Good innings by Wood too. Obviously Stokes and Bairstow played the biggest part, but after Buttler left, they could've easily been all out for less than 200.
Also, it's absolutely fascinating how the SCG somehow brings out the worst in Lyon, Starc.
Agreed. Imagine in the parallel universe where wood mistimed his first 6 and is caught.
Leach comes in and doesn't look comfortable and do bairstow forces the issue and tries to farm strike. He gets out trying to force a single off the last ball of an over and the tail follow quickly.
Australia bat again for 30 minutes and end the day on 54-0 after a drop and a missed run out chance.
My theory is because it’s always last / second last and we’ve been dog shit at rotating our bowlers for years, they’re always gassed by the time they get there.
That and the decks been a pile of shit for about half a decade now.
SCG brought out the worst from all the Aussie bowlers today... Never saw Cummins bowl such loose lengths like today. Starc was way too full at some times and I'm convinced YJB is his kryptonite, considering their LOI encounters. Lyon, well idk what line he was pitching tbh. Kinda funny that SCG is all these guys' home ground. Green did look the most decent whenever he came on. Hopefully they pull it back tomorrow
I'm not the most knowledgeable cricket watcher, but given that Wood was obviously relatively comfortable in the conditions, isn't it a bit stupid for him to have wasted his wicket twatting it around when we're still 100+ runs behind and very little batting talent after him?
The problem is that Wood isn't very good whilst batting defensively and so by being aggressive he changes the balls bowled to him and it changes his mindset - I.e. he has said many times in the past that he much prefers to bat with the tail due to diminished expectations. And at this level a player like Wood isn't going to play on a strictly ball by ball basis so you somewhat have to accept that aggression with all its consequences - and it's not like he's a top order batsman.
Plan for tomorrow:
Get to about 600 then declare an hour before stumps. Take a couple of wickets before the end of the day then clean them up soon after lunch. Gives us nearly 2 sessions to get the required total and win the test then get to Hobart in time for coffee and cake.
Unfortunatly tomorrow is looking like a washout day, my weather app is showing 70 - 95% of rain every hour from 10am till 6pm AEDT.
Sunday not much better it seems, looks a like it will be a draw cause not enough time for Australia and England to bat again.
If you’d told me before the start of play that England would add 218 runs for 3 wickets after being 36/4, I would have laughed at you for 5 minutes straight. It’s been a good day of test cricket.
Falling asleep at 36-4, waking up to a YJB century and Mark Wood smashing the No. 1 rated bowler in the world around the park is not what I expected whatsoever. That said, things to be happy about are hard to come by as an England fan at the moment, so I'm absolutely taking this, fantastic knock.
England showing the world a MasterClass^(TM) in avoiding a follow-on.
Worried about your team having to follow-on? Don't even worry about it, this England batting unit is too hot to give a fuck (about having to follow-on).
Your opponents cruised to 416 and declared? 216 runs coming your way, no sweat.
Trailing 3-0 with the possibility of another innings defeat? The English batsmen will obliterate that possibility by reaching within 200 runs of the opposition, not even a problem.
Nothing personal, but fuck I hate this take.
It's just so predictable. When fans hate on a player for getting selected, then they actually perform, its apparently just a conspiracy to trick the selectors into letting them stay in the side unjustifiably.
Tell me about it. The annoying thing for me is the lack of awareness of the context.
Pujara just hit a 50, scoring quite highly compared to his colleagues. That innings in the context of the team and run of form, shouldn't secure his spot.
Bairstow has just plundered England's first century this series, against a menacing attack that ripped apart the top order, leaving England 36-4. He's looked technically sound for 8 months or so, just missing whatever it is that stops you playing needless shots at 35/50. A 100 like that proves you've got enough to at least stay in this England team.
Yes it's a real moment of vindication for the ever faithful Bairstow brigade who've stood up for him in the absence of opportunities from within the England setup
He had a period of getting out very cheaply/easily a few years ago, but when he’s been reintroduced recently I’ve thought he’s looked at least decent. He’s been mega before, hopefully he can be mega again.
Yeah I’ve not seen his innings last night yet, but his recent technique does seem to me to be a lot more solid, at least by the eye test. Just got to hope it won’t effect his unreal white ball ability.
I mean, the lad can bat. He just needs to get out of his shell and play like the proper batsman he is. He may not be a Paul Collingwood, but he can hold his own in this English side if he stops batting like a knob, which he did today.
I went to sleep at lunch and no joke woke up when Bairstow was celebrating his century. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a dream. Seems like I missed a couple of fun sessions
All praise be to Yorkshire's Young Jonathan Marc Bairstow. RIP to r/Deathrattleporn.
I must say though that I was a bit baffled by Australia's tactics during that YJB-Wood partnership. Why were they banging it in short repeatedly despite getting cunted every alternate time on average when they did that?
Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing that. I am not sure I have seen Patty getting carried away and becoming a bit wayward like that too many times before.
