The Ashes 2017/2018

[crazyp]

Another Ashes series is upon us. Time for another rollercoaster of emotions, carnage (and maybe) some winning

The Aussies doing their best to start the series on the right note - by trash talking. Quite aggressively too I might add.

Personally I think both teams are pretty weak - one of the weakest Ashes in recent times? Especially in the batting department. Warner has had as many opening partners as Cook and their middle order is probably even softer than ours.

The Australian bowling is faster and deadlier (I don't think Anderson and especially Broad are that effective Down Under), but I cannot see how they will stay fit for all 5 Tests.

Thoughts Team?

[MrSmith]

I have to wonder why they persist with the trash talk? It's actually a bit embarrassing and the England team seem a bit bemused by it all, it just makes the bogans look very childish.
As for opening old wounds? As Cook pointed out 4 of the last 5 series have been australian defeats.
All out for 60 wasn't that long ago either.

I think if England don't lose their their way and keep pushing when those inevitable spells of pressure come from australia they might get something out of the series. I think the fact we bat deep is going to influence the result.
I'm hoping for a series draw and we retain the ashes.
And Nathan Lyon never plays another test.

[crazyp]

Totally agree with all that. Warner (out of all people!) was quite restrained and limited comments to Stokes letting his country down, which is a perfectly valid thing to say.

And as you say 4 of the last 5 wins were by England and THAT innings was not long ago either. Even without Stokes England are still in it. The one disappointment is an out and out 90+ miles bowler, but we generally don't have many of them either.

[Sweetwater]

Expat Aussie here. [Ducks head].

The pre-match sledging is just to placate the tabloid press, which tries to beat things up as a blood match. It's a little embarassing for all concerned, and I wouldn't pay much attention to it.

Anderson for some reason has a poor record in Oz (save some great spells in 2010-11), but Broad always bowls well there. The Australian attack is good but injury prone. Both batting orders are weak.

Should be a good series.

[Wolfie]

The Gabbatoire - I ask you…

[MrSmith]

Expat Aussie here. [Ducks head].

The pre-match sledging is just to placate the tabloid press

that's a piss poor excuse. these are supposedly adults playing a professional sport. some of the crap they they come out with is just ridiculous, if anything i see it as a sign of weakness.
i guess thats the bogan psyche, unsubtle, boorish and the biggest whingers on the planet. about time they realised it’s not the 1970’s any more.

that said, it’s part of what makes the Ashes so special, wouldn’t be the same if they suddenly started to show any decorum.

[Sweetwater]

that's a piss poor excuse. these are supposedly adults playing a professional sport. some of the crap they they come out with is just ridiculous, if anything i see it as a sign of weakness.
i guess thats the bogan psyche, unsubtle, boorish and the biggest whingers on the planet. about time they realised it’s not the 1970’s any more.

that said, it’s part of what makes the Ashes so special, wouldn’t be the same if they suddenly started to show any decorum.

Did I excuse it? I called it embarassing, which is what it is. Good to see you don't whinge, though.

It's better for all concerned to concentrate on the cricket.

[paulpsz008]

I've accidentally booked Thurs & Friday off work. Yay!!!

[MrSmith]

Did I excuse it?

no. but if thats the excuse from the players it's still a poor one, essentially i am agreeing with you.

i fully expect another whinge incident this series. my favourite apart from the sub fielder one is Ponting being absolutely livid about being taken off for the light without realising it was his team that asked to be taken off in the previous match which had therefore set the default light level for any subsequent match in the series.

[crazyp]

I wonder which established player will be 'retired' due to an Ashes series?

[clockwatcher]

I am willing England to do well, but I don't think they stand a chance. I predict they will win one test. The rest to the Aussies

[Neil.C]

Looking forward to it but I won't be staying up all night. Fortunately there is a highlights show next morning.

FWIW Lyon sounded a right dick.

Stokes has let everybody down just when we needed him.

[Backward point]

Nathan Lyon is yet another in a long line of failures to find a successor to Shane Warne.

