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James Anderson not happy with the Australian bouncer barrage!

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Ashes: James Anderson questions whether Australia bowling was 'dangerous'

England's James Anderson asked the umpires if Australia's bowling was dangerous during the first Ashes Test.

Anderson, England's number 11, was batting when number 10 Jake Ball received five successive bouncers in the second innings in Brisbane.

Under the Laws of the game, umpires are allowed to intervene if they deem bowling to be dangerous.

"I mentioned it to umpire Marais Erasmus, but he didn't think it was too bad," Anderson, 35, told BBC Sport.

"We have to plan to get a barrage, which we are doing."

The second Test of the five-match series begins at 04:00 GMT on Saturday in Adelaide.

In both innings at the Gabba, England's tail were blown away by the hostility of the Australia pace attack, much like they were in the 5-0 whitewash four years ago.

Ball faced once bouncer from Mitchell Starc and four from Pat Cummins, the last of which he fended to fly slip and was caught for one.

Australia, who must win the series to regain the Ashes, completed a 10-wicket win on the fifth morning.


What do the Laws say?

Law 41.6.1 of the Laws of Cricket reads: "The bowling of short pitched deliveries is dangerous if the bowler's end umpire considers that, taking into consideration the skill of the striker, by their speed, length, height and direction they are likely to inflict physical injury on him/her.

"The fact that the striker is wearing protective equipment shall be disregarded."

If the umpire decides the bowling is dangerous, he can call a no-ball, warn the bowler and, if he offends again, remove him from the attack.

At the time, BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said: "The treatment dished out to Jake Ball - five deliveries, all aimed at his head - should have been called intimidatory by the umpires."

Anderson said on Thursday: "I don't know what constitutes dangerous bowling. It's the umpire's personal take on it.

"I was batting with Jake in the second innings and he got bowled two short balls from Cummins that went over the shoulder. There was a third very close and wasn't given and I questioned when does it get dangerous.

"Marais said he was happy with it at the time. It's down to the umpires."

Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc said after the second day at the Gabba that he "can't wait" to bowl on quicker surfaces after England collapsed from 246-4 to 302 all out on a largely lifeless pitch.

South African Erasmus and Pakistan's Aleem Dar were the on-field umpires for the first Test.


'The Ashes is a soap opera'

England came under scrutiny following the first Test after wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was accused of 'head-butting' Australia's Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar at the start of the tour.

Although both described the incident as without "malice", it came after England all-rounder Ben Stokes was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm in September.

With England's players and management under a midnight curfew, Stokes signing for New Zealand side Canterbury and questions over what players say to each other on the field, Anderson said he had never experienced an Ashes tour "as bad of this" in terms of the "soap opera" on and off the field.

"The Ashes always seem to bring things up off the field," said Anderson, who is on his fourth tour of Australia.

"We expected there to be a little bit of something extra going on, not just the cricket, but it's down to us to really focus on the cricket.

"We're here to win an Ashes series. We're not bothered about a war of words with the Australians. We just want to outperform them."

News of the Bairstow 'headbutt' emerged after comments made by some Australia players were heard on the stump microphone.

Australia captain Steve Smith admitted his side used the tactic to unsettle Bairstow, while batsman Peter Handscomb said Australia's sledging in Brisbane was some of the "smartest" they have employed.

"It's a part of the game," said Handscomb. "It has been for a long time and will continue to be.

"If we can keep being smart with our sledges, if it opens up weaknesses, then we'll be pretty happy with it."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/42179783
 
Well he better get used to it - Australia can smell blood atm!
 
What nonsense , these pommies are whiners. when Pakistanis reverse swung they labelled it as cheating but when they did it they called it art.

When West Indies was too hot to handle in 1980s they put all sorts of restrictions on bouncers.

Jimmy if you can face heat , you better retire and take other whiny pommies with you.

Hate this hypocrisy .
 
I have seen the likes of Anderson and Broad bombarding opposition tailenders with bouncers, yet when the shoe is on the other foot, he is whining.
 
Didn't exactly help when Jake Ball got bounced out on the 4th ball of the over that also happened to be the 3rd one above shoulder height.
 
