Another England collapse see us go 0-1 down!
As I predicted the Ashes will be a roller coaster which will ebb and flow, but no one could have predicted the sequence of events that unfolded in the first test at Edgbaston.
Australia won the toss and as expected elected to bat, after a handful of overs bowled, we lost Jimmy Anderson who had aggravated a previous the calf injury.
With England down to four bowlers, we had Australia on the ropes 122/8 before the brilliant Smith salvaged Australia with a majestic 144 and they posted 284.
England set about chasing the score down. A very mixed card with Burns top-scoring with 133, although I must admit I lost count how many times he played and missed. England finally being bowled out for 374, it should have been a lot more then that but on the other hand, if it wasn’t for Woakes & Broad we would have once again seen another batting collapse!
So with a lead of 90, the Aussies were soon toiling with 3 down and still 37 short of England’s score, enter England’s nemesis Steve Smith, another 142 he just made our bowling attack look average at best, and with all the remaining batsman chipping in and with Wade scoring 110 Australia had the luxury to declare on 487/7.
In reply England were undone by the brilliant Nathan Lyon & Cummins, with the others chipping in, England were all out for 146!
So what went wrong and what can we change?
Firstly Ali, Buttler & Bairstow scored a combined 24 runs in both innings, not good enough to win any test match, in my opinion, changes need to be made, firstly Ali has to be dropped, he is a world-class cricketer who’s completely lost his confidence, hopefully Bairstow & Buttler are just suffering a World Cup hangover. I’m not sure where Roy should bat, he hasn’t opened for Surrey since 2015! So who should open? Do we try Bairstow and bring Foakes in as wicket Keeper! One thing for sure there are more questions then answers!
Joe Root has said there will be meetings, I personally think they should arrange behind closed doors a game between England and a lions team made up of players who could possibly come in over 3/4 Days! Surely that would give some of the players the chance to try and find some form! One thing is for sure we need a very fit Archer to play at Lords, Jimmy will be a huge loss. Let’s hope he makes a speedy recovery and plays some part in the remaining tests!
Finally, myself & Sara were at Edgbaston for the first three day’s. It was great catching up with some clients, as I always say they have become friends. We had dinner one night with some of them and had a few beers on other nights, some we didn’t manage to catch up with but have arranged dinner at Headingley instead. IF you are coming then please let us know. It might be a business, but most of all it’s one big family! If you would like to join our family, we still have availability for New Zealand & South Africa.
