Ashes 2015

Russ77

Russ77

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,093
Name
Russ
Edit My Images
Yes
Seeing as it's only a couple of hours until it all kicks off, what's everyone's thoughts on this Ashes series?

My 2p worth.......

I think a lot will depend on which Mitchell Johnson turns up, if he bowls like he did in the last series, we might be lucky to get away with a 3-1 defeat, otherwise it might be a little closer and we could edge it if we play out of our skins. Don't like being negative against my home team but that's the realist in me coming out :lol:

I think the current England team/setup has a lot of potential but need to grow & mature to get to the same level that the team who won the Ashes in 2005 was at. IMO our biggest limitation is our bowling attack, whilst we have decent enough bowlers, there isn't enough variety in the pack. Again, drawing comparison to the 2005 attack of Harmison, Hoggard, Jones & Flintoff you had outright pace & bounce, swing, skiddy pace & reverse swing and a bowler with endless reserves of determination, aggression and a knack of getting lefties out.

I just don't see that kind of variation in the likes of Anderson, Broad, Wood & Stokes. If it doesn't swing I'm not sure where the wickets are going to come from.

Having said that, I'd be over the moon if all of the above is wrong :lol:
 
I think your assessment is about right.

At this stage I'm more interested in attitude and approach than results.

Cook must resist his defensive urges.
 
Pleasantly surprised with yesterday's play from England.

I think Cook undid himself by trying to be extra positive and played an uncharacteristic shot when looking well set, Lyth....... probably wouldn't have played that shot to that ball if given another chance, Bell got a good one early on, Ballance..... think he just missed it, Root played brilliantly, as did Stokes who was undone by another good delivery, Butler's dismissal was in a simila vein to Lyth's.

Don't think the Aussie's bowled badly but the pitch was pretty dead, can't judge it until both teams have batted though ;)
 
Come on you Ozzies.
 
Pleasing 2nd day from England, thought the lower ordered made a good account of themselves and added useful runs, Ali was brilliant!!

As a unit we bowled well on a pretty unrewarding surface, looks like it's the sort of pitch where you have to bore your opponents out.

I think the first 30-45 mins today could determine the result. I few quick wickets and England are nicely in control, if the Aussies come out blazing they would soon be in the ascendancy.

Not much in it as it stands but I think I'm happier to be an Englishman than an Aussie ;)
 
Australia will win.

England do not have the discipline in the bowling attack, just to keep putting the ball in the right area and wait for a mistake. England batsmen are the same, they seem to struggle against mediocre bowling, with terrible shots.
 
Good start for England today, Australia 9 down and over 100 runs behind :)
 
Aus 308ao....... handy little lead for England, Bat until lunch or maybe tea tomorrow get 450+ lead and leave 4-5 sessions to bowl the Aussies out.
 
Nearly there.

It's the first time I can remember not shouting at the TV for Cook to be more attacking.

Huge improvement.

The Farbrace / Bayliss effect?
 
andyscott said:
Australia will win.

England do not have the discipline in the bowling attack, just to keep putting the ball in the right area and wait for a mistake. England batsmen are the same, they seem to struggle against mediocre bowling, with terrible shots.
Click to expand...


Sorry, what was that you said again?
 
Well I'm please to stand corrected on my views at the top of this thread.

Yes, a different Johnson turned up but there was also a different England team, a team that was prepared to fight/attack and didn't look scared of losing.

Great job in all departments, let's hope we can keep it up for the 4 remaining matches :)
 
Well and truly Rooted!
 
Fully intended, hence the use! :D
 
OK, I said I was staying away from this thread... but....

:D

Basically, England over performed, an ethos probably started by Moores tbh, but mainly thanks to Farbrace imo and with the added bonus of the very knowledgable Bayliss. Australia on the other hand under-performed, Dizzy wasn't wrong when he called them Dad's Army, but I think they were also a bit too too complacent and weren't expecting an attacking England.

Great test, but fully expect the Aussies to come back at HQ on Thursday with vengeance in the hearts!
 
Hopefully, they'll turn up in the back of the ute, ready for another! ;)
 
Yv said:
Basically, England over performed
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you said apart from this.

I don't believe they over performed. They nearly all played to their abilities, with one or two still to step up.

It has, for many years, been a frustration of mine that individually, and as a team, they have often failed to perform to the levels they are capable of. I believe for players to perform at their best the right support must be provided, the right attitude be developed and the right understanding of the current game be learned. At the same time, the typically English, safe but fearful, slightly genteel atmosphere within the team must go, the players must be given the confidence to play and a rather more aggressive, indeed brutal, approach be adopted.

We may be seeing some signs of all this but it's too early to tell and the Australian team are a long way from their best.

Moores knew all this but didn't know how to make it happen. Farbrace and Bayliss do, as does Strauss.

Let's just hope the old English diseases of complacency and timidity are finally cured.
 
Last edited:
simon ess said:
I agree with everything you said apart from this.

I don't believe they over performed. They nearly all played to their abilities, with one or two still to step up.

It has, for many years, been a frustration of mine that individually, and as a team, they have often failed to perform to the levels they are capable of. I believe for players to perform at their best the right support must be provided, the right attitude be developed and the right understanding of the current game be learned. At the same time, the typically English, safe but fearful, slightly genteel atmosphere within the team must go, the players must be given the confidence to play and a rather more aggressive, indeed brutal, approach be adopted.

We may be seeing some signs of all this but it's too early to tell and the Australian team are a long way from their best.