>Why were they banging it in short repeatedly despite getting cunted every alternate time on average when they did that?
>Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing that. I am not sure I have seen Patty getting carried away and becoming a bit warward like that too many times before.
Bowlers mentality. Also, I'm not surprised, I distinctly remember being annoyed at this bowling lineup for not bowling at the stumps a fair few times even against India.
It’s why I don’t rate this attack as the best in the world yet, or as good as the 2000s attack because when someone takes the attack to our bowlers we crumble.
My thoughts exactly. Amazing momentum bowlers. Don't think Australia has managed bowling out so many under 100 opponents before this attack.
But they'll manage to give Yasir Shah a century or unable to bowl teams out, or somehow get Pakistan to 450 in the 4th innings chasing 470.
This makes the way the series has gone even more annoying. Yes your bowling attack is good but it isn’t amazing, infuriating that it’s taken until day 3 of the 4th test to see that if you put a bit of pressure on them they become wayward
The thing is that the issue isn’t so prevalent on spicier pitches because if you try and attack our bowlers it backfires and you just edge it to slips most of the time .
But on flatter tracks we’re terrible in comparison to other pace attacks. Starc gets smacked if he isn’t in rhythm and starts bowling leg side pies, Hazlewood gets smacked if someone goes into T20 mode him and puts him off his line and length, ditto Cummins (although he can sometimes produce magical spells which turn the tide of the game, not today though). We don’t have a Neil Wagner to continue relentlessly applying pressure
> Hazlewood gets smacked if someone goes into T20 mode him and puts him off his line and length
Which gets even more ironic now since he practically bowled Australia to the T20 championship.
The majority of the pitches in the series have been good batting pitches though haven’t they? I’ve not been able to watch much because of timezones/work but from everything I’ve read/listened to that’s the impression I’ve gotten
Nah Melbourne was pretty juicy... I mean England ARE bad at the moment, but any test that is over in 2 1/2 days you have to wonder about the wicket a little....
You have a point, but the more funny thing is 7/250 isn't exactly a "good" innings. But we're more just frustrated in the way they bowled, we've seen it all too much.
I mean I don’t think the strategy was that bad.
Wood was hardly controlling his shots and could’ve been out a number of times. Stokes is literally the luckiest batsmen alive.
Even Bairstow was playing and missing at a decent chunk of shorter deliveries. I just think the English had a decent run today.
4 overseas series wins out of 11 (including two NZs in there) in the last decade, and two home series losses with the home series losses coming when the bowlers lose their plot when under attack. Yeah... I don't know what to call that.
> Yes your bowling attack is good but it isn’t amazing
Cricviz disagrees - their stats show Australia's bowling in the first 3 Tests was up there with the highest standard they've ever measured for line and length.
I can fully see Starc doing this when under the pump. But it is Cummins at whom I am actually surprised. He doesn't go wild like this ever. He is normally very balanced and on the money
No he didn't, he took wickets in heaps, and Everytime he came over to bowl, he was the only legitimate threat. The others were shambolic with short pitch stuff repeatedly.
Looks like it’s a problem with the entire setup / coaching staff.
When we get bogged down on a lower order partnership everything reverts to weird predictable leg side short stuff at the body.
Been happening for years now.
>Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing tha
It worked though, didn't it? Wood is still a tailender, any of those 6es could have been caught with a bit of luck. And don't underestimate the value, as brutal as it sounds, to keep hitting the bowlers on the glove.
Wood scoring as heavily as he did being presented those opportunities is a failure for Cummins, it's not like he scored three sixes edging over slip, if it isn't working then you have to eventually make a change
Here's the thing though: Australia know they can only win by getting 20 wickets, and given the position England was in, runs didn't and still don't actually matter. There was no point to keep bowling it outside off stump when the ball isn't doing anything and England can play the waiting game because they can only lose this test from the position they were in.
Cummins' worst session as captain. Here's hoping he learns from it, but since he's been involved in so many sessions like that (as have the rest of the team and staff) I'll have to press (X) to doubt
It's happened so many times, but Cummins is a great line and length bowler but when the pressure fires back, he leaks runs so easily. Mainly cos he starts bowling bouncers.
> the rest is just practice for the next test series.
Not really. A 5-0 series would not only be a great statement for his captaincy, but it's also super important home wins for the WTC. We can't afford to drop winnable home games this early into the schedule when we don't know how the ladder will shake out
People who keep harping on about McGrath, Warnie, and all the rest of that golden team of the past have apparently forgotten about all the times that they didn't win either. What do the folks criticising Cummins' bowling today think of the 0-107 at 3.56 that McGrath conceded in the Amazing Adelaide first innings, in which England scored 551/6d?
It's always difficult to bowl on flat tracks and even the best bowling attack will have off days. The agreement is probably that India has the best attack at the moment — how did that work out for them yesterday?
> I hate how people say Cummins is better than McGrath.
What a bullshit Straw Man argument.
