From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

A good day for England. As an England supporter, I can't help wondering
how this series might have gone had England had some proper match
practice before the first Test, preferably on pitches with a fair amount
of pace and bounce to acclimatise them = to the pitches at Perth and
Brisbane.

One thing to bear in mind is that Cummins would probably have played in
at least one of the fourth and fifth Tests had the series still been
live, which would have made a big difference to the Australian attack.
--
John Hall

You can divide people into two categories:
those who divide people into two categories and those who don't

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From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

John Hall wrote:

A good day for England. As an England supporter, I can't help wondering
how this series might have gone had England had some proper match
practice before the first Test, preferably on pitches with a fair amount
of pace and bounce to acclimatise them = to the pitches at Perth and Brisbane.

Dunno. But give the fragility of the modern fast bowler they might have
lost a couple before T1...

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From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 04/01/2026 20:37, alvey wrote:

John Hall wrote:

A good day for England. As an England supporter, I can't help
wondering how this series might have gone had England had some proper
match practice before the first Test, preferably on pitches with a
fair amount of pace and bounce to acclimatise them = to the pitches at
Perth and Brisbane.

Dunno. But give the fragility of the modern fast bowler they might have
lost a couple before T1...

Good point. Perhaps not play their quick bowlers then, but draft in some
from the Lions, given that it's the batsmen who most needed the practice.
--
John Hall

You can divide people into two categories:
those who divide people into two categories and those who don't
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From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 18:23:32 +0000, John Hall <john@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

A good day for England. As an England supporter, I can't help wondering
how this series might have gone had England had some proper match
practice before the first Test, preferably on pitches with a fair amount
of pace and bounce to acclimatise them = to the pitches at Perth and >Brisbane.

One thing to bear in mind is that Cummins would probably have played in
at least one of the fourth and fifth Tests had the series still been
live, which would have made a big difference to the Australian attack.

Lunch on day 3 England 384 after finishing day 1 at 211/3, Aus 3/281
England just hasn't had the consistency
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From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 06/01/2026 01:37, Mad Hamish wrote:

On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 18:23:32 +0000, John Hall <john@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

A good day for England. As an England supporter, I can't help wondering
how this series might have gone had England had some proper match
practice before the first Test, preferably on pitches with a fair amount
of pace and bounce to acclimatise them = to the pitches at Perth and
Brisbane.

One thing to bear in mind is that Cummins would probably have played in
at least one of the fourth and fifth Tests had the series still been
live, which would have made a big difference to the Australian attack.

Lunch on day 3 England 384 after finishing day 1 at 211/3, Aus 3/281
England just hasn't had the consistency

And by the end of the day England were in an even worse position. Days
two and three have been very disappointing, with their old faults
resurfacing: a brain-fade dismissal (Smith), and bowling short and wide
(when Head is the last player you want to do that to). Potts did have
the excuse of not having had any match practice for ages, but Carse
wasn't that much better. England can't really complain about all the
injuries they have had to their bowlers, when you look at the injuries
that Australia have had to deal with.

It looks as though a draw is the best that England can now hope for, and
even that is likely to be an almighty struggle, especially if the
speculation that there will be increasingly uneven bounce is correct.
--
John Hall

You can divide people into two categories:
those who divide people into two categories and those who don't
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