Test The Ashes Second Test December 4-8 1430hrs @ The Gabba

[Borisdog]

Stokes and Jacks soaked up a lot of deliveries and looked nicely settled. I am not sure he is fully in.

I've always found this interesting. Stokes is often the one that will dig in and play sensibly. I wonder if that's a product of where he comes in at times, or if he doesn't totally buy into the slog at all costs mantra. Either way it's often seeming like do as I say not as I do to me.

There's a lot of talk about what a fabulous man manager etc etc Stokes is, but we've often seen him get a bit snaky when it's not rolling along his way. Fair enough, you're only human, but the narrative and mythology doesn't always match the visual. Which is pretty par when you're that far down the self-delusion hole.

 

[Leap of Faith]

We went the second day of Sobers innings, my father said we might see something special, not really that amazing prediction because he'd already made 100 plus on the first day he batted. I remember my father being so excited, which was unusual. I think it was the first time I had been to the G for a cricket match.

I was also at the 'G that day. Nine years old and my dad took me. It was the first time I went to the cricket and first time at the 'G. Fell in love with it right there.

 

[kickazz]

But suddenly Stokes and McCullum want accountability and intimating their players are weak.
An arse saving operation for the both of them while throwing the very players they encouraged to be the bazball saviours of cricket under a bus.

Yeah with this aspect in particular it will be interesting to see how it plays out. If McCullum doesn't accept that he has made some errors here then he might soon find that he has "the full support of the players"

 

[Zacs_Magic_Tooth]

As a player, Brendon McCullum was a talented, but brainless cricketer. You can get away with that when you have 10 other guys doing the team things. But if you coach all 11 players to play brainless cricket.... you end up with the English cricket team.

Or the Brisbane Heat. The guy has a culture-killing history as a coach

 

[Gough]

I was also at the 'G that day. Nine years old and my dad took me. It was the first time I went to the cricket and first time at the 'G. Fell in love with it right there.

You never forget your first. Mine was Chappelli's last Test, he got a fifty batting with Bruce Laird and I was hooked.

 

[sr36]

I've always found this interesting. Stokes is often the one that will dig in and play sensibly. I wonder if that's a product of where he comes in at times, or if he doesn't totally buy into the slog at all costs mantra. Either way it's often seeming like do as I say not as I do to me.

There's a lot of talk about what a fabulous man manager etc etc Stokes is, but we've often seen him get a bit snaky when it's not rolling along his way. Fair enough, you're only human, but the narrative and mythology doesn't always match the visual. Which is pretty par when you're that far down the self-delusion hole.

I agree. He's ridiculous in terms of the sooky hard done by reactions on near misses when bowling. He's got what it takes to continue to go 100% - but some of the others don't when they follow his lead with the sooking - they just stay sooky.

 

[Pistol Night]

I agree. He's ridiculous in terms of the sooky hard done by reactions on near misses when bowling. He's got what it takes to continue to go 100% - but some of the others don't when they follow his lead with the sooking - they just stay sooky.

Maybe Stokesy needs to shout them a chocolate donut each after play and a trip to zoo to keep them in a better mood

 

[demondavey]

Na this rewriting history.

Stuart Broad with the bat in the 2nd half of his career was absolutely pea-hearted. Would back away 2 meters down leg-side and get bowled early in his innings when the team desperately needed him to stay around

Talking about his bowling more so. He’d dig in and put in the effort as opposed to Archer who literally decided to hit 150km when the game was shelved.

 

[demondavey]

Can’t drop Ness after taking 5 wickets, has to be Doggett for Captain Pat and I’d say Lyon would come in maybe for Inglis?

I reckon

 

[Mr Meow]

They declared in 2023 in the first test at Edgbaston 8/393 to get 20 mins at us before stumps, with Root on 118 and Robison sharing a 43 run 8th wicket partnership. They ceded the momentum and control of the game after not getting any early wickets.

But (obviously scared by that decision) on night one when the logical decision was to pull the pin and get 30-45 mins at the Aussie line up that DID NOT WANT ANY PART OF BATTING they chose to let things play out. Missing a window to cause some top order damage and find a way back into the game.

