Ashes

[Metalmicky]

Looking at the pictures of the Western Terrace area as Stokes hit the winning run, there are a lot of English fans getting a drenching in beer as well

Agreed - there seems to be this mentality that the best way to celebrate is to chuck your beer in the air...... now I'm from Yorkshire, and I ain't wasting a pint for nobody.....

The Aussie's that I mentioned were targeted - it wasn't an accident....

[roversdude]

Got to give the Aussies credit in the way they congratulated Stokes at the end

[idler]

That is how sport should be. A hard fought game and mutual respect at the end.

[wing commander]

I've been getting grief about this...Me and my mates always have a day out at the cricket every year for test matches..Back in September when we were planning this years.Day 4 at Leeds was the favourite..Until I said that we've been to Ashes cricket before and this year might be our only chance to see World Cup cricket instead..So we plumped for a group game instead...

 It was a great day out that everybody loved.However it didn't take anyone long to give me grief after a day like that...

[Monkcaster_Rover]

I was climbing Scaffel Pike all day Sunday so I was without coverage for most of the day. Saw we needed 80 with 4 wickets or so remaining, got giddy but didn't see anything for a short while. Came back & saw 50 remaining with 1 wicket left, saw Stokes was in so knew there'd be half a chance. On my way back down from the summit saw a notification of Stokes winning it for us.

Think I would have been heard from Ben Nevis when I saw the score.

Got tickets for the Sunday at Old Trafford so i'm looking forward to that!

[glosterred]

Seems the Aussies can’t take it, Fatty Warne is upset as Matt Prior and Chris Adams have taken the Micky out of Lyons for his fumble. Must be thin skinned these Aussies

[Donnywolf]

I hate the Stump mike with a passion.

Paine is literally a pain shouting well done Gaz - ooh nice one Gazza - youve got him mate etc - when the ball was clearly not troubling anybody BUT I would have loved to have had a listen when the GOAT missed that extremely easy looking Run out.

Come on England - finish the job

[NickDRFC]

Seems the Aussies can’t take it, Fatty Warne is upset as Matt Prior and Chris Adams have taken the Micky out of Lyons for his fumble. Must be thin skinned these Aussies

Can’t really understand Warne’s criticisms. Their players were dignified after the result, but it’s not like our current players are dishing it out (at least as far as I’m aware) and he’s conveniently forgetting about players from his generation (or just after) talking about breaking arms, ending careers and mocking mental illness. The fact that one of their biggest wind up merchants was at fault means they were always going to get some back.

Now the dust is settling it’ll be interesting to see how we approach the game next week. Roy, Buttler & Woakes must seriously be under threat but I could see Roy and Buttler getting another chance (unfairly in my eyes, I’d hope that Stokes’ heroics don’t gloss over the fact that there are weaknesses that need addressing).

[i_ateallthepies]

Never could there be a better, more emphatic response to Josh Hazelwood's sneering remark after he bowled the ball that smashed Stokes' helmet.  I love it, just love it!!!

[Campsall rover]

Ashes are gone. We need to sort out our batting it is very brittle.
Ballance back in for Jason Roy.  Just simply no question which one is a better long form of the game player.

My Oval team:
1 Burns
2 Denly
3 Root  C
4 Ballance
5 Bairstow  ( back in at his best position as a Batsman only )
6 Stokes
7 Foakes  W.K.
8 Overton/Woakes/Curren
9 Archer
10 Broad
11 Leach

If Ballance is not considered to be good enough to get into this team then it is a shambles.
I watch a lot of county cricket and if there is a better candidate at the moment then i have missed him.
Roy is not a test batsman. Jury still out on Burns and Denly but both deserved to be persevered with.
Sibley at Warwickshire is a very solid opener and i would take him on our winter tours along with Kholer-Cadmore as a back up middle order batsman. I would also take Ben Coad if Anderson isn’t fit as a back up fast bowler. But am biased of course although I do know a good player when i see one.

Touring party.
Root c
Burns
Denly
Sibley
Ballance
Kholer-Cadmore
Bairstow
Stokes
Foakes
Ali
Curran
Woakes
Archer
Broad
Anderson/Coad
Leach

Yes I have left out Butler. He is not really worth his place as a batsman only batting at no 7 and not good enough at test level to bat higher.
So bring in Foakes who is the country’s best keeper and let Jonny Bairstow concentrate on being a front line batsman. He won’t be happy with that as he is now a very good keeper but it is in his best interests and the teams imo.

