Bring in the Bison
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Going to suit Bazball wickets though
If we actually get some good batting weather Marsh is very destructive in 20/20 mode
Green also hasnāt exactly been lighting it up with bat
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Heās also very good at thumping short pitched bowling. Extremely good at it.
Heās handy to have if England want to go back to that tactic.
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No, I havenāt.
Fwiw, Iāve had one dream that I consider to be genuinely prophetic.
I rarely remember my dreams. But I woke one morning a few days before Kostya Tszyu fought Ricky Hattin. Iād watched the fight from Kostyaās corner, everything was crystal clear and none of the usual weird dream things got mixed in. I was then , late in the fight, listening in to the discussion between Tsyu and his cornermen as to whether he could continue and the decision was made to throw in the towel as he was getting badly hurt. And then I woke up.
I mentioned it to my wife , and despite neither of us being huge boxing fans , or gamblers, she promptly went to the TAB and learnt how to put $10 on a Hattin win, and $10 on a tko Kostya loss , lol. From memory, we won $185. I shoulda bet the houseā¦
For the record, I donāt class last nightās dream in this category, so donāt rush out to risk your hard earned. It was too muddled and a melding of several weird scenes. That boxing dream was something else altogether. In hindsight, itās something I return to in tough moments when Im questioning the meaning of things. Interestingly, the last couple of weeks have been like that with a sudden death in the family. Maybe thatās why I had last nightās, to remind me of the previous.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatioā¦
But weāre way off topic now, no matter how esoteric some may think elements of Test Cricket can be, lol.
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Ashes 2023: Ben Stokes might not bowl at Headingley, Pat Cummins on Australian team | Herald Sun
Ben Stokes concedes he may do little or no bowling at Headingley this week after his already troublesome body took a battering at Lordās.
The England captainās 155 in his sideās ultimately foiled run chase came after he bowled 12 consecutive overs in Australiaās second innings.
The star all-rounder has been plagued by a chronic knee which makes his very involvement in this series precarious.
With just a four-day gap between the second and third Tests, Stokes is therefore likely to be on light bowling duties in Leeds.
It is why England has sought to bolster its bowling for this Test, with the injured Ollie Pope being replaced by returning spinner Moeen Ali, while Mark Wood and Chris Woakes come in for Josh Tongue and Jimmy Anderson on the pace front.
āIām not gonna lie that last week, sort of took it out of me a little bit,ā Stokes said.
āSo a big part of something that I had to think of as what would be the best team if I wasnāt to bowl a ball this game, in the worst case scenario. Doesnāt mean Iām not going to bowl but that was a huge part of the thinking about the team that we picked.ā
England captain Ben Stokes may not bowl at all in the third Test. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images
The short turnaround between Tests has also been given as a reason for the omission of Anderson, who turns 41 later this month and has struggled thus far in the series.
āWe were very sort of open and honest and clear with each other before the series started that itās going to be a very tough, for us fast bowlers to play every game this summer. And look, itās a good chance for Jimmy to have a rest up and then get ready to charge in from the Jimmy Anderson end at Old Trafford next week,ā Stokes said.
āLook, itās great to have Woody fit, heās firing and ready to go this week, looking forward to seeing him get going here.ā
With vice-captain Pope missing, there is no designated deputy for England, with Stokes saying that the hostsā bowlers would take it upon themselves to set their fields should the captain be forced off the field.
āIāve been off the field a few times and just sort of given the responsibility of the bowlers to set their fields and do what they want to do. I think theyāre all very aware of how they want to operate even without me there,ā Stokes said.
āI find myself talking less and less now to the team because everyone just sort of gets it and sort of understands how I want us to play our cricket with the ball. Thatās just thinking about wickets all the time. How do you need to bowl to get a wicket? What kind of fields do you need to bowl to maybe influence a mistake from the batter? So if I do find myself off the field, Iāll be very confident that whoeverās bowling will be able to still implement the plans that I would do anyway.ā
The short turnaround also means Jimmy Anderson will be rested. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images
While he eventually exploded with nine second innings sixes, Stokes batted relatively sedately to start both of his innings, in contrast to many of his teammates. But the captain said there would be no team-wide batting manifesto.
āThe only thing I would say is that our execution could have been slightly better with whatever way we decided to play last week,ā Stokes said.
