The ashes 2023

[The Year Of The Fox]

15 minutes ago, trabuch said:

And that they stopped for tea when it was still playable!

We stopped for tea during Market Garden, not surprised about that at the cricket 

[Xen]

Torrential rain for the last few hours, and still going. All the roads around Salford quays are basically flooded, so I can't imagine it'll be any better down the road. Will be very, very impressed if they manage to keep it dry enough for any play tomorrow.

[Foxdiamond]

1 hour ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

We stopped for tea during Market Garden, not surprised about that at the cricket 

We lost that one. Varsity was better outcome

[leicsmac]

Well, we've had 71 overs to bowl this Aussie team out.

 

Hopefully we'll get a few more tomorrow, but if we don't I don't think we can say that we didn't have enough time to finish the job.

[Lionator]

Forecast is awful although dry at the moment.

[kenny]

1 hour ago, Lionator said:

Forecast is awful although dry at the moment.

Forecast here has just changed from rain all day to dry.

 

Fingers crossed for the same in Manchester!

[leicsmac]

I've been musing the minimum realistic time it would take England to bowl the Aussies out here. 10-15 overs, perhaps? That's just an hour of play.

 

Obviously, it would likely take a fair bit longer, so the more time the better.

[StanSP]

15 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

I've been musing the minimum realistic time it would take England to bowl the Aussies out here. 10-15 overs, perhaps? That's just an hour of play.

 

Obviously, it would likely take a fair bit longer, so the more time the better.

Based on yesterday, and barely looking threatening, perhaps longer than an hour! 

[leicsmac]

10 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Based on yesterday, and barely looking threatening, perhaps longer than an hour! 

Absolutely. But then the way I see it, if we get 30-40 overs today (somehow) for a total of around 100-110 overs for their innings and don't finish them off, we don't deserve The Ashes anyway.

[st albans fox]

Don’t be fooled when the rain clears Manchester - it’s predicted to drop back south again (in contrast to yesterday).  The likelihood of getting any play in is extremely small 

 

the wet outfield did for us yesterday - the ball became unbowlable for the seamers 

 

it’s a shame but we blew it at edgbaston and lords. We can’t complain about six lost sessions in four tests ! 

[The Year Of The Fox]

Sending all the sunshine here in Dorset north westwards 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[leicsmac]

40 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Don’t be fooled when the rain clears Manchester - it’s predicted to drop back south again (in contrast to yesterday).  The likelihood of getting any play in is extremely small 

 

the wet outfield did for us yesterday - the ball became unbowlable for the seamers 

 

it’s a shame but we blew it at edgbaston and lords. We can’t complain about six lost sessions in four tests ! 

That Edgbaston Test will be seen as the biggest missed opportunity if we don't get any play today. We had them eight down with over 50 still to get and they managed to get across the finish line. Win that first match and it's likely a different series.

[Sunbury Fox]

1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

That Edgbaston Test will be seen as the biggest missed opportunity if we don't get any play today. We had them eight down with over 50 still to get and they managed to get across the finish line. Win that first match and it's likely a different series.

Not to mention declaring in the first innings when we had our best batsman at the crease 120no. Madness. 

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, Sunbury Fox said:

Not to mention declaring in the first innings when we had our best batsman at the crease 120no. Madness. 

Could argue the declaration in the first test should have been made in the fourth (and vice versa) 

[Sparrowhawk]

20 minutes ago, Sunbury Fox said:

Not to mention declaring in the first innings when we had our best batsman at the crease 120no. Madness. 

Except that as the match went to a nailbiting finish, without that declaration it would probably just have been a relatively tepid draw, no?

It's impossible to take a risk to win a match without potentially giving the other team a chance to win it too. Take the way England bat - when it works spectacularly well (this match) they race to an unassailable position really fast; if it completely fails they collapse to a measly total, look stupid and probably lose.

[Sparrowhawk]

29 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

That Edgbaston Test will be seen as the biggest missed opportunity if we don't get any play today. We had them eight down with over 50 still to get and they managed to get across the finish line.

True. Although Australia deserve credit for digging in and getting themselves over the finish line. The other way around and you'd be praising the England batters for a great rearguard action!

[Sparrowhawk]

16 hours ago, Finnegan said:

Will be extremely harsh if this series is decided on weather. I know that's the nature of cricket but England have been majestic and anyone's able to tell this is an England win if they'd been able to play these two full days.

This is true, but as you say it is the nature of cricket and in the 140+ years of test matches there will have been plenty of other matches and series that turned on weather at crucial times, and I'm sure England, like all teams, have both benefited and suffered from their fair share of them.

[Out Foxed]

14 hours ago, Voll Blau said:

In Lostock Hall? 15 mins walk from where I am now.

 

 

Was just glad to see some cricket today given the forecast. Annoyed we didn't look like we had a plan but Labuschagne was due and played well. Umps lost the plot with Aussie timewasting early on, also with the insistence that we could only bowl spinners - though that did us a favour as we were out of ideas.

correct sir,had some funny times in there. formerly the tardy gate. glad you managed to see some play. 

[HighPeakFox]

Are people still going on about the declaration on the first day of the series? Let's just ignore the idiotic dismissals, the many dropped catches and having them 8 down with 50 runs in the bank at the death. 

[Bobby Hundreds]

They are taking lunch when it’s not raining. Marvellous. 

[Corky]

I know it is staring the obvious but the 2005 series was genuinely amazing sport. Two world class teams fighting it out. A pleasure to re-watch.

[leicsmac]

38 minutes ago, Sparrowhawk said:

True. Although Australia deserve credit for digging in and getting themselves over the finish line. The other way around and you'd be praising the England batters for a great rearguard action!

To be totally honest, if a number 9 and 10 grab 50 runs out of 200 odd to hit a target, I'm going to blame the bowlers either way for not getting the job done and think the England batters damn lucky if it were them. If there's still an established batter at the crease (like Stokes 2019), then it's a bit different. 

 

10 minutes ago, Corky said:

I know it is staring the obvious but the 2005 series was genuinely amazing sport. Two world class teams fighting it out. A pleasure to re-watch.

It really was. Dare I say it though that if England somehow force it to 2-2 here and the last match is equally gripping, this series might be mentioned in the same breath.

[leicsmac]

Play due in 40 minutes. May the powers that govern the universe keep the rain away long enough for England to get the job done.

[Guest nathan.]

Why does it take so long to restart?

 

 

[leicsmac]

Just now, nathan. said:

Why does it take so long to restart?

 

 

Clearing and drying the outfield, mostly. A lot of ground to cover and to prevent player injury.