Huge respect for Cook. Going back to county cricket to serve Essex after his international retirement, and showing dedication to 1st class cricket, speaks volumes imho. Too many rush to retire when they’re done with the bright lights of England. Cook was different. A dying breed.
Apparently Ben Stokes messaged Josh Baker, the teenage Worcs spinner he hit for 34 in one over, after close of play to make sure he was ok. I think that’s super classy from the new England skipper. Really impressed. For what it’s worth, I think Baker is a pretty good prospect.
I get why people like T20. I like it myself. But surely nothing beats Test cricket? So multidimensional. None of the restrictions on batsmen & bowlers. 5 whole days to play out. Pitch changes over time. And more room for incredible comebacks! Eng were 190 runs down on 1st inns 😮
Bairstow was out. Obviously. And probably a bit daft. But what a shame that a good game will remembered for what I will describe as ‘opportunism’. I wouldn’t want England to win like that. Carey knew Bairstow wasn’t taking a run. It’s not in the right spirit. Sad.
#ashes
🤦♂️ There’s nothing wrong with a keeper trying to stump a batter. Carey was entitled to throw the ball. The issue is that Australia didn’t withdraw the appeal when it became obvious Bairstow was only out of his crease because of a misunderstanding over whether over had been called
Was David Warner any good? He was decent. You feared him (at his peak) if the pitch was true. But overall I’ll remember him for being a pretty unpleasant personality. He lacked the class, on and off the pitch, that the likes of S.Waugh, Gilchrist, Warne, and Hussey had in spades.
I’m not against BazBall. But claims that Root’s fantastic innings today was somehow BazBall personified (because he thought on his feet & adapted to the situation) are really taking the piss. If you lose a specific argument, you can’t just redefine/broaden the concept to suit you
So barring a miracle it will be 0-3 with 0-5 possible. 1st home Ashes defeat since 2001. I can accept Eng being beaten by a stronger team - we predicted it - but I can’t forgive poor selection & awful preparation, swanning off to the IPL while Aussies played championship cricket.
Test cricket is by far the best cricket product. It’s awesome. No restrictions on bowlers; no restrictions on batsmen; no restrictions on fielders. It’s the ultimate test of talent, technique & mental strength. And when the crowd’s pumped up like today at The Oval, it’s glorious.
Foakes gets left out because his batting isn’t good enough. Well, he averages 40 in first class cricket with a Test average of 32. Meanwhile, England’s new number 3 averages just 36 in first class cricket with a Test average of 28. It’s not ‘how many’, it’s ‘how’ with this regime
Bairstow shouldn’t be keeping. Mo shouldn’t have been recalled. Crawley shouldn’t have been retained. Maybe the Twitter critics (me included!) should eat their humble pie 😂
Eng’s selection is utterly bizarre. Moeen is a liability at 7 let alone 3. Let’s hope OT is one of the rare occasions when he actually comes off. Meanwhile, if the keeper is going bat 7, with the solid Woakes at 8, there’s no reason whatsoever why Foakes can’t play. Very odd XI.
England XI for fourth LV= Insurance Men's Ashes Test:
1. Ben Duckett
2. Zak Crawley
3. Moeen Ali
4. Joe Root
5. Harry Brook
6. Ben Stokes *
7. Jonathan Bairstow +
8. Chris Woakes
9. Mark Wood
10. Stuart Broad
11. James Anderson
Says a man with a notoriously huge mouth who averaged just 34 in England, 34 in South Africa, but a whopping 250 against Zimbabwe. Robinson can be a pillock at times but his Test average of 21 (lower than Pat Cummins) says he’s a pretty useful cricketer.
Matthew Hayden has ripped into Ollie Robinson.
"He's a forgettable cricketer. A fast bowler that is bowling 124 (kph) nude nuts and he's got a mouth from the south" Hayden told SEN.
This Ashes series is only going to get spicier.
#Ashes
It’s great that England are back to winning ways, but the state of West Indies cricket just makes me sad. And let’s not forget that two of their better players weren’t available because they’re playing in the bloody Hundred. There’s really not much right with world cricket atm 😔
You need 20 wickets to win a Test. But England need to generate significantly more chances to actually take those 20 wickets. It’s a massive handicap.