āI went out with a different mindset when I went out to bat in both innings to what you would have seen from other players but that was me going out with a clear mind around getting through till the next day. If I had gone in any earlier, I probably would have thought a lot different about how to take it on, but Iām very clear in my mind when I go out every innings how I want to play as every other batter and as is all the bowlers.ā
Questions over Green as Aussies weigh up changes
Australia was leaving a call on its XI for the third Test to the eleventh hour with concerns over workloads shaping discussions.
Captain Pat Cummins confirmed on Wednesday before training that off-spinner Todd Murphy would replace the injured Nathan Lyon in the XI however the composition of the rest of the attack remains up in the air.
Scott Boland was being considered to replace fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood, who has already played two straight Tests, while intrigue also developed over the status of all-rounder Cameron Green.
The West Australian was on light duties at Headingley, while understudy Mitchell Marsh was prominent.
That in and of itself does not mean much given it was an optional session, however Cummins had earlier hinted that Hazlewood was not the only member of the Lordās XI who could join Lyon on the outer for this match.
Green bowled 22 overs in the win at Lordās, going at 5.77 runs per over, although sources downplayed the significance of his absence.
Pat Cummins has hinted at bowling line-up changes beyond the injury to Nathan Lyon. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images
āMurph will come in for Nath, but weāre just going to work through a couple of other guys today. Mainly just having a look at how everyoneās recovered,ā Cummins said.
āAnd again, we havenāt made a decision. So literally the last couple of days us bowlers havenāt been here. Weāve been chilling out. So weāll get together this afternoon and talk through a few different scenarios really.ā
Should Marsh replace Green, it would be his first Test since the 2019 Ashes.
Cummins backed Murphy to perform in Lyonās absence.
āHe was fantastic in India. His composure for a debutant was fantastic. He is quite clever, he has a few different tricks. He mixes up his pace well. He is not afraid to try new things, over the wicket, around the wicket. Really excited to see how he goes this week. He is still young, starting out his career but heās very accomplished. But lots of tricks and hopefully we see a confident Todd out there.ā
Shirley we can bring in Neser instead of Marsh? Even though Mitch looks like VOSS heās a lemon.
Heās shaved it off! Averaged 192 with it.
RIP Trav.
Sounds like itāll be
OUT: Lyon, Hazelwood, Green
IN: Murphy, Boland, Marsh
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I was Marshās harshest Test critic, but surely heās served his penance.
The way he plays ODIās now looks like it will transfer well to Tests.
Iām not desperate to have him back in the side, but he seems a good emergency option now. Not so much a few years ago.
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Extremely unVictorian of me but if this slab of turf is as dry and lifeless as Lords, Iād be tempted to go Nesser instead of Boland.
Of all the English Hypocrisy videos surfacing, this one takes the cake. Imagine appealing on this
https://twitter.com/SalmanAhmed095/status/1676632329148825602?t=hkqG_HYjDBuAYfXdCZjogw&s=19
Still, the English womenās keeper dropping the catch and being okay with the player being out was also top tier
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Itās not about serving a āpenanceā, itās the fact heās not a Test cricketer. Fine, playing him in white ball cricket, but he is not, and never has been, a Test cricketerās ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā . Shouldnāt be in the squad to begin with. Neser > Marsh.
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Trav did say itās only 3 days to grow it back!
If he gets a T20 pitch and comes in to tired bowlers, he might go OK.
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Be best for the Aussies to err on the side of caution and not for instance have a batsman pick the ball up to āhelpā the fielder. Donāt want to offer up any gotcha payback moments.
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Yep I thought this - thereās been quite a lot of picking the ball up by batsmen and throwing back to the bowler/fielder. We have probably seen the last of that!
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The Virtual BBlitz cricket season about to start. 4 slots remain. Itās a giggle and you are really just cheering on your team (or in scottys case wondering how you get out hit wicket twice in one innings).
Going to be interesting to see if weāve made any batting adjustments to combat sustained short pitch bowling. We looked all at sea when the poms did it to us and theyāll have extra pace now with Wood. You just know the poms will wheel it out again at some stage.
Our short pitch bowling effort on day 5 was also very lacklustre.
GREATEST. PODCAST. EVER.
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