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Bairstow's dismissal ended up being the only reason why Australia won the 2nd Test.
Its so hard to win 3 tests in a row, so I wouldn't expect England to win this series now, but finishing with a tied 2-2 series is very doable if England maintain their current level.
And if the series finishes 2-2, then England will be considered the better team, because of that Bairstow situation.
With sandpapergate still fresh in everyone's memories, surely Cummins or Smith would want to use the Bairstow situation to show Australia had turned over a new leaf..... but no, the total opposite.
Bairstow's dismissal ended up being the only reason why Australia won the 2nd Test.
Its so hard to win 3 tests in a row, so I wouldn't expect England to win this series now, but finishing with a tied 2-2 series is very doable if England maintain their current level.
And if the series finishes 2-2, then England will be considered the better team, because of that Bairstow situation.
With sandpapergate still fresh in everyone's memories, surely Cummins or Smith would want to use the Bairstow situation to show Australia had turned over a new leaf..... but no, the total opposite.
Think it's too late now. Ollie Pope is now out for the series as well. Supposedly Moeen is coming back but it wasnt like he was bowling great before getting hurt. And dont let Stokes incredible innings distract people away from the fact that his bowling has been virtually nonexistent thanks to his knee injuries. This means that England is a bowler short, especially with Anderson falling off a cliff the way he has.
The ballsy move would be to move Root to number 3, then move everyone else up a spot and bring in another front-line paceman. Tell Stokes he's a batsman for the rest of the series. Actually, bring in two pacers, one to take Stokes bowling spot and the other...to replace Jimmy. England is just not good enough to carry a passenger in its attack.
I think what I suggested is probably a bridge too far for the England management to bear. Jimmy has been a great and loyal servant for many years so I guess emotionally, England could lose this Ashes just to give him the sendoff that he would deserve. But what I suggested would be ruthless but give England a fighting chance of coming back from 2-0 down.
The Indian subcontinent has brought plenty of Aussies undone as well.
Too many world class cricketers just don’t perform well there, too many to think of and name them.
The conditions just don’t suit players that are used to green and lively wickets.
The problem for Jimmy is that the number of pitches around the world that support his type of bowling are few and far between, plus they are dwindling fast. If he's complaining about pitches in England, well then he might as well hang them up now. He wont get much better anywhere else around the world, not just India.
Bairstow's dismissal ended up being the only reason why Australia won the 2nd Test.
Its so hard to win 3 tests in a row, so I wouldn't expect England to win this series now, but finishing with a tied 2-2 series is very doable if England maintain their current level.
And if the series finishes 2-2, then England will be considered the better team, because of that Bairstow situation.
With sandpapergate still fresh in everyone's memories, surely Cummins or Smith would want to use the Bairstow situation to show Australia had turned over a new leaf..... but no, the total opposite.
Whilst I agree, the whole Bairstow controversy is getting out of hand and these Ashes will now be remembered for that incident rather than the cricket.
In terms of Headingley, it's a ground that England often perform well at, and the crowd will be hostile to Australia to a greater extent than Lords, and the last three games for Australia at Headingley, Old Trafford and Oval will hopefully be very difficult.
As for the incident, it was down to the Umpires, and the correct way forward would be for the Umpires and team Captains to sit down and hold a proper discussion, whilst in terms of better clarification and the rules that is something that Crickets governing bodies will have to examine.
However at the end of the day, it's just a game, and the recent tragic loss of Australian cricketers Shane Warne, Rod Marsh, and Andrew Symonds last year puts things in to perspective.
Bairstow's dismissal ended up being the only reason why Australia won the 2nd Test.
I don't think so.
The reason we haven't won is poor discipline in the field. Over two tests English batsman have outscored Australia's - yet we're 2-0 down and it's because of the no-balls, byes and dropped catches.
We've put three down this morning already.
England's stubbornness to keep Bairstow behind the wickets is costing them dear, Foakes is far superior.
Think it's too late now. Ollie Pope is now out for the series as well. Supposedly Moeen is coming back but it wasnt like he was bowling great before getting hurt. And dont let Stokes incredible innings distract people away from the fact that his bowling has been virtually nonexistent thanks to his knee injuries. This means that England is a bowler short, especially with Anderson falling off a cliff the way he has.
The ballsy move would be to move Root to number 3, then move everyone else up a spot and bring in another front-line paceman. Tell Stokes he's a batsman for the rest of the series. Actually, bring in two pacers, one to take Stokes bowling spot and the other...to replace Jimmy. England is just not good enough to carry a passenger in its attack.
I think what I suggested is probably a bridge too far for the England management to bear. Jimmy has been a great and loyal servant for many years so I guess emotionally, England could lose this Ashes just to give him the sendoff that he would deserve. But what I suggested would be ruthless but give England a fighting chance of coming back from 2-0 down.
