England v Australia, 3rd Test, Headingley, 22-26 August, 2019

How good are Tests and the Ashes in particular??

For Aus Bancroft must be gone and Warner only saved by his Test record. Shrpanel will come in for the inevitably concussed Smith.

For England Roy and Denly must be shaky.

Kwaja had want to pull his finger out too.

If Langer was fair dinkum he'd leave Warner out as he is totally farked in the head. Bancroft is technically deficient.

Trouble is if you leave both out then you have to open with Ooze and Harris and bring in Puddle at 6 after Shrapnel, Head and Wade. Fark that!!

There's another real batsman in that squad isn't there? If it comes down to Marsh, screw that, play five bowlers at least one of whom will contribute more with the bat than the love child.

No, the batting component of the 17 man squad is:

Warner
Harris
Bancroft
Khawaja
Smith
Labuschagne
Head
Wade
M.Marsh

I said at the time when Puddle was added, it should have been his brother.

With no Smith at Headingley a couple of players really need to step up. It'd be good if Ooze was one of them.

You should have saved that for the Friday Funny. Marsh as part of the batting component. Sometimes you crack me up .

I suspect England will go in with an unchanged side. Only possible change could be Curran for Woakes.

They might tinker with the batting order though, with Denly opening and Roy going to four.

Big call Henry. You got lucky with this squad once, the batting part of it anyway.

Would Aus look at bringing in Starc, at the expense of Wade?

Better option than Marsh. Depend on the track. Another big call.

Draws paying sevens. Whether that's a function of test match cricket today, or an indicator of the pitch I know not

Bradman wrote:Big call Henry.  You got lucky with this squad once, the batting part of it anyway.

You mean Curran for Woakes? There’s suggestions that Woakes is injured. If he’s not able to bowl his fair share of overs then he should be replaced, as Archer will be quickly bowled into the ground otherwise.

Well as others have said, if he wasn't injured, Root should be shot. He's got a few days to recover, but you guys have had enough trouble with the recovering wounded already.

skully wrote:If Langer was fair dinkum he'd leave Warner out as he is totally farked in the head. Bancroft is technically deficient.

Trouble is if you leave both out then you have to open with Ooze and Harris and bring in Puddle at 6 after Shrapnel, Head and Wade. Fark that!!

This, especially the need to avoid selection of the worst number 6 in Test history..

I suspect cbnlg is keen to keep a left-right opening combination. Of course that only works if the two openers have a semblance of competence.

Warner should have been sent packing after the WC. He has no business in this team. Aside from the fact he has violence issues, I reckon his red ball days have gone. His slather and whack style relies on very sharp eyes and reaction time. If age has got to him - I say thank fark.

Unhappily cbnlg jettisoned those who did little wrong over summer (Burns actually makes tons) for a perverse restoration of the poc and Bannedcroft. Neither poc nor Bannedcroft were in form pre the sandpaper cheating episode.

What did Marcus Harris do wrong, exactly? Joe Burns for that matter? I’ve seen Burns, Harris, and Bancroft bat, and Bancroft is a distant third in regards to quality.

One thing I’ve noticed in recent times, is that a lot of Australia’s current generation of batsmen don’t fancy the short ball. Not sure when this crept in, but we’ve seen quite a few Australian batsmen struck not just in this series, but also against India last summer, and in the World Cup as well.

Just slip out one of the openers for Harris and hope kwaja comes good. Starc in for Hazelwood.

Henry wrote:What did Marcus Harris do wrong, exactly? Joe Burns for that matter? I’ve seen Burns, Harris, and Bancroft bat, and Bancroft is a distant third in regards to quality.

One thing I’ve noticed in recent times, is that a lot of Australia’s current generation of batsmen don’t fancy the short ball. Not sure when this crept in, but we’ve seen quite a few Australian batsmen struck not just in this series, but also against India last summer, and in the World Cup as well.

Our selectors prefer gut feelings over form. As for the short ball, fnose. Flatter tracks in Shield cricket? A reluctance by bowlers to get the mongrel because of the death? Faith in helmets ingrained from a young age? As much as I'm loathe to praise Waugh the elder, his attitude towards the short ball was smart. Also took out low percentage shots. A lesson Paine needs to learn really quickly.

If Bancroft has looked bad in England, imagine how bad Burns would have looked.

Both big nickers (nickname for big knickers beckons) but Burns even worse than Bancroft, even in Oz. Major scoring area is through slips.

Well considering Bancroft's form so far, and Burns' county form, he could only be an improvement.

Henry wrote:What did Marcus Harris do wrong, exactly?

He doesn't play for Western Australia.

There is little difference between Bangers NLWL2 and Monty

Bangers scored a ninety in the dancing with your sister game, the others didnt.
I also think his inclusion was a rip the bandaid off approach to the Sandpaper 3 as it gave the crowds all three to vent at .(The booing of Smith returning from retiring hurt shows that some will hold the grudge forever.)

Koaja and GCS need to step up if/when Smith is ruled out. Would help if they stepped up anyway.

skully wrote:

Henry wrote:What did Marcus Harris do wrong, exactly?

He doesn't play for Western Australia.

He's wozzie as , ya SGDT

[quote="embee"]There is little difference between Bangers NLWL2 and Monty

Bangers scored a ninety in the dancing with your sister game, the others didnt.
I also think his inclusion was a rip the bandaid off approach to the Sandpaper 3 as it gave the crowds all three to vent at .(The booing of Smith returning from retiring hurt shows that some will hold the grudge forever.)

Koaja and GCS need to step up if/when Smith is ruled out. Would help if they stepped up anyway.

I always said Bancroft was a shoe in because of sandpaper gate, and yeah kwaja needs to stop the rot real quick. You'd swear most of our batsman had never heard of FC cricket b fore.

Presumably England will name the squad today, given the short turnaround. Surely something has to give in terms of the top four, even if there are rarely wholesale changes between back-to-back Tests?

embee wrote:

skully wrote:

Henry wrote:What did Marcus Harris do wrong, exactly?

He doesn't play for Western Australia.

He's wozzie as , ya SGDT

Um, it's why I worded my response as such, you blinkered Sandy clown. He doesn't play for WA. I hope you count beans better than you read.