2017 Ashes

Day 3 closes with the Ozzies on 549 for 4, some 146 run lead.

S.Smith 229 not out and M.Marsh 180 not out with a 301 run partnership.

Your bowlers just did not perform again.

J. Anderson 85-0
S. Broad 112-0
C. Woakes 107-1
C. Overton 102-2
M. Ali 104-1
J. Root 13-0
D. Malan 13-0

Our fast bowlers are 10 miles an hour slower than the Ozzies, the wicket gave them no swing, seam, pace, or spin, and I think that is the difference.

Well, that went well today!

Australia's highest total against England is 729-6 and their highest against anybody is 758-8 against the West Indies.

Both are in serious danger, here.

A pal has gone over for this Test. He has gone half way round the world to watch cricket and is now hoping for rain so there can't be any more cricket!

Australia will want at least 5 sessions to bowl at England and there is rain about so I expect a cavalry charge in the morning followed by a declaration with 20 minutes before lunch to try and remove one of the openers.
Series white wash here we come.

Absolutely pelting down in WA at the moment. Australia now about 1/2 for the win having been around 1/4 earlier today. Keep that rain coming!

This will make happy reading for you Uncle Leo.

https://thewest.com.au/news/weather...unday-and-monday-as-storms-loom-ng-b88690855z

Despite having a promising start with 3 going down in just over 20 minutes:

549-5
560-6
561-7


We have fallen back on our laurels again. Australia 643-7 at Lunch. With a current lead of 240 runs. (hoping they will be out for under 700 runs). Leaving us 300 hundred runs behind, and then we by some miracle put 700 on the board in the next innings!! :stunned: :sad: :unsure:

I won't be surprised to see if the Aussies declare after tea. And put us into bat in the closing light of day, in the hope of claiming a few early wickets.

I think it's safe to say,.... We can't see us coming back to win this. Just hoping for a hurricane now to save us a draw, then we can go again, and by some miracle to win the last Two tests.

I must be insane, staying up for this!!

Australia - 662-9 (declared).

I'm glad.

But if I was Paine, I would be kicking chairs all across the changing room right now. (still on bat on 49!.. What a ****** of a captain).

England now 4-1 :sad:

Were gonna get spanked. :sad:

England have a dreadful record when attempting to save a Test Match.

Let's see what fire is in the belly.

It's a flat wicket, so there should be no excuses.

Clearly no fire in the belly!!

Cook now gone for 14

England 29-2.

This is more than embarrassing. :thumbdown:

I hate to say it, but I feel I must....

Cook's last 10 International England innings:

14 Runs
7 Runs
16 Runs
37 Runs
7 Runs
2 Runs
17 Runs
10 Runs
23 Runs
11 Runs.

Average is just over 14 runs. :sad:

Hardly an ideal opening international batsman for me, perhaps it's time for someone else to to have a chance?

It gets worse.... :sad:

Root also gone for just 14.

Now England 60-3 :sad:

What time does those pikey off licences open?.. I'm gonna need a proper drink when this "cup a soup" wears off!!

Rain Stopped Play.

Typical Perth weather! :smile:

And we thought our groundsman was bad!!

The covers used to cover the rain in Perth have holes in them!... People are using also sorts of methods to try to dry out the pitch, to get the game on.

Were they wheel on covers, btw?

Well, that's that! :blush:

That's the 3rd time in 12 months we have posted 400+ and lost by an innings.

Prior to that, nobody had ever done that in test history once, let alone three times!

Ouch, ouch ,ouch, no excuses, we were not up to the task

The problem is who can replace them, do we thrust in the youngster for last two test to blood them, they cannot do any worse, and then next summer, do we write off the series v India and try out a younger squad and if they find it tough, we have to persist with them
Broad, Anderson and Ali must look at them selves seriously why its gone wrong boeling, Batsmen Cook and Root must shoulder the responsibility for top order, Stoneman and Malan did better than I thought given the circumstances

One thing that may have been missed and its a major point, we lost Ottis Gibson our bowling coach before the tour, wonder how much effect that had on the bowlers


Not good at the moment for English cricket and one that has not been seen for a while, but when you look at what Essex achieve with young English players, the future maynot be as bad as first thought, still believe we should stop the two league system, but somehow have a split mid way through with maybe two cups one for top half and one for lower.
This way players from say Durham will be able to face top bowlers and get the experience

AndyT said:

Sums up England, in general.

Maybe it's the amount of Test Cricket we seem to play, compared to other countries, but we never seem to be on it consistently throughout a match.

We have a lot of bad sessions, with the ball or the bat, which lead to bad days, like today.

All the hard graft of day one is thrown away with lazy thinking.

Click to expand...

I think England play too much test match cricket (and certainly too many Ashes series) but teams are never consistent throughout an entire test match.

Where the difference is is that when Australia win a session they win big. We've seen it with the way they've blown away our tail. When they're got ahead they've piled on the runs. We lack that extra gear.

AndyT said:

Player for player, batting wise, are they that much better, though? Root should be up there with Smith. Cook should be better than either Aussie opener. Our middle order is on a par with theirs.

The key ingredients they have, are players who can hit 90mph, whereas we are 10mph slower and on Aussie pitches, that does give us a disadvantage, which seems to be massive at the moment.

Click to expand...

Cook is nowhere near as good a player as Warner, particularly in Australian conditions.

Blueronron said:

Ouch, ouch ,ouch, no excuses, we were not up to the task

The problem is who can replace them, do we thrust in the youngster for last two test to blood them, they cannot do any worse, and then next summer, do we write off the series v India and try out a younger squad and if they find it tough, we have to persist with them
Broad, Anderson and Ali must look at them selves seriously why its gone wrong boeling, Batsmen Cook and Root must shoulder the responsibility for top order, Stoneman and Malan did better than I thought given the circumstances

One thing that may have been missed and its a major point, we lost Ottis Gibson our bowling coach before the tour, wonder how much effect that had on the bowlers


Not good at the moment for English cricket and one that has not been seen for a while, but when you look at what Essex achieve with young English players, the future maynot be as bad as first thought, still believe we should stop the two league system, but somehow have a split mid way through with maybe two cups one for top half and one for lower.
This way players from say Durham will be able to face top bowlers and get the experience

Click to expand...

Are Broad and Anderson really that reliant on the bowling coach after 100+ tests each?

The NZ tour is really badly timed. I fear a thrashing as a number of players' heads are likely to be elsewhere.

Batting I'd be looking at a line-up something like this:

1. Hameed
2. Stoneman
3. Root
4. J. Clarke
5. Malan
6. Stokes
7. Bairstow

Not sure about the bowling. If Ball is to play, it must be as a new ball bowler. NZ was the making of the Jimmy-Broad new ball partnership and it is probably time for their replacements as a new ball partnership. Woakes would also benefit from the new ball (although has to be better than he's been this tour). Roland-Jones will come back into the reckoning once fit again as should Porter. Craig Overton has been a useful addition to England's battery but England really are lacking a spearhead and he's not that. I'd hoped that would be Finn but I may have to admit defeat on that.

Yes re Anderson and Broad, its why they are paid a decent salary to tell them what they can do better after a session

Ottis was a member of the backroom team, which is part of the squad, though rarely mentioned when things are on the up

UTE