Well it looks like someone in England management was reading my posts here on CD lol. Jimmy's out, Wood in...and you can see the difference just having that raw pace can make to a side. The Aussies dont enjoy the rockets any more than other batsmen.
Jonny's had a tough time of it as the keeper. Clearly he's in the side more for his batting. I say make him a batsman only and bring back Foakes just like Winterbeard suggested. Only thing is apparently he absolutely detests not being the wicketkeeper. Tough luck I say. Do what's best for the team. One would have thought teams around the world would have watched and learned from Kamran Akmal of Pakistan. Good batsmen, but horrible behind the stumps. Cost Pakistan quite a few games with his sloppy keeping.
I honestly forgot that Mitchell Marsh was still playing cricket. So to see him pop up and make a hundred was a shocker to me. Well good for him. I remember a few years ago back when he first broke into the side, the Oz media was predicting that he and Stokes would spend the next ten years battling for the crown of top allrounder. Typical Ashes bias...Stokes kind of worked out but Marsh never quite put it all together. Then again, while Australians will always call themselves the allrounder country due to Keith Miller, they've honestly sucked at producing genuine allrounders. The closest they got might have been Shane Watson. I'm still not sure what to make of Green. Feels like he's best as either a third or fourth option, not really a strike bowler who can take ten wickets in a match.
Oh well, back to the game. Root needs a hundred here for England to have any hope of winning the match and keeping alive their hopes of winning the Ashes. Hopefully he does that and doesnt fall back into his old bad habit of making a cute 70 or 80. This has always been why I rate Steve Smith ahead of Root. Smith goes for the hundred. Root lets attacks of the hook. I guess we'll see.
Well it looks like someone in England management was reading my posts here on CD lol. Jimmy's out, Wood in...and you can see the difference just having that raw pace can make to a side. The Aussies dont enjoy the rockets any more than other batsmen.
Jonny's had a tough time of it as the keeper. Clearly he's in the side more for his batting. I say make him a batsman only and bring back Foakes just like Winterbeard suggested. Only thing is apparently he absolutely detests not being the wicketkeeper. Tough luck I say. Do what's best for the team. One would have thought teams around the world would have watched and learned from Kamran Akmal of Pakistan. Good batsmen, but horrible behind the stumps. Cost Pakistan quite a few games with his sloppy keeping.
I honestly forgot that Mitchell Marsh was still playing cricket. So to see him pop up and make a hundred was a shocker to me. Well good for him. I remember a few years ago back when he first broke into the side, the Oz media was predicting that he and Stokes would spend the next ten years battling for the crown of top allrounder. Typical Ashes bias...Stokes kind of worked out but Marsh never quite put it all together. Then again, while Australians will always call themselves the allrounder country due to Keith Miller, they've honestly sucked at producing genuine allrounders. The closest they got might have been Shane Watson. I'm still not sure what to make of Green. Feels like he's best as either a third or fourth option, not really a strike bowler who can take ten wickets in a match.
Oh well, back to the game. Root needs a hundred here for England to have any hope of winning the match and keeping alive their hopes of winning the Ashes. Hopefully he does that and doesnt fall back into his old bad habit of making a cute 70 or 80. This has always been why I rate Steve Smith ahead of Root. Smith goes for the hundred. Root lets attacks of the hook. I guess we'll see.
They brought in Wood and made a fast and bouncy pitch to support him but I think it has backfired.
Chasing 250 is quite a task in the fourth innings especially when they scored 230ish in the second innings.
I want England to win to keep the series alive but I will be pleasantly surprised if they score 200 plus.
I think what they needed to do in the first two matches was to make sure to provide the classic swinging and supporting English wickets to Anderson - he has beautifully responded to such English bowling conditions SO MANY TIMES that it was a no brainer - but not sure what were they thinking?
They made wickets that did not support Anderson - they took him out and made a wicket that makes Australians feel at home.
This is a comedy show in the name of taking benefits from home conditions.
They brought in Wood and made a fast and bouncy pitch to support him but I think it has backfired.
Chasing 250 is quite a task in the fourth innings especially when they scored 230ish in the second innings.
I want England to win to keep the series alive but I will be pleasantly surprised if they score 200 plus.
I think what they needed to do in the first two matches was to make sure to provide the classic swinging and supporting English wickets to Anderson - he has beautifully responded to such English bowling conditions SO MANY TIMES that it was a no brainer - but not sure what were they thinking?
They made wickets that did not support Anderson - they took him out and made a wicket that makes Australians feel at home.
This is a comedy show in the name of taking benefits from home conditions.
Yes they did. Glad they got the W.
Now the million dollar question: keep the same squad? which means Jimmy sits out the next game and potentially even the last one as well if they win Test 4. Have we just seen the end of his career without realizing it?
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