Anyone seen Tim Payne's comments about England and Root in particular about touring? 'The first test will go ahead on 8th December with or without Joe' Total bellend. From the same country who have barely toured. Most of his team mates pulled out of the 100; many pulled out of IPL. Complete idiot.
As I've intimated previously, the whole Covid situation in Australia and how residents attempting to return from abroad has become a political issue. I have a little insight here through some dealings I have had and will reveal more of what I know in the course of the next week or so but can you imagine if Australia had issued a statement saying all and sundry from England (players and families) are free to enter when their own nationals aren't allowed to?
At present, people can leave Australia only for exceptional reasons such as essential work or visiting a dying relative. Today the Australian Government, however, issued a statement saying that they will open their borders to vaccinated citizens and their relatives from November . This does not include tourists (in the holiday sense) but I'm sure that exemptions will be given for the families of England players - although they may have to have been vaccinated not just to gain entry but also to avoid having to do 14 day quarantine in a hotel.
Australia haven't toured for 747 days. The nerve of Oz's 4th best wicket keeper. Complete tool.
Paine simply got the job as captain because he was basically the only Aussie player who wasn’t a complete bellend who could turn their cheating culture around. Has always been clear cricket Australia have firmly left the door open for smith as and when he wants the job back.
This was just mind games. Still can’t see the ashes going ahead tbh. Massive shame.
Australia haven't toured for 747 days. The nerve of Oz's 4th best wicket keeper. Complete tool.
Paine simply got the job as captain because he was basically the only Aussie player who wasn’t a complete bellend who could turn their cheating culture around. Has always been clear cricket Australia have firmly left the door open for smith as and when he wants the job back.
This was just mind games. Still can’t see the ashes going ahead tbh. Massive shame.
Australia haven't toured for 747 days. The nerve of Oz's 4th best wicket keeper. Complete tool.
Paine simply got the job as captain because he was basically the only Aussie player who wasn’t a complete bellend who could turn their cheating culture around. Has always been clear cricket Australia have firmly left the door open for smith as and when he wants the job back.
This was just mind games. Still can’t see the ashes going ahead tbh. Massive shame.
And he was still a bellend.
Root started the mind games though. We've just pulled out of a tour to Pakistan and he's said that he's not sure if he was going to the Ashes. Imagine if Paine had said that. Root would have probably have replied in the same vein in stating that the Ashes will still go ahead and in doing so called Paine's bluff for suggesting that he might not go.
As for the thought that it should the Ashes should be postponed for a year, that rather has an arrogant tone to it given Australia's schedule:
Sep - Nov 2022
Australia tour of India 2022 Matches: 4 Test and 3 T20 Venue: India
November 2022
England tour of Australia 2022 Matches: 3 ODI and 3 T20 Venue: Australia
Nov - Dec 2022
West Indies tour of Australia 2022 Matches: 2 Test Venue: Australia
Dec 2022 -Jan 2023
South Africa tour of Australia 2022-23 Matches: 3 Test, 3 ODI Venue: Australia
As a long-term resident (indeed now a citizen) of said Australia, I would be absolutely astonished if the Ashes went ahead in any kind of capacity.
This is boiling up into the kind of political issue that may well affect the next general election scheduled for 2022, as in effect you have a Liberal PM, lined up against three or four powerful State Labour Premiers, who take great delight in making his life as miserable as possible by keeping their own borders shut, and imposing snap lock-downs at the merest scent of a Covid outbreak, whilst blaming him for the slow rollout of the vaccine.
The States here control their own borders, and at the moment you cannot travel between states unless it is exceptional circumstances, and even then you MUST quarantine for 14 DAYS with NO exceptions when you return. Unless the ECB agrees to a 14-day quarantine when they get here, and then play all of the tests at the SCG I cant see how this is going to get off the ground.
