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

furriner wrote:Gotta say this on behalf of pissed off bails forumers past and present, hither and yon (save 'Straya) -

TAKE THAT JGK.

WOOF WOOF!!!

Meh, I just won 2000 pounds on the result. Plus I got to see history.

Would have preferred a tie to be fair but it’s all good. Thanks for the shout out though.

Meanwhile...

How grouse is Test cricket?

Well, that must be up there as one of the greatest match-winning knocks of all time. From 2 off 50 balls last night to taking it home with eight sixes with Jack the jack at the other end? Who else in world cricket could have done that? When Stokes is around nothing is impossible. In terms of England individual innings that were as significant in the context of a match and series, I can only think of Botham’s effort in 1981 and perhaps KP at the Oval in 2005. And he has that all-round aura of Beefy in ‘81 and Freddie in ‘05, give him a bat or a bowl, something will happen.

Credit to Leach for sticking around, the most valuable 1 not out of all time. He has to bat above Broad next match.

Obviously there’s a series to win now, and we can’t let one supreme individual effort mask the problems the team has... but they’re not going to throw a load of rookies into a live series, so the only likely change is with Roy at the top of the order, whether he swaps with Denly or is replaced by a newcomer. Hopefully Aussie heads will drop and we’ll win by an innings at Old Trafford. It’s the only kind of home win at Old Trafford that’s likely at the moment

He did an absolute madness. It was insane - stuff of legends.

Like you said previously, beams, Stokes should average 10+ runs more in Tests. Only ill discipline (see first innings) is stopping him. Everything else in his game is in good order - and when he gets the bit between his gnashers and focuses properly, he's an animal.

Maybe he will go on from this and end up averaging 45. Or maybe, like Flintoff and even Botham in terms of his batting, his career average won’t tell the story of the match-winning feats he’s capable of. I doubt either of those two could have played the situation and batted for 50 balls to score two though?

I must say, England's cricket today was total nonsense. Having dragged out the game yesterday by batting responsibly, they completely threw it away by reverting to type: Root gave it away attempting an uncalled for forcing shot off Lyon. Bairstow played a horrific swipe at a wide. Buttler got run out. Woakes chipped an expansive drive straight to cover. The Archer came in, defended for about 10 minutes, before deciding to try and hit every ball for six. None of them were "got out". It does my nut in.

Only Leach did his job, which was to guts it out and hang around for his partner.

beamer wrote:Maybe he will go on from this and end up averaging 45. Or maybe, like Flintoff and even Botham in terms of his batting, his career average won’t tell the story of the match-winning feats he’s capable of. I doubt either of those two could have played the situation and batted for 50 balls to score two though?

Back to back unbeaten hundreds in his last two Tests must've given the old average a nice massage.

beamer wrote:
Obviously there’s a series to win now, and we can’t let one supreme individual effort mask the problems the team has... but they’re not going to throw a load of rookies into a live series, so the only likely change is with Roy at the top of the order, whether he swaps with Denly or is replaced by a newcomer. Hopefully Aussie heads will drop and we’ll win by an innings at Old Trafford. It’s the only kind of home win at Old Trafford that’s likely at the moment

Fitness tests permitting, I'd expect something along the lines of:

Burns
2 (Denly/Sibley)
Root
4 (Denly/Pope)
Stokes
Buttler
Bairstow +
Archer
Broad
Leach
Anderson

Bit of a tail, but Woakes has been/is the worst of the available seamers, so that's that.

No point persevering with Roydog - that's not going to work. I don't think Buttler should be playing either (he's actually averaging less than Roy), and if they bring Pope in at 4 they will again be picking a new batsman in the wrong position, but that's how it's shaping up.

Dello wrote:

beamer wrote:Maybe he will go on from this and end up averaging 45. Or maybe, like Flintoff and even Botham in terms of his batting, his career average won’t tell the story of the match-winning feats he’s capable of. I doubt either of those two could have played the situation and batted for 50 balls to score two though?

Back to back unbeaten hundreds in his last two Tests must've given the old average a nice massage.

Up to almost 36 now. Was low 30s for quite a while I think.

Let’s not forget his efforts with the ball yesterday as well. After a shocking first innings with both disciplines that gave the impression he needed a break!

JGK wrote:

furriner wrote:Gotta say this on behalf of pissed off bails forumers past and present, hither and yon (save 'Straya) -

TAKE THAT JGK.

WOOF WOOF!!!

Meh, I just won 2000 pounds on the result.  Plus I got to see history.

Would have preferred a tie to be fair but it’s all good.  Thanks for the shout out though.

LMAO, this guy'

Pushed harder, I can see him post his imaginary bonus figures to feel relevant.

beamer wrote:

Dello wrote:

beamer wrote:Maybe he will go on from this and end up averaging 45. Or maybe, like Flintoff and even Botham in terms of his batting, his career average won’t tell the story of the match-winning feats he’s capable of. I doubt either of those two could have played the situation and batted for 50 balls to score two though?

Back to back unbeaten hundreds in his last two Tests must've given the old average a nice massage.

Up to almost 36 now. Was low 30s for quite a while I think.

Let’s not forget his efforts with the ball yesterday as well. After a shocking first innings with both disciplines that gave the impression he needed a break!

Yeah, that was ridiculous. He was a clown for the first half of that Test. But then it was like he suddenly decided when Archer pulled up with cramp that he might as well single-handedly win the game.

