Official - Road to Ashes 2023

[Brook's side]

/

The match before the Ashes against Ireland

Crawley Duckett Pope Root Brook Stokes Foakes Robinson Broad Leach Anderson

- then 1st Test to fit in Bairstow and Archer
will Stokes do his share of the bowling or share it with Brook? Bowled 8 overs, got out Williamson in NZ.
will Archer be back from the IPL in time or play at Lords in the 2nd Test onwards?
will Bairstow take Crawley's place after the 1st Test? Bairstow should try opening at Yorks instead of the wicketkeeping.

Ffs Brook is not a serious bowling option. That will very likely be the only test wicket he ever takes. He's certainly not going to replace Ben Stokes as a bowler.

 

[FBU]

Ffs Brook is not a serious bowling option. That will very likely be the only test wicket he ever takes. He's certainly not going to replace Ben Stokes as a bowler.

Really he must bowl his share. Last 5 Tests 44 overs.

 

[Brook's side]

Really he must bowl his share. Last 5 Tests 44 overs.

8 overs man. Bad enough, but come on...

 

[Nicky]

Let Crawley improve his game in FC.
Consider either Bohannon or Ben Compton to replace him while Bairstow recovers.

 

[Brook's side]

I see England has asked SRH to push Brook up to open.

 

[Nicky]

Hehe. Maybe SRH tried that to give him more confidence ? Didn't work though :/

 

[Nintendo]

I see England has asked SRH to push Brook up to open.

Was it england asking them to do that or SRH deciding they'de get the most out of brook opening? He looked a bit stuck starting vs spin in indian conditions, maybe the thought process is that hey'll do better if he starts vs pace with the field up and faces the spinners when set and striking, kinda like stoinis pre 2020.

 

[Burgey]

Great to see the Matildas handing out the first of many Australian hidings to England national teams for the northern Spring and Summer.

 

[Starfighter]

Ben Stokes requests 'fast, flat wickets' for the Ashes

England captain encouraged by improvement in left knee as he looks to reprise fourth-seamer role this summer

www.espncricinfo.com

I have yet to see this supposed nuance in BazBall that some keep mentioning.

 

[Burgey]

That's got to be a piss take. Those sort of decks are manna from heaven to Australia.

 

[slowfinger]

That's got to be a piss take. Those sort of decks are manna from heaven to Australia.

Steve Smith and Labuschagne will be quaking in their boots

I just saw the highlights of Broad's 7-fer in 2015. Why don't they just replicate that pitch? Anderson and Broad will probably back themselves to do it again

 

[slowfinger]

I know why they want a flat deck - it's so Zak Crawley will stand a greater chance of seeing off the new ball

If he fails with the flat deck order then we're screwed

 

[Burgey]

I suppose they know deep down if there's much movement then they're completely screwed as a batting unit because Root and Stokes aside, they're just a bunch of hack sloggers who pick the first line and hit through it with no defensive technique.

Been saying for months this was England's conundrum. Flat decks help their very limited batting line up, but they're the also pitches Aus excel on with bat and ball. Cummins et al eat up batsmen on those decks for breakfast, while the likes of Smith, Head and Marnus will be loving the thought of it. If they prep seaming decks, their bowlers will love it but the Aus attack is simply better bowler for bowler anyway, and England's batsmen will have Mark Latham post-NSW election levels of cope in trying to deal with it.

It's done. 4-0 Aus and a rain effected draw (but not in June).

 

[SteveNZ]

I still think Australia wins this 3-1 or so.

Good luck trying to hit Cummins and Hazelwood off their lengths. England are still susceptible to quality fast bowling, like Rabada/Nortje/Jansen troubled them with last year.

 

[Nintendo]

I still think Australia wins this 3-1 or so.

Good luck trying to hit Cummins and Hazelwood off their lengths. England are still susceptible to quality fast bowling, like Rabada/Nortje/Jansen troubled them with last year.

Eng won that series 2-1 TBF. The Aus batting lineup isn't as bad as SA's but if where still carrying warner and ENG produce the same kinda decks they did vs SA I could see ENG winning a 250 par score shootout vs AUS with smith and marnus having to carry our batting. Worst case think those 200-250 style shootouts will work better than producing fast, flat wickets for some odd reason. Your giving the entire Aussie batting lineup exactly what they'de want by doing that, including warner.

 

[sphynx]

I suppose they know deep down if there's much movement then they're completely screwed as a batting unit because Root and Stokes aside, they're just a bunch of hack sloggers who pick the first line and hit through it with no defensive technique.

Been saying for months this was England's conundrum. Flat decks help their very limited batting line up, but they're the also pitches Aus excel on with bat and ball. Cummins et al eat up batsmen on those decks for breakfast, while the likes of Smith, Head and Marnus will be loving the thought of it. If they prep seaming decks, their bowlers will love it but the Aus attack is simply better bowler for bowler anyway, and England's batsmen will have Mark Latham post-NSW election levels of cope in trying to deal with it.

It's done. 4-0 Aus and a rain effected draw (but not in June).

Flat decks completely negate Robinson and Anderson.

Not sure about this from England.

 

[ZK$]

The dukes ball is still going to swing and seam.

 

[sphynx]

Eng won that series 2-1 TBF. The Aus batting lineup isn't as bad as SA's but if where still carrying warner and ENG produce the same kinda decks they did vs SA I could see ENG winning a 250 par score shootout vs AUS with smith and marnus having to carry our batting. Worst case think those 200-250 style shootouts will work better than producing fast, flat wickets for some odd reason. Your giving the entire Aussie batting lineup exactly what they'de want by doing that, including warner.

"Isn't as bad as SA's"

Khawaja, Marnus, Smith, Head on flat decks is a completely different prospect to South Africa. Every single one of them would be SA's best bat by a country mile at the moment.

 

[Spark]

I don't understand it because it's not as if England have had trouble winning Tests against in Australia in the last 20 years and it's always been the same formula: swing and seam that blows away the top order. Producing flat decks would be a remarkable act of cricketing self-harm by England.

 

[Nintendo]

"Isn't as bad as SA's"

Khawaja, Marnus, Smith, Head on flat decks is a completely different prospect to South Africa. Every single one of them would be SA's best bat by a country mile at the moment.

I was talking about on a more traditional english deck, thought that was clear from the earlier mention of 250 style shootout, my apologies if it wasn't.