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Acting like a crybaby, grow up and face the music, you can do the same to the Aussies when they tour
 
Umpire moaning about interpretation of this sort reminds me of how Ponting used to behave with umpires.

Part of me hopes that Aleem and Erasmus had dealt with Anderson by chastising how he and Broad bowl bouncers, and cheerfully permitted hostility towards tail enders.

This aside, is there a list of laws like these that modern umpires haven't demonstrated knowing by following?
 
He needs to get on with it. Comments like this show there is fear in the England dressing room, Australia is the last team you should expose your weakness too.
 
Poor from Anderson. Ashes pre-talk was all about how England will handle the short stuff and now their premier bowlers comes out and says this. There will be more of the short balls in Adelaide as well, England need to be prepared for the barrage.
 
Didn't exactly help when Jake Ball got bounced out on the 4th ball of the over that also happened to be the 3rd one above shoulder height.

If this happened, then obviously that is not within the laws of the game and should have been addressed, so perhaps Anderson is referring to examples like this.
 
Were the English squad expecting spinning wickets? This is Australia, you will be peppered with bouncers, deal with it.
 
If this series wasn't over before it started, it is over now.
 
Anderson and Root seem to be complaining about the Bairstow sledging as well.

I'd have thought that of all things, getting sledged for headbutting an opposition player was fair game.
 
Anderson is also unhappy that the Australians are bullying him too!.
 
What nonsense , these pommies are whiners. when Pakistanis reverse swung they labelled it as cheating but when they did it they called it art.

When West Indies was too hot to handle in 1980s they put all sorts of restrictions on bouncers.

Jimmy if you can face heat , you better retire and take other whiny pommies with you.

Hate this hypocrisy .

Didn’t know Allan Lamb was a Pommie. Nobody else in the England side complained. They just learned the new skill.

Neither were the Laws changed about bouncers because of WI tactics.

Please check your facts before making nationalistic generalisations.
 
Anderson and Root seem to be complaining about the Bairstow sledging as well.

I'd have thought that of all things, getting sledged for headbutting an opposition player was fair game.

I though Bancroft’s press remarks were quite funny actually.
 
STEVE Smith has laughed off James Anderson’s claim that Australia’s players are ‘bullies’, suggesting the England quick should take a closer look in the mirror.

“A bully waits until they are in the ascendancy to pounce on people,” Anderson wrote in his column for UK paper the Telegraph , “That is what Australian teams do. They are quiet when they are not on top which was the case for the first three days of the Brisbane Test and then on day four they came alive.”

It’s critique Smith finds particularly humorous considering the source.

“I think it’s interesting coming from Jimmy, calling us bullies and big sledgers,” Smith told reporters on Friday. “He’s one of the biggest sledgers in the game to be perfectly honest with you.

“I remember back in 2010 when I first started and I wasn’t any good and he was pretty happy to get stuck into me then so it’s interesting coming from Jimmy.”

And Smith has warned England Australia won’t change its ways at Adelaide Oval, where the second Test starts on Saturday.

“It’s an Ashes series, there’s always that banter on and off the field,” he said.

The first Test was mired in controversy at the close of play on day four, after Australia’s players were heard on stump mics sledging Jonny Bairstow for headbutting Cameron Bancroft four weeks earlier.

As things turned out, the headbutt in question was jovial in its nature, with Bancroft confirming after play that there was no malice intended on Bairstow’s part.

England’s camp however remain angered that the news broke at all, with Anderson accusing the Australians of intentionally leaking the story.

“It was a deliberate ploy to say things close to the stump mics so it would be picked up by the media,” Anderson wrote. “We knew what they were up to.”

Asked if the Australians said anything at the Gabba which was out of line, Smith said: “I think everything was fine. It was played in good spirit. As I’ve said previously, there’s a line there that we’re not to cross and I thought we played the game in good spirit so I’ve got no issue there.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...s/news-story/830a64b2c388020b905926bb98134c24
 
So clouderson doesn't like it when there are no clouds in the sky and has to face actual pace,
 
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How Ironic?

