Certified Legendary Thread 2nd Ashes Test England v Australia June 28-July 2 1930hrs @ Lords

[beatnik]

And we are not even half way there, I hope they don't ruin the Ashes legacy.

I think the English have already tarnished it…I don’t care what happens, I just want a 3-nil, 4-nil or 5-nil so I can bathe in English tears for many, many years…

If Test cricket is truly ending, this is a hell of a way to play our last Ashes series in England

 

[gordo2016]

Henry Blofeld pipes up.
I have wonderful memories hearing this bloke commentate ashes going back decades, on both local and short wave radio. A legendary chap, and atypical of his supposed "group".

Blowers created a perfect image for the radio listener. Every ball he commentated on, he made it an event, no matter the state of the game. As the bowler ran up, you could the excitement in his voice, it never seemed to waiver. My favourite commentator, when I was listening to cricket on the radio.

 

[WheelAndDeal]

 

[Sun Ra]

John Howard has called a presser for this arvo to weigh in on the issue. He's just doing some prep first.

 

[Joffaboy]

Shovel nails it

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[FromTheBoundaryLine]

Bazball seems to be attacking batting with a willingness to use unconventional shots, quirky field settings and a have fun whilst playing attitude. To be honest I’ve enjoyed most of it. The thing the English seem to be having a hard time with is that none of the above compensates for dropped catches, missed stumpings, sloppy fielding, poor shot selection and simple brain fades. Or a team that plays better than them.

 

[Satan]

Bairstow caught out again

https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/jonny-bairstow-footage-all-but-silences-englands-spirit-of-the-game-debate/news-story/4a4b6d8f9ce801fb23169e6d8c87a5f3

 

[Alfonz]

It's a horrible place to visit. Anyone who reads tis and considers believeing it, DON'T!

I've never seen a blue sky in England, the place stinks, and if you go in summer it's full of bloody American tourists.

Scotland and Ireland are worth visiting. London sucks. Some of the English countryside is OK. But the weather does indeed suck and you won't be able to find a decent beer on tap.

I remember hearing a conversation between two Poms who were doing a stint in my office in Perth. They were complaining about how the fish and chips here were "not soggy enough" (I shit you not), it was too hot and sunny, and the beaches had too many waves. Encapsulates the ****ed mindset of the country.

 

[doggies ftw]

I reckon Bazball is interesting. The English just need to be more adaptive at those times when they don't need to go all out. A bazball / circumspect balance would be more effective in an even contest, and they could have been 2 nil up themselves had they been smarter in some situations.

The galvinization of the team that McCallum speaks of I'm sure is true. However, it could go either way for them, it may just as likely make them do more silly things, and lose the joy they had told us abt at the start of series.

Aust just needs to stay calm - and keep on keeping on, that is the wheel house of both coach and captain it seems.

A bazball/circumspect balance?

So what you’re saying is they should pick & choose when to go? Maybe block out the bad balls, have some game awareness and realise when they need to knuckle down and put a price on their wicket. Maybe they can throw the bat at the loose deliveries or when they’ve got a decent platform on the scoreboard and we have our backs against the walls?

Maybe they could even play attacking fields with catchers around the bat when a new batsmen is at the crease but push the field back and save boundaries when the batsmen is set?

That’s not bazball that’s literally cricket and how it has been played for 100 years

Bazball this bazball that **** me dead it’s excruciating

 

[Tugga27]

This is well worth a watch.

 

[JackOutback]

Scotland and Ireland are worth visiting. London sucks. Some of the English countryside is OK. But the weather does indeed suck and you won't be able to find a decent beer on tap.

I remember hearing a conversation between two Poms who were doing a stint in my office in Perth. They were complaining about how the fish and chips here were "not soggy enough" (I s**t you not), it was too hot and sunny, and the beaches had too many waves. Encapsulates the ****ed mindset of the country.

No it doesn't. I spent three years there (fair while ago now, mind you) and it's a fantastic, lively city brimming with history, with all of Europe on your doorstep for holidaying. The people are generally nice. Yes, the weather can be a bit grim. But I wouldn't trade that experience in for anything.

