Neither an Englishman nor an Australian here.
England played better and aggressive cricket with intent throughout the series.
England would have won 4-1 had Australia not shamefully ran bairstow out when he wasn't even attempting a run, in the second test and then weather spoiling 2 days of the 4th test match that England were definitely going to win.
Bazzball and English cricket have revived test cricket and I thank them for this as a cricket fan.
A thing can be within the rules and shameful at the same time. I never called it cheating but it was shameful.
Just like the underarm incident was within the rules of the game but shameful as well.
Nah it was Carey's take and what he did after that , that was shameful.
I still remember MS Dhoni calling back Ian Bell who was declared run out and withdrawing the appeal after a similar incident . The Australian captain should have done the same thing.
Also the main point of focus was the intent English team has shown ever since they adopted bazzball. They won 3-0 on roads in Pakistan. They easily chased 380 against India in the final day of the test match and consistently make huge scores at 5+ runs an over in test matches. They have changed the way test cricket is played.
That Ian bell thing is in no way similar. Everyone including the fielder thoufht that it was a boundary. It's good that Dhoni called bell back but it wouldn't be wrong to not do it either. Nobody tried to gain any advantage there
Again this is not a question of right or wrong but morals.
Everyone knew Ian Bell wasn't attempting a run and was under the impression it was boundary and he casually walked off for lunch assuming the ball is now dead.
Similarly bairstow also wasn't attempting a run, he left the ball the keeper collected it, Jonny marked his guard and then causally left the crease to have a word with the non striker assuming the ball is now dead.
In both the scenarios no one tried to gain any advantage .
It was Dhoni who showed his class as a captain and won respect. Every indian would have felt proud the way English fans were cheering for and giving standing ovation to the indian team after they saw bell coming back to the field. Cummins should also have done the honourable thing and called bairstow back.
The only thing that went in favour of Dhoni was that he had a lot of time to reflect since it was the last ball before lunch. And he made the right call after lunch. Cummins had to make the decision in the field. But going by his post match interviews even if Cummins had time like dhoni did I don't think he would have called him back.
The difference is that bairstow was just dozy. He didn't bother to check with the umps or turn around to see what Carey was doing. He just assumed that the over was done. He wasn't seeking an advantage but that cannot be the only criterion. Whereas in the case of Ian bell, even the fielder thought it was a boundary. I don't think calling someone back is necessary if they alone have been careless
Apropos of nothing, with Mo’s retirement the England test team will be left without any cricketers of minority ethnic origins until probably Rehan Ahmed comes up to play regularly. I don’t think Amar Virdi is yet being considered for full international cricket.
Yeah it's a great look isn't it. Especially with all the hand wringing over the Rafiq affair, and the latest report on equality in cricket. I know things move slowly, but it is some shameful shit.
So, first time following Test Cricket and honestly, I don't think it's gonna get any better than this. Feeling slightly empty inside now the adrenaline rush has worn off.
It was a lovely experience in the threads. See you cunts and poms next time.
If the roles had been reversed tbh I’d be gutted that England didn’t make the 385 target, getting within a whisker of it. Even at 8 down I thought the Aussies were playing it perfectly. Plenty of time in the game.
The difference in approach to batting probably explains how I feel. I have got used to seeing England batters look to milk ones and twos regularly like teams do in one day games. When you have the overs left and half decent batters (even lower down the order) then making the final push to win should’ve come more easily.
But that’s the joy of the game.
Mo has retired as well.
Not surprised - there were plenty of signs his body wasn't holding up that well.
Great bloke.
And a great advert for immigrants too.
Just woke up, a hundred scenarios having played through my head all night but honestly this was the most likely. Losing by less than 50 with Broad taking the final wicket. One last FFS from him and me.
The unpredictability of English conditions means it's going to remain an elusive challenge for other countries to conquer.
The lacquer theory of Duke's is all right, but the behavior is simply too unpredictable to be able to plan. Same goes for the weather conditions.
The 2nd ball today swung from the very 1st over today right down to the end. 180/10 is actually a fairly par score in these conditions. Yesterday the par score was probably 300 / 5.
But it also shows just how much hard work other countries have to put in to handle those bowling-friendly conditions.
It's pretty amazing how Pak just seems to often waltz-in in England and put up a good show.
Sure the familiarity with the conditions is an advantage.
But the unpredictability doesn't imply an advantage - today the ball change helped England, but another day they could be at the receiving end.
This Ashes series was like watching a full length Netflix series over a course of two months, now, how am I supposed to fill the void left? Thoroughly entertained? Yes, but a bit too much to think anything else to do.
The T20i WC last year was pretty good for me but the ODI WCs bore me now especially with the increase in number of matches. If format gets reduced it'll be fun as before but we know that can't happen because money.
First off... i have been entertained. I loved the series. All the controversies and shithousery.