If it was just the players, then maybe they could sort something out, but if you had the scenario of players wives and kids flying in-between states without the quarantine, then I can tell you now that that would be political suicide for the State Premiers having kept their own citizens locked up for the best part of two years.
I got a positive eyebrow raise and nod when I asked someone I know who is on the ecb board if ashes going ahead… and I even said ‘with or without fans’, they said ‘with, hopefully’
I did ask for confirmation of windies March tour as that’s where I have flight and hotel booked but they’re sorting Oz logistics out first.
Nine players in the England T20 World Cup squad (or reserve) list are at the Indian Premier League in the UAE, but none is enjoying great success.Eoin Morgan The England limited-overs captain is in desperate form. Since the resumption of the IPL last month he has scored 7, 8, 0, 2 and 2 not out yesterday coming in at No 6 in the order for the Kolkata Knight Riders team he leads.Jason Roy He has taken David Warner’s place at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad and followed up a 42-ball 60 in his first innings with innings of 2 and 10.Moeen Ali Promised a bit more than he has delivered with some bright starts batting generally at No 3 for the Chennai Super Kings. He has a top score of 32 from 28 balls in his five games since the resumption and has been used sparingly as a bowler.Sam Billings He has joined up with the Delhi Capitals but is yet to get a game.Sam Curran Has played two games for the Chennai Super Kings, scoring four in his only innings and with combined bowling figures of 0-111 from eight overs.Chris Jordan Has yet to get a game for the Punjab Kings.Liam Livingstone Made a promising 25 from 17 balls in his first game for Rajasthan Royals last month but since then has made 1, 4 and 6.Adil Rashid With teams generally relying on home-grown spinning talent, it was not until this autumn that Rashid finally won an IPL contract. But he has played only one game for Punjab Kings, taking 0-35 from three overs.Tom Curran The England T20 World Cup reserve player is in the same position as Billings — at Delhi Capitals but not getting picked.England’s next few months T20 warm-up games Oct 18 v India, Dubai Oct 20 v New Zealand, Abu DhabiT20 World Cup group games Oct 23 v West Indies, Dubai Oct 27 v qualifier, Abu Dhabi Oct 30 v Australia, Dubai Nov 1 v qualifier Nov 6 v South AfricaT20 World Cup knockout games (if qualified) Nov 10/11 Semi-finals Nov 14 FinalAshes warm-up games Dates tbcAshes series Final details and venues to be confirmed, with Perth unlikely to go ahead Dec 8-12 First Test, Brisbane Dec 16-20 Second Test, Adelaide Dec 26-30 Third Test, Melbourne Jan 5-9 Fourth Test, Sydney Jan 14-18 Fifth Test, Perth
I've mentioned before that we might regret not having Root in our T20 team and the scores in the IPL continue to reflect the nature of the tracks in the UAE - slow and low where it is impossible to throw your hands at the ball in the way that our hitters like to do.
It is the batsmen who have the ability to rotate and find gaps that have been successful there not the ones who are constantly looking to go big although teams have to try to do so in the Power Play simply because of the hardness of the ball. There are frequent examples of a side being over 50 after 6 overs and then only making 150 in total.
The other striking aspect is the fact that only 6 sides from 20 matches batting first have won. Again, this lends itself to the belief that the batsmen who are capable of pacing themselves to victory chasing a know target are winning games. There is, however, a difference between a Malan who "dots up" and then tries to go big once in and a Root who will rarely allow a ball to go by without taking at least a single off it.
Scores to date (winners in bold):
156-6 v 136-8 92 AO v 94-1 185 AO v 183-4 134-9 v 139-2 155-6 v 159-3 156-6 v 157-7 154-6 v 121-6 125-7 v 120-7 171-6 v 172-8 165-6 v 111 AO 164-5 v 167-3 127-9 v 130-7 135-6 v 137-4 149-9 v 153-3 134-7 v 139-4 165-7 v 168-5 129-8 v 132-6 189-4 v 190-3 164-7 v 158-6 115-8 v 119-4
The ECB board will meet later this week to decide "whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the Tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance."
