[ferocious]

Well that was a bit of shitty end to the test even though it was forecast
Hopefully we can square the series at the oval

[bazzap]

A View on the Ashes from the Other Side



I write this a few hours before the first ball is bowled in the 5th Test at The Oval.


The first three Tests and honours were probably in favour of the Poms. Stating the obvious, Australia had a 2-1 lead at the end of them. The results could have gone either way in all three games. There has been endless commentary and comments on tv, in print, and on social media. Everybody in the world seems to have had an opinion.


Then came Old Trafford. England played really great. Australia, especially the bowlers (looking at you, Patrick) did not do too well. Australia rarely performs this badly but makes a habit of it at least once on overseas tours especially on Ashes tours to England (Trent Bridge 2015), tours to South Africa (Cape Town 2011 always come to mind), and even worse, on tours of India. Too many to mention there.




Did England play that well or did Australia make them look good? I think the Poms capitalised on a woeful Australian performance and were robbed by the rain. My feelings when hearing of the game being washed out and declared a draw? Sheer bloody relief. Probably the same as 99% of Australian cricket supporters. I can sleep soundly again.



So on to The Oval. If the Aussies play that badly again, they will get cleaned up. Hopefully, the thought of winning the series inspires them to perform better than at Manchester. Fingers crossed.


A couple of negatives for the Aussies in Cameron Green & Scotty Boland. Both underperformed in the Ashes Test so far. The positive is my man, Mitch Marsh. Never thought he would play Test cricket again.



The one thing that gets on my goat though is this continual mantra from the England camp about being better people and not worrying if you win or lose.



From the BBC website


This is England's first draw in 17 Tests under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum - a period in which they have thrilled crowds by embracing an ultra-aggressive style. It denies them the chance to become the first England team to come from 2-0 down to win the Ashes at The Oval next week but Stokes repeated his desire to play in a manner that brings more fans into the sport.


"As much as I would love to be an Ashes-winning captain, I want this team to be a legacy team," he said.

"This 18 months will go down in history as one of the most exciting and proactive teams to go out there and represent England.

"We want to leave the Test-match summer with a win.

"But the reward for your work isn't what you get, it's what you become. We've become a team that have been so unbelievably well followed and we will live long in the memories of those who have watched us."





Harry Brook


As thoughts turn to the start of the final Test this Thursday, there is a degree of sadness this was not the winner-takes-all showdown it could have been. For Brook, however, even if England cannot make it 2-2, he believes they can be proud of how they have approached this Ashes series - even if it finishes 3-1 to Australia.

"That's the whole mantra, we're trying to excite people watching, we're trying to enjoy ourselves and we're trying to bring new crowds to the game and get Test cricket alive again. I think we've already done it this series. Whichever way the result goes this week, yeah, I think we've had a good series."



So losing a Test or worse, a series is not really a bad thing. If an Australian Test player would have said what Harry did, he would be frog-marched out the door and out of the team, never to return. To Australia, winning is everything. It is the only thing.


It is a game. The idea is to win. Not just participate and feel good about yourself. Geezus



England has been playing great cricket over the last 12 months. They earnt all the admiration that they are getting.


Just keep doing that and leave "the mantra” rubbish behind

[Frankie]

Baz I think that soft shite sort of talk just reflects mainstream Society in the UK. Nearly everything is done on a touchy feely basis with the belief that a hug will cure anything. Can't verbally criticise anybody as that would be classed as bullying, things would be even worse if the person complaining was of ethnic origins or a member of the LGBTQ community or whatever it's fuckin called. Basically England have blown the Ashes because they've followed this pathetic mantra and not dropped players, but instead have allowed them to struggle on and hopefully come back into form. I sometimes wonder if Stokes thinks he has to become a Modern Man now to atone for past misdemeanours.

I was watching BBC Breakfast this morning and the leading story was that Englands women football team might reach the last 16 of the World Cup. Unlikely the mens football would get the same billing but the women's football is classed as highly important. Ashes are way down the list, lucky if their given a mention on BBC.

[bazzap]

We're doomed. No hope of chasing 400-odd in the last innings of the last Test of the series. This mob is not the 1948 Invincibles at Leeds. We need a miracle but I think we used our quota up in the 4th innings at Edgbaston


For many players here, this will be their last Ashes Test in the UK. Both teams will look completely different in four years' time. Lots of much-needed new blood in the Aussie team hopefully which will include young Murphy



The best thing? No more fucking Warner & Smith

[ferocious]

Originally Posted by bazzap

We're doomed. No hope of chasing 400-odd in the last innings of the last Test of the series. This mob is not the 1948 Invincibles at Leeds. We need a miracle but I think we used our quota up in the 4th innings at Edgbaston


For many players here, this will be their last Ashes Test in the UK. Both teams will look completely different in four years' time. Lots of much-needed new blood in the Aussie team hopefully which will include young Murphy



The best thing? No more fucking Warner & Smith

I’m not hearing much about bowlers coming through for England

[bazzap]

Originally Posted by ferocious

I’m not hearing much about bowlers coming through for England

I thought the same about Australia but maybe not as bad as we think


I read the cricket part of an Australian website called The Roar. People submit articles and lots more punters comment on those articles.


