CategoryAshes 17/18

The England men’s team can finally come home after a very long winter. 157 days after they departed for the Ashes, the frustrating draw in the second Test against New Zealand brought the curtain down on their overseas adventures. While the players will be pleased not to have to stay in hotels any longer, those of us who have been following them from the other side of the world are finally able to get some sleep. As the days went by, it became increasingly clear that England were probably going...

After nearly four months away from home (that’s a third of a year!) England’s cricketers have finally left Australia. They must’ve been sick of the place by the end. But the ordeal isn’t quite over yet. We’ve still got two or three T20s left to play on the other side of the Tasman Sea before we finally get some respite from David Warner’s grinning mug. The international schedule never ends … However, as the Australian leg of the winter has finally drawn to a close, I thought I’d pen my final...

Who needs Jim, Gus and Mick when you’ve got cricket bloggers eh? Picking Ashes winning sides is as easy as pie for us keyboard warriors. You just need good batsmen, a balanced attack that covers all bases and, erm, a bit of luck. The kind of luck that unexpectedly kept Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins on the park for the last two months. Australia will be a hard team to beat in England in 2019, especially if they can keep their pacemen fit again, therefore it’s essential for England to...

Have you cracked a smile since the Sydney Test? I almost smiled once when I heard Donald Trump describe himself as ‘a genius’, but this was more of a scoff than anything else. I’m afraid the rain clouds are still firmly ensconced above my bonce. We’ve done the broader reasons for England’s Ashes capitulation to death so now it’s time to focus on the individual players. England lost because we don’t have any genuine pace or high class spin – a failure the ECB must answer for – so we weren’t able...

So it’s finally all over. Thanks heavens for that. We predicted a 0-4 defeat at the start of the series and unfortunately that’s exactly what transpired. It’s all unfolded, or perhaps I should say unravelled, in the most predictable manner. Overall it was generally a poor series, played on disappointingly slow and lifeless pitches, with soporific run rates, and very little competitive action. I’m sad to say that it wasn’t a good advert for test cricket at all. The one-sided nature of the...

England’s attack in this game consists of an ageing Jimmy, a washed up Broad, a county medium pacer, a part time off spinner having a mare, and a 20 year old leggie who’s only played a handful of first class games. The result? 479-4. It’s hardly a surprising outcome when you think about it. The cupboard is so bare it’s embarrassing. Although Anderson has generally bowled pretty well on this tour, the conditions don’t suit him. This has left us really exposed. The...