Ashes 2023
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@NTA said in Ashes 2023:
@MN5 said in Ashes 2023:
Oz let down ( again ) by not having one of their guys go on to a hundred which would have seen them home.
I think the batting performances are about as disappointing as the bowling, TBH.
To sound like a miserable prick: we played like shit for long stretches of this series and still come away with the urn.
The tactics in the field were mystifying. The batting was often rash and denied us more runs. The bowling was too often inconsistent and looked like there was no plan. In short: we played into England's hands a lot of the time.
And we failed ourselves in the field at the last post - Warner dropped a simple slips catch. Carey shells a basic take to let Brook go score another 70.
There will be a bit of chat about the ball being changed to something not wholly resembling what was out there to start the day. Suddenly the swing was back and three quick wickets followed. But we should expect swing in England anyway.
For me, the series will have memories of bowlers being forced into long spells of Bodyline-ish behaviour because the wickets were often rubbish. There will be those who say Bazball is a revelation and produces results, but ultimately it was proven to be no better than any other approach to Test cricket.
If a couple of our middle order put away their hazy swings at rubbish balls, we win that game comfortably.
EDIT: Oh yeah and the fact we lost our greatest off spinner of all time to injury part way through the series. That hurt a bit.
Not a bad summation, certainly from an antipodean viewpoint. From an English viewpoint I sort of feel I could copy and paste much of that, just change the odd name. We even lost our (currently) best spinner, effectively. Truth is, it was an extremely close series between two ok-ish teams with the differences being, not so much a guy stepping up and influencing things, more that certain guys underperformed when it was important. Great, dramatic sport though.
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@Catogrande said in Ashes 2023:
@NTA said in Ashes 2023:
@MN5 said in Ashes 2023:
Oz let down ( again ) by not having one of their guys go on to a hundred which would have seen them home.
I think the batting performances are about as disappointing as the bowling, TBH.
To sound like a miserable prick: we played like shit for long stretches of this series and still come away with the urn.
The tactics in the field were mystifying. The batting was often rash and denied us more runs. The bowling was too often inconsistent and looked like there was no plan. In short: we played into England's hands a lot of the time.
And we failed ourselves in the field at the last post - Warner dropped a simple slips catch. Carey shells a basic take to let Brook go score another 70.
There will be a bit of chat about the ball being changed to something not wholly resembling what was out there to start the day. Suddenly the swing was back and three quick wickets followed. But we should expect swing in England anyway.
For me, the series will have memories of bowlers being forced into long spells of Bodyline-ish behaviour because the wickets were often rubbish. There will be those who say Bazball is a revelation and produces results, but ultimately it was proven to be no better than any other approach to Test cricket.
If a couple of our middle order put away their hazy swings at rubbish balls, we win that game comfortably.
EDIT: Oh yeah and the fact we lost our greatest off spinner of all time to injury part way through the series. That hurt a bit.
Not a bad summation, certainly from an antipodean viewpoint. From an English viewpoint I sort of feel I could copy and paste much of that, just change the odd name. We even lost our (currently) best spinner, effectively. Truth is, it was an extremely close series between two ok-ish teams with the differences being, not so much a guy stepping up and influencing things, more that certain guys underperformed when it was important. Great, dramatic sport though.
Edit: anyway. Four more years. 😀
Or however many it is. It’s the sentiment that counts.
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Cummins or Broad? Who’s at No.3? Wisden’s Team of the 2023 Ashes
The 2023 Ashes series reached a thrilling conclusion at the Kia Oval, as Stuart Broad took the final two Australia wickets late on day five to ensure the series finished 2-2. Here’s Wisden’s combined team of the series.You can bet on the 2023 Ashes with our Match Centre partners, bet365.
Eight Poms and only three Aussies.
Hmmmm….
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Given they stress quite a few marginal calls in a close series, not that much of a stretch. But I do dislike these combined teams. It is only ever some bloke’s opinion or even worse, a committee opinion and just put out there as an outrage multiplier.
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Oh. And Stuart Broad. Imagine the conversation in ten years time.
Dad, what was the last ball you faced in cricket? Well son, I hit it for 6 to help my country win an Ashes Test.
OK Dad what about the last ball you ever bowled in cricket? Well son, I took a wicket to ensure my country won an Ashes Test.
Some story.