I was watching saeed ajmal's maiden fifty yesterday against broad and anderson and these two absolutely bombarded that poor guy with bouncers. It felt as if they were trying to injure him intentionally.

Now that the shoe is on the other side, the complaining start. Typical whiners
 
So clouderson doesn't like it when there are no clouds in the sky and has to face actual pace,

Since learning to reverse the ball in 2010, Anderson has taken 121 wickets at 29 each overseas. Compare this with his overall test average of 27. That includes his two excellent series in UAE under no cloud.

Cloud does not mean orthodox swing. Rising moist air does. It can be 100% overcast and the ball will not swing. There can be 0% cloud and the ball will swing. Watch it start to go in the dewy evening in Adelaide under no cloud.
 
Since learning to reverse the ball in 2010, Anderson has taken 121 wickets at 29 each overseas. Compare this with his overall test average of 27. That includes his two excellent series in UAE under no cloud.

Cloud does not mean orthodox swing. Rising moist air does. It can be 100% overcast and the ball will not swing. There can be 0% cloud and the ball will swing. Watch it start to go in the dewy evening in Adelaide under no cloud.

What all mean by cloud n all is , Anderson is a heavily condition dependent bowler. He might have had some odd good ( not great ) series here and there. Last time he was obliterated in the Ashes and India.
 
I though Bancroft’s press remarks were quite funny actually.

So did I. I'm finding the idea that Smith laughing during it is apparently insulting the English team to be a bit odd.
 
Anderson has time and again showed he is a whiny little softie.
Skillful no doubt but soft!
 
Anderson has time and again showed he is a whiny little softie.
Skillful no doubt but soft!

I don't think so. Look at how many hard yards he has bowled and how many times he came out against the quicks as nightwatchmen.

More accurate to say he is gloomy and a serial complainer. Even his great mate Swann made fun of his incessant moaning.
 
I don't think so. Look at how many hard yards he has bowled and how many times he came out against the quicks as nightwatchmen.

More accurate to say he is gloomy and a serial complainer. Even his great mate Swann made fun of his incessant moaning.

Moaning to his team-mates is still fine.
But when he comes out moaning to the media about how the big bad aussies are targeting him with bouncers, it really doesn't help his image.
 
Moaning to his team-mates is still fine.
But when he comes out moaning to the media about how the big bad aussies are targeting him with bouncers, it really doesn't help his image.

Not really moaning about it to the media really is he though. He got asked about the short ball barrage in the press conference and stated that he asked the umpire when it starts to get classified as dangerous before then saying that obviously they had to expect and prepare for that type of bowling.
 
Wow - how can the umps let that one go?

Batsman was out of his crease when thrown and there was an instant apology. If the umpires didn't mind Vince having to dodge full pelt throws in his direction from the likes of Starc when he didn't even leave his crease I'm not sure they can exactly see an issue with this.
 
Batsman was out of his crease when thrown and there was an instant apology. If the umpires didn't mind Vince having to dodge full pelt throws in his direction from the likes of Starc when he didn't even leave his crease I'm not sure they can exactly see an issue with this.

Ok thanks for that explanation. Seems you have studied this issue in detail :D
 
Anderson calling people bully?

He tried to beat up jadeja iirc in England. His teammates are out there doing bodily harm to people in real world.
 
Not even several annoying rain delays could dampen a fiery opening day of the second Magellan Ashes Test as the niggle between the sides continued in Adelaide.

England paceman Stuart Broad at one point had his fingers in his ears before, some time later, umpire Aleem Dar was forced to cool a heated back-and-forth between the fast bowler and skipper Steve Smith.

A lot of media attention this week focused on the sledging barrage in the first Test at the Gabba; the Australians declared they won’t back down from using banter to unsettle England, while the tourists were unimpressed with attitude of the hosts and that, it was alleged, they chose to speak up only once they were in the ascendancy.

When play started on Saturday, it wasn’t until after the run out of Cameron Bancroft for 10 that it became clear Broad was targeting opener David Warner with both the pink ball and plenty of carefully chosen words.
Mix-up ends Bancroft's innings in Adelaide

Broad turned around and screamed in celebration in the direction of the striker Warner after the mix-up between the openers saw Bancroft depart.

