Lyon as predicted is cleaning up.
Sharp catching from Bancroft.
Just great bowling.
bloody hate cricket, me.
Don’t send poor Jimmy out to bat.
Team ratings for the First Test at Edgbaston.
Smith – 10.
Lyon – 10. Couldn’t ask more from him - the critical 74 run, 9th wicket stand with Smith, plus did his job taking 6 wickets on a Day 5 pitch where Australia had scored 300 runs the day before.
Wade – 8. If he scored his ton in the 1st innings he’d get a 9.
Cummins – 8. Excellent seam bowling to get life out of a dead 5th day wicket.
Siddle – 8. Bowled very tight and unlucky to get a reward. Will be even more unlucky to make way for Hazlewood at Lords.
Pattinson – 6. Didn’t trouble the batsman as much as the others. Will make way for Starc.
Head – 6. Good at slowing the inevitable middle order collapse. Just didn’t go on to make a big score.
Paine – 6. Took some very sharp catches, but missed a couple as well. Great banter as always.
Khawaja – 5. Looked good, didn’t step up though.
Bancroft – 3. Didn’t do well at all, but I’ll give him an extra point for that sharp catch at silly mid on to get Root.
Warner – 2. Had a terrible test – although this is kind of what you would expect a person coming back from an 18 month ban to play like.
Burns – 8. First innings ton was the platform England needed to win the game.
Woakes – 8. Pick of the bowlers and had a handy cameo with the bat.
Broad – 7. Was devastating in the first innings. Couldn’t follow up in the second.
Root – 6. Needed to make hundred.
Stokes – 6. Needed to make hundred because he was bowling pies.
Denly – 5. He can bowl OK I guess?
Bairstow – 4. I forgot he was playing.
Roy – 3. Doesn’t seem to have adjusted well from the WC.
Buttler – 2. Had a terrible test.
Ali – 2. Went MIA on Day 4 when he was sorely needed.
Anderson – 1. Poor old Jimmy.
Yeah it blows my mind to think Starc & particularly Hazlewood are sitting waiting…great bowling depth.
Urgh, heavy rain forecast for Day 1, not looking good for the rest of the week either.
It’s been a pretty pathetic summer overall here. Probably wash out the final 4 games.
Well that is the start you want when you win the toss and bowl.
Smart move from Australia to drop their worst bowler and replace him with one of their best. You’ve got to hand it to the brain trust.
So many dropped catches, should have been sub 200. Job done though, Aussies just need to bat 2 days and roll through ENG again day 4.
only another 329 needed with 6 wickets in hand, you never know.
Smith still in, need to shift him really
Pretty straight forward IMO
Well that’s one way to get rid of Smith.
Turns out Smith’s Kryptonite is 95mph deliveries around his head.
Hey Pat Cummins, remember that time you bowled short to Woakes and Archer, yesterday?
Siddle is almost immediately out and Smith is coming back. Kudos to the man for that.
This game is going more how I expected the series as a whole to. It’s a shame it’ll possibly fizzle out. Alternatively, England will get done for 100 and Australia will be laughing.
as I was saying …
You don’t get points for predicting an England batting collapse.
Sadly.