Yeah about that... 5 minute commute home and in that time, YJB goes (lbw, what a shock) and Curran is walking off as I turn the tv on.
Cummins has been bowling no balls all series though, every side on view replay shows how marginal it is.
Root out as captain and Bairstow out of the team are both needed. These two currently in should be backed.
Mitchell Marsh running through us bowling 70mph filth.
So done with Bairstow.
We have about a million tours this winter so lots of opportunity for new blood to come in and stake a claim.
Have we passed 300 at any point this series?
We chased 359 two tests ago
Ah, for some reason I mentally took 100 off that target. It's been a summer of hard swings.
Nice to see Buttler taking his turn to see that this middle order never, ever gets broken up.
Also was that Root getting out to a ball pitching in basically the exact same place again?
If they don't put Ollie Pope in at 6 for the winter tours we might have to lock them up.
Sibley and Hain in at 2 and 3, imo #YouBears. I can only get one of Buttler and Curran in that way, but so be it.
Buttler needs to keep wicket if he's going to get picked. Probably harsh on Foakes, but none of the options are good enough as specialist test batsmen.
You can have one dasher who only periodically comes off down there, but you can't build the entire batting line-up out of them.
I think I would almost forgive them leaving everything else the same as long as they just get rid of Bairstow from the Test team. His form is truly shocking.
I may be way off but it feels like he burns through some absolutely wasteful reviews sometimes because he just can't believe he could possibly be out.
He's the new Watto.
Yep. I would have Jos as 7/wk/captain (he is brilliant with DRS). I have no idea what they're thinking, I bet Stokes would be next man but I think that's a terrible idea. Captains need to be thinkers.
I've read between the lines on a few journo tweets during this series that suggest Bairstow is a serious drag on the team. He seems to be able to dictate his own role, which is bizarre.
Last edited by Jimmy Floyd; 13-09-2019 at 10:01 AM.
"Jack Leach's average is 21 but England now average 58 runs per dismissal while he is at the crease."
Buttler had a proper brain fart there. Watch Steve Smith beat our score by himself now.
Must be a typo on the live text because it reads like one of our amazing middle order just chucked away his wicket when he was the key man of the remaining batsmen.
It's hardly Buttler's fault. When he swatted a few sixes last night, he's getting praised for counter-attacking with the tail. Now he's out playing in that manner, we're all bemoaning a rash shot. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
It comes down to the coaching and / or selection, ultimately.
But a rubbish shot is a rubbish shot.
What about Burns for captain? He’s nailed down his spot with some good scores in this series. And he has the advantage of actually having captained a first class side before! No more of this learning on the job shit.
Would be a good shout but more chance of them digging up Cowdrey.
Smith and Labuschange are now called Death and Taxes courtesy of the BBC text.
Well there's one of them gone. Now to get rid of the remainders before Smith hits 300.
Archer hitting the ground running in tests (as well as the ritual mullerings of Davey Warner) is another of the few saving graces of this series for England.
Gwan son.
Craig Overton, though, great pick for Old Trafford. Height and bounce. Height. TEN FOOT TALL WITH A MASSIVE SPINE
Fuck me he’s missed a straight one.
Had a premonition of us being 38-3, with Cummins 3-9 having cleaned up Root first ball again.
Probably need to bat them out of existence if at all possible. How do you figure out what is a defendable target when the Smithbot is potentially chasing it?
That might be a difficult call if it wasn't win or bust with regards to drawing the series. Lead of 380 and declare. Fortunately for Root he probably won't have a decision to make anyway.
Yeah, we aren't going to be declaring as we'd probably have to bat the best part of 5 sessions.
If we bat all day today, that should be sufficient. Smith's innings yesterday was his worst of the series, and the rest of them are a total shitshow. If we end up drawing it 2-2 it will actually be a great outcome for us given how turd we are.
They will keep picking Bairstow until the two-man selection panel of Root and Bairstow decide otherwise.
If the new coach turns out to be Gillespie he'll probably go the whole hog and recall Ballance.
The main good news if/when we close this game out is that it will involve Australians crowing over how they won, even though it was actually a tie.
What’s the boundary countback over the series
That's another awful review.
Fucking love Jofra who has just randomly decided to start giving it to Wade in the most theatrical possible manner.
I was going to ask what the beef is there.
Feels like a fairly fitting end to the series, although the last two games would have been better the other way around from a DRAMA perspective.
Couldn't really give a flying fuck about 'the urn' in all honesty.
Warner scored fewer runs than Smith averaged in the series.
In fact, 3 of the bottom 5 Australian batting averages were their openers. lol
Wade's probably nabbed the gloves in the team of the series with that hundred.
He has officially given up keeping, so we'll have to give them to Ben Foakes I think.
This is the first time for a few summers that I haven't had my fill of cricket at this point. I want more. Maybe it's age. Winter is shite.
Finals Day still to come.
Yep, which I am actually going to so can't really complain. I might have to get myself some sort of Benaud-style seasonal 6 month gig in Australia so I never see darkness again.
It's partly that (and Archer is the most thrilling cricketer I have seen for years) but I am also out on the club circuit the whole time, finished my umpiring badges and you know, just pour some more of this game into my gullet please it's the best.