Ashes 2025/6

[Crisp]

What other options are there on the batting side?

Bring in the only other member of the squad who is a batsman - Jacob Bethell, who however promising he may be, doesn't even have a first-class century.

The only other option I can think of would be to push up Will Jacks into his rightful role as a batsman who can bowl a bit, but I wouldn't want to overdo that (e.g. bat him at 3) just because he did quite well for a while at 8 in the last Test.

So in all honestly the current top 7 is probably the best they have out there, with the possible proviso that Jacks could have earned a place in the top 7, doing anything else is just shuffling the pack in hope rather than a concrete strategy.

I can see where you are coming from but TBC Pope looks a hopeless number 3 and Jamie Smith looks like a man whose confidence is completely shot, both with bat and gloves. I hope I'm wrong and they both score tons (and take their catches), but I fear the worst. I rather have Jacks or Bethell at 3 and give Pope the gloves and the number 6 spot.
If we don't change personnel, I'd rather see Stokes at 3, Pope at 6.

Smith dropped one and did not go for another. Usual click bait journalism has got JS in its sights.  Now people are calling for a recall for Bairstow whose mental and technical weaknesses caused problems in the last Ashes series.

The knee jerk reaction mentioned above makes no sense at all just changes for the sake of them. Never worked in the 1980s and 1990s. Keep the same side unless there are injuries.

Its not hard to shoot Smith down when he isn't the number one wicket keeper at Surrey and the number one choice of the County.
Foakes, should be there as he is a better batsman and keeper.

Smith is in a different league to Foakes as a batsman.

Only at home as a test batsman although that average is coming down, no comparison as a wicketkeeper and that is what his job is.

[JasonP]

What other options are there on the batting side?

Bring in the only other member of the squad who is a batsman - Jacob Bethell, who however promising he may be, doesn't even have a first-class century.

The only other option I can think of would be to push up Will Jacks into his rightful role as a batsman who can bowl a bit, but I wouldn't want to overdo that (e.g. bat him at 3) just because he did quite well for a while at 8 in the last Test.

So in all honestly the current top 7 is probably the best they have out there, with the possible proviso that Jacks could have earned a place in the top 7, doing anything else is just shuffling the pack in hope rather than a concrete strategy.

I can see where you are coming from but TBC Pope looks a hopeless number 3 and Jamie Smith looks like a man whose confidence is completely shot, both with bat and gloves. I hope I'm wrong and they both score tons (and take their catches), but I fear the worst. I rather have Jacks or Bethell at 3 and give Pope the gloves and the number 6 spot.
If we don't change personnel, I'd rather see Stokes at 3, Pope at 6.

Smith dropped one and did not go for another. Usual click bait journalism has got JS in its sights.  Now people are calling for a recall for Bairstow whose mental and technical weaknesses caused problems in the last Ashes series.

The knee jerk reaction mentioned above makes no sense at all just changes for the sake of them. Never worked in the 1980s and 1990s. Keep the same side unless there are injuries.

Its not hard to shoot Smith down when he isn't the number one wicket keeper at Surrey and the number one choice of the County.
Foakes, should be there as he is a better batsman and keeper.

Smith is in a different league to Foakes as a batsman.

Only at home as a test batsman although that average is coming down, no comparison as a wicketkeeper and that is what his job is.

Foakes is clearly the better keeper but he was hardly faultless when he played for England at that.  He also wasn't up to batting at 7 in this team.  Rightly or wrongly the way England bat you need a keeper at 7 who can score at a certain tempo batting with the tail.  That's not his game at all.    Smiths job is keeping and scoring runs.  If the runs dry up he'll be left out but it wont be Foakes who gets picked.

[nat]

"...If the runs dry up he'll be left out but it wont be Foakes who gets picked."

He will 'cos it won't be Stokes/McCullum doing the picking. The adults will be in charge again.

[JasonP]

"...If the runs dry up he'll be left out but it wont be Foakes who gets picked."

He will 'cos it won't be Stokes/McCullum doing the picking. The adults will be in charge again.

He averages under 30 in Test cricket from 25 Tests.  His batting at Test level hasn't been good enough.  Bairstow and Buttler were getting picked ahead of Foakes under other coaches.    Prior and Jones were picked rather than Foster or Read before that.  It's not just Stokes/McCullum that don't pick the best keeper.  Foakes will be 33 when England play their next test after Australia.  Either of Rew, Cox, Pope will be far more likely to get a chance than him again.

