1st Test: England v Australia at Nottingham Jul 10-14, 2013

[shefellover93]

Wrote while watching the test today. Here's the results

A Batsman's Game?

 

[midgetwars]

For all of Clarke's super scores all of it has practically come from 3 down for not many not 2 down for not many. He specialises in saving the team. Why is he batting at 4? Get hughes there.

We no longer have a Clarke 5 Hussey 6 saving team, but a Clarke 5 Smith 6 may just work well.

Don't forget, Hussey was the guy that saved Australia in the first test in the Gabba where Siddle went nuts. He had Haddin as his partner.

 

[angryangy]

Smith is looking good but I don't see anything to worry about, a quick 50 or even 70 odd isn't worrying at this stage

I think you're overrating the size of 215.

 

[Griffo]

I have deemed this series worthy of a comeback to the forum!

I just read a tweet from Ian Bishop saying the exact same thing. Australian bowling was wayward apart from that second and third spell from Siddle. If England bowls less wayward, they have good enough bowling attack to restrict Australia to a lower score. Batting is Australia's weakness, not bowling. They are expected to do well in bowling because they still have very good fast bowlers but their batting is dodgy. I still don't understand why Australia did not select Ryan Harris and went with Mitchell Starc? Starc is a brilliant limited overs bowler but he is still not a good test bowler. As Shravi said, it is pretty much the same situation as it was on the first day of the first test in last ashes.

I totally agree with this although I don''t know what Bird has done to miss out. I see him as the future leader of our bowling attack but Harris would have been just as good. I feel Faulkner was in the mix if Harris or Bird played so they had a left handed option. Harris might have missed out due to how injury prone he has been of late.

The batting line up is also ridiculous... Cowan should be nowhere near the side, Hughes should be at three due to being weaker against spin and a stroke maker, Khawaja should be at four or five to come in and play a Damien Martyn like role and Warner & Smith is a toss up at six although I would prefer Warner if he had match practice.

 

[sifter132]

Interesting day. Some quick thoughts:
*Thought Siddle didn't really bowl that much better than Patto or Starc. Pete just got the chocolates.
*Loved that the Aussies pitched it up a lot. Yeah they got driven a fair bit, but certainly early it was just from good shots by Trott. Later there was some gifts to Bairstow.
*Not sure Aussies know how to bowl to Trott, particularly if his cover drive is working.
*I thought Anderson would have been positively deadly if he'd pitched it up more frequently. Every ball he bowled on a good length or shorter I was cheering.
*Not overly impressed by Agar. Has potential, but apart from some nice loop and good height, his bowling was pretty zipless to my eyes. Good fielder though, and apparently can bat too. We'll need him
*Interesting how England batsmen all got a start bar Prior, and yet the first 3 Aussies out didn't. Perhaps a lack of consistency in the Aussie bowling to really pry batsmen out early? We'll see if that trend continues...
*My call for Steven Smith to be in the side seems a good one now His technique is below average, I'm first to admit it. But I love the way he rotates the strike, pushing into the cover gap in particular to keep things moving. And I think he'll enjoy playing Swann over the series.
*Also thought Hughes looked solid. England had a clear plan to bowl very straight, but his footwork was tidy, and there was no jumping around - England fans would remember his 'cat on a hot tin roof' approach from previous series.
*Be interesting to see how conditions change if it's sunny today. Deficit is only 140, and ALL the Aussie tail can bat well. You'd have to think that they'd find 1 or 2 decent partnerships in the last 6 wickets if the conditions are good.

Good days play, Smith playing well, need him out quick. I like Straussy on sky btw, he seems a natural.

Thumbs up for Straussy for me too. Talks with a bit of recent experience which is handy, but he's a pretty smooth talker behind the mic - usually the problem for new commentators who aren't used to it. Anyone who explains why something is happening, rather than what should be happening gets my vote. ie. not guys who are always whinging about field placings, bowling options etc. How about explaining to viewers why the current ones might be being used???

 

[superfreddie]

Some great points there, I think trott was the only batsman I felt confident about yesterday, but England seem to start badly in every series these days. I think we will bat better second innings, but I'll start to worry if aus get a 50+ run lead. Btw, really like Smith, he's unorthodox but very effective, it was a good move by aus to bring him in.

 

[Griffo]

Regardless of the scores they are making surely Siddle is the number 11 in comparison to the rest of the tail.

 

[MattW]

So Australia should go with the reversed lineup for the second innings clearly.

 

[Epic]

Agar is making Hughes look the tailender here.

 

[NoLeName]

Enjoying watching Agar fearlessly play some shots, but gotta worry: if this is how we bat when we are only facing three bowlers, how terrible will we be against four?

 

[Griffo]

Gotta love when I am proven right

 

[Epic]

First number 11 in the history of Cricket to score a 50 on debut!

 

[MattW]

May as well just go on and make it an 87 then.

 

[aussie1st]

What a knock by Agar. This is the reason he was fast tracked, he is mature beyond his age and while his bowling was below par he showed some calmness at times and now well and truly showing it.

 

[HawkAussie]

Wow, just wow. Thank god this is not an Australian forum unlike another one I am on which at the moment has 4,240 posts