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.

[Gooseberry]

Tricky pitch to bat on

Travis Head got a century, cant be that bad a pitch. Its the Aus mid pacers rather than their quicks whove taken the wickets as it was for England, so not even a case of bowler types. Aus are just straight up out playing an England team who came into the tour with their heads down and have lost confidence from there with the exception of a few veteran performers. That includes Stokes whos battled through injury to a half century.

Shocking that Bairstow is now one of Englands top performers with the bat over the past 12 months.

[alfie]

Hope that kills you , eh ? Great partnership , then broken and followed with the other batsman copping a (possibly broken) digit. Though it hasn't stopped Jonny launching Lyon into the stands again...

But now Buttler has gone for a duck ...chipped Cummins to short cover. 173/6.

Wood coming in at the head of a bunch of rabbits...not an encouraging sight.

[Pal Joey]

Tricky pitch to bat on

Travis Head got a century, cant be that bad a pitch. Its the Aus mid pacers rather than their quicks whove taken the wickets as it was for England, so not even a case of bowler types. Aus are just straight up out playing an England team who came into the tour with their heads down and have lost confidence from there with the exception of a few veteran performers. That includes Stokes whos battled through injury to a half century.

Shocking that Bairstow is now one of Englands top performers with the bat over the past 12 months.

Travis Head's not playing, Goose and I wouldn't call Starc, Cummins and Boland mid pacers. What game are you watching?
If you mean Khawaja, then he played the pitch conditions perfectly. Even said himself during the breaks and at the close of play "it wasn't easy at all... it was quite tricky being a bit up and down".

The easiest conditions so far in this Test match is right now. Day 3, the ball 60 overs old. Pitch drying out quickly with the warm wind blowing it dry.

[alfie]

It's a pitch on which you can play your shots , once you get properly "in". But there has been some nasty bounce at times - and it isn't easy facing Test quality fast bowling by the light of the artificials...

Khawaja played really well. Read the conditions , played his own game. Match winning innings.

Bairstow trying to get to the follow on now with Wood. 205/6...

[alfie]

Follow on officially off the table now... Credit to Mark Wood a handy 19 now in a stand of 45.

Probably Australia - who are currently down one bowler with Boland off getting scans - would not have enforced it anyway . But one minor success for England on a grim day.

218/6

[Pal Joey]

Avoided the follow on, alfie. Not that I think it means all that much. It was a great fightback from Stokes and Bairstow in that second session. Almost hurts me watching them battle on with all the injuries. How many times did they have to show poor Jonny's thumb being bent backwards... that looked very nasty. The painkillers must have kicked in by now...

Burns and Lawrence have been called to the Pavilion (from the hotel according to Vaughan) just in case they're needed on the field later on. Glad to see Scott Boland walking around the perimeter after a short trip to St Vincent's for scans on his side. Not sure if he will be able to bowl again today though... probably not.

[alfie]

Been a rough match for everyone in terms of injuries , PJ !  In truth these two teams have been handed a pretty tough gig all round with these five Tests all packed together...probably just as well most of the matches haven't gone the distance

In all seriousness I do think they need to look at what they're asking of the players these days : just too many matches of various kinds and with all the Covid complications it is going to take a toll...

Wood having fun out there ! Cummins ? Pah...into the stands with him ! And again...

Wood on to 37. 239/6...

[VTR]

Can't fault the fight from Stokes, Bairstow and Wood today. Buttler though, pathetic again and got to be the end for him in Tests now

[Pal Joey]

England always seem to save their best for Sydney. It's almost as if when the pressure is off or if things are verging on disaster, as they were this morning, then the 3 Lions break out of their cage and go on the rampage. Still got the caged tiger to come of course. Can see another quickfire cameo from him too. It is written...

[alfie]

Good news for Australia with Boland cleared of anything serious and coming back on.

Cummins after a drs here ...and gets it ! Apparently grazed the bat before hitting Wood's helmet and carrying to Lyon .

