How recent is this? A lot has changed for those 3 guys in particular over the last 18 months.
Was a while ago. Smith apparently was keen for Wade to get in the side as he wants the best side possible picked but heard the relationship between Wade and a couple of players was quite frosty at the time. I still believe the guys at CA would never allow Wade to be skipper either
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I know his relationship with Maxwell was definitely on shaky ground.
Ultimately though, I think he may not be the choir boy that CA wants in a leadership position
Nearly time to declare this one closed and start a ‘19/20 one before the compulsory closure comes into effect.
Surely we’d like to milk this to the compulsory closure as a mark of respect and celebration?
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I was saying boo-urns.
Now that the series is finally over, thought I would give my thoughts on the series
Positives:
Ben Stokes- the guy is just awesome. His ability to stand up under pressure and dig in is just unreal. Our best”big game player” for a long long time. I would be just fine with him giving away his bowling and focusing purely on his batting.
Burns- he may have one of the weirdest batting stances I have ever seen but he is the opener we have been needing since cook and Strauss. Nothing dancing, just digs in.
Denly- showed quite a bit. Should be number 3 imo. Got a lot of starts, just couldn’t make a ton. Stick with him
Board- thought the guy was cooked a few years ago. But he was supreme all series. Him owning Warner was magnificent
Archer- the guy is a legit talent. Probably the first time in my life I have seen an English fast bowler have Australian batsmen jumping around in the crease. Could be really special if they manage him properly
Leach- he is no world beater but he can tie an end down and get a few wickets here and there. He also has a lot of character and is prepared to stick around with the bat
Negatives:
Sigh, where do I start. Watching our captain and coach in the ashes was scarily similar to watching essendon this year. No real plan, just lots of words about getting better etc
Bayliss May be great at limited overs cricket, but he has destroyed the test team completely. His obsession with attacking cricket and throwing in LO players and having an attack first mentality was always going to backfire. And it has throughout his whole reign
Root is a terrible captain, whose batting has gone backwards since taking on the job. Goes on the defensive far too quickly. Too many of his team selections seem like jobs for the boys. He keeps on getting starts then not converting
Anderson getting injured in the first test was just about the series done and dusted right there. He is out best bowler in those conditions
Bairstow- the guy is a figjam, but yet his test record over the past few years has been absolutely terrible. Should of never played in the ashes at all
Butler- he has talent but not the temperament to play test cricket imo
Team selection- everyone knew that Ali was going to struggle in the ashes yet they still picked him. Roy never had the technique to play test cricket yet they persisted with him for 4 tests!
The pitches- I was amazed that they didn’t prepare pitches to suit us, most of the pitches suited Australia. And they didn’t play at Trent bridge which is perfect for our style.
In the end, Australia planned and expected a lot better than England. We put all our planning into the World Cup and just thought everything would click for the ashes
well done to Australia, they were by far the better team throughout the series
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Agree with all of this, except the pitches. They were mostly “sticky” and seamed a lot, which is England’s forte more than Australia’s. Otherwise, a fair assessment.
In general I thought the bowler-friendly conditions made for fantastic cricket and riveting viewing. Kind of opposite of the boring dross we regularly turn out on our drop-in roads. I think I’ve said before here that this was the most enjoyable Ashes series I’ve seen. Tense, drama filled cricket, multiple changes of momentum every Test. And then there was Steve Smith. The only real negative for me were the ugly and nasty crowds in the northern Tests.
In terms of the respective sides, I think this series leaves us with more questions regarding our batting line up than it does England. English top order is now pretty settled, I’d have thought. Ours is anything but, with no obvious replacements coming through yet. Hopefully a few will stand up next season.
They were not sticky. Not sticky at all. In the main they were dry, grassy but dry.
What’s the reasoning behind Buttler not having the gloves in the whites but having them in the colours?
Which what I would have expected given how late in the season the tests were played.
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Yep late season meant the pitches were drier. We would have really struggled if the Ashes was played before the World Cup timing wise.
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Agreed.
Before this thread is shut down. Lost in the discussion of Smith and Stokes and the hyperbole of Archer, was a skinny kid who I thought was going to be another career lost to injuries.
Pat Cummins, take a bow son.
As a body of work (over 5 tests) - that would have to be some of the best and most consistent quick bowling in overseas conditions I have ever seen. Only beaten for a couple of spells.
Consistently took key wickets when needed. As a test cricket tragic, it was a pleasure ruining my sleeping patterns to see you work your craft.
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Yeah, I used the wrong word there. What I meant is that the pitches were conducive to seam and cut. The ball “held” in the surface sufficiently to allow movement. But yes, they were definitely dry.
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I think Cummins was the biggest difference between the two teams in terms of bowlers.
His ability to break partnerships that were starting to threaten was enormous
Was a workhorse as well, felt like he was bowling 20+ overs each innings
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Bit of upheaval with Stokes concerning the sun newspaper - sounds pretty ordinary.
Yeah pretty ordinary of the rag over there, but unsurprising, they are the worst grubs in media.
They’re Murdoch, ergo they’re bottom-feeding scum that other scum scrape off the soles of their shoes.
Standard issue of the scum rag. Well done by Stokes in calling them out.
I wish as Essendon supporters we had ran a similar campaign against The Age post saga to how The Scum is treated in Liverpool. To see bartenders wearing badges saying Don’t buy the Scum and taxis covered in signs saying don’t buy the paper was amazing. You literally can’t find the paper anywhere in the entire city.
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