Edgbaston:
Australia:
Khawaja 9.5 - Basically perfect, don't really believe in the criticism of his 2nd innings knock. Faced more balls in this test than England did in either innings
Warner 4 - Fast start on the 4th night led to some really valuable runs, as **** as he is better than the alternatives
Labuschange 1 - Mare with the bat, looks out of sorts, nice catch of Brook though
Smith 1 - Obviously terrible, but feels like a single off test for me as opposed to Marnus
Head 5 - Really valuable knock in the 1st innings. Poor shot on the last day though
Green 6.5 - Solid AR performance. Feels like he could be more but you take a wicket, 60 odd runs and a screamer any day I'd say
Carey 7 - Batted and kept well, few tricky stumpings. Difference between him and Bairstow with the gloves one of the main reasons for the Aus win
Cummins 9 - Really found his rhythm in the 2nd innings, made his two highest scores as captain
Lyon 9 - 8 wickets and some crucial runs. Again the difference with Ali was stark.
Boland 2 - Got Crawley twice and was threatening for about 2 overs on Day 3, but looked a bit lost without much movement. Really valuable innings in the 4th innings
Hazlewood 5 - Aus' best fast bowler in the 1st innings, seemingly underbowled in England's 2nd innings. Anyway, solid coming off a long layoff and will work his way into the series
England:
Crawley 6 - as much as could be expected, looked like a deer in the headlights the moment the ball started moving
Duckett 1 - Just didn't look up to it
Pope 4 - Copped a brute in the 2nd innings, while in the 1st his Lyon problems just continued. Batting with Root the contrasting composure is incredibly stark
Root 9 - Could've been higher if not for the declaration. Looked absolutely unphased by anything the Australians could do
Brook 6 - Could've been so much more - freak dismissal in the 1st innings and Labuschagne took a screamer in the 2nd. Going to do a lot of damage this series
Stokes 7 - Really tricky to rate. Bowling was fantastic though limited in overs and his 2nd innings knock was important. Captaincy was mostly excellent, but has to lose at least a point for that declaration
Bairstow 4 - Excellent with the bat, keeping dreadful. As has been said by everyone, needs to play but really shouldn't be keeping
Ali 2 - Tough given his lack of play coming in, but a real liability with the ball and his batting was as expected
Robinson 7 - Just a really skillful bowler, going to take a lot of wickets in the tests he plays. Incredibly brain-dead dismissal in the 2nd innings
Broad 9 - 6 wickets, most of them top order and looked the only threat at times. Has been amazing against Australia throughout his career, and feel like he will run through them one more time this series
Jimmy 3 - Tight, but no major threat on a wicket that didn't suit him. Interesting to see selections in the next test
Feel like England had a much more even performance, but Cummins, Lyon and Khawaja were just enormous
Australia:
Khawaja 9.5 - Basically perfect, don't really believe in the criticism of his 2nd innings knock. Faced more balls in this test than England did in either innings
Warner 4 - Fast start on the 4th night led to some really valuable runs, as **** as he is better than the alternatives
Labuschange 1 - Mare with the bat, looks out of sorts, nice catch of Brook though
Smith 1 - Obviously terrible, but feels like a single off test for me as opposed to Marnus
Head 5 - Really valuable knock in the 1st innings. Poor shot on the last day though
Green 6.5 - Solid AR performance. Feels like he could be more but you take a wicket, 60 odd runs and a screamer any day I'd say
Carey 7 - Batted and kept well, few tricky stumpings. Difference between him and Bairstow with the gloves one of the main reasons for the Aus win
Cummins 9 - Really found his rhythm in the 2nd innings, made his two highest scores as captain
Lyon 9 - 8 wickets and some crucial runs. Again the difference with Ali was stark.
Boland 2 - Got Crawley twice and was threatening for about 2 overs on Day 3, but looked a bit lost without much movement. Really valuable innings in the 4th innings
Hazlewood 5 - Aus' best fast bowler in the 1st innings, seemingly underbowled in England's 2nd innings. Anyway, solid coming off a long layoff and will work his way into the series
England:
Crawley 6 - as much as could be expected, looked like a deer in the headlights the moment the ball started moving
Duckett 1 - Just didn't look up to it
Pope 4 - Copped a brute in the 2nd innings, while in the 1st his Lyon problems just continued. Batting with Root the contrasting composure is incredibly stark
Root 9 - Could've been higher if not for the declaration. Looked absolutely unphased by anything the Australians could do
Brook 6 - Could've been so much more - freak dismissal in the 1st innings and Labuschagne took a screamer in the 2nd. Going to do a lot of damage this series
Stokes 7 - Really tricky to rate. Bowling was fantastic though limited in overs and his 2nd innings knock was important. Captaincy was mostly excellent, but has to lose at least a point for that declaration
Bairstow 4 - Excellent with the bat, keeping dreadful. As has been said by everyone, needs to play but really shouldn't be keeping
Ali 2 - Tough given his lack of play coming in, but a real liability with the ball and his batting was as expected
Robinson 7 - Just a really skillful bowler, going to take a lot of wickets in the tests he plays. Incredibly brain-dead dismissal in the 2nd innings
Broad 9 - 6 wickets, most of them top order and looked the only threat at times. Has been amazing against Australia throughout his career, and feel like he will run through them one more time this series
Jimmy 3 - Tight, but no major threat on a wicket that didn't suit him. Interesting to see selections in the next test
Feel like England had a much more even performance, but Cummins, Lyon and Khawaja were just enormous
