O/T:- Unofficial NCM Ashes thread

[Notts78]

Another master class in the field by Pomgolia again....9 dropped catches in the series so far to none from the Aussies.

Some of the fielding is atrocious. Rory Burns must be done as an international cricketer. He looks completely out of his depth.

[Ex_Southwell_Magpie]

Absolute garbage from management down through the playing staff, its not as if this is a vintage Aussie side.

Who thought a team where the bowling attack is virtually all the same action and average pace would struggle to take wickets this test? We did the same thing four years ago with almost the same bowling attack (replace Overton with Robinson) and got hammered then.
Desperately need to find two openers from somewhere. I would love Hameed to succeed with him being a Notts player, but he just doesn't look like he has it.

[ForeignLegion]

Absolute garbage from management down through the playing staff, its not as if this is a vintage Aussie side.

Who thought a team where the bowling attack is virtually all the same action and average pace would struggle to take wickets this test? We did the same thing four years ago with almost the same bowling attack (replace Overton with Robinson) and got hammered then.
Desperately need to find two openers from somewhere. I would love Hameed to succeed with him being a Notts player, but he just doesn't look like he has it.

If anyone were to write a piece, for future generations, on "How not to prepare for an Ashes Series Down Under," this is their chance. No real work to be done, the script is unfolding before their eyes.

Plane ticket for Burns, can't field, can't bat, can't bowl. Broad and Anderson are both cooked; they've done their bit over the years, and they're being asked to remove a pretty decent Aussie batting side in 40 degrees. Laughable and 5-0 looks right on the money to me.

[Elite_Pie]

If anyone were to write a piece, for future generations, on "How not to prepare for an Ashes Series Down Under," this is their chance. No real work to be done, the script is unfolding before their eyes.

Plane ticket for Burns, can't field, can't bat, can't bowl. Broad and Anderson are both cooked; they've done their bit over the years, and they're being asked to remove a pretty decent Aussie batting side in 40 degrees. Laughable and 5-0 looks right on the money to me.

5-0 is quite possible when you consider that the Aussies have better batsmen, better bowlers, and better fielders than us. Our only chance is to get lucky with the toss and bowl first in very favourable conditions, which improve as the game progresses. Other than that, if we do happen to go 4-0 down I will be backing England in the final test. History shows that in dead rubbers the good team tend to relax, and the lesser team try and preserve a bit of dignity.

[ForeignLegion]

5-0 is quite possible when you consider that the Aussies have better batsmen, better bowlers, and better fielders than us. Our only chance is to get lucky with the toss and bowl first in very favourable conditions, which improve as the game progresses. Other than that, if we do happen to go 4-0 down I will be backing England in the final test. History shows that in dead rubbers the good team tend to relax, and the lesser team try and preserve a bit of dignity.

They got lucky with the toss in the 1st test and buggered that idea up. As for the last bit, not sure much dignity is preserved in a 4-1 rout.

[SlockyNCFC]

In addition to all the other problems mentioned here, I think this has to be Joe Root's last series as Test captain. Captaincy matters more in the longer format of the game and is by all accounts a very difficult job, more so than in many other team sports. Unfortunately his captaincy has mostly hindered rather than helped England. It certainly has so far in Australia, where any England team hoping to win needs to get everything right.

He has occasionally managed to look adequate when things have gone well but he's consistently been worse than useless when the team is up against it. His bowling and fielding tactics are woeful, he behaves more like a mate of the senior players than a leader of them, and his head visibly drops along with everyone else's when things go wrong, just when you need a leader to demand you keep going.

He also gets far too caught up in the emotions of the game when an objective cool head is needed, a weakness particularly exposed when England's horrible short pitched bowling let India's tailenders bat them back into the game at Lords earlier this year. All of these shortcomings have been as present throughout his captaincy as they have during this Ashes series so far.

It goes without saying that Root should remain in the team as a batsman and be allowed to focus on what he's good at - batting, with occasional cameos as a spinner. There is a big question about who would replace him, a factor I think is not unrelated to having had as long as he has had. I'd make Ben Stokes captain.

