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Reply | Loveliest Town in England Match Thread
at 22:04 26 Nov 2025
Well done lads, all the stalwarts like Cook, Field, Chair, Smyth get written off and look who are standing up to be counted up North midweek.....
Fair play Stephan, got it right tonight. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:06 26 Nov 2025
No-one would accept it, even if we rushed off to play a pink ball game, though. Losing the Ashes is usually the end of regimes and I find it pretty sad that McCullum, Key and Stokes will almost certainly be chucked away at the end of this latest debacle, if that is what happens. They have made some mistakes for sure on this tour, to the delight of vile old never-weres like Agnew, but they remain our best chance to beat them at home in a couple of years' time.
In my view, you can practice all you like with the pink ball against whoever, but it won't mean Zak suddenly lines up Starc.
As DaveB said, we were actually right in that last test match - we are not far off.
I just wish they would bring a little balance. McCullum needs to reign Brook in from batting like a madman, he's so good and he is wasting it. Crawley only has one way, really, but the class like Root and Brook need to play properly. [Post edited 26 Nov 8:28]
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Reply | Furs leaving
at 20:34 25 Nov 2025
Can only echo these thoughts Brian. I have absolutely no inside knowledge nor personally know anyone who does, but if certain posters are coming together I will give that more truck than the ones who mysteriously come and go.
This is another major cross against Nourry for me. I don't like what he is doing to the club - yet again I find myself wondering where the absentee owners are. If I owned this club I would be extremely concerned, I certainly am as a fan. |
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Reply | Hull Reflection
at 07:40 23 Nov 2025
Thought when 0-1 down and 2-1 down there was a real precipice moment there and that the players seemed a bit flat and a bit lost. However, what a pleasure to see them dig in, turn it around and in the end should really have won by many more.
I do wish Stephan would find a back 4 and stick to it. Dunne at CB and Mbengue at RB seems to work, was bemused for JCS to be thrown straight back in. Genuinely think a settled back 4 may have kept a clean sheet today.
Burrell was fantastic; I absolutely love him and the impact he has on a game. Never, ever stops running and busting a gut. Wonderful.
Really impressed with Dembele too, just keep improving that decision making - when he passed rather than shot we got the rewards.
And of course Chair - the man needs a run of games and we know from past evidence he just gets better and better.
Excellent day in the end. :-) |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 10:58 22 Nov 2025
You can't honestly believe any team captained by Ben Stokes would either be picked on golf abilities or not prepare hard enough? Listen to an interview with Mark Wood in the summer. He hates golf, and just laughs at the perception the has beens put out about it. [Post edited 22 Nov 10:59]
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 10:42 22 Nov 2025
Also BazBall is at its best when we bowl first. I am stunned we chose to bat, to be honest. I thought the whole point is that we scare the opposition because we can smash our way to anything in the final innings? Bit like what the Aussies did to us really. We are going to be rubbish at defending without quality spin. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:34 22 Nov 2025
Got that feel about it, hasn't it? Turned it off, too depressing. :-( |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:25 22 Nov 2025
The thing is the Bazball aspect of it has worked, we are so much more competitive. I think it has been great to be more positive.
The bit I don't get, and we haven't learned,was from that India chase in the summer. Ridiculous chase, no chance normally, we would prod around, go nowhere and never get near it. This time we Bazballed, got ourselves into a really strong winning position....and kept going. Brook threw it away and that was that. That was the time to reign it in. Just like this Test, our position at lunch...surely it was time to be a bit more sensible. BazBall had got us into a brilliant position, but you can't just keep going, that is a nonsense in Test cricket.
Love Baz and Stokes but it perplexes me that they can't see that. [Post edited 22 Nov 8:25]
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:05 22 Nov 2025
Clutching at straws here, but if I remember right in 2005 we lost the first test but at least put down a marker that we could compete and saw it through. I trust Stokes to show that we can be competitive.
Batting has to improve, our system is so reliant on batting around Root, if he fails, that's it. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 06:45 22 Nov 2025
Problem is Jamie Smith gave the third umpire an out, admitting his guilt really. By the letter of the law (which everyone forgets) benefit of the doubt goes to the batter.... |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 14:23 21 Nov 2025
130/1 on Betfair. Seems unlikely, pitch would have to turn into a road. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 14:03 21 Nov 2025
I was within a whisker of doing the same. I had read it started Friday so put two and two together and made eight and thought it started tonight. Just happened to get an email that made me realise it was last night.
But no, pretty dull day. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 11:25 21 Nov 2025
What do we think from here? Apparently the track does tend to flatten out, but it only going to be the start of Day 2 (hopefully) we bat.
I'd like a 350 lead to defend but I am not quite sure how we are going to get there. I guess because of the potential flattening out we are hardly going to hang around.
Should be a cracking Test, regardless. If you told me this time yesterday we would take 9 Aussie wickets on the first day I would have been ecstatic. Naturally, we'd have lost 10 in the first place, but I probably would have been less surprised by that!
Reminds me of the 90s tours when you would wake up for the last session and see Gooch and Athers still batting and think we must have turned it around with a 200 run opening partnership, then discovered we were actually bowled out for 100 and following on :-) |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 10:07 21 Nov 2025
Kind of spoils it when the ball is halfway down the pitch and the comms is screaming "THAT'S OUT"
I know the Oz comms is insufferable, but it has to better than that |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 10:01 21 Nov 2025
Unbelievable. If this bowling attack stays fit we have a real chance in this series. Amazing that each bowling change just presented with another 90mph challenge rather than some dibbly dobbler. I've waited 51 years to see that!
Shame it's on TNT, their commentary off tube is a farce and out of sync too. ERB saying "10,000 Barmy Army have travelled here, I wonder how many have told their work?"....well if they are not ex pats, I am not sure how you can say you have popped to the dentist for a week?! |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:04 21 Nov 2025
Khawaja wasn't out, and he didn't review! Hilarious! Know the rules after all this time, mate? |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 08:42 20 Nov 2025
Yes who are these county spinners who are ready to improve on Bashir's test record? Obviously Bash's record flatters him, and I suspect the younger Ahmed will take his squad place very soon, but who are these other spinners? All those going on about "county performers" like Dawson had that theory totally kiboshed within about six overs of him playing another test, for example. It's always a totally different game once some twirler for a county side for a hundred years has to bowl on a Test pitch to world-class players. |
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Reply | Ashes thread
at 11:49 19 Nov 2025
May as well play Wood now before he explodes once and for all. Hence play 5 seamers surely as then if / when he breaks down it won't matter as much.
As always when playing out there, I am very pessimistic. Just maybe if we could get off to a good start for once, from ball 1, in contrast to Burns being bowled, Harmison bowling to second slip, DeFreitas long hop being cut for 4....it might be OK. Even that series we won I think if I remember right Strauss cut it to gulley in the first over.
Come on England! |
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