Jonny always needs big runs to balance this equation. And no batter always scores runs. So, for me, his retention is nonsensical
I’ve mellowed over the years. Seeing good cricket is probably more important to me than Eng wins. I even learned to quite like (ok, tolerate) the Aussies. But after that sneaky stumping / run out, and seeing Warner snarling in the Long Room, I hope we bloody murder them at Leeds.
So it’s over. Good. I’m pretty sure the Hundred has engaged some new fans. And I’m sure, if one squints hard enough, that some positives can be found. But this misses the point. New fans could & should have been engaged in a non-divisive way that builds on what we already had.
Speaks volumes that Joe Root, who’s a very limited slow bowler, has the best figures of all England’s spinners so far. This is what happens when you neglect the championship. We don’t even have grizzled veterans like Shaun Udal or Gareth Batty to call up this time. It’s desperate
Just a quick reminder that Moeen averages a disturbing 65 with the ball against Australia, and averaged 13 with the bat (across 22 innings) in his last 3 years as a Test cricketer. But he can hit the ball miles and he’s a great bloke etc…
EXCLUSIVE: Moeen Ali is seriously considering an approach from the England management to return to the Test squad for the Ashes campaign, he has confirmed to The Cricketer.
#ENGvAUS
I’ve loved the England Test side for decades. I used to live & breathe it. But I don’t give a toss now. Our game is so badly administered, and the ECB’s priorities so distant from mine, that I don’t see the point. The board aren’t even trying now. They don’t care so why should I?
The cricket season basically ends today. It’s really sad for people who love international cricket above all (and don’t want to wait until soggy September for the championship to resume). It’s scandalous.
1st of August tomorrow & it dawns on you that the Ashes scheduling this summer has been a joke despite the cricket being enthralling . Hopefully it’s the last and only time we don’t see Ashes cricket in August
#ENGvAUS
#Ashes2023
#EnglandCricket
Well, Ben Stokes has just single-handedly brought England back into this game and kept the Ashes alive. I simply don’t have the superlatives in my vocabulary to describe what a special cricketer he is. Absolutely insane effort.
#ashes
I find India fans who still hate the English because of colonialism, and who have antiquated views of what an average English person is like, utterly depressing. We are not all mini Boris Johnsons! We have a multicultural& liberal country. Few of us are actually rich and entitled
What’s ironic here is that people do actually like to see balls fended off the nose to slip. It’s why the Windies were so popular to watch in the 1980s etc. Big hitting isn’t the only entertaining element of cricket.
Liam Livingstone: "You want to try and entertain kids. You want to try and get people who come to cricket for the first time. You want to see blokes hitting it out the stadiums, not fending them off the nose to slip. It's a bit of a shame."
Actually really pleased to see the Windies do well today. England will learn nothing from pushovers. And world cricket needs the less wealthy boards to produce competitive teams.
The Hundred is not directly to blame for Stokes injury. But the ECB’s desperation for the ailing tournament to succeed is. Stokes should’ve been resting for a Test series given his recent injury history. But they risked his health purely to promote their divisive vanity project.
Many blaming bad sportsmanship & Eng’s hooking hubris for the loss. For me, we lost because we bowled like drains on day 1 & let Australia get 400 when 220 was probably par. Eng scored 325 & 327 in this Test. That’s easily enough to win if the bowlers had done their job early on
It’s amazing how many Aussies argue that David Warner was a truly great player, ignoring his poor record overseas, whilst simultaneously arguing that Jimmy Anderson is incredibly overrated because he’s allegedly crap overseas.
I’m desperate to watch some English cricket on TV - it is August, after all - but the whole month is wall to wall Hundred (which I refuse to support). No county games. No Eng games until a solitary T20 on the 30th. How did it come to this? Still so annoyed
Is that really the first time England have scored 400 in both innings of a Test? Just can’t get my head around that. Bizarre. I would’ve thought it’s relatively common (historically).