I've mentioned before that we might regret not having Root in our T20 team and the scores in the IPL continue to reflect the nature of the tracks in the UAE - slow and low where it is impossible to throw your hands at the ball in the way that our hitters like to do.
It is the batsmen who have the ability to rotate and find gaps that have been successful there not the ones who are constantly looking to go big although teams have to try to do so in the Power Play simply because of the hardness of the ball. There are frequent examples of a side being over 50 after 6 overs and then only making 150 in total.
The other striking aspect is the fact that only 6 sides from 20 matches batting first have won. Again, this lends itself to the belief that the batsmen who are capable of pacing themselves to victory chasing a know target are winning games. There is, however, a difference between a Malan who "dots up" and then tries to go big once in and a Root who will rarely allow a ball to go by without taking at least a single off it.
Scores to date (winners in bold):
156-6 v 136-8 92 AO v 94-1 185 AO v 183-4 134-9 v 139-2 155-6 v 159-3 156-6 v 157-7 154-6 v 121-6 125-7 v 120-7 171-6 v 172-8 165-6 v 111 AO 164-5 v 167-3 127-9 v 130-7 135-6 v 137-4 149-9 v 153-3 134-7 v 139-4 165-7 v 168-5 129-8 v 132-6 189-4 v 190-3 164-7 v 158-6 115-8 v 119-4
Thanks for putting the winners' scores in bold, otherwise how would we know which team won?
The ECB board will meet later this week to decide "whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the Tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance."
I can't see it going ahead.
That's the bit that gets me because for every Root that is reluctant to tour there's a Broad who is desperate to go. The ECB pulled out of South Africa, refused to go to Pakistan and now are saying that because we can't take our best available squad we might not go. There probably won't be another chance to go for another couple of years. And before anyone talks about Australia not touring let's not forget those countries who have been prepare to come to us in the last year or so.
Well I have news for the ECB - we haven't had our best squad available for a few years now and it isn't going to get any better. But then the ECB know that hence their promotion of The Hundred to the detriment of the County game.
And just a point - we have been many a time whitewashed by the Aussies. Did the ECB refuse to send a team on those occasions?
Central Contracts for 20-21 ran out on 30th September. No announcement from the ECB re any new ones. Rumour has it that they were not going to distinguish between red and white ball because of the massive differential in payments between the two and the fact that Silverwood was having to lean towards those with a red ball contract when selecting the Test team.
Now call me a cynic but is the fact that nothing is in place, as far as we are aware, also at the back of the England players' minds when it comes to touring? Big Bash, IPL, The Hundred, Vitality Blast and some white ball internationals keep the wolf from the door - and the Ashes become somewhat less important to some of them as a result
I've mentioned before that we might regret not having Root in our T20 team and the scores in the IPL continue to reflect the nature of the tracks in the UAE - slow and low where it is impossible to throw your hands at the ball in the way that our hitters like to do.
It is the batsmen who have the ability to rotate and find gaps that have been successful there not the ones who are constantly looking to go big although teams have to try to do so in the Power Play simply because of the hardness of the ball. There are frequent examples of a side being over 50 after 6 overs and then only making 150 in total.
The other striking aspect is the fact that only 6 sides from 20 matches batting first have won. Again, this lends itself to the belief that the batsmen who are capable of pacing themselves to victory chasing a know target are winning games. There is, however, a difference between a Malan who "dots up" and then tries to go big once in and a Root who will rarely allow a ball to go by without taking at least a single off it.
Scores to date (winners in bold):
156-6 v 136-8 92 AO v 94-1 185 AO v 183-4 134-9 v 139-2 155-6 v 159-3 156-6 v 157-7 154-6 v 121-6 125-7 v 120-7 171-6 v 172-8 165-6 v 111 AO 164-5 v 167-3 127-9 v 130-7 135-6 v 137-4 149-9 v 153-3 134-7 v 139-4 165-7 v 168-5 129-8 v 132-6 189-4 v 190-3 164-7 v 158-6 115-8 v 119-4
Thanks for putting the winners' scores in bold, otherwise how would we know which team won?
A team can win under DLS by scoring less runs than the opposition made. You probably didn't know that!
I've mentioned before that we might regret not having Root in our T20 team and the scores in the IPL continue to reflect the nature of the tracks in the UAE - slow and low where it is impossible to throw your hands at the ball in the way that our hitters like to do.
It is the batsmen who have the ability to rotate and find gaps that have been successful there not the ones who are constantly looking to go big although teams have to try to do so in the Power Play simply because of the hardness of the ball. There are frequent examples of a side being over 50 after 6 overs and then only making 150 in total.
The other striking aspect is the fact that only 6 sides from 20 matches batting first have won. Again, this lends itself to the belief that the batsmen who are capable of pacing themselves to victory chasing a know target are winning games. There is, however, a difference between a Malan who "dots up" and then tries to go big once in and a Root who will rarely allow a ball to go by without taking at least a single off it.
Scores to date (winners in bold):
156-6 v 136-8 92 AO v 94-1 185 AO v 183-4 134-9 v 139-2 155-6 v 159-3 156-6 v 157-7 154-6 v 121-6 125-7 v 120-7 171-6 v 172-8 165-6 v 111 AO 164-5 v 167-3 127-9 v 130-7 135-6 v 137-4 149-9 v 153-3 134-7 v 139-4 165-7 v 168-5 129-8 v 132-6 189-4 v 190-3 164-7 v 158-6 115-8 v 119-4
Thanks for putting the winners' scores in bold, otherwise how would we know which team won?
A team can win under DLS by scoring less runs than the opposition made. You probably didn't know that!
That's true. But you just posted twenty examples of that not happening! Anyway, I hope my gentle gibe made you smile, as it was intended.
Sam Curran ruled out of T20 WC with back injury. On current form that isn't much of a loss but his replacement, his brother Tom, doesn't inspire me either
Sam Curran ruled out of T20 WC with back injury. On current form that isn't much of a loss but his replacement, his brother Tom, doesn't inspire me either
Sam Curran ruled out of T20 WC with back injury. On current form that isn't much of a loss but his replacement, his brother Tom, doesn't inspire me either
Yet another example today of the really tricky nature of the wickets in the UAE.
CSK were 48-2 after 6 overs and ended up with 136-5 i.e. 88 for the loss of 3 wickets off the final 84 balls. Dhoni managed just 18 off 27.
RR today 27-0 off 3.3 to 56-5 off 12. As much as the Indian commentators want to make it seem that this is down to poor batting, the facts of the latter stages of the tournament in the UAE suggest otherwise.
The likes of Jordan (who can't get a game in the IPL), Woakes, Mills and Willey should be king here. The worry, as I say, is do we have the batsmen capable of putting on a total in these conditions?
As a long-term resident (indeed now a citizen) of said Australia, I would be absolutely astonished if the Ashes went ahead in any kind of capacity.
This is boiling up into the kind of political issue that may well affect the next general election scheduled for 2022, as in effect you have a Liberal PM, lined up against three or four powerful State Labour Premiers, who take great delight in making his life as miserable as possible by keeping their own borders shut, and imposing snap lock-downs at the merest scent of a Covid outbreak, whilst blaming him for the slow rollout of the vaccine.
The States here control their own borders, and at the moment you cannot travel between states unless it is exceptional circumstances, and even then you MUST quarantine for 14 DAYS with NO exceptions when you return. Unless the ECB agrees to a 14-day quarantine when they get here, and then play all of the tests at the SCG I cant see how this is going to get off the ground.
