Leather and Willow

[GUT]

Have to admit that Australia totally outplayed England. Superb batting performance on a a flat..dead track..
As I feared it would be.

Notice that it was only for short periods that the new ball swung...and that was helped by a but if cloud cover. The Aussies bowled better than England too.

Edgbaston in Birmingham is next up..and this could be a series changer.. depending on what type of wicket is presented. There have been many big scores here over the years. But again. .The ball can swing a lot on this ground.

I think..and hope. .. The Aussies will have more trouble here than at Lords.


Phil

I was a little surprised how well we bowled [or how bad you batted] in that last innings, it looked like a pretty good pitch for batting in the first 3 innings.

[Phil Carter]

Have to admit that Australia totally outplayed England. Superb batting performance on a a flat..dead track..
As I feared it would be.

Notice that it was only for short periods that the new ball swung...and that was helped by a but if cloud cover. The Aussies bowled better than England too.

Edgbaston in Birmingham is next up..and this could be a series changer.. depending on what type of wicket is presented. There have been many big scores here over the years. But again. .The ball can swing a lot on this ground.

I think..and hope. .. The Aussies will have more trouble here than at Lords.


Phil

[GUT]

That's the way to play the game.

[GUT]

Here we go again.

[GUT]

As an aside chaps, the best female cricketer of all time,

Lillian Marsh, well seemed to take a lot of wickets.

[GUT]

well done POMS.

One dropped catch held and we were home.

Phil

The headlines here in '72 were "Massie Masacres" remember them well and that was in the days when one DKL was our strike.

[Phil Carter]

Cricket being cricket... more than anything else. .I would expect there to be changes for the Lords Test Match.

For those not familiar with the actual wicket at Lords...It can be..at times..surprisingly hard to bat on.

Having personally seen up close the condition of the square and the strips..The most surprising thing is a combination of the slope towards one side of the ground with the very slight uphill rise towards the pavilion end. To the right handed batsman..bowling towards the pavilion end is deceivingly difficult to play against.

However..bowling FROM the pavilion end, slightly downhill, takes an immense amount of control..because of the slope "in" towards the right handed batsman. Slightly short bowling that drifts towards the leg side is a 4 run gift ball.

The best Australian bowler at Lords I have ever seen was Bob Massie. .who took 16 wickets during the Test Match in 1972. I fear that the control he had then..is not evident in the current line up of bowlers..Hazelwood being the possible exception.

Both Anderson, Broad and Wood all dropped their pace at Cardiff..and I can see the same happening at Lords.

Johnson needs to learn...very quickly..that controlled bowling is the essential armour in England.

There are very very few "green" patches on a Lords strip.
I personally counted only 3 tiny ones..no.more than an inch long..If that...on or near a length when I was last there.

Lords CAN be a batsman paradise in the right conditions..but woe betide any batsman..of any rank..If there is any cloud cover. The ball swings prodigiously at times. That is why control is the key.

I predict a low scoring win for either team..depending on their ability to control the ball. Or a high scoring draw.

Just some of my thoughts on the subject.


Phil

[Monty]

I think Broad will be a major player this summer.

Wouldn't drop Johnson, he can be potent with bat as well as ball.

Its just first test, however, a statement has been comprehensively made.

Monty

[Fleetwood Mac]

Yeah, patently clear that these are not the wickets for Johnson. I'd drop him because he'll not get much joy in England.

That said, the game turned on Joe Root being dropped, fine margins and all that.

Fair play to Stuart Broad as he raised his game and England need both Anderson and Broad firing. Both bowled really well throughout the match. Broad probably the pick of the bowlers.

[Monty]

Ah, capitulation was chosen.

Fine English performance, showing up the Australian weaknesses.

The Aussies were slow and predictable in the field, and overly aggressive on a slow un. And clueless with the bat. Credit to Starc for his courage, and the other Mitchell for trying on a pudding, however they were let down by their team mates.

I expect better from them at Lords, else this shall be over before its begun.

Monty

[Fleetwood Mac]

But after the last 5-0 drubbing we handed out we must give the poor dears some hope or it will end up 10-0 [in a 5 test series].

Falling apart for the Aussies, Gut.

Need a miracle from here, or a day's worth of rain!

[Monty]

Ah, the good ol reliable reverting back in time to gain some semblance of confidence.

Your first Ashes win in four series, against an ageing, fragmented and tired team....sound familiar?

Wanna discuss 2005, 2009 or 2010-11?

Monty

[GUT]

Sure are teaching us how poor cricket should be played, yeah.

Monty

But after the last 5-0 drubbing we handed out we must give the poor dears some hope or it will end up 10-0 [in a 5 test series].

[Monty]

Sure are teaching us how poor cricket should be played, yeah.

Monty

[GUT]

You've learnt nothing. ;-)

Monty

Nope but the Aussies is sure teaching them POMS a thing or two 'bout cricket.