Australia [284 & 487/7d] beat England [374 & 146] by 251 runs in the 1st Ashes Test, lead series 1-0

Can’t tell if the pitch has died or it’s because we don’t have much of a bowling attack.
 
Smith is a runmachine in Tests.

Definitely the best batsman ever in Test cricket after Don Bradman.
 
aus can get a lead of 250+ if wade gets going.
smith is incredible. but i think, contrary to what everyone is thinking, the pitch has flattened out and is getting easier for batting.

dont know why moeen ai freezes againt aus, this pitch is very spin friendly. dont know why woakes has not bowled a single over yet

aus have the upper hand, they are suddenly favorites to win now dont think eng batsmen have the mettle to chase anything above 180

lyon will be the main threat for eng
 
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Signing off.... game slipping away from England. Looks like a rainy draw (which may well happen) is their best bet now.
 
Right now 60-40 Aus, For next session Aus should target 110 runs for max 1 wicket loss, for England to come back they will need atleast 3 if not 4 wickets for max 80 to 90 runs in next session. Can't see Poms chasing above 250 vs Lyon on day 5 pitch here. Anderson injury really hurt England and that Epic comeback by Smith in 1st inning, He is the key wicket here.
 
England will lose unless there is a day of rain. Fortunately for them it is on the way.

BBC forecast is predicting light rain showers and the forecast looks good after 4pm.

You won’t get away with rain it looks like.
 
"Roy gives me the Sehwag vibes".
"Buttler is talented as AB".
"Root is better than Smith".
"Stokes will compete with the ATG all rounders of the 80s" .

And this poster has the nerve to call Australia ovverated. :kp
 
Wade has performed in domestic cricket and is now showing why he has been selected. Good news for Australia. Will give him confidence for the rest of the series.
 
Aus must declare at 350 . No way England gets 260 on day 5 . [ presuming around a session to be lost today & on day 5 ] .
 
If it doesnt rain today, Australia would like to bat 35 more overs and add 120 runs to the lead. England would be required to chase 330 with a day and 5 more overs to play today.

If it rains, need to workaround accordingly.
 
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Australia got really lucky with Anderson’s injury. It would be a farce if they win from here.

A 5-man England attack would be close to wrapping it up by now, and they certainly wouldn’t have allowed Australia to go from 122/8 to 284.
Stokes & Moeen as 4th & 5th bowling option is ridiculous .
 
He hardly throws his wicket even after getting a hundred and he keeps getting them so consistently(25 in 65).
 
only rabada and bumrah can get smith out imo.
bumrah troubled him alot in lol. he had serious issues vs his length and bounce.

rabada already destroyed him several times and even helped s.africa win 2 away series vs australia albeit against an Australian side with a weaker bowling attack than the one that played vs india.

smith is an all time great though. better than kohli and anyone else in tests imo.
However if kohli does win a series in England then we can revisit this debate about kohli vs smith.
 
A bit too late. Australia would like to add 60 more runs and get the lead to 300 figure.
 
only rabada and bumrah can get smith out imo.
bumrah troubled him alot in lol. he had serious issues vs his length and bounce.

rabada already destroyed him several times and even helped s.africa win 2 away series vs australia albeit against an Australian side with a weaker bowling attack than the one that played vs india.

smith is an all time great though. better than kohli and anyone else in tests imo.
However if kohli does win a series in England then we can revisit this debate about kohli vs smith.

Kohli can never win a series on his own actually nobody can. But Kohli has chance chasing totals vs sa and eng
 
only rabada and bumrah can get smith out imo.
bumrah troubled him alot in lol. he had serious issues vs his length and bounce.

rabada already destroyed him several times and even helped s.africa win 2 away series vs australia albeit against an Australian side with a weaker bowling attack than the one that played vs india.

smith is an all time great though. better than kohli and anyone else in tests imo.
However if kohli does win a series in England then we can revisit this debate about kohli vs smith.

Smith avg against slow left arm is low.
He struggled against herath and jadeja and tajiul Islam in bangladesh
 
350 lead and declare, asking England to bat in final 5 overs of days play as well as one single day.
 
lol , no one expected wade to near a ton. he has been brilliant, no reason for aus to continue with paine now. wade should keep

mitch marsh can come in to provide the balance for aus. mitch marsh was actually pretty handy for aus last year against south africa. there is no other all rounder in australia currently.
 
eng have probably lost this game, considering the turn. eng batting is way to brittle to even think of chasing 300.

for eng to win, jason roy has to play a blinder and announce himself to test cricket, butler and stokes will also have to survive

or eng can draw this match if rory burns and root grind it out. although burns will most likely not survive against lyon. again butler and stokes have to play well.
 
Archer has to be an undisputed starter when he is fit. Woakes is terrific, but as long as Anderson is around, he should be his standby before replacing him in the future.

An attack of Anderson, Broad and Woakes is too one-dimensional.
 
England deserve this for bad selection and preparation. Why pick a half fit Anderson and out of form Moeen ?
 
Just woke up.

Smith is on fire.

Australia are saved. They can actually win this now.
 
M. Ali has become more a bowler , than all rounder in Test as well as shorter formats
 
England lost the steam after losing Anderson.

I don't think Root is a mentally strong captain.
 
Smith hit his 25th century today. He needs 27 more Test centuries to surpass Tendulkar. I think he can do it.
 
Think there's a bit of karma here too. The premeditated booing and barracking of Smith, even after scoring his hundred which I thought was very unsavoury, has backfired massively.
 
Siddle scored in the first innings. Pattinson now. Moen Ali been rubbish with bat and ball.

Better to pick specialist bowlers and hope they work on their batting. More chance of that than a bits and pieces player performing consistently. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] theory of backing all rounders in the bin again.
 
If rains stays away , Australia will win. Don't see England lasting against Lyon.
 
Siddle scored in the first innings. Pattinson now. Moen Ali been rubbish with bat and ball.

Better to pick specialist bowlers and hope they work on their batting. More chance of that than a bits and pieces player performing consistently. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] theory of backing all rounders in the bin again.
But whereas Shadab bats as well as any alternative “sixth batsman”, Moeen has no confidence and is rubbish with both bat and ball.

Like last year, we should have picked Adil Rashid from white ball exile.
 
398 is the target - but can England score this?
 
Siddle scored in the first innings. Pattinson now. Moen Ali been rubbish with bat and ball.

Better to pick specialist bowlers and hope they work on their batting. More chance of that than a bits and pieces player performing consistently. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] theory of backing all rounders in the bin again.
Also, I always say you can only select one bowler who can’t bat.

If you are picking Lyon, you choose Siddle over Hazlewood because he can put on 130 runs with Smith from 122-8.

I’m sick of players like Hasan Ali or Shahid Afridi or Sarfraz Ahmed throwing away their wicket by slogging.
 
AUS 284, 487/7 decl
ENG 374, 13/0 (7.0) CRR: 1.86
Day 4: Stumps - England need 385 runs
 
Also, I always say you can only select one bowler who can’t bat.

If you are picking Lyon, you choose Siddle over Hazlewood because he can put on 130 runs with Smith from 122-8.

I’m sick of players like Hasan Ali or Shahid Afridi or Sarfraz Ahmed throwing away their wicket by slogging.

Lol Siddle is nothing special with the bat. He just put his head down and showed character.

Lyon has hung around plenty of times. He is no dud with the bat.
 
too much in the pitch now. lyon looking lethal. it will be a phenomenal effort if eng

roy should attack, turn into gilchrist and play a masterclass for eng to win.

other wise burns and root should grind out a draw, which will be an equally daunting task on this day 5 pitch against lyon
 
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