Story Behind Enemy Lines - An Ashes Cricket Story

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 1 AUGUST 2019

2019 Ashes, 1st Test - Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Tea Day 1​

Spoiler

England v Australia, Series Tied 0-0

Australia 1st innings - 244-2, 60.0 overs, U.Khawaja 109*, B.Stokes 10-1-34-1

​

Michael Atherton: “If you’re an England fan, it might be a good idea to look away now! 132 runs, zero wickets, and Australia are now in a very healthy position to justify their decision to bat first after this morning’s toss.”

David Lloyd: “Well, I’m not sure anyone expected this. England look out of ideas, and we’re only at tea on day 1! The seamers are getting some tonk, and where’s Moeen Ali? He must have cut in front of Joe Root in the queue at lunch or stood on his toes as he’s not had a sniff during that session, it’s like he’s forgotten he’s out there.”

Shane Warne: “You’re right Bumble. It’s not like it’s going to turn a load, but it’s something different at the very least. As a spinner you can work with that. Vary the line, little bit of pace, bounce, or take a bit off, you can still make things happen. England have plugged away with the same thing all session and got the same result.”

MA: “It’s been masterful from Patterson and Khawaja, let’s see how they did it.”

MA: “If we thought that the morning session was fast going, Australia went at 4.4 runs an over during the afternoon.”

SW: “Let’s not forget they’ve got two settled guys out in the middle that are seeing it like a beach ball, that always helps, but I’m just disappointed in Joe Root and England. They have looked very one dimensional and they’ve paid the price. Australia will be looking to go big from here.”

DL: “Spot on from Shane. If you look as Usman’s wagon wheel, he’s been given the bread and butter on the pads to keep the scoreboard ticking, then there have been big opportunities to score on the off side. And he’s taken those opportunities to hurt England. Patterson has done the same through point and cover. It’s no surprise both have made it to triple digits.”

MA: “Anderson, 15 overs, 1-78, and Broad, 16 overs 0-77. Are those numbers as bad as they seem?”

DL: “It’s hard to argue with them. If they were both finding the edge and leaking runs through the slips down to third man, you can understand it. But they’re both getting slapped around and don’t have an answer. I don’t think any shot stood out more in that regard than Patterson rocking onto the back foot on 86. He carted Broad over cover with almost a forehand tennis shot, zero respect. And to be honest, the English bowlers have got what they deserved.”

SW: “England’s seamers are a combined 55 overs, 227-2. Curran and Stokes have looked more lively, but that’s not going to get it done. Joe Root needs to get Moeen Ali into the attack after tea and get his seamers bowling to a plan. At the minute it’s bleak for them.”

MA: “Thanks David, and Shane. It’s all Australia at the moment and the atmosphere has gone off the boil somewhat here in Birmingham. England will be hoping these fans have a little more to cheer in the day’s final session.”

 

[Mitchell]

Hey mate just for the future I reckon you should try and use the stadiums from the academy waste and couple of those did a real good job

 

[Rumple43]

Hey mate just for the future I reckon you should try and use the stadiums from the academy waste and couple of those did a real good job

I have some of them downloaded as I’ve always found them to be pretty spot on. I figured with Birmingham Arena being an on-disk stadium it’d be fairly accurate though.

I’m pretty sure the Lords I found for the 2nd Test wasn’t that accurate, has video screens at one end rather than any kind of media centre. I’ll try pay more attention to it going forward.

 

[Mitchell]

I have some of them downloaded as I’ve always found them to be pretty spot on. I figured with Birmingham Arena being an on-disk stadium it’d be fairly accurate though.

I’m pretty sure the Lords I found for the 2nd Test wasn’t that accurate, has video screens at one end rather than any kind of media centre. I’ll try pay more attention to it going forward.

Ok yeh fair enough I reckon the academy one are better tbh than the on disc the Edgebaston is spot on from the academy tbh except kia oval

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 1 AUGUST 2019

2019 Ashes, 1st Test - Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Close Day 1​

Spoiler

England v Australia, Series Tied 0-0

Australia 1st innings - 362-4, 90.0 overs, K.Patterson 177*, B.Stokes 15-1-52-2

​

Nasser Hussain: “Without question, round 1 goes to Australia as this Ashes summer gets underway. For all England’s momentum, Justin Langer’s side have stood firm and can be pleased with their efforts.”

Michael Atherton: “The shot making went up a notch this evening. Perhaps too much so, especially from Khawaja who paid the price. He was nearly out immediately after tea going down the ground, and he eventually found Buttler with a shot he didn’t really need to play.”

