The Ashes.

[Haff]

Have I mentioned my distain for Cummin’s captaincy? AIM for the damn stumps.

[Haff]

They need 1 to win. Still has blokes on the fence? #fastbowlershavenoidea

[Donny]

The Poms won it.

Woakes and Wood batted well.

[Haff]

The Poms won it.

Woakes and Wood batted well.

They did. Poor tactics for mine.
2 pretty bad overs from Murphy, that’s a massive worry! Looked like a player who’d only played a few first class games. Anyhow, we move on!

[Skids]

A 9 day break then it's off to Old Trafford.
Australia hold a 9-7 lead with 15 drawn at the ground. England haven't beaten us here since 1981.

Bob Simpson holds the record for the highest score with 311.

Of the current team, not many Aussies have played here. The two sides only having met here 3 times since 2005.
Steve Smith has played 2 matches at the ground, scoring 401 runs at an average of 100.25
Cummins has played the ground once, taking 7 wickets in that match at an average of 14.71.

Of the poms;

Batsmen

Root - 9 matches - 16 innings for 780 @ 60.76
Stokes - 7 - 11 for 528 @ 52.80

Bowlers

Broad - 10 matches - 19 innings for 44 @ 19.25
Anderson - 10 - 20 for 37 @ 22.02
Woakes - 5 - 10 for 23 @ 18.47
Stokes - 7 - 10 for 11 @ 27.54

Current Odds

Match
Australia - $2.35
Poms - $2.25
Draw - $5.50

Series

Australia - $1.40
Poms - $5.00
Draw - $6.50

[K]

And Flat-Track Bully Smith's 2nd innings was even worse than his 1st.

Swiping across the line to legside to give an easy catch to the midwicket fielder placed exactly for it. Brainless!! Malcolm Conn (SMH) wrote that FTB was "particularly disappointing" and it was "one of the softest dismissals" of his career. The Brit TV commentator (dunno who) just said, "Steve Smith, what have you done??"
...

If there's a silver lining, it's that at least FTB hit the ball. If he missed and was out plumb LBW (like many times before), he'd have blown yet another review, just like he did in the first innings. Still dunno how any batter can nick the ball and not know it.

Flat-Track Bully Steve Smith's defective technique was again destroyed on a pitch that was fair to bowlers. He makes runs on dead pitches ... but when there's anything for the bowlers, they destroy him.

FTB was dropped by the putrid Jonny Bairstow (inside edge behind) on 4. On 22, FTB gave another inside edge behind and catch so easy that not even Bairstow could drop it.

And FTB went and blew a review yet again. Insane!!

Can FTB Smith really not tell when he's nicked the ball? It's bad enough blowing plumb LBW reviews (like FTB did in the 1st Test). Okay, seems FTB has no idea where his stumps are. But how can ya not know when you've nicked it?

He did that in Pakistan. The commentators were gobsmacked. They thought you must be able to feel it when you nick it. Sheesh... As I've said, folks used to laugh at Watto for blowing reviews, but I never saw him blow a caught behind review.

<snip>

Gideon Haigh in The Australian:

"In the first innings, ..., [Smith] uncharacteristically reviewed a caught-behind verdict when he had clearly hit the ball; second time around, he picked out a short mid-wicket hitting across a ball tossed into the breeze, then took unnecessary offence at a very mild quip from Bairstow."


Huh, Gideon? "Uncharacteristically"? For everyone else, but not for FTB!! He did it in Pakistan! And he blows LBW reviews all the time! e.g. in the 1st Test!


BTW, "The Brit TV commentator (dunno who)"... Is it Ian Bell? If it is, I didn't know he sounded like that! Clearly didn't say much as a player, or I'd know!


The putrid batting of Warner, Marny & FTB Smith cost Oz the 3rd Test. They scored 83 runs in 6 innings with two lives given by the putrid Bairstow. That's 10.4 runs per life.

[Donny]

Will the selectors bite the bullet, with Warner ?

If he's left out, would it be Marcus Harris to open with Khawaja ?

