Thread: 2023 ASHES CHALLENGE; May the best team win.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I see Harry Brooks as being the thorn in the Aussie side but if he fails then the rest is history with another Aussie Ashess success.

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You know you haven't won over here for 22 years, right?

Thanks for reminding me just why we love beating you lot though.

History confirms the Aussies have the wood on your lot but that is the past.

Let us move forward and see who wins the toss............Who can bat to an advantage............and who stands up as a batsman or a bowler to win this game.

I see the Aussies as having some match winners but they sometimes suffer from the Pommy choke so let us see who chokes first.

The oz bowling looked great v Ind, that was a great warm up for them vs our undercooked bowlers and a useless match against Ire

its friday, its pissing down with rain in Oz, a few beers in the fridge and the ashes are starting (and the footy's on the other channel)...excellent.

Within the last 20 years (just a random choice... ):



Quite even on test series, but has been either Australia win big (England don't win a test) or England win in closer series. So, let's hope that England win the first game!

famous last words

10.30am: England win the toss and will bat , says Stokes as a cheer goes up around the ground. "Looks a good cricket wicket, now we're going to go out and put some runs on the board." England had named their team in advance, with Moeen Ali making his Test return almost two years after retiring, and Stuart Broad preferred to Mark Wood for the first Test. Cummins, meanwhile, confirms Hazlewood has won the nod above Starc for the final spot in the XI. "Tough call, I thought Mitch was really impressive last week but it's a squad mentality. Really good problem to have." Are Australia ready for England to come at them? "I think so..." says Cummins with a smile.


England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson




Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Scott Boland

Almost there . . . and England have a 'new' pivot:

What is Bazball? Australia set for Ashes ambush as aggressive Test cricket takes centre stage in England's back yard


Australia is walking into a cricketing storm of aggression unlike anything they've experienced in an Ashes series since 1932 — albeit of a very different, and more entertaining, kind.
In the infamous Bodyline series England developed questionable yet perfectly legal tactics to nullify the greatest batter the world has ever seen in Don Bradman.
Now, a shade over 90 years later, England has harnessed a tactical shift of a completely different kind that it hopes will translate into Ashes success.
Bazball is the word on everyone's lips heading into this Ashes series — despite it's architect and namesake, England coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum describing the term as "silly".
Plenty has changed for England since it was comprehensively thumped 4-0 Down Under in 2021/22 — but not before it hit rock bottom with a 10-wicket defeat in Grenada to surrender a three-match Test series against the West Indies 1-0.
That left England bottom of the World Test Championship, with just one Test win in 17 matches and five Test series without a victory for the first time in 145 years.



Yup, English

Couple of silly wickets on a road

Three down on a very straight forward wicket... The Convicts started poorly then bowled better, but nothing above average, imho. The Convicts will feel good having done sweet FA...

That's a 400+ 1st innings pitch; doubt England will get there now.

A session and a half in and already predicting a win.
Iove the English optimism.

A maiden and two quick wickets changes momentum.

5/176

Rain delay. Of course.

It;s been a great start to the Ashes, honours even so far.

Evenly poised at the moment and the next hours play should determine who ends the day with the upper hand.

Stumps with very little play today due to the poor weather.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring the Sun God.

The Aussies slightly ahead and the first hours play will be very important.

Poms 28/2 second innings . . . much better

Day 4 is now critical. If the poms are held to 220 or so it’s the Aussies game to win. If the Bazzball gets going and the belt out 350 or so, we’re screwed on a turning pitch.

of course the caveat here is the English weather.

The whole thing about 'Bazball' is that it's a win-all, lose-all game - kind of like 50s or 20s.

Originally Posted by panama hat

The whole thing about 'Bazball' is that it's a win-all, lose-all game - kind of like 50s or 20s.

I think it's a little more nuanced than that. It's about doing the unexpected, about not sweating the small stuff.

Here's an unexpected field for Khawaja...and it worked!

Originally Posted by DrWilly

of course the caveat here is the English weather.

It's forecast to rain on and off all day on day 5.

And Moeen may well not be able to bowl.

Had to laugh when Morgan and Pietersen agreed yesterday morning that there was zero chance of a draw.

Fortunately my feed doesn’t feature Morgan and Pietersen commentating. Instead I get Tubby and Ponters.

Moeen bowled more overs on day 3 than he had on the previous 12 months. Blisters now and cricket will be the worse if he cannot bowl. But then the Aussies might win too, so silver lining and all that.

The Convicts have a lot of good players, feels like they have a better team, but tactically we've been better thusfar. Crap bowling by the Convicts, and looked like we might be on our way - then the rain came; the rain is supposed to help us, not them...

Maybe some rain clouds and general cloud cover for part of the day today - should help the Convicts bowling a lot. I hope for clear skies. Tomorrow looks like it could be mostly rained out? Maybe the English weather will fuk up what could have been a great test?

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

the rain is supposed to help us, not them...

The rain certainly was not England's friend yesterday.