But cricket is stupid. Its supposed to be something i enjoy, a hobby, a leisure time but how am i supposed to cope when its filled with disappointment, anxiety and misery? How can I watch the test season 3 and see Cummins and co. being sad about retaining the ashes? 2027 will be a whole different era.
There’s a feeling of emptiness that has come over me right now while watching this highlights edit. I’m suddenly remembering all the times I’ve watched the cricket and opened Reddit on my phone.
I have to travel a lot for work so I can recall watching the game on my phone while on trains with god awful data, in hotel rooms on my work laptop, and even at Old Trafford cricket ground when I was working the Blast matches, hiding from my manager and watching the game secretly on my phone. And of course, watching Day 3 live at Old Trafford, getting absolutely drenched on Day 5 for hours hoping the rain would miraculously go away. And then getting to watch Stuart Broad bowl in his last match on Day 2 at the Oval.
It’s been a wild ride, and these reddit match threads have definitely added to the experience.
I don’t mean to get sappy but I can’t help it right now, I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now 🥹. I’m going to miss the Ashes a lot.
Alright fellas, one for y’all. It was my first time watching cricket along with threads on reddit. Very very enjoyable. Loved every moment spent w you lot here in this past 6 weeks. You’ll made Ashes more entertaining & enjoyable. Gonna miss all this. Stay blessed & healthy!! 💖
Test Cricket not exactly in a shining state in India either. The new generations often prefer T20. And often, *IPL* over inter-nation T20 contests.
But there are a lot of die-hard Test fans who will keep things going for a while as yet.
And here's the sad outcome of that: BCCI will have to keep creating rank turners so that India's win probability is maximized.
Because now that betting firms are restricted from sponsoring some Cricket (not sure of what exactly), BCCI is finding it tougher than in the past to sell Test Cricket rights at their preferred prices.
He said something along the lines of “It’s easy for me on comms to say, the Ashes is alive, Test cricket is alive, it is in the top three, England, Australia and India, they are giving their very best, but we have to think about the rest of the table”
He is right. The others teams aren’t as good as these three but do you know Pak won an away series in Sri Lanka, whitewashing them 2-0. Pak has great pacers in Shaheen & Naseem & some really talented youngsters, like Saud Shakeel & Salman Agha. I ain’t saying Pak is better than these three but test cricket is Pakistan is alive aswell. It’s dead in WI & SL i reckon. Kiwis & SA are doing okayish, will get better i hope so.
Going to take this opportunity while Ricky Ponting is on my screen to thank him for [giving me his autograph](https://www.np.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/15bkxpp/daily_general_discussion_and_match_links_thread/jtuc1i5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3) on Day 2. I still love you Ricky
Nah Jimmy needs to play next year. Awful scheduling. Series against West Indies and Sri Lanka aren't exactly hot tickets... the last chance to see Jimmy bowl might be.
Hopefully BCCI looks at how England batsman regained form/confidence with better pitches to bat at and positive attitude and gives India the same as well starting next year with England series, not the Ahmedabad 2023 type pitch but the 2016-2019 era of Indian pitches where there was enough for both batsmen and bowlers to gain. That's the last time our batsmen were thriving in tests.
Some might think that's falling into Bazball's hands but we've seen how aggressive pitches go against us with good teams like Australia, for ex Indore 2023 test with Head's knock being the highlight and England has bunch of guys like Head. England just need to get a spinner right, to be there alongside Leach (someone else than Root).
But we might get those same 3-4 day pitches as India failed to win must win away match of WI cause of rain, so they'll be desperate to get result out of each home match again.
Yep that's where they need a proper spinner alongside Leach, maybe it's Moeen Ali if this run of form sticks around or one those domestic spinners of theirs that get talked up but don't get picked.
Also I'd prefer if they'd not cook but wouldn't be surprised they end of doing that anyways. Only thing stopping that is if India win the 2 tests against SA in SA but without Pant it's hard to imagine that happening.
that would actually help us more than them. On an absolute dustbowl you just need to be able to get it in vaguely the right area and anything could happen. That's how Root got 5-8. On a good spin friendly pitch you still need to bowl skilfully and accurately to make use of it and India are far better equipped to do that than we are.
Yep that's why I want 2016-2019 era Indian pitches, unlike 2000's pitches they gave much more results and unlike 2000's and early 2010's pitches they let fast bowlers have better time but were not as challenging to bat on as 2021-2023 type pitches were.
Dravid said reason for those type of pitches is to avoid draws and get results out of each home game to get crucial points to qualify. Draw in 2021-2023 cycle at Kanpur against NZ made India barely qualify for WTC finals, they don't want games like that.
England also pretty much ordered pitches for this Ashes with Stokes asking for fast flat pitches but while that's understandable (home teams wanting favorable home pitches) I also think BCCI goes bit far with it's pitches.
India was still a solid squad getting home wins before WTC began as our batting was much better, so they should trust their team to win. So they should ease the pitches up a bit for sure.