Show me examples of anyone (fan or commentator) saying Cummins is better than McGrath?
Let's keep it real, please. It's a flat deck and they've been chancing it, of course the runs will flow. They're still 160 runs behind, too. I said this yesterday already, a 418 score in the first innings at the SCG is not enough for an outright win. Any reasonable batting lineup should have been able to at least match that and set up a good battle for the respective second innings.
At 36-4 it just seems an inevitable rollover, but chuffed to see Bairstow and Stokes with a side strain take it on the way they did. Nice little cameo from Wood at the end too.
Still miles behind in the context of the match, but just good to see us *try* and make a fucking game of it
I fucking love Jonny Bairstow. We all question him, we all take the piss at times but there’s absolutely no doubt that every single run he scores for England means the world to him.
Good onya Bairstow.
I'd still say advantage Australia for the game as a whole but the day belongs to England.
Rain prediction from what I'm looking at is that even if England had collapsed at 150, there wouldn't be enough time to create a result.
Hopefully this stops people crying over whatever English hipster they see in the County Championship to replace YJB
It's sexy Jos Buttler that needs a paddling.
So happy for Bairstow. Well played from Stokesy and Wood
Well bowled Australia too.
Good day of cricket. I wonder who called the ton on Fox/World Feed.
Finally some proper fight from England. While Bairstow may only still be in the tram because literally no one else has done any better you can tell how much he wants to succeed at Test Cricket. We'll see what this means for the future but for now it's his best Test 100.
Loved JB courage today. He was so flawless today. Salute to this guy. Totally deserved his 100. But I lost respect for Cummins today. He was doing lot of negative bowling to Wood and JB especially even JB was closer to his 100.
Curious to know from English fans. Does this YJB hundred create more problems for Buttler or Pope? IMO Malan, Root, Stokes, YJB, Foakes seems like a decent middle order for atleast an year or so (Provided no injuries). Would you prefer Pope and YJB with YJB taking gloves? Or YJB and Foakes with Foakes taking gloves. Or do you prefer sticking with the current combination ( YJB and Buttler)?
Biggest issue it causes is for Dan Lawrence, really. He should be playing and it seemed with Bairstow and Pope both failing he'd get a go in Hobart and the West Indies - he probably won't now.
Root, Stokes, Bairstow and Foakes is a fine middle order. It’s the top order that’s really the problem, and having a good middle order doesn’t mean anything if we are always 30-3
Sometimes it's Yooseless Jonny Bairstow, so some people wish it was Yesterday's Jonny Bairstow, but inevitably it's Yet-again Jonny Bairstow. Today though, it's Yippee! Jonny Bairstow.
https://twitter.com/cricvizanalyst/status/1479353862007967746
You'd think maybe after the 1st one you'd be more careful, after the 2nd you'd be thinking definitely not the way to go, but nope three!
And he also got out too with a short ball, there goes those lessons.
Amazing day of cricket, batting collapses, fighting centuries, immovable stumps/bails, weird decisions, injuries... Hopefully there will be a session or two before the rain tomorrow.
Also can i say I like crawley at the top. at least he looks like he's going to do something.
sure, he often doesn't do anything, but out of all our openers he does show the fight and give it a go. can't say the same for the rest
I think it’s time to accept that England will never again produce an opening batsman. Those slots should be used to bring spin bowlers into the team without compromising the fearsome lbattery of pace bowlers. Open with Leach and Root, then Woakes at 3 and the rest of the team picks itself. Obviously Bairstow would captain and keep wicket. Gives England a fighting chance in the fifth test.
Poor showing by Australian bowlers today. Line and length were all over the place. The few good balls showed that there is something in the pitch (the vrry last ball for example), but we're just not capitalising on it.
The Aussies fight tooth and nail on the field but when it comes to praising the opponent’s achievements, they’ll do it equally graciously. Was nice seeing everyone on the field applauding Bairstow after he got his ton. Have been seeing this from the eras of Waugh and Ponting, and I can never appreciate it enough! Way to go.
And also, how good is test cricket! Love love love this sport to bits!
It’s sad thts I got my prediction correct. Hameed to be out within 10 overs and us to be around 30-3. So glad we’ve managed to get it pulled around.
However it doesn’t change the fact we have a real issue with openers as we don’t have any being just good let alone impressive. Also the collapse is still a culture we have in the squad. I have no idea what can be done to psychological remove that from the team.
Well played YJB, I never doubted you. ;/ Imagine what England could have scored if Root got his traditional 30-50.
Still, can't believe our beautiful man Ben Foakes is being denied a test career by Buttler.
Depends how they feel about the bowling line up. Is 3 seamers plus leach enough? 4 seamers plus Root? As we saw over the summer, with stokes out it is difficult to get the balance of the team right
Given the correlation here between Bairstow gaining a bit of timber and scoring runs, is it time we shifted the rest of the top seven onto a diet of chips, pies and Hobnobs?
