Ashes 2025/6
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At this stage I don't think you can blame Bazball, England are just mentally weak.
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@antipodean said in Ashes 2025/6:
At this stage I don't think you can blame Bazball, England are just mentally weak.
they're also not very good.
In the past two years yes they have won 12 tests, but that's because they play a lot of test cricket. They are behind both us and Sri Lanka in win percentage, a mile off South Africa in 2nd, and a light year behind Australia.
The buzz around this series is history and marketing. It's like the Bledisloe really.
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Cricket ranks 14th in the UK in sports 18-35 year olds like to watch and 16th in sports they are fans of.
Its viewership in the UK is still solid among older men, but youngsters prefer other sports.
The chasm between Australia and England is likely to widened.
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Stokes and Archer show a bit of fight not rolling over in that last session and building a decent 9th wicket partnership.
England still over 150+ behind with only two wickets left. Australia very much in the driving seat and very much the better Cricket side. Their bowling was on the money today. England need a miracle to stay in this series.
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@game_film said in Ashes 2025/6:
@sparky come on mate that survey’s a joke. Tennis FFS. Who they kidding.
Crawley, Pope and Duckett not good enough. And they’re 2 top line bowlers short. That’s about it.
Fielding has been sub-par. Catches win matches and England have dropped too many, too often.
So, aside from batting, bowling and fielding...
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@nzzp said in Ashes 2025/6:
@game_film said in Ashes 2025/6:
@sparky come on mate that survey’s a joke. Tennis FFS. Who they kidding.
Crawley, Pope and Duckett not good enough. And they’re 2 top line bowlers short. That’s about it.
Fielding has been sub-par. Catches win matches and England have dropped too many, too often.
So, aside from batting, bowling and fielding...
Yeah, this looks to be a deeper issue than simply a poor approach or skills. It looks like a degree of mental fragility backed up with some intransigence on strategy and a dash of muddled selection.
When your main strike spinner is not trusted and you fall back on a guy that has been tried and found wanting purely to bolster your batting (Hmmm...) - it's not really teh Stokes/McCullum blueprint is it? Then back this up by having your two front line pace bowlers being known for breaking down, with one not having played any recent cricket on his way back from yet another injury, it does not inspire much confidence or suggest that the hierarchy have any great confidence themselves.
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@Catogrande preach.
And I am not pointing fingers. Australia does funny things to boards and coaches. Remember when we picked Ferguson, for debut, in Aus, where he would be needed to bowl long spells ... and he broke down early? I do.
This is where the feeder comps are so important. Every Aus player has to battle to get to the top. Shit fielding doesn't get tolerated and deficiencies generally get exposed. Compare with most national sides - some people get a ride without really having to deliver at the lower levels - so figuring out your game at the top level can happen.
Aus have done this recently and it has not gone well for them. Their comps seem a shadow of what they were - and we see this come out in Super too (to threadjack to Rugby)
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@sparky said in Ashes 2025/6:
My own view is that this is a nothing burger.
England thought it was a wicket so appealed. The on-field umpire gave Alex Carey not out. Carey admitted in the press conference that he felt something but he's under no obligation to walk and I'd encourage a player not to walk unless he's 100% certain he should be out and even then it's his choice.
England used a review, but the technology deployed didn't give sufficient evidence to overturn the on-field decision. So the TMO went with the umpire's decision.
Snicko's less good than the system used in England, but that's hardly news.
Indians had right idea when they refused to use the DRS/snicko or anything. It still not guaranteeing correct decisions it seems.
Also agree , Carey not in wrong, it's up to individual if they walk or not, some do some don't. -
@nzzp said in Ashes 2025/6:
@Catogrande preach.
And I am not pointing fingers. Australia does funny things to boards and coaches. Remember when we picked Ferguson, for debut, in Aus, where he would be needed to bowl long spells ... and he broke down early? I do.
This is where the feeder comps are so important. Every Aus player has to battle to get to the top. Shit fielding doesn't get tolerated and deficiencies generally get exposed. Compare with most national sides - some people get a ride without really having to deliver at the lower levels - so figuring out your game at the top level can happen.
Aus have done this recently and it has not gone well for them. Their comps seem a shadow of what they were - and we see this come out in Super too (to threadjack to Rugby)
Yeah - it's very hard to beat Oz, because they can usually field eleven strong test players and four or five world class players. Their batting line-up at the moment is a little bit suspect, but it goes so deep that until you get rid of Starc, there's always someone there who can shepherd them to a solid score - and people like Smith and Carey are fucking hard to get rid of. With their bowling line-up a solid score is usually going to be enough.
You look at our team and Little Kane would take Inglis' spot. Mitch Jr. might be competitive for another batting spot (Marnus'- if Kane bats three), but far from guaranteed. Does one of our openers edge Weatherald? No-one else from our team makes the best Australian XI.
Disappointing that England hasn't been able to put up a better fight, but they came here last summer and beat us 2-1 - which doesn't bode well for our four tests in Oz next year, despite that 2-1 was aided and abetted by the Tim Southee Farewell Tour.
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...and from England, Root takes Marnus' spot, Brook takes Inglis'spot - and I'd take Stokes over Green. Maybe Duckett over Weatherald? Pretty much the same as NZ - our best batsmen supplant their worst.
You might briefly look at Archer vs Hazlewood, but nah...
Bold call making Green the highest paid ever overseas IPL player. Doesn't immediately spring to mind as an alltime MVP.
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The interesting thing is this Australian lineup is that it is about as 'fragile' as an Aussie side ever gets at home.
No Smith or Hazlewood, some soft top order shots, and currently they can't dislodge Stokes and Archer. Yet are still ahead in the game by a long way (for now)...
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Marnus being Marnus..
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@Donsteppa said in Ashes 2025/6:
Archer over Boland probably - but neither are displacing a fit Hazlewood...
Matt Henry competitive with Boland for us, but not Hazlewood.