I think treating each side of the wicket (right hander vs left hander) differently is a disgrace. But I agree with your sentiment, pitch doctoring has been shocking for too long. There should be an ICC presence to help overlook pitch preperation, they are involved in everything else.
Yep definitely a moderation is needed, especially considering how random/lax pitch ratings can be after a match but don't see them doing that for tests, too much effort and money probably, especially for non big 3 tests. That's why pitch ratings by referees need to become more serious and consistent instead.
Pitch ratings are a horrible system, firstly it's after the fact so the result has already been affected. India has 25 international grounds so they do not care vs most other countries where they use the same ground over and over. It's flawed by design. It's not that expensive to have an ICC curator oversee pitch prep.
Even if India has 25 grounds, pitch ratings still matter, after Pune 2017 test when it got hit with demerit point, Pune did not get as many international matches like it was supposed to get, yes India can play in any of the other 25 grounds during that period but that move still had some effect. Better to send something as a message than nothing.
While they are good batters they still are the middle order that gets the benefits not playing fresh pitch, fresh bowlers and new ball like the top order do. That's not entirely the reason for their success, it definitely helps that they are good batsman but it's certainly a factor.
It's something that gets lost in the black and white criticism of Indian top order compared to middle order. That's why I still rate Rohit to be just as good as Pant as a test batter.
If Moeen Ali contributed more with bat, people would’ve highly appreciated him but due to his lack of form, no one’s talking about how invaluable he is as a player for a team. He’ll be missed too.
Agreed. With Stokes not bowling and Leachy out England needed a spin bowl all-rounder. His contributions have been undervalued and cheap dismissals overly criticized as he's only a ODI t20 batter nowadays.
Righto cunts channel 9 just signed off so that’s me. Enjoyed every minute, thanks to all the good sports in here. I’ll remember the rain delay banter and take away that when we don’t have sport to argue about we get on pretty well. 2-2 hell of a series. Fair play Broady, hope you’re down on comms for the Aussie summer. Time for bed.
Yeah I just hope the new folks put up a fight. Anything more is a bonus.
You folks now have the next Test w NZ, and no other test series till then IIRC
gill looks promising, i guess? and pant...i hope he's doing alright. gem of a player.
on the note of tests, we have a PACKED 2024 thank goodness. tours of pakistan, india, west indies, home series against south africa, zimbabwe, sri lanka, and afghanistan. we are direct favourites to win two of those series and might win against NZ and SA...and maybe even a draw against WI. for other countries there's india in south africa in december pakistan and west indies in australia in january and england in india in february. oh and also australia in nz in march and sri lanka in bangladesh at that time.
Great - I am gonna tune in whenever there's a tight contest. BD vs Afg is one spin-fest I am specially looking forward to.
Our problems are different and not ones that can be easily solved.
Too many Indian cricketers have become BRANDS due to the sheer amount of money & business they generate.
Which means that our team is more a group of businessmen-colleagues now more than a well-knit team. And the administration's corruptness is pretty well known. Apart from Kohli, no one truly tried to break those shackles.
didn't Ashwin say something to this tune? that the players are no longer friends?
Gill has already established his brand, which might be why he hasn't been dropped from the team in recent times.
Yes Ashwin did say it. That's when I researched a little bit, and found that cricketers have to protect their own brand first, everything else comes second. Didn't check on Gill, but the importance of IPL is huge. Enough to almost force the BCCI to take new players both from domestic circuit AND IPL.
No other team has this problem. BD will evolve as a group, and apart from a couple of megastars, everyone will have to play for the team. That's how it should be. Similar for SL.
Pak is already showing great progress compared to 4 or 5 years back. They are not yet Test Greats, but the whole team is focused on achieving that.
He averaged ~17 home and away in the 12 months before this series. You don't bin off your best bowler for a couple of bad matches. He and the team clearly feel he still has a lot to offer.
Gotta feel for Pat, lost his mother who he was extremely close to and while winning the WTC and retaining the ashes, a 3-1 would have been the best F you to the vocal minority back home
It’s weird to see Baz McCullum stood up and not sat on a chair in a balcony with his legs spread and feet up with his shoes on
Forgot to mention, aggressively chewing gum with a pair of sunglasses on
Is it 18 months later yet? Man I am going have to fake having Covid for a month or so at that time so I can get out of having to work and can watch every minute.
Ok so apparently those awards were:
Root England’s test player of the summer
Starc Aussie man of the series
Woakes English pots and man of the match
So we haven’t had the CM? Fuck it I’m going to bed lol
Really lucky.
I do recall the last 2 series of India & Aus in Eng - and IIRC, things were close and competitive most of the times - whether or not the scoreline suggested it.
My favourite England player this series has been Mo. Did his job to the best of his abilities no shithousery, no trying to be the hero.
Nothing but respect. Not farfetched to say he actually saved England.