To be honest, I struggle to raise much enthusiasm for this series. The absence of Ben Stokes, through his own stupidity, has robbed England of their current talisman, considered a worthy addition to the lineage of English all-rounders capable of turning not only a match, but an entire series. Without Stokes we're an unbalanced side, although still with a backbone of talent - Cook, Root, Bairstow, Buttler, Broad, Anderson, Ali all have the experience and ability to cause enough problems for what looks like a rather lightweight Australian side by their standards, thanks to some brave decisions by their selectors.

Jonathan Agnew believes that, as long as England don't lose the first Test, we're in with a chance.

The womens' team have drawn their series, which means that Australia retain their Ashes, but a superb century by Danni Wyatt (in a T20!) showed what can be achieved with sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. Which will be required in abundance when the sledging starts in earnest in just over 24 hours time.

[AndyMilts]

England will win, 3-1 Chris Woakes will be the top wicket taker and Bairstow top run scorer.

Woakes has a good track record against both Warner and Smith, but agree England must not lose the first test, the Aussies are not a strong team and early set backs will have them stabbing each other in the back!

[CriticalMass]

The first test will be the problem. England always seem to struggle at the Gabba.WACA may prove challenging as well given the Aussie pace attack.

[Dandandanman]

5-0 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[Mulligrub]

Come on England. The Aussies are all talk.

[crazyp]

Backward Point - Ashes series do indeed seem to hinge and set the tone on what happens at the Gabba. However mentally we have to stay strong even if we lose. I really struggle to see the first test ending as a draw.

So 5 Tests is a long time and a lot can happen - this is a lightweight Australian team too. Anything can happen.

[Dazzler]

Well after all the aussie yard-dog yapping it's finally underway with England off to a solid start.

[Wolfie]

Well after all the aussie yard-dog yapping it's finally underway with England off to a solid start.

Root gone…. Need a solid middle order display now

Where is the highlights show - can’t seen anything later on C5…. Also I can’t see anything on Sky

What’s going on? How (with full sky package BTW) am I supposed to catch up with the action?

[Backward point]

Root gone…. Need a solid middle order display now

Where is the highlights show - can’t seen anything later on C5…. Also I can’t see anything on Sky

What’s going on? How (with full sky package BTW) am I supposed to catch up with the action?

BT Sport have the live rights for this series. They do, however, have Michael Vaughan and Geoff Boycott commentating.

[Wolfie]

BT Sport have the live rights for this series. They do, however, have Michael Vaughan and Geoff Boycott commentating.

Bugger

How about highlights?


Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

[Backward point]

Bugger

How about highlights?


Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

Sorry, can't help you there. Commentary is available on TMS, though.

Not a bad start. James Vince is a very classy batsman, as those of us who have been watching him at Hampshire know well. Number 3 for England inevitably means entering the fray early against the new ball, and he and Stoneman have really given Australia something to think about after their pre-series bluster and posturing.

[mr noble]

So the ONLY way to watch any of it is to pay for BT Sport??

So annoying that BT sport appeared on the scene, forcing you to pay more on top of the Sky package.

Moto GP gone and now the cricket too.

You’d think there would be an hour of highlights on one of the channels each day.

Are those without BT sport literally going to see nothing at all?

[mr noble]

ETA - Just checked.

BT Sport is £31 a month if you don’t have BT broadband.

[Bravo73]

How about highlights?

Available on BT Sports website or app after 7pm (for free).

[Bravo73]

So the ONLY way to watch any of it is to pay for BT Sport??

Or, look elsewhere on the internet (including Kodi).

[Wolfie]

Available on BT Sports website or app after 7pm (for free).

Ta


Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

[crazyp]

Seems a bizarre policy to not have any 'proper' coverage on terrestrial TV for what is meant to be the flagship cricketing event???

Even harder to find a place to watch overseas unfortunately.

On to the match - Root had to bat, even with a slow pitch and we did well. Actually played with a mentality of a Test and not a T20.

We'll be ok if we can get to 350 as a minimum. And apparently it's already taking some turn?

[Chabsy]

A pox on you BT Sport.

[Wolfie]

A pox on you BT Sport.

