Ashes Series 2021-22

Meanwhile after some leaks suggesting The BNLG is not all that respected as Coach, CA has put out a statement suggesting he has the 'full confidence of the Board'.

The excerpt I heard quoted on the radio was boring as all hell and even less convincing.

skully wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Just play all five at the SCG.

Imagine the hissy fits from the other States.

More likely we'll be playing two tests at the Gabba and one in Perth, Adelaide, South Australia and Hobart.

Isn’t that six Tests? Although Adelaide and South Australia are one and the same, by my geographical understanding…

That will amount to around 12 days’ cricket against an England Select XI of single, childless and non-burnt-out players.

beamer wrote:Isn’t that six Tests? Although Adelaide and South Australia are one and the same, by my geographical understanding…

That will amount to around 12 days’ cricket against an England Select XI of single, childless and non-burnt-out players.

haha. Most unlike JGK . I expect he was woofing that part of Oz.

I think whoever your mob send out has a decent chance of pulling off a surprise. Oz Cricket is in an unhappy state and here I am not referring to the miserable State of South Australia.

* We are no good at white ball cricket and little better at red ball cricket.
* Oz lost successive home series to India
* We have rah rah nationalism masquerading as coaching acumen.
* Oz has one class red ball bowler - Cummins. Lyon, Haze and Starc have waned
* The batting is poor, reliant on Marnus and a hubris ridden Smith who still thinks he should be skipper.
* Selection will be driven by marketing (Warner, Starc, Paine) and favouritism - expect Mitch Marsh to return. WA and NSW will provide 9 of the XI in all Tests.

Root, Cummins and Marnus aside (+ Jimmeh if he comes), the standard of cricket may be the worst seen in any Ashes series.

We’ve got one batsman and one 39-year-old bowler. Though we are quite good at white ball cricket…

Seems like no quarantine exemptions from ScoMo, so we’re likely to be sending a depleted squad, though Jimmy and Sturat have apparently said they’re prepared to go.

Sydney looking a better chance now of hosting its scheduled Test.

Now all we need is for Cam Green to make no. 6 his own, and to find a class no. 5 (presuming Puke regains his opening spot lost to injury).

You could play Camerons Green, White, Blue, Yellow and Purple and our scratch team of bored single county journeymen would still have no chance…

Assuming we send more or less a third team, I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Roy being given a run at five or six. He's not going to have to cope with anything like the amount of lateral movement off the seam that he would do in England.

Is that you, Piers?

Perhaps some sense in playing more of a one-day leaning side in Australia where sideways movement is less of an issue, though. Could try the shock and awe Roy/Bairstow opening pair if all else fails!

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/big-bash-league-202122-all-the-news-and-signings-ahead-of-bbl11/news-story/7cd9a7dd5a33d81babe0ad154e2a7038

no Test in Perth? and they wanted to try to steal Boxing Day Test off us...

That Test might yet be moved to Hobart!

If so, and just for Zimmy: SIUUBG.

Root stops short of fully committing to touring.

Hmm, looking like a decidedly weak English squad to tour if Root pulls out.

skully wrote:Hmm, looking like a decidedly weak English squad to tour if Root pulls out.

Cowards!

If Root doesn’t go I suspect none of the (regular) squad will. Just covering himself to avoid putting pressure on others until the proposition is clear I think.

beamer wrote:If Root doesn’t go I suspect none of the (regular) squad will. Just covering himself to avoid putting pressure on others until the proposition is clear I think.

I am guessing at minimum they will need to be fully vaxxed and probably with boosters. Same for staff and families. Kids will be a problem. All will need to be tested before and post arrival and be quarantined.

Personally I doubt the merits of MCG and SCG Tests going ahead.

ECB set to make a decision on the tour this week, indicating they won’t be prepared to go ahead with a severely weakened squad.

Well done ECB. Now we just need Aus to open up.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

About the series not proceeding, or about the result of the series??

If we want to take a competitive side we’ll need to resurrect/rejuvenate a few legends of the past, never mind having all the first choice current players…

So Root has committed to the tour.

That should help lock it in.

And if we’re talking strength of squad, to be fair, Root is the only one whose absence would materially affect our chances (of winning or drawing the dead rubber to avoid a whitewash, anyway).

Assuming Stokes won’t be available anyway, everyone else is, as the Yanks would say, “replacement level” as in a solid county pro would probably do no worse. Even including Jimmy, given he wasn’t at his best in Aussie conditions even when he wasn’t pushing 40. Obviously if we took a squad of rookies they would be embarrassed, but if three or four regulars are missing it won’t change a lot really.

Before the Barmy Army start, here's a few facts. Tim Paine's Test average is better than:-
Rory Burns
Ollie Pope
Dom Sibley
Dawid Malan
Zac Crawley
Dan Lawrence