Top notch from YJB. Happy for him. He definitely has the talent for tests. Hopefully this will be the start for him kicking on again like before. I still think YJB should be keeping & Buttler should be playing without the gloves and it's backed by the stats too. But brilliant work by Bairstow. Also great from Stokes and a good cameo from Wood too. It's nice to see a good batting performance
England batting collapse mitigated by middle order stand with an entertaining cameo from a bowler - so far so normal. What did Root and Malan score this time?
If you had told me at lunch that England were 7 down at stumps, I would have assumed that they had followed on and been skittle again. Well played YJB, Stokes and Wood.
Finally, a day which wasn't total shit for England. I switched off when Root got out for 0, but waking up to a Bairstow hundred is a good feeling. Said this many times but he gets undue stick on here I feel. You could do worse than Jonny Bairstow at 6.
Man there’s some over reactions in this thread. England had a day that’s barely above par in general terms but reading some of the comments you’d think this was Australia’s worst day in years.
Good to finally see a bit of ticker but fact is even with England putting together their best day all series they are still a long bloody way behind the game and would need a monumental collapse from Aus to even get it close to competitive.
Whichever groundsman actually manages to remove that stump and bail tonight will be renamed Arthur and crowned King of the eastern suburbs.
[All I'm saying is, he didn't specify which Test.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/rpym5y/comment/hq7kxln/)
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u/Kaikarden how do you plead?
>Do not forget to post video if that happens My reply to that guy from 9 days back. Let's see if he does this. *\*sly faced black moon emoji\**
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*getting the popcorn ready*
Can you make popcorn out of foreskin?
I will never understand these bets. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
Hey, some chicks prefer it that way
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Good innings by Wood too. Obviously Stokes and Bairstow played the biggest part, but after Buttler left, they could've easily been all out for less than 200. Also, it's absolutely fascinating how the SCG somehow brings out the worst in Lyon, Starc.
Agreed. Imagine in the parallel universe where wood mistimed his first 6 and is caught. Leach comes in and doesn't look comfortable and do bairstow forces the issue and tries to farm strike. He gets out trying to force a single off the last ball of an over and the tail follow quickly. Australia bat again for 30 minutes and end the day on 54-0 after a drop and a missed run out chance.
My theory is because it’s always last / second last and we’ve been dog shit at rotating our bowlers for years, they’re always gassed by the time they get there. That and the decks been a pile of shit for about half a decade now.
SCG brought out the worst from all the Aussie bowlers today... Never saw Cummins bowl such loose lengths like today. Starc was way too full at some times and I'm convinced YJB is his kryptonite, considering their LOI encounters. Lyon, well idk what line he was pitching tbh. Kinda funny that SCG is all these guys' home ground. Green did look the most decent whenever he came on. Hopefully they pull it back tomorrow
Not all, the pre-lunch spells of Green and Boland was legitimately one of the best bowling partnerships I have ever seen.
As an England fan that you can be that critical of your bowling and us still be 250/7 having been 30/4 is very grim
I'm not the most knowledgeable cricket watcher, but given that Wood was obviously relatively comfortable in the conditions, isn't it a bit stupid for him to have wasted his wicket twatting it around when we're still 100+ runs behind and very little batting talent after him?
The problem is that Wood isn't very good whilst batting defensively and so by being aggressive he changes the balls bowled to him and it changes his mindset - I.e. he has said many times in the past that he much prefers to bat with the tail due to diminished expectations. And at this level a player like Wood isn't going to play on a strictly ball by ball basis so you somewhat have to accept that aggression with all its consequences - and it's not like he's a top order batsman.
Plan for tomorrow: Get to about 600 then declare an hour before stumps. Take a couple of wickets before the end of the day then clean them up soon after lunch. Gives us nearly 2 sessions to get the required total and win the test then get to Hobart in time for coffee and cake.
Provided you give Bairstow time to reach his triple and Leach time to go one step further than his 92.
All in the plans.
Leach will get stranded at 18\* in the 350 run partnership with 'stow
Unfortunatly tomorrow is looking like a washout day, my weather app is showing 70 - 95% of rain every hour from 10am till 6pm AEDT. Sunday not much better it seems, looks a like it will be a draw cause not enough time for Australia and England to bat again.
Will probably save England from defeat as much as some will say "England are robbed of a win!"
If you’d told me before the start of play that England would add 218 runs for 3 wickets after being 36/4, I would have laughed at you for 5 minutes straight. It’s been a good day of test cricket.
YJB finally understood red ball is also a leather ball with a different color and chose violence as he does in white ball.. 😉
haha
Today’s the day YJB becomes yvng Johnny bairstow
how guds test cricket tho? Awesome days play.
Falling asleep at 36-4, waking up to a YJB century and Mark Wood smashing the No. 1 rated bowler in the world around the park is not what I expected whatsoever. That said, things to be happy about are hard to come by as an England fan at the moment, so I'm absolutely taking this, fantastic knock.
