Ashes 2015

Well judging by the commentary today it appears the pitch is quite lifeless for the first test, although the old adage you can't really tell until both teams have had a bat applies. I hope we aren't going to prepare 5 dull pitches in the hope of blunting out their attack and grinding out a 1-0 win in the series. I understand using home conditions to your advantage and of course I want England to win but I'd also like some entertainment too!

Our lack of a front line spinner could be an issue over a series but I think batting wise Root, Stokes and Buttler will hopefully provide bit of a spark.

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19645757#p19645757]Ballysmate[/url] wrote:

Watched Paul Allott and his cricket writers on Sunday discussing the Ashes. All agreed that the decision to play the 1st test in Cardiff was a financial one and not a cricket one. They felt that the pitch would offer little to the bowlers.

I nearly posted something about this before as it bugs me. An Ashes test has no place in Cardiff imo, not at the expense of traditional grounds like Old Trafford and Headingley. Part of the problem I think is it's now done on a bidding process where the county grounds submit a financial bid to the ECB to host a test. This of course goes against the interest of the game as to make a winning bid pay the county then has to maximise its revenue to recoup costs and make a profit so it's in their interest to produce a lifeless pitch that will make the game last the full 5 days for the most ticket money.

If they want to spread the game to new venues then fair enough, give them test matches and one-dayers against teams like Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan. Not the likes of Australia and South Africa.

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19647339#p19647339]laurentian[/url] wrote:

I agree with verylonglegs. Preparing a pitch for home advantage is one thing but neutering any sign of life in it cannot be good.

Michael Vaughan must have read this 5 minutes ago as he's just said [on TMS] that everybody is entitled to their opinion but anybody who believes [that] "is an id... welcome to think that, but is wrong".

Good match so far, and Lord Sir Earl Geoffrey Boycott is on now so I'll stick with it for a bit longer then go home.

Game is in an excellent position now, my concerns were obviously completely unjustified. When the pundits were talking about the pitch on day one I feared we were in for a repeat of that bloody dire test against India at Trent Bridge last year.

Already looking forward to watching it in the pub with a pint or two tomorrow afternoon when the Aussies bat again.

Throwing it away now 245 - 8

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19645810#p19645810]verylonglegs[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19645757#p19645757]Ballysmate[/url] wrote:

Watched Paul Allott and his cricket writers on Sunday discussing the Ashes. All agreed that the decision to play the 1st test in Cardiff was a financial one and not a cricket one. They felt that the pitch would offer little to the bowlers.

I nearly posted something about this before as it bugs me. An Ashes test has no place in Cardiff imo, not at the expense of traditional grounds like Old Trafford and Headingley. Part of the problem I think is it's now done on a bidding process where the county grounds submit a financial bid to the ECB to host a test. This of course goes against the interest of the game as to make a winning bid pay the county then has to maximise its revenue to recoup costs and make a profit so it's in their interest to produce a lifeless pitch that will make the game last the full 5 days for the most ticket money.

If they want to spread the game to new venues then fair enough, give them test matches and one-dayers against teams like Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan. Not the likes of Australia and South Africa.

I seem to recall the previous Ashes test at Cardiff produced a match that would have graced any ground and despite the 'expert' opinions on the Sophia Gardens wicket it's hardly been a dull test so far. Plenty of wickets and some fast scoring.

Some of the 'traditional' test grounds got a sense of entitlement and assumed they'd get their allocation of the big matches indefinitely so didn't invest in their facilities while other County grounds seized the initiative and built modern stadia suited to modern needs. They've had the kick up the ar$e they needed and as a result have finally started to develop their grounds to modern standards. Also, without intending to be biased, Cardiff has to be the best place in the UK for major sports events due to the proximity of the grounds to the city centre.

Well played England!

That's set up the series nicely. Think it was important England got off to a good start, as think the Aussies have it in them to bounce back, whereas if Australia had won it could have been a long summer for England fans.

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648662#p19648662]cyd190468[/url] wrote:

The only problem with the pitch was that, as the scores show, the best batting was on day 1 and it progressively got harder to make a score. If all the pitches are like this then the toss pretty much decides the result between teams of similar ability. It would be nice if you didn't know the result 48 hours before the actual result.

By common consent England outdid Oz in all three disciplines in this match, and dished out a right royal stuffing in the process. Hurrah!!! If the Aussies can learn how to win the toss it should balance things up a bit and produce a much more even match, so to make it interesting England should wheel out FEC Atherton M in his bathchair for the toss, being as he famously managed to lose 200* successive tosses, thereby giving Mr Clark & his bunch of convicts (Mitchell Johnson? Straight off the boat...) the benefit of a 100 yard headstart in the next match. That should even things up a bit.

It's a good time to be stuck in front of a telly waiting to fetch & carry various offspring throughout the day & night. TdF, Ashes, a bit of tennis occasionally and if it gets really bad, the Audi Cup for a bit of football. Lovely.

* made-up figure, obvs.

There were 1269 runs scored in total at a cracking rate. The wicket offered little to the bowlers insomuch as it afforded little spin and not much off the seam. In fact it was quite slow.
The wicket was soooo good for batting on day 1 that England were reduced to 40 for 3 weren't they? It was sooo poor on day 4 that Australia were 97 for 1 and all results were possible. So don't get whinging about the wicket being to blame for your loss.
As for preparing a pitch to bat well on day 5, we may address that if the Aussies can make the game last that long eh?

Not all fun and roses in the Aussie camp?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-3163017/Australia-captain-Michael-Clarke-suggests-selectors-leaked-Shane-Watson-s-axing.html

To be fair, no surprise that neither Haddin nor Watson are to play, for form reasons aside from any personal problems.

BBC still reporting that Moeen is doubtful, anyone have a better update? I need to update my Fantasy Team pronto if he's out!

I can only refer to my second post on the thread and also what Boycott claimed, that it's at the request of the ECB for all wickets this series. Test cricket can't afford a whole summer of this if it's to have a long term future worldwide. Not good after today but I really hope to be proved wrong before the end of August.