*Official* Fifth Test at The Oval

[Maximas]

England clearly have a more settled and generally better team to me, but they have not been helped by their mentality, the playing style of both teams hasn't been the difference. Ruckus has a point, England have never really driven home the initiative, even when on top. It's not just this series either, I remember Trott crawling to 11 off god knows how many balls against NZ when they had a massive lead, bull****ting around helps no one, crowd included

 

[social]

Sky have just done a brilliant piece on working a batsman out. Has basically confirmed how brilliantly Australia have bowled to Cook, he's scored three boundaries above the line of the stumps on the offside all series and every single one of his wickets have been from balls that are on/below the line of the bails. I'm not sure we can put any of Cook's failings specifically down to anything other than good bowling to good plans.

Edit: They've also bowled a perfect length to Root, who has seriously struggled to score any runs when it's in that good zone.

If Harris and Siddle stay fit for the nest Ashes, Cook will have some serious work to do before he becomes a threat again as they have completely worked him out

Whilst he is an excellent player, he is also extremely limited (by choice I hasten to add) and his current approach just isn't working

Gone are the days, thank ****, when he could just sit on the bowlers and wait for a legside ball or half-tracker to keep the score board ticking

As for Root, I doubt whether the Australians are terribly worried about him at all for the return bout as his technique is likely to yield slips catching practice on bouncier tracks

The outcome of the series down under will again lie in whether our dodgy batsmen can string together some scores rather than our ability to take 20 wickets at par or better as the latter is almost a given from what we have seen

 

[social]

3-0 is entertainment enough cheers. Australia can feel free to entertain us by collapsing for 120 again if they want.

That will leave us 250-300 ahead and even if it was a timeless test, England would still play for the draw when faced with that sort of challenge

 

[MW1304]

Really like this idea that Warne came up with to Bell as well, given that the boundary highlights package they came up with was mostly to balls with a bit of width. Think they need to bowl a fair bit straighter, get him playing at basically every ball.

I can understand the bowling to Bell, particularly at the start of the series, simply focusing on a good length just outside off stump considering the amount of times he's been feathering them through to the keeper when having a little poke, but they seem to have been suckered into it a bit. He's clearly tightened up a hell of a lot outside off stump, leading them to throw it out a bit wider, which plays into his strengths, so we see a lot of late cuts, cuts and drives. They don't seem to have had much of a plan B. So yeah, I think considering the way he's dealt with them this series, it wouldn't be a bad plan.

 

[GIMH]

Yes, it all rest on the Aussie bats. The England bowlers will be powerless to stop them.

It's not as though Swann will be all over Rogers, Clarke will get worked over by Broad and which ever tall seamer joins him, Watson will get out lbw because we know how to bowl to him etc etc

We will win the return series because we are more likely to bowl you out for sub par scores than the inverse

 

[MW1304]

If Harris and Siddle stay fit for the nest Ashes, Cook will have some serious work to do before he becomes a threat again as they have completely worked him out

Whilst he is an excellent player, he is also extremely limited (by choice I hasten to add) and his current approach just isn't working

Gone are the days, thank ****, when he could just sit on the bowlers and wait for a legside ball or half-tracker to keep the score board ticking

As for Root, I doubt whether the Australians are terribly worried about him at all for the return bout as his technique is likely to yield slips catching practice on bouncier tracks

The outcome of the series down under will again lie in whether our dodgy batsmen can string together some scores rather than our ability to take 20 wickets at par or better as the latter is almost a given from what we have seen

I think he'll do a lot better in Australia if the pitches are as well paced and bouncy as we've come to expect. Naturally there will be a lot more balls there for the cut/pull and he shouldn't get as bogged down, which should stop him from playing these impatient swishes to full balls outside off stump which has got him 3 or 4 times this series. Even if you bowl similarly and incredibly patiently it just naturally happens.

 

[GIMH]

That will leave us 250-300 ahead and even if it was a timeless test, England would still play for the draw when faced with that sort of challenge

You do know we have six wickets left right?

 

[Ruckus]

Yeah let's just ignore everything KP and Root have said about the pitch, it's all England's feeble mentality.

lol really? you think Eng have been playing for anything other than a draw since the first ball they faced?

 

[Burgey]

I can understand the bowling to Bell, particularly at the start of the series, simply focusing on a good length just outside off stump considering the amount of times he's been feathering them through to the keeper when having a little poke, but they seem to have been suckered into it a bit. He's clearly tightened up a hell of a lot outside off stump, leading them to throw it out a bit wider, which plays into his strengths, so we see a lot of late cuts, cuts and drives. They don't seem to have had much of a plan B. So yeah, I think considering the way he's dealt with them this series, it wouldn't be a bad plan.

Slowness of the pitches not conducive to this plan either IMO. Though to his credit Bell has batted very well, particularly by his own abysmal standards.

Just showing the highlights of the first test on Fox here atm. Jeez it seems like it was years ago, there's been so much cricket in so short a time frame since then.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I think he'll do a lot better in Australia if the pitches are as well paced and bouncy as we've come to expect. Naturally there will be a lot more balls there for the cut/pull and he shouldn't get as bogged down, which should stop him from playing these impatient swishes to full balls outside off stump which has got him 3 or 4 times this series. Even if you bowl similarly and incredibly patiently it just naturally happens.

It will be interesting to see how he goes if we do manage to keep good lines to him in Australia. He was served up a piling steam of turds here last time and, quite rightly, dined out.

 

[social]

I think he'll do a lot better in Australia if the pitches are as well paced and bouncy as we've come to expect. Naturally there will be a lot more balls there for the cut/pull and he shouldn't get as bogged down, which should stop him from playing these impatient swishes to full balls outside off stump which has got him 3 or 4 times this series. Even if you bowl similarly and incredibly patiently it just naturally happens.

There will only be more balls to pull and cut if the bowlers pitch short

Why would they do that when they know his weakness against fuller deliveries?

If they bowl the right areas, the bouncier Australian decks will simply result in more nicks and even lower scores

 

[MW1304]

The ball will go through more, he will just naturally be able to score more easily, it's how pitches work. That's not to say he's guaranteed to get more runs but I certainly think it will help.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Only a bunch of convicts having been beaten 3-0 and gone 9 tests without a win and won just 1 in 11 against England could go into the home series saying they will win. England will win in Australia again this winter as they are a better side which they have shown this summer. 3-0 doesn't lie girls.

 

[Captain_Cook]

I think he'll do a lot better in Australia if the pitches are as well paced and bouncy as we've come to expect. Naturally there will be a lot more balls there for the cut/pull and he shouldn't get as bogged down, which should stop him from playing these impatient swishes to full balls outside off stump which has got him 3 or 4 times this series. Even if you bowl similarly and incredibly patiently it just naturally happens.

I think you've got it spot on. This is the second Ashes series in England that Cook has averaged less than 30. The Australian bowling unit have an excellent knack of bringing out everything he hates about English pitches. Cook will have a colossal away average at the end of his career but his home average will always be a black mark on his career despite his 294 at Edgbaston.

I don't forsee a close series. There will be at least one English victory by an innings in the winter.

 

[Maximas]

Yeah I'm fairly confident England will win, maybe 2-1 this time, but the pitches and weather won't be on their side this time

 

[Maximas]

The Cricinfo commentary is a ****ing mess right now, they are running a quiz thing that is not worth following at all, and instead of boldfacing the weather updates that occur in between the ridiculous competition, they boldface the questions, meaning I have to scan a whole damn page of trivia bull**** in order to get my crappy weather update.

 

[Furball]

Only a bunch of convicts having been beaten 3-0 and gone 9 tests without a win and won just 1 in 11 against England could go into the home series saying they will win. England will win in Australia again this winter as they are a better side which they have shown this summer. 3-0 doesn't lie girls.

It's actually 1 in 13.

 

[social]

Only a bunch of convicts having been beaten 3-0 and gone 9 tests without a win and won just 1 in 11 against England could go into the home series saying they will win. England will win in Australia again this winter as they are a better side which they have shown this summer. 3-0 doesn't lie girls.

Predicted 3-1 to England in this series and probably would've been right if not for weather

Result doesn't reflect the play but it is what it is

Reckon it's at worst 50/50 in Oz as a number of the English batsmen have been exposed, they wont have the benefit of ordering conditions to suit next time and they have no quality at all in backup spin or batting

 

[flibbertyjibber]

It's actually 1 in 13.

Na 5 here, 5 there and Oval 2009, they won 4th test at Headingley in 09.

 

[BoyBrumby]

A point that bears repeating is that Cook's overseas record is a fair bit better than his home one.

His MO means that when he's not in absolutely prime nick he'll struggle with movement. He plays down the ground more than when he first came in, but width is still his meat and drink. He's fighting his instincts, but occasionally he will poke at wide ones like the one Harris bagged him with yesterday.

He might not score 766 this winter, but it's dollars to donuts he'll contribute more than he has this series on the truer Australian decks. I think Root, being primarily a back foot player, who's more cause for concern at the top of the order. Case for bringing back Compton or blooding Robson to open, both of whom were weened on bouncier tracks and shifting him back down to six, which, it's fair to say, is still up for grabs.