5th Test 12-16 September 2019 The Oval

[IsleofWightYellow]

Yeah Curran should have played more.

If England hadn’t played Anderson in the first game and left out Denly and possibly Roy for the likes of Curran maybe we’d have done a little better

 

[Sarge]

Woakes got 'him' out.... LBW... gone for 80

 

[ubermeistervonmeat]

He is human then

 

[Sarge]

He is human then

He's Australian and a convicted cheat,... whether he's Human is debatable

 

[Sarge]

Come on England... you cant put catches like that down! .... snuff out the Aussie tail fast

 

[Sarge]

Archer fifer ... Lyon gone... now finish em off England

 

[Paul Cannell]

I always thought it was Pfeiffer, as in Michelle; who I understand is an actor, as we refer to them today.

Are we still allowed to call bus conductresses that, or must we say 'clippies'?

 

[Sarge]

Another catch dropped by Root !

 

[Sarge]

All out 225, sixfer for Archer.... now Englands openers must protect and defend their wickets for the last half hour of play today

Superb bowling by England, especially in the last session

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

Burns didn’t drop that one though!!

 

[tonyw]

The usual grist in the Aussie innings are batting now - let's see if the England bowlers can do it.

Thinking past this Series. I think the likes of Bairstow, Buttler, Denly, Woakes and maybe even Anderson have big questions about their place in the team. It really feels like an end of an era, and some change is coming. And it's needed - this team look flat and complacent.

Worth pointing out that - although he's not been great - since Buttler came back into the Test side last summer, the only player to have faced more balls and scored more runs than him is Joe Root, and no one has scored more 50s (ten of them).

I do believe there's room for one slogger in the middle order, and Buttler has been way better than Roy or Bairstow for that spot.

 

[tonyw]

Apart from the above two named, the Aussie batting is as poor as ours really - quite how Warner has not been left out is amazing as his is the worst record of the lot

Apparently Warner needs a 50 (52 in fact) in the second innings to avoid posting the lowest aggregate score in history for any batsman who's batted 10 times in a series.

Yeah Curran should have played more.

If England hadn’t played Anderson in the first game and left out Denly and possibly Roy for the likes of Curran maybe we’d have done a little better

Curran's one of those bowlers who should always be on the teamsheet in England (and probably in New Zealand) and never on the teamsheet anywhere else.

In South Africa, when there'll be very little swing, just pace and bounce, he's not going to offer much.

But in English conditions, he's really effective and, as a left-armer, a great counterpoint to the rest of the attack.


Right, now England - 69 run lead. Need to add another 250 in the second innings at least to feel comfortable. Who's ready to step up?

 

[Scotchegg]

A decent lead on this pitch, and both openers have had a bit of luck tonight. I hope they can go on and build a decent partnership as I think there's potential for Denly as an opener. 2 decent batting days ahead so need to put on another 300 or so to settle the nerves in the last innings.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Another 300? Optimistic as ever!

 

[Scotchegg]

Another 300? Optimistic as ever!

Not really. We threw away a number of wickets in the first innings and the Aussies had probably the best conditions for bowling late afternoon yesterday. No reason why we shouldn't be able to put together a few decent partnerships and give ourselves a base for Stokes/Buttler to play their natural game. We've looked our best when able to attack Australia, but have never had enough runs to be able to do it. 250-300 is not unrealistic in my view.

 

[yellowbow]

Great work from Archer and Curran today. It’s a shame that it took an injury to Stokes to force the selectors into bringing Curran in. Surely there’s a place for him in the team for his bowling alone?! Incidentally, sky showed Archers name going up on the honours board for his 5for, a couple of names above him was Toby Roland-Jones for his 5 wickets against SA in ‘17. I’d forgotten about him, he was tipped to take the cricket world by storm but had terrible problems with stress fractures in his back which saw him out for the entire year in 2018. I see he’s taken a hattrick in one of his comeback games this summer. Good luck to him, I hope he makes a full recovery and gets back to his best.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Not really. We threw away a number of wickets in the first innings and the Aussies had probably the best conditions for bowling late afternoon yesterday. No reason why we shouldn't be able to put together a few decent partnerships and give ourselves a base for Stokes/Buttler to play their natural game. We've looked our best when able to attack Australia, but have never had enough runs to be able to do it. 250-300 is not unrealistic in my view.

I suppose i'll have to ask.... What makes you think we won't throw away a number of wickets in this innings in just as cavalier a fashion as we have been doing all series? You're right in that there's no reason we *shouldn't* be able to make a decent score, but I'd be quite surprised (and very pleased) if we managed to get to lunch tomorrow without losing at least two wickets, probably three.
Still, at least I'll be able to watch the U's thrashing Tranmere 4-0, blissfully unaware of the wickets clattering at the Oval.

 

[Big Ronaldo]

Shame that we only scuttled out Sandy cheaply in this innings, Too late to save the ashes?. Makes you wonder if he wasn’t that bothered?

 

[SteMerritt]

Great work from Archer and Curran today. It’s a shame that it took an injury to Stokes to force the selectors into bringing Curran in. Surely there’s a place for him in the team for his bowling alone?! Incidentally, sky showed Archers name going up on the honours board for his 5for, a couple of names above him was Toby Roland-Jones for his 5 wickets against SA in ‘17. I’d forgotten about him, he was tipped to take the cricket world by storm but had terrible problems with stress fractures in his back which saw him out for the entire year in 2018. I see he’s taken a hattrick in one of his comeback games this summer. Good luck to him, I hope he makes a full recovery and gets back to his best.

Unfortunately I think the time has gone for TRJ. He's 31 now, the injury robbed him of quite a few test caps. Middx legend though, hope he stays fit for a few more years, good solid County player.

 

[Scotchegg]

I suppose i'll have to ask.... What makes you think we won't throw away a number of wickets in this innings in just as cavalier a fashion as we have been doing all series? You're right in that there's no reason we *shouldn't* be able to make a decent score, but I'd be quite surprised (and very pleased) if we managed to get to lunch tomorrow without losing at least two wickets, probably three.
Still, at least I'll be able to watch the U's thrashing Tranmere 4-0, blissfully unaware of the wickets clattering at the Oval.

Optimism, hope, gut-feeling? The same feeling that made me think that we would win at Headingley or hang on to a draw at Old Trafford with us only being an hour away from managing it.

Statistically, we are likely to lose our first week for around 20 and have barely made 3 figures without losing at least 3 wickets, so of course your prediction could happen, and most betting men would favour your view. But I think that Denly is due an innings, Burns gave his wicket away when looking in good touch, Root appears to have had the pressure removed since the last defeat, and Stokes, Bairstow and Buttler have been ticking until poor decision making costs them their wicket.

As for my prediction for Oxford, just think we are due one and if we take our chances and stop gifting goals then we'll be too strong for Tranmere. 4 nil might be me getting carried away, and I'd be happy with a fairly boring one - nil if truth be told, but where's the fun in that?!