one. That'd be nice, but that's okay.

I can't help but wonder what the Australian press and public's reaction would have been if the England coach had made similar comments in Australia last time round!

[Will27]

Johnson seems to be a one trick pony, and if the pitch isn't helping him he's very ordinary.

OK he top scored in Australia's second innings, but he's in the side to take wickets.

Starc carrying an injury and in obvious pain produced better figures (just) in England's second innings. I hope for Australia's sake he's fit for Lords.

Ashes 2015: Mitchell Starc winning Lord's fitness battle, says Clarke

Not sure if I would drop Haddin and Watson after just one game. Surely, though, they must be in the last chance saloon?

I don't think MJ is a 1 trick pony.

The guy has taken nealry 300 wickets and scored nearly 2000 runs.

Also frightened the life out of the opposition many times and made it easier

for the guy bowling at the other end.

MJ bowls at express in 4 or 5 over spells and to be honest, the pitch had no life

in it whatsoever. Let's see how he goes at Lords I guess but I reckon if you asked

the English batsmen, he would be the most feared.

Haddin will be given another chance but Watson has to go for Mitch Marsh.

Watson has become a bit of a laughing stock to be honest.

[Will27]

Yeah tbh i' m not big up on it, but when i watch england or countries touring abroad I constantly hear commentators say the ?! 'well the surface of ?? Doesnt suit our /there players' , so wouldnt it suit all to have pitch's that evened it out for all ie fairer.

rijit

As I said before; conditions vary from country to country, even in different parts of the same country. I'm no expert, but I believe it would be impossible to prepare identical pitches everywhere.

It would also, IMHO, make the game very boring as it would eliminate the variation in conditions and therefore the different skills required from both batters and bowlers to deal with those varying conditions.

I am also certain that pitches would be prepared to suit the batsmen, as they generally are in ODIs, resulting in lots of high scoring draws.

In Test cricket I want to see an equal contest between bat and ball; and a result!

<snip>

True, the pitch didn't help the Aussies, but if you start blaming pitches, you're clutching at straws IMO.

Not that I think the Aussie team did complain.

This is what Darren Lehmann had to say

On the subject of conditions for the series, Lehmann did little to hid his distaste for the pitch prepared in Cardiff, even if there seems little evidence that it was anything other than a typical pitch at Sophia Gardens, or that the England management had expressly requested the type of surface they played on.

"We know the conditions really well. We didn't play them really well this game," he said. "But the bonus is we're going to places we've been to a couple of years ago, most of our guys, and know what we're going to get in terms of wickets. Everyone talks about loving more pace. Yes, that would be true but we're not going to get it so there's no point asking."

Pointedly, Lehmann suggested that he expected the "home of cricket" at Lord's to provide a pitch more in tune with how he views the game, and with how Australia's spearhead Mitchell Johnson most often succeeds. "You'd hope so at the Home of Cricket," he said. "I'd just like to see you be able to bowl a bouncer on day one. That'd be nice, but that's okay.

I can't help but wonder what the Australian press and public's reaction would have been if the England coach had made similar comments in Australia last time round!

There's nothing at all wrong with Boofa's statement IMO.

You couldn't really bowl a bouncer at Cardiff, even on the first day.

I still think you need a bit of juice in the deck for a first session of a game.

Boof admitted we didn't play to the conditions well.

Press and public reaction over what? I don't understand what you're getting at

to be honest. There was nothing inflamatory in his comments at all I thought.

[7by7]

Not saying he was inflammatory, just that if England had made similar, albeit mild, comments about the hard, bouncy pitches typical in Australia then words such as 'whinging Poms' would have been bandied about by some.

As for Johnson, you have obviously seen more of him than I; but English conditions do not seem to suit him at all.

But we will be better able to judge after Lords.

[Bangkokhatter]

Interesting to read about all the Australian selection problems considering they started as deserved favourites. It would seem the defeat at Cardiff has opened up some cracks in the Aussie armour.

As for the pitch debate, all countries have different conditions and of course they would suit the home players more as they play those conditions more. Do you really think the Lords groundsman will prepare a pitch to put a smile on Lehmanns face ?

[farmerjo]

You been on the blower to Rod Marsh Khun Will.

[Will27]

You been on the blower to Rod Marsh Khun Will.

I do what I can mate

Bad news about hadds. Sounds like his young daugher may be crook again.

[rijit]

Interesting to read about all the Australian selection problems considering they started as deserved favourites. It would seem the defeat at Cardiff has opened up some cracks in the Aussie armour.

As for the pitch debate, all countries have different conditions and of course they would suit the home players more as they play those conditions more. Do you really think the Lords groundsman will prepare a pitch to put a smile on Lehmanns face ?