 

[Plugger35]

Bazball is a PR term designed to make the opposition think there’s something more to the English battjng than: ‘throw the bat’

Plus, as others have said: combining ‘aggressive’ and ‘non-aggressive’ batting is called ‘normal’ batting

It's the media that came up with the term Bazball not the England team, McCullum and Stokes hate the use of that term and never use it themselves.

Bairstow caught out again

https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/jonny-bairstow-footage-all-but-silences-englands-spirit-of-the-game-debate/news-story/4a4b6d8f9ce801fb23169e6d8c87a5f3

That's not the same as the Carey/Bairstow incident, some of these old incidents that people bring up aren't the gotcha moments they think they are.

 

[peetoo]

The game was certainly still live at 5/193, but that isn't really the point I was making.

90% of each country's fans think the opposite to each other, the same as the Sydney and North fans did. Cricket has the added layer of the captain being able to withdraw an appeal (i.e. reverse a decision). Luke Parker didn't have that option, so it removes that aspect from consideration in footy.

In passionate sporting contests it is often only neutrals who can be totally objective, hence my interest in what other countries' cricketers/fans think.

I’m born England so are in both camps. It’s certainly being used as deflection by English team. But who are they fooling? Themselves?

 

[JackOutback]

That's not the same as the Carey/Bairstow incident, some of these old incidents that people bring up aren't the gotcha moments they think they are.

No incident is going to be exactly the same, but they absolutely are close enough in spirit, if you'll excuse the pun, to be comparable. If anything, Bairstow waiting a lengthy amount of time for his opponent to just lift his foot while readjusting is more shifty than Carey taking an immediate shy at the stumps. Likewise, McCullum running out people congratulating teammates on milestones is shiftier again.

 

[sideswipe]

Tough week for rangas

 

[sherb]

That's not the same as the Carey/Bairstow incident, some of these old incidents that people bring up aren't the gotcha moments they think they are.

Oh yes they are.

The incidents don't have to be the same. They only have to be in conflict with the so-called Spirit of Cricket, which it can be argued they all are.

What they are all showing is that England are sanctimonious hypocrites who use the Spirit of Cricket as a fluid concept only when it suits them.

 

[Not Important]

 

[1989]

The most concerning thing to come out of the match was the way we made identical mistakes to Headingley 2019 and let Stokes dictate the run chase, rather than us managing better a situation where a recognised batsman was batting with tailenders. The only thing that bailed us out was the fact that we had more runs to play with and we belatedly changed our tactics, even though we'd had a whole lunch break (and four years) to sort things out.

 

[Joffaboy]

It's the media that came up with the term Bazball not the England team, McCullum and Stokes hate the use of that term and never use it themselves.




That's not the same as the Carey/Bairstow incident, some of these old incidents that people bring up aren't the gotcha moments they think they are.

They are all 'Not in the Spirit of Cricket', but apparently doesn't apply because they are English.
The hypocrisy is astounding, the defence of the hypocrisy is pathetic.

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[Osho]

A bazball/circumspect balance?

So what you’re saying is they should pick & choose when to go? Maybe block out the bad balls, have some game awareness and realise when they need to knuckle down and put a price on their wicket. Maybe they can throw the bat at the loose deliveries or when they’ve got a decent platform on the scoreboard and we have our backs against the walls?

Maybe they could even play attacking fields with catchers around the bat when a new batsmen is at the crease but push the field back and save boundaries when the batsmen is set?

That’s not bazball that’s literally cricket and how it has been played for 100 years

Bazball this bazball that * me dead it’s excruciating

Sounds like it's got to you!

First day first test Bazball arrogance came to fore by declaring. In hindsight any extra runs could have changed the result.

Second test 1 for lots then all out for less than Oz. Again, arrogance and stupidity moved them from a strong to a weak position. Just apply some Apollo to the Dionysian as the Greeks advised. But god bless the Dionysian.

Nothing is zero sum, even Bazzball. Batting at 5 per over and putting pressure on oppo is an interesting approach. The first 2 tests have been fantastic and Bazzball made a fair contribution to the games being so good.
Hats off also to the umps, they got both the Cummings and Bairstow decisions right, spot on.

