Ashes Test Cricket 2023

[bobbyg]

1 minute ago, Tuna Town said:

Those two rain delays really hurt Australia and helped England no end  

Warner and Khawaja were in and set at the crease and had to go off and were dismissed cheaply after play resumed on Day 5

Same thing happened to Smith and Head after the after lunch rain delay 

 

And the rain in Manchester didnt help the Aussies??

[mikeyboy]

2 hours ago, Tuna Town said:

Those two rain delays really hurt Australia and helped England no end  

Warner and Khawaja were in and set at the crease and had to go off and were dismissed cheaply after play resumed on Day 5

Same thing happened to Smith and Head after the after lunch rain delay 

 

Rain delays and English cricket matches go hand in hand .  This Oval test was played to a conclusion and Australia had a good chance going into the last session .  The Aussie collapse from 3 down to 7 down really had nothing to do with the weather .

I'm sure England would have loved the drawn Old Trafford test to have been played to a conclusion . 

It was as good a test series as i can remember , and fortunes and momentum swung both ways throughout .

I will remember the stand out performances , rather than perceived bad luck .

Thanks to all who contributed to the thread .

Mikeyboy

[Ah dinnae ken]

the question to be answered is in whose lifetime will England regain the ashes, certainly not in mine

[keepitfun]

No one’s talking about the shiny new ball they swapped for the old one and the sudden swing that resulted.   Not in the spirit that.   
 

be good to see how bazball works on Aussie pitches that give bowlers a bit.  

[Tuna Town]

2 hours ago, keepitfun said:

No one’s talking about the shiny new ball they swapped for the old one and the sudden swing that resulted.   Not in the spirit that.   
 

be good to see how bazball works on Aussie pitches that give bowlers a bit.  

Be a little more interesting to see when their mishits don't go over the boundary rope 

Be a little more interesting to see how they bat on a deteriorating wicket with varied bounce not the roads on Day 4-5 we have had in England 

[Macawber]

6 minutes ago, Tuna Town said:

Be a little more interesting to see when their mishits don't go over the boundary rope 

Be a little more interesting to see how they bat on a deteriorating wicket with varied bounce not the roads on Day 4-5 we have had in England 

Not to mention the more favourable weather conditions, although it might rain in Sydney but we'll be up 4-0 by then. Unfortunately Broad has squibbed out by retiring and Wood and Woakes will struggle in the warm climate. Hopefully Bairstow tours; will be funny to see his face turn beetroot red...oh,wait,it already is. Looks like a tubby tomato. 555.

Wheels up today boys.... Go hard. 555

[Tuna Town]

28 minutes ago, Macawber said:

Not to mention the more favourable weather conditions, although it might rain in Sydney but we'll be up 4-0 by then. Unfortunately Broad has squibbed out by retiring and Wood and Woakes will struggle in the warm climate. Hopefully Bairstow tours; will be funny to see his face turn beetroot red...oh,wait,it already is. Looks like a tubby tomato. 555.

Wheels up today boys.... Go hard. 555

I got wheels up tomorrow night so might bump into you in town 

[mikeyboy]

7 hours ago, keepitfun said:

No one’s talking about the shiny new ball they swapped for the old one and the sudden swing that resulted.   Not in the spirit that.   
 

be good to see how bazball works on Aussie pitches that give bowlers a bit.  

 

5 hours ago, Tuna Town said:

Be a little more interesting to see when their mishits don't go over the boundary rope 

Be a little more interesting to see how they bat on a deteriorating wicket with varied bounce not the roads on Day 4-5 we have had in England 

The term "whinging Aussies"  could come to mind , ....  😃

The wickets this series were played on were great , and results on day four or five would have happened if the rain had not ruined the Old Trafford match .  Exactly the wickets that were required for a major test series . 

I'm pretty sure England's style of play will transfer well to Aussie grounds , if they can win in Rawalpindi they can certainly win in Melbourne etc. 

I am more concerned about Englands tour of India in January , where the pitches 3 years ago on England's last tour resembled turnip patches and quality seam bowling was almost redundant .  That will be a sterner test than Australia .  

Mikeyboy

[chris19713]

Got to be one of the best Ashes thanks to England's style of play.

Shame about the Old Trafford test.

Is it true Stuart Broad is expanding his pub chain into Australia?

Edited August 1, 2023 by chris19713

[Tuna Town]

1 hour ago, mikeyboy said:

 

The term "whinging Aussies"  could come to mind , ....  😃

The wickets this series were played on were great , and results on day four or five would have happened if the rain had not ruined the Old Trafford match .  Exactly the wickets that were required for a major test series . 

I'm pretty sure England's style of play will transfer well to Aussie grounds , if they can win in Rawalpindi they can certainly win in Melbourne etc. 

I am more concerned about Englands tour of India in January , where the pitches 3 years ago on England's last tour resembled turnip patches and quality seam bowling was almost redundant .  That will be a sterner test than Australia .  

Mikeyboy

The reality is the pitches were in great condition on days 4-5 to bat 

You barely saw balls keep low at all.

Why because they were designed to flatten out the later the game went to favour England's Bazball

The fact Australia got 330 in the 4th innings at Oval said plenty. It took 2 rain delays and a collapse of 7 for 70 to stop them not getting a total of 400 

I severely doubt you will find the pitches this flat in Australia on days 4-5 where we actually have them deteriorating to provide variable bounce. Bit harder to hit through the line in Australia on days 4-5 with inconsistent bounce

Also the extra bounce and pace on the pitches is gonna favour the Aussie bowlers in Australia

You can talk it up all you like now but I fully expect you to do your usual in a few years time and lose the Ashes by the Boxing Day test and go home with a 3-4 test beating 

[Hamchang]

Good old Aussie sportsmanship 

 

Last time Aus won an ashes series in England? 2001? 

