Sending an offender down under? Ashes 2017-18

[Antepli Ejderha]

Woke up early to enjoy some cricket. It's not enjoyable and England look doomed.

[diggedy derek]

England are in a world of pain.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

But there is a wealth of beautiful batting to watch.

[diggedy derek]

We are watching a probable all-time great, too. Small - very small - mercies

[Antepli Ejderha]

Finally a false shot of Woakes. It's been merciless.

[longeared]

MAKE IT STOP

[ad hoc]

This is old school Ashes cricket. The one day's play I attended in Australia I just got to see Slater and Hayden bat all day.

That's how I now remember it anyway. There may have been a wicket or two at some stage but all I remember is just watching two men bat all day without being remotely troubled.

I love test cricket but days like today remind me that it's not an unconditional love

[Satchmo Distel]

We are watching a probable all-time great, too. Small - very small - mercies

Certain rather than probable, I would think. This is possibly as close as we will get in our lifetimes to watching an Australian do what Bradman did. Only caveat is the quality of bowling he's facing compared to other eras.

It was highly likely he would make a big score here. He would have had to get himself out.

Only factor left in this game is weather. How many sessions would Australia need? No point declaring too early though; flog England's bowlers into total exhaustion.

Presumably Wood for the injured Overton next Test, but you could also drop Broad and Ali based on form.

[Jon]

Regarding broad and his batting - he used to be decent, didn't he? I'm sure id heard that his batting decline came after he was hit by that bouncer in India in 2014. The timescale seems about right.

[Satchmo Distel]

Weather forecast is not favourable for England escaping: https://www.accuweather.com/en/au/pe.../26797?hour=33

[Antepli Ejderha]

Early wickets from Anderson give England slight hope then the tail wags and Australia lead by 259.

I didn't watch it but woke up just before 7 to watch some cricket. From seeing the score in bed to switching on the TV Root had got himself out. Nathan Lyon predicted that England careers could be ended by this series and Cook is certainly one of them.

71/3 and the rain comes, time for some highlights with this break and an early tea.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Vince reaches his 50 and looks good. The first three wickets were given away which is so frustrating for England as the match was saveable if they had grafted.

If the series is lost do you drop Cook from the final two tests? Who is the reserve opener?

[Antepli Ejderha]

Starc removes Vince, this time it was an unplayable ball unlike the other three.

[SouthdownRebel]

And Vince goes.

As someone on Cricinfo’s feed has just noted, if England lose by an innings it’ll be the third time in a year that they’ve done so after posting 400+ in their first dig.

[Satchmo Distel]

Vince reaches his 50 and looks good. The first three wickets were given away which is so frustrating for England as the match was saveable if they had grafted.

If the series is lost do you drop Cook from the final two tests? Who is the reserve opener?

I have a feeling that Cook might retire mid-series. I think Ballance is the next cab on the rank. The other change is possibly Crane for Overton.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Another rain break with 21 overs left in the day.

What's the logic for Smith batting for so long and getting such a huge lead?

[Satchmo Distel]

Rain arrives. Essentially Bairstow and Malan need to still be there until tea tomorrow. The lower five have shown no sign of being able to last a full session, and England would want a 150 lead by the start of the last 20 overs.

[Satchmo Distel]

Another rain break with 21 overs left in the day.

What's the logic for Smith batting for so long and getting such a huge lead?

I think he made a mistake but his logic was that he didn't want to chase 150-175 on a breaking pitch.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I think he made a mistake but his logic was that he didn't want to chase 150-175 on a breaking pitch.

Makes sense. That would mean England need to score 400 which is unlikely even before the lose of 4 wickets.

Perhaps he also wanted to humiliate England and save his bowlers from a long toil.

Looks like they'll be out soon.

Edit: heavy rain comes again. It'll blow through again but good news for England.

[Antepli Ejderha]

An extra half hour is possible tonight if Australia could win. Just one more wicket would be enough to ensure that.

Can Overton bat properly with his cracked rib?

[Satchmo Distel]

Bear in mind that England's top 4 wickets fell in 29.5 overs so it's unlikely Aus would need more than 2 sessions to wrap this up, and once Bairstow goes it could be done in an hour.

[Satchmo Distel]

And that means they could even afford to lose tonight's play and be confident of just needing 2-3 hours of good weather tomorrow.

[Antepli Ejderha]

An early finish due to rain so an early start tomorrow. England have almost halved they deficit but the best they can hope for is to make Australia bat again or a biblical storm.

[Janik]

They're fucked. It will be over in an hour tomorrow.

[SouthdownRebel]

I tend to agree. Smith is in the enviable position of knowing his decisions would have to be monumentally awful for them to have any impact. Australia are simply a much better team.