Certainly finding my Sky subscription less worthwhile

[Chabsy]

Certainly finding my Sky subscription less worthwhile

I have the BT sport app on my phone but as a Spurs supporter watching us beat Real Madrid on a 5.5 inch takes away a little of the glory.

[Wolfie]

I have the BT sport app on my phone but as a Spurs supporter watching us beat Real Madrid on a 5.5 inch takes away a little of the glory.

Immersive experience…!

[~dadam02~]

Is BT Sport dedicated coverage, or do they just piggy back on Channel Nine? All i could hear this morning getting ready for work were Aussie commentators.

[Bravo73]

The first commentary pairing was Adam Gilchrist and Swanny. The anchor is the English chap who used to do the IPL on ITV. It's a dedicated BT Team but don't forget that most of the commentators flit between the various broadcasters on the same day. You even sometimes end up with a couple of Aussies on TMS.

I was much happier turning down the volume and listening to TMS whilst I watched the pictures. The delay between the commentary and the pictures was only a couple of seconds.

[crazyp]

Day 2 and we're probably even stevens. Shame our lower order collapsed a bit and it shows how much weaker it is without Stokes, but our bowling does seem a bit more balanced.

Good to see the England bowlers still have Warner's number and without Smith the middle order looks fagile.

Cracking Test so far, a bit of attrition cricket on show which is riveting.

[halfpasttwothirty]

if anything i see it as a sign of weakness.

Nail on the head!

[Nigel306]

Oh dear. It's is all gone pear shaped.

[crazyp]

Oh dear. It's is all gone pear shaped.

I just woke up to read the horror report. I went to bed with moeen and root batting well...

Need to watch some highlights before I comment further on the debacle

[crazyp]

Seems everyone has gone quiet after the 10 wicket hammering

On a serious note - it is clear what we need to improve on. Namely we need a pace bowler with genuine pace (140km/h+). It makes a difference once the ball softens a bit to give some omph.

Plus our tail is too long for batting - I hope Mark Wood is fit, he'd fit in nicely to solve both issues. Ball was out of his depth here and I don't see him playing again.

For 3 days we were competitive, do we have the mental strength to compete for 5 days and not have a throw away day?

[MrSmith]

Both teams had players that underperformed and there will always be sessions where either team are up against it.
The key for England is if they have resilience or not, have seen things change (for the better) in just one session with previous ashes tours it is possible to bounce back but not if their heads are down like the windies used to do then they might as well give them the urn now.
It's all about how they deal with pressure because with the talent available they are more than capable of beating the bogans in a test.

Looking forward to the next one.

[Backward point]

Well, that didn't turn out as we'd hoped. And now another of our star players is being hounded by the Australian press.

The good news is that the next Test is a day/nighter, and even the pink ball might be persuaded to swing. If it does, Jimmy Anderson can cash in. If it doesn't.....

Stoneman and Vince did well, at least in the first innings. Cook and Root? Form is temporary, etc. Cook is only ever one ugly score away from a return to form.

But the problem is that we've done what we shouldn't have done, and gone one down in the series at the first opportunity. And we haven't got to the WACA yet.

The last time we won an Ashes series in Australia we had Strauss, Cook and Trott grinding out big scores at the top of the order. There's a clue right there.

[halfpasttwothirty]

[crazyp]

Once again, in true British fashion rain comes to our rescue at the right time!

The fear from the beginning of the series was our one paced attack - and it was painfully exposed today. It also does seems we didn't bowl well with all the commentators saying we didn't bowl full enough.

Plus it clearly seems Moeen isn't properly fit for bowling and that has also been an issue, because he was rubbish.

[watchcollector1]

I have to wonder why they persist with the trash talk?

Because they have no class.

[MakeColdplayHistory]

I feel sick.
It's so unlikely but just possible...

[PickleB]

Battle of the reviews...?

[crazyp]

Battle of the reviews...?

I'd take the two-nil and call it a day if it was that simple

Better grit - though I'm not convinced with Vince, something in his head that only allows him to drive regardless of line and length....

[~dadam02~]

Well this is tense.

[crazyp]

Well this is tense.

4 wickets down - don't want to lose another one tonight. At least Malwan didn't give his wicket away!