David Lloyd: “Live by the sword, die by the sword. The big question now is how will this pitch play when England get a go? You see it time and again that one side makes a big total and then the team going second folds. Expectation, fatigue, the confidence isn’t there and the wickets tumble. England aren’t in a good place at the moment, and they have a lot more work to do tomorrow. It might not have been a strenuous day with the conditions, but giving up that many runs for so few wickets makes those legs a little bit heavier come tomorrow morning.”

NH: “Let’s recap that final session before we catch up with Australia’s man of the day Kurtis Patterson.”

NH: “Kurtis, pleasure to have you here. How did that feel?”

KP: “It was fantastic. We spoke after the toss, Tim got us all together and said we needed to take this one by the scruff of the neck. Nobody was going to hand it to us and most thought we’d struggle. It’s pleasing to make runs, and credit to Uzzie for his knock as well. It’s been a good day.”

NH: “And a word on that England bowling attack, you handled it very comfortably.”

KP: “I don’t know about that, they’re still a world-class unit, especially in these conditions. The pitch played well today with the sun shining and we were able to enjoy the best of it. The boys in the dressing room are under no illusions that this is job done, but we’re enjoying it for what it is and tomorrow we’ll go again.”

NH: “Thanks Kurtis and well done today. Michael, David, where do these two sides go from here and what have we learned after day 1?”

MA: “If you’re Australia, you’re delighted. They have some inexperienced guys, who for the most part will have settled the nerves and for Patterson in particular, they’ve made good runs. Australia will want to go as big as they can from here. If you’re England, you just have to regroup and winning the first session tomorrow is vital. We’re expecting a bit more cloud tomorrow so grabbing some early wickets will be key.”

DL: “We called it at tea when Shane Warne was here, get Moeen involved and he duly delivered. It wasn’t a big ripper to get Khawaja, it looked like the top spinner and he did him in the air. One brings two, as they say, and Travis Head never looked all that comfortable. Well done to Ben Stokes as he deserved that on a day where he's had little to cheer about. Patterson looks some player and he deserved his 150, who knows how much further he’ll go tomorrow.”

MA: “One thing to note is that for all the crashing about Australia did today, they showed some grit to lock it down in the last 10 overs once England got the new ball. 31 runs between overs 80 to 90, that was Australia pumping the brakes a little and knowing they can play a different way if needed. That doesn’t bode well for Joe Root’s side. If Australia grind out the first hour tomorrow, they’ll be set with the shine coming off the ball and hoping to score quickly once again.”

NH: “That’s all from us on Day 1 here in Birmingham. If you’re an Australia fan, you’ll sleep well tonight and hope for more of the same tomorrow. England need to make something happen in this game, and fast. Join us tomorrow to see if they can do just that.”

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 1 AUGUST 2019

Page 1

Spoiler

Page 2

Spoiler

 

[jackshazza]

So can't wait for day 2 it is great to see the Aussies are on top but we know this game can change in a heartbeat.

 

[Rumple43]

Should have it up early next week

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 2 AUGUST 2019

2019 Ashes, 1st Test - Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Lunch Day 2​

Spoiler

England v Australia, Series Tied 0-0

Australia 1st innings - 487-7, 121.0 overs, K.Patterson 232*, B.Stokes 24-1-90-4

​

Nasser Hussain: “England have managed to make some progress after the morning session of day two, but Australia have had no problem maintaining their aggressive scoring to put up another 100+ runs in the session. It could have been a lot better for the hosts though, and I’ve got a pair of Michael’s here to break down the action, Mr Atherton and Mr Slater.”

Michael Atherton: “England aren’t helping themselves, and its only Australia that have let them have a sniff in the session. At 375-4, Stokes drops an absolute dolly at slip and you just can’t do that when you need wickets. From there, Patterson moves past 200, Paine goes past 50 and there’s an extra 50 runs on the board before Paine finally nicks through to Bairstow.”

Michael Slater: “Yeah, I mean England took a couple of late wickets, but they dropped Stoinis as well. At least that didn’t cost as many runs before he holed out to fine leg. All in all, I think Australia will be happy with their work once again. More importantly for me watching that session, England have found the edge on more than one occasion but the ball hasn't often found a fielder. If this pitch does a little more than it did yesterday, and Australia have 500 runs on the board already, England could be in for a tough time when they do get bat."

NH: “Let’s take a look at this morning’s play.”

NH: “What do you make of the Australian approach in their innings so far? It’s been up-tempo from the get go and didn’t stop this morning either.”

MS: “I like it. They know what they want to do and they’ve decided what sort of team they want to be on this tour, or in this match at least. They might be frustrated that they lost a couple of cheap wickets late on, Cummins in particular, but sometimes that’s something you just have to accept.”