If It's Bazball is all about "stepping into the danger" the the decision to declare in 2023 was folly and the lack of a declaration in 2025 was gutless.

What pisses most people off about the Bazball mantra is it's anti establishment - like most things that are defined that way, they don't use traditional measure of success... It's not about winning it's about "sticking it to the man".

What it really means is that it's an excuse factory without accountability for ever getting things wrong - more like we bazballed and we just need to Bazball more next time.

Spot on. They lack the commonsense and precision of decision making, adapting to the conditions + planning - to make it truly work. It could still be done with an overall aggressive and proactive mindset. But too often the way they execute it is haphazard at best and misguided at worst.

 

[Pistol Night]

Talking about his bowling more so. He’d dig in and put in the effort as opposed to Archer who literally decided to hit 150km when the game was shelved.

Dialled it up and started sledging like it was day 5 of the fifth test and we had another 200 to make. Doing it with 20 to chase and the game dead and buried was bizarre

 

[Pistol Night]

Spot on. They lack the commonsense and precision of decision making, adapting to the conditions + planning - to make it truly work. It could still be done with an overall aggressive and proactive mindset. But too often the way they execute it is haphazard at best and misguided at worst.

Some of the impulsive decision making makes a crackhead look like Stephen Hawking

 

[jannissary]

shocking everyone, england looked good when they weren’t trying to hit the shit out of the ball

 

[demondavey]

Dialled it up and started sledging like it was day 5 of the fifth test and we had another 200 to make. Doing it with 20 to chase and the game dead and buried was bizarre

He doesn’t have the guts for test cricket. All flash, no bang. He’d be better going to the IPL and bowling 4 overs at 150km and making millions.

 

[Pistol Night]

shocking everyone, england looked good when they weren’t trying to hit the shit out of the ball

They approach test cricket the way I approach Happy Hour at the pub. Go hard as **** and hopefully when the dust settles you haven’t embarrassed yourself

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Zak Crawley has played 61 tests, for an average of 32. Looks like a million bucks when he's on song, but after 61 tests, averages aren't gonna lie. That's crap. I reckon his career typifies Bazball. Pig-headed unwillingness to adjust his game, and a coach that backs him to the hilt, despite the failures.

Literally just Marsh basically. Crawley is just very ordinary who may come off once in 5.

 

[Pistol Night]

Literally just Marsh basically. Crawley is just very ordinary who may come off once in 5.

50% of the time Starc cleans him up in the first over

 

[LukeParkerno1]

50% of the time Starc cleans him up in the first over

But he looks good doing it somehow

lol Bazball

 

[Pistol Night]

But he looks good doing it somehow

lol Bazball

He’s bloody overprepared. He needs to forget some of the stuff he knows about cricket to get better. Bazball

 

[HirdsTheWord]

the english cricket team is as stubborn as my 6 year old daughter, if not moreso.

whats it going to take for these buffoons to realize this style of cricket does not work in this format?

Its funny if not just utterly bizzare.

 

[crows dude]

I reckon

Cant go in with 5 batsman plus Carey. Are you planning on Neser at 7 then.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

that third dot point is brutal.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

He’s bloody overprepared. He needs to forget some of the stuff he knows about cricket to get better. Bazball

True he can ask Khawaja how to prepare

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Cant go in with 5 batsman plus Carey. Are you planning on Neser at 7 then.

Agree. Look it aint going to be the first time a bowler is unlucky. Even this test it was shown utter nonsense to not have a spinner in the early sessions. Lyon and Cummins are in for Neser and Doggett. Probably means Doggett goes back to Shield and Neser becomes next in line.

We are not picking 5 bowlers not including Green that is insane, you play an A/R for that reason and we have.

 

[Pistol Night]

True he can ask Khawaja how to prepare

Hey, maybe Uzzie is training for a shock deflection to the Poms. An opener being on the field for both fielding innings but not opening the batting in either batting innings is textbook Bazball confusing, pointless type behaviour. I’m sure his approach has peaked their interest. Or not, whatever, they’re cool either way