On the BBC text someone just said may as well make Root and Malan the openers for all the good the others are doing. And they aren’t exactly wrong This Ashes was always going to be a humiliation from the start. It will be a whitewash. Got to give credit to England for not using covid and the draconian rules in Australia as a reason to not play it this year despite knowing what they would be facing. Takes guts
And this has been two years in the making!!! Apparently!! Part of England's problem is the mentality of trying to avoid yet another hammering. Unitl that little conundrum is solved, I am afraid that England will continue to be slaughtered in Oz, as well as iin India and away to Pakistan.
As pathetic as our openers are we may as well give Roy another try. Tell him to go one day mode with the new ball, can't do any worse than what we have now.
If you wanted to go down route, Bairstow is probably a better bet. Just as attacking as a white-ball opener, but a vastly superior red-ball batsman. That said, a more realistic outcome for Bairstow is to be batting at no.6 before the series is out - if Pope doesn't start scoring soon. Hopefully starting in this innings.
I think Bairstow has to come in for the next test. Whether that's for Pope or Buttler it doesn't matter.
Just taken this quote from the BBC website. Woeful. “This is the fifth time in six Ashes Tests in Australia that Australia have taken a first-innings lead in excess of 200.”
I fully expect to see Bairstow and Wood for the third test. But I think that might be it. Crawley and Leach are outside bets, but I'm not expecting to see them. In reality, it won't matter.
Agnew is spot on when he says it will take a miracle to draw the series and winning it is impossible from here.