[Notts78]

They got lucky with the toss in the 1st test and buggered that idea up. As for the last bit, not sure much dignity is preserved in a 4-1 rout.

Funny how just about everyone has said that the first test was a good toss to lose.

[Notts78]

In addition to all the other problems mentioned here, I think this has to be Joe Root's last series as Test captain. Captaincy matters more in the longer format of the game and is by all accounts a very difficult job, more so than in many other team sports. Unfortunately his captaincy has mostly hindered rather than helped England. It certainly has so far in Australia, where any England team hoping to win needs to get everything right.

He has occasionally managed to look adequate when things have gone well but he's consistently been worse than useless when the team is up against it. His bowling and fielding tactics are woeful, he behaves more like a mate of the senior players than a leader of them, and his head visibly drops along with everyone else's when things go wrong, just when you need a leader to demand you keep going.

He also gets far too caught up in the emotions of the game when an objective cool head is needed, a weakness particularly exposed when England's horrible short pitched bowling let India's tailenders bat them back into the game at Lords earlier this year. All of these shortcomings have been as present throughout his captaincy as they have during this Ashes series so far.

It goes without saying that Root should remain in the team as a batsman and be allowed to focus on what he's good at - batting, with occasional cameos as a spinner. There is a big question about who would replace him, a factor I think is not unrelated to having had as long as he has had. I'd make Ben Stokes captain.

Great. So Root, the one truly decent batsman should stay in the side.
Question, you have said why Root shouldn’t be captain, who should be? I’m intrigued as just about every player in the side, apart from the one you mention, is either not good enough or is near the end of there career. There are 3 players I see in the test squad for the next Ashes. Root, Stokes and Robinson. Which one is your captain?

[Elite_Pie]

In addition to all the other problems mentioned here, I think this has to be Joe Root's last series as Test captain. Captaincy matters more in the longer format of the game and is by all accounts a very difficult job, more so than in many other team sports. Unfortunately his captaincy has mostly hindered rather than helped England. It certainly has so far in Australia, where any England team hoping to win needs to get everything right.

He has occasionally managed to look adequate when things have gone well but he's consistently been worse than useless when the team is up against it. His bowling and fielding tactics are woeful, he behaves more like a mate of the senior players than a leader of them, and his head visibly drops along with everyone else's when things go wrong, just when you need a leader to demand you keep going.

He also gets far too caught up in the emotions of the game when an objective cool head is needed, a weakness particularly exposed when England's horrible short pitched bowling let India's tailenders bat them back into the game at Lords earlier this year. All of these shortcomings have been as present throughout his captaincy as they have during this Ashes series so far.

It goes without saying that Root should remain in the team as a batsman and be allowed to focus on what he's good at - batting, with occasional cameos as a spinner. There is a big question about who would replace him, a factor I think is not unrelated to having had as long as he has had. I'd make Ben Stokes captain.

Very interesting post Slocky, and I agree with pretty much all of it. I've always thought that captaincy in cricket is way more important than captaincy in football. Probably way before your time, but Mike Brearley is a perfect example. I've just googled his stats, and he was played solely as a batsman but never scored a century in 66 test innings and averaged a pathetic 23. His strength was captaincy, he was in charge for 31 tests, winning 17, drawing 10 and losing 4. His strengths were that he made the right decisions at the right time and got the best from his team. Ian Botham was around at the same time. He was way, way more gifted than Brearley and one of the best players in the world. He was England captain for 12 games - no wins, 8 draws and 4 defeats. There is no more obvious replacement for Root than Stokes, it would be interesting to see whether the responsibility made him better or worse.

[i961pie]

Great. So Root, the one truly decent batsman should stay in the side.
Question, you have said why Root shouldn’t be captain, who should be? I’m intrigued as just about every player in the side, apart from the one you mention, is either not good enough or is near the end of there career. There are 3 players I see in the test squad for the next Ashes. Root, Stokes and Robinson. Which one is your captain?

I think his last line answers your question?