The Official The Open The Thread

Their Cricket captain being Irish couldn't sit right with many Nigels.

 

FAO @Fabulous Fabio @Ciaran
Apparently I already knew.

 

Half their team are foreigners so they cant be that fussy.

 

Perhaps you could confirm or deny Keiron: I read that Morgan's mum is from Ipswich but must say he looks 100% oirish.

 

Spanking unless you use it as a look at players for the Ashes.

 

I thought that Stokes fella had a bit of Irish in him but turns out he's English/Kiwi

 

More a warm-up for The Ashes but a few players with strains rested. If fit Anderson and Broad particularly will be using this match to get some form.

 

Why were Anderson and Broad no in the ODI team? Not that they needed them, thought they were the top bowlers though.

 

There's quite a lot of ginger in the side.

 

Think they both had to make a choice one or the other as they are getting on.

 

Poofs eh?

 

You'll note they chose test cricket. The legends of the game, Bradman, Warne, Tendulkar, etc: they will be remembered for what they did in test cricket not ODI/World Cups.

 

Winning the World Cup last week was England’s biggest achievement since the ashes 2005. They will be disappointed to have missed that

 

I don't get that. If winning the Ashes in 2005 was a bigger achievement then why not the other Ashes wins since then? The series they won in Aus when Alastair Cook scored a gazillion runs was quite impressive for example.

 

For a start 2005 was the first time you had won it since 1987 so automatically puts more importance on it. Plus this was when Aus were at their best, Warne, McGrath, Lee, Ponting, Clarke all at the top of their game. The fact Aus won the following Ashes series 5-0 with pretty much the same squad shows how good 2005 was. Aus have never been as strong a team as they were back then so the Ashes wins in recent years are nowhere near as impressive

 

I must be top of the punters charts with Steve Bruce and Shane Lowry in past few weeks,nice double.

 

Gilchrist, Langer, Hayden, the Aus team was phenomenal to be fair. Cricket, when it's a close game/series, there's no other sport comes close imho.

 

What's Steve Bruce done???

 

Nothing.

 

I always enjoy the ashes, the only test cricket I’d watch. I’ll be working when it’s on mostly but will hopefully get to see some of it.