The Ashes 2021-22

Day/night gives England a better chance if they luck into doing a lot of bowling with a fresh ball under lights and bat in the sunshine. Or it might work the other way and instead of losing in four days, two and a half will be all that's needed.

Tail will be very long if Woakes isn't picked. Bowled fine at the Gabba and pink ball under lights he could be lethal. It's an impossible situation with Leach. They need to show faith and back him as well as play him to help with their over rate. Unless there's a lot of help for him it's hard see the Australian playing him any differently.

England will be licking their lips at that news..

might put a spring in their step... Neser hasn’t played test cricket before and hasn’t represented Australia in limited overs cricket since 2018... he didn’t impress... strange choice considering his age 31..

scored 8 runs in two odi’s... in one took 0 wickets in the other 2 ...but expensive... bit of a gamble the stats suggest...

would have thought James Pattinson would have been a better choice....same age but...21 tests and 81 wickets. Then again he retired prior to the Ashes I’m reading so scrap that. ,!

Butler drops an absolute dolly off Anderson, looks like he wants the pitch to swallow him up... the more you look at it the worse it looks jesus....that’s a couple in this innings after the world class and downright improbable and impressive take at the start of the day... two shelled including that sitter..

The likelihood of Australia posting 400+ from here in is high… their aim will be to bat well into the afternoon, till around tea or half an hour before… scoring has been slow I’m just wondering with wickets in hand and only two down will they attempt to put the foot on the gas after lunch? I’d guess yes….

England need a miracle if they are to win / save this test… first session tomorrow is crucial… need about 4 wickets before lunch to stay above water… big ask.

Labuschagne gets his well deserved century...Robinson gets him 1st ball of his spell and it's a no ball!!

England haven't been able to capitalise on those three wickets. Unless something changes soon they're looking down the barrel of 450+, unless Australia declare to put England in tonight.

Strange test so far, neither team showing real intent, ambling along a bit. Not a great advert for day/night test.

Burns not taking the first ball is openly saying to of all people The Australian Cricket Team, that he was scarred by Mitchell Starc getting him first ball. Now Starc has got him again. The chat on the pitch must be brutal. He will be getting absolute abuse out there

Did Burns and Root believe that the Australian Cricket Team would take it easy on him? 😂

473/9d vs 17/2

two complete giveaway wickets at the end of the days play. What in particular was Hameed doing ? He looks certainly like a guy who got just four fifty’s in thirteen innings…. Not good enough, not only not getting runs but the manner he gets himself out time after time….Burns won’t be happy with his dismissal either, careless… continuously providing evidence that he is fûcking nowhere good enough at this level…

Rory Burns :

Matches - 30

Runs - 1725

Average - 31.36

100’s / 50’s - 3/11

Haseeb Hameed

Matches - 7

Runs - 411

Average - 34.25

100’s/50’s - 0/4

not the sort of stats that will have opposition bowlers quaking in the boots, a ‘soft’ top….

100% with all that… the first session is going to tell a lot.

England would have been hoping the forecast might have done them a favour but aside from a shower or two tomorrow and some strong winds there is no forecast that’s going to save England, they gots to do it all themselves… will they ? You’d have to say unlikely… the forecast is for clear skies all day today…Aussies got too many runs and England lost wickets too cheaply too early and too quickly…. Dawid Malan will no doubt as usual be walking back to the pavilion in the first hour, Root will back himself but probably be limited in his scoring unless he has a partner for a couple of hours to support him….

Dawid Malan… 18 tests averaging 29.6…. How is he in the team ? Was a time you’d have to average 40 to get into that England team as a specialist batsman but not even 30 ?

county averages mean SFA unless you can translate that comfortably and regularly into your international performances…his Middlesex record is decent without setting the world on fire but he’s not stepping it up.

I don't think day five tickets in this series will be very good value for money. Or day four come to that.

I'm sure BT sport are delighted they secured the rights. Huge waste of money, and the ECB will be in a worse bargaining position next time negotiations come around if they continue to neglect everything but the shortest forms of the game.

Look at how resilient the Indians were last year, all the injuries they had, the way they came back after the 36 game. England have the opposite mentality.

Pope has an unbelievable first class record. He's picked on merit in so far as that. Looks completely out of form though, worse than that you could say he has the yips. Those are not innings or dismissals of a player of his talent. Living off his Port Elizabeth hundred if picked again.