Ashes 2023

[Lightning McQueen]

World Test Championship Final and Men's Ashes squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

How in the hell did the 3 i have put in bold make the squad? Some serious c#@k sucking going on here. I actually hope we get flogged by the poms to bring our overinflated egos back down to earth and hold some of these selectors accountable for piss poor selections.

We want solutions, not the problems my friend.

They can’t give Warner player of the series then drop him (as much as the public wants it), I totally agree with you on Harris, he is the modern day Marcus North, great at domestic level, not quite there on the international scene.

As for Mitch Marsh, he has undeniable talent, he can fill the void for many omissions and he creates a great vibe around the playing group, you could have Humphrey. B Bear in the squad and it means shit, it’s the 11 playing that matters

[The Dark Knight]

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ajinkya-rahane-returns-to-india-test-squad-for-wtc-final-1371229

India has named their squad for the WTC Final. Ajinkya Rahane, who hasn't played a rest since Jan 2022 has been named as Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah were left out as both are still recovering from back injuries and Suryakumar Yadav has been dropped.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

We are the number ranked side hey??

Does that mean we win the title if it's a drawn test.

Yes, Australia are the top ranked side and I assume Australia will win the title if it's a draw.

[locky801]

Archer off for more surgery it seems, cant see him lining up for Eng at this rate

[Lightning McQueen]

Archer off for more surgery it seems, cant see him lining up for Eng at this rate

Gives us a good psychological edge

[The Dark Knight]

Archer off for more surgery it seems, cant see him lining up for Eng at this rate

Went to see a Elbow specialist in Belgium and had a minor surgical procedure.

[batmanbegins]

Archer off for more surgery it seems, cant see him lining up for Eng at this rate

Went to see a Elbow specialist in Belgium and had a minor surgical procedure.

That's a body blow for us. Having both Wood and Archer available was very important as you could rotate them through.

[bulldogproud]

Thankfully it was only very minor surgery and he will be available for us for the Ashes. He is injury-prone though, so hoping he does manage to play at least a couple of tests.

[The Dark Knight]

A Back injury has ended Matthew Kuhnemann's stint with Durham.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/lv-i ... nt-1372122

Leicestershire v Glamorgan runs for Handscomb, Neser and also Labuschagne.
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/match-r ... 2023-04-30

Aussies in county cricket catch up-
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/aust ... rk-1372530

[The Dark Knight]

A guide to the WTC Final-

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/world-t ... 2023-05-01

What if it's a draw?

There were 12 draws in the 69 Tests played in the current World Test Championship cycle – just 17 per cent of matches – although five of them included Australia (against Pakistan in Karachi and Rawalpindi, against India in Ahmedabad, and both SCG Tests, against England and South Africa).

If the match is drawn, tied or abandoned, then Australia and India will be declared joint winners of the World Test Championship.

To try and minimise the possibility of a draw, the ICC has scheduled a reserve day for the final.

[tigerpie]

So the curator will produce a road that goes for 6 days.
Revenue people revenue.

[The Hound]

So the curator will produce a road that goes for 6 days.
Revenue people revenue.

They need to get the former Reynella curator over there

[tigerpie]

So the curator will produce a road that goes for 6 days.
Revenue people revenue.

They need to get the former Reynella curator over there

Sorry unavailable
We bat for two, they bat for two then a 280 run chase on the last day.
It's not that hard.

[Lightning McQueen]

So the curator will produce a road that goes for 6 days.
Revenue people revenue.

The crowd numbers will be low, it will be a bowlers deck

[Armchair expert]

Neser just took 7fa

Made runs last match

needs to be in the squad!

[locky801]

Neser just took 7fa

Made runs last match

needs to be in the squad!

included a hat trick as well

[tigerpie]

Neser just took 7fa

Made runs last match

needs to be in the squad!

included a hat trick as well

Just watched it.
The hatrick wicket was a half volley on off stump and the plonker didn't offer a shot. Bowled!!!!
I wonder if the batter cleaned up at Sportsbet?

[The Dark Knight]

Neser just took 7fa

Made runs last match

needs to be in the squad!

included a hat trick as well

Just watched it.
The hatrick wicket was a half volley on off stump and the plonker didn't offer a shot. Bowled!!!!
I wonder if the batter cleaned up at Sportsbet?

Comical hey, I thought the first batsman (Hill) leaving it and getting bowled was bad then Dom Bess trumped it!
The most demoralising way to get out.

[DOC]

Bit of bad luck for England...

English cricket, so buoyant over Baz Ball, is suddenly looking exposed and vulnerable on the eve of the Ashes.