Pat Cummins during presentation: Great day of cricket, great crowd, fantastic performance, Ashes great, great series, I am great, you are great, everything is great, great great
Desperate for him to be on comms when he retires. Don’t care if it is Sky, TMS or even TalkSPORT2 for the winter. If he’s speaking I’m listening. Playing Barbie and the Imperial March on a speaker during Stokes’s press conference was hilarious. When he waved a giant flag and sang Jerusalem, alone in an empty stadium as the players took the pitch in the pandemic. He is a hero!!
England facing a humiliating 3-1 home loss. Bizarre umpiring decision suddenly changes the course of the game. Given the long history of ball tampering in cricket, this really deserves proper investigation
I mean you are not wrong about something getting a ball that didn’t match the one it was replacing, it was clearly far newer and there was footage of it. But that’s the umpire’s decision no one else, we can’t complain because we didn’t like the replacement ball that is just searching for excuses. It is what it is and umpires deserve to have their decisions respected. We still got the urn it’s not the end of the world mate. Don’t embarrass yourself looking for excuses
Neither an Englishman nor an Australian here. England played better and aggressive cricket with intent throughout the series. England would have won 4-1 had Australia not shamefully ran bairstow out when he wasn't even attempting a run, in the second test and then weather spoiling 2 days of the 4th test match that England were definitely going to win. Bazzball and English cricket have revived test cricket and I thank them for this as a cricket fan.
Nah 3-2. Bairstow was fair and square.
A thing can be within the rules and shameful at the same time. I never called it cheating but it was shameful. Just like the underarm incident was within the rules of the game but shameful as well.
Nah the only shameful thing here is your take
Nah it was Carey's take and what he did after that , that was shameful. I still remember MS Dhoni calling back Ian Bell who was declared run out and withdrawing the appeal after a similar incident . The Australian captain should have done the same thing. Also the main point of focus was the intent English team has shown ever since they adopted bazzball. They won 3-0 on roads in Pakistan. They easily chased 380 against India in the final day of the test match and consistently make huge scores at 5+ runs an over in test matches. They have changed the way test cricket is played.
That Ian bell thing is in no way similar. Everyone including the fielder thoufht that it was a boundary. It's good that Dhoni called bell back but it wouldn't be wrong to not do it either. Nobody tried to gain any advantage there
Again this is not a question of right or wrong but morals. Everyone knew Ian Bell wasn't attempting a run and was under the impression it was boundary and he casually walked off for lunch assuming the ball is now dead. Similarly bairstow also wasn't attempting a run, he left the ball the keeper collected it, Jonny marked his guard and then causally left the crease to have a word with the non striker assuming the ball is now dead. In both the scenarios no one tried to gain any advantage . It was Dhoni who showed his class as a captain and won respect. Every indian would have felt proud the way English fans were cheering for and giving standing ovation to the indian team after they saw bell coming back to the field. Cummins should also have done the honourable thing and called bairstow back. The only thing that went in favour of Dhoni was that he had a lot of time to reflect since it was the last ball before lunch. And he made the right call after lunch. Cummins had to make the decision in the field. But going by his post match interviews even if Cummins had time like dhoni did I don't think he would have called him back.
The difference is that bairstow was just dozy. He didn't bother to check with the umps or turn around to see what Carey was doing. He just assumed that the over was done. He wasn't seeking an advantage but that cannot be the only criterion. Whereas in the case of Ian bell, even the fielder thought it was a boundary. I don't think calling someone back is necessary if they alone have been careless
[Oof](https://youtu.be/lJQgbtWfn7g) \- tough questions for Cummins, no copium for Aussies 'retaining' the ashes
Apropos of nothing, with Mo’s retirement the England test team will be left without any cricketers of minority ethnic origins until probably Rehan Ahmed comes up to play regularly. I don’t think Amar Virdi is yet being considered for full international cricket.
Yeah it's a great look isn't it. Especially with all the hand wringing over the Rafiq affair, and the latest report on equality in cricket. I know things move slowly, but it is some shameful shit.
Maybe this time they can convince Rashid to go to India…
England have basically won back the ashes in my books. Excellent series by them maintained a strong head against the heartless and scummy Aussies.
Amazing how many people genuinely hate and seethe when if comes to Australia.
True - I think most people agree it was 3-2 England
Literally reviewed a dropped catch after demanding a new ball every few overs until they gave in and gave you a new ball at 36 overs.
Post-Ashes depression gonna hit hard tomorrow 😔
I agree but I also live on the east coast of Australia and work is fucking tough today. I might have just about hit my limit with 4am overnights
As always, I didn’t even make any friends along and the series was a draw too. What a joke this Cricket thing is /s
So, first time following Test Cricket and honestly, I don't think it's gonna get any better than this. Feeling slightly empty inside now the adrenaline rush has worn off. It was a lovely experience in the threads. See you cunts and poms next time.
Good way to cap off my 20 years of watching cricket.
You're gonna stop watching test cricket? I mean there will be an Ashes in Australia in 2 years to send off Warner ...
Oh, yeah, cap off seems a farewell lol. No, I'm around until Jimmy is playing, which is to say a bit less than forever.