The lanky quick then beat the Australian on either side of the bat and he put his index fingers in his ears to perhaps indicate he couldn’t hear whatever Warner was saying.

Warner eventually fell for 47 to bring Smith to the crease and immediately the English went after the captain as well.

And Broad was again the main protagonist for the visitors.

An exaggerated leave, even by Smith’s animated standards, raised eyebrows and drew smiles from the slip cordon as batsman Smith and bowler Broad exchanged words.

The chat continued at the end of the over as the pair swapped verbals before Umpire Dar waded in and looked to calm the pair down.

Dar's intervention seemingly snuffed the sparks - at least temporarily - in front of more than a record 53,000 fans in attendance.

Before a ball was bowled, you wouldn’t know the teams were locked in a ferocious contest by the way they interacted in the centre of Adelaide Oval.

As is custom on an opening day of a Test match, players from both teams sauntered out to the pitch to inspect the surface, mark run-ups and visualise what’s to come by shadow batting or gently rolling an arm over.

So naturally there are times when the combatants come in close proximity during this ritual, and today was no different.

Rival opening batsmen Alastair Cook and David Warner shared a smile, Peter Handscomb and James Vince chatted at the Cathedral End stumps, while Nathan Lyon and Joe Root exchanged glances as they crossed paths between pitch inspections.

But the two teams were a little less friendly once the first ball was bowled.

http://www.cricket.com.au/news/stev...est-adelaide-oval-video-highlights/2017-12-02
 
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Australia accused of crossing the line in Ashes sledging battle by former England player Matt Prior

AUSTRALIAN players have been accused of crossing the line in their sledging with England this Ashes, with the murky on-field battles taking on a personal nature.

Former England player Matt Prior made the inflammatory accusation on a BBC podcast after day three of the Adelaide Oval Test, saying that a lot of the sledging was of a nature that “quite frankly shouldn’t be on the cricket pitch”.

Much of the fallout from Australia’s heavy first Test victory at the Gabba revolved around the Jonny Bairstow ‘headbutt’ of debutant Cameron Bancroft and how Steve Smith’s men had used the incident as verbal fodder to unsettled the England wicketkeeper.

Combative Australian vice-captain David Warner was caught on stump mic referencing the incident, while Bairstow and Australia’s Peter Handscomb were seen having words during the England innings.

Ultimately, Bairstow fell to a soft dismissal shortly before tea on day four which proved the death knell for England’s innings — with Australia taking great delight post-match in discussing how they’d got under his skin.

Smith insisted after the Brisbane Test that in no way did Australia’s players cross the line in their sledging, but Prior — who hasn’t played Test cricket since 2014 but remains close to the current camp — indicated that was not the case.

“A lot that’s gone on that I think the England players are quite upset about — and rightfully from what I’ve heard,” Prior told the podcast.

“There’s been a lot of chat on the pitch that hasn’t got anything to do with cricket and quite frankly shouldn’t be on a cricket pitch.


“(It’s) stuff that hasn’t come out for various reasons.”

When asked if the sledging had got under the skin of the England players, Prior responded: “I think that is has.

“The question was asked of Steve Smith a number of times in a press conference: ‘Did the Australian players cross that line? Did they go too far?’.

“And after he said ‘I 100 per cent, I swear on my life, they did not cross that line’, I think he was dragged out of that press conference pretty quickly because there are things that are going on.”

Prior supported his argument by saying that experienced players in international cricket are close to immune to run-of-the-mill sledging — meaning that to draw a reaction your words need to be “potentially personal”.

“Simple sledging doesn’t really work on these top international players,” Prior said.

“Alastair Cook is not going to be effected by sledging. Steve Smith, Warner, these guys have seen it, done it, so therefore you have to go deeper if you want to try and get a reaction, if you know what I mean.

“You have to say something that is going to be pretty fiery and potentially personal.”

Smith himself has been involved in heated on-field battles throughout the Adelaide Test, exchanging words with England’s sledger-in-chief Jimmy Anderson during his first-innings 40.

