08 Sep 2019 19:10:11
Seeing as we were gobsmacked the other week with england in the ashes, we got wat we deserved today an Australia were the deserved winners . Steve smith isn't human so it's a bit unfair in all honesty, at least we won world cup!

08 Sep 2019 20:50:45
Steve Smith is an absolute phenomenon! Has huge big match temperament and whoever you support you’ve just got to admire that.

{Ed025's Note - absolutely para, hes a class act mate..

08 Sep 2019 20:56:37
He certainly is mate. Been a top class ashes series nonetheless.

08 Sep 2019 20:54:19
Sorry am I the only one who hasn't forgotten the ball tampering. He's good but he's not a class act.

{Ed025's Note - hes not the first and wont be the last jah, but as a batsman he certainly is a class act and his attitude and temperament is second to none mate..

08 Sep 2019 21:05:00
His batting done the talking the whole test so far, he has dictated everything, if he weren't there we might of won . Yes he made a mistake but he only human and the mark of a man is how powerful he comes back from being so low and he proved it there .

{Ed025's Note - im with you hailstones..

08 Sep 2019 21:12:28
Mate, cheating in sport is tasteful and cannot be allowed however speaking to pat symcox a while back (spin bowler for South Africa in the late 90’s 2000’s) told me teams have been doing that for years in various different ways (trousers use to have zippers down the side to which they scuffed the ball) . Now again I’m not condoning this but the blokes done the time, apologized to the world, tears in his eyes with his father next to him.

What else does the guy need to do?

Is it any different to Sturridge taking a dive or maradonna fist punching a ball?

08 Sep 2019 21:15:13
*distasteful.

08 Sep 2019 21:20:51
It wasn't Smith who orchestrated the ball tampering. It was Warner. Smith copped more than his right wack just for being captain and not stopping it happening. Without him this ashes series would have been half the quality. Aussie Aussie Aussie!

{Ed025's Note - smith is a great player mark, but without him you are a very average side mate, englands top order are no better though and so congratulations to you my friend..

08 Sep 2019 21:55:19
Smith won the ashes for Australia. Without him I think the would have been doomed so fair play to him and Australia. Smith took the stick and just kept on scoring but saying what he and Warner done is no worse than Sturridge diving or Maradona punching the ball is not correct in my mind. What the Aussies done was planned and pre meditated, they went out of their way to cheat. Sturridge and Maradonna were spurs of the moment as such.

08 Sep 2019 21:45:23
Smith took a hit for something as he was captain, Warner and Bancroft are the biggest culprits for me. Smith is a top class talent and would make any team instantly better. Great ashes series, not the outcome we wanted but we will try take them back in Australia. We are due a win down under.

{Ed025's Note - we will have to find a couple of decent openers if we want to progress at test level though WYred, oh for an atherton, cook, gooch or even a boycott, someone who can occupy the crease for longer than 10 overs, dont ask me who though because nobody out there springs to mind mate..

08 Sep 2019 23:13:59
I kinda link it to the England football team of the noughties, at that time we tried to shoe horn our best 11 players in to a team and didn’t think about how they worked together. With this England test team we are putting our best 11 ‘cricket’ players but not thinking about the discipline.
Roy can bat but isn’t a test player yet, he is too attacking. Burns seems like he can do a bit but he needs a partner, there must be someone in county cricket that can open.
Once we have openers it will benefit the rest of the team, roots good at four but because our openers can’t stick out he evidently classes as an opener.
The other way to win is abduct smith and replace him with Roy and we have it cracked!

08 Sep 2019 23:21:21
I could never figure out cricket not to mind watch it 😂.

09 Sep 2019 03:04:07
I read few replies and there were "batting" mentioned. I first thought it was about baseball hahaha.

09 Sep 2019 11:19:44
The majority of England's batsmen just play as if it is a one day event and it costs the team dear. They showed they can dig in but the mentality just wasn't good enough, for long enough, and they were rightfully beaten by a better Aussie side. They should use Smith as an example of how to play perfect test innings - not just about shot selection, but about risk vs reward, about what is required at a certain point in a test match, about gritty batting - this Hollywood stuff that the players just couldn't resist will, more times than not, lose you tests. I know the 3rd test was an absolute classic, but rarely do those sort of things go your way - they need to find a couple of capable openers sooner rather than later because the way they have played in test matches, and I don't just mean against Australia, is a recipe for consistent batting collapses and humbling test defeats.

09 Sep 2019 15:13:14
You can call Smith a cheat but seems us English will always ignore the instances in the past we have cheated. Trescothick and Atherton have both ball tampered in the past but yet we were so quick to judge Smith like we're saints?

09 Sep 2019 17:27:25
Irish I agree to an extent if it were once off incidents but as we both know, the Ashley young’s of the world have dived on multiple occasions and there cannot be deemed “spur of the moment” incidents.

09 Sep 2019 17:48:09
Would rather open the batting with jack!

09 Sep 2019 21:28:35
For all the posters saying the aussies would have lost without Smith, have you forgotten that he didn't play at headlingley and you only won because of stokes?

09 Sep 2019 23:47:26
It’s clear England need some staying power at the top of the order, they should watch laubershaine or whoever you spell it, leave balls that don’t need to be played, and pick up the scraps. We barely batted a day throughout the series.
Let Roy play his natural game and don’t lament him if he gets out cheaply, he has a hint of Kp about him, manage him badly and he will play badly, let him loose and he could his hundreds. Sadly, when you walk in at 8-2 he’s not the guy you want.
Finally, archer should be played in bursts. He’s fire when on it, but can’t be expected to be the go to at all times. Open with broad and workes, before archer they would have opened anyway. They will get wickets. Then bring him in. If batters get settles dealing with archers 90mph+ the rest don’t seem so scary. If you get yourself in, then suddenly the pace is picked up 10mph you can easily lose your line.
For me as a part tome cricket fan, it seems quite a few basic errors were made. England have 6/ 7 class players, but need a couple opening batters to make it a top class team. Bairstow, stokes, Roy, and butler are all better suited to turning 100-2 into 350 for 5, than grinding out from 10-3 - although no one can knock stokes effort. I’d personally argue that butler doesn’t offer enough as 6th in, especially when not keeping, although he has not be the worst by any stretch. Could bairstow open?

10 Sep 2019 07:20:01
So you agree then Burkeyboy 😉.

10 Sep 2019 10:34:23
I agree England are also a one man show 😁.