If it was just the players, then maybe they could sort something out, but if you had the scenario of players wives and kids flying in-between states without the quarantine, then I can tell you now that that would be political suicide for the State Premiers having kept their own citizens locked up for the best part of two years.
I've just watched the NRL finals over the past four weeks, for which Vlandys the CEO had to move the whole of the league from NSW to Queensland to get it completed. Most teams are based in the Sydney area, which also meant moving the families as well, and there was still a restriction on the attendance of the Grand Final in Brisbane. Melbourne Storm have had to base themselves on the Central Coast for the past two seasons, and the Warriors have not been back to New Zealand for two seasons. All to avoid cross border restrictions, quarantine, breaches, mainly to get their TV contracts fulfilled.
I suspect the Aussies are panicking about their TV contracts. There is no way the England cricket team can travel from State to State without special exemption. The latest theory is to base the England team in a vineyard resort in the Yarra Valley in Victoria. But they still have to cross state borders, which in a federal set up means dealing with different State Governments. It ain't going to happen. Border and Paine can talk as much as they like, it ain't up to the Australian Cricket board, it's in the hands of the federal governments.
Dont forget the Australia and New Zealand Rugby League teams pulled out of the RL World Cup, for the same reason, causing it to be delayed for 12 months, for the same reasons.
The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
An ECB statement on Monday indicated that it would not give the green light for the tour to go ahead if a number of key individuals pulled out. It is now understood that enough of the first-choice squad will now accept the conditions for the tour for the England management team to feel comfortable about the strength of the squad.
There are still some outstanding issues relating to the strictness of the bio-secure bubbles in the event of any nearby Covid outbreaks. CA has also not been able to give all the assurances the players asked for because it relies on decisions taken by state governments and is therefore out of its hands.
The final decision will be taken by the ECB’s board of directors tomorrow but provided that it gives the green light, a squad of about 30 players, which will include a main squad and a back-up Lions squad, will be named at the end of the week.
England will be without Ben Stokes who is taking a break from the game for mental health reasons and Jofra Archer who has not yet recovered from elbow surgery earlier in the year.
The only fit player who is thought unlikely to be part of the squad is Jos Buttler, who is still weighing up whether to travel to Australia having expressed reservations about being apart from his family for the 3½-month tour.
The positive news from the ECB came after Ian Botham accused England’s players of hiding behind Covid restrictions because they “don’t fancy the ultimate test” of contesting an Ashes series in Australia.
The former England all-rounder said that if he had been in the players’ position he would have had his bags packed already for this winter’s trip down under.
Lord Botham, 65, who was recently appointed as the government’s trade envoy to Australia, said that he was sick of talk of the tour being postponed or cancelled and urged the England players to get on the plane.
“It’s the ultimate test and — I don’t know — I start to wonder maybe if some of these guys don’t fancy the ultimate test,” he said. “You have to start to worry about it. To play Test cricket for England is the ultimate and to play against Australia in Australia, and win, is magnificent.
“I just wish that we could actually put a positive spin on something and my positive spin is: let’s get out there, let’s see if we can beat the best in their own backyard. Because Australia don’t lose very often in their own backyard. It’s a challenge and if I were in their boots, I’d already have my bags packed.”
CA would stand to lose tens of millions of dollars if the tour were cancelled, and Allan Border, the former Australia captain, has echoed the comments made by Botham in TheDaily Telegraph by calling for the Ashes to go ahead and warning that there will be job losses if the series is scrapped.
Meanwhile, England will have to try to win their second World T20 title without the services of Sam Curran after the all-rounder was ruled out because of the lower-back injury he suffered while playing for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Saturday. The 23-year-old will be replaced by his older brother, Tom, whose place as travelling reserve will be taken by Reece Topley, their Surrey team-mate. Curran will return home in the next couple of days.
Those England players and management not at the IPL arrived at their Muscat base yesterday and will remain in Oman until October 16 after ending a quarantine period.
They will head to their tournament base in Dubai next Saturday before starting their campaign on October 23 against West Indies. England, whose group also contains Australia, South Africa and two first-round qualifiers, will play warm-up matches against India, on October 18, and New Zealand two days later.
Michael Holding has been presented, at the Cricket Writers Awards, with the Peter Smith Award, honouring his “outstanding contribution” to the presentation of cricket to the public.
His parting shot is one which a lot of us that have been following cricket for any number of years can empathise with:
“I am very disappointed in the people who are running it and the people managing it, and I won’t miss it when I go. I’ll miss the friendships that I’ve made, I’ll miss the great people I work with, but I won’t miss the game, because this game is not the game that I started playing and the game that I knew. It’s different.”
Yet another example today of the really tricky nature of the wickets in the UAE.
CSK were 48-2 after 6 overs and ended up with 136-5 i.e. 88 for the loss of 3 wickets off the final 84 balls. Dhoni managed just 18 off 27.
RR today 27-0 off 3.3 to 56-5 off 12. As much as the Indian commentators want to make it seem that this is down to poor batting, the facts of the latter stages of the tournament in the UAE suggest otherwise.
The likes of Jordan (who can't get a game in the IPL), Woakes, Mills and Willey should be king here. The worry, as I say, is do we have the batsmen capable of putting on a total in these conditions?
Edit:
90-9 off 20 overs
Spin 2-0-17-0 Seamers 18-0-73-9
Jordan playing his first match has current figures of 2-0-8-2
The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
It will be interesting to see how Australian citizens, undergoing months of lockdown and restrictions on returning to the country, will react to quarantine decisions being made not by the federal government or by state authorities, but by the Australian Cricket Board.
Comments
At present, people can leave Australia only for exceptional reasons such as essential work or visiting a dying relative. Today the Australian Government, however, issued a statement saying that they will open their borders to vaccinated citizens and their relatives from November . This does not include tourists (in the holiday sense) but I'm sure that exemptions will be given for the families of England players - although they may have to have been vaccinated not just to gain entry but also to avoid having to do 14 day quarantine in a hotel.
The ecb are not fit to run anything. The way the Pakistani tour (if you can call it that) was cancelled is a disgrace.
As for the thought that it should the Ashes should be postponed for a year, that rather has an arrogant tone to it given Australia's schedule:
Matches: 4 Test and 3 T20
Venue: India
Matches: 3 ODI and 3 T20
Venue: Australia
Matches: 2 Test
Venue: Australia
Matches: 3 Test, 3 ODI
Venue: Australia
Matches: 3 ODI
This is boiling up into the kind of political issue that may well affect the next general election scheduled for 2022, as in effect you have a Liberal PM, lined up against three or four powerful State Labour Premiers, who take great delight in making his life as miserable as possible by keeping their own borders shut, and imposing snap lock-downs at the merest scent of a Covid outbreak, whilst blaming him for the slow rollout of the vaccine.
The States here control their own borders, and at the moment you cannot travel between states unless it is exceptional circumstances, and even then you MUST quarantine for 14 DAYS with NO exceptions when you return. Unless the ECB agrees to a 14-day quarantine when they get here, and then play all of the tests at the SCG I cant see how this is going to get off the ground.
If it was just the players, then maybe they could sort something out, but if you had the scenario of players wives and kids flying in-between states without the quarantine, then I can tell you now that that would be political suicide for the State Premiers having kept their own citizens locked up for the best part of two years.
I did ask for confirmation of windies March tour as that’s where I have flight and hotel booked but they’re sorting Oz logistics out first.