Revenge for Cummins. Fine effort from Wood though . 39...partnership was 72.

245/7. Aussies will be after a quick kill now...

[Pal Joey]

Well done Jonny!    
Certainly the gutsiest century this Ashes series. Now he can give his thumb a good soak in the ice bath. Must be feeling sore but I doubt he cares.

[alfie]

Century for Jonny with a couple of ballls left in the day

Finishes the day 103 not out . His seventh Test Century and arguably his best. If ever a fellow deserved a hundred he did today.

England end the day at 258/7... Still afloat.  Just.

[sirfredperry]

Gutsy stuff today by Bairstow, Stokes and Wood and a good recovery from the depths of 36-4.

Australia will probably still go on to win unless rain intervenes but at least England have shown some fight in this match.

Guess Stokes won't be able to play in Hobart and I can see Hameed and Buttler being dropped.

[Mind the windows Tino.]

Well done Jonny!    
Certainly the gutsiest century this Ashes series. Now he can give his thumb a good soak in the ice bath. Must be feeling sore but I doubt he cares.

Yep, real fortitude shown by JB. I'm not a supporter of him in this format and expect it to be another false dawn in his test career but you have to applaud what is in front of you in the moment and that was a really courageous innings.

He is a likeable chap and although I'm not a fan of his red ball game, I'm delighted for him.

[alfie]

Gutsy stuff today by Bairstow, Stokes and Wood and a good recovery from the depths of 36-4.

Australia will probably still go on to win unless rain intervenes but at least England have shown some fight in this match.

Guess Stokes won't be able to play in Hobart and I can see Hameed and Buttler being dropped.

Wouldn't call this game yet , Sir Fred. Will be some rain ; but I still imagine England will be set a fair time to bat out in their second knock so will need some better application from the top order. Getting a bit ahead of myself here of course as they still have to get the last three wickets and then do some batting of their own ; but it will be interesting to see what sort of "target" Cummins eventually sets.

I never pick teams until the game is over . But it may partly be a question for England of who is fit to play in Hobart...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Good work by Bairstow, Stokes and Wood - nice to wake upto some runs at least.

Of course in classic England in Australia fashion, the two highest scorers might be injured and unable to play the next test

[Afro]

Celebrating small victories specifically that England managed to bat through a whole day and still have wickets in hand.

Admittedly, rain has helped that, so the next target is to get to 90 overs......

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

From what Will MacPherson is saying, Stokes/Buttler almost certain to be out of the next test injured (noted Buttler very unlikely to keep in the second innings, could barely grip the bat in the morning net session) and of course Bairstow took a nasty blow too!

Apparently Pope might have to keep 2nd dig here and Billings is being called up from his BBL stint as cover for the 5th test

[Soul Requiem]

A top innings from Bairstow but one that just papers over his shortcomings as a test batsman.

If the selectors insist on not selecting the best wicketkeeper you have to pick Bairstow or Buttler with instructions to be ultra aggressive. We've been picking players based on Gilchrist for years now but not had them play like it.

[Guest]

King Jonny

[Afro]

Will Billings have to isolate at all given he has been at the BBL? Not sure that the rules are between different states?

I am assuming that is the reason for selecting him over Foakes for example

[KP_fan]

Rain and Bairstow have created some interesting scenarios in this game
Eng could get to within a 100-120 runs of Aus tomm

Aus s will score another 200ish and leave a 300-320ish chase for Eng...leaving all 3 results possible
Aus win still the likeliest
Draw if rain intervenes
Eng win not ruled out.........the pitch has no demons....the bounce is a bit high so horizontal bat / back foot players aught to do well as I noted yesterday......
Stokes and Bairstow did do well...only Malan missed out and he needs to make up in second inning
Root, Butler need to compensate for their Zeros

I do not know how much more rains is foretasted
I would guess out of 200 max possible overs.......rain should not take away more than 20 to 30 & then result should be possible

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Will Billings have to isolate at all given he has been at the BBL? Not sure that the rules are between different states?

