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[jwebber86]

had a brilliant day at the cricket. my first ever test match. met @Aswani Cricket and had a chat in the shop and also @thebigginge at the grays nics stand. went back a couple of times trying to decide if i wanted to buy the powerbow players bat they had but eventually decided against it.

good fightback by england, ballance wasn't pretty to watch but he got the job done. root and stokes look really good in the middle order, very proactive trying to put the fielders on the back foot. hopefully they can take it over 400 in the morning would be a good job done then

[Ayrtek Cricket]

Top day, typical English weather...raining on in the morning sunburnt in the afternoon.

Great ton by root and never looked rushed by anything Johnston threw at him, good support from Ballance and Stokes. Ali took game to them late on and all tee'd up for an exciting 1st session tomorrow.

Sadly Im not going over again but will be tuning in on the google box instead 👍😀

[Alvaro]

Seriously, Root is a class player on more challenging wickets than this one. What highlighted the placid nature of the pitch though was Moeen Ali hooking bumpers for four with all the time in the world. The same Moeen Ali who was shitting his pants facing the no more than lively medium pace of Ishant Sharma last northern summer.

If you love batathons, this is the pitch for you. Root was enjoying himself out there today...like batting in a benefit.

Vic I've seen a fair bit of Mo bat, and last year he surprised me against the short ball. Really hadn't seen him troubled by it. It was almost as if he'd got himself caught between evading and playing, if that makes sense? He's gold, Mo, so talented. Once he gets confidence the presence will come too.

[skip1973]

Only watched till tea but gee we bowled ordinary, just expected to roll through them I think, didn't seem to bowl to any plan. Root batted very well once he got settled, balance looked like he could get out any ball but hung in. Aussies need to wrap tail up quickly, Aussies won't want that score creeping into the 400's.

[L21]

Any thoughts on what , if any , changes should be made to the batting order , such as root to 3 and buttler or stokes moved higher up in the order as our current top 4 lack a certain spark and ability to score quick runs.

We know England will not change anything, this line up is set in stone (excluding any injuries)

I wouldn't move Root, let the bloke settle, he may move down to 4 if Bell is dropped in the 4th/5th test, but what he is doing is obviously working.

I think Stokes and Buttler are too risky, they are fine playing shots lower down the order against tired bowlers, move them up and England could've been 50-5 yesterday and the game would've been a completely different. I think we scored enough runs at a good rate yesterday. England do not have a Warner in the squad, the only player I think capable of doing this would be Hales.

The only way I could see England scoring runs higher up the order would be calling up the Maverick, which we all know is not going to happen, the England team dynamic has changed, the top 4 are not going to put on runs quickly, however, if the plan works they will bat long enough to tire out the bowlers long enough for the likes of Root, Stokes, Buttler and Mo to hit quickly. 



I feel the Aussies didn't really go out with a plan yesterday, we made it so easy for them down under that they look a bit short of match preparation. Fielding was sloppy, bowling was erratic and I don't think Clarke ever gave his bowlers enough overs to get into a rhythm. I think they are going to struggle to justify Watson's selection unless he hits big runs. All though the media loves the hype and whipping up the Ashes, it looks as if the Aussies were really struggling with the ball yesterday, yes the pitch did not help and on a quicker pitch the edges would've carried. BUT they really didn't appear to have plan B which appeared to help England out.

Can't wait for today to start!   

 

[Alvaro]

Put Ali at 5, play another bowler.

[L21]

Put Ali at 5, play another bowler.

I think if Mo goes on today to a good score then he may be inline for a push up the order. Don't forget Moeen is a batsmen who can bowl a bit, many people are being mislead into thinking he is a our front line spinner. I imagine Clarke and co will soon see to that.

However, what bowler would you bring in? If, Moeen is in the team then Rashid will not be. (I still think Rashid is there as a squad player and will not get a game)

If, you bring in Wood then you risk making the England tail a little longer and putting more pressure on the likes of Stokes, Buttler and Moeen.

[Alvaro]

Wood is already in the team...and is a better technical player than Broad. He's only at 10 because of stuffy English hierarchical B&S.
Rashid could then play as a luxury - his batting looks good for no.8 and it's a good way of seeing he can hack it... (Not like Stokes, but with a ball.) The Aussies Ashes team of '93 had two spinners in every Test. May was the steady offie and Warne the gamble. Worked okay for them.

Batsmen should be under pressure to score runs, it's their job.

[csnew]

Broad rightfully standing his ground there! Ball's hit the ground

[ppccopener]

Broad stands his ground anyway even if he has smashed the cover off it!
haha

[Johnny]

Haha! Good lad Mitch, acknowledging his ton

[uknsaunders]

Good effort from Johnson 0-111

[ppccopener]

I think it's fair to say there wont be any quick tracks in the series, they will be trying to dampen down the Oval as we speak :-)

[L21]

Was I the only one who thought it was so obvious the ball hit the ground, even in real time.

Disappointed with Voges for claiming the catch.

[csnew]

Johnson's been pretty poor for a while now.
Smacked around in the home test series, didn't have a great World Cup till the final, smacked around in the ipl and didn't look great in the West Indies.

Had Harris been fit don't think he would have got a game.

Ali goes for a decent 77