The Ashes & Hampshire Cricket Summer Thread

Warner out thank **** for that !

 

Well that was a fairly important wicket.

No doubt about it, both McCullum and Clarke have been excellent examples of how you can create something out of nothing by being attacking, creative and taking risks. Cook is a fantastic player and his captaincy is still in it's infancy but he very much has the 'English Disease', tough to blame him as it's thoroughly ingrained in our system and Flower seems to echo and reinforce that approach, but it's just the same negative, cautious cricket. All very well when we were mediocre but now that we're one of the best we need an approach to match. Doesn't mean we need to be declaring on flat pitches with a 350 lead or having 10 men round the bat, but we need to be more aggressive and intimidating, as soon as Australia got some confidence together mostly leading from Clarke's hundred they've stopped fearing us and we've struggled to build pressure.

 

McCullum is IMHO a simply brilliant captain . Agree it's not just Cook , seems something in the mindset of English captains .

 

It's not just the captaincy, it's the team selection policy too, If we had selected a second spinner for the OT Test, then I think that we would've won it. We have let the Aussies back into the series by not being ruthless enough, something that the South Africans wouldn't have done.

 

Indeed, again it's a case of being rooted in the 6 batsmen, 1 wickie, 1 spinner 3 pace men. We don't have the benefit of a true all-rounder to give us flexibility, but we still shackle ourselves too much.

 

Review time!

 

Oh dear poor review from England - how costly will that be?

 

very ...............

 

Yeeessssss! Clarke's gone!

 

That's a massive wicket, a jaffa from Broad.

 

What a ball that was from Broad!

 

Phew !

 

Hugely important for England that Broad is stepping up with Jimmy not in full flow. Need a few more of those though.

 

Need to put pressure on the 2 new Batsmen with attacking fields and aggressive bowling, 1 or 2 more wickets tonight could be vital.

 

1 slip to Watson....really?

 

Broad strikes again! Smith gone!

 

England finally getting the luck they've deserved here.

 

Bad mistake from Smith there...should've been playing for stumps....still, good aggression from Broad.

 

Yessss!!!...Aussies collapsing here

 

And Watson is out lbw again!