I am assuming that is the reason for selecting him over Foakes for example

Foakes is back in England, so no way he'd be able to get over there and quarantine in time to play.

I'm not entirely sure how the BBL is working, but would presume Billings is fine to come in so long as he does a few negative tests

[VTR]

It's hard to keep track of all this. Top 7 for next Test could be something like the below?

Hameed
Crawley
Malan
Root
Bairstow
Lawrence
Billings

[Mind the windows Tino.]

It's hard to keep track of all this. Top 7 for next Test could be something like the below?

Hameed
Crawley
Malan
Root
Bairstow
Lawrence
Billings

Wouldn't surprise me if they brought Pope back at 6, despite dropping him once already, and gave the gloves to JB and moved him to 5 just to load more on his plate following our first century of the series.

Lawrence at 7.

Or maybe they'll bring Burns back and bat him at 8 with Wood to open.

[Duty281]

Nice to see some resistance, but it owed heavily to luck. Had Stokes been caught by Cummins early on, or if the bail had been dislodged when he was 'bowled' (still not sure how it didn't come off), England would have probably been rolled out for below 150.

Instead we got to see a spirited counter-attack which may have saved the game. If there were no rain around, Australia would still be comfortable from here, but in these circumstances there may just be a chance of England getting a rain-assisted draw.

The irritating thing is Bairstow is unlikely to go on a consistent run of scores - this century will keep him in the side for 12-18 months more, but he'll be averaging between 20-30 in that time. So this century may not be a good thing for England in the long-term.

Team for the fifth test seems like it'll be a complete mess!

[Soul Requiem]

A dropped catch isn't luck, it's part of cricket. It would be remiss to suggest that Australia have benefitted from luck because England couldn't hold their catches.

[VTR]

It's hard to keep track of all this. Top 7 for next Test could be something like the below?

Hameed
Crawley
Malan
Root
Bairstow
Lawrence
Billings

Wouldn't surprise me if they brought Pope back at 6, despite dropping him once already, and gave the gloves to JB and moved him to 5 just to load more on his plate following our first century of the series.

Lawrence at 7.

Or maybe they'll bring Burns back and bat him at 8 with Wood to open.

Probably is a good idea to get one of your better batsmen in early, Wood the English Sehwag to open the batting. Also wonder if we can swap Zak for John Crawley, who might do better? Think JBs hand might be a bit mangled to keep wicket

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Team for the fifth test seems like it'll be a complete mess!

They're not giving us the "leg spinners one test" match, but they are potentially giving us the 6th string wicket keeper. They will always find a way

[Soul Requiem]

Can we take a minute to reflect on what is the worst umpiring decision I have ever seen when Reiffel gave Stokes out. It's a decision so bad that his position on the elite panel needs assessing.

Bad decisions happen all the time and it's why we have DRS, with a lot of LBWs and catches you can sort of understand it. This though has left me baffled, how did Reiffel come to that conclusion when bat and pad were nowhere near the ball?

We've seen in the past two years why we have neutral umpires and it's unfortunate for the real top tier ones. I'm not suggesting Reiffel was cheating for one second.

[JDizzle]

Also important to recognise Bairstow’s most important contribution today wasn’t the ton, but calling out an Aussie fan who called YJB fat on the way off and then YJB told him he was ‘weak as piss’ as the fan slinked off - tail between his legs!

https://twitter.com/smh/status/1479351522571915264?s=21

[king_carlos]

Delighted for Bairstow to get that ton. He has big limitations against quicker seamers in Test cricket but most the alternatives have just as many limitations if not more.

His stats at 6 and 7 are actually pretty good. Batting higher up his technique got found out big time as England's lack of top 3 meant he was usually facing the new ball. I genuinely think that batting at 6 Bairstow can still offer something though.