Champion Australian batsman Mike Hussey questioned the nature of Prior’s “provocative” comments, and urged him to back them up if he wanted to be taken seriously.

“I’m not really sure what he’s trying to achieve out of all of these provocative comments,” Hussey told Fox Sports News.

“If he’s going to make these sort of comments — from afar mind you — you need to be really backing it up. He’s sort of teasing us really.

“You need to back it up with some hard evidence and some actual things that are being involved here. I’d be very surprised if he’s accurate here. The lines are very clear on the field.

“The umpires are very strict these days on things. There’s stump mics, there’s cameras everywhere, players don’t get away with too much.

“If the players are crossing the line on the field they will be reprimanded very, very quickly, so I’m pretty surprised by these comments and I’m not sure what he’s trying to get out of it really.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...r/news-story/f6cd4b7fd10d9b6ab8a32d7b56a78087
 
Mike Atherton calls for umpires to protect England’s tailenders from ‘bodyline’ bowling

MIKE Atherton has called on umpires to protect England’s tailenders from “bodyline” bowling in the Ashes.

Australia reclaimed the urn on Monday, beating the tourists in Perth by an innings and 41 runs to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with two Tests to go.

In all three Tests Australia’s quicks have noticeably targeted England’s tailenders with short deliveries. James Anderson was struck in the grille by a particularly brutal bouncer from Pat Cummins at the WACA.

It’s a tactic Atherton believes is illegal under Law 41.6.1 of cricket: “The bowling of short-pitched deliveries is dangerous if the bowler’s end umpire considers that, taking into consideration the skill of the striker, by their speed, length, height and direction, they are likely to inflict physical injury on him/her. The fact that the striker is wearing protective equipment shall be disregarded.”

The former opener stressed that with or without the tactic Australia would be 3-0 up in this series and that anyone with an attack like the hosts’ would bowl similar lengths to the tail. Nevertheless, he insists umpires have a responsibility to protect those unable to protect themselves.

“I did wonder aloud at the time why the umpires were so reluctant to act to protect Ball,” Atherton wrote, referring to Australia’s bumper barrage to England No.10 Jake Ball in the first Test.

“Test cricket or not, the Law and the playing conditions are there to protect batsmen incapable of protecting themselves.”

Bowlers like Stuart Broad are capable enough as batsmen that they can be considered fair game but Anderson and Ball are exactly the type of players law 41.6.1 was written to protect, according to Atherton.

Anderson, who faced six short deliveries in his seven ball innings at the WACA, and Ball average 10.14 and 8.37 respectively with the bat in Test cricket.

“Cricket is an odd game in that it has three distinct disciplines and, within that, you have the unusual situation where someone who is totally useless in one area, can face a world-class performer in another — with potentially harmful consequences.

“Batsmen who cannot bowl are not required to bowl to great players, but the opposite is obviously the case — precisely why the Law is framed as it is, as built-in protection for the incompetent.

“No one wants to see the game sanitised, but the Law is there for a reason. The umpires should make use of it.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...k=e9824ae6b7c988f0b6d5d7fc9bfd515c-1513810098
 
So if we were to consider skill , if Suresh Raina is batting , nobody is allowed to bowl bouncer !!! . What a farce !!!
 
Mike Atherton calls for umpires to protect England’s tailenders from ‘bodyline’ bowling

MIKE Atherton has called on umpires to protect England’s tailenders from “bodyline” bowling in the Ashes.

Australia reclaimed the urn on Monday, beating the tourists in Perth by an innings and 41 runs to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with two Tests to go.

In all three Tests Australia’s quicks have noticeably targeted England’s tailenders with short deliveries. James Anderson was struck in the grille by a particularly brutal bouncer from Pat Cummins at the WACA.

It’s a tactic Atherton believes is illegal under Law 41.6.1 of cricket: “The bowling of short-pitched deliveries is dangerous if the bowler’s end umpire considers that, taking into consideration the skill of the striker, by their speed, length, height and direction, they are likely to inflict physical injury on him/her. The fact that the striker is wearing protective equipment shall be disregarded.”

