Ashes 2019
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And while I'm here, I'm going out on a limb to say I like having names on the back of test shirts.
I just like knowing who the players are when they move about the field. Within a second of turning on the TV I know the bowler and the non-striking batsman. And then if someone is moving in the field I know who they are, rather than having to decipher that fact based off their gait and/or height and/or prominent tattoos or birth marks.
And I don't think they look that bad. I can take or leave the numbers, but the names should stay.
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@barbarian said in Ashes 2019:
And while I'm here, I'm going out on a limb to say I like having names on the back of test shirts.
I just like knowing who the players are when they move about the field. Within a second of turning on the TV I know the bowler and the non-striking batsman. And then if someone is moving in the field I know who they are, rather than having to decipher that fact based off their gait and/or height and/or prominent tattoos or birth marks.
And I don't think they look that bad. I can take or leave the numbers, but the names should stay.
Same here.
How good is it having Smith back to watch bat. I could watch him all day.
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The worm is in England's head. Their psyche is invaded. Smith's ubiquity is already a feature of this series after four days of one Ashes test. When one of your bowlers [Chris Woakes] comes off the field and asks a BBC radio crew: "Do you have any ideas?" you can be sure plans for removing the finest test batsman of his generation are running low.
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@barbarian said in Ashes 2019:
And while I'm here, I'm going out on a limb to say I like having names on the back of test shirts.
I just like knowing who the players are when they move about the field. Within a second of turning on the TV I know the bowler and the non-striking batsman. And then if someone is moving in the field I know who they are, rather than having to decipher that fact based off their gait and/or height and/or prominent tattoos or birth marks.
And I don't think they look that bad. I can take or leave the numbers, but the names should stay.
Not sure about that. Test Cricket is a slow enough sport to have the luxury of taking time to see who is batting or bowling.
I also don't consider an individual fielder anywhere near as important as the batsman or bowler. I personally couldn't care less who is out in the deep, on the boundary or whatever. Being a great fielder is a bonus, it doesn't get you in the team on it's own.
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I reckon England will be a rabble by the end of the series.
Apparently Edgbaston is an Aussie bogeyground, plus the miracle of an England opener scoring a century. In fact both Root and Burns in the top 3 lay a good platform for the hard-hands brigade below them to cash in. This was a golden chance for England ... countered by the Anderson injury admittedly ... but they'll only be fighting for a draw on day 5.
By the 5th test, I reckon only 5 or 6 of these England players may be remaining.
That's my balls-out call.
For this above to be true rabble proportions, then I upgrade my 3-1 prediction to 4-0. This was England's "1".
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@MN5 said in Ashes 2019:
@barbarian said in Ashes 2019:
And while I'm here, I'm going out on a limb to say I like having names on the back of test shirts.
I just like knowing who the players are when they move about the field. Within a second of turning on the TV I know the bowler and the non-striking batsman. And then if someone is moving in the field I know who they are, rather than having to decipher that fact based off their gait and/or height and/or prominent tattoos or birth marks.
And I don't think they look that bad. I can take or leave the numbers, but the names should stay.
Not sure about that. Test Cricket is a slow enough sport to have the luxury of taking time to see who is batting or bowling.
I also don't consider an individual fielder anywhere near as important as the batsman or bowler. I personally couldn't care less who is out in the deep, on the boundary or whatever. Being a great fielder is a bonus, it doesn't get you in the team on it's own.
Yep. However did the poor luvies survive when they had to wait a minute to see the scorecard. Pure torture.
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@Rapido said in Ashes 2019:
I reckon England will be a rabble by the end of the series.
You just wonder what impact the World Cup win has had on the psyche of this team. Is the fire really burning?
I'm still not ready to make any predictions about the series as a whole, as England have really only had one bad day. At 8/122 on the first day it would have been fair to say the Poms were looking like romping it home, so things can change quite quickly.
I would say the addition of Joffra Archer in place of Jimmy Anderson will change the complexion of the England attack.
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@NTA said in Ashes 2019:
@Donsteppa said in Ashes 2019:
How good is that from Steve Smith? The ultimate way to return to Tests.
This is actually 25 now, but still...
More remarkable in that his first couple of years were pretty lean as he was finding his "potential" IIRC
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@Siam said in Ashes 2019:
@NTA said in Ashes 2019:
@Donsteppa said in Ashes 2019:
How good is that from Steve Smith? The ultimate way to return to Tests.
This is actually 25 now, but still...
More remarkable in that his first couple of years were pretty lean as he was finding his "potential" IIRC
Didn't he start in the team as a specialist spinner?
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@KiwiPie said in Ashes 2019:
@Hooroo Not sure he was a specialist spinner but definitely he came in as an all-rounder down the order - luckily he can bat quite well as his bowling is shite.
He was looking like the next Cameron white at the start
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@mariner4life said in Ashes 2019:
@KiwiPie said in Ashes 2019:
@Hooroo Not sure he was a specialist spinner but definitely he came in as an all-rounder down the order - luckily he can bat quite well as his bowling is shite.
He was looking like the next Cameron white at the start
Cameron White, Cameron White, he bats OK but his bowling's shite.
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@KiwiPie said in Ashes 2019:
@mariner4life said in Ashes 2019:
@KiwiPie said in Ashes 2019:
@Hooroo Not sure he was a specialist spinner but definitely he came in as an all-rounder down the order - luckily he can bat quite well as his bowling is shite.
He was looking like the next Cameron white at the start
Cameron White, Cameron White, he bats OK but his bowling's shite.
Were you in England for the final?
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@KiwiPie said in Ashes 2019:
@Hooroo Not sure he was a specialist spinner but definitely he came in as an all-rounder down the order - luckily he can bat quite well as his bowling is shite.
He’s certainly no Bradman but an average of 60 odd is fairly good I guess.
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Smith's performance in this test has been outstanding. Well done to him.
He is something of a conundrum for me.
If you compare Smith with Kohli and Williamson - probably the 3 best test batsmen at the moment - the fact that he is right up there is surprising.
Kohli and Williamson have great, classic technique.
Smith is a bag of fidgets, footwork that would have a school cricket coach pulling his hair out and a tendency to plant both pads square on plumb in front of the wickets. It looks like he has no right to be one of the best test batsmen currently. And yet he is. Kudos. -
@Billy-Webb I was just watching replay of his innings. It's bizarre. How does he get away with that shit?
Apart from a complete lack of his ability I would have had that crap knocked out of me by coaches before my teens.