Captain Ben Stokes pleaded with England’s medical staff to give him eight fit and firing fast bowlers … but five weeks out from the first Test he is facing the reality he might be doing well to have half that number available.

The door is opening for Australia.

Where there was chest-pumping intimidation about England’s positioning a month ago, all of a sudden there is uncertainty and cracks appearing.

England great Michael Vaughan has even questioned whether the bold and bludgeoning Baz Ball tactics Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have so fearlessly employed – much to the benefit of Test cricket – is actually the right game plan for winning the Ashes.

Now fast bowling matchwinner Jofra Archer has been rushed home from the Indian Premier League with a dodgy elbow and looks increasingly unlikely to return to the Ashes stage he owned with such force back in 2019.

Trying to get Archer up for even one Test now shapes as a massive gamble for England, particularly given Stokes himself has a dodgy knee and might not be able to offer the bowling safety net that has made him one of the most dangerous all-rounders in the history of the game.

England’s other express enforcer Mark Wood is currently on paternity leave and has been publicly uncertain about how much of a part he will play in the Ashes.

Young quick Olly Stone is on crutches after fears he might have torn his hamstring over the weekend and Jamie Overton, another pace prospect is already out with stress fractures.

According to the London Telegraph, Ollie Robinson needed a painkilling injection to get through a county game last week and hobbled off with cramp.

Robinson has been one of the world’s breakout pace bowlers over the past 12 months, but his body struggled to handle the rigours of an Ashes when he was blooded down under against Australia two summers ago.

That leaves England’s two most fit and reliable bowlers at this stage as 40-year-old James Anderson and 36-year-old Stuart Broad.

They’re still a formidable pair more than capable of tearing Australia’s top order apart in English conditions, but their effectiveness could diminish if England selectors don’t have the luxury of strategically rotating them through the five-match series.

Australia on the other hand look settled on the bowling front – a welcome change after the disarray of the recent tour of India.

Josh Hazlewood is really Australia’s only fitness concern and there is no reason to rush the big quick back into the attack with Scott Boland such a reliable and dangerous operator.

The fact England might have to accept Stokes is playing the Ashes as a specialist batsman only could force them into playing Jonny Bairstow as their wicketkeeper instead of Ben Foakes – so that an extra all-rounder like Chris Woakes can balance the line-up at No.7.

Woakes struggled last Ashes in Australia, although he will be a tougher proposition in English conditions and could now shape as one of the most pivotal figures in the series.

Stokes – as great as he is – has a Test batting average of 35, and pressure will rise on his run-making ability if he is in the side as a top 5 batsman and not an all-rounder.

As England face the prospect of struggling to scrape an attack together, Australia’s biggest issue might be picking the right bowlers for the moment – something they got wrong when the series was there to be won in 2019.

[bulldogproud]

Although there is certainly bad news for England's bowling stocks, it may not be as bad as feared in the above post. Although Ollie Robinson did need painkilling injections, it was probably due to the amount he bowled: he took 14 wickets in that match!! Also, although Mark Wood is currently on paternity leave, he is expected to play in the Ashes.

Yes, the news re Joffra is worse than was earlier thought. He won't be fit for the first test... and maybe longer. The same applies to Ollie Stone.

Thus, the English attack for the first half of the Ashes is likely to come from: Anderson, Broad, Robinson, Wood, Potts and Stokes. Not a bad lineup but it would be good to have a fit Joffra and Stone.

[The Dark Knight]

Although there is certainly bad news for England's bowling stocks, it may not be as bad as feared in the above post. Although Ollie Robinson did need painkilling injections, it was probably due to the amount he bowled: he took 14 wickets in that match!! Also, although Mark Wood is currently on paternity leave, he is expected to play in the Ashes.

Yes, the news re Joffra is worse than was earlier thought. He won't be fit for the first test... and maybe longer. The same applies to Ollie Stone.

Thus, the English attack for the first half of the Ashes is likely to come from: Anderson, Broad, Robinson, Wood, Potts and Stokes. Not a bad lineup but it would be good to have a fit Joffra and Stone.

Don't forget about Woakes BP, that makes a group of seven including Stokes. Handy cricketer, especially in England but I can't see Woakes 'balancing the lineup' at number seven for England.

No mention of Potts in that article means the writer of that article either forgot about him or doesn't rate him and questioning Wood's availability due to paternity leave is reaching a bit.

Archer playing test cricket again is more of a hope than anything and there's been a continual question mark on him and his problematic elbow for three/four years now.