The former opener stressed that with or without the tactic Australia would be 3-0 up in this series and that anyone with an attack like the hosts’ would bowl similar lengths to the tail. Nevertheless, he insists umpires have a responsibility to protect those unable to protect themselves.

“I did wonder aloud at the time why the umpires were so reluctant to act to protect Ball,” Atherton wrote, referring to Australia’s bumper barrage to England No.10 Jake Ball in the first Test.

“Test cricket or not, the Law and the playing conditions are there to protect batsmen incapable of protecting themselves.”

Bowlers like Stuart Broad are capable enough as batsmen that they can be considered fair game but Anderson and Ball are exactly the type of players law 41.6.1 was written to protect, according to Atherton.

Anderson, who faced six short deliveries in his seven ball innings at the WACA, and Ball average 10.14 and 8.37 respectively with the bat in Test cricket.

“Cricket is an odd game in that it has three distinct disciplines and, within that, you have the unusual situation where someone who is totally useless in one area, can face a world-class performer in another — with potentially harmful consequences.

“Batsmen who cannot bowl are not required to bowl to great players, but the opposite is obviously the case — precisely why the Law is framed as it is, as built-in protection for the incompetent.

“No one wants to see the game sanitised, but the Law is there for a reason. The umpires should make use of it.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...k=e9824ae6b7c988f0b6d5d7fc9bfd515c-1513810098

England can declare if their two last batsmen are totally useless and not able to face world class bowling.
 
Too much of whining by the English. And that law is vague completely leaving it to Umpire's judgement of striker's capabilities as a batsman.
 
So stop bowlers from bowling bouncers? What a joke from Athers. Completely disagree with him.
 
Did our tail get exposed to such bouncers?

I remember our tail wagging in Australia in 2014.

Our lower order used to collapse too but we did save 2 games plus scored a few runs.
 
So stop bowlers from bowling bouncers? What a joke from Athers. Completely disagree with him.

Some time ago tailenders did not get bounced, it was considered ungentlemanly.

I remember in the 1983 series in England, the England and NZ skippers made a pact that numbers ten and eleven would not get bounced. It’s quicker to get them out by pitching it up anyway.

The Law is there to protect tailenders but the umps don’t seem to want to apply it.
 
Some time ago tailenders did not get bounced, it was considered ungentlemanly.

I remember in the 1983 series in England, the England and NZ skippers made a pact that numbers ten and eleven would not get bounced. It’s quicker to get them out by pitching it up anyway.

The Law is there to protect tailenders but the umps don’t seem to want to apply it.

We must remember that the laws of cricket go back over 100 years, before batsmen were helmeted & armoured. To examine the pads & gloves (no thigh pads! no chest guards! no helmets!) of Bradman's day is to realise that they expected to be hurt if they got hit, the protection would just hopefully stop them being crippled.

Also, in the professional era, tailenders have time to learn to bat. They are full time professionals & if they can't be bothered spending a half hour a day at least learning the basics then that is on them.

Now that true bouncers are limited & batsmen come out armoured from head to toe, the boundary for intimidation & danger has shifted. Every single law & judgement & "improvement" in the game seems to favour batsmen. If a bowler can't bounce out the tail then I'm done watching cricket, it's just a hitting exhibition.
 
Pretty embarrassing stuff from some of the England stakeholders on this topic, all of the “whiny / spineless English” stereotypes are hardly helped by these statements.
 
What are you doing, Atherton? You're one of the reasonable ones from England.

And his point is entirely reasonable.

I hate seeing bunnies get bounced at 90 mph. It’s not the right way to play.

Yorker, leg stump. Boom, out bowled or lbw.
 
Some time ago tailenders did not get bounced, it was considered ungentlemanly.

I remember in the 1983 series in England, the England and NZ skippers made a pact that numbers ten and eleven would not get bounced. It’s quicker to get them out by pitching it up anyway.

The Law is there to protect tailenders but the umps don’t seem to want to apply it.


Well recently bowlers have bowled bouncers to tail enders and I haven't heard any complaints. If other teams can get on with,England will have to as well.
 