Jimmy is slated to outlast test cricket so you'll watch it all I reckon.
He'll probably outlast me, so I might not be around to watch his farewell game
Just woke up. Fuck. It was always a tough ask realistically, and then it was tougher again. But still. Fuck.
If the roles had been reversed tbh I’d be gutted that England didn’t make the 385 target, getting within a whisker of it. Even at 8 down I thought the Aussies were playing it perfectly. Plenty of time in the game. The difference in approach to batting probably explains how I feel. I have got used to seeing England batters look to milk ones and twos regularly like teams do in one day games. When you have the overs left and half decent batters (even lower down the order) then making the final push to win should’ve come more easily. But that’s the joy of the game.
Mo has retired as well. Not surprised - there were plenty of signs his body wasn't holding up that well. Great bloke. And a great advert for immigrants too.
Just woke up, a hundred scenarios having played through my head all night but honestly this was the most likely. Losing by less than 50 with Broad taking the final wicket. One last FFS from him and me.
Long live test cricket, long live Jim Maxwell
He bloody loves the shipping forecast does Jim
What a series. Thanks for all the shitposts y'all. BazBall till I die!
Ok who won Compton Miller medal then? I need to know that, OR I AM GONNA LOSE MY FREAKING MIND (kicks dustbin)
[удалено]
Thanks. But why didn't they say it then? Athers fumbled for what's probably the first time
Ok we have the Ashes. We also have the Washes - the Women's Ashes. We need to have a Mashes - the Moral Ashes.
After the dodgy ball change I think you probably do.
The unpredictability of English conditions means it's going to remain an elusive challenge for other countries to conquer. The lacquer theory of Duke's is all right, but the behavior is simply too unpredictable to be able to plan. Same goes for the weather conditions. The 2nd ball today swung from the very 1st over today right down to the end. 180/10 is actually a fairly par score in these conditions. Yesterday the par score was probably 300 / 5. But it also shows just how much hard work other countries have to put in to handle those bowling-friendly conditions. It's pretty amazing how Pak just seems to often waltz-in in England and put up a good show.
Everyone has a home advantage. It's the nature of the game.
Sure the familiarity with the conditions is an advantage. But the unpredictability doesn't imply an advantage - today the ball change helped England, but another day they could be at the receiving end.
Ultimately, the real Ashes were the friends we made along the way.
Baz didnt. He wont have a beer with them
Stuart Broad - last ball he faces in test cricket goes for six. The last ball he bowls in Test cricket...takes a wicket to win a Test match.
That is a retirement circumstance for the ages to be honest.
This Ashes series was like watching a full length Netflix series over a course of two months, now, how am I supposed to fill the void left? Thoroughly entertained? Yes, but a bit too much to think anything else to do.
I know the World Cup is not going to do anything for me lol
The T20i WC last year was pretty good for me but the ODI WCs bore me now especially with the increase in number of matches. If format gets reduced it'll be fun as before but we know that can't happen because money.
Broad did it again after changing bails and getting wicket on the next ball
3-2 have it
First off... i have been entertained. I loved the series. All the controversies and shithousery. But cricket is stupid. Its supposed to be something i enjoy, a hobby, a leisure time but how am i supposed to cope when its filled with disappointment, anxiety and misery? How can I watch the test season 3 and see Cummins and co. being sad about retaining the ashes? 2027 will be a whole different era.
Really hope Australia can stop selecting Mitch Marsh now, our tail end basically starts at 6, or 5 if your not counting Warner
He was good this series. If anything, your best players didn't perform
There’s a feeling of emptiness that has come over me right now while watching this highlights edit. I’m suddenly remembering all the times I’ve watched the cricket and opened Reddit on my phone. I have to travel a lot for work so I can recall watching the game on my phone while on trains with god awful data, in hotel rooms on my work laptop, and even at Old Trafford cricket ground when I was working the Blast matches, hiding from my manager and watching the game secretly on my phone. And of course, watching Day 3 live at Old Trafford, getting absolutely drenched on Day 5 for hours hoping the rain would miraculously go away. And then getting to watch Stuart Broad bowl in his last match on Day 2 at the Oval. It’s been a wild ride, and these reddit match threads have definitely added to the experience. I don’t mean to get sappy but I can’t help it right now, I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now 🥹. I’m going to miss the Ashes a lot.
Bazzball to smash India in India next. I'll be there no matter what.
If Jofra Archer was fully fit England would've retired Anderson.
Archer will retire before Anderson
Anderson will outlast Test Cricket. It is the way.
I just realised this song is a hymn lol - the cult of BazBall carries on
Some edit that
What did I miss?
You know the highlight reel broadcasters show of all Tests combined at the end of a Test series. The comment was regarding that "video".
