Cricket

[jim mk2]

The Ashes are won, they've been taking it easy for the past 7 days so this performance isn't a surprise really.

As for the T20 finals, tickets sold out.....so it's TV for is sadly.

Nonsense. Winter tour places are at stake, plus these players have the incentive of a 4-1 win which would be a best ever Ashes winning margin in this country. Cook has been saying all week how important this match is.

[AllRoverAsia]

Fully agree. I think the shorter form of the game is reducing concentration spans and changing players techniques. Watching the Aussies give us slip fielding practice has been embarrassing.

Lyth - Bairstow - Ballance - Stokes. Not sure any of those are good enough as batsmen.

Bell has been ropey and very disappointing. Cook has struggled also after looking really good earlier this year. Root has done well at times but some very low scores have taken the gloss off his performances a tad.

Poor batting from both sides. Rubbish at times.

Ali should bat ahead of 3 of them. If we go for specialist spinners on tour it's Ali at risk of losing out of playing. I believe that Ali should be a batman first.

Lyth has one more innings to save his England career, at least for the short term.

As far as the 5th Test is concerned if we survive today pray for early rain tomorrow.

All imo

Imo

Edited August 22, 2015 by AllRoverAsia

[ABBEY]

Lyth .. Out

Surely the end for him

[Husky]

As for the T20 finals, tickets sold out.....so it's TV for is sadly.

Always a bit of a strange one this.

T20 Finals day always seems to be 'sold out', yet when you attend there always seems to be loads of empty seats dotted around - and that includes at the peak time (latter stages of the first semi final).

I wouldn't give up hope just yet - there are bound to be loads of tickets somewhere out there. I haven't got my ticket yet and I'm still planning on going.

How about everyone else? Did you get yours? I'm not a Lancs Member so I missed the "pre-sale" for our suppoised allocation (800 tickets). But with a ground capaicity of 24,000 I'm seriously baffled how it can supposedly be "sold out".

Edited August 22, 2015 by Husky

[Husky]

If Haddin catches Root in that 2nd test we'd have probably lost this series. Australia have thrown it away with their batting in much the same way wd have tried to do. Should have been much, much closer.

Also Praise the Lord! that the Aussie selectors made some ropey decisions. Had they played Peter Siddle things might have been different. He was playing at Lancs at the start of the season and was the best bowler by far (and also scored some useful runs).

[onlyonejackwalker]

Also Praise the Lord! that the Aussie selectors made some ropey decisions. Had they played Peter Siddle things might have been different. He was playing at Lancs at the start of the season and was the best bowler by far (and also scored some useful runs).

Totally agree Husky. Proven player in these conditions and a thorn in our side previously. I was glad when he was not selected!

Lyth has gone cheaply again (no suprise there really) and so has an out of touch Ian Bell. Have to say I am a tad worried about out batting line up going forward. Pietersen should have come in at the start of this series and that would have taken some pressure off newer players to score as he took the limelight.

Agree with ARA and said so after the 3rd test. Ali to move up the order. Cook and Root can stay, Ali up the order. Stokes can stay for his all round game. None of the others have done enough to warrant their continued place in the team and even though we have won the series I would have no hesitation in changing this batting line up around. Bell may survive with thousands of test runs behind him, but Lyth, Ballance, Buttler, Bairstow etc have mental or technical deficiences that won't disappear overnight.

Lyth shot selection is terrible, Ballance is way too far back in his crease, Buttler plays away from his pad and Bairstow has a tendency to play across the line to anything fast and straight nipping back in. Ballance and Bairstow also struggled with the short ball.

If I was an Aussie I would be very disappointed we have not retained the Ashes against a poor England batting line up, when only needing to draw to retain the series.

As an England bowler I would be telling the batters to get their @#/? together. You wont always bowl the opposition out for less than 200 and simply have to score 400+ yourself to stay in and win test matches. Especially in the first innings. Compton may be worth looking at again as defensively he is good against quick bowling with decent technique. Hales scored 180+ yesterday and has also kept himself in the frame.