Moores knew all this but didn't know how to make it happen. Farbrace and Bayliss do, as does Strauss.

Let's just hope the old English diseases of complacency and timidity are finally cured.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree!

I can remember watching England in the 90s as a teenager when I was first getting into cricket and just thinking "why are they playing so bad?". Towards the end of the 90s when I understood the game a bit better it just seemed we had a group of talented individuals who on paper were a good team but just couldn't translate that to winning performances.

In hind sight it's clear to see the culture around the England setup was all wrong. A promising youngster would have a couple of good county games, be dragged in against a top test nation, fail and be dropped, probably never to be seen again. The older players were fearful that one bad game would be the end of their career.

You can't play your best if you've got those worries on your mind. Having said that, I think recently the England set up's been a little too cosy and complacent.

Hopefully we're in a new era with a better balance between giving promising players the opportunity and support and not allowing established players to become too complacent.

During the last test they all seemed hungry for the win, there was a more ruthless attitude towards the opposition. Great to see from an England team and reminiscent of the 2005 Ashes squad/team.

I still stick by my words that the current team isn't as good as the 2005 team but I think they've still got a little way to go before they reach their peak, they have the potential to be better :)
 
simon ess said:
I agree with everything you said apart from this.

I don't believe they over performed. They nearly all played to their abilities, with one or two still to step up.

It has, for many years, been a frustration of mine that individually, and as a team, they have often failed to perform to the levels they are capable of. I believe for players to perform at their best the right support must be provided, the right attitude be developed and the right understanding of the current game be learned. At the same time, the typically English, safe but fearful, slightly genteel atmosphere within the team must go, the players must be given the confidence to play and a rather more aggressive, indeed brutal, approach be adopted.

We may be seeing some signs of all this but it's too early to tell and the Australian team are a long way from their best.

Moores knew all this but didn't know how to make it happen. Farbrace and Bayliss do, as does Strauss.

Let's just hope the old English diseases of complacency and timidity are finally cured.
Click to expand...

Sorry Simon, I should perhaps have been clearer as I don't disagree with you.... I was referring to over and under performance based on expectation and 'recent form', rather than actual ability.
 
All top class sport hinges on confidence. Most of the team have the ability but what they've lacked in the recent past is confidence individually and as a team. The 1st Test just 'felt' different. Players looked free to express themselves and play as they play rather than as they've been instructed to.

Its all about the management and the camp. It happens in almost all team sports. Football, rugby etc. A good and winning team is rarely managed by a confidence sapping individual and is virtually never an unhappy disjointed one.

Maybe, just maybe, the management is right this time?
 
Yv said:
Latest news is that Haddin might not be available for Thursday, for personal reasons. I am not going to get into any kind of gloating on it just yet, its not confirmed and he may well have something going on back home.
Click to expand...

You mean unlike the Aussies who had a few sly digs at Trott when he went home for personal reasons? ;)

Hope Haddin's OK, not nice to go through those sorts of issues whether it's himself or family related. As I said above, cricket isn't the game to play if you have a lot on your mind.

Even playing club cricket, when I found out my ex-wife was cheating on me it was very difficult to concentrate on the game, especially in the field where you spend a lot of time doing not much.
 
I do hope Haddin and family are ok but this is why I love test cricket.

It is, in every way, a metaphor for life.
 
Russ77 said:
You mean unlike the Aussies who had a few sly digs at Trott when he went home for personal reasons? ;)

Hope Haddin's OK, not nice to go through those sorts of issues whether it's himself or family related. As I said above, cricket isn't the game to play if you have a lot on your mind.

Even playing club cricket, when I found out my ex-wife was cheating on me it was very difficult to concentrate on the game, especially in the field where you spend a lot of time doing not much.
Click to expand...

Exactly, not stooping to their level ;)

Only 24 hours to go and I can get on with editing photoshoots and watching the best game in the world :LOL:

...and I resisted the urge to click buy on this today too, I am sooooo good! :D https://fabrily.com/Classyladies
 
Just to prove that we're not such bad losers as certain other nationalities, it was the English who got bent over the tailgate and were taken roughly from behind last week. Hopefully it'll give 'em a kick up the behind and get them ready to fight for the rest of the series.
 
Nod said:
Just to prove that we're not such bad losers as certain other nationalities, it was the English who got bent over the tailgate and were taken roughly from behind last week. Hopefully it'll give 'em a kick up the behind and get them ready to fight for the rest of the series.
Click to expand...

One can only hope so!! This series has the ability to match 2005 but only if both teams show up for all the remaining 3 tests :rolleyes:
 
As defeats go that was a harsh one, especially after doing so well in Cardiff!

Comprehensively outplayed, really not sure what happened to our batting but credit to the Aussies who played very well!
 
Looks like different England/Aussie teams turned up today......... although you shouldn't judge a pitch/score until both teams have batted on it.
 
So far, it looks like being a close series without having a close match! Hopefully we'll get at least one nail biter out of the series.
 
Interesting morning so far. Part of me wishes we would hit out now, make quick runs and get them back in whilst the pitch is doing something. The other part of me wants to bat and bat and bat...
 
Interesting game, hopefully England will score the runs without too many dramas, the pitch is still playing OK.

Jimmy's condition is more of a concern to me as I think we'll struggle without him in the team.

An overall observation ........ Are we watching two evenly matched teams or two average teams about to reach their peaks?
 
For Sale - Tickets for tomorrow's sessions...


:D


Now we just need a month of solid rain!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top