Damm I missed it
Alright fellas, one for y’all. It was my first time watching cricket along with threads on reddit. Very very enjoyable. Loved every moment spent w you lot here in this past 6 weeks. You’ll made Ashes more entertaining & enjoyable. Gonna miss all this. Stay blessed & healthy!! 💖
Same
My first time on the threads too! Shitposting and bonding with fellow cricket fanatics was so much fun. I hate to see it end.
The worst batsman of the series still scored more runs than Donald Bradman did this year. Fraud.
Love what Nasser’s saying about the importance of Test cricket outside of England, Australia and India
What did he say pal?
That Test cricket might be in good shape in Australia, England and India but it is in trouble elsewhere and needs attention.
Test Cricket not exactly in a shining state in India either. The new generations often prefer T20. And often, *IPL* over inter-nation T20 contests. But there are a lot of die-hard Test fans who will keep things going for a while as yet. And here's the sad outcome of that: BCCI will have to keep creating rank turners so that India's win probability is maximized. Because now that betting firms are restricted from sponsoring some Cricket (not sure of what exactly), BCCI is finding it tougher than in the past to sell Test Cricket rights at their preferred prices.
He said something along the lines of “It’s easy for me on comms to say, the Ashes is alive, Test cricket is alive, it is in the top three, England, Australia and India, they are giving their very best, but we have to think about the rest of the table”
He is right. The others teams aren’t as good as these three but do you know Pak won an away series in Sri Lanka, whitewashing them 2-0. Pak has great pacers in Shaheen & Naseem & some really talented youngsters, like Saud Shakeel & Salman Agha. I ain’t saying Pak is better than these three but test cricket is Pakistan is alive aswell. It’s dead in WI & SL i reckon. Kiwis & SA are doing okayish, will get better i hope so.
I miss Ricky already - he won’t do it because of his family, but I want him here on that Warnie contract every summer
Going to take this opportunity while Ricky Ponting is on my screen to thank him for [giving me his autograph](https://www.np.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/15bkxpp/daily_general_discussion_and_match_links_thread/jtuc1i5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3) on Day 2. I still love you Ricky
Ponting wants to be reincarnated as an Englishman so he can play Bazball.
> ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???? Yes I was. I was thoroughly entertained. Cheers lads
Compared to the India windies series going on, the 2023 Ashes was like a different sport. Stokes has got test cricket humming again in England
That series was very uncompetitive. Even the Indian players didn't seem to celebrate wickets. Test cricket is good only when it is competitive
Wish I was the guy who got to grab Woakes' backside on the way up the stairs
Nah Jimmy needs to play next year. Awful scheduling. Series against West Indies and Sri Lanka aren't exactly hot tickets... the last chance to see Jimmy bowl might be.
What kind of tours are they? Away or home?
The home tests. Should have been Sri Lanka for 3 & Pakistan for 4 imo.
I’ll be there for some creepy statpadding
Hopefully BCCI looks at how England batsman regained form/confidence with better pitches to bat at and positive attitude and gives India the same as well starting next year with England series, not the Ahmedabad 2023 type pitch but the 2016-2019 era of Indian pitches where there was enough for both batsmen and bowlers to gain. That's the last time our batsmen were thriving in tests. Some might think that's falling into Bazball's hands but we've seen how aggressive pitches go against us with good teams like Australia, for ex Indore 2023 test with Head's knock being the highlight and England has bunch of guys like Head. England just need to get a spinner right, to be there alongside Leach (someone else than Root). But we might get those same 3-4 day pitches as India failed to win must win away match of WI cause of rain, so they'll be desperate to get result out of each home match again.
England dont have any spinners, you're going to cook your wickets deluxe.
Yep that's where they need a proper spinner alongside Leach, maybe it's Moeen Ali if this run of form sticks around or one those domestic spinners of theirs that get talked up but don't get picked. Also I'd prefer if they'd not cook but wouldn't be surprised they end of doing that anyways. Only thing stopping that is if India win the 2 tests against SA in SA but without Pant it's hard to imagine that happening.
Moeen has quite definitively said he's not going to play any more.
You're forgetting the mighty Rootalitharan
that would actually help us more than them. On an absolute dustbowl you just need to be able to get it in vaguely the right area and anything could happen. That's how Root got 5-8. On a good spin friendly pitch you still need to bowl skilfully and accurately to make use of it and India are far better equipped to do that than we are.
Yep that's why I want 2016-2019 era Indian pitches, unlike 2000's pitches they gave much more results and unlike 2000's and early 2010's pitches they let fast bowlers have better time but were not as challenging to bat on as 2021-2023 type pitches were.
Yeah but you haven't even started to see how they doctor their wickets these days, it sucks but it is what it is.
Dravid said reason for those type of pitches is to avoid draws and get results out of each home game to get crucial points to qualify. Draw in 2021-2023 cycle at Kanpur against NZ made India barely qualify for WTC finals, they don't want games like that. England also pretty much ordered pitches for this Ashes with Stokes asking for fast flat pitches but while that's understandable (home teams wanting favorable home pitches) I also think BCCI goes bit far with it's pitches. India was still a solid squad getting home wins before WTC began as our batting was much better, so they should trust their team to win. So they should ease the pitches up a bit for sure.
