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

[Socerer 01]

Is Usman Khawaja the new Chris Gayle

He a match winner

not enough spelling mistakes in the names

 

[Prince EWS]

BazBall PUNISHED by CumBall. Gotta be hard to swallow.

(sorry)

Taste it.

 

[CartyDurham]

Well lads to rub the pain in a bit more , my team Durham have just lost a T20 by 2 wickets with a couple balls left

 

[Prince EWS]

Well lads to rub the pain in a bit more , my team Durham have just lost a T20 by 2 wickets with a couple balls left

Also because of the declaration.

 

[CartyDurham]

Also because of the declaration.

I give you that one.

 

[thierry henry]

Anyway, poor performance by Australia. Maybe you ***** can score a few runs next time and dish out a proper thrashing?

 

[slowfinger]

i'm still so angry right now

 

[Prince EWS]

Early declaration or not still don’t know how England didn’t win it after 8 wickets down.

Stokes was confused by Australia not declaring at that point.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

The best outcome is for Uzi to guide his team to victory by, let's say, 2 wickets.

That's right

 

[mustardcharlie]

That’s not how England play this era

can people not see and accept that ?

they are all in to create a last inning game, chasing and bowling

it was chances missed not another 30 mins batting that lost the game

I’m trying to make this simple but it’s pointless now

see you at lords

Thought the second innings batting was poor from England. Needed 30-40 more runs. No penetration at the death.

 

[wpdavid]

It's never just one thing. It's many things, and you have to control the controllables. Nothing is more controllable than a declaration.

This is the key point, and ultimately the controllables are the things that you have to do irrespective of the bloke you're bowling at or batting against. So yes the declaration is controllable and avoidable. But, at this level, so was the ridiculous number of no-balls and, to some extent, the easy chances that were missed, and the freebie wickets in both innings. No disrespect to Lyon, who is a fine bowler, but we didn't need to be playing him like it was a charity match. Beyond that, if Khawaja or anyone else is too good for you, then so be it. Likewise bowlers doing their thing of course. Anyway, that's my take on it all. Slightly Boycottian, but there you go. I think that people's perspectives are different depending on where they're coming from. So England supporters who started following the game in the early 2000s will be more relaxed about this defeat than those of us who endured the home series from 1989 to 2001. And Australian supporters may, perhaps, be more relaxed about matches in England as they know they nearly always win 4 or 5 zero when it's played down under. I suppose, for me, this just feels like a badly missed opportunity, and I've known times when they don't come around very often. As for playing like this to save test cricket, give me a break. Especially in an Ashes series, which will be followed by millions however we choose to play. Bah, and indeed, humbug.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

I guess Brendon still shits his pants when it comes to playing Australia.

 

[slippy888]

Okay if Khawaja plays for another 7 years he should have the most runs in test cricket yeah

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

BazBall PUNISHED by CumBall. Gotta be hard to swallow.

(sorry)

Hey I said that earlier! Glad you feel as ashamed with yourself as I do.

 

[Starfighter]

Also, another exhibit of why test cricket is far superior to T20. Mightn't have been the highest quality match, but you can only write a drama with twists and turns like that in tests.

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

Also, another exhibit of why test cricket is far superior to T20. Mightn't have been the highest quality match, but you can only write a drama with twists and turns like that in tests.

So many swings in momentum over 5 days, epic.

 

[Woodster]

Ben Stokes’ decisions as captain will continue to divide people with his brave (some like to call them foolish) declarations, unorthodox field placings, team selections, the list goes on. Inevitably he won’t get all of them right, but they’re all well thought out or taken by someone who generally reads the game very well and acts on that instinct.

The declaration on the first day was as much about sending a message to his team, the Aussies, the supporters, that he believes this England team can seriously put the Aussies under the pump and beat them as much as it was about getting a wicket or two.

Why is Joe Root reverse ramping the first ball of the day to one of the best bowlers in the world?! So that the other players can see the main man batting without fear maybe?! Actions speak louder than words and while none of this guarantees success it’s designed to instil belief in what this team are all about.

Let’s not forget, this England team have come a very long way in a very short space of time and are up against the best team in the world and without playing our best cricket have given us a fantastic spectacle in the first Test.

Are there times when this England batting unit can just sit in for 15 minutes when it’s doing plenty without going too far away from their overall strategy? Did they get the team selection spot on for this pitch? These are more the questions I feel that should be being asked of this side, they’re not exempt from criticism despite trying to change the face of Test cricket and get Test cricket back to being a real talking point even for non-cricket followers!

 

[ashley bach]

Would have been a draw. So he will stand by it

He can stand by it all he likes but that won't change the fact it was a horrendous decision.
If he doesn't at least admit it was a mistake then he's just outright stupid.
Totally got what was deserved in the end tbh

 

[Cricket CoachDB]

He can stand by it all he likes but that won't change the fact it was a horrendous decision.
If he doesn't at least admit it was a mistake then he's just outright stupid.
Totally got what was deserved in the end tbh

The opposite, he said it was a good decision that helped them almost win the game.

 

[thierry henry]

Hey I said that earlier! Glad you feel as ashamed with yourself as I do.

tbh I even did a search for the word and saw your post, but it was enough pages back for me to feel emboldened to make that shitpost/**** post