Ashes third test

[ClaretTony]

All out - lead just 26. Stokes gone for 80.

[ElectroClaret]

Another six.

Shoite.

[claretonthecoast1882]

237 all out from 142/7 thats miles better than expected.

26 behind

[Gunfury]

Australia's opening paid average 48 and 45 respectively. Zak Crawley averages 28. I still can['t work out how he keeps being picked and i seem to remember asking the same when we were trounced in Australia at the end of 2021.

Zak Crawley only averages about 24 if you take that one big score of 267 out.It’s been a problem position for England for years since the likes of Trescothick and Cook retired

[dandeclaret]

For all those folks who keep saying Australia are miles ahead and toying with England etc.... half way through the series, it's amazing how close all 6 innings have been.

[Lancasterclaret]

Considering where we were, that is a tremendous effort

Course, we now have to bowl and field well and that has been something that we haven't managed to do consistently

[ClaretTony]

Zak Crawley only averages about 24 if you take that one big score of 267 out.It’s been a problem position for England for years since the likes of Trescothick and Cook retired

Staggering number of players tried since Cook stood down.

[ClaretTony]

For all those folks who keep saying Australia are miles ahead and toying with England etc.... half way through the series, it's amazing how close all 6 innings have been.

That’s what’s making a terrific series. There’s so little between the sides, we should have been 1-0 up and could have won the last test too.

It’s been brilliant to watch so far.

[dandeclaret]

Zak Crawley only averages about 24 if you take that one big score of 267 out.It’s been a problem position for England for years since the likes of Trescothick and Cook retired

How many does he average if you leave that in, and take out one of the zero's? Or what does he average if you add in another 267, of which he's capable?

[Clive 1960]

Nearer than i thought but we have to bowl with only 3 fast bowler's and Ali now and try bowl Australia out cheaply.

[kentonclaret]

Nearer than i thought but we have to bowl with only 3 fast bowler's and Ali now and try bowl Australia out cheaply.

Not from the start of play this morning surely?

[Andreshotboots]

Stokes has been magnificent but you can't help but wonder how much damage he's doing playing on with all these injuries..

[CoolClaret]

Wood & Stokes have given us a lifeline here.

We just need one top order batsman (other than Root) that can stick around and not throw their wicket away - even if they don’t necessarily score big. Just keeps the pressure off the middle order

[Ric_C]

Cook retired way too early tbh. Maybe should have taken a break and then given it another go

[dandeclaret]

That’s what’s making a terrific series. There’s so little between the sides, we should have been 1-0 up and could have won the last test too.

It’s been brilliant to watch so far.

Dyche's fine margins are ringing around my head all the time. 14 dropped catches (vs 4 I believe), 1 missed stumping, Brook's bizarre first innings wicket, Net 1 dubious decision (Starc catch, Smith Catch, Bairstow Wicket) .... vs 2 wickets and 60 runs (or whatever it was) and 26 runs in the first innings here..... might not even be that fine when you look at that.

[Gunfury]

Staggering number of players tried since Cook stood down.

One thing England had for years was world class openers,Boycott,Gooch,Atherton,Stewart,Trescothick,Strauss,Cook to name some players who came along….now we struggle with the likes of Crawley and Rory Burns before that

[Gunfury]

How many does he average if you leave that in, and take out one of the zero's? Or what does he average if you add in another 267, of which he's capable?

He averages 28 in total with the 267 and zeros….nowhere near what an international opening batsman should be averaging but if you want to take the zeros out so he averages in the 40’s then go ahead

[Firthy]

I know a lot on here will disagree but England need a Geoff Boycott

[Gunfury]

Cook retired way too early tbh. Maybe should have taken a break and then given it another go

I agree we could have got a couple more years out of him

[Gunfury]

I know a lot on here will disagree but England need a Geoff Boycott

Can you imagine Boycott being told to play bazball haha

[Casper2]

If you think this series has been one sided you don’t really understand cricket.

Also, you were one of the ones who told us the declaration cost us the first test.
Make your mind up.

What am I supposed to be making my mind up on ?

[dandeclaret]

He averages 28 in total with the 267 and zeros….nowhere near what an international opening batsman should be averaging but if you want to take the zeros out so he averages in the 40’s then go ahead

I would have thought that his average, is his average..... I was merely pointing out the absuridty of taking out scores to fit a narrative.

[Casper2]

So let’s have Woakes as one of the opening bowlers, brilliant

[ClaretTony]

Cook retired way too early tbh. Maybe should have taken a break and then given it another go

Superb opening batsman and only around 33 when he called it a day at test level.

