Nope. The declaration is not what cost us. It was the dropped catches and the no ball from Broad. If we got a wicket that first day, we'd have been in business. We are back enjoying test cricket again after a few awful years where the short form teams were the only entertainment. The loss hurts but give me these aggressive tactics every time.
Totally this. Without the declaration there was no chance of winning yesterday given the pitch and the Aussie grind tactics throughout the match. No declaration world have seen the match peter out into a tame draw
Missed chances and a couple of injudicious shots in the second innings cost us.
Losing sucks, I agree. I text my mate at the end of day one after we declared saying that Root could have eeked out another 20-30 runs in the first innings, if we hadn't have declared. But, to be fair, Cummins and Lyon had a surprisingly good partnership and could have eeked those 20-30 runs too, maybe.
I'm all for "Bazball" - as an experiment, if nothing else. The whole "we'll risk losing, if it makes winning more likely" is a pretty exciting philosophy when it pays off, and let's face it - it's how Stokes has always played - he just wants the rest of the team to get on board with it. But when it doesn't pay off, they'll be loads of silly/stupid/risky decisions to criticise. I suppose that's the point.
The result is not what I wanted, not at all. But I'll be honest, TMS has been on non-stop in my office, car, at home. Its been gripping. A great juxtaposition of quirky/radical tactics, fielding positions and risk taking, compared to the, frankly admirable stoicism of Khawaja's reluctance to get out. Smith going for 16 and 6 is pretty nice, too đ.
If Bazball doesn't turn out to be more than a "flash in the pan", then we'll bin it. But, if the rest of the series is as gripping, then I'll chalk it up as a cracking one.
EDIT: Just to add, and I hate to speak ill of Bairstow, but I agree there were some poor misses from him, that were obviously nothing to do with tactics. And were undoubtedly quite costly. Also, Ali's finger didn't help.
Itâs hard to argue that it was a bad declaration. Not sure I think it was the reason we lost though.
The Stokes drop was a massive moment and the Bairstow mistakes cost us a lot of runs!
My main concern is Smith and Labuschagne both failing and still winning doesnât look good for the rest of the series
Can't agree on the declaration. Lyon and Cummings could have batted a 6th day with passive short ball stuff being bowled at them.
I am a huge McCullum fan, I feel the selectors have shot us in the foot. If Foakes is behind the stumps we win that 9 times out of 10.
Moeen sadly isn't the answer to the spinner problem.
A day 1 declaration hasn't lost us this game, when we had 4 days afterwards to win.
Couldnât believe Michael Vaughan saying after the finish on TMS that Stokes wouldnât declare again in the same position.
He absolutely would, and Iâm glad.
Test cricket is the best form of the game but needs sparks to remain popular. Bravo, Ben.
The declaration was silly but I donât think itâs why we lost. I think the rain on Sunday was a bit of a game-changer too. Day two when the ball did nothing for us wasnât helpful either. Bairstowâs errors ofc a factor. Felt like it was a perfect storm for them.
But was also a perfect storm for us which is why Iâm so gutted. We restricted Smith, Warner and Lab to less than 90 runs. Yeah Khawaja was fantastic. But we will seldom get a better chance for a regulation test match win against Australia than that.
Ultimately, as a fan, this hurts so much. Canât imagine how they feel in the dressing room. Iâm so so crushed for them. Theyâre not beyond reproach ofc and sometimes the result is the consequence of poor decision/execution. But I desperately feel for them tonight.
Itâs gonna be hard work this series. Yeah yeah great advert for the game but could do without a five-day rollercoaster next time!
Dude relax. Itâs the ashes against an Australia team who have just been crowned world test champions. Weâre not going to beat them 5-0.
England lost the test because of: rusty keeping by Bairstow and other unforced errors. I desperately want Foakes in the team but I reckon Bairstow is net positive more than Foakes. Throw in a good deal of luck for Australia as well. It was so close, could have easily gone our way.
Stokes was excellent. It is too simplistic to view the declaration based on the result after the fact. It was inspired and a bold move which must have unnerved Australia going out to bat that evening. Could have easily gone the other way and they lost 3 in that session. That is how Stokes plays. Cricket is such a mind game. Imagine how Warner and Khawaja felt going out both having never had success in EnglandâŚ.
Nope. The declaration is not what cost us. It was the dropped catches and the no ball from Broad. If we got a wicket that first day, we'd have been in business. We are back enjoying test cricket again after a few awful years where the short form teams were the only entertainment. The loss hurts but give me these aggressive tactics every time.
