Ashes 2023

Shame.

 

Just realistic, my friend .

 

Stokes went to a comprehensive.

 

Foakes in for who?

 

Great drama. TMS at work has been a lovely treat. Hopefully the remainder of the series is just as close and exciting.

 

Ollie 'cringer' Pope went to Cranleigh public school in the leafiest part of Surrey.

 

Yeah but your post implied they were all chinless public schoolboys. They are not, and they take their lead from s comp lad.

 

Yes but hope we don’t lose 5 close exciting games 0-5.

 

Stokes - Raised in New Zealand
Pope - Public Schoolboy
Ali - Raised in Pakistan
Anderson - Catholic college
Bairstow - Butter-fingered public schoolboy
Broad - Public schoolboy
Brook - Comprehensive. Fair enough
Creepy Crawley - Public schoolboy
Duckett - Public schoolboy
Robinson - Public schoolboy
Root - Comprehensive. Fair enough.

So that's out of 11, that's 6 public schoolboys, 2 overseas ringers, 1 catholic probably bullied by cruel nuns and still wetting the bed and only 2 normal people.

 

I stand corrected. The class system and dirty foreigners are to blame.

 

We were pretty unlucky, but we’d have the match wrapped up a long time ago if we didn’t drop a few very basic catches early on.

 

The fact that England aren’t using the home conditions to there advantage ( green top swinging pitches ) is absolutely crazy, and surprising it hasn’t been mentioned more.
You can want to play baz ball all you want but aussies literally **** themselves at a green top and England has taken that away…. from themselves

 

I'm not sure we'd want a load of Aussies literally shiṭting themselves.

It'd be the very devil to get the stains out of those white trousers afterwards.

 

Fabulous game of cricket. Don't mind the declaration as it gave us a chance of winning it and in fact we probably should have won it but fair play to Cummins and Lyon.
Next test I can see Wood coming for Anderson and would like Foakes in for Ali but can't see it. Bairstow has proved many times he's not good enough behind the stumps. Root can be the spinner as bowled well in this test

 

Ooooh I got the surly 'my friend' reposte

 

Yup, if Bairstow takes any of the 4-5 chances he missed England would have won .

Makes the Foakes omission rather glaring imo.

 

Id drop Pope who averages 36 and replace with Foakes who averages 33. Root can vice captain.

Play Stokes at 3 which he has the technique to do perfectly, keep Bairstow as batsmen at 6.

 

I'm never surly, and I even added a smily face.
You miserable horrible pile of dog 5hite...
...
...
.....

 

A fair proposal though we know they won't do it.
My friend.

 

Yep. No chance.

 

I think it is conceivable that Ali might not be fit enough, which might give this strategy a half chance although I bet we would then go with four seamers (incl Wood) plus Root. Both ploys rest a lot on Root who is adequate but not outstanding, although arguably he bowled better than Ali overall.

I'm fairly sure we would have won had Leach been fit. TMS bods were saying during the Ireland Test that he was the bowler we could least afford to lose.

And what was up with Jimmy?

 

We know they won’t do it as they’ve categorically said Foakes won’t be called up , but we were just debating solutions

 

England won or drew most of the sessions with the exception of the most important one at the end also our lack of a raw pace bowler who can blast out the tail was evident. Joffra is out for the series so hopefully Wood can play some part in future .

 

The bowling was very samey.

 

Not late enough maybe?

 

He won’t be called up for Lord’s as the squad for the first 2 games is what has been announced. However, if Bairstow has another mare they may have to rethink for the 3 later Tests…hopefully we won’t be 2-0 down!
If Stokes is not able to bowl at least 10 overs an innings at proper pace, then the whole balance of the team will have to be re-addressed, which is where we may see some more ‘creative’ thinking. Stokes at 3 or 5, Bairstow at 6, Foakes at 7 makes sense from a batting/keeping pov. We’d need to pick a FIT spinner and 3 seam bowlers, with Stokes and Root filling in with some overs to allow rest and rotation.
This would mean either Pope or Brooks missing out. Might depend on how they both go at Lord’s, although I feel Brooks has the greater long term potential as a destructive batsman. He also bowls a little nurdly medium pace that top line batsmen will NOT want to risk getting out to.

 

I was aware of this but is there really no scope to change the squad in light of injury?

 

I think they’ll initiate a ‘like for like’ change due to injury, so they may replace Ali or simply go with Root as a spinner in that instance.
I don’t think there’s any way they bring Foakes in unless Bairstow is himself injured.

 

Have a feeling this series will be his last. Comprehensively out bowled by Broad and Robinson. I think he will miss out on next test because the third one is at Headingley which suits him

 

Agree.

Trouble is if Bairstow has a mother mare we'll be 2 down and effectively out the contest.

 

Post-Lord’s, I’m still not totally convinced we won’t just rely on Root as spinner in which case both Brooks and Pope can stay, the top order stays as it is (don’t like the idea of Stokes at 3, would rather have Brooks if it comes to it) and Foakes can come in for Ali.

This would be risky but there aren’t really any other spinners clamouring to be selected.

As I have said, Leach is a big loss especially if the weather stays dry.

 

I love the way England play now. Disappointed to have lost the match, but I'm convinced the 'pre' Bazball side would have been comprehensively beaten. I'm looking forward to us going at Australia even harder in the next one. Agree with most that they really need to get Foakes in the team, although Bairstow has to stay for his batting so finding room for them all is a problem.

How I'd love to see their football counterparts have a maverick in charge and play to the teams strengths, instead of just looking great against the 3rd rate nations of the world before reverting to the dullard in charge's default as soon as they face any team inside the top ten in a knockout match.

 

Big Sam?

Or give it Lamps.

 

Don't forget the master tactician Steven Gerrard.