1st Test at Brisbane, 8th-12th of December 2021

[Nintendo]

I know Warner gets memed on because of his away record, but can we talk about how good he actually is. Absolute beast at home, and he's made crucial contributions against both SA in SA and Shakib lead bang in bang.

Guy has 24 centuries at 48, you don't get openers that good very often. He's arguably not an ATG but when he goes heyll be a legend.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I know Warner gets memed on because of his away record, but can we talk about how good he actually is. Absolute beast at home, and he's made crucial contributions against both SA in SA and Shakib lead bang in bang.

Guy has 24 centuries at 48, you don't get openers that good very often. He's arguably not an ATG but when he goes heyll be a legend.

Just seen that cricinfo article?

Seriously though I agree. Very much found the recent talk about Warner being dispensable as pretty bizarre considering the paucity of viable alternative options

 

[Burgey]

I don't know that hes dispensable so much as he's a shot duck, T20 form notwithstanding. This series will tell us a fair bit about that.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I don't know that hes dispensable so much as he's a shot duck, T20 form notwithstanding. This series will tell us a fair bit about that.

I personally disagree, think he still has a couple of seasons left on the condition that he can stay largely injury free, but I absolutely 100% agree that this is a critical series for him


Still worried so much about depth though, would be nice if the younger specialist openers (your boi Wardy included, I do like what I have seen of him so far) can really kick on in the next couple years

 

[Burgey]

Oh yeah for sure re blokes coming into the team or stepping up in the Shield. Really good openers just aren't that easy to find. It's a really tough gig.

 

[Gob]

I know Warner gets memed on because of his away record, but can we talk about how good he actually is. Absolute beast at home, and he's made crucial contributions against both SA in SA and Shakib lead bang in bang.

Guy has 24 centuries at 48, you don't get openers that good very often. He's arguably not an ATG but when he goes heyll be a legend.

@Gnske thoughts?

 

[Gob]

I personally disagree, think he still has a couple of seasons left on the condition that he can stay largely injury free, but I absolutely 100% agree that this is a critical series for him


Still worried so much about depth though, would be nice if the younger specialist openers (your boi Wardy included, I do like what I have seen of him so far) can really kick on in the next couple years

Blokes who opened like Maddinson and Renshaw going to the middle doesnt help

 

[ImpatientLime]

I wonder if this means Woakes will play. He has a rotten record overseas but in cloudy conditions he can be a serious handful. Plus he can bat, obvs. And just generally very dependable. Burt who will they leave out? Jimmy and Stokes are nailed on. And they'll have to play a spinner (Leach). Which means only two can play from Woakes, Broad, Robinson and Wood.

woakes looked petrified and shot with the bat in the last ashes series. he was number 11 quality v their pace attack so i sincerely hope his batting is not being taken into account when picking the side.

 

[Spark]

Weird to start this on a Wednesday. meaning if it's over in four days one way or t'other you lose a Sunday's worth of revenue, which I imagine would normally be pretty lucrative for an Ashes test.

Don't think you're ever making money on Day 5 of a game tbf, what with much lower attendances and dirt cheap tickets

 

[Jarquis]

so make sense to have day 5 on a Monday rather than Sunday?

 

[Woodster]

woakes looked petrified and shot with the bat in the last ashes series. he was number 11 quality v their pace attack so i sincerely hope his batting is not being taken into account when picking the side.

His batting has to be a factor, not many number 8’s have his quality with the bat. His bowling is obviously the primary reason for his selection discussion but he certainly adds depth to the batting line-up.

 

[Spark]

so make sense to have day 5 on a Monday rather than Sunday?

If it was any other series I'd agree but I honestly don't think it matters for the Ashes, the first three days will be sold out regardless and Day 4 is a Saturday. Commercially that's all that really matters (which, once you realise that, makes the push for 4-day Tests entirely predictable).

 

[ImpatientLime]

His batting has to be a factor, not many number 8’s have his quality with the bat. His bowling is obviously the primary reason for his selection discussion but he certainly adds depth to the batting line-up.

against lesser attacks sure, but not this one. he will contribute zip with the bat. he shouldn't be in contention either way given his woeful track record of bowling away from home.

 

[Woodster]

against lesser attacks sure, but not this one. he will contribute zip with the bat. he shouldn't be in contention either way given his woeful track record of bowling away from home.

If there is a bit in at the Gabba and a tinge of green he’ll certainly be in the conversation and rightly so.

I think he’ll hold his own with the bat if selected, he averages 35 in England, admittedly against varied quality of attacks, but also when the ball will have been doing plenty. Different qualities required in Australia and I’m not suggesting he’ll dominate but it does give confidence with a shaky top order to see him down at eight.

 

[theegyptian]

Woakes and Sam Curran have both been worked over by teams bowling short at them in recent times and look much lesser batsman as a result in the longer format. That being said, players can improve or come up with different tactics, hopefully Woakes has thought about his batting game for Aus, although I'd expect similar kind of results to last time.

 

[Blenkinsop]

My main reservation about Anderson these days is that he is a walking wicket. It's almost as if he's given up even trying to stay in. But Woakes and Robinson are both pretty handy bats, Leach can stick around, and Wood can hit it a long way.

 

[howardj]

Here in Brisbane the weather is set fair. Please don't believe the doom and gloom forecasts. If you look behind the cloud and rain icons that TV stations use, you will find: Wednesday: shower or two with 2 to 10mm of possible rain. Thursday: shower or two with 2 to 6mm of possible rain. Friday: shower or two with 0 to 5mm of possible rain. And it's even better for the weekend. All days of the Test are over 30 degrees.

 

[howardj]

Reading an article in The Age newspaper this morning on the new Kookaburra ball which should excite the leather-flingers from both sides this summer. The Ashes ball for 2021-22 is a vastly different proposition to the one used four years ago, likely to keep moving through the air and off the seam in a much more sustained manner.

Partly, this is due to a double coating of lacquer that helps the whole ball retain its hardness for longer. But the major difference is the plastic lining under the leather, added by the manufacturer after a request from Cricket Australia to find ways of getting it to swing and seam for longer periods.

The lining, which has a ridge under the seam of the ball, should ensure that seam, known to many bowlers as the “rudder” for swing and movement off the pitch, won’t lose its fibre as easily - - closer in performance to the Dukes ball used in England.

 

[Gob]

 

[Burgey]

Here in Brisbane the weather is set fair. Please don't believe the doom and gloom forecasts. If you look behind the cloud and rain icons that TV stations use, you will find: Wednesday: shower or two with 2 to 10mm of possible rain. Thursday: shower or two with 2 to 6mm of possible rain. Friday: shower or two with 0 to 5mm of possible rain. And it's even better for the weekend. All days of the Test are over 30 degrees.

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss