2019 2nd Ashes Test - Lords 14-18 August 2019

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You doubt that they'd make changes after a win like that, but if Lords is flat, they'll want a 5th bowling option. Bancroft for Labushagne/Marsh, push Khawaja to open.

Karl McDermott is the new pitch curator at Lords, he's produced the Ireland test match pitch and the WC final so far.

Day 1 Pitch vs Ireland:

721545


WC Final:

721548
 
no changes to the batting line up.
...even if you're one of those people who can't tolerate a single bad performance there is simply no room for Labuschagne. reshuffling the batting order just to get him in would be a stupid move. if we lose an opener then Harris comes in.

given they seem hell bent on rotating the bowlers im guessing Starc comes in for Pattinson....maybe the following test Sids can sit out for Hazelwood.
personally i wouldn't change a thing but provided Cummins and Lyon never leave the side i'm ok with it.
 
no changes to the batting line up.
...even if you're one of those people who can't tolerate a single bad performance there is simply no room for Labuschagne. reshuffling the batting order just to get him in would be a stupid move. if we lose an opener then Harris comes in.

given they seem hell bent on rotating the bowlers im guessing Starc comes in for Pattinson....maybe the following test Sids can sit out for Hazelwood.
personally i wouldn't change a thing but provided Cummins and Lyon never leave the side i'm ok with it.

Pattinson bowled 8 overs in the second innings.

He had the same workload as a ODI just about.

I think he will be fine.

Murtagh, Woakes x 2 and Anderson have been the chief destroyers in the last 2 tests here for low totals on greentops.

They all bowl mid pace and stand the seam up.


Basically, Starc would be a terrible choice imo. The slope is irrelevant if the pitch is a greentop and is jagging around anyway.


If anyone, it should actually be Hazlewood.


Siddle looms as the dangerman here out of anyone based on Edgebaston, he got the most seam movement of all the bowlers (England & Australia) and bowled a threatening consistent 4th stump line for most of the match. He's the most similar bowler in the Aussie setup to Woakes/Anderson/Murtagh as well in terms of pace, which is important on seaming decks, banging it in can almost be detrimental to movement.
 
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Karl McDermott is the new pitch curator at Lords, he's produced the Ireland test match pitch and the WC final so far.

Day 1 Pitch vs Ireland:

View attachment 721545


WC Final:

View attachment 721548
Root came out and publicly complained about the Lords pitch used for the Ireland test so won't be surprised to see something a little less juicy.
 

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With 9 days between tests, there seems no reason to change the bowling attack, but apparently picking Starc to go for 4 an over will improve Australia...

England would love to see Starc and Hazlewood running in at Lords, so I say go for it!
I wouldn’t change a thing. England is built for seamers and Siddle extracted the most of the ball I felt. Just hit a beautiful line and moved it off the seam. There’s no way you’d drop him. Pattinson was solid, and Cummins was great. I think it’s the best trio we’ve got. I don’t even know if he is in the squad but Daniel Worrall would be my next choice.

As far as batting I hope we keep it the same. No reason to change a good thing. Bringing in Marsh essentially concedes a batting spot. I couldn’t care about some part timer trundling soaking up a few overs. We’ve got 4 bowlers, that’s enough.

The areas of weakness are our top 3, but Usman got a start so he is worth another test. Bancroft and Warner need another crack also.
 
Interested to see what team they put out for the tour match starting tomorrow. You'd think Neser, Hazlewood and Starc will come in.

Did they keep anyone around the squad at all that didn't make it? Like Carey, Holland, Burns etc. Doubt anyone except the openers from the first test team would be over keen on playing the tour match.

As far as the second test team goes it has to be the easiest no change ever.
 
For the Australians, I suspect the plan was not to play Siddle in the London games. That might not be the case for Lord's now. First innings, Cummins would have been the bowler under pressure but he got bettera s he got more work into him. He possibly just needed the long form game time, and got very good by late in the English first innings.
Bancroft was a line-ball decision, and might be under some pressure already but a win probably saves him for now.

Presumably Anderson is done for a while, and maybe career ended. Sad way to go out if that eventuates. They'll probably bring in Archer, I'm not sure about his test match credentials. Some of the slower ball stuff that is so successful in 50 and 20 over cricket isn't wicket taking in the long form, and whether he can do longer spells and back up again is questionable. the quicker one might be dangerous, if he can get some movement.
Moeen Ali surely gets replaced. But who have they got?
 
For the Australians, I suspect the plan was not to play Siddle in the London games. That might not be the case for Lord's now. First innings, Cummins would have been the bowler under pressure but he got bettera s he got more work into him. He possibly just needed the long form game time, and got very good by late in the English first innings.
Bancroft was a line-ball decision, and might be under some pressure already but a win probably saves him for now.

Presumably Anderson is done for a while, and maybe career ended. Sad way to go out if that eventuates. They'll probably bring in Archer, I'm not sure about his test match credentials. Some of the slower ball stuff that is so successful in 50 and 20 over cricket isn't wicket taking in the long form, and whether he can do longer spells and back up again is questionable. the quicker one might be dangerous, if he can get some movement.
Moeen Ali surely gets replaced. But who have they got?

Archer will benefit from England having Ben Stokes being able to bowl 20 overs a day, it'll mean they can use him in short bursts as a shock bowler. They have to play Leach ahead of Ali, if there's been one small chink in Steve Smith's armor it's been left arm orthodox spinners (admittedly in Sri Lanka against one of the top 3 left arm spinners of all time in Herath).
 
Likely team for the next tour match. Can see them resting Lyon for Marsh.

Harris
Bancroft
Usman
Laba
Head
Wade
Marsh
Paine (c) +
Neser
Starc
Hazel wood
 
Presumably Anderson is done for a while, and maybe career ended. Sad way to go out if that eventuates. They'll probably bring in Archer, I'm not sure about his test match credentials. Some of the slower ball stuff that is so successful in 50 and 20 over cricket isn't wicket taking in the long form, and whether he can do longer spells and back up again is questionable. the quicker one might be dangerous, if he can get some movement.
Moeen Ali surely gets replaced. But who have they got?

That's why I'd go for Curran, plus it replaces the batting lost by dropping Ali.

Leach would be the spinner to replace Ali, averages mid 20's after a few tests and can bat!

Why on earth would you bring Starc in after that performance?

Felt like the first time in a long time we didn't have a bowler releases the pressure via sending down trash.

Easiest task for the selectors in a while - no change.

Because for the last 5 days we've heard nothing but how great Starc is, how much Australia was missing Starc, what a shocking decision it was to drop Starc. Not just on Bigfooty but the NSW media were going crazy.

So it will be interesting to see if they ignore it. Whoever is playing against Australia in the tour game should make sure they treat him like McGrath, make him look good!
 

Division One County leading wicket takers makes for some alarming reading on England's part.

Six of the top 10 Kolpak or Overseas Players.

Archer is obviously the nice new toy for their selectors to play with, but doesn't exactly scream healthy development.
 
I suspect the selection for our quick bowlers for this series is going to be conditions based, given the short space of time this series played over, and long tours Cummins and Starc have partaking in plus the long injury lay off Pattinson has just endured.

For that reason I can't see them playing Pattinson right through, and I reckon he might have been penned in for a rest at Lord's with a view to playing Headlingly where his bowling might be a bit more suited. If they go down that path, I think Hazelwood is the right call. Stock bowlers who nibble the ball around a bit have had a bit more success at Lord's in recent years than the attack bowlers, although both quick bowling approaches have had success and left arm quick bowlers have conceded the least runs per wicket at Lord's over the last 5 or 6 years, so that will make Starc a temptation. Again, I think Starc would be more suited to Headlingly than Lord's if they are going to be rotating.

Two things have been a challenge at Lord's in recent years and performances in county cricket indicate this will remain the same in two weeks time - batting and spin bowling. As ever both teams will be heavy reliant on their respective batting stars, and it will take a herculean effort from Lyon to have the same impact here as Edgbaston, but obviously he will be in the XI.

For England Archer will definitely come in for Anderson. The question is do they persist with this more standard structure (5 batsmen, all rounder, keeper, 4 bowlers) or do they revert to the six bowler set up they have tended to like over recent years. This would mean Ali batting in the top 7, and quite clearly he is not in good enough form to do that, especially as that would move Bairstow into the top six who is in equally poor form. He has bowled just 10 overs in total over his last 2 Lord's tests and his outstanding 10-for against South Africa in 2017 is a single outlier on what has been an otherwise unhappy hunting ground. I think England might go with an all pace attack and to keep their point of difference the fourth seamer will be left armer Sam Curran, and they'll just grab whatever spin they need from Denly and Root.

Obviously all the above can change if we get to closer to match day and the expected green top does not materialise.
 

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