[Padge_DRFC]

Burns has had a good series against the best bowling attack in the world

[NickDRFC]

Ballance isn’t good enough for test cricket and has had more than enough chances, picking him again would be a regression.

For me we need 3 changes - Roy should be dropped, Buttler has had a poor series and should be as well and I don’t see Overton as being test quality. Pope should definitely get a game, he looked a decent enough player last year, and I’d also bring in Sam Curran at his home ground. I’d also bring in Sibley and open with him - Denly has done enough I reckon to keep his place but he’s not a long term solution at opener so I’d prefer to give Sibley a go. Denly should bat at 3 and Root where he feels most comfortable, at 4.

I’d also like Root to stand down as captain - he hasn’t really impressed me or improved since he’s had the job, and his batting has really gone downhill.

[Colemans Left Hook]

Can't anyone see what a weak cluess captain Joe Root is --  hopeless at field placings yesterday I noticed Stokes controlled the huddle.. Their can only be one Captain and that is Stokes

years ago we had Mike Brearley who was a brilliant Test captain and a substandard test batsman   and averaged about 27

on checking his test average was even worse than that

  22.88    39  matches only 1442 runs

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=mile+brearleys+test+average 


i can't believe the poster above has realised the same fact about Root

[i_ateallthepies]

I've listened to every test on TMS and both English and Australian commentators have been openly critical of Root's captaincy.

[Campsall rover]

Ballance isn’t good enough for test cricket and has had more than enough chances, picking him again would be a regression.

For me we need 3 changes - Roy should be dropped, Buttler has had a poor series and should be as well and I don’t see Overton as being test quality. Pope should definitely get a game, he looked a decent enough player last year, and I’d also bring in Sam Curran at his home ground. I’d also bring in Sibley and open with him - Denly has done enough I reckon to keep his place but he’s not a long term solution at opener so I’d prefer to give Sibley a go. Denly should bat at 3 and Root where he feels most comfortable, at 4.

I’d also like Root to stand down as captain - he hasn’t really impressed me or improved since he’s had the job, and his batting has really gone downhill.

Wouldn’t disagree with most of that. Except Ballance. He was the fastest player to get 1000 test runs for England ever, batting at no 5. They then moved him to no 3 where he struggled. He was shafted big time. He has improved his technique and should walk into this test team. Bat him at no 4 or 5
If Root wants to go back to 4 then he goes in no 3 where he has now been batting for Yorkshire for 2 seasons. If Burns, Sibley & Denly are first 3 then he would be first spare batsman, as Root 4, Bairstow  no 5 and Stokes 6, Foakes 7.
Pope has not scored volume of runs to justify being ahead of Ballance at the moment.
I have watched County cricket in volume and GB is a class act. Sorry he was shafted by the selectors big time pushing him up to no 3 at a time when Ian Bell should have put his hand up and taken responsibility and batted no 3.
My opinion of course, but there are a heck of a lot of knowledgable cricket people who agree with me.

[Campsall rover]

Yes i agree, don’t think Joe is a great captain.
Making our top all rounder Stokes captain could be a massive error as it may be a serious distraction to his game.
It didn’t work with Beefy or Flintoff.

Not sure who is captain material. Broad could do it on a short term basis but he is nearer to the end of his test career than the start.
A lot nearer to the end.

Long term I could see Tom Kholer-Cadmore assuming he establishes himself as a regular test player. Has the potential to imo.
He is almost certainly going to be Yorkshire’s next captain after Patto relinquishes the post, or is relieved of it.
Other than him no idea. Any suggestions anybody.

[NickDRFC]

Ballance isn’t good enough for test cricket and has had more than enough chances, picking him again would be a regression.

For me we need 3 changes - Roy should be dropped, Buttler has had a poor series and should be as well and I don’t see Overton as being test quality. Pope should definitely get a game, he looked a decent enough player last year, and I’d also bring in Sam Curran at his home ground. I’d also bring in Sibley and open with him - Denly has done enough I reckon to keep his place but he’s not a long term solution at opener so I’d prefer to give Sibley a go. Denly should bat at 3 and Root where he feels most comfortable, at 4.

I’d also like Root to stand down as captain - he hasn’t really impressed me or improved since he’s had the job, and his batting has really gone downhill.

