Just now, Mattyblue said:

Even more so when you don’t want your Old Trafford ticket to be for a dead rubber! 🫣

😀yeah

Agony watching this.

I think the ashes have just gone.

My goodness 

This pair have to get us to around 200 I reckon.

Oh dear

I’m well aware of Ducketts average. I’m looking at his technique.

7 minutes ago, matt83 said:

Ali coming in at 3 with a test average of about 25. He is the classic not good enough as a batsman not good enough as a bowler but because tries both has over 50 test caps to his name. 

Crawleys test average is 28.

Ducket’s  just not good enough.

I would love to see the evidence that going along at 2 an over leads to success.

I’d love to know what you posters using the term “Bazball” actually think it is.

for me it means getting ahead in every aspect of the game, of being positive in everything you do, of forcing the agenda and results. It doesn’t mean being totally reckless but getting that balance right is critical.
 

If England go out today and play the old test cricket brand of going at 2 an over and taking no risks, the chances are they won’t get over the line. If they let the Aussies get on top of them, they’ll lose IMO. Keeping the run rate up is Englands best chance. 

Aussies favourites for me. 250 is a long way away.

What a player Stokes is. When everyone before him look like they could get out at any ball, he comes in and makes it look easy. 
 

He’s played and missed a few times but so did all the Aussie batsmen. He can play the classical game and he can completely destroy the opposition.

watch him get out now.

17 minutes ago, den said:

Chance for Bairstow to redeem himself.

What an awful shot. 

Chance for Bairstow to redeem himself.

Advantage Australia I reckon, which is disappointing considering how we bowled them out so quickly.

someone has to do to them what Marsh did to us. 

Now for the difficult bit.

hard pitch, bounce, swing. Ideal for our Australian friends.

England might* find it difficult on this wicket as well.
*will

Brilliant again from Wood

Superb from Wood. Starc clean bowled

Another easy catch dropped, this time by Root

Bairstow drops another. This time an easy one.

Great cricketing day for me yesterday. Watched Ashes on TV then off to OT to see Lancs progress to a home quarter finals tie on Friday, then back home to watch the Ashes highlights on TV. 🙂

The Bairstow incident? I would much rather see players being got out by cricketing skills, than the underhand way the Aussies went about it. They should have withdrawn their appeal which would have acted as a warning to Bairstow to be careful in future. Not that he was in any way trying to achieve any advantage by going for his mid wicket chat anyway.

Only downside is Lancs charging us £20 for a ticket for the QF shortly after the Roses game was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Non members got their ticket fee refunded.  🤨 Last season it was free for members.

40 minutes ago, martonrover said:

It’s an utterly terrible watch. 

Admittedly, the pitch isn’t helping.

I’m a bit of a purist, but this is making me look forward to watching some T20 tomorrow.

You going to Old Trafford? I am.

4 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

I’ll be surprised if they declare Den (notwithstanding the Lyon injury)

Hope they don’t. I would take a draw now and move on.