England's warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill seems to have
gone fairly well. Duckett, Crawley, Pope and Stokes all made runs, and
Root and Smith had some useful time at the crease in the second innings
- though chasing a target at about six an over doesn't exactly replicate Test conditions. Another concern is that the pitch was slow and without
much bounce, so wasn't ideal preparation for what they are likely to
face at the Optus Stadium. It's a pity that Brook seems to think that serious practice in the middle is only for lesser mortals; if only his temperament was the equal of his ability he would be truly phenomenal.
On the bowling side, Stokes had excellent figures in the first innings,
and it was good news that apparently Wood's concern about his hamstring appears to have been a false alarm and that Carse was able to bowl today having been unwell on day one. Apparently Archer bowled pretty well with
no assistance from the pitch. England probably won't play a spinner in
the first two Tests, but Bashir didn't make any case for selection in
Tests three to five. I can see England going for Jacks or Bethell should they decide that they need a spinner. Reham Ahmed might also have been a contender, but he's had to go home with an injury.
On the Australian side, the news that not only Cummins but Hazlewood too will miss the first Test will encourage England, though Starc Boland
plus AN Other will no doubt still pose a serious threat.
John Hall wrote:
England's warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill seems to have
gone fairly well. Duckett, Crawley, Pope and Stokes all made runs, and
Root and Smith had some useful time at the crease in the second
innings - though chasing a target at about six an over doesn't exactly
replicate Test conditions. Another concern is that the pitch was slow
and without much bounce, so wasn't ideal preparation for what they are
likely to face at the Optus Stadium. It's a pity that Brook seems to
think that serious practice in the middle is only for lesser mortals;
if only his temperament was the equal of his ability he would be truly
phenomenal.
On the bowling side, Stokes had excellent figures in the first
innings, and it was good news that apparently Wood's concern about his
hamstring appears to have been a false alarm and that Carse was able
to bowl today having been unwell on day one. Apparently Archer bowled
pretty well with no assistance from the pitch. England probably won't
play a spinner in the first two Tests, but Bashir didn't make any case
for selection in Tests three to five. I can see England going for
Jacks or Bethell should they decide that they need a spinner. Reham
Ahmed might also have been a contender, but he's had to go home with
an injury.
On the Australian side, the news that not only Cummins but Hazlewood
too will miss the first Test will encourage England, though Starc
Boland plus AN Other will no doubt still pose a serious threat.
AN Other is likely to be Brendan Doggett. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Doggett
It's not all bad news on the injury front for Oz though. The 'selectors'
had originally named Sean Abbott in the 15 for T1 as reserve quick. Had
he not broken down in the most recent Shield game he almost certainly
would have made his Test debut. This would have been one of the least deserved BGs ever awarded, joining Doug Bollinger, Mike Whitney, Nathan Bracken, Simon Cook, Matt Nicholson, Jackson Bird and Dennis knows who
else on the list of trundlers who got their BGs solely through their
Blues connection. Bah!
On 15/11/2025 20:37, alvey wrote:
John Hall wrote:With Cunnins and Hazlewood both out, and England likely to pick an
England's warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill seems to have
gone fairly well. Duckett, Crawley, Pope and Stokes all made runs,
and Root and Smith had some useful time at the crease in the second
innings - though chasing a target at about six an over doesn't
exactly replicate Test conditions. Another concern is that the pitch
was slow and without much bounce, so wasn't ideal preparation for
what they are likely to face at the Optus Stadium. It's a pity that
Brook seems to think that serious practice in the middle is only for
lesser mortals; if only his temperament was the equal of his ability
he would be truly phenomenal.
On the bowling side, Stokes had excellent figures in the first
innings, and it was good news that apparently Wood's concern about
his hamstring appears to have been a false alarm and that Carse was
able to bowl today having been unwell on day one. Apparently Archer
bowled pretty well with no assistance from the pitch. England
probably won't play a spinner in the first two Tests, but Bashir
didn't make any case for selection in Tests three to five. I can see
England going for Jacks or Bethell should they decide that they need
a spinner. Reham Ahmed might also have been a contender, but he's had
to go home with an injury.
On the Australian side, the news that not only Cummins but Hazlewood
too will miss the first Test will encourage England, though Starc
Boland plus AN Other will no doubt still pose a serious threat.
AN Other is likely to be Brendan Doggett.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Doggett
It's not all bad news on the injury front for Oz though. The
'selectors' had originally named Sean Abbott in the 15 for T1 as
reserve quick. Had he not broken down in the most recent Shield game
he almost certainly would have made his Test debut. This would have
been one of the least deserved BGs ever awarded, joining Doug
Bollinger, Mike Whitney, Nathan Bracken, Simon Cook, Matt Nicholson,
Jackson Bird and Dennis knows who else on the list of trundlers who
got their BGs solely through their Blues connection. Bah!
all-pace attack, I wonder if the pitch for the first Test might have a
lot less pace and bounce than everyone is expecting.
I imagine that
Australia would be happy enough with a draw, in the hope that their
attack would be back to full strength for the second Test.
I've bitten the bullet and signed up for TNT Sports on the Discovery
Plus website. It's -u25 a month if you commit yourself to a two-year
cntact, but -u30 a month if you want to be able to unsubscribe at any
time.
Naturally I went for the latter. As it will all be over by 8th
January, I shall only have to shell out for two months.
John Hall wrote:
I've bitten the bullet and signed up for TNT Sports on the Discovery
Plus website. It's -u25 a month if you commit yourself to a two-year
cntact, but -u30 a month if you want to be able to unsubscribe at any
time.
Crikey but that's expensive!
We have Kayo Sport in Oz which has all the sport you can eat on it and that's currently under twenty pounds Sterling (19.82). For this you get
4k, 2 screens per house and the option to cancel anytime.
Naturally I went for the latter. As it will all be over by 8th
January, I shall only have to shell out for two months.
No wonder so many people stream illegally...
On 18/11/2025 19:49, alvey wrote:
John Hall wrote:TNT has a huge amount of sport on it as well, including lots of
I've bitten the bullet and signed up for TNT Sports on the Discovery
Plus website. It's -u25 a month if you commit yourself to a two-year
cntact, but -u30 a month if you want to be able to unsubscribe at any
time.
Crikey but that's expensive!
We have Kayo Sport in Oz which has all the sport you can eat on it and
that's currently under twenty pounds Sterling (19.82). For this you
get 4k, 2 screens per house and the option to cancel anytime.
Naturally I went for the latter. As it will all be over by 8th
January, I shall only have to shell out for two months.
No wonder so many people stream illegally...
football, which I suspect is what eats up most of the cash. But I'm only interested in the cricket.
John Hall wrote:
On 18/11/2025 19:49, alvey wrote:
John Hall wrote:TNT has a huge amount of sport on it as well, including lots of
I've bitten the bullet and signed up for TNT Sports on the Discovery
Plus website. It's -u25 a month if you commit yourself to a two-year
cntact, but -u30 a month if you want to be able to unsubscribe at any >>>> time.
Crikey but that's expensive!
We have Kayo Sport in Oz which has all the sport you can eat on it
and that's currently under twenty pounds Sterling (19.82). For this
you get 4k, 2 screens per house and the option to cancel anytime.
Naturally I went for the latter. As it will all be over by 8th
January, I shall only have to shell out for two months.
No wonder so many people stream illegally...
football, which I suspect is what eats up most of the cash. But I'm
only interested in the cricket.
Back in the days when Kerry Packer ruled Australia he got our Federal gubmint
to pass legislation which proscribed a list of major sporting events which had to be shown on FTA. The Arses of course was on that list. At least
in Oz anyhoo, can't recall if it covers Arses in Pomgolia.
On 18/11/2025 19:49, alvey wrote:
John Hall wrote:TNT has a huge amount of sport on it as well, including lots of
I've bitten the bullet and signed up for TNT Sports on the Discovery
Plus website. It's -u25 a month if you commit yourself to a two-year
cntact, but -u30 a month if you want to be able to unsubscribe at any
time.
Crikey but that's expensive!
We have Kayo Sport in Oz which has all the sport you can eat on it and
that's currently under twenty pounds Sterling (19.82). For this you
get 4k, 2 screens per house and the option to cancel anytime.
Naturally I went for the latter. As it will all be over by 8th
January, I shall only have to shell out for two months.
No wonder so many people stream illegally...
football, which I suspect is what eats up most of the cash. But I'm only interested in the cricket.
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