The rest of their bowling attack outside of Starc is fairly mediocre. Not bad by any stretch, but nowhere near Starc's level. When you're in that situation, you just play out against the gun bowler, and look to score of the rest. Brain dead approach from Brook, but I can't imagine it wasn't agreed with McCullum.
The frustrating thing is that we did that a lot of the time against Bumrah in the summer, yet seem to have completely abandoned that common sense approach once again on this tour.
It's like playing New Zealand in the 80s. You don't try and take on Richard Hadlee, you score off the scrubs and just try to avoid getting out when Hadlee bowls.
Aussies have started their reply pretty well but Smith dropped Head early on and I wonder how costly that could be. Other than Archer, it feels like we’ve made this to easy for them.
Going to predict Jofra Archer might be captain by 2028. Can see the new coach after McCallum agreeing with the likes of Johnathan Agnew that Harry Brook is not going tor rah his full potential and choosing someone else as a captain.
Our bowling attack is just not remotely intimidating. This is the second innings in Perth all over again. It's just gonna keep repeating on loop unless something changes.
Well, think we need to face facts that Australia are just so much better than us down under in their conditions. Out bowled us, out batted us and out fielded us. We are not going to come back from this and I feel pretty confident of saying it because we know how our second innings is going to go…..
I think they will be massive demand for coach and captain to go. But also a lot of support for anyone but Brook to be the new captain.
For all the bluster this side come out with, they are mentality midgets when it actually matters. Another utterly disgraceful performance in the field, dropping five catches. Same as the Oval match in the summer, Edgbaston in 2023, Old Trafford this year and countless other displays.
100%. We're completely unable to control momentum swings. If we were in the situation Australia were after that Smith wicket, we'd have capitulated. Instead they steadied the ship and have built up a really strong position. They're so much more mentally resilient than we are.
Sadly, I am now pretty sure this is going to be a hammering. 4-1 maybe to Australia. Our bowling was awful today, we are incapable of bowling consistently. And you just know we will get rolled over tomorrow playing some brainless shots. It's pretty sad as Starv aside this Aussie attack is weak. See him off and then get a 250/300 lead going deep into day 4 and this pitch will do things in Aus second innings. However I have no hope that we'll clear up the Aussies quickly tomorrow, and am pretty certain we will be 30-3 or something ridiculous again.
Not sure I want to watch the England second innings. Already hearing the commentators mentioning the playing under the lights situation which incidentally didn’t seem to bother the Aussies.
Cricket is the ultimate excuses sport, it's amazing how often supposed minefields and roads immediately turn into the exact opposite for the opposition. England's first innings batting performance was realistically well under par for the pitch, 3 batsmen out for ducks and other batsmen giving away their wickets for very little effort (not least Stokes) just another embarrassment of an ashes tour, following on from making a truly awful India test side look decent in the summer.
Hate to say it but even their reserve bowlers are better than our first team bowlers, just look like getting wickets unlike when we bowl, the pitches are flat ( which the pundits will tell us ) but in reality our bowlers are just not as skilled especially in Australia.
That's not a positive, as he's more likely to go brain dead again and throw away his wicket twice in the next test, but this has bought him some time.
It's the obsession with pace that's the problem. Neser, Boland and Dogget are good honest, county level bowlers, but that's all you need when England are playing stupid shots. Our bowlers are just too erratic to build pressure consistently.
As well as the rest of the top order can play at times, the difference in technical quality to Root is so stark. Just watching his defensive shots or pushes for singles looks good.
We have major talent issues and things will keep getting worse as fully enter the generation who could only see cricket on TV if they had access to Sky,