Off topic - Ashes

[macstheman]

Excellent start by England, once again confirming that we can't bat when faced with REAL bowlers!

[Ramshank72]

I stayed up as long as possible with it on the radio. It was hard going!
No idea why Root wanted to bat 1st, I can't help feel that Anderson & Broad would have pressured him to call otherwise had they been playing.
Perfect bowling conditions, away from home, 1st day of the Ashes... to much pressure on the batsmen, who aren't used to Aus conditions. Poor decision.
Not sure what rest of week is like weather wise, don't think we'll get away with a draw!
Shame to start this way, as this Aussie team is a shadow of teams of the past.

[ramAnag]

Could be a long hard winter, mac. In all sorts of ways. There again, maybe this is just the sort of ‘false start’ we saw in the glorious 2005 series. We were about 150 all out in that one I seem to remember. Who knows...we can but hope...for four days of storms!

[macstheman]

It's indicative of our cricket at the moment, we just don't produce quality test players, particularly batters, in the numbers necessary to produce a consistent squad for the demands in places like Aussie land! Having said that, we are not the only ones! It seems that the one day game in it's many guises has become the dominant strain (to use a Covid term) worldwide.
So now it's 'which teams the worst or which one has a special performance from some individual'!
Let's hope they are worse than us!

[Ramshank72]

So now it's 'which teams the worst or which one has a special performance from some individual'!

Sums it up perfectly!!

[Geoff Parkstone]

Agreed Ramshank, the decision to bat first seems flawed for many reasons, not least because most of the team have barely picked a bat up in anger, in a red ball situation, for a few months.

Allegedly the pitch will get faster and more difficult by day 3, but we will maybe not be in the game by then. Makes no sense to me, but as the great man said "lets see both sides bat on it" before making a judgement. When Aussie are 327-3 at the end of day 2, we will know

[Geoff Parkstone]

Agreed Ramshank, the decision to bat first seems flawed for many reasons, not least because most of the team have barely picked a bat up in anger, in a red ball situation, for a few months.

Allegedly the pitch will get faster and more difficult by day 3, but we will maybe not be in the game by then. Makes no sense to me, but as the great man said "lets see both sides bat on it" before making a judgement. When Aussie are 327-3 at the end of day 2, we will know

Hmmm 11 overs 1-95, good job we got Jack Leach back into the squad

[macstheman]

Using my 'worse than' principle, well for this test that ones been answered!
How good or bad are the Aussies? Well, we have been that bad that we don't know! Simple to say 1 down and we can only get better....... I think!!

[ramAnag]

Probably too little too late, but we did get ‘better’ mac. Must admit I expected it to be virtually all over by now.
Hats off to Root and Malan...really tough to fight back in such circumstances but they’ve given us some hope for the series and shown others how it can be done.

Love to see Root get his first ‘ton’ over on Aussie soil. Can we build on it and bat out another two or more sessions to at least set some sort of target?

[Geoff Parkstone]

Bat all tomorrow with Stokes and Butter hammering a tired attack, declare one over into day 5 setting them 320, skittle them out for 160 by tea....piece of cake. 1-0. Back of the net.

Incidentally, why is it "back of the net". Surely the goalscoring ball hits the front of the net?

Then I woke up