Travis Head ? Allowing both Green and Marsh to play.

Hazlewood will probably replace Boland.

[Skids]

Will the selectors bite the bullet, with Warner ?

If he's left out, would it be Marcus Harris to open with Khawaja ?

Travis Head ? Allowing both Green and Marsh to play.

Hazlewood will probably replace Boland.

They have to, surely?!

[Pies4shaw]

A 9 day break then it's off to Old Trafford.
Australia hold a 9-7 lead with 15 drawn at the ground. England haven't beaten us here since 1981.

.... Steve [Brad]Smith has played 2 matches at the ground, scoring 401 runs at an average of 100.25
Cummins has played the ground once, taking 7 wickets in that match at an average of 14.71.

Big English loss coming up.

[Donny]

"Australia will need to negotiate the threat of Jimmy Anderson on his home patch if they hope to win the Ashes this week after England recalled the veteran seamer for the fourth Test.

Ollie Robinson, who suffered back spasms in the hosts' three-wicket victory at Headingley and was unable to bowl in the second innings, has made way in the XI confirmed by England on Monday evening (AEST).

Rested for the third Test, Anderson will now be unleashed at Old Trafford, his home ground where one of the ends has been named in his honour, alongside long-time partner-in-crime Stuart Broad."

CA.

[Donny]

"Mark Wood has also been deemed fit to play after starring in the Headingley win that set the series ledger at 2-1 Australia’s way, with England again going in with four fast bowlers (Chris Woakes has also been retained) ahead of spinning allrounder Moeen Ali."

CA

[stui magpie]

Will the selectors bite the bullet, with Warner ?

If he's left out, would it be Marcus Harris to open with Khawaja ?

Travis Head ? Allowing both Green and Marsh to play.

Hazlewood will probably replace Boland.

They have to, surely?!

nah, Warner will play this one. If we lose this, then the selectors will have some sphincter clenching going into the last one, but I expect us to win this one.

I reckon we'll bat first, make over 500 and win by 87 runs on the last day.

[Donny]

"Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood are confirmed starters for the penultimate Ashes contest against England, with Australia to go into a Test without a specialist spinner for the first time in over a decade.

Scott Boland and Todd Murphy make way from the side that lost by three wickets at Headingley with the visitors confirming their XI in early hours of Monday morning Australian time."

CA.

[Skids]

Current Odds

Match
Australia - $2.35
Poms - $2.25
Draw - $5.50

Series

Australia - $1.40
Poms - $5.00
Draw - $6.50

Odds have changed considerably.

4th Test
Aussies - $2.75
Poms - $2.63
Draw $3.00

Series
Aussies - $1.44
Poms - $5.00
Draw - $5.50

I've gone a different multi to what I've ever done before;

1st Innings runs

Smith 50+
Khawaja 50+
Root 30+
Stokes 15+
Marnus 15+

@ 15/1

[Skids]

Anderson Back for the Poms.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/engl ... rd-1387954


England have won each of their last four Tests in Manchester, the most recent of which was their innings and 85 runs win over South Africa in August 2022.

There has been just one instance in history of a team coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win a Test series (Don Bradman’s Australia in 1936/37).

Manchester has been a strong hold for Australia, with four wins and three draws in the last seven Ashes Tests here. England last beat them in August 1981.

Usman Khawaja is 103 runs away from recording 1000 runs in a second consecutive calendar year. However, he scored fewer than 100 match runs in each of the two previous matches.

Joe Root needs 29 runs to overtake Denis Compton and become the highest run-scorer at Old Trafford. He currently has 790 runs at an average of 60.76.

Stuart Broad is just two wickets away from 600 Test wickets. He also needs eight wickets to overtake Alec Bedser (52 wickets) as the highest wicket-taker at Old Trafford. James Anderson is behind Broad on 37.

Josh Hazlewood to Ben Duckett in this Ashes series: 3/45 from 44 balls (avg 15.00, ER 6.14rpo).

The average first innings score in the last ten years of Tests in Manchester is 382.