Last time England won an ashes series in Ausfalia? 2010

Both teams play the same pitches lads, and both countries create wickets, fields and indeed balls to suit their nations games. So chins up lads, and lets all celebrate Aussie retaining the ashes in a gripping series that would have been won by England barring a daft early declaration in the first test. 

[mikeyboy]

14 hours ago, Tuna Town said:

The reality is the pitches were in great condition on days 4-5 to bat 

You barely saw balls keep low at all.

Why because they were designed to flatten out the later the game went to favour England's Bazball

The fact Australia got 330 in the 4th innings at Oval said plenty. It took 2 rain delays and a collapse of 7 for 70 to stop them not getting a total of 400 

I severely doubt you will find the pitches this flat in Australia on days 4-5 where we actually have them deteriorating to provide variable bounce. Bit harder to hit through the line in Australia on days 4-5 with inconsistent bounce

Also the extra bounce and pace on the pitches is gonna favour the Aussie bowlers in Australia

You can talk it up all you like now but I fully expect you to do your usual in a few years time and lose the Ashes by the Boxing Day test and go home with a 3-4 test beating 

I agree with some of your points , but the difference between the two countries playing surface is that the intense heat in Australia dries the wickets out quicker and by days 4 and 5 the game will start to favour the bowlers .

This is not being critical , you need different surfaces to keep the game interesting and testing of players techniques . The best players adapt and can play well in all countries .  

I think a 3 or 4 test beating is talking it up  ,  we saw in this series that the two sides are very evenly matched and who knows the make up of the teams in 18 months time ??  Australia will need 2 new opening batsmen , Broad retiring and Anderson may follow soon  just for starters   

If the that series matches this one i think we are in for another close / exciting one  .

Mikeyboy  

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by mikeyboy
add

[Tuna Town]

3 hours ago, mikeyboy said:

I agree with some of your points , but the difference between the two countries playing surface is that the intense heat in Australia dries the wickets out quicker and by days 4 and 5 the game will start to favour the bowlers .

This is not being critical , you need different surfaces to keep the game interesting and testing of players techniques . The best players adapt and can play well in all countries .  

I think a 3 or 4 test beating is talking it up  ,  we saw in this series that the two sides are very evenly matched and who knows the make up of the teams in 18 months time ??  Australia will need 2 new opening batsmen , Broad retiring and Anderson may follow soon  just for starters   

If the that series matches this one i think we are in for another close / exciting one  .

Mikeyboy  

 

I actually think the tactics of England will push Australia forward in the long run

We are going to have to maybe not replicate the tactics but we are going to have to adapt and get with the times so to speak and be more aggressive than we currently are. I don't think we need to go crazy on that front just back to more of the Steve Waugh Ponting Clarke days where we had an aggressive captain

Warner is obviously toast going forward but Khawaja has not exactly had a long career at this level as he kept getting dropped a lot. He is currently in stellar form so it would not surprise me if he makes it through to Ashes in 2025. I don't think the batting is the biggest issue. Travis Head  and Labuschagne are getting more experienced and will in a few years take on the seniority role the likes of Khawaja and Warner have had.

 

If anything the biggest worry for Australia going forward is the bowlers. Lyon has obviously in his later stages of his career, Hazlewood Starc Cummins are also getting to that stage where you don't know how long they may have left. Reality is we could have 0 or 4 of these guys available in 2025 

That is probably a bigger concern is replacing them 

I also don't think the teams are evenly matched at all.

In English conditions they are. In Australian conditions I don't see them being evenly matched at all.

England's style of play is going to be harder to play in Oz. The variable bounce aint gonna help their batters at all but harm them 

One mistake and you are out remember 

I don't think the Australian team has performed well in this series none of the batsmen have really stood out nor have the bowlers 

If anything their record is not very good away and is exceptional at home 

I expect it to continue in 2025-26

 

[mikeyboy]

On 02/08/2023 at 03:17, Tuna Town said:

I actually think the tactics of England will push Australia forward in the long run

We are going to have to maybe not replicate the tactics but we are going to have to adapt and get with the times so to speak and be more aggressive than we currently are. I don't think we need to go crazy on that front just back to more of the Steve Waugh Ponting Clarke days where we had an aggressive captain

Warner is obviously toast going forward but Khawaja has not exactly had a long career at this level as he kept getting dropped a lot. He is currently in stellar form so it would not surprise me if he makes it through to Ashes in 2025. I don't think the batting is the biggest issue. Travis Head  and Labuschagne are getting more experienced and will in a few years take on the seniority role the likes of Khawaja and Warner have had.

 

If anything the biggest worry for Australia going forward is the bowlers. Lyon has obviously in his later stages of his career, Hazlewood Starc Cummins are also getting to that stage where you don't know how long they may have left. Reality is we could have 0 or 4 of these guys available in 2025 

That is probably a bigger concern is replacing them 

I also don't think the teams are evenly matched at all.

In English conditions they are. In Australian conditions I don't see them being evenly matched at all.

England's style of play is going to be harder to play in Oz. The variable bounce aint gonna help their batters at all but harm them 

One mistake and you are out remember 

I don't think the Australian team has performed well in this series none of the batsmen have really stood out nor have the bowlers 

If anything their record is not very good away and is exceptional at home 

I expect it to continue in 2025-26

 

Thanks for the reasoned reply .  

England have gone a way to proving in certain circumstances their ultra attacking method does work .  The two remaining tests are playing a series in India and Australia .   

After defeats of 4-0 in Oz  and 3-1 in India last time around , a change of approach is probably needed . 

Top level cricket is analysed every which way , and i would expect other countries to be working on a way to counter it . 

It's an interesting time for the game .