1st Test England v Australia - Edgbaston

[unification]

England’s day. Proper Test cricket. Top stuff from Burns.

England to bat for two and a bit sessions tomorrow and put the Aussies in for an awkward hour or so, with England leading by over 175 runs. I hope anyway!

 

[Marked Ox]

Nice to hear the Hollis Stand giving the Aussies loads as well.

 

[tonyw]

On day one, England fans were saying boo to an idiosyncratic centurion.

One day two, they were saying boo-urns.



(Wish I'd come up with that.....but it was the dude on the BBC text commentary)

 

[Gary Baldi]

I heard from a friend at the game today who said the atmosphere was absolutely mental for a cricket game and you could see some Aussie players wilting under the barrage of banter after tea. It was probably the most pressure a lot that a lot of the players will have played under.

 

[SteMerritt]

I heard from a friend at the game today who said the atmosphere was absolutely mental for a cricket game and you could see some Aussie players wilting under the barrage of banter after tea. It was probably the most pressure a lot that a lot of the players will have played under.

The Hollies Stand is certainly an experience, and the longer the day goes on the more intense it gets ?

 

[Foley]

The Aussis should have played M Marsh
The great advantage of having Stokes in the team.us that we can not overwork the seamers and even cope with Anderson being out.

 

[Shropshire U]

Really need to cash in on this third day and build a significant lead...batting last on this pitch could be dodgy.

 

[Sarge]

Cmon England....turn up the pressure on the convicts today

 

[Foley]

Cmon England....turn up the pressure on the convicts today

A chance to really turn the screw. Have a decent first hour and aim for 400.

 

[Big Ronaldo]

If we can bat out most of the day then we should be in a very strong position to win this test but I think that there is still a little something in this pitch that the Aussies can and will exploit.

 

[andystroud]

Need to see off the new-ish ball and fresh-ish Aussie bowlers this morning, ideally without losing a wicket.

 

[Yellow River]

Still a lot of cricket to be played in this Test match.

To my mind unless we get a lead in excess of 100 runs then the Aussies are favourites with Anderson out and England having to face Lyon in the fourth innings. Big morning and big day ahead.

 

[Canterburyexile]

If we are still batting at tea then we will be in a decent position. I’d not like to be chasing more than 150 in the 4th innings on this pitch

 

[ZeroTheHero]

This is a good contest this morning, and has been for much of the match. Two pretty even teams - I know we are in the box seat at the moment, but a couple of bits of luck/reviews and it would be a different story. Nice to watch some proper cricket as well, rather than just seeing how many sixes a team can knock over a short boundary!

Edit - Of course, as soon as I wrote 'in the box seat' we lose a wicket!

 

[OxfordBoy]

Oh dear, collapse incoming, really need another 30-40 runs minimum

 

[ZeroTheHero]

What the hell was THAT from Ali? He stood there and watched a fairly straight one bowl him. Pathetic batting.

 

[chuckbert]

or that

 

[battman]

What the hell was THAT from Ali? He stood there and watched a fairly straight one bowl him. Pathetic batting.

A big benefit of picking Moeen is that although he can be expensive, he gets the wickets as well as providing runs with the bat.

The runs have now dried up. So you’re left with an expensive, albeit wicket-taking, spinner. How long until Leach takes his place?

 

[ZeroTheHero]

How long until Leach takes his place?

Unless Moeen absolutely rips through the Aussies in their second innings I would pick Leach for the next test.

 

[unification]

Gulp.

Moeen and Bairstow are good batsman but they’re suffering from total losses of confidence at the minute.

We need a little wag from the tail. Another 40-50 or so. A 20 or so each from Broad or Woakes would help out lot.