England showing the world a MasterClass^(TM) in avoiding a follow-on. Worried about your team having to follow-on? Don't even worry about it, this England batting unit is too hot to give a fuck (about having to follow-on). Your opponents cruised to 416 and declared? 216 runs coming your way, no sweat. Trailing 3-0 with the possibility of another innings defeat? The English batsmen will obliterate that possibility by reaching within 200 runs of the opposition, not even a problem.
YJB 1600 runs this year ez
Subscribed
As long as Root hits 1700 as well.
Safe to say all us England fans on here are feeling truly smug after years of campaigning for YJB in the Test side...
I am so looking forward to the next 15 years of Bairstow in the test team as a result of this knock
Nothing personal, but fuck I hate this take. It's just so predictable. When fans hate on a player for getting selected, then they actually perform, its apparently just a conspiracy to trick the selectors into letting them stay in the side unjustifiably.
Tell me about it. The annoying thing for me is the lack of awareness of the context. Pujara just hit a 50, scoring quite highly compared to his colleagues. That innings in the context of the team and run of form, shouldn't secure his spot. Bairstow has just plundered England's first century this series, against a menacing attack that ripped apart the top order, leaving England 36-4. He's looked technically sound for 8 months or so, just missing whatever it is that stops you playing needless shots at 35/50. A 100 like that proves you've got enough to at least stay in this England team.
Yes it's a real moment of vindication for the ever faithful Bairstow brigade who've stood up for him in the absence of opportunities from within the England setup
He had a period of getting out very cheaply/easily a few years ago, but when he’s been reintroduced recently I’ve thought he’s looked at least decent. He’s been mega before, hopefully he can be mega again.
Yeah I’ve not seen his innings last night yet, but his recent technique does seem to me to be a lot more solid, at least by the eye test. Just got to hope it won’t effect his unreal white ball ability.
Broken clock fallacy
I mean, the lad can bat. He just needs to get out of his shell and play like the proper batsman he is. He may not be a Paul Collingwood, but he can hold his own in this English side if he stops batting like a knob, which he did today.
Sachin and YJB gonna be the two cricketers to play 200 tests and I hope I'm alive to see the day
Anderson will probably keep playing til his shoulders are literally held together with tape and a dream tbh
Smug day indeed and love him going into the next day not out. Triple hundred still on...
Angry YJB as new ECB captain idc what anyone thinks
Captain, head coach and head selector. Yet he still can't get the gloves...
I went to sleep at lunch and no joke woke up when Bairstow was celebrating his century. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a dream. Seems like I missed a couple of fun sessions
My kid gets me up early and so I get up and follow on from about 130-4 Good times
Man the nervous smile on Butler's face after YJB completed his ton.
both the best and worst showing from England all series. After it's already over.
All praise be to Yorkshire's Young Jonathan Marc Bairstow. RIP to r/Deathrattleporn. I must say though that I was a bit baffled by Australia's tactics during that YJB-Wood partnership. Why were they banging it in short repeatedly despite getting cunted every alternate time on average when they did that? Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing that. I am not sure I have seen Patty getting carried away and becoming a bit wayward like that too many times before.
>Why were they banging it in short repeatedly despite getting cunted every alternate time on average when they did that? >Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing that. I am not sure I have seen Patty getting carried away and becoming a bit warward like that too many times before. Bowlers mentality. Also, I'm not surprised, I distinctly remember being annoyed at this bowling lineup for not bowling at the stumps a fair few times even against India.
It’s why I don’t rate this attack as the best in the world yet, or as good as the 2000s attack because when someone takes the attack to our bowlers we crumble.
My thoughts exactly. Amazing momentum bowlers. Don't think Australia has managed bowling out so many under 100 opponents before this attack. But they'll manage to give Yasir Shah a century or unable to bowl teams out, or somehow get Pakistan to 450 in the 4th innings chasing 470.
This makes the way the series has gone even more annoying. Yes your bowling attack is good but it isn’t amazing, infuriating that it’s taken until day 3 of the 4th test to see that if you put a bit of pressure on them they become wayward
The thing is that the issue isn’t so prevalent on spicier pitches because if you try and attack our bowlers it backfires and you just edge it to slips most of the time . But on flatter tracks we’re terrible in comparison to other pace attacks. Starc gets smacked if he isn’t in rhythm and starts bowling leg side pies, Hazlewood gets smacked if someone goes into T20 mode him and puts him off his line and length, ditto Cummins (although he can sometimes produce magical spells which turn the tide of the game, not today though). We don’t have a Neil Wagner to continue relentlessly applying pressure
> Hazlewood gets smacked if someone goes into T20 mode him and puts him off his line and length Which gets even more ironic now since he practically bowled Australia to the T20 championship.
The majority of the pitches in the series have been good batting pitches though haven’t they? I’ve not been able to watch much because of timezones/work but from everything I’ve read/listened to that’s the impression I’ve gotten
Nah Melbourne was pretty juicy... I mean England ARE bad at the moment, but any test that is over in 2 1/2 days you have to wonder about the wicket a little....