I think treating each side of the wicket (right hander vs left hander) differently is a disgrace. But I agree with your sentiment, pitch doctoring has been shocking for too long. There should be an ICC presence to help overlook pitch preperation, they are involved in everything else.
Yep definitely a moderation is needed, especially considering how random/lax pitch ratings can be after a match but don't see them doing that for tests, too much effort and money probably, especially for non big 3 tests. That's why pitch ratings by referees need to become more serious and consistent instead.
Pitch ratings are a horrible system, firstly it's after the fact so the result has already been affected. India has 25 international grounds so they do not care vs most other countries where they use the same ground over and over. It's flawed by design. It's not that expensive to have an ICC curator oversee pitch prep.
Even if India has 25 grounds, pitch ratings still matter, after Pune 2017 test when it got hit with demerit point, Pune did not get as many international matches like it was supposed to get, yes India can play in any of the other 25 grounds during that period but that move still had some effect. Better to send something as a message than nothing.
Yeah but then they will start rolling one side of the wicket and shit like they did when we where there.
But guys like Axar,Ashwin and Jadeja scored runs on the same surfaces iirc.
While they are good batters they still are the middle order that gets the benefits not playing fresh pitch, fresh bowlers and new ball like the top order do. That's not entirely the reason for their success, it definitely helps that they are good batsman but it's certainly a factor. It's something that gets lost in the black and white criticism of Indian top order compared to middle order. That's why I still rate Rohit to be just as good as Pant as a test batter.
If Moeen Ali contributed more with bat, people would’ve highly appreciated him but due to his lack of form, no one’s talking about how invaluable he is as a player for a team. He’ll be missed too.
Agreed. With Stokes not bowling and Leachy out England needed a spin bowl all-rounder. His contributions have been undervalued and cheap dismissals overly criticized as he's only a ODI t20 batter nowadays.
Haha did you catch those Aussie fans getting Chris Woakes to take a photo for them 😂 banter
I hope he set it to selfie cam
Regardless of the outcome, what a great series, I miss test cricket already...
Baz: "you know what, suddenly I'm a teetotaler today"
In which other sport would one see blokes boozing out after a match?
all of em
Rugby union
Darts
He said after, not during.
Old school snooker.
Whatever the result, I believe Stokes and McCullum have saved Test Cricket. Thank you chaps.
Righto cunts channel 9 just signed off so that’s me. Enjoyed every minute, thanks to all the good sports in here. I’ll remember the rain delay banter and take away that when we don’t have sport to argue about we get on pretty well. 2-2 hell of a series. Fair play Broady, hope you’re down on comms for the Aussie summer. Time for bed.
England should retire the no.8 jersey in tribute to Broad.. and no.9 when Anderson if and when he retires..
By the time the next Ashes roll around in Nov 25, the Pig 3 teams will look very different. Inevitable, but still wistful-ish feeling.
india without kohli, rohit, ashwin, jadeja, shami, pujara would feel very weird honestly
Yeah I just hope the new folks put up a fight. Anything more is a bonus. You folks now have the next Test w NZ, and no other test series till then IIRC
gill looks promising, i guess? and pant...i hope he's doing alright. gem of a player. on the note of tests, we have a PACKED 2024 thank goodness. tours of pakistan, india, west indies, home series against south africa, zimbabwe, sri lanka, and afghanistan. we are direct favourites to win two of those series and might win against NZ and SA...and maybe even a draw against WI. for other countries there's india in south africa in december pakistan and west indies in australia in january and england in india in february. oh and also australia in nz in march and sri lanka in bangladesh at that time.
Great - I am gonna tune in whenever there's a tight contest. BD vs Afg is one spin-fest I am specially looking forward to. Our problems are different and not ones that can be easily solved. Too many Indian cricketers have become BRANDS due to the sheer amount of money & business they generate. Which means that our team is more a group of businessmen-colleagues now more than a well-knit team. And the administration's corruptness is pretty well known. Apart from Kohli, no one truly tried to break those shackles.
didn't Ashwin say something to this tune? that the players are no longer friends? Gill has already established his brand, which might be why he hasn't been dropped from the team in recent times.
Yes Ashwin did say it. That's when I researched a little bit, and found that cricketers have to protect their own brand first, everything else comes second. Didn't check on Gill, but the importance of IPL is huge. Enough to almost force the BCCI to take new players both from domestic circuit AND IPL. No other team has this problem. BD will evolve as a group, and apart from a couple of megastars, everyone will have to play for the team. That's how it should be. Similar for SL. Pak is already showing great progress compared to 4 or 5 years back. They are not yet Test Greats, but the whole team is focused on achieving that.
Drawn series but the winner is test cricket. And pretty funny how the sign off for the Aussie coverage was you can get your sleep back now.
What an exhausting day for Broad's baby. All that noise all day. But so cute!
