Unlikely. Both Ballance and Bell scored runs in the test and they might have been a concern if not immediate candidates to be dropped. Rashid for Moeen will be the only question mark if you need a better spinner but Moeen is decent with the bat. Thatās one for later in the series though. The wicket at Lords will have a bit more pace to it than Cardiff.
+1
although its not just the poms, they defo have 1 guy from NZ and probably a few from SA
Agree with that. Bell was probably playing for his place at Lordās in the second innings but top scoring with a fluent 60 saved his bacon. If Ballance or Bell come back into focus, Moeen could move up the order with Rashid coming in. Moeen is good enough with the bat to bat at 4 to 5. Would like to see Root batting at 3 or 4.
Lot of noise from the Australia camp that Starc could be fit. Would be fairly calamitous for them if they did start him and he broke down early.
Australia are badly rattled
Australia refused to share a drink with England after their thrashing in the first Ashes Test.
James Anderson confirmed that Michael Clarke rejected an invitation by Alastair Cook for the tourists to join the hosts for a beer following their 169-run defeat inside four days at Cardiff.
Anderson said that England and New Zealand had shared drinks after both of their Tests this European summer and Cook was eager to reach out to Australia in the same way. But the captain was rebuffed, with Anderson in the dark as to why, ahead of the Lordās Test which starts on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch of a documentary charting the progress of a cricket team of Maasai warriors, called Warriors, Englandās record wicket-taker said: "Thatās their prerogative. In the New Zealand series, we had a beer after each game with them. We found that was quite an enjoyable thing, just to chew the fat after a hard Test. It didnāt matter whether we won or lost.
āAt Headingley [where England lost to draw the series], we still went into their dressing room and had a beer with them. Itās Cookyās idea. He went and asked them. We were all happy to do it. I donāt know why they didnāt come in.ā
England and Australia shared a beer after each Ashes Test in the 2005 series, widely regarded as the greatest. But such camaraderie was cited by the captain of the tourists, Ricky Ponting, as one of the reasons they lost. Since then, drinks have traditionally been at the end of a series, with Clarke saying before this campaign began that he did not think that would change.
Thatās a stupid fucking idea. The Aussies are dead right.
Clarke would hardly have a drink with his own team mates, nevermind the opposition.
Brad Haddin dropping Joe Root on 0 on the opening morning has already cost Australia the Ashes.
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We will be in a much better position to assess Australia at the end of Friday. By then we will have seen them bowl on a pacier wicket or seen them bat as a unit.
Thereās your inherent caution again, mate. This series is done, itās just a matter of the finer details like weather, motivation when itās already wrapped up etc to determine whether itāll be 3-0, 4-0 or 4-1.
Not if the Australians score 400 odd in 4 sessions or bowl England out cheaply. Donāt think they will but letās see. Not sure if No 10 Downing Street has been booked yet for the party.
Looks like Brad Haddin will miss Lords due to āpersonal reasonsā whatever they may be. Whether Watson is dropped remans to be seen, but looking likely.
I imagine heās struggling to cope with losing the Ashes for Australia on the morning of the first test.
He is doing a Graeme Swann on it, running away like a chicken shit before he is dropped.
The wickets at Lordās and Edgbaston should be far more to Australiaās liking, then the slower wickets at Trent Bridge and the Oval will favour England. Its the Australian batting and not the bowling thatās the real issue for them though. The bowling was scratchy in parts in Cardiff but picking up the 20 wickets for the concession of 719 runs is not that bad. Lyon was the best spinner on view in Cardiff as well. The batting was truly awful though and its been a consistent trait with Australia for a long time now - outside of their comfort zone of hard bouncy pitches in Australia and South Africa, they have not been able to adapt to different conditions and have lacked the resolution and patience to dig in for the long haul.
Lyon was the better spinner, but Iād observe that moeen Ali isnāt as yet very good as he lacks much variation, but should improve, and Lyon looked better than he was in the second innings as England tried to kick on. Haddin has changed somewhat from the oaf of the World Cup. Classic billy big balls bully who doesnāt like it up him.
Watson seems an alright sort, and the opening batsman who got 95 in Cardiff seems a really decent sort.
Ryan Harris too, a decent and interesting man in his interviews.
Rogers has played about 15 years of county cricket in England - by far the most of any of the Australian squad. It shows. Heās the one Australian batsman who has the application and patience to dig in for the long haul.
The problem with Haddin is a few weeks shy of turning 38, heās just over the hill. Thatās been apparent for most of the past 18 months but the selectors have stood by him.
Iād give Watson another go at Lordās but from what Iām hearing it does sound like heās been made the scapegoat back in Australia for all the woes in Cardiff and is likely to be dropped. The fact that he keeps getting out lbw is not doing him a whole lot of favours.
The big decision is whether to start Starc. Soundbites from the camp seem to suggest they might. Theyāll be rightly goosed if they do start him and he breaks down.
I would still be pretty confident that England will prevail over the five test series but Lordās does represent Australiaās best chance of a win.
If this keeps going, I may have to revise my opinion of bambi, though that last ashes capitulation was spineless. England seem to have an attack with no let up now though. 5 decent bowlers. Wood is a fantastic find, with the added bonus that stokes and Ali can bat. If the bowlers perform, i would reckon theyāll win more than they lose whatever the pitch or venue. Rogers gave a great interview after the first innings, but it did suggest that the Aussies are feeling the pressure. Haddin was, by all accounts, being an utter wanker at the World Cup, and Iām not overly sympathetic. Heād be the first giving it licks were the boot on the other foot.
Shane Watson has been dropped for the second test, replaced by Mitch Marsh.
As I said before the first test, this over reliance on Steve Smith would come back to bite Australia and so it proved. Geoffrey makes a good point about Rogers, he looked like the only one who knew it was a test match, not an ODI. They may have to start Starc, as the alternatives are a 22 year old who hasnāt played a test in four years, and Peter Siddle.
A certain level of blame has to be apportioned to Cook (as captain) for the debacle in Australia on the last Ashes tour but there was a lot of sht going on that was beyond his control. You had three of the most senior players in the dressing room in Swann, Pietersen & Prior - all past their prime - feuding and creating a poisonous environment. If you donāt have a united camp, youāre fcked regardless of how talented and how much has been achieved. Theyāre all gone now, thereās new and younger blood in to replace them and its a united camp. Thereās still areas of concern with the batting at the top of the order and spin bowling but theyāre all pulling together now and that will go along way.
Australia put a huge effort in the World Cup, 8 of the starting side in Cardiff started in the World Cup final. The effort that was made there is probably taking its toll now as well. England are not arsed with one day cricket and donāt take it seriously. Ben Stokes who looked a bit jaded last year didnāt even go to the World Cup and is firing on all cylinders now again.
Geoffrey, do you think the introduction of Trevor Bayliss has had an effect on the England team?
I think youāre overstating Englandās non interest in the shorter forms of the game. I saw nothing but screaming after the WC from the English press (and the former players in their columns) about their performance and the team seemed genuinely embarrassed by it. There was a feeling that the world had passed them by and they needed to adopt new methods and attitudes to catch up.