D1 of this Test started on the anniversary of his fathers passing as well. It was a noticeably emotional celebration from YJB and good on him for standing up in a series where few have.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Ahh, the Bairstow "hope" innings.

Not sure it was much of a replicable innings or one that shows anything has changed, but, yes, at 6 or 7 he's probably a worthy cause. Unfortunately, the list of players you'd trust at 6 or 7 is long, but none of them you'd fancy further up.

Maybe he should just open. He cant be any worse, we'll get the odd good innings because he always gives the odd good one, and the discussions can stop around him.

[VTR]

Bairstow could well be on course to get the gloves back and bat at 7 again. Buttler surely can't be tolerated much longer, he hasn't turned up when a match has been live for a long time. Also wonder if he's going to retire from Tests anyway

[king_carlos]

Bairstow could well be on course to get the gloves back and bat at 7 again. Buttler surely can't be tolerated much longer, he hasn't turned up when a match has been live for a long time. Also wonder if he's going to retire from Tests anyway

With the rumours he won't field in the second innings due to injury we might have seen Buttler in Tests for the last time given the weather forecast. His first year back in 2018 was actually very good. Overall it just hasn't worked though.

I can see Foakes getting a run in the side.

[VTR]

Yes, I really thought in the home summer 2020 Buttler had cracked it. But around that and the period you mention, he's tended to look like a player who really doesn't know how to approach his batting in Tests

[king_carlos]

Yes, I really thought in the home summer 2020 Buttler had cracked it. But around that and the period you mention, he's tended to look like a player who really doesn't know how to approach his batting in Tests

It's just technique against the moving ball with Buttler I think. He's been playing in an era where Test cricket has mostly moved back towards bowler friendly pitches, the Dukes in home Tests is swinging conventionally to a nearing farcical extent and the wobble seam ball has significantly changed seam bowling. Add that together and Jos just doesn't have the technique against the moving ball.

Often when people talk about mindset, approach, mental strength, etc after batting failures I think it's just journalists and pundits scratching around for more words to fill out articles and air time. Getting a good discussion out of "they can't even line it up" must be pretty tough to be fair. If a batters technique simply isn't good enough then mindset, application and approach can only do so much.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Bairstow could well be on course to get the gloves back and bat at 7 again. Buttler surely can't be tolerated much longer, he hasn't turned up when a match has been live for a long time. Also wonder if he's going to retire from Tests anyway

With the rumours he won't field in the second innings due to injury we might have seen Buttler in Tests for the last time given the weather forecast. His first year back in 2018 was actually very good. Overall it just hasn't worked though.

I can see Foakes getting a run in the side.

I really hope they're going to give Foakes a run, but the fact he wasn't the backup keeper on this tour suggests he's down the pecking order for a while yet...I think, maybe, unfortunately he might have missed his big opportunity this past year, both in India when Buttler was rotated and then away for the NZ series (yes extremely tough conditions in India and then suffered an injury this summer!) but I would imagine this Bairstow knock sees him given a go for a bit again.

Albeit if they're going to go nuclear on things after this series then the only ones comfortable of places in the batting lineup are Root and Stokes!

Billings has been officially called into the squad for the 5th test now. Think if we see Pope keeping today (as said earlier, he was netting yesterday), we can assume a Sam Billings test debut is happening in Hobart. Wild!

[Duty281]

John Simpson playing ODIs. Sam Billings playing a Test. It's a mad old time.

I didn't realise this at the time, but with Bangladesh and South Africa both winning, England are bottom of the pile in the WTC. And unlikely to move off of it for a little while.

Dry start for today, it seems. What do we reckon - Bairstow clubs England to within 100, Australia bowled out for 120, England knock off the 220 required with no drama, Root getting his first ton in Aus in the process?

[JDizzle]

Bairstow could well be on course to get the gloves back and bat at 7 again. Buttler surely can't be tolerated much longer, he hasn't turned up when a match has been live for a long time. Also wonder if he's going to retire from Tests anyway

With the rumours he won't field in the second innings due to injury we might have seen Buttler in Tests for the last time given the weather forecast. His first year back in 2018 was actually very good. Overall it just hasn't worked though.

