Mix Bazball with some common sense and we might get somewhere.

Quantity over quality though?

Looking at 0-2 I'm afraid. Baz ball in the undiluted way we're playing it will never defeat the World Champions. Started the day roughly evens, thrown away in half an hour. Back to the drawing board chaps.

I was thinking exactly that a few minutes ago! Certainly no English bowler would. Of the batters--yes to Root and also to a fit Stokes which we may well never see again. In reality the gap between the 2 sides is large. Home advantage and fanatical support might get us over the line but its unlikely.

Proving once again that the crowds will come if the price is right!

You were going well up to that point!

Bairstow making the most of his reprieve.

Crowd of 4000?

Pop-gun attack.

You don't have to be a brilliant cricketer or even play it at all to have a good opinion about the game though? It that were the case we wouldn't have a forum!

Some very wise words on Bazball from Mark Ramprakash" https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/26/ben-stokes-brendon-mccullum-australia-england-the-ashes-cricket

If he's in for his runs mainly then he shouldn't be the WK should he? Its a specialist position and the best WK should always play. If he'd taken the chances he missed then his worth to the team would have been x times greater than the runs he scored.

All fair points Chaddy. As for who Bairstow could replace----possibly Duckett? Or possibly not picked at all. Broad's mistake cost us one wicket. Bairstow's 3 or even 4. Games at this level rest on very slender margins, Aussies are ruthless.

Fair enough, it is all about opinions. Mine is that the two biggest factors in our loss were 1)dropping Foakes 2) declaring on the first day when Root was slaughtering them. Having said that I enjoyed the game tremendously just not the result!

No Chaddy. When you look at Bairstow's runs you have to factor in the 3 errors he made behind the stumps. Would have made the difference. If Bairstow remains it should be as a batter. Similarly, anyone not regretting Stoke's declaration now? 50 more runs and we could have won! Stupid.

Absolutely!

A very fine distinction! So fine I can't see it. Daft because it was reckless!

Wonderful ball from Cummins to dismiss Pope.🥲

Obviously going to be an avalanche on the day the season opens! 😢

Because its runs and time we chose not to accept and can't get back.

No! Not me anyway.

True-- so why waste it with a reckless declaration?

As feared, the Aussies are going o get a first innings lead, possibly a sizeable one. From there we will be attempting to save the game, with plenty of time for the Aussie bowlers. Bazball won't be much use in those circumstances. TBF this is more a criticism of the Captain rather than the methodology. We should never have declared. As for the wicketkeeper, we have a long unproud history of omitting the best in order to give us another batter----right back to Jimmy Binks of Yorkshire in the early sixties in my experience!!

For "loathe" read "lost"!

New Zealand?-we drew the series. We lost the 2nd test by one run after dominating the game. Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying how we play these days. By contrast Australia seem staid and boring. I'm just saying that sometimes you have to to use some common sense and be adaptable.