The England limited-overs captain is in desperate form. Since the resumption of the IPL last month he has scored 7, 8, 0, 2 and 2 not out yesterday coming in at No 6 in the order for the Kolkata Knight Riders team he leads.Jason Roy
He has taken David Warner’s place at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad and followed up a 42-ball 60 in his first innings with innings of 2 and 10.Moeen Ali Promised a bit more than he has delivered with some bright starts batting generally at No 3 for the Chennai Super Kings. He has a top score of 32 from 28 balls in his five games since the resumption and has been used sparingly as a bowler.Sam Billings
He has joined up with the Delhi Capitals but is yet to get a game.Sam Curran
Has played two games for the Chennai Super Kings, scoring four in his only innings and with combined bowling figures of 0-111 from eight overs.Chris Jordan
Has yet to get a game for the Punjab Kings.Liam Livingstone
Made a promising 25 from 17 balls in his first game for Rajasthan Royals last month but since then has made 1, 4 and 6.Adil Rashid
With teams generally relying on home-grown spinning talent, it was not until this autumn that Rashid finally won an IPL contract. But he has played only one game for Punjab Kings, taking 0-35 from three overs.Tom Curran
The England T20 World Cup reserve player is in the same position as Billings — at Delhi Capitals but not getting picked.England’s next few months
T20 warm-up games
Oct 18 v India, Dubai
Oct 20 v New Zealand, Abu DhabiT20 World Cup group games
Oct 23 v West Indies, Dubai
Oct 27 v qualifier, Abu Dhabi
Oct 30 v Australia, Dubai
Nov 1 v qualifier
Nov 6 v South AfricaT20 World Cup knockout games
(if qualified)
Nov 10/11 Semi-finals
Nov 14 FinalAshes warm-up games
Dates tbcAshes series
Final details and venues to be confirmed, with Perth unlikely to go ahead
Dec 8-12 First Test, Brisbane
Dec 16-20 Second Test, Adelaide
Dec 26-30 Third Test, Melbourne
Jan 5-9 Fourth Test, Sydney
Jan 14-18 Fifth Test, Perth
It is the batsmen who have the ability to rotate and find gaps that have been successful there not the ones who are constantly looking to go big although teams have to try to do so in the Power Play simply because of the hardness of the ball. There are frequent examples of a side being over 50 after 6 overs and then only making 150 in total.
The other striking aspect is the fact that only 6 sides from 20 matches batting first have won. Again, this lends itself to the belief that the batsmen who are capable of pacing themselves to victory chasing a know target are winning games. There is, however, a difference between a Malan who "dots up" and then tries to go big once in and a Root who will rarely allow a ball to go by without taking at least a single off it.
Scores to date (winners in bold):
156-6 v 136-8
92 AO v 94-1
185 AO v 183-4
134-9 v 139-2
155-6 v 159-3
156-6 v 157-7
154-6 v 121-6
125-7 v 120-7
171-6 v 172-8
165-6 v 111 AO
164-5 v 167-3
127-9 v 130-7
135-6 v 137-4
149-9 v 153-3
134-7 v 139-4
165-7 v 168-5
129-8 v 132-6
189-4 v 190-3
164-7 v 158-6
115-8 v 119-4
I can't see it going ahead.
Well I have news for the ECB - we haven't had our best squad available for a few years now and it isn't going to get any better. But then the ECB know that hence their promotion of The Hundred to the detriment of the County game.
And just a point - we have been many a time whitewashed by the Aussies. Did the ECB refuse to send a team on those occasions?
Now call me a cynic but is the fact that nothing is in place, as far as we are aware, also at the back of the England players' minds when it comes to touring? Big Bash, IPL, The Hundred, Vitality Blast and some white ball internationals keep the wolf from the door - and the Ashes become somewhat less important to some of them as a result
CSK were 48-2 after 6 overs and ended up with 136-5 i.e. 88 for the loss of 3 wickets off the final 84 balls. Dhoni managed just 18 off 27.
Also, *fewer
The likes of Jordan (who can't get a game in the IPL), Woakes, Mills and Willey should be king here. The worry, as I say, is do we have the batsmen capable of putting on a total in these conditions?
Edit:
90-9 off 20 overs
Spin 2-0-17-0
Seamers 18-0-73-9
I suspect the Aussies are panicking about their TV contracts. There is no way the England cricket team can travel from State to State without special exemption. The latest theory is to base the England team in a vineyard resort in the Yarra Valley in Victoria. But they still have to cross state borders, which in a federal set up means dealing with different State Governments. It ain't going to happen. Border and Paine can talk as much as they like, it ain't up to the Australian Cricket board, it's in the hands of the federal governments.
Dont forget the Australia and New Zealand Rugby League teams pulled out of the RL World Cup, for the same reason, causing it to be delayed for 12 months, for the same reasons.
From Elizabeth Ammon in The Times:
The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
An ECB statement on Monday indicated that it would not give the green light for the tour to go ahead if a number of key individuals pulled out. It is now understood that enough of the first-choice squad will now accept the conditions for the tour for the England management team to feel comfortable about the strength of the squad.
There are still some outstanding issues relating to the strictness of the bio-secure bubbles in the event of any nearby Covid outbreaks. CA has also not been able to give all the assurances the players asked for because it relies on decisions taken by state governments and is therefore out of its hands.
The final decision will be taken by the ECB’s board of directors tomorrow but provided that it gives the green light, a squad of about 30 players, which will include a main squad and a back-up Lions squad, will be named at the end of the week.
England will be without Ben Stokes who is taking a break from the game for mental health reasons and Jofra Archer who has not yet recovered from elbow surgery earlier in the year.
The only fit player who is thought unlikely to be part of the squad is Jos Buttler, who is still weighing up whether to travel to Australia having expressed reservations about being apart from his family for the 3½-month tour.
The positive news from the ECB came after Ian Botham accused England’s players of hiding behind Covid restrictions because they “don’t fancy the ultimate test” of contesting an Ashes series in Australia.
The former England all-rounder said that if he had been in the players’ position he would have had his bags packed already for this winter’s trip down under.
Lord Botham, 65, who was recently appointed as the government’s trade envoy to Australia, said that he was sick of talk of the tour being postponed or cancelled and urged the England players to get on the plane.
“It’s the ultimate test and — I don’t know — I start to wonder maybe if some of these guys don’t fancy the ultimate test,” he said. “You have to start to worry about it. To play Test cricket for England is the ultimate and to play against Australia in Australia, and win, is magnificent.
“I just wish that we could actually put a positive spin on something and my positive spin is: let’s get out there, let’s see if we can beat the best in their own backyard. Because Australia don’t lose very often in their own backyard. It’s a challenge and if I were in their boots, I’d already have my bags packed.”
CA would stand to lose tens of millions of dollars if the tour were cancelled, and Allan Border, the former Australia captain, has echoed the comments made by Botham in The Daily Telegraph by calling for the Ashes to go ahead and warning that there will be job losses if the series is scrapped.
Meanwhile, England will have to try to win their second World T20 title without the services of Sam Curran after the all-rounder was ruled out because of the lower-back injury he suffered while playing for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Saturday. The 23-year-old will be replaced by his older brother, Tom, whose place as travelling reserve will be taken by Reece Topley, their Surrey team-mate. Curran will return home in the next couple of days.
Those England players and management not at the IPL arrived at their Muscat base yesterday and will remain in Oman until October 16 after ending a quarantine period.
They will head to their tournament base in Dubai next Saturday before starting their campaign on October 23 against West Indies. England, whose group also contains Australia, South Africa and two first-round qualifiers, will play warm-up matches against India, on October 18, and New Zealand two days later.
His parting shot is one which a lot of us that have been following cricket for any number of years can empathise with:
“I am very disappointed in the people who are running it and the people managing it, and I won’t miss it when I go. I’ll miss the friendships that I’ve made, I’ll miss the great people I work with, but I won’t miss the game, because this game is not the game that I started playing and the game that I knew. It’s different.”