The Ashes - TEST 2

Australia's day on day 1 - 339 - 5.

The crowd has had nothing to cheer but I always think the atmosphere is poor at Lord's. The fans at Edgbaston were brilliant and lifted the bowlers when needed. Nothing at all like that at Lord's.
 
It's going to be interesting to see what approach we take with the bat when we eventually get to the crease. Will they stick with Bazball?

We can't really afford to lose this. Will they still prioritise excitement over pragmatism?
 
uncle_rico said:
The impact of disrupting something like a headline act at the world's biggest music festival would be far greater than a cricket match. Same goes for the snooker.

Glastonbury can promote green policies all it wants, but the thousands of vehicles used to get there and back, not to mention the dozens of helicopters ferrying people in and out, totally negates that promotion. Then there's the tonnes and tonnes of non-reusable, or non-recyclable, waste left behind.
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I get what you are saying but my point remains that they would go for another Festival rather than the one where the organisers are sympathetic to the causes if not their methods.Just Stop Oil had been invited to take a platform. They aren't going to bite the hand that feeds it.
 
Michael Vaughan was going in on the sum up.

Team are too casual, no intensity, just another game, not treating them as any different to other opponents etc.
 
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England are under real pressure. If Smith and Carey build a stand tomorrow Australia will get 500.

For all the hype England looked really average on the highlights. I just don't get the team selection. Stokes is clearly not fit, Root is the only spinner and the seam bowlers look like they are from the same mould. It's weird that England decided to field. With a lacklustre attack why would you do that? It accentuates England's negatives - and by the time England strong suit - the batting - takes to the field it's likely they'll be under real pressure.

More brainless than bazball.
 
They looked at the green pitch and the grey sky, bizarrely even with the right bowlers they couldn’t make use of the conditions with loose bowling, odd that they still can’t get used to “the slope” despite playing two tests a year on the ground
 
I really don’t understand why we picked 4 seamers - that bowling unit without a recognised spinner is not better than the Aussie unit. That’s why they will win. Taking 20 wickets wins test matches.
 
Yesterday was very poor. Totally agree with all of Vaughans summary.

The bowling attack need an injection of pace. We beat the edge quite a lot but were nowhere near consistent enough with like and length to build real pressure. The conditions were tailor made for Broad, Jimmy and Ollie. Robinson seems to have lost half a yard of consistent pace again.

One area of strength in recent times has been our consistency with the ball, even on flat pitches we’ve managed to bowl in decent areas and keep the scoring rate low. It was very un-England like yesterday.

I think we’re in a bit of trouble in this test already. With conditions forecast to be bowling friendly today as well, I don’t see The Aussies giving us the freebies we gave them yesterday.

Regarding the all pace attack, I thought it was a very obvious selection. Spinners don’t tend to have the greatest of records at Lords. Not even the great Shane Warne got a 5fer at Lords.

With our limited options in the Spin department, the selection was always likely. I don’t think selection is the issue. It’s poor bowling and catching - something we’ve done pretty well with in the last 12 months.
 
gravy173 said:
Michael Vaughan was going in on the sum up.

Team are too casual, no intensity, just another game, not treating them as any different to other opponents etc.
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When a team doesn’t take accountability for a loss, are almost arrogant in defeat and mistakes made then you are saying to your team it doesn’t really matter about standards. You effect people sub consciously.

It’s no surprise to me that because of that the intensity is missing.

We are only 6 days in a 25 day series, but I don’t see how this England team wins the ashes from here
 
ForssAwakens said:
When a team doesn’t take accountability for a loss, are almost arrogant in defeat and mistakes made then you are saying to your team it doesn’t really matter about standards. You effect people sub consciously.

It’s no surprise to me that because of that the intensity is missing.

We are only 6 days in a 25 day series, but I don’t see how this England team wins the ashes from here
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I agree, it seems unlikely. The response would probably be that entertainment comes above winning, the first test was entertaining, but we’re going to need to score 450-500 to make this match at all entertaining. I defended Bazball in the first test, but this selection/decision to field (and subsequent poor bowling performance) isn’t even really about Bazball.

Stokes has done fantastically well as captain so far, but England test captains tend to be judged by their performances in home Ashes more than anything else. If we’re not careful we could find ourselves needing to battle hard to avoid a heavy home defeat.

Really hope I’m looking back on these posts in a few days feeling silly because England have fully taken control, but it feels unlikely right now.
 
atypical_boro said:
I agree, it seems unlikely. The response would probably be that entertainment comes above winning, the first test was entertaining, but we’re going to need to score 450-500 to make this match at all entertaining.

Stokes has done fantastically well as captain so far, but England test captains tend to be judged by their performances in home Ashes than anything else. If we’re not careful we could find ourselves needing to battle hard to avoid a heavy home defeat.

Really hope I’m looking back on these posts in a few days feeling silly because England have fully taken control, but it feels unlikely right now.
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I get entertained by traditional test cricket. Ball going to boundary doesn’t define entertainment to me. I get joy out of maidens building pressure but I understand I’ll be a dying breed. Doesn’t seem like theres much room for the purists anymore

Labaschagne wicket was taken though when the pressure was built on him and the runs were drying up

For me if stokes wasn’t captain he place would be under question. And his mentality with the bat, under Bazball is worrying. He feels like he think he gets a free license to waft
 
ForssAwakens said:
Doesn’t seem like theres much room for the purists anymore
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Not sure that’s true per se, it’s just that Bazball as a tactic really turned the side’s fortunes around so many (including me) bought fully into it.

You’re right about Stokes selection though. I said the other day he should maybe just open the batting now and lead from the front at the top of the order, he’s not in the side for his middle order batting or bowling.
 
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