Or maybe the question should be, should countries be allowed to pruduce pitch's to what the selectors or team want ?

rijit

[7by7]

rijit, you seem obsessed with 'pitch fixing,' and if so are the only one here who is.

Any grounds man, whether they work at a test match ground or a village green, aims to produce what they believe to be the best pitch possible in order to ensure an equal contest between bat and ball and get a result.

A lot of this is, of course, dependent on the climate. It is obvious, or should be, that pitches produced in a relatively hot, dry and sunny environment, such as Australia, are going to be different in character to those produced in the wetter and colder conditions prevalent in the UK.

As Matt Prior said; the idea that the pitch at Cardiff, or any of those to come, have been doctored to suit the English bowlers is absurd.

The English bowlers learned their trade on these types of pitches, so obviously are more experienced at bowling on them and so have an advantage over the Australians when bowling on them.

This showed at Cardiff where the English bowlers concentrated on line and length, whereas the Australians were too often bowling too short.

As shown in 2013/14, because the Australian bowlers learned their trade on the harder, bouncier pitches typical in Australia they have an advantage when bowling on them and produced better performances than the English bowlers did.

'Twas ever thus, and hopefully always will be. It is, IMHO, one of the things which make test cricket the finest form of the game.

[Basil B]

Just petty bickering...

Any team will probably play better at their home ground, whether it be cricket, football, rugby or any other game.

Cardiff did favour the the first team to bat but that was the luck of the toss.

May be the ashes should be played as 11 games, 5 in the UK, 5 in Australia and 1 game in a natural country, every 5 years over a 6 month period, may be a points system of 3 points for an out right win and 1 point for 1st innings win for a match that does not conclude, idea being to avoid a drawn series.

[stoneyboy]

Second test begins today at Lords folks as I'm sure most will be aware.

Just taking the time to wish England the best of luck and here's to hoping we can emulate the same skill and form as seen last time round.

Engerland Engerland Engerland.

[farmerjo]

Second test begins today at Lords folks as I'm sure most will be aware.

Just taking the time to wish England the best of luck and here's to hoping we can emulate the same skill and form as seen last time round.

Engerland Engerland Engerland.

The same as you Stoneyboy but different.

Aussie,aussie,aussie.

[nottocus]

Was great to see Haddin fail miserably in the first test and now he's not even in the 2nd test. A real &lt;deleted&gt; that guy.

[ripstanley]

Australia won the toss and will bat

[mrjohn]

For anyone interested:TMS live commentary available on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQQiNKJSJlc

[stoneyboy]

Not a lot of give in the crease today certainly a day for batting,could be some runs piled on here by the Aussies.

Edited July 16, 2015 by stoneyboy

[7by7]

Trivia moment.

This is the 12th Ashes Test in succession with Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke as captains of their sides; a new record.

The previous record was 11; set by Mike Atherton and Mark Taylor.

[stoneyboy]

Today's menu at Lords.

Let's hope the Aussies stuff their faces and come out sluggish as opposed to slogging.

Edited July 16, 2015 by stoneyboy

[stoneyboy]

Here

[Will27]

Apart from Warners brain fade, a good session by the boys.

I know the Aussies have the Boxing day test, but there's just something

special about a Lords test match. Especially the first session.

[farmerjo]

Botham having a go at the pitch.

Want to see some runs,but hard to get if the balls not bowled on the stumps.

Boring cricket so far.

[rijit]

211 for 1 good opening sessions for the aussies. Have to agree though its a touch boring

rijit

[stoneyboy]

England really could do with a wicket soon,it was always going to be tough from the start,the pitch is offering little for our bowlers at this time.

Edited July 16, 2015 by stoneyboy

[farmerjo]

My opinion,sack the currator and the guy who told him to take the grass off the pitch.(they produced a good pitch for the eng v nz game)

And where have sundries gone in the game,the umpires have lost the plot when it comes to calling wides these days.

How can you expect exciting cricket when sides continue to bowl 4 wides an over and get away with it.

Calling more wides will make the bowlers bowl on the stumps creating oppurtunities for wickets and runs.

Edited July 17, 2015 by farmerjo

[Bangkokhatter]

A great day for the Aussie batsmen on what is an unbelievably slow pitch for Lords. I do hope there is no truth in the rumour that England asked for all the pitches to be slowed down in an effort to blunt the Aussie pace attack.

[Will27]

Excellent start by the boys.

Would like to see us make 450/500 and declare 40 mins before the tea break if possible.

The pitch is coming under fire again from the media.

I don't know what's going on but unless you're playing in the sub-continent, you should expect

some life in the first session.

I'm glad we won the toss that's all I can say.

BTW, I thought it was very ordinary by Australia not to take up Cooks offer of a drink after the first test.

Not very Australian at all methinks.