The Ashes

[rsbaggy2]

Another positive  ... the day can only get better!

[Ted Maul]

We were effectively 99-1 at lunch. Four hours hours later we've lost by 8 wickets.

But, but, but, Bazball innit.

Probably worth pointing out that a proper Bazball innings won them the game.

It does feel very similar to 2023 when we had our foot on their throats a couple of times and for some reason just started punching ourselves in the bollocks.

Spot on. A mental take from Josh really, 3rd fastest century in Tests played in Aus. Epitome of Bazball. Sometimes you just have to say well batted.

We'll continue to hear this bollocks every time we lose a Test.

I also think criticism of any approach that sees you go from a 100 run lead to losing by 8 wickets in the space of two sessions is more than fair.

[man in the corner shop]

Have this lot twigged that it a Test series they are playing
It's like one day shit

[DemonicBaggie]

Just woke up from my weekend lie-in to see this unbelievable result. Staggering.
At least I can look forward to the boys in stripes elevating my sporting mood this arvo…

[Jacko]

We were effectively 99-1 at lunch. Four hours hours later we've lost by 8 wickets.

But, but, but, Bazball innit.

Probably worth pointing out that a proper Bazball innings won them the game.

It does feel very similar to 2023 when we had our foot on their throats a couple of times and for some reason just started punching ourselves in the bollocks.

Spot on. A mental take from Josh really, 3rd fastest century in Tests played in Aus. Epitome of Bazball. Sometimes you just have to say well batted.

We'll continue to hear this bollocks every time we lose a Test.

I also think criticism of any approach that sees you go from a 100 run lead to losing by 8 wickets in the space of two sessions is more than fair.

Fair, but there has to be nuance, the only way we lost that Test due to Bazball was how well Head played it.

[Ted Maul]

But, but, but, Bazball innit.

Probably worth pointing out that a proper Bazball innings won them the game.

It does feel very similar to 2023 when we had our foot on their throats a couple of times and for some reason just started punching ourselves in the bollocks.

Spot on. A mental take from Josh really, 3rd fastest century in Tests played in Aus. Epitome of Bazball. Sometimes you just have to say well batted.

We'll continue to hear this bollocks every time we lose a Test.

I also think criticism of any approach that sees you go from a 100 run lead to losing by 8 wickets in the space of two sessions is more than fair.

Fair, but there has to be nuance, the only way we lost that Test due to Bazball was how well Head played it.

Yep and if we've spent 3.5 years playing Bazball then you'd hope we'd be better at it by now 

Sport is nuanced, there is no one size fits all approach. When we were 65-1, you do not need to be an experienced professional cricketer to know the thing to do, on the second day of a five match test series is to keep batting. We needed to be batting into tomorrow. There was no requirement at that time to Bazball but we did it anyway. I am assuming this is Josh's issue and I think it's fair enough. 

Following on from this defeat it will be another series we don't win against a decent side. For all the praise McCullum and Stokes have had, they've not beaten either India or Australia. Trevor Bayliss did.

[wba13]

Utter tripe. It won’t get any better.

[Josh1873]

I'm refusing to cop stick just for criticising that defeat. Whatever way you look at it or spin it, it’s an unacceptable defeat from the position we were in. It's frankly an embarrassment.

​I also think you'll be hard pressed to say that the aggressive batting style hasn't cost us the match. Of course it has. How can you defend a combined 336/20 in 67.3 overs? You can't. It's indefensible. Of course, how we approach the game is the root cause of that pathetic display. And yes, when it works, great, it looks amazing. But it doesn't work nearly as much as is made out.

​We have lost the first Test due to our inability to bat properly, to play to the conditions, and to adapt to what the pitch is doing. Australia haven't steamrollered us with unplayable bowling spells. They bowled well, but some of their bowling, particularly in the first innings, was bang average. Yet we capitulated.

​We haven't lost to an outrageously good Australian team on top of their game. We've lost to an average Australian side who didn't need to up their game at all. In fact, they probably underperformed themselves.

​Head had a great innings. Well done on that, but they'd have still won the Test with ease without his innings. Our bowling was flat, toothless, and downtrodden. They'd have chased that down tomorrow without too much trouble. Let's not pretend that he single handedly won the Test on his own, shall we? We threw that Test away and lost it ourselves. There is only our own stupidity, pig-ignorant arrogance, and failure to adapt to the match situation, to blame.

​That performance has well and truly pissed me off. It was completely unnecessary and avoidable. At least the Albion won't let me down, eh

[pindgill]

I bet the ACB are happy!!!…
60000 tickets sold & were expected tomorrow.

---

Englands top five batters were very poor in the ODI series in NZ there form needs improving perhaps playing some competitive cricket & batting in the middle for some time might be productive!!…
Just a thought.

[Shabby Russian]

Easy to catastrophise after a defeat like that
.

But it does come down to a tremendous innings by Head. Yes you can say we should have got more runs, but in truth we could have scored another 100 and I'm not sure it would have been enough given Heads innings.

And another day Head would have mis timed one of his aggressive shots early in the innings and it might have been a very different story. And it's not like we don't have players capable of replicating what Head did.

I'm not a massive fan of how we approach test cricket, but the loss today wasn't because of the approach, it was down to an extraordinary individual batting performance.