[Andy]

"...If the runs dry up he'll be left out but it wont be Foakes who gets picked."

He will 'cos it won't be Stokes/McCullum doing the picking. The adults will be in charge again.

He averages under 30 in Test cricket from 25 Tests.  His batting at Test level hasn't been good enough.  Bairstow and Buttler were getting picked ahead of Foakes under other coaches.    Prior and Jones were picked rather than Foster or Read before that.  It's not just Stokes/McCullum that don't pick the best keeper.  Foakes will be 33 when England play their next test after Australia.  Either of Rew, Cox, Pope will be far more likely to get a chance than him again.

I agree with JasonP on this. Foakes is not banging down any doors to get in this side. I suspect he has been found out with the bat. Cox really should be licking his lips. Read was never that good and I suspect JF upset a few people at Team England.

Before anyone gets upset just look at how Essex improved dramatically once he was eased out of Chelmsford.

[bwildered]

 Last chance salon just after lunch at 100-4 to firmly take control not taken . Aussies brilliant at keeping the scoreboard ticking over . Not enough support for Archer, especially Carse bowling crazy line and lengths .

[Oldhasbeen]

He averages under 30 in Test cricket from 25 Tests.  His batting at Test level hasn't been good enough.  Bairstow and Buttler were getting picked ahead of Foakes under other coaches.    Prior and Jones were picked rather than Foster or Read before that.  It's not just Stokes/McCullum that don't pick the best keeper.  Foakes will be 33 when England play their next test after Australia.  Either of Rew, Cox, Pope will be far more likely to get a chance than him again.

It goes back a lot further - any Yorkie over 70 will tell you that Jimmy Binks was the best keeper in the country for years but only played 2 tests due to his mediocre batting; and no-one thought Rodney Marsh was the best keeper in Aus in the early 70s - he was widely known as "iron gloves"- but he certainly could bat (and sledge!)

[dazedpenguin]

Honours even after the first day. And had Carey not been reprieved by a snicko operator error, then it would have been England's day. Now they just have to clean up the final 2 wickets and bat and bat and bat. It'll be in the high 30s tomorrow, England have a small chance to redeem themselves by keeping the Aussies bowlers out there in the heat.

So, all out for 150 and the Aussies batting again by tea then?

[nat]

Honours even after the first day. And had Carey not been reprieved by a snicko operator error, then it would have been England's day. Now they just have to clean up the final 2 wickets and bat and bat and bat. It'll be in the high 30s tomorrow, England have a small chance to redeem themselves by keeping the Aussies bowlers out there in the heat.

So, all out for 150 and the Aussies batting again by tea then?

And the Ashes done and dusted before the Christmas Sales start.

[Bath Hammer]

Many of those England cricket tourists, the Barmy Army and their like, will surely be re-thinking whether to keep shelling out huge sums of money to endure the misery of watching England. There will likely be considerable loss of income going forward, maybe even in the last two rests, following this pointless encounter. Have any other nations, even the likes of Bangladesh, crumbled more inauspiciously than this pathetic England team?

[Oldhasbeen]

I'm beginning to think that Joffra would make a better Test number three than Ollie Pope

[Bath Hammer]

I'm beginning to think that Joffra would make a better Test number three than Ollie Pope

Yes, it seems so. If Starc were English he could become a top order batsman!

[NotAMember]

I'm beginning to think that Joffra would make a better Test number three than Ollie Pope

When Archer started out he was a genuine all-rounder - in 2017 scored 638 f/c runs for Sussex with five 50s at an average of 45.

Unfortunately - and this is something that irritates me - England quicks these days get so little time batting for their counties that their batting goes downhill simply due to lack of opportunity. Atkinson already seems to be heading down the same road.

Not great when modern cricket coaches supposedly preach that players should aim to excel in all disciplines.

We really should be having nos 8, 9 who are a serious thorn in opposition's sides.

[JasonP]

How do Key and McCullum spend 3 years planning for this series and end up with Brydon Carse opening the bowling?  He's so ordinary it's untrue.  The comparison between him and the Australian bowlers is ridiculous. 

[vim]

With their Mentality, people will still shell out large sums to attend. No matter, how bad the performance.

To, continue to be involved with anything that you know is very poor. Says a lot about your judgement.