Day Three Oh what could have been. England’s bowlers finally turned up on the third evening and proved what we knew all along: Australia’s batting is weak and contains several flawed batsmen. What a pity our own flawed batsmen had already effectively lost the game. Although we might take a little heart from reducing the Aussies to 53-4, and some pundits are talking about momentum swings and England actually ‘having a sniff’ now, the bottom line is that the Canary Yellows...
One Watch Down. And Now My Next Watch Begins.
One-nil down. Where do you go from there? If you happen to be the England cricket team in Australia, usually only further down. All the way, crashing through the basement into the hard earth beneath. For a short while, much like with the England Football team before a major tournament, I allowed myself to believe. Australia are not all that I thought. We were showing blemishes of form and Australia appeared happily undecided on their selection. At precisely 2am in the wee small hours of...
Ben Stokes, Moral Dilemmas, and Fence-Sitting
Much as bloggers like the sound of their own voice – and I definitely fall into this category myself – I don’t like making too many moral judgements. I wasn’t at that Bristol nightclub when Ben Stokes went a little crazy (I was safely tucked up in bed with a brandy and an episode of South Park), and I have no idea whether his actions were criminal or whether the bloke with a broken eye socket had it coming. All I know is that it’s not right to abuse a gay couple...
Are England Dead Ducks?
Everyone panic! We’re going to lose this five match series 6-0. Steve Smith is the new Bradman, Pat Cummins is the new Dennis Lillee, and Nathan Lyon is a genius who bowls hand grenades. In fact, we might as well raise the white flag now. England are the Frank Spencer of world cricket while Australia have the cunning of Carlos The Jackal and the strength of Hercules. Give me a break. In all honesty a ten wicket defeat at Brisbane is pretty much par for the course. Few teams leave the...
Gabbatoired
Sadly I can’t say I’m surprised. I thought we’d get rolled over for about 200 and so it proved. Australia’s bowlers are just too good. They have four genuinely world class performers. England have just the two. Like England’s attack in 2005 there’s never any let up in quality. If you get through Starc and Hazlewood then the next two bowlers are just as effective. Sadly, Anderson and Broad are supported by Woakes and Ball, who have been really disappointing in...
The Gabba – Days 1, 2, 3
Day Three I don’t want to be negative, and I hate to say “I told you so” (especially as this game isn’t finished by a long shot), but day three showed us precisely why Australia were always favourites in this Ashes series. Both teams have fragile batting line-ups – everyone knows that – but the hosts have Steve Smith, the immovable object, and a bowling attack with more pace. Both these factors are absolutely crucial. Although speed isn’t everything...