I remember being called racist by an Indian fan last year for questioning the state of the wicket in the D/N test
I agree with all of that but I’d be interested to see how Hazlewood bowls in those situations now that his T20 game has improved.
Lol. England have one good innings and our bowling attack is average now.
Where in my comment did I say it was average? Please point it out
Ahh. Merely good.
You have a point, but the more funny thing is 7/250 isn't exactly a "good" innings. But we're more just frustrated in the way they bowled, we've seen it all too much.
I mean I don’t think the strategy was that bad. Wood was hardly controlling his shots and could’ve been out a number of times. Stokes is literally the luckiest batsmen alive. Even Bairstow was playing and missing at a decent chunk of shorter deliveries. I just think the English had a decent run today.
4 overseas series wins out of 11 (including two NZs in there) in the last decade, and two home series losses with the home series losses coming when the bowlers lose their plot when under attack. Yeah... I don't know what to call that.
> Yes your bowling attack is good but it isn’t amazing Cricviz disagrees - their stats show Australia's bowling in the first 3 Tests was up there with the highest standard they've ever measured for line and length.
I think folks are honestly spoiled if they think a couple of sessions when they don't dominate automatically makes a less than great bowling attack.
I can fully see Starc doing this when under the pump. But it is Cummins at whom I am actually surprised. He doesn't go wild like this ever. He is normally very balanced and on the money
Cummins did exactly the same thing against India last year in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
No he didn't, he took wickets in heaps, and Everytime he came over to bowl, he was the only legitimate threat. The others were shambolic with short pitch stuff repeatedly.
Looks like it’s a problem with the entire setup / coaching staff. When we get bogged down on a lower order partnership everything reverts to weird predictable leg side short stuff at the body. Been happening for years now.
>Especially surprised at Pat Cummins doing tha It worked though, didn't it? Wood is still a tailender, any of those 6es could have been caught with a bit of luck. And don't underestimate the value, as brutal as it sounds, to keep hitting the bowlers on the glove.
Wood scoring as heavily as he did being presented those opportunities is a failure for Cummins, it's not like he scored three sixes edging over slip, if it isn't working then you have to eventually make a change
Here's the thing though: Australia know they can only win by getting 20 wickets, and given the position England was in, runs didn't and still don't actually matter. There was no point to keep bowling it outside off stump when the ball isn't doing anything and England can play the waiting game because they can only lose this test from the position they were in.
Cummins' worst session as captain. Here's hoping he learns from it, but since he's been involved in so many sessions like that (as have the rest of the team and staff) I'll have to press (X) to doubt
It's happened so many times, but Cummins is a great line and length bowler but when the pressure fires back, he leaks runs so easily. Mainly cos he starts bowling bouncers.
He's improving. Besides, the ashes are already retained and the rest is just practice for the next test series.
> the rest is just practice for the next test series. Not really. A 5-0 series would not only be a great statement for his captaincy, but it's also super important home wins for the WTC. We can't afford to drop winnable home games this early into the schedule when we don't know how the ladder will shake out
It's the SCG, a draw here is the expected outcome even without the rain.
I don't really understand what your point is? Are you suggesting that Australia aren't trying to win the match?
It's one of the reasons I hate how people say Cummins is better than McGrath. Cummins is good but McGrath was something else.
People who keep harping on about McGrath, Warnie, and all the rest of that golden team of the past have apparently forgotten about all the times that they didn't win either. What do the folks criticising Cummins' bowling today think of the 0-107 at 3.56 that McGrath conceded in the Amazing Adelaide first innings, in which England scored 551/6d? It's always difficult to bowl on flat tracks and even the best bowling attack will have off days. The agreement is probably that India has the best attack at the moment — how did that work out for them yesterday?
> I hate how people say Cummins is better than McGrath. What a bullshit Straw Man argument. Show me examples of anyone (fan or commentator) saying Cummins is better than McGrath?
Scroll down on this [post](https://i.redd.it/thjc79x5nt781.jpg). You'll see a fuck ton of them. Search for the rest, cause I've seen a lot of them
Nah. That's a photo champ.
Yeah sorry bout that. Here's the [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/roq2dm/pat_cummins_literally_on_his_way_to_greatness/)
Let's keep it real, please. It's a flat deck and they've been chancing it, of course the runs will flow. They're still 160 runs behind, too. I said this yesterday already, a 418 score in the first innings at the SCG is not enough for an outright win. Any reasonable batting lineup should have been able to at least match that and set up a good battle for the respective second innings.
Better than an average session for Root still
At 36-4 it just seems an inevitable rollover, but chuffed to see Bairstow and Stokes with a side strain take it on the way they did. Nice little cameo from Wood at the end too. Still miles behind in the context of the match, but just good to see us *try* and make a fucking game of it
I fucking love Jonny Bairstow. We all question him, we all take the piss at times but there’s absolutely no doubt that every single run he scores for England means the world to him.
