*Official* First Test (Edgbaston, Birmingham) 16–20 June

[social]

Langer has been accused of a lot of things but I don't think that's ever been one of them.

Really?

Pretty well known that feeling was mutual

 

[Prince EWS]

Really?

Pretty well known that feeling was mutual

Got Spin ****ed up his post originally and said Langer didn't like Langer.

Langer definitely likes Langer.

 

[Burgey]

WA Liberal Party member and fan surprisingly not enamoured of the brown Muslim team member.

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

Good vibes man, just vibes

He looks a much more accomplished batsman now. I take my hat off to a proper knock,

FYI, I'm about 30 miles from Edgbaston atm and we've just had an hour of thunder, lightning and torrential rain. Has eased now though. Play may be interrupted tomorrow.

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

RIP all bowlers. this ashes series is going to be a graveyard for any bowler especially older ones like Jimmy or slower ones like Robinson.

Fast and flat wickets were ordered by Stokes......which benefits Eng only slightly...their spinner is village..if it was seam up conditions it will benefit england a tad more.
View attachment 36068

Now come on, Brook is well and truly wearing that Village Crown like no bowler on show.

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

Pope is clueless with gloves but ok as a back up if something happens to the keeper in the test.

Does "keeps missing chances" count?

 

[Athlai]

Make em pay Aussie

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

Travis Head looks like a refugee from the Golden Age

"Chopper" was on TV in England last night. A similar look. Splendid stuff, Merv looks proud!

 

[Gnske]

Khawaja was definitely not treated harshly by selectors. If anything he might have been treated too leniently. Going to be real annoying hearing casuals go on about how he is so good now that he must have been dropped unfairly in the past and so on

I bet they don't even have bodybuilding forum accounts to talk about how alphas should talk to babes like Andrew Tate.

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

Classic On Drive by Carey

That was the shot of the match so far, a proper cricket shot.

 

[ashley bach]

Jeff can dress as he pleases mate.

Anyone got links to some extended highlights please? Saw none of it last night but seems another great day’s play. 3-60 to 5/311 with Smith and Marnus not contributing is some come back. Game shaping up beautifully

LOL not surprised if you only got 2 hours sleep the night before. Just wondering how you caught up with a 21st raging away in your house.

 

[social]

If it’s actually true that England has requested flat decks for this series then I disagree with their tactics

Not only does it neuter their seam bowling strength but it plays into the hands of the Australian batsmen who generally flourish in those conditions

 

[TheJediBrah]

If it’s actually true that England has requested flat decks for this series then I disagree with their tactics

Not only does it neuter their seam bowling strength but it plays into the hands of the Australian batsmen who generally flourish in those conditions

Yeah it's nuts. Then they leave out Mark Wood. Bonkers.

At least this deck doesn't seem fast and bouncy like they were saying, just flat and dry

 

[Spark]

I'm not sure the climate allows for truly fast, hard decks in the way Australians would understand it. if you take all the movement out and dry it the most you'll get are puddings like these.

 

[Starfighter]

I'm not sure the climate allows for truly fast, hard decks in the way Australians would understand it. if you take all the movement out and dry it the most you'll get are puddings like these.

I think you might be able to get The Oval like that, though it would have cracks - like the WTC final but less grass. I don't think any of the other English pitches have ever been truly fast and hard.

 

[Spikey]

The second most correct person ever (behind Mark Waugh)

(after the end of the fourth test of the 2019 Ashes)



(on why dropping Bancroft for Harris after the second test was dumb)



(the same subject but post made at the start of the third test)




(after the start of the fifth test, which saw Harris/Warner retained after Aus won the fourth test despite more dire performances from Harris, and Head dropped for MMarsh as an all-rounder was deemed necessary)





(also look at me and Former Mod Dan)




I also refer to my post made earlier this year on the subject (with some typos fixed up): http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/threads/usman-khawaja.89589/#post-4934876

ok I'm happy to sink the boat into Langer whenever possible but the Usman thing needs to be slightly clarified. Usman was dropped for the fourth test of the 2019 Ashes because Australia created an artificial batting selection logjam due to injury and poorly thought out selection. Usman got the boot because he had the least compelling narrative to keep him in the team. here's what happened:

- between Sandpaper gate in 2018 and the start of the 2019 Ashes, Australia failed to unearth a successful replacement opener despite the two opening spots becoming available.
- of the 6 batters who had a shot opening, only Usman and Joe Burns scored a ton. Usman did this in the UAE when he was moved to opening for the tour and Joe Burns did it in Canberra against SL, an innings that was essentially disregarded by the selectors and Burns was removed from consideration for the Ashes, and replaced with Warner
- the other incumbent opener, Marcus Harris, was fighting with Bancroft, the pseudo incumbent opener, for the other spot.
- As I recall, neither Burns or Bancroft did anything in the lead-up to the 1st test to make them the preferred candidate.
- Bancroft was selected, presumably because it was decided he was the better batter
- After the 2nd test, Steve Smith was ruled out for the 3rd test with concussion, meaning Marnus, who had impressed massively as a replacement in the last innings of the 2nd test was staying in the team for the 3rd test
- After the 2nd test, Bancroft was dropped for Harris. This was applauded loudly by many but not by me who said "dropping Bancroft is stupid"
- My reasons for this were: 1) How could Harris suddenly be better than Bancroft when he wasn't two tests ago? 2) What happens for the fourth test when Smith returns? If you kept Bancroft in the team for the 3rd test, you could either drop him for that test and move Usman to opening or if Bancroft scores runs, great! Again how could Harris had become better than Bancroft in the space of 2 games sitting on the bench?
- So of course Smith comes back for the fourth test and someone has to go. It's often said Usman's form was not acceptable but his form was no worse than some of the others. over the previous 10 months + 11 tests Usman's performances were perfectly average (average of 36, two tons, more than any other Aus player bar Smith who had just returned). Restricting it to just the three tests that had happened in the 2019 Ashes, Usman had a subpar average of 20 in 3 tests...which was still better than the openers and within touching distance of Wade (who scored under 10 in 5 innings and one 100 lmao).
- This is where Usman being dropped for having the least compelling narrative comes into play. Consider the other people: Warner (legend of the team), Harris ("you can't drop someone after one test" is a beloved rule of Australian cricket. Unless you're Callum Ferguson.), Marnus (he was a made man after the 2nd and 3rd tests), Travis Head (probably the other option to drop but I don't think Usman moving to 5 was considered at the time and Head had an important knock on the last day on the 2nd test with Marnus), Wade (he had the only ton by a non Steve Smith player to this point of the Ashes).
- Following the Ashes, the opening roundabout continued, with Burns, Wade, Pucovski, Harris all getting games. Usman's shield form was horrible and so was not considered, despite of course being better than all those guys except maybe Pucovski
- His shield form improved to the point of being on-call, and of course getting the call-up when Head got covid in the 2021-22 Ashes

(I droned on about this about the time and obviously it's the most correct I've ever been about anything, so)

tl;dr Dropping Usman in 2019 was not made for any particularly good reason other than he had the least compelling narrative of the 6 batters in the team and because Australia had created a selection logjam of their own making and because Australia lacked the guts to drop Harris after one test (but a lack of courage that was perfectly obvious). Usman's form both over the last 10 tests and over the previous 3 tests was clearly not worse than players who got selected for the fourth test (of course those names being Harris & Warner, and within touching distance of Wade) and his career to that point obviously suggested he was better than Harris and Wade. It was poor selection at the time. It was obviously poor selection at the time. It has turned out to be poor selection.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think you might be able to get The Oval like that, though it would have cracks - like the WTC final but less grass. I don't think any of the other English pitches have ever been truly fast and hard.

Reckon I've seen some decent pace and bounce at Lord's over the years

 

[Spark]

The fastest English tracks are also the grassy ones. You don't get hard, fast, dry pitches in England generally speaking.

 

[Starfighter]

Reckon I've seen some decent pace and bounce at Lord's over the years

It has happened - especially in the early sixties, but like most of the English pitches these days it tends to have pace and bounce when it has moisture in it, which would make the ball move around and defeat the purpose. Headingley is probably the best example, it has pace when it's damp but just dies completely when it dries out, hence why it's such a good ground to chase on.

 

[Spikey]

also the idea that Usman could have not been considered to open in the 2019 Ashes is obviously insane. He had did it before, for 2 tons in 5 tests iirc, and the ****ing coach and selector at the time was Justin bloody Langer, who had his career saved by replacing Slater in 2001 despite being generally considered a #3 at that point.