And his point is entirely reasonable.

I hate seeing bunnies get bounced at 90 mph. It’s not the right way to play.

Yorker, leg stump. Boom, out bowled or lbw.

Short ball is a legitimate way to get wickets.
 
And his point is entirely reasonable.

I hate seeing bunnies get bounced at 90 mph. It’s not the right way to play.

Yorker, leg stump. Boom, out bowled or lbw.
You don't see other teams complaining do you? The one thing in favour of the bowlers, and you want to take that away too?
 
You don't see other teams complaining do you? The one thing in favour of the bowlers, and you want to take that away too?

Sure I do.

Maybe I hail from a more gentlemanly age. The quicks used to be in a sort of unofficial union, they didn't bounce each other. Fred Trueman considered it a waste of effort.
 
Sure I do.

Maybe I hail from a more gentlemanly age. The quicks used to be in a sort of unofficial union, they didn't bounce each other. Fred Trueman considered it a waste of effort.

Which went out decades ago with professionalism.

Bit different when the other guy was a part time without a helmet.
 
Bouncer barrage has been OK: Smith

Steve Smith has dismissed a plea for umpires to protect England's tailenders from an ongoing bouncer barrage, saying Australia's Ashes rivals would do exactly the same – if they had faster bowlers.

Former England captain Mike Atherton argued in UK newspaper The Times that officials should better enforce rules about intimidatory fast bowling in the showpiece Test series.

Umpires can warn a Test paceman twice before ordering him out of the attack, should they be alarmed by the deliberate bowling of short-pitched deliveries that are intended to – or likely to – inflict physical injury given the skill of the batsman.

Australia have made no secret of their plan to pepper the tourists' tail with short stuff throughout this summer.

The ploy has been successful. The hosts hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series, with England's tailenders looking uncomfortable while hardly troubling the scorers.

"It's a bit over the top," Smith said, when asked about Atherton's column. "No doubt, if they had the kind of pace that our bowlers can generate, they'd probably do the same thing.

"We were (always) going to bowl a lot of short stuff to those guys, much like we did back in 2013."

Jimmy Anderson, England's No.11 batsman, asked umpires at the Gabba whether Australia had breached the rarely enforced Law during the opening Test.

England management also raised the issue four years ago, when Mitchell Johnson terrorised their team with chin music throughout a whitewash.

Johnson shared Smith's dim view of Atherton's argument, calling on England's tail to "learn how to bat".

"I'd be very disappointed if it got changed. Because wickets are flat in general and the bowlers need some sort of assistance," Johnson told foxsports.com.au.

"How far do you go? "If they take everything away from the bowlers, we're just going to see bowling machines.

"If I was going to dish it out, I had to be able to take it. Even if I wasn't dishing it out, it's a part of the game."

England's problem is that none of their bowlers is capable of regularly hitting the 145kph mark, let alone breaking the 150kph barrier.

It is why express paceman Mark Wood, who is still building fitness after an injury-marred year, has remained with the Test squad after touring Australia with the England Lions.

Wood could potentially be called up for dead rubbers at the MCG and SCG, while leg-spinner Mason Crane is also in the mix as the visitors attempt to salvage something from a miserable campaign.

Smith, a promising tennis junior before concentrating on cricket, was taken out of his comfort zone while having a hit on Thursday with Canada's Milos Raonic at Melbourne Park.

Smith returned a couple of serves from former world No.3 Raonic but weaved out of the way when one was directed at his body.

"Now I know how Jimmy Anderson feels," he quipped.

http://www.cricket.com.au/news/stev...g-england-tail-ashes-tennis-raonic/2017-12-21
 
Maybe the Aussie bowlers should bowl underarm to Anderson and co. just to make Jimmy happy.
 
https://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Ashes/cummins-defends-bouncers-at-tailenders-20171223

Melbourne - Fast bowler Pat Cummins says Australia will continue to bowl bouncers at England's tailenders during the last two Tests of the Ashes series despite concerns the tactic is intimidatory and potentially dangerous.

Australia has already won the five-Test series 3-0 and the fourth Test begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26.

