STEVIE B

If we try Bazball our way through 5 Tests it will be 5-0 to Australia. They have the best attack in the world, the grounds are massive & we have a dreadful record there as it is. England can definitely put their batters under pressure if the bowlers are fit for long enough (Wood, Archer, Atkinson, Carse). Then our top order need to play sensible, positive cricket & read the match situations far better.

Because of his age, the ban, or both ?

How much did we buy Wilf for ?

World class spinners are gold dust. We desperately need a Graham Swann (he could also bat). Unfortunately the County circuit/wickets doesn't seem to create them.

....also if England hadn't dropped 6 catches. Although, if Bumrah had been fit for India, who knows how it would've gone ? Great Series though

Absolutely agree. But his mates could get out by good balls/not being so carefree though. Hopefully & neither should it matter. 🤞. I know I'm being negative, by the way !

.....and if Root gets out ? Brook was superb, but he can't be so arrogant & think it's won. Be greedy & see it through.

I know we tried Sam Cooke, is he worth persevering with ? I dont really follow the County circuit much, but his stats look decent.

Agree with that, although l do like Carse, he will do well in Oz. We have bowled & caught very poorly in this Test. It will probably cost us the game. Another issue we have is we don't have a world class spinner to bowl over after over. I guess we have too many seamer friendly county tracks to help them. We were so fortunate to have Jimmy for so long (Broad too). Both kept themselves fit & hungry. I doubt England will see their like ever again.

England have apparently bowled 315 more overs than India in this series. Absolutely bonkers. Maybe Bazball is exciting batting wise, but the bowlers are flogged ?

He was, but he needs it to continue. Sometimes going into T20 mode too early has been his downfall recently. He is young though & is a future Captain.

Spot on. England desperately need Wood, Atkinson, Archer & Carse to be fit & firing for The Ashes. Also, if England are to persist with 'Bazball', it needs to be done with brains & the ability to read a match situation a bit more.......Brook is a prime example, he has so much talent, but has started to play with too much arrogance. The Australian grounds are huge, so swinging from the hip won't always work.

I highly doubt he'd go to Oz in any case, he has a poor away record. He's great over here with a Duke ball & favourable conditions. He's just not quick enough to make an impact on hard, bouncy tracks, with a Kookabura ball. Hope he's ok though.

I think they’re hoping Overton strengthens the batting line up.

I really rate Potts. I agree with your point on Robinson, but I’m sure the hierarchy weren’t too impressed with his fitness levels, or something similar. l think Carse needs a rest, he’s all effort & hits the deck hard…..he’ll do well in Oz, l reckon. Woakes won’t go to Australia in my opinion, we need fellas much quicker, plus the Kookaburra ball won’t help him either.

I think Potts is injured & Robinson just seemed to be unfit & struggled to last 5 days of Test cricket.

Apart from Root, Duckett, Smith, Atkinson, Bethell, Brook.....possibly

We don't produce turning wickets, not that Leach spins it anyway. Don't think he would make a difference. Dawson can bat way better than Bashir & Leach too.

We don't produce turning tracks anymore. That's why we don't have a decent spinner & our over rates are so poor.

I wonder if we'll be saying similar when England are in Oz in the winter. We do tend to struggle down under, generally.

I wouldn't call Denmark a top International side, Belgium possibly were. I'm amazed how either have been picked to represent their countries. I agree, they both need to go though. I just don't see anyone buying them unfortunately. We were completely hoodwinked into buying them.

Absolutely love the German kit. Very simple, nothing fancy. Adidas without the stripes. Is it unique ?

Absolutely, it's obviously got to him, England will definitely play on it too. He's a hypocrite, all teams waste time, when it benefits them & speed up when they want to It's always happened & won't stop anytime soon.

They couldn't care less. The Premier League is all that matters.