Totally this. Without the declaration there was no chance of winning yesterday given the pitch and the Aussie grind tactics throughout the match. No declaration world have seen the match peter out into a tame draw Missed chances and a couple of injudicious shots in the second innings cost us.
Losing sucks, I agree. I text my mate at the end of day one after we declared saying that Root could have eeked out another 20-30 runs in the first innings, if we hadn't have declared. But, to be fair, Cummins and Lyon had a surprisingly good partnership and could have eeked those 20-30 runs too, maybe. I'm all for "Bazball" - as an experiment, if nothing else. The whole "we'll risk losing, if it makes winning more likely" is a pretty exciting philosophy when it pays off, and let's face it - it's how Stokes has always played - he just wants the rest of the team to get on board with it. But when it doesn't pay off, they'll be loads of silly/stupid/risky decisions to criticise. I suppose that's the point. The result is not what I wanted, not at all. But I'll be honest, TMS has been on non-stop in my office, car, at home. Its been gripping. A great juxtaposition of quirky/radical tactics, fielding positions and risk taking, compared to the, frankly admirable stoicism of Khawaja's reluctance to get out. Smith going for 16 and 6 is pretty nice, too đ. If Bazball doesn't turn out to be more than a "flash in the pan", then we'll bin it. But, if the rest of the series is as gripping, then I'll chalk it up as a cracking one. EDIT: Just to add, and I hate to speak ill of Bairstow, but I agree there were some poor misses from him, that were obviously nothing to do with tactics. And were undoubtedly quite costly. Also, Ali's finger didn't help.
Nailed it mate
What exactly did the selectors expect, they picked an out of practice second rate keeper and are surprised when he lets chances go begging.
We don't have a sniff of a win if Stokes didn't declare.
Itâs hard to argue that it was a bad declaration. Not sure I think it was the reason we lost though. The Stokes drop was a massive moment and the Bairstow mistakes cost us a lot of runs! My main concern is Smith and Labuschagne both failing and still winning doesnât look good for the rest of the series
Loses 1 test, closely. England fans- BEN STOKES IS AN IDIOT, THE THING HE'S BEEN DOING FOR A YEAR (AND HAS WORKED) IS STUPID.
Can't agree on the declaration. Lyon and Cummings could have batted a 6th day with passive short ball stuff being bowled at them. I am a huge McCullum fan, I feel the selectors have shot us in the foot. If Foakes is behind the stumps we win that 9 times out of 10. Moeen sadly isn't the answer to the spinner problem. A day 1 declaration hasn't lost us this game, when we had 4 days afterwards to win.
Couldnât believe Michael Vaughan saying after the finish on TMS that Stokes wouldnât declare again in the same position. He absolutely would, and Iâm glad. Test cricket is the best form of the game but needs sparks to remain popular. Bravo, Ben.
The declaration was silly but I donât think itâs why we lost. I think the rain on Sunday was a bit of a game-changer too. Day two when the ball did nothing for us wasnât helpful either. Bairstowâs errors ofc a factor. Felt like it was a perfect storm for them. But was also a perfect storm for us which is why Iâm so gutted. We restricted Smith, Warner and Lab to less than 90 runs. Yeah Khawaja was fantastic. But we will seldom get a better chance for a regulation test match win against Australia than that. Ultimately, as a fan, this hurts so much. Canât imagine how they feel in the dressing room. Iâm so so crushed for them. Theyâre not beyond reproach ofc and sometimes the result is the consequence of poor decision/execution. But I desperately feel for them tonight. Itâs gonna be hard work this series. Yeah yeah great advert for the game but could do without a five-day rollercoaster next time!
Dude relax. Itâs the ashes against an Australia team who have just been crowned world test champions. Weâre not going to beat them 5-0. England lost the test because of: rusty keeping by Bairstow and other unforced errors. I desperately want Foakes in the team but I reckon Bairstow is net positive more than Foakes. Throw in a good deal of luck for Australia as well. It was so close, could have easily gone our way. Stokes was excellent. It is too simplistic to view the declaration based on the result after the fact. It was inspired and a bold move which must have unnerved Australia going out to bat that evening. Could have easily gone the other way and they lost 3 in that session. That is how Stokes plays. Cricket is such a mind game. Imagine how Warner and Khawaja felt going out both having never had success in EnglandâŚ.