I can see Foakes getting a run in the side.

I really hope they're going to give Foakes a run, but the fact he wasn't the backup keeper on this tour suggests he's down the pecking order for a while yet...I think, maybe, unfortunately he might have missed his big opportunity this past year, both in India when Buttler was rotated and then away for the NZ series (yes extremely tough conditions in India and then suffered an injury this summer!) but I would imagine this Bairstow knock sees him given a go for a bit again.

Albeit if they're going to go nuclear on things after this series then the only ones comfortable of places in the batting lineup are Root and Stokes!

Billings has been officially called into the squad for the 5th test now. Think if we see Pope keeping today (as said earlier, he was netting yesterday), we can assume a Sam Billings test debut is happening in Hobart. Wild!

It would be some weird twist of fate if Foakes gets his chance again on the Windies tour - the place where he was dropped last time for looking decidedly less than comfortable vs quick bowling!

[Pal Joey]

Bairstow could well be on course to get the gloves back and bat at 7 again. Buttler surely can't be tolerated much longer, he hasn't turned up when a match has been live for a long time. Also wonder if he's going to retire from Tests anyway

With the rumours he won't field in the second innings due to injury we might have seen Buttler in Tests for the last time given the weather forecast. His first year back in 2018 was actually very good. Overall it just hasn't worked though.

I can see Foakes getting a run in the side.

I really hope they're going to give Foakes a run, but the fact he wasn't the backup keeper on this tour suggests he's down the pecking order for a while yet...I think, maybe, unfortunately he might have missed his big opportunity this past year, both in India when Buttler was rotated and then away for the NZ series (yes extremely tough conditions in India and then suffered an injury this summer!) but I would imagine this Bairstow knock sees him given a go for a bit again.

Albeit if they're going to go nuclear on things after this series then the only ones comfortable of places in the batting lineup are Root and Stokes!

Billings has been officially called into the squad for the 5th test now. Think if we see Pope keeping today (as said earlier, he was netting yesterday), we can assume a Sam Billings test debut is happening in Hobart. Wild!

It would be some weird twist of fate if Foakes gets his chance again on the Windies tour - the place where he was dropped last time for looking decidedly less than comfortable vs quick bowling!

As Jonny would say: "It's all part'n parcel of the game, inn't it?"

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

A Tim Paine memorial review from Pat!

[Pal Joey]

A Tim Paine memorial review from Pat!

Exactly. What was that?

Jack goes for a proper slog. That was also pretty unnecessary. Should have tried to hang in there a bit more.

The caged tiger at the crease now. Hold on to your seats.

[alfie]

Leach was looking rather good until he got slightly carried away !

Wonder if Jonny will trust Broad now or go ballistic ? A Stuart Broad cameo would be pretty handy...

[Pal Joey]

Leach was looking rather good until he got slightly carried away !

Wonder if Jonny will trust Broad now or go ballistic ? A Stuart Broad cameo would be pretty handy...

Not if Animal Welfare have a say in proceedings.
To be fair, he should be released back into his natural environment... what's left of the forest around Nottingham.

[JDizzle]

Broad is not looking to bat for YJB!

[JDizzle]

Bairstow leaves Broad still needing 86 for a second Test hundred. Tough luck.

Must be tough for YJB to restart with that thumb injury and the adrenaline worn off!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Broad is not looking to bat for YJB!

Stupidly gave YJB the strike

[alfie]

Pity. Looked like he just wanted to nibble it down to third man for one ...will be annoyed to get out just before the new ball.

Leaves Broad with the full licence now , eh ? Not that he's been exactly restrained anyway...

Boland bowls those classical lines and lengths , doesn't he ? Very effective.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

All cricket should be Jimmy Anderson reverse sweeps and Stuart Broad slogging imo. None of this other rubbish

[Sponsored content]