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5th Test at The Oval, London

Spark

Global Moderator
Wouldn't mind seeing odds on Smith being the first to break the 1000 run mark in a series
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
I remember going into the Sydney Test on 2011 thinking how much of a downer it would be to draw the series despite retaining the urn.

Here's hoping for the dampener.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
A drawn series would mean Australia haven’t won The Ashes. Just keep them based on some technicality going back to the 1800’s.
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yeah can only really see Roy being dropped. Is Stokes going to be fit to bowl? Could see them just bringing Curran in.

They big think after the series but won't make loads of changes now. In truth they probably won't make loads of changes for New Zealand either.
 

Cabinet96

Global Moderator
One of the problems when it comes to England's batting is that there are so many mediocre performers it's genuinely difficult to decide who to drop. It's not like 2010-2013 when England had one problem position at 6, and it was simply a question of how many chances you gave Morgan, Bopara, Bairstow, Taylor etc before trying someone else. At the moment standards are so low that a guy like Denly can hit a couple of fifties in back to back tests and he might have moved up two places in the England batting pecking order. It can feel a bit unfair singling one guy out for the chop, even if their performances in isolation are deserving of it.
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Oh yeah Bairstow has a much better career record but Buttler was better last summer and not really much between them this. As Cabinet says there are just so many potential people to drop.
 

flibbertyjibber

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But you say Buttler was so much better last year and he averaged mid 40's for the calendar year. Hardly inspiring and something to give him enough in the bank to counter a crap year like this one.
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Bairstow was crap last year though so Buttler was much better, he was also genuinely good in that India series.

I always really wanted Buttler to work, he is in many ways one of the best England players I have ever seen, I probably should just be resigned to the fact that it is only the case in limited overs cricket and just enjoy him for that but don't entirely want to give it up. I still think he could be a decent wicket keeper batsman at 7 but it would have to be in that role really. I want to see 4.Root 5. Pope 6. Stokes then you could really have any of Butter, Bairstow or Foakes.
 

Bunsen Burner

Cricket Spectator
Ashes gone now so , if it is fine to try someone else if that is in the selectors minds. Unfortunately selection and planning appears to have been muddled for a long time. Although it is easy with hindsight , the selection of Roy as an opener , against a very good seam attack was misguided and was called as such by many commentators. Not only have we wasted three tests on that experiment and lost the Ashes but we are not necessarily any further forward with an unproven opener ( though Denley cant be any less stickable). Englands ( batting ) success has largely been based on a very attacking lower middle order but was that ever realistically going to work against a very high quality attack ? Is Root the solution as captain ….. I fear not.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
A drawn series would mean Australia haven’t won The Ashes. Just keep them based on some technicality going back to the 1800’s.
This would elicit a lot of rubbish parochial based posting based on a tournament that has no relevance to this one.

And I say that as a Kiwi who says that England won a World Cup, fair and square.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
This would elicit a lot of rubbish parochial based posting based on a tournament that has no relevance to this one.

And I say that as a Kiwi who says that England won a World Cup, fair and square.
It was a joke to parody the aforementioned parochial based posting.
 

Starfighter

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
We can cancel this test.

We managed to beat England at the Oval after the sixty all out test in 2015, no reason why England can't do the same here. Surely Smith has got to fail at some point, even Bradman had some failures in 1930.
 

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