My rugby team, Worcester Warriors, is about to enter administration. Experts doubt they’ll survive. Livelihoods will be lost, legacies will be lost, and fans left high and dry. Next time you hear someone casually suggest that counties should be culled, remind them what this means
This is the most depressed I’ve been as a cricket lover. Serous people are suggesting things like cutting counties, replacing the championship, and now abolishing 5-test series, too. Everything’s seemingly on the table except abolishing the franchise competition nobody asked for.
Not surprised that Eng’s fringe players are reportedly furious at Moeen’s recall. The management are allowing an old favourite to pick and choose when he plays red ball. It’s another nail in the championship’s coffin, too. There’s now no disincentive to pursue T20 full time.
If Stokes’s innings was ‘BazBall’ then I want no part of it. He was skittish, irresponsible and should’ve been out 3 times (all to poor shots) in the last 20 mins. It was ‘entertaining’ but only in a ‘what the hell are you doing, captain?’ way. Insanity.
#ENGvIND
To those who want to cull counties. What do you think will happen to their supporters? They won’t suddenly transfer allegiance to a rival or travel miles to a franchise. They’ll be lost to the pro game & spend their money on other stuff. Cull counties & you shrink the game hugely
Trent Bridge has a capacity of 17,500. This is the kind of propaganda that really winds me up. Its going to be a very long August. Apologies to Henry Moeran for singling out his tweet amongst ‘hundreds’.
8,800 in for the women’s game, 12,400 for the men’s - good numbers to start the Hundred.
Feels like a good chance to capitalise on Ashes momentum, ECB will be hoping weather gives the comp a helping hand, too.
#BBCCricket
Well done, Australia. Cummins & Khawaja are class acts. However, it just feels that England threw that away. Poor selection, needless declaration, too many batsmen got in and then got out, and crucially we dropped far too many catches. Undercooked all round? Quite possibly
#ashes
If you saw that, and you still think English cricket needed something new to engage a fresh audience, then you probably believe that the moon is made of camembert curdled by pixies
#T20Blast
Fills me with dread. The IPL owner will have no interest in red ball cricket. And if other counties follow suit, who will defend the championship? The game is surely up. Cricket will be a global T20 circus in 10 years with the occasional Test exhibition ☠️
Buttler was in so thought I’d watch 5 mins of IPL. Every other ball is a 4 or 6. And it gets boring. Clearing the ropes is run of the mill. Speculators going nuts is the norm. This will never, ever, be as interesting as watching a genuine quick steam with an umbrella slip cordon.
I think the chances of this series being played in a good spirit have been reduced now. Ironically, that might actually wake England up! The Aussies will do anything, anything, to win. Maybe a pissed off England will be more switched on.
There was never room for The Hundred. The calendar was already jammed beforehand. Everyone knew it. And now the ECB/counties are chasing their tails for a fudge that does the least damage. Spoiler alert: there is no decent solution. Never was. English cricket is a total farce 🤦♂️
If you support the Hundred then you can’t really complain about this performance. Yes, we’ve lost heavily in India before, but we’ve got little chance of ever improving (especially developing spinners) if we continue to push 1st class cricket to the fringes of the season.
Jack Leach seems to represent all that’s gone wrong under the current regime. You take a spinner who averaged under 30 in his first 12 Tests, and out-bowled Lyon in 2019, but then you show no faith in him, he goes backwards, and now looks utterly devoid of confidence & variation.
Pathetic that only two Blast QFs are televised. They’d televise players bloody sneezing / farting in The Hundred. If The Blast doesn’t attract a new audience, it’s only because the wider population hasn’t got a clue that it’s on.
Just realised that there’s no more test cricket until early August. I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. I simply cannot express how angry I am with the ECB for gradually destroying my favourite game & what has always been a big part of the English summer
Many are saying “Bairstow should’ve stayed in his crease” as if (a) he’s entirely to blame & b) this entirely excuses Carey. What’s the point in staying in your crease if you genuinely think it’s over? The umpire at the bowler’s end had started moving away & wasn’t even looking.
I really think if Broad had stayed on, and we’d set orthodox fields to Head and tried for orthodox dismissals, Eng would’ve wrapped this up a while ago. This short pitched strategy has been bizarre. It’s eased the pressure too. Why not bowl a good length on off stump & contain?