That the cricket world is in fits, over reactions everywhere, makes it all the more memorable.

 

[western royboy]

Probably because the Australian players know the rules.

When Botham was nearing the end of his career he went on the Pantomime Circuit…reckon Stuart is heading down the same path

 

[western royboy]

I have never wanted to agree with a comment so much. I've followed Test cricket since the 1960s, as well as having a sound knowledge of the history of the game.

I always enjoyed a comment from the Bodyline TV miniseries where Jardine defines "British fair play". To paraphrase (I cannot recall the exact quote) .... "Preached by old men and generals in board rooms, who turn a blind eye to what is necessary to win the war but are very quick to bask in the fruits of victory".

Personally, I have on occasion been annoyed by some of the things Australians have done on the cricket field, but as a nation we have "generally" accepted responsibility and apportioned blame. For example, the underarm incident. Although not illegal for the time, we still accepted it was something that never should have happened, and Greg Chappell himself admits he made the wrong call and has never offered an excuse.

Then there was the sandpaper incident. I don't know of one Australian cricket person who attempted to defend it. It was wrong and the players were punished. However, over the years I've seen England guilty of cricket atrocities such as the Headingly pitch in 1972, clear cheating and pitch doctoring, no apologies from England.

There was the time an England captain (Atherton?) had a pocket full of dirt and was rubbing it on the ball. Guilty, no penalty. Then the 2005 Ashes where Vaughan's team were using lollies to rub saliva onto the ball and creating more swing. Guilty, no penalty. No apology. People talk about Bodyline, similar to the underarm incident where the tactics were legal under the written law but accepted it probably shouldn't have happened. Nowhere have I read that any apology was forthcoming.

It has always annoyed me when England look down their noses at the behaviour of Australians when they, themselves, have been guilty of far worse. Anyone else think it ironic that Stuart Broad is so indignant about a legal dismissal when he himself is unable to accept umpiring decisions? Anyone else find it incredible that, of all people, Geoff Boycott has to weigh in on the argument of team play when he himself was the most selfish player in the game?

Anyone else astonished by McCullum's indignation when he, himself, ran out Muralitharan for leaving his ground to congratulate his partner Sangakkara upon reaching his century? And finally, anyone else find it incredulous that Bairstow, being a wicketkeeper who should know better, was guilty of trying to dismiss Labuschagne in the very same manner in the same Test?

Exhibit A

 

[Purple Suit]

It's the media that came up with the term Bazball not the England team, McCullum and Stokes hate the use of that term and never use it themselves.




That's not the same as the Carey/Bairstow incident, some of these old incidents that people bring up aren't the gotcha moments they think they are.

How is the Prior one not worse? The batsman also wasn't trying to gain an advantage (wasn't batting out of his crease) and Prior waited a very long time to whip the bails off. This was all done at Lords and the crowd applauded it, not turn feral.

End of the over thing is irrelevant as Bairstow was wandering around mid over too so that it's not what got him. Things can also happen on the last ball of the over, just like every other ball.

They are hypocrites.

 

[luthor]

Exhibit A

"Very, very smart and brilliant from Bairtsow"

"Patel only has himself to blame"

It's an absolutely lousy piece of cricket from Patel and all credit to Johnny Bairstow"

In reality, underhand and sneaky but not one mention of the "spirit" of the game.

LOL!!!!

 

[WheelAndDeal]

The most concerning thing to come out of the match was the way we made identical mistakes to Headingley 2019 and let Stokes dictate the run chase, rather than us managing better a situation where a recognised batsman was batting with tailenders. The only thing that bailed us out was the fact that we had more runs to play with and we belatedly changed our tactics, even though we'd had a whole lunch break (and four years) to sort things out.

It certainly helped having more runs on the board which is probably why Cummins stuck to the short ball strategy for so long. He probably felt that for them to win Stokes would've had to score 210*. To not give a chance in the style he was playing and the way we were bowling would've been very lucky.

They should've brought some fielders up and made him force a shot to keep himself on strike next over, rather than bowl short when he's middling them for 6...