MA: “The Cummins wicket was a bad one. You get the feeling he was going to try and smash the ball over cover regardless and it just wasn’t there to be hit. But Patterson is still in and he has been truly impressive regardless of what England have tried.”

NH: “Is there anything that is going to slow him down? Perhaps just running out of team mates to bat with at the other end?!”

MS: “He’s not made many mistakes and the runs keep on coming. He’s doing everything right, his footwork looks great, he’s getting on top of the bowlers and at times treating them with absolute distain, it makes for fantastic viewing. He looked good yesterday, but he looks even better today.”

MA: “If you’re England, you already know the chance to get this one under control has gone. All they can hope is that they’re batting before the end of this session. If that’s the case, they’ll still need to make sure they apply themselves. They’re getting beaten with the ball, if they fold with the bat, it would be a major blow and pretty much game over for this test match.”

NH: “I couldn’t agree more. Thanks to the pair of you, and let’s get back to the action. England need three more wickets to wrap up this Australia first innings, but the Aussies will be doing everything in their power to bat for as long as possible.”

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 2 AUGUST 2019

 

[Dutch]

Forgot to ask: are you still using your pitch modifier settings during this story?

 

[Rumple43]

I am, so the pitch will change day to day. I may do a little variation from the numbers in the original thread, just so everything isn't always completely the same (bit more spin later, or less seam etc) but they're the settings I'm using.

 

[Dutch]

I am, so the pitch will change day to day. I may do a little variation from the numbers in the original thread, just so everything is always completely the same (bit more spin later, or less seam etc) but they're the settings I'm using.

Okay: I will revisit that thread and sort out the Numbers in my own game....day three for me!

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 2 AUGUST 2019

2019 Ashes, 1st Test - Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Tea Day 2​

Spoiler

England v Australia, Series Tied 0-0

Australia 1st innings - 547, 133.0 overs, K.Patterson 268, B.Stokes 29-1-109-4

England 1st innings - 60-3, 16.0 overs, J.Bairstow 25*, M.Starc 6-0-20-1

​

Michael Atherton: “Much to discuss after an action packed session here at Edgbaston. Unfortunately for England, that was perhaps the worst case scenario as things go from bad to worse. Let’s get the thoughts of a couple of guys who know a thing or two about Ashes cricket, Michael Vaughan and Shane Warne.”

Michael Vaughan: “Well, what can you say at this point? We’ve just watched Australia dominate the best part of a day and a half. They’ve rattled off nearly 550 runs in quick time, made England look ordinary, and in the space of an hour or so before tea they’ve put the cat amongst the pigeons with the ball. Starc and Hazelwood look hungry, they want to rip through this England team now.”

Shane Warne: “Dream stuff for the visitors. This is exactly what they will have wanted coming to the ground this morning. Patterson kept going and the other guys batted around him for the first half of the day. Now they get a chance with the ball and it’s already doing a little bit."

MA: “Here’s what you’ve missed if you’re just tuning in, it isn’t pretty viewing for England fans!”

MA: “Before we get onto the horror show with the bat from England, Michael can you give us your thoughts on Kurtis Patterson after that wonderful innings?”

MV: “It was a thing of beauty, what more can you say? Coming in fairly early on day 1 of an Ashes test match, in England where we all know it can move around off the surface. To still be there over a day later with so many runs to his name, it’s one of the great knocks for me. The runs will be important, of course, but I think the tone and the intent will have hurt those England bowlers a lot more. They looked beaten and we’re only one innings into the first test!”

SW: “I know looking at the papers back home he’s being hailed as somewhat of a cult hero. The Ashes haven’t been kind to us over in these parts for some time now so the chance to do some celebrating, and a really big score, that’s gone down as well as you’d imagine. Well done to the fella.”

MA: “And lots more to cheer for Australians as that session wore on Michael?”

MV: “England haven’t had the discipline that Australia had. Burns got a decent one from Hazelwood, flashed at it four balls in, but did he need to do it? He certainly went hard. Joe Denly got a jaffa from Starc, not much to do there, but it he was still out driving the ball. The less said about Dawid Malan, the better.”

MA: “What did you make of that one Shane? It looked extraordinary!”

SW: “Look, you’d need to speak to the guy himself as to what was going through his head, but I think it was just nerves. Malan knows he needs some runs after the selectors have turned to him again. They’re already 1 down, the situation isn’t great chasing such a big total. He goes to work one to leg and maybe feels he’s got plenty on it and calls for a single. I’d imagine he just didn’t know where the ball had gone, got a little jumpy, and it’s some quick work from Khawaja to send him on his way.”

MA: “That’s all we’ve got time for in the tea break, let’s see if this can get any better for England or if the slide will continue into the early evening.”

 

[Rumple43]

Ashes 2019 - 2 AUGUST 2019