The Ashes (Australia tour of England)

[wasteyouryouth]

Oh no.

 

[Dutch]

Oh no oh no! That might be that!

 

[Ed Smith]

And that's the game

 

[Dutch]

Cummins is bowling really really well it has to be said, throughout this whole series

 

[Dutch]

He walked as well, Lets not forget that. Legend!

 

[Aislabie]

You could fill the other nine places with literally anyone and if a team had Cummins and Smith it'd still be difficult to beat.

For example:

Shahriar Hossain
Mehrab Hossain
Habibul Bashar
Steve Smith
Akram Khan
Al Sahariar
Naimur Rahman
Khaled Mashud
Mohammad Rafique
Pat Cummins
Ranjan Das

There they are in Bangladesh's first ever Test team, and honestly if Bashar, Khan and Sahariar can stick around with Smith, and Rafique and Rahman can bowl enough overs to break up Cummins' spells, that'd probably win you a Test match.

 

[Croadyman]

Such a shame that we haven't been able to call on Jimmy in this series,we have missed that third bowling option badly at crucial times.

I agree with people who say that Sam Curran is very unlucky not to have played at all in this series,still wish we could find a rapid left armer.[DOUBLEPOST=1567946799][/DOUBLEPOST]So annoying how the aussies line and length is superb compared to ours which is far too short most of the time.

 

[Bevab]

I agree with people who say that Sam Curran is very unlucky not to have played at all in this series,still wish we could find a rapid left armer.

Not really sure why you think a left arm quickie would solve this attack’s issues, India and South Africa have both got world class pace bowling attacks and yet do not have a single good left armer for test matches in their arsenal. The only ones I can think of who would fit your bill currently are

• Starc, who is an overrated test bowler with accuracy and consistency issues.
• Shaheen Afridi, an exciting talent but still very raw and has consistency issues himself.
• Boult, the best left arm pacer in the world at the moment but he is most definitely not ‘rapid’.
• The Fizz, who isn’t even trusted by his own management to play multiple tests without breaking down or to play on pitches and in conditions that have no help for pacers in addition to him not being ‘rapid’ either.
• EDIT: missed out on Neil Wagner, who is a really useful left armer. But then, he is just one of a kind. A very unique player.

The issues with the current English bowling lineup I can see are

• Their best bowler is injured and similar bowlers are either unfit (Woakes) or injured (Gregory) too. In addition, other bowlers who could have had a chance like Wood and Stone are also injured.
• For all his potential and the excitement around him, Archer is still playing in his first test series and it shows in the occasional poor delivery that he bowls.
• The lack of a good spinner. Leach to me is a serviceable spinner but he has only bowled for long (compared to his teammates) only on two occasions in the entire series while Lyon is consistently up there as the bowler with the most overs for his side by far. Not to mention Lyon’s much better control and economy rate. This in turn means the quicker bowlers have to bowl more leading to increased fatigue and errors creeping in.
• Finally, tactics as you have mentioned. Root has just resorted to the bouncer tactic whenever his Plan A hasn’t worked and has constantly overworked all of his quick bowlers, with Archer and Broad particularly feeling the brunt of it.

 

[Bevab]

The Indian fans love Sam Curran don’t they. He’s decent but I’d have woakes over him every time. No idea why he didn’t play this test though!

Nobody’s advocating for the selection of Curran over Woakes as far as I know. But if I had to make a choice between Curran and Overton, give me Curran any day of the week. Even if his domestic record isn’t great, the lad has the tenacity and big game mentality that this English side sorely lacks in addition to his already well known impressive performances a year ago.

 

[zimrahil]

The Stokes miracle last test is masking a poor series for England.....

 

[Jalen]

Paine rotates Marnus and Head for a few overs to get Starc on from a different end and immediately gets a wicket. Great captaincy and great bowling. The urn is coming home!

 

[Dutch]

The Stokes miracle last test is masking a poor series for England.....

Exactly!

 

[Dutch]

I dont think England ever recovered from having them 122 for 8 on the very first day

 

[Jalen]

I dont think England ever recovered from having them 122 for 8 on the very first day

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Obviously this game isn't over and England could still draw the series at The Oval. But like everyone says it would just mask the issues, as did the fortunate 4-1 win over India and a very good win in Sri Lanka, albeit against a weak side. They were exposed by the West Indies, by Ireland and once again here. South Africa and New Zealand bowlers will be licking their lips at this batting unit.

Think it might be time for a new chief selector and captain, as well as the new coach. Because unless Joe Root decides to drop his mates I feel there will be little change.