Cummins struck England No 11 James Anderson on the side of the head shortly before the end of the third Test at Perth, leaving a bruise on the Englishman's ear.

Cummins said on Saturday that the tactic of short-pitched bowling at tailenders is legitimate and that he has faced more than 50 bouncers from England's pacemen in the series so far.

In a newspaper column this week, former England captain Mike Atherton called on the umpires of the fourth and fifth Tests to more stringently enforce rules around intimidatory bowling.

Cummins said Australia had deliberately targeted the England tailenders with bouncers and would continue to do so.

"We think that's our best chance of getting them out," he said.

"They're all pretty competent batters.

"Stuart Broad's got a Test match hundred and Anderson's got an 80-odd. We know we're going to cop it as well so we spend lots of time in the nets working on it. I've copped about 50 so far this series so we get back as much as we dish out."

Cummins said he was alarmed when the bouncer he bowled at Anderson in Perth struck the Englishman flush on the side of the helmet, dazing him.

"You're always concerned when someone gets hit in the head but once you find out they're OK, I think it's part of cricket," Cummins said.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has risen to the defence of Cummins and his fellow fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

"I don't think there's anything new about fast bowlers attacking tailenders where they show an area of vulnerability," Sutherland said.

"That's up to the umpires to (enforce intimidatory bowling laws). I certainly don't have any problem with fast bowlers attacking batsmen and trying to get them out."

Starc is likely to miss the Melbourne Test with a bruised heel and might be replaced by Jackson Bird who played his most-recent Test in Melbourne on Boxing Day last year.

Bird, who has 34 wickets in eight Tests to date, is not as fast as Starc but uses the bouncer effectively.

"Being tall I don't find it a hard delivery to bowl," Bird said.

"I don't think in any game of cricket we go out to intentionally hurt the opposition.

"It's something we use to get the tailenders out as quickly and efficiently as possible. As a tailender I know I'm going to cop it. I do cop that in first-class cricket and I've got no worries about it."

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine has yet to join the Australia team in Melbourne because his father in law is ill but is expected to play from Tuesday.
 
My oh my what am I reading.. Rather than working on their weaknesses and try and improve England are coming all guns blazing whining.. Cribgeworthy studf
 
Which went out decades ago with professionalism.

Bit different when the other guy was a part time without a helmet.

Trueman was a professional. He wouldn’t bounce tailenders. Not a fair fight, is it?

All were professionals and wore helmets when Willis and Howarth agreed to their nine, ten, jack bouncer truce. (Willis was quite magnanimous in that NZ only had Hadlee to bowl a decent bouncer, while Willis had himself, Cowans and Dilley.)
 
Trueman was a professional. He wouldn’t bounce tailenders. Not a fair fight, is it?

All were professionals and wore helmets when Willis and Howarth agreed to their nine, ten, jack bouncer truce. (Willis was quite magnanimous in that NZ only had Hadlee to bowl a decent bouncer, while Willis had himself, Cowans and Dilley.)

Hang on a minute, why did they make this agreement.
 
Trueman was a professional. He wouldn’t bounce tailenders. Not a fair fight, is it?

All were professionals and wore helmets when Willis and Howarth agreed to their nine, ten, jack bouncer truce. (Willis was quite magnanimous in that NZ only had Hadlee to bowl a decent bouncer, while Willis had himself, Cowans and Dilley.)

If your boss is paying you $1 million a year to win games of cricket and you are playing guys also on massive wages to win games of cricket you don't go easy.

When you work 9-5 and play cricket as an extra and your opponent also works 9-5 you can.

There are independent adjudicators who are neutral and best placed to judge whether or not a line has been crossed.
 
My oh my what am I reading.. Rather than working on their weaknesses and try and improve England are coming all guns blazing whining.. Cribgeworthy studf

Really makes you wonder why Atherton never won an Ashes series in his career.
 
Maybe I hail from a more gentlemanly age. The quicks used to be in a sort of unofficial union, they didn't bounce each other. Fred Trueman considered it a waste of effort.

I guess Anderson only enters your plane of moral superiority during press conferences.
 
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