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@Catogrande said in Ashes 2023:
Given they stress quite a few marginal calls in a close series, not that much of a stretch. But I do dislike these combined teams. It is only ever some bloke’s opinion or even worse, a committee opinion and just put out there as an outrage multiplier.
It’s certainly not a Sean Fitzpatrick “I wouldn’t pick a single Australian in a combined team” Clanger like back in 2003 but still…..
If you actually sit down and analyse it maybe it’s correct.
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England were kissed on the dick with the conditions this whole series. It always seemed they go to bowl at the best times. That first hour last night was like the first hour of day 1, there was swing and excessive seam movement. Throw in a bit of variable bounce and it looked a fucking nightmare to bat on.
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if you are a box score guy then England can lay claim to being short changed. They have the better stats across the series. Their batsmen scored more, their bowlers took more for less. But that's test cricket, sometimes the "when" matters even more than the "how many".
Going forward they can say they are in a better spot as well. There are a few guys in that Aus lineup coming to the end. And some of the guys who will stay need to re-evaluate their game a bit (loose bus change i am looking square at you).
Flat decks and shit balls have certainly helped England. Lets see how it looks when/if the Duke balls return to their old quality.
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@Donsteppa said in Ashes 2023:
Given how close the margins were throughout the series, it's tempting to think England might have won if their former wicketkeeper Coach had picked Ben Foakes instead of Ron Weasley.
Agree. For me it all went wrong in that first test match.
Like @mariner4life said the stats stack up in the Poms favour in all the key areas. But the dropped catches at critical moments in the first test was where this series was lost for England.
Also I’m all for the ‘no one wins the Ashes unless they win’ category. Let the urn sit there until it is actually won. Would welcome that for the Bledisloe too. Brings something extra to the contest I reckon.
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@MajorPom said in Ashes 2023:
Occasional Excellent offensive and defensive play across the series between the best team and the form team in global cricket.
but a collapse was always on the cards whoever was batting despite the bowling in the main being a bit meh.
Some good performances but despite the quality of the contest I still maintain the quality oif the cricket wqs below par especially for the best team and the form team in global cricket.
It was almost akin to a contest to see who could throw away the urn.
No batsman managed more than one century and / or 3 50's. That suggests a collectively awesome bowling performance except it wasn't.
I love the Ashes but I think this was one of the poorer series from a quality performance perspective
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I'd agree with that. I don't know how many people walk away with their reputations improved - maybe Harry Brook, Mitch Marsh, Ben Duckett?
But the overall performance of the great players was unimpressive. Root, Stokes, Smith, Marnus, Cummins and Broad all had moments but the series was crying out for one of them to stand up and stamp their credentials as Smith did in 2019.
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@barbarian said in Ashes 2023:
I'd agree with that. I don't know how many people walk away with their reputations improved - maybe Harry Brook, Mitch Marsh, Ben Duckett?
But the overall performance of the great players was unimpressive. Root, Stokes, Smith, Marnus, Cummins and Broad all had moments but the series was crying out for one of them to stand up and stamp their credentials as Smith did in 2019.
On the other side of the coin, the pressure to perform, the wanting to win at all costs can get to any player no matter their record/past exploits - and I love that. It not only makes for enthralling watching but it makes those moments - the century, the big spell, the fast RR - even more important.
I reckon the likes of Woakes and Wood made a real impact and with the way cricket is these days with the various forms and packed schedule, the pinch hitter(s) being bought into a side mid-series will become more important
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@barbarian said in Ashes 2023:
I'd agree with that. I don't know how many people walk away with their reputations improved - maybe Harry Brook, Mitch Marsh, Ben Duckett?
But the overall performance of the great players was unimpressive. Root, Stokes, Smith, Marnus, Cummins and Broad all had moments but the series was crying out for one of them to stand up and stamp their credentials as Smith did in 2019.
You’ve gotta mention Crawley, he had a terrific series !
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it's funny how no one talks about Khawaja despite him scoring the most runs in the series and averaging 50, while opening the batting in England.
I think, given all the chat about "bazball" a strikerate of 39 is seen as failing. But he faced damn near 1,300 balls, which you love your opener to do, let alone top your run scoring. I would say he exceeded his KPIs
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@Donsteppa said in Ashes 2023:
Given how close the margins were throughout the series, it's tempting to think England might have won if their former wicketkeeper Coach had picked Ben Foakes instead of Ron Weasley.
Dropped Catches
The Root of all problems