If he could shelve the clown moments, he'd be incredible. As it is, I think it's fairly uncontroversial today to call him pretty handy.

Lara Lara Laughs wrote:Australia will wake up to this. National-scale eye-rubbing disbelief.

They'll have to use the poo defence.

Dello wrote:

beamer wrote:

Dello wrote:

beamer wrote:Maybe he will go on from this and end up averaging 45. Or maybe, like Flintoff and even Botham in terms of his batting, his career average won’t tell the story of the match-winning feats he’s capable of. I doubt either of those two could have played the situation and batted for 50 balls to score two though?

Back to back unbeaten hundreds in his last two Tests must've given the old average a nice massage.

Up to almost 36 now. Was low 30s for quite a while I think.

Let’s not forget his efforts with the ball yesterday as well. After a shocking first innings with both disciplines that gave the impression he needed a break!

Yeah, that was ridiculous. He was a clown for the first half of that Test. But then it was like he suddenly decided when Archer pulled up with cramp that he might as well single-handedly win the game.

If he could shelve the clown moments, he'd be incredible. As it is, I think it's fairly uncontroversial today to call him pretty handy.

Botham got a pair in the first Test in 1981 didn’t he? Some cricketers are just born to be mercurial, rather than metronomic. To scale those peaks you have to have the lows (on and off the field, in many cases!)

Now watch the UK newspapers wrap themselves in the union Jack and frog March Stokes off to the palace for his knighthood a day after calling for the reintroduction of the rack.

Well, he already had at least an MBE in the pipeline for the World Cup. Despite a poor first innings with bat and ball here, he and Archer were the only two who still had credit in the bank from both formats.

Some of the others still pretty much deserve the rack, or at least the selectors’ axe. But they’ll probably get a reprieve for a Test or two thanks to Stokes, with the possible exception of Roy. They should buy him a pint or two tonight.

Boycott and Vaughan concur that Stokesy played the greatest innings in test history.
I am just so lucky to have seen the greatest and closest one day world cup final in person and now the greatest test match and innings in the flesh. In years to come we will be telling the grandkids we woz there!

The Headingley curse strikes again....helped by yet another umpire howler. Thats cricket i guess.

Dello wrote:

beamer wrote:
Obviously there’s a series to win now, and we can’t let one supreme individual effort mask the problems the team has... but they’re not going to throw a load of rookies into a live series, so the only likely change is with Roy at the top of the order, whether he swaps with Denly or is replaced by a newcomer. Hopefully Aussie heads will drop and we’ll win by an innings at Old Trafford. It’s the only kind of home win at Old Trafford that’s likely at the moment

Fitness tests permitting, I'd expect something along the lines of:

Burns
2 (Denly/Sibley)
Root
4 (Denly/Pope)
Stokes
Buttler
Bairstow +
Archer
Broad
Leach
Anderson

Bit of a tail, but Woakes has been/is the worst of the available seamers, so that's that.

No point persevering with Roydog - that's not going to work. I don't think Buttler should be playing either (he's actually averaging less than Roy), and if they bring Pope in at 4 they will again be picking a new batsman in the wrong position, but that's how it's shaping up.

Well, Denly ground out a 50 at number 4 in this match, so perhaps they’ll go with the ‘aint broke’ philosophy and leave him at 4. I’d bring in Sibley for Roy and Jimmy (if fit) for Woakes as the only changes. If we’d lost today (and I still can’t believe we didn’t) then with the ashes gone I would also have had Foakes for Bairstow, and Pope for Buttler.

A couple of guys in this team can thank Stokes for saving their test careers........

Big Dog wrote:The Headingley curse strikes again....helped by yet another umpire howler. Thats cricket i guess.

Joel Wilson, English cricket legend... along with Tim Paine for pissing away Australia’s last review in the previous over on one that pitched another set of stumps outside leg!

"I thought it was an amazing game of cricket. We finished up on the wrong side of it. In terms of an advertisement for Test cricket, I think that was bloody exciting. It was great to be involved in so I can only imagine what it was like to watch. At times you have to give credit to some pretty good play. I thought Ben Stokes was unbelievably good, it was one of the great innings. I thought Joe Denly and Joe Root yesterday were excellent.

I thought our bowling yesterday afternoon was as good as it gets. I thought it was really high quality Test cricket. I thought those two played it extremely well, got through it and gave their team a chance leading into today. A bit of individual brilliance today from a world-class player, they were just too good."

Like it was.

Paine's words?

He's a credit to his sport and country, I think. In defeat or victory.

Maybe he’s not a twat then. But neither is Broad (well, he had a bit to answer for over KP-gate, but I’ll put that down to a personality clash, the Big Cheese and the effect of cliques on a team).

Great on so many levels.

But what stood out for me was his ability to farm the strike. Some of his deft touches and angles to keep the strike was what made it better than 99.99% of all test innings ever played.

Great to see so many old timers on this thread.

This loss is squarely on the shoulders of Paine, outside of the wasted review at the death the way he allowed Stokes to farm the strike was nothing short of pathetic captaincy. How Leech could face 15 Balls out of 17 overs beggers belief, even allowing for the brilliant innings by Stokes.
The field placings were at best questionable, at worse just sheer madness , and not instructing Bowlers to pitch it up was just suicidal.
All in all credit to England and particularly Stokes. Now on to Old Trafford.

1-1 feels like the right score for the series so far.

As Greg Baum said in an article today, the series deserves to still be alive. And even if Aust one at OT it will still be alive for the final Test.