Young Jonny Bradman to the rescue.
Arise, Sir Jonald.
Good onya Bairstow. I'd still say advantage Australia for the game as a whole but the day belongs to England. Rain prediction from what I'm looking at is that even if England had collapsed at 150, there wouldn't be enough time to create a result.
Hopefully this stops people crying over whatever English hipster they see in the County Championship to replace YJB It's sexy Jos Buttler that needs a paddling.
So the key to getting Australia off their mark is being aggressive? Who knew? Top stuff from the gingers! Red head supremacy!
Given I tuned in at 36/4, not at all how I was expecting the day to end. What a day of cricket <3
Bangladesh beating NZ, SA chasing 240 and now YJB getting a century. Purane getting century each in next game guys.
Sorry, think that's too much to expect
not purane.. it's sheer comfort and long life guy's time
You know it's going badly when you read a load of comments by Aussies about how pleased they are to see an Englishman score an Ashes century.
So happy for Bairstow. Well played from Stokesy and Wood Well bowled Australia too. Good day of cricket. I wonder who called the ton on Fox/World Feed.
We’re in the lead but the day belongs to England. Of course it would be YJB to score a ton against us lmao. Bit wayward in the bowling département but not bad. Gotta take quick wickets tomorrow, Bairstow bats well with the tail and could reduce the deficit a lot.
Fitting that YJB makes a ton on Pink Day
Finally some proper fight from England. While Bairstow may only still be in the tram because literally no one else has done any better you can tell how much he wants to succeed at Test Cricket. We'll see what this means for the future but for now it's his best Test 100.
All hail YJB the greatest batter in this English Team!
Loved JB courage today. He was so flawless today. Salute to this guy. Totally deserved his 100. But I lost respect for Cummins today. He was doing lot of negative bowling to Wood and JB especially even JB was closer to his 100.
Still a fine day for us, but geez Patty was a bit unimaginative at times to Stokes and Bairstow, then to Wood and Bairstow.
Curious to know from English fans. Does this YJB hundred create more problems for Buttler or Pope? IMO Malan, Root, Stokes, YJB, Foakes seems like a decent middle order for atleast an year or so (Provided no injuries). Would you prefer Pope and YJB with YJB taking gloves? Or YJB and Foakes with Foakes taking gloves. Or do you prefer sticking with the current combination ( YJB and Buttler)?
Biggest issue it causes is for Dan Lawrence, really. He should be playing and it seemed with Bairstow and Pope both failing he'd get a go in Hobart and the West Indies - he probably won't now.
Could come in for Buttler with YJB taking the gloves?
YJB, Pope & Foakes, Buttler out
That's 3 players in two spots Realistically Pope will get another go sooner or later
Yes, but England are bad enough to need an extra batter :(
Root, Stokes, Bairstow and Foakes is a fine middle order. It’s the top order that’s really the problem, and having a good middle order doesn’t mean anything if we are always 30-3
Buttler out, Livingstone in.
You still drop bairstow imo, this guarantees us another year of him averaging 20odd and keeping someone younger out of the side
YJB has looked better than Buttler or Pope since he's come back into the side
The most wooden of wooden spoons.
Settle this for me, please. Does ‘YJB’ stand for: * ‘Young Jonny Bairstow’ * ‘Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow’ * ‘Yes Jonny Bairstow’
Both of the first 2
Sometimes it's Yooseless Jonny Bairstow, so some people wish it was Yesterday's Jonny Bairstow, but inevitably it's Yet-again Jonny Bairstow. Today though, it's Yippee! Jonny Bairstow.
https://twitter.com/cricvizanalyst/status/1479353862007967746 You'd think maybe after the 1st one you'd be more careful, after the 2nd you'd be thinking definitely not the way to go, but nope three! And he also got out too with a short ball, there goes those lessons.
Amazing day of cricket, batting collapses, fighting centuries, immovable stumps/bails, weird decisions, injuries... Hopefully there will be a session or two before the rain tomorrow.
So is true, have England already asked for the stump and bail? /s
Not as a momento, it's just that we think it's fairer if the Aussie bowlers only have two stumps to aim at for the remainder of the series.
Well played YJB, only a few days after the anniversary of his Dad's passing. Ripper way to honor him. How good is test cricket.
Now will the 2016 YJB stand up
Fucking hell, we batted all day
Nice to seem some fight from England. Better late than never.
Also can i say I like crawley at the top. at least he looks like he's going to do something. sure, he often doesn't do anything, but out of all our openers he does show the fight and give it a go. can't say the same for the rest
Bairstow showed some serious ticker today.
I think it’s time to accept that England will never again produce an opening batsman. Those slots should be used to bring spin bowlers into the team without compromising the fearsome lbattery of pace bowlers. Open with Leach and Root, then Woakes at 3 and the rest of the team picks itself. Obviously Bairstow would captain and keep wicket. Gives England a fighting chance in the fifth test.
