I recall my total amazement and anger when that old codger was brought in who could neither bowl nor bat was brought in to replace the god as captain. At that age I didn't understand the importance of guile and leadership.
A lot of people forget, like I did, about the role Brearley played in that series.
Well fair play to england. 3 very convincing wins which you couldn't argue about. I expected the aussies to win the series around 3-1 before it started. Thought the lack of Jimmy at Trent Bridge would expose england's bowling as bar Briad, they are all still learning at test level (i was dubious if Finn could sustain his heroics). Stokes bowled superbly yesterday. England got some reasonable but not exceptional scores. Root was their class act with the bat and having Moeen down at 8 contributing regularly was a big help. Their bowlers won it for them though, along with setting clever traps which the aussie batsmen ran headfirst into.
You would not guess the result from the series averages, largely due to the Lords distortion. Root is the only English player averaging over 40 (compared with 3 Aussies). What a class act he is - a few key wickets and superb fielding to add to a stack of runs. Moeen was the only other standout bat for England - signs that he could cement his place on batting alone.
Felt sorry for Clarke who is a thoroughly decent chap. Cricket captaincy, like politics, invariably ends in failure. Hopefully, down the line, he'll be remembered for regaining the Ashes in Australia and the World Cup win.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary; it will fill you with joy , despair, but most of all love, unconditional love of the animals.
Big Neville Southall
... and not quite a dead rubber at the Oval. If England win they will replace Aus as the No. 2 ranked test side. Should be a bit of incentive for both sides.
It'll be interesting to see how it pans out with a lot of the pressure removed. Might even get 5 days of cricket this time.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary; it will fill you with joy , despair, but most of all love, unconditional love of the animals.
Big Neville Southall
big mervyn wrote:Felt sorry for Clarke who is a thoroughly decent chap. Cricket captaincy, like politics, invariably ends in failure. Hopefully, down the line, he'll be remembered for regaining the Ashes in Australia and the World Cup win.
He will also be remembered as the captain at the time of Philip Hughes tragedy .... an event that I think probably affected his performances after and just as much brought about his downfall.
As you said, a thoroughly decent chap and also a very good cricketer. I too hope history is kind to him.
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
Cap'n Grumpy wrote:
He will also be remembered as the captain at the time of Philip Hughes tragedy .... an event that I think probably affected his performances after and just as much brought about his downfall.
I doubt if that is the case. The event was terrible and on his watch, but I fail to see how it adversely impacted on his play almost two years later.
I think this Aussie team simply reached the end of the road.
Cap'n Grumpy wrote:
He will also be remembered as the captain at the time of Philip Hughes tragedy .... an event that I think probably affected his performances after and just as much brought about his downfall.
I doubt if that is the case. The event was terrible and on his watch, but I fail to see how it adversely impacted on his play almost two years later.
I think this Aussie team simply reached the end of the road.
You are correct in your last sentence, but Hughes' death was less than 9 months ago, not 2 years ago.
I'm not convinced Clarke has fully got over it and his slump in form has been in this period in time. Coincidence? Possibly, but I suspect that Phil's death has at least in part been to blame.
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
There have been some interesting analyses and one significant factor seems to be that the IPL and other similar tournaments are preventing the top players from playing first class cricket outside their own countries, leading to a much heavier skewing of results in favour of the home team. Only 1 out of the last 8 Ashes series has been won by the away side.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary; it will fill you with joy , despair, but most of all love, unconditional love of the animals.
Big Neville Southall
big mervyn wrote:There have been some interesting analyses and one significant factor seems to be that the IPL and other similar tournaments are preventing the top players from playing first class cricket outside their own countries, leading to a much heavier skewing of results in favour of the home team. Only 1 out of the last 8 Ashes series has been won by the away side.
Lehman did an interview a few years back bemoaning the shortened form of the game as depriving top players of the experience of batting for a day and a half. The mental toughness and concentration to survive and adapt to different conditions has declined - he says. He's probably right.
I believe Geoffrey said that first ........ and according to him, he's ALWAYS right!
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
big mervyn wrote:There have been some interesting analyses and one significant factor seems to be that the IPL and other similar tournaments are preventing the top players from playing first class cricket outside their own countries, leading to a much heavier skewing of results in favour of the home team. Only 1 out of the last 8 Ashes series has been won by the away side.
Lehman did an interview a few years back bemoaning the shortened form of the game as depriving top players of the experience of batting for a day and a half. The mental toughness and concentration to survive and adapt to different conditions has declined - he says. He's probably right.
I believe Geoffrey said that first ........ and according to him, he's ALWAYS right!
Joe Root has it.
So does Cook, although the burdens of captaincy have affected his scoring.
Not too many test captains have been able to maintain their batting. Most of the successful ones have ended up batting at 5 or 6.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary; it will fill you with joy , despair, but most of all love, unconditional love of the animals.
Big Neville Southall
Cap'n, he said that not too many test captains have been able to maintain their batting. Just pointing out that England's last 6 captains have similar or better batting records during their time in charge as they had before.
Soldiers who wanna be heroes number practically zero, but there are millions who wanna be civilians