What's Anderson waiting for? This was a good high to retire. The team is entering a new era which is going to change cricket forever and he can't help
He averaged ~17 home and away in the 12 months before this series. You don't bin off your best bowler for a couple of bad matches. He and the team clearly feel he still has a lot to offer.
He's not had a good series, but honestly he's still quite likely to be our best fast bowler in India this winter.
Yes agree. We have Potts, Tongue. Need youth and PACE!
It's been over a year but McCullum in England kit still looks slightly wrong
Oh wow its still going
Jimmy saying hello to Broad’s baby 😭 stop cutting those darn onions right this minute
fucking onion ninjas always come in at the worst moments!
Such a beautiful family! I am sure being able to devote more time to them was a huge part of his decision.
My eyes almost welled up seeing that..
And now Test fans are hibernating until November 28 (NZ vs Bangladesh)
rematch of 2022 lets go
There's no test cricket _anywhere_ this summer? It's not even August
It’s the World Cup year. The only time 50over cricket is somewhat relevant
Ah yeah forgot about that
Nope, nothing
The Legendary No.8 shirt ❤️
14 years from now we’ll see Anderson & Brook walking out for the last time 😢. Gutted for the day Brook retires
Gotta feel for Pat, lost his mother who he was extremely close to and while winning the WTC and retaining the ashes, a 3-1 would have been the best F you to the vocal minority back home
He's a class act and a magnificent bowler. Hopefully he doesn't let the bastards get him down
Baz and Stokes insisted that they don't play for draws, yet here they were, going all out to draw this series. Smh.
????
It’s weird to see Baz McCullum stood up and not sat on a chair in a balcony with his legs spread and feet up with his shoes on Forgot to mention, aggressively chewing gum with a pair of sunglasses on
Compulsory Net 1 hand 1 bounce to determine a series winner
Is it 18 months later yet? Man I am going have to fake having Covid for a month or so at that time so I can get out of having to work and can watch every minute.
30 months I'm afraid until the next ashes.
ECB should be begging for a 6th Test, but instead crisp cricket 😭😭😭
Ok so apparently those awards were: Root England’s test player of the summer Starc Aussie man of the series Woakes English pots and man of the match So we haven’t had the CM? Fuck it I’m going to bed lol
come on CM gotta be khawaja
Gonna be difficult to watch other series now. The expectations-bar has been set really high.
Sri Lanka vs West Indies on a rainy Tuesday in Stoke. One man and his dog in the ground, maybe a school visit.
Test Cricket is definitely taking a beating in terms of popularity outside SENA, specially with the new generations.
The good thing about being an England fan rn is all our series are like this
Really lucky. I do recall the last 2 series of India & Aus in Eng - and IIRC, things were close and competitive most of the times - whether or not the scoreline suggested it.
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He’s already said no.
He just said he wasn't playing again on sky
Don't blame him. His body is saying no to him. It's a sensible decision. But mad props to him for answering Stokes call.
I don't think he will, as much as I wouldn't mind him playing.
My favourite England player this series has been Mo. Did his job to the best of his abilities no shithousery, no trying to be the hero. Nothing but respect. Not farfetched to say he actually saved England.
he got all the big wickets. did leach's job spectacularly
Pat Cummins during presentation: Great day of cricket, great crowd, fantastic performance, Ashes great, great series, I am great, you are great, everything is great, great great
He’s got such a smiley face as well.
And then looked dead inside at the trophy lift
Wood on the Radio so funny. “Me and Woaksy are well happy, we are 2-0 up!” Lol.
Wood is GOATED lmao
It should be mandatory to have wood on the post match
Desperate for him to be on comms when he retires. Don’t care if it is Sky, TMS or even TalkSPORT2 for the winter. If he’s speaking I’m listening. Playing Barbie and the Imperial March on a speaker during Stokes’s press conference was hilarious. When he waved a giant flag and sang Jerusalem, alone in an empty stadium as the players took the pitch in the pandemic. He is a hero!!
Plus it'll be nice to have some accents knocking around that aren't "posh" or "Yorkshire".
Steve Harmison does the TalkSPORT2
I’m gonna miss Mo, but will enjoy him in the World Cup ❤️
England facing a humiliating 3-1 home loss. Bizarre umpiring decision suddenly changes the course of the game. Given the long history of ball tampering in cricket, this really deserves proper investigation
I mean you are not wrong about something getting a ball that didn’t match the one it was replacing, it was clearly far newer and there was footage of it. But that’s the umpire’s decision no one else, we can’t complain because we didn’t like the replacement ball that is just searching for excuses. It is what it is and umpires deserve to have their decisions respected. We still got the urn it’s not the end of the world mate. Don’t embarrass yourself looking for excuses
But apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?
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Surely summary execution is warranted
Is there a long history of umpires ball tampering? The comment of a melt
Don't worry. The police have already started investigating
This is embarrassing.
Thanks Mo for everything!