It’s aggression. Face up to your tormentors and go back with positive intent and a happy demeanour. Don’t take a backward step, but play positively and everything will be all right. It’s really that simple.
A penny right now for the thoughts of Peter Moores. He’s being made to look a bit foolish isn’t he, and that’s got to be hard to take. Once again, though, we’ll be told that he brought all these players on, and that his successor has a lot to thank him for. But it must eat away that the key was that simple. Get aggressive players to be positive and we’ll be fine. This is being decreed as some wonderful new discovery. As if things are that simple. Already we see the fawning articles about Trevor Bayliss, and Paul Farbrace – who appears to have had his faults absolved by one series. We’ve really been here before, people……
I’m content with the win, of course I am, but this is a five test series and Australia are not a bad side yet. I thought it telling that I felt no nerves at all on Saturday, which is different to any other England performance. I was utterly confident we would win it on Saturday. Totally. Australia to chase 400+ on that pitch with an undercooked line-up was never going to happen. Look at my early tweets that day if you think this is hindsight talking. I think it’s because I’m more dispassionate about Team England. To quote 10cc Mr Dobell “I’m Not In Love”. (Been listening to the Switch Hit from a couple of weeks ago on the way to work, where George thinks we are all (mostly) back on side. Erm, not quite…..).
So, we have a quick turnaround for Lord’s. The blog will be getting you in the mood for the 2nd test with a number of things. We have Ashes Panel #004 which will be up later this evening. There are currently six respondents, so it will be a long one. No change there. My thanks to all the contributors. The five questions are:
1. Well that was a surprise, or was it?
2. Your thoughts on the pitch?
3. Are Australia an old team and this could get messy?
4. Joe Root was MOM. Who would be your runner-up?
5. Was this a vindication of Big Al?
These are paraphrased questions, and PLEASE PLEASE respond when I put the panel up and not before….. sort of spoils it if you don’t. I’m hoping it will be up at 9pm.
The Leg Glance has said he will be able to put some more stuff up this week, which will be terrific, and I’ll do another Ashes memory, accompanied with photos. Then, of course, there will be my on the ground report. Yes. I will be in the citadel on one day of this test. Keep an eye out!
I’ve been invited to a press screening of Death of a Gentleman. I haven’t been able to make the nights suggested, so I may have to miss out and watch it when it’s out on general release.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to relay this piece of brilliance from Selfey…
“Cricket Australia’s immediate response was to put its finger in its ears, go “nah nah nah” and announce the dates of this year’s Big Bash in time for its morning bulletins.”
Priceless. From him, especially, priceless. I couldn’t have summed up the ECB or his reaction to the 5-0 loss any differently.
Have a good day, and look out later!
Being Outside Cricket 
Here’s a provocative post. Can the English make good coaches? Or is there something about the reserved English nature that does not make good sports leaders?
Duncan Fletcher, and Andy Flower presided over English cricket success. Neither are English. The removal of an Englishman, Peter Moores has seemed to improve things. We now have another non English coach. And you can widen it out to other sports. How many English managers have won the Premiership? Alex Ferguson does not count as he is Scottish.
A few years ago British Swimming brought in an Aussie to revamp the national swimming association. I don’t know the answer, but we do seem to have success with foreign coaches. Maybe an English coach will win the rugby World Cup again like Clive Woodward. Who knows?
I just throw this out there as question.
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Big Dunc was pretty reserved…I take your point though. Brendan Rodgers maintains that the problem with English football is English coaches, not the players.
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I’m looking for errors, inconsistencies etc, but two things stood out.
“His batting, however, was underwhelming. Scores of 20 and 12 put pressure on England’s top order and he appeared to be trying to force the run rate from the start”
Only a few days ago, didn’t Samuels say he batted like a dream in the first innings? Or am I getting the wrong journalist?
And “Right now, Cook is taking one for the team. It is an impressive sacrifice.”
Which later on, is followed by this quote from Bayliss: “People like Alastair and Ian Bell have scored plenty of Test hundreds. So go out and bat like you always have done.”
So was he disobeying Bayliss’ instructions, or did he just play an odd couple of innings? Which is it?
I’m going with the latter – Cook didn’t get his batting right. Nothing wrong with that. It happens. Possibly caught up in the emotion of an Ashes series and all the change that’s been going on with new players and a new coach. Trying to turn his innings into something else is a bit unnecessary though.
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Yes you have the right journalist. It’s nothing more than Fawning II: The Sequel, and a spectacular example of moving the goalposts so as to ensure St. Alastair can be praised as much for batting failure as he was for topping the averages by playing his natural game against New Zealand.
Not all generalists are as steeped in cricket as Mike Walters. We should remember that, at least.
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Just guessing, but from what I saw, Prince Charmless seemed to be trying to prove he can also run down the pitch and aggressively take on the spinner, just like Root and Stokes. It was the oddest behaviour I’ve seen from him, I think.
I can’t imagine Bayliss telling him to change his game. I can imagine Cook thinking “I am England’s greatest ever batsman, so it’s my right to run down the wicket like a headless chook and take a mad swipe whenever I want to.”
@Mark,
I’d swap a few Australian coaches for just one decent batter. The system in Australia is broken. When I was a lad *groan, here we go* young batters had to play against grown men from the age of 14 or 15. They’d either get the stuffing knocked out of them, or succeed while also learning to pull their head in and stay a bit humble. Now they get coddled with all this youth cricket and play against other youths and never toughen up…. Also, we used to have a rule that any test player has to play at least one club game a year. That had an effect on people’s attitude in club cricket. Now the best players are siphoned off and raised in isolation.
@Selvey,
Hahahahaha etc.
What should CA have done? Made announcement like this?–
“Our Fellow Australians, we have suffered a severe defeat at the hands of the English Crick– excuse me, thank you for the correction — at the hands of Alastair Cook’s Team. It would be inappropriate at this time to mention the schedule for the upcoming T20 tournament. Instead we will be sacking our best batsman, and promoting the coach, and replacing him with a known failure. There are reasons why this is the right thing to do, but we are not going to say what they are.”
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“Right now, Cook is taking one for the team. It is an impressive sacrifice.”
What sacrifice? Cook has not sacrificed a dam thing over the last 2 years. A lot of other players have sacrificed or more accurately have been sacrificed to the great God St Alastair.
The whole England team was sacrificed to keep him when he was not batting well or captaining well. It’s this sought of drivel that makes it very easy not to buy newspapers. They are awash with insiders who know little because they are too close to their heros.
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No. Look at the subtext. Cook is, as we know, both a follower and just a little bit dim. Desperate to impress he’s taken Bayliss far too literally. This is Bayliss explaining, as to a child, that his words aren’t to be taken literally. Alastair needs things spelling out for him.
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1. this blog is getting more like Juke Box Jury everyday – call me when Cilla’s on, she’s my werld
2. re. english coaches – http://www.alexander-dennis.com/
3. there’s nothing wrong with alastair cook that a good cricifixion wouldn’t solve
:0)
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The fawning over Andrew Strauss on Cricket Writers on TV was rather silly. It made it looks as though he was solely responsible for the decision to get rid of Moores, which was in the offing for several weeks before he got the job as boss. Also he seemed to get the credit for sticking with Farbrace and the appointment of Bayliss. Now he may have done some of the negotiating to sway the latter (we don’t truly know how much) but the guy was actually identified as the best candidate at the faux recruitment process that resulted in Peter Moores getting the job in April 2014.
It is here that mainly the credit goes to the new(er) players with the likes of Root, Stokes and Wood have come to the fore.
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