[AllRoverAsia]

If the weather holds we will do well to stay in the game until lunch on Sunday. Ali still to bat so that will be worth watching but he's in a no win situation.

Watched a lot of todays play. Quite good show by Cook.

[onlyonejackwalker]

I hope Ali makes a ton. He's really growing on me as a player.

[Husky]

I hope Ali makes a ton. He's really growing on me as a player.

So do I, as he'll have to play as a batter since his bowling isn't up to main bowler test match standard.

[Baz]

So do I, as he'll have to play as a batter since his bowling isn't up to main bowler test match standard.

He's doing alright as a all-rounder type like Stokes to be fair. My worry is the batting, still too flaky for me. Ok on a flat pitch, but in difficult circumstances or on a pitch with a little bit for the bowlers we look like we could lose 3 or 4 wickets for nothing.

[AllRoverAsia]

I know it's wrong and unsporting but I do hope the rain stays until Monday evening.

[only2garners]

Always a bit of a strange one this.

T20 Finals day always seems to be 'sold out', yet when you attend there always seems to be loads of empty seats dotted around - and that includes at the peak time (latter stages of the first semi final).

I wouldn't give up hope just yet - there are bound to be loads of tickets somewhere out there. I haven't got my ticket yet and I'm still planning on going.

How about everyone else? Did you get yours? I'm not a Lancs Member so I missed the "pre-sale" for our suppoised allocation (800 tickets). But with a ground capaicity of 24,000 I'm seriously baffled how it can supposedly be "sold out".

I think most of the tickets go well before the semi-final teams are known. The ordinary seats were sold out some time ago apart from the few left for each team (800 in Lancs case).

As I will be in Birmingham on Saturday I've opted for the cheapest corporate package. On Friday I got one of the last of those.

[ABBEY]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3208147/BT-Sport-grab-2017-18-Ashes-TV-rights-rivals-Sky-Sports-80m-coup.html

wow

[K-Hod]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3208147/BT-Sport-grab-2017-18-Ashes-TV-rights-rivals-Sky-Sports-80m-coup.html

wow

Seems like my decision to get BT Sport when I moved into my house 2 years ago was a good one!

[Gav]

BT sport is free with BT broadband currently, I wonder if it'll remain free after shelling out for the ashes.

[K-Hod]

BT sport is free with BT broadband currently, I wonder if it'll remain free after shelling out for the ashes.

I think for new customers now it's an extra fiver. I'll be honest, given the amount they're shelling out for these TV rights, it will only get higher!

[ABBEY]

BT sport is free with BT broadband currently, I wonder if it'll remain free after shelling out for the ashes.

it will for me n Tom

Edited August 24, 2015 by ABBEY

[Baz]

Seems a lot of money for test matches being played when the majority of the potential audience is asleep.

[onlyonejackwalker]

Very disappointed with England this last test. Even with winning momentum we showed how fragile we are. Credit to the bowlers, Cook and Root overall.

[Mattyblue]

To be fair it's not just England. So many Test matches are seeing batting collapses. This series didn't see one close match.

The ongoing Sri Lanka/India series has seen India skittled for 120 in the first Test, Sri Lanka the same in the second test.

The art of saving the game/coping with scoreboard pressure seems to be vanishing.

[Gav]

Its interesting listening to Boycott on TMS, he's always talking about batting for time, which he did very well during his career, some would say to well it became a bore.

But these days we don't really see players occupying the crease, its about making shots, Butler being a prime example of someone who simply cannot leave the ball alone.

Is it 20:20 influenced?

[ABBEY]

We need a Chris Tavare

[Baz]

We need a rock in the middle order like Trott used to give us, such a shame what happened to the guy.

[jim mk2]

Ballance will return - he averages 50 in Tests (only the very best players average more than 50). He's been batting at No 5 for Yorkshire, which they see as his best position.

[Mattyblue]

Tough tour of the UAE coming up, we all remember the last one and Pakistan have a tremendous record there.

Seeing England flounder to Lyon at the Oval doesn't bode well.