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...
Stick Or Twist? The Ashes Angst Edition
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...
Crying Into Our Beer
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...
Buried – Day 3 at the SCG
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...
Gradually Slipping – Day 2 at the SGC
Well, I enjoyed the first session. It was possibly the most entertaining passage of play all series. England’s tail knew they wouldn’t be able to survive for long, so they basically threw the bat at everything and hoped for the best. The fact we almost scraped up to 350 was a minor miracle. It’s just a shame that we used up five days worth of luck in the process. But can one really call it ‘luck’ when Australia fielded in such comic fashion? After Steve Smith flew...
Bloody Groundhogs: Day One at Sydney
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. England win the toss, Vince and Stoneman get starts but can’t go on, Cook can’t make it to 50 either, and neither (obviously) can Joe Root. England therefore look like they’re going to do well, but ultimately screw it up. The only slight surprise was that it took until the final two overs to screw the pooch this time. Normally the futility of our efforts becomes apparent much sooner. Unfortunately I think we know how the next...