Pick your best keeper! How many is that going to cost us? Can’t blame Bairstow. It’s not a drop per se. But Foakes’s range / wingspan is just larger. It’s like the difference between a championship goalkeeper and Emi Martinez 😡
Sure, the weather was a kick in the groin. It denied us the chance to come back. But our initial hubris & misplaced belief we could flay Oz from ball one is what got us behind. Once we reigned it in a bit, and played aggressive cricket with brains, we were the better side. Pity.
Rehan Ahmed called up as cover for Lord’s if Moeen isn’t fit (which he can’t be). They’ll never admit it but this should’ve been their pick all along. By picking him now, they’re tacitly admitting that he wasn’t too young & inexperienced after all. The Mo experiment was v costly.
@jonathanliew
Matt Hancock was born in Chester, went to Oxford, and is MP for West Suffolk. So why the hell does he support Newcastle? Is he just so attracted to enormous wealth that he can’t help himself?
Buttler & Root’s IPL team got bowled out for 59 today. They made ten runs between them. Just come home guys. Talking of the IPL, is it ever going to end? Another 2 weeks to go apparently. It’s now taking up a sixth of the year. If this is the future, and it probably is, I’m out!
Harry Brook has played 146 T20s (plus extra Hundred games) but just 35 50-over matches. By comparison, Shubman Gill (same age) has played 133 T20s and 129 50-over games. Is it any wonder England are now failing in ODIs? We have an ageing side & new blood with little experience 🤔
Sam Curran is not an international No.7. England have got just about everything wrong today. The team just looks wrong on paper. And the decision to bowl first was just bizarre. Fair play to Afghanistan though 👏
Thought I’d take my son, who’s just got into cricket, to The Ashes next summer. Any idea where I can get tickets for one of the Test matches in August when he’s off school? 🤔
I can’t believe that an all-important Test match is on the line, on a turning pitch, and we’re having to rely on Joe Root 🤦♂️ It’s just not good enough, sadly.
Cricket is just a game. It’s not a war. And we have plenty of respect for both Indian cricketers & India as a country in general. In fact, India is one of the most fascinating and beautiful counties in the world. And we wish you well, even if the feeling isn’t always reciprocated
Opposition to
#TheHundred
is still being misunderstood & wilfully misrepresented. We want a new audience. We want more kids playing. We've wanted cricket on free to air TV for years! The point is that all this could've been achieved without damaging the counties & Eng's Test team
Does anyone, seriously, give a flying **** about England’s T20 series in the Windies? I’m sure those who watched enjoyed it (as an exhibition) but where’s the meaning and jeopardy? Cricket will be so much the poorer if / when T20 is all that’s left. It’s increasingly two a penny.
The Hundred is cricket’s equivalent of football’s European Super League - a money grab being executed against the wishes of most fans. But in some ways it’s worse because of its dishonesty. All this BS about saving & growing the game. Hopefully more will now see it for what it is
Get rid of 8 counties and create more room in the calendar for franchise tournaments that I’ll be paid to commentate on 🤦♂️ Sorry Michael, but you’re not exactly a reliable witness.
Speaking to
@melindafarrell
for the latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, Michael Vaughan has called for a radical shake-up of the domestic game in England, suggesting that the 18 first-class counties are replaced by ten franchise teams.
READ ⬇️
Apparently cricket has always been completely shit, uncool, boring and only for dinosaurs … until this very moment. 2005 didn’t happen. Botham didn’t happen. Viv Richards & Lara never happened. Shane Warne? Never existed. Cricket has only ever been entertaining NOW. Apparently.
Tom Hartley overcame so much to deliver today’s miracle. He’d had no match practice. He’s a product of a domestic schedule that gives spinners little chance to develop. He’s hardly ever bowled long spells before. And his county doesn’t even have a full time spin bowling coach.
We’re in the middle of an incredibly hot & dry summer. This creates perfect conditions for spinners to shine & for our 1st class batters to play in conditions (somewhat) similar to overseas. But all energies/resources are focusing on a white ball comp instead. What a bloody waste
A must-read this. Sometimes it takes someone as blunt as Boycott to call something out for what it is. Strauss was not impartial and his plan will harm, not help, the England teams. It could also kill counties. Basically, it’s a terrible, terrible plan.