This one came out today



Why Australia need to start regenerating ageing Test team now before it’s too late



Some decent comments like this one on a positive note

Aus player ages at beginning of this game-

22- Murphy
24- Green
25- Morris, Pucovski
26- Kuhnemann, Richardson
27- Renshaw
28- Inglis
29- Agar, Head, Labuschagne, Swepson
30- Bancroft, Cummins, Peirson
31- Carey, Harris, Marsh

Some Eng players from this series or squads-

18- Rehan
24- Brook, Potts
25- Crawley, Pope, Tongue
26- Lawrence
28- Duckett (and Archer too)
29- Robinson


All still young enough for 2025/26 in Aus.

Followed by the negative stuff. This one on Test cricket in general being a light of other days

Not necessarily. West Indian cricket has never covered its glory days of the mid 1970s to mid 1990s. Now South African cricket appears to be going the same way.

Australian tennis has never recovered from its glory days of early 1950s to early 1970s. Now rugby union appears to be heading the same way.

Indian men’s hockey ruled the world from the 1920s through to the 1960s. They won 6 out of 7 gold medals/finals at the Olympics – 1928, 32, 36, 48, 52, 56 & 64, missing out only in 60. They’ve rarely been sighted since then.

Little Uruguay won the soccer world cup in 1930 & 50, but has been rarely sighted since. Hungary had one of the greatest soccer teams in the early to mid 50s, but are now just making up the numbers.

My fear is this might be the last hurrah of test cricket. Administrators are enamoured with the money spinning appeal of T20. Players are losing the skills to play test cricket & society is losing its patience.

Only series involving Australia, England & India are worth watching anymore. Possibly we can add New Zealand. All the other test nations are now just pretenders.

Test cricket, & its mate 1st class cricket, belong to another age, the horse & buggy age & tall sailing ships age, which has also more or less disappeared.

The Melbourne Cup will soon cease to be run over 3200m. Gamblers & punters prefer to lose their money quickly & frequently over much shorter distances, usually under 1600m.

Sadly, nothing lasts forever.

Oh dear

And the same fella said this about Australian sport which is quite true

I’m digressing a bit here, but our historical dominance has been in sports not well entrenched internationally, in other words, we are big fish in small ponds – cricket (9-10 countries), rugby union (about 10 serious players), rugby league (now only 3 serious players), swimming (maybe 10 serious players).

Then we have Australian football, which we have nobody else to test ourselves against. Oh, we irregularly play an abridged format against Ireland, but that helps neither country.

Until we can win either the men’s or women’s FIFA world cup & produce regular champions on the running track, places where all the world competes, then we’re largely pretenders.

[bazzap]

Meanwhile, back at The Oval, the Aussies have made a decent start to their innings. Our first 100+ opening stand since 2015 which shows how hard it is to win Ashes series away from home.


98 overs today assuming the weather is ok. So all set up for a fitting finish to the series. I still reckon Australia will struggle as usually not easy batting on 5th-day wickets. That said, England's bowlers are all getting on a bit so may struggle as well at the end of a long series played in a compressed time period.


Let's see what happens

[Frankie]

Well that was a great win by England at the Oval, should have won the Ashes really but squandered it away especially at Lords. Thing is chances like that in an Ashes series don't come along that often. Very frustrating.

[Frankie]

On another board that I am a member of a poster neatly summed up the difference between the 100 competition and the County set up.

One set up develops the players, maintains the grounds, and plays from April to September all across the country, and is the platform for the international teams which generates the money that keeps the sport afloat.

The other doesn't develop a single player of its own and just steals them from the other. Robs half the country of first class cricket in the height of summer, and sucks tens of millions of pounds out of the sport.

Whichever you prefer.

An excellent summary IMO.

[bazzap]

Originally Posted by bazzap

Look out for Aaron Hardie when he makes the Test team. Only a matter of time. Another fast bowler allrounder. Just as good as Cameron Green and another Western Australian. He scored 174 no in last year's Sheffield Shield final and also opens the bowling for WA. Currently wowing them in the Big Bash. He also plays for Surrey. Yes, he was born in Bournemouth but I won't hold that against him.


Hopefully he and Lance Morris are wearing the Baggy Green in the near future

I wrote that back in January this year. My man, Aaron Hardie, along with a couple of others, is about to play his first game for Australia tonight Thai time. Not Test cricket but a T20 in South Africa.


Gotta start somewhere.



From Cricinfo

Aaron Hardie

Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green and now Aaron Hardie. Australia are being well served by allrounders from Western Australia. Hardie has pushed his claims strongly with red and white ball. Initially it was in four-day cricket where he caught the attention, hitting an unbeaten 174 in the 2021-22 Sheffield Shield final against Victoria to steer Western Australia to the title.

Although he struggled to quite hit those heights last summer, he struck a century for Australia A against New Zealand in April. However, he also had a breakout campaign in the BBL for Perth Scorchers where he was the tournament's leading run-scorer having found a new home at No. 3. His pace bowling is useful with a first-class average under 30.

A new-look Australian T20 side with many of the regulars either rested or injured.

Mitch Marsh is the captain!!

About time. Australia has finally started picking new players. Hopefully, they will perform on the bigger stage