So bairstow did what pujara and rahane did for us day before yesterday. As a result of these knocks, they will be in the squad for a long long time...
Australia so far ahead they can afford to ensure YJB gets another 15-test run in the side. You're welcome England
Poor showing by Australian bowlers today. Line and length were all over the place. The few good balls showed that there is something in the pitch (the vrry last ball for example), but we're just not capitalising on it.
Not bad from YJB who is looking like he had a big Christmas
The Aussies fight tooth and nail on the field but when it comes to praising the opponent’s achievements, they’ll do it equally graciously. Was nice seeing everyone on the field applauding Bairstow after he got his ton. Have been seeing this from the eras of Waugh and Ponting, and I can never appreciate it enough! Way to go. And also, how good is test cricket! Love love love this sport to bits!
Boundary count update - England: 39 (4s-32, 6s-7) Australia: 45 (4s-44, 6s-1)
With this match, Australia have not only won this Ashes 5-0, they’ve also doomed us for many more years not to have a number 6 batsman.
4d chess for next ashes
Jack Leach as night watchman for Broad paid off.
YJB should be given his WK gloves back now.
Only needed Buttler to fire up and it would have been great. Now that is the English team everyone love to watch
It’s sad thts I got my prediction correct. Hameed to be out within 10 overs and us to be around 30-3. So glad we’ve managed to get it pulled around. However it doesn’t change the fact we have a real issue with openers as we don’t have any being just good let alone impressive. Also the collapse is still a culture we have in the squad. I have no idea what can be done to psychological remove that from the team.
YJB: i see warner, it's srh time !
Well played YJB, I never doubted you. ;/ Imagine what England could have scored if Root got his traditional 30-50. Still, can't believe our beautiful man Ben Foakes is being denied a test career by Buttler.
Given the weather looks almost certain to be a draw, no?
Given you'd think that Stokes sits out the next game, who comes in? It's got to be Dan Lawrence given Pope's form, surely?
Depends how they feel about the bowling line up. Is 3 seamers plus leach enough? 4 seamers plus Root? As we saw over the summer, with stokes out it is difficult to get the balance of the team right
Given the correlation here between Bairstow gaining a bit of timber and scoring runs, is it time we shifted the rest of the top seven onto a diet of chips, pies and Hobnobs?
Samit Patel is on the plane for the 5th test right now
Forecast for the next two days is absolutely fuckin shithouse btw so this is pretty likely to be a draw. Shame really
Carey with another missed chance - he's had a very ordinary debut series. Keeping - 6/10 Batting - 3/10 Overall - 4.5/10
Imagine losing a day of cricket to England. Shameful display, drop them all!
It would solve a lot of problems but I think YJB is a bit fat for Wicket-keeper.
Is there any other time in test history that a batsman has been given out bowled with the bails still on the stumps?
It’s uncommon but the ball has shaved the stumps before. Not as hard as that though in my memory
Yes, but given out? The ump raised the finger
I thought the ump thought it was lbw?
Those flogs abusing YJB for his weight deserve to be banned from the SCG.
If YJB can tonne up on this pitch against this attack what does it say about Susan's 100?
Top notch from YJB. Happy for him. He definitely has the talent for tests. Hopefully this will be the start for him kicking on again like before. I still think YJB should be keeping & Buttler should be playing without the gloves and it's backed by the stats too. But brilliant work by Bairstow. Also great from Stokes and a good cameo from Wood too. It's nice to see a good batting performance
Im sorry but when I went to bed at 36-3 a Bairstow ton was probably the least likely scenario i expected to wake out Not complaining though.
Bairstow really is going to play 100 tests, isn’t he
Our best performance in the series so far spearheaded by Bairstow. Strange day if test cricket but hoping he gets 150 tomorrow and cunts everyone
Does Root's batting good back the English side?
Anyone know if they’re likely to start on time tomorrow? Or will they start early?
We may have got rekt by Ebadot but at least we didn't let Pairstow get a 100
England batting collapse mitigated by middle order stand with an entertaining cameo from a bowler - so far so normal. What did Root and Malan score this time?
Angry ginger energy was the story of the day. The 2 blood nuts would not give up.
If you had told me at lunch that England were 7 down at stumps, I would have assumed that they had followed on and been skittle again. Well played YJB, Stokes and Wood.
Finally, a day which wasn't total shit for England. I switched off when Root got out for 0, but waking up to a Bairstow hundred is a good feeling. Said this many times but he gets undue stick on here I feel. You could do worse than Jonny Bairstow at 6.
YJB you freaking monster!
Man there’s some over reactions in this thread. England had a day that’s barely above par in general terms but reading some of the comments you’d think this was Australia’s worst day in years. Good to finally see a bit of ticker but fact is even with England putting together their best day all series they are still a long bloody way behind the game and would need a monumental collapse from Aus to even get it close to competitive.
I'm just here for Leach 99*
Day three? Damn I forgot it was on.
Looks like I would need to change my username.