English cricket in ashes . . . .

[Roger]

Kev you &%$# !!!  You are only saying that - because it's true    Until tomorrow.

I thought booing Smith wasn't a great idea even though he was a cheating git like Atherton and who knows else ? But it's a great game and a tradition in the greatest rivalry of all sport, so lets keep it like, friendly enemies.

Oy oy oy and well done you OZ &%$#  SO FAR. ATB

[Roger]

Hi Kev,

I heard a rumour that at 29-2, Australia's last two batsmen are at the wicket 

It'd be great to see England level the Series - but there's still that bl**dy Smith to deal with.

ATB

[Roger]

Ah I forgot Matthew Wade - 117 well done him, Steve Smith, Labuschagne  and the Oz bowlers for taking the Ashes home. Great to see England square the series - let's hope Jofra Archer can stay fit for a decade - up to 96mph yesterday - frightening 

BIG mistake to put England into bat 

Have we seen the last of Jimmy Anderson ?

[Kev]

Well done yep even stevens, you b&%-#y poms did well in the last test. :-)

[Teessider]

Some positives for England,
Rory Burns has proved to be an effective opening bat
Jofra Archer is ready to take over from Jimmy
Stuart Broad is as good as ever
Jonny Bairstow at least showed his prowess as a keeper even if his batting disapponted.

For the Aussies,
Steve Smith was magnificent
Pat Cummins superb
Marcus Labuschagne another success

[Roger]

England Test performances seem to be an uphill battle more often than not !   

"England were crushed by New Zealand as the tourists lost the first Test by an innings and 65 runs at the Bay Oval. Resuming on 55-3, England needed to bat through the day to save the Test but were bowled out for 197 with 21.4 overs remaining in Mount Maunganui."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/50541533

[Thaiwolf]

Very poor effort fron England.

[jungle]

Punishment for the rugby I would say 😁

[dam12641]

"Punishment for the rugby I would say"
Yeah, after what we did to them in the Rugby WC, the Cricket ODI WC, I guess we kind of had it coming from the Kiwis.

They did us, fair and square. It's a shame there is only one more Test to enjoy in this series.

[Teessider]

Win the toss, bat through the first day losing only 4 wickets. Lose by an innings. Only Stokes seemed to have the commitment needed. Big improvement needed for next test.

[Roger]

I was looking for Geoffrey and here he is . . .

"Joe Root got out to a bowler little better than me" - yes GB - was that then or now 

"It is no good talking a good game before the match and then saying after defeat that you will take the positives. If I hear that one more time I am going to scream."    I agree.

"In the New Zealand innings (Joffra Archer) he bowled 42 overs which is more than any of the other seamers. Only the spinner, Jack Leach, bowled more overs than him."      That is stupid 

Time for Root to step aside and Silverwood - he's not gonna do it IMHO.

Dam - know where you are coming from but just wait until WE play S. Africa 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2019/11/25/joe-root-got-bowler-bit-better-englands-batting-against-new/

[Roger]

JUST AS England were going to smash the Kiwis - down came the rain   

Michael Vaughan in the DT - an excellent poser for the next Ashes.

"" ""What did we learn from this series against New Zealand? Not very much. It just reinforced what we already know. When bowling in conditions in Australasia with the Kookaburra ball England do not look like taking 20 wickets. "" ""

Worth a read and get Bairstow back please . . . 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2019/12/04/englands-bowling-weak-link-leach-broad-anderson-not-going/