The Ashes (Australia tour of England)

[CerealKiller]

 

[Dutch]

What if the Aussies didn't have The Smithonator?


Edgbaston Tea: 122 for 8.....​

 

[wasteyouryouth]

The sheer consistency that Smith has shown at the test level is incredible. I have been fortunate to see some modern greats of the game in the recent past but I don't remember anyone scoring runs with this amount of consistency. I have seen all of the fab four (Smith, Kohli, Williamson, Root) now bat in every conditions and Smith and Kohli has scored runs everywhere they have went. However, with Kohli you can still feel that you can have him nick off early if you are bowling in that channel outside the off stump because he likes to keep the game moving and keep the scoreboard ticking. Therefore, you will get him to play at one that he shouldn't play at. Smith on the other hand will keep leaving those deliveries and is ready to grind it out if he has to. That is one main difference between Smith and Kohli and that is also the reason why Smith is best in test cricket at the moment.

Smith has that same temperament of a Dravid or Cook and is happy to grind it out. A lot of the other players will offer a glimmer of hope because they seem to need to get on top of the bowling. Smith will wait for his opportunity to cash in but also keep things ticking along.

I think it shows a little naivety in this England side in that they seemed to think, or at least tried to push the idea, that they'd found a chink in Smith's armour with short pitched fast bowling. Even if it was the case, you very the impression watching Smith, or listening to him talk about the game, that he'd see that as a challenge to overcome.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Overton is now bowling 75 mph dibbly dobblies!

 

[Dutch]

Overton is now bowling 75 mph dibbly dobblies!

More than adequate for Paine!

 

[LiveLoveABD]

The fact is that however great Smith well or may not be, England have been abject this series and no-one has taken responsibility apart from a few mad, do or die moments from Ben Stokes. We just ain't good enough: we cannot beat the Aussies away from home and we can't beat them at home in our own conditions.[DOUBLEPOST=1567697257][/DOUBLEPOST]
The three dropped chances have been systematic of an utter lack of confidence. There is a lot going on behind closed doors I am sure of and all this talk of "momentum" is utter crap. The only momentum is England sliding off the nearest cliff...

England can beat them in both places. No team currently in the world is dominant. I would go as far as to say, may be just may be, beating India in India is a fetch for any of the other teams. The problem with England is the reluctance to embrace all the formats. This crap has been happening for very long. In 2011, they just went all in with the Ashes in Australia and while it was a fantastic achievement, there was burn out visible in the World Cup. It's the opposite now. Right from the moment Bayliss was appointed, the lust for white ball excellence has been for one and all to see. Case in point- Jonny Bairstow- He wasn't playing white ball stuff because Hales was the regular opener and he was shaping up to be a complete batsman thanks to his red ball credentials. The bloke does have a decent technique. Suddenly, he becomes a white ball opener and now he doesn't want to let go off the gloves because he's scared that it would mean England would expect him to average 45+ and bat 4. Buttler shouldn't be in this side if he isn't keeping and I can't get my head around Woakes and Curran not playing and Overton playing. Changes for the heck of changes and no patience.

Jason Roy playing a test match against the best attack in the world? Give me a break! It's as bad as asking Cook to play white ball cricket which was the case until early 2011!

 

[Dutch]

I think one slight light point has been Jack Leach's inclusion: spinning it miles further than Ali can......

 

[Aalay]

Smith has that same temperament of a Dravid or Cook and is happy to grind it out. A lot of the other players will offer a glimmer of hope because they seem to need to get on top of the bowling. Smith will wait for his opportunity to cash in but also keep things ticking along.

I think it shows a little naivety in this England side in that they seemed to think, or at least tried to push the idea, that they'd found a chink in Smith's armour with short pitched fast bowling. Even if it was the case, you very the impression watching Smith, or listening to him talk about the game, that he'd see that as a challenge to overcome.

The thing with him is that there isn't any specific weakness that you can target upon. I guess you can try that line outside the off stump when he has just arrived at the crease but so far it hasn't been that successful. I think every opposition that he has played against has tried targeting his leg stump with leg slip because of is movement but he rarely misses and you can't keep bowling there for too long because that's his run scoring shot where he will keep hitting you off his pads. I guess the bouncer plan did sort of work for Archer in the second test match but for that you firstly need to have a fast bowler who can generate that speed and secondly a pitch which is quick enough to execute that plan. Again, he looked uncomfortable against Archer in that spell but he still didn't get out.

Indian fans have seen this side of Smith when he smashed four centuries in four matches when we toured Australia in 2014 and it never seemed like he would get out. However now watching him as a neutral, I am enjoying it but can definitely understand the frustration of English fans. Yes, you can plan all you want but sometimes the batsman is just too good and you can't really do anything other than applauding him.

 

[Willoughby63]

I think one slight light point has been Jack Leache's inclusion: spinning it miles further than Ali can......

I watched Moeen Ali play for Worcestershire down at The County Ground the other week and he batted alright once he got going, scoring 52. In his last 2 overs bowling however, he lost control completely and was hit all over the place. The thing that most surprised me though is that he didn’t seem to care about his team. As captain, he was making them do normal exercises, prior to just wandering around the outfield and then tapping the ball back to the coach. It was shocking

 

[Villain]

At least Overton got two crucial wickets.. Archer is wicketless same goes for Stokes leaking 6 runs an over(more than 10 overs till now).

Smith is absolutely brilliant, just too good.

 

[Dutch]

ha ha! Jason Gillespie on his twitter account!

"Well batted Smudge. Test double hundreds are never easy...."


Excellent.

 

[A.P Haux]

Steve smith! How well he has played this Ashes? Amazing, truely amazing.

 

[Dutch]

Ohh...Smith done over in the nervous low 200's!!!!!!

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Steve Smith's weakness: Joe Root's leg break.

 

[Dutch]

Steve Smith's weakness: Joe Root's leg break.

Only way to get him out: break his legs

The feckwits booing should be sentenced to being Boris Johnson's arse wiper......