Wouldn’t disagree with most of that. Except Ballance. He was the fastest player to get 1000 test runs for England ever, batting at no 5. They then moved him to no 3 where he struggled. He was shafted big time. He has improved his technique and should walk into this test team. Bat him at no 4 or 5
If Root wants to go back to 4 then he goes in no 3 where he has now been batting for Yorkshire for 2 seasons. If Burns, Sibley & Denly are first 3 then he would be first spare batsman, as Root 4, Bairstow  no 5 and Stokes 6, Foakes 7.
Pope has not scored volume of runs to justify being ahead of Ballance at the moment.
I have watched County cricket in volume and GB is a class act. Sorry he was shafted by the selectors big time pushing him up to no 3 at a time when Ian Bell should have put his hand up and taken responsibility and batted no 3.
My opinion of course, but there are a heck of a lot of knowledgable cricket people who agree with me.

You’re obviously a big fan of his but there’s a bit of revisionism there...Ballance made his Test debut batting at 5 (scoring only a few runs) but in his second game he moved to 3 and that’s where he scored all those runs early on. I remember being surprised how successful he was as he’d always batted down the order at 5 or 6 for Yorkshire. I’ve no idea how you come to the conclusion that he has been shafted. He’s been dropped and recalled several times over the past few years and his technique has always let him down when standing so deep in his crease - I don’t watch country cricket so will have to take your word for it that it has improved.

I just don’t see the point in recalling someone who has had several chances and never recaptured anything like his original form and would prefer us to give a chance to someone younger.

[Campsall rover]

Got to take issue with you on where GB batted getting most of those 1000 runs. He batted at no 5 for quite some time for England.
He was clearly not a no 3 and should never have been moved there.

He bats at 3 for Yorks now but would prefer him at 4. For England 4/5 would imo suit him best. England tried to turn him into something he wasn’t. He is a natural stroke player and at 3 he was almost an opener on many occasions. His technique has improved, he is not back in his crease so much now.
It’s all about opinions Nick and as much as i disagree with you, of course i respect your opinion.

[NickDRFC]

You’re wrong I’m afraid. Debut down under in the Ashes 2013 series, scoring only 25 runs batting at 5, followed by:

Batting at 3 vs Sri Lanka:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/11718/scorecard/667901/england-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-investec-test-sri-lanka-tour-of-england-and-ireland-2014

Batting at 3 vs India
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2014/engine/series/667693.html
Batting at 3 vs West Indies
http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/engine/series/766903.html

And he kept batting at 3 after that. Whether he deserves a recall now is a matter of opinion, but the fact that virtually his entire England career is at 3 is impossible to argue with. Painting him as some sort of victim who was messed about is simply not true.

[Campsall rover]

You’re wrong I’m afraid. Debut down under in the Ashes 2013 series, scoring only 25 runs batting at 5, followed by:

Batting at 3 vs Sri Lanka:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/11718/scorecard/667901/england-vs-sri-lanka-2nd-investec-test-sri-lanka-tour-of-england-and-ireland-2014

Batting at 3 vs India
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2014/engine/series/667693.html
Batting at 3 vs West Indies
http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/engine/series/766903.html

And he kept batting at 3 after that. Whether he deserves a recall now is a matter of opinion, but the fact that virtually his entire England career is at 3 is impossible to argue with. Painting him as some sort of victim who was messed about is simply not true.

Well I can’t argue with facts. My memory is playing tricks.
I could have sworn he batted at 5 in nearly all those tests.
I was at the Sri Lanka test at Headingley in summer of 2014. Had 2 days there.
My apologies Nick.
Still don’t think he was given a fair crack with England. His test ave is 37.45 which ain’t bad at all.
1475 runs in 23 tests. 4 centuries and 7 fifties.
If that’s droppable then most of the present lot should be in fear of their places. That is for sure.
The point is he is a better player now than he was 5 years ago.
He is considerably a better test player than Denly, Roy, Vince, Malan, & Westley who have all played in the last 3 years. Pope is untried so is an unknown quantity.
The statistics back me up.
Who would you say is better right now and should play.
Pope, Kholer-Cadmore and one or two other younger players are the only alternative.
We need some experience in the middle order for our tour of South Africa this winter.
Gary Ballance did very well indeed last series we played there.

[Monkcaster_Rover]

I was there yesterday. Brilliant atmosphere. Ozzies bowling attack is something impressive to witness live.

At 11AM I didn't expect us to be an hour away from a draw.

Great day out despite the result.

[idler]

I was there yesterday. Brilliant atmosphere. Ozzies bowling attack is something impressive to witness live.

At 11AM I didn't expect us to be an hour away from a draw.

Great day out despite the result.

That's how sport should be, enjoy the day as much as possible however it ends up.