England’s Test squad for Pakistan is bizarre. Just one spinner, just one keeper, and one too many batters that haven’t played a single 1st class game this calendar year. Let’s not forget that the frontline spinner has a record of missing time, too. Crazy.
Massively disappointing that Josh Tongue feels the need to leave Worcs for a ‘bigger’ county. It’s bad for the game, too. He’s a local lad (went to Kings Worcester) and he’s already playing for England. The rich get richer and the game takes another step towards a two tier system
A tear in the eye for Zak Crawley. What a sensational effort. There’s nothing like a much-criticised player enjoying success. Chuffed to bits for the lad 👏
We all said that if BazBall worked in the long run, it would mean overcoming years of learned experience re: what succeeds at the top level. It seemed like a naive idea but we all gave it a go. Its legacy would be decided by results. So then... first home Ashes defeat since 2001?
Think too much is being made of those silly hook shots today. Yes, it was daft. Very. But Stokes played perfectly thereafter and England have had an absolutely superb day. Ashes defeat looked firmly on the cards 24 hours ago. Now we’re back with a bang. Surely that’s the story?
There are times when England play like pelicans and get rightly criticised. But on other occasions, they’re simply outplayed by a superior force and all you can say is “well played” to the opponent. Jasprit Bumrah was that unstoppable force today. Well bowled 👏
#INDvENG
Yes, Bairstow is having a poor game behind the stumps and it’s costing us dearly. But what did the BazBall braintrust think was going to happen? Jonny was a pretty reliable keeper when he was doing it regularly a few years ago. It’s hard to just turn up and excel in a Test match.
Australia already have a competitive total in these conditions. Today has been pretty disastrous really. The Aussies are excelling in the very conditions they were supposed to be vulnerable in. Do England still think they’ve got a psychological edge? This feels decisive, sadly.
I’d heard of Smeed before today. He wouldn’t be playing in the Hundred if it wasn’t for Somerset. This is the kind of hyperbole that puts people off the new comp imho.
I’ve lost some respect for Eoin over the years. He’s a great captain, and has done great things for English cricket, but he often comes across as Tom Harrison’s personal propaganda mouthpiece. Everyone knows the ECB has prioritised white ball cricket. Denying it is disingenuous.
"People that use that as an excuse don't watch Cricket. Test Match Cricket has always been the priority." 🏏
"It's laughable to point the finger at the Hundred. People need something to blame." 👊
Eoin Morgan says white-ball Cricket isn't to blame for England's
#Ashes
defeat
Chris Woakes has a fabulous record in England. So would England consider Woakes for either Anderson or Robinson at Leeds? Would certainly bolster that tail, too.
Why is it called The Hundred? It should be called The Eight. It is, after all, essentially a coup to create 8 elite clubs while stitching up the rest (who will never be able to compete again). This stinks to anyone who sees through the ‘saving the game’ BS
These Blast figures need promoting. They’re excellent considering that the competition is being cannibalised and most promotional efforts have gone into The Hundred. These figures were also obviously achieved outside of an exclusive window. Oh what could’ve been
#GenuineGrowth
Tom Harrison's legacy will be the worst England Test team for decades, a crippled county championship, and an unworkable domestic calendar. Above all, however, he's left cricket supporters divided like never before. And that's the saddest thing.
Potential Hundred investors concerned about:
-Counties pushing to keep control of cricket
-Most counties indicating that they plan to hold onto their 51% stakes
-Fears it could take decades to see a return on investment
-England player availability
✅ "The Hundred has an opportunity to underpin the whole of the rest of the game in this country."
🏏 "It can easily be the second best short form tournament behind the IPL."
Sir Andrew Strauss believes the right private investment can accelerate the growth of
#TheHundred
🏏
Atherton: “The only reason for the creation of the 100 was to establish entities that were not member-owned & create vehicles for private investment. An injection of private capital was always the intention”. Told you all the stuff about growing the game was BS that didn’t add up
Oh god. I’m going to get crucified for this. Just seen the Starc / Duckett catch. It’s absolutely out. No question. We can go down a rabbit hole re: the rules, and nitpick forever. But for me, as a cricketer, it’s just out. Shit shot, too.