Bloody rain. Bloody English weather. Today was meant to be the day when some play was possible. So disappointing.
So pretty much level after the first innings. England now to bat with 3 days still left. Will Jimmy Anderson get to bat on his 41st birthday? Hopefully not. Big chance for these gun England batsmen to make a statement in their last innings of the series. It should be fun.
A great day’s batting by England, although it was a little disappointing that wickets kept falling and that none of Root, Crawley and Bairstow went on to make a hundred. They should have enough to beat Australia, barring more bad weather. And Broad is to retire at the end of the match! That was a surprise on the eve of Jimmy Anderson’s 41st birthday
This is the Spurs forum Luke we don't do optimism, I would have liked another 50 runs, you can never rule out the Aussies Steve Smith has by his standards had a poor series, he is more than capable of scoring a big hundred, Warner is also due a score, they are likely to have at least 5 sessions to make the runs and won't need to rush. Moens injury will also be a blow, but Root may get a decent bowl if he can get the ball to turn. In short I don't think it's a foregone conclusion and whilst England start as favourites, we were favourites when the Aussies were 8 down in the 2nd innings and Edgbaston and blew it, this will be closer than a lot of people think.
Watching Anderson and Broad walking out to bat together , I could have sworn someone was peeling onions nearby How great was it to see Broards last ball faced in cricket went for 6
I think the weather will decide this one - either by the match be rained off or the conditions favouring the bowlers. I don’t see the Aussies pushing to win - just avoiding defeat. Given that some time is likely to be lost to rain, I can’t see them taking any risks to chase down their total if they don’t have to. Disappointing that after the first three Tests, the series will ultimately have been decided by the weather
Brilliant series, 5 fantastic test matches and whilst yes the weather in Manchester may have cost us the ashes, not winning the first test from a potentially winning position I think is just as much to blame. But who writes Stuart Broads scripts? Brilliant that he took those last 2 wickets. A fabulous Ashes summer, and some people think cricket (particularly test cricket) is boring, this has been absolutely riveting.
It was a great Ashes series, and one in which England were the better team overall, they really should have won back the urn and probably would have done but for the rain in Manchester. Lots of if`s, but`s and maybe`s, but you could argue a stupid declaration and some bad Aussie sportsmanship made the difference. A shout out to Jonny Bairstow, who took a lot of stick but was superb in the final 2 Tests once the rustiness was worked out of his glove work. Also, what a career for Stuart Broad, he will be remembered as a great and a fairy tale way to bow out, and thanks for years of service Broady.
