Ashes 2025/26: Australia vs England | 4th Test | Melbourne | December 26-30 | Pre-Match Discussion

[RexRex]

ECB lacks power to bring about change in attempt to arrest heavy Ashes defeats | Matt Hughes https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/dec/24/ecb-england-ashes-defeats-cricket?CMP=share_btn_url

This is very concerning. ECB have no right to withdraw its centrally contracted players from the Hundred having sold the franchises - despite there being only two days between the Hundred final and the start of the Pakistan Tests.

In fairness they could beat Pakistan without any prep...but that's still not ideal. The article states even the IPL franchises don't have this much control.

Ashes defeats usually triggers a sense of existential crisis in English cricket and calls for reforms. Expect more articles over the coming days and weeks.

ECB's entire 100 strategy revolves around capturing a small slice of the Indian viewership market. I don't think it will work.

 

[Markhor]

@gibsyhesperis @RexRex

ECB cannot make meaningful domestic reforms because counties hold the votes - despite some barely producing international standard talent, and haemorrhaging money every year.

18 FC counties are just too many, proven by the declining quality of CC cricket over the last decade. Collectively they can't produce one international standard spinner !

Even when counties led their own review this summer, they rejected all proposals on the table.

The truth is FC cricket globally is in service of its national teams, not the other way around. Reform shouldn't be held hostage by dwindling county memberships consisting of 90 year olds who don't want to see fewer games at their ground because they saw Ted Dexter with their grandma there in 1958. How many more Ashes humiliations will it take before the penny drops ?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

1. Travis Head
2. Jake Weatherald
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith
5. Usman Khawaja
6. Cameron Green
7. Alex Carey
8. Michael Neser
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Todd Murphy
11. Scott Boland

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Totally unreal isn’t it ?
They have got into a position where counties (many of whom are loss making and totally dependent on handouts from the ECB) and franchises (many foreign owned) can dictate what happens to the structure and timing of the first class game.

Strauss gave up after his recommendations from his 2022 review were rejected and it looks like things will continue to deteriorate.

And yet, Test matches continue to be sold out (even against weaker opposition) especially in London.

Strauss review made sense.

I'm sure we had a better format during Covid. Where the top teams moved into div 1 and there was a div 3 for that year alone.

Now is actually the best time to sort things out. The ECB has a lot of cash after flogging their crisp packet 100 teams to naive Indian buyers.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

@gibsyhesperis @RexRex

ECB cannot make meaningful domestic reforms because counties hold the votes - despite some barely producing international standard talent, and haemorrhaging money every year.

18 FC counties are just too many, proven by the declining quality of CC cricket over the last decade. Collectively they can't produce one international standard spinner !

Even when counties led their own review this summer, they rejected all proposals on the table.

The truth is FC cricket globally is in service of its national teams, not the other way around. Reform shouldn't be held hostage by dwindling county memberships consisting of 90 year olds who don't want to see fewer games at their ground because they saw Ted Dexter with their grandma there in 1958. How many more Ashes humiliations will it take before the penny drops ?

Nothing will now change.
The only driver would have been if the smaller counties eg Derbyshire, Northamptonshire etc were to have folded financially.

The sale of the Hundred franchises has pumped a huge amount of money into the game in England. After the first 250 mill is distributed equally between the 18 counties, the “non-host” counties (ie without a home Hundred side) will share between £250-400 mill.
Paradoxically, the Hundred will be the thing that keeps the totally unsustainable structure of first class cricket going.

 

[Devadwal]

1. Travis Head
2. Jake Weatherald
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith
5. Usman Khawaja
6. Cameron Green
7. Alex Carey
8. Michael Neser
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Todd Murphy
11. Scott Boland

Australia hasn’t named Todd Murphy for the Boxing Day test, they’ll play four of quicks.

Smith in for Inglis , Neser, Doggett, Richardson battling for the last two spots

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

1. Travis Head
2. Jake Weatherald
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith
5. Usman Khawaja
6. Cameron Green
7. Alex Carey
8. Michael Neser
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Todd Murphy
11. Scott Boland

Infact, i'd get Wesbter in for Green