[dandeclaret]

So let’s have Woakes as one of the opening bowlers, brilliant

Seam / Swing bowlers in opening bowling shocker.....

[Ric_C]

Another set of fine margins is the fact that we are carrying way too many players

Bairstow - head muddled, just back from a serious injury
Jimmy - Not fit enough to play every test understandably
Wood - Only risked in this test due to injury
Moeen Ali - Undercooked, hardly played
Robinson - back spasm, doesn't look fit half the time
Stokes - bad knee, can't bowl

Pope, Archer, Leach all out

It all adds up

[ClaretTony]

Broad’s got Warner again

[claretonthecoast1882]

Warner sees Broad last thing every night when he closes his eyes

[Gunfury]

I would have thought that his average, is his average..... I was merely pointing out the absuridty of taking out scores to fit a narrative.

Ok I will leave his 267 in…he averages 28,not good enough for an international opening batsman,that’s my narrative

[criminalclaret]

I would have thought that his average, is his average..... I was merely pointing out the absuridty of taking out scores to fit a narrative.

A broken clock is correct twice a day....

[dandeclaret]

A broken clock is correct twice a day....

On average..... Unless of course you take out a day of your choosing for whatever reason.

[Ric_C]

Get Wood bowling at Khawaja

[Bordeauxclaret]

What am I supposed to be making my mind up on ?

If it’s been so one sided all series how did one decision cost us the first test?

[Quickenthetempo]

Superb opening batsman and only around 33 when he called it a day at test level.

Despite how many great innings he had played. He was getting stick from the keyboard warriors.

At least its the whole team getting stick these days.

[sjb]

Superb opening batsman and only around 33 when he called it a day at test level.

Same with Strauss- retired from Test cricket aged 33

[dandeclaret]

Get Wood bowling at Khawaja

Broad prefers to bowl from the Kirkstall road end (It's a fair slope downhill) - and is bowling very well.

So either you're asking your pace bowler to run uphill.... or you just have a bit of patience, and let the seam bowlers do their thing first up.

[Gunfury]

What would score everybody be confident in England chasing down?

[Newcastleclaret93]

What would score everybody be confident in England chasing down?

Around 250

[Gunfury]

Around 250

Just don’t want to be giving easy runs and dropped catches in this innings

[dandeclaret]

357.....

[criminalclaret]

On average..... Unless of course you take out a day of your choosing for whatever reason.

A batting average doesn't take into consideration what may be an anomaly, therefore its not a good representation of consistency. Which is what the other poster was trying to say when they removed his 267 from the average.

https://thrimanne.medium.com/standard-d ... 1d38bba678 is a good read.

I'd love to see Crawley stat's as a mean-deviation figure, but I suspect it isn't going to be that much higher than his 28 without the 267....

[FCBurnley]

What’s the weather forecast for the weekend ?

[Newcastleclaret93]

What’s the weather forecast for the weekend ?

Rain tomorrow

[Gunfury]

A batting average doesn't take into consideration what may be an anomaly, therefore its not a good representation of consistency. Which is what the other poster was trying to say when they removed his 267 from the average.

https://thrimanne.medium.com/standard-d ... 1d38bba678 is a good read.

I'd love to see Crawley stat's as a mean-deviation figure, but I suspect it isn't going to be that much higher than his 28 without the 267....

I never knew Bob Todd was a cricketer

[quoonbeatz]

The teams are pretty close and it's definitely not the case that Australia are miles ahead. That said they're the better all round team for me, we're too reliant on Stokes to keep pulling us through.

[fatboy47]

The teams are pretty close and it's definitely not the case that Australia are miles ahead. That said they're the better all round team for me, we're too reliant on Stokes to keep pulling us through.

Yep... Agree with that broadly speaking...problem being that the Aussies are much stronger from the neck up.

[quoonbeatz]

It's another cracking game though, just hope England can at least scrape a draw so Old Trafford isn't completely dead.

[Spijed]

Yep... Agree with that broadly speaking...problem being that the Aussies are much stronger from the neck up.

The trouble is the more that Bazball gets talked about the more Stokes etc. will double down on it. It's as though they need to give it a go to prove a point. The Ashes seem to be secondary to the success of Bazball.

[Taffy on the wing]

Australia flat-batting us to death at the moment......softening us up.
I wish we would do a bit of this.

[Ampth7]

Unfortunately, the Aussies seem to keep finding answers at crucial points in each game which has made them in to a results machine!
We, on the other hand, seem to keep shooting ourselves in the foot or miss opportunities at key moments